Of course she knew exactly what was wrong with her.
Unfulfilled need throbbed inside her. This was all Cooper’s fault. One weekend with him hadn’t been enough. It seemed as if she’d gone from zero to sixty spending just that one night with him. Her body craved him. There was a ball of need knotted in her lower belly. And only Cooper could make her feel better.
She glared at the kitchen clock. If she were a pill popper, she’d have already taken a sleep aid to knock her out, taking refuge in the bliss of slumber. But she wasn’t. So here she was, wanting Cooper but not knowing what to do about it.
Was he still at the charity event? Was there some female plastered all over him, trying to wrangle an invitation to his bed? Jealousy rose up her throat and threatened to choke her. She had no one to blame but herself. Cooper had invited her, but she had refused. Friends with benefits didn’t include dating. The only requirement was sex when the need arose. That’s what she’d wanted.
So why was she sitting here, miserable?
The doorbell rang.
Taylor froze. Could it be Cooper? Who else would it be? Her nipples reacted immediately, swelling under the thin cotton of her tank top. Anticipation coursed through her veins, and she could actually feel her pussy quivering.
Stop it.
Pulling in a shaky breath, she padded to the front door and looked through the peephole. Her heart slammed in her chest. Cooper.
Taylor closed her eyes tightly and leaned her forehead on the door. Excitement sparked frenzy in her susceptible body. Her breasts felt swollen and heavy, and between her legs a thrill manifesting into moisture began to coat her core. Looking self-consciously down at her tank top and cotton shorts, she debated whether she should pull on a robe or change into something that covered her up more. The second, more impatient ding of the doorbell changed her mind. She pulled open the door.
“Hi.” Her voice came out husky. Cooper was dressed in a formal evening suit, the tie pulled loose and crooked. The parted lapels showed the red lining of the obviously expensive attire. Taylor devoured him with her gaze. He looked positively yummy.
“Can I come in?”
Wordlessly she stepped aside and closed the door after him. The restlessness that had plagued her earlier had been replaced by a heady anticipation. Cooper was here.
“Is everything okay?” she asked breathlessly.
His gaze flicked over her. Hunger lurked in the dark depths of his eyes. “Everything’s fine.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, sure that her nipples were sticking out, impudently demanding attention. Frantically thinking of something to say, anything to break the silence that descended between them, she gave up and looked at him. There was no denying that she wanted him, craved him even. And he was here. Now.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No. I couldn’t asleep.”
He nodded. “Listen, about this arrangement,” she began, steeling herself to come out and say the words, “I don’t know what I’m doing. This is a first for me.”
“You mean there isn’t a rule book somewhere for women who want a friends-with-benefits arrangement?”
She couldn’t help but smile at that. “If there is, I haven’t heard about it. I don’t know what protocol is. When you asked me to go with you tonight…” She shrugged helplessly. “Did you have a good time?”
“I could have done without all the ceremonial bullshit and written a check and be done with it.” He paused. “Was your night better?”
“What do you think?”
He didn’t respond. The heat in his eyes was enough to singe her skin as he came closer.
Her breathing accelerated. “What are we going to do now?”
Cooper pulled her into his arms and palmed her buttocks. “I have a pretty good idea.” He pulled her upward, fitting her against the stiff flesh pushing against the zipper of his pants. Through the layers of their clothes, she felt his cock jerk against her pussy.
Taylor barely had time to draw a breath before he slanted his mouth over hers. He kissed her like a starving man, sending his tongue within her mouth in deep strokes, a mere mimic of what they were going to do soon. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders and attacked the buttons of his designer shirt. When she encountered warm, male skin, she sighed with pleasure. Her wandering hands sought his belt buckle, but he stopped her. His heavy breathing echoed hers as he closed his eyes.
“We can’t.”
“What?”
He opened his eyes, dark with torture, and expelled a harsh breath. “Fuck. I wasn’t thinking. I came here straight from the charity ball. I didn’t think to stop—I’m not prepared. I didn’t bring anything with me.”
She cut his words off with a kiss. “I’m on the Pill.”
He stilled.
“I have to take it to regulate my hormones,” she explained in an embarrassed rush. “I-I’m healthy.”
He exhaled. “I donate blood every couple of months. I get a physical every year. I just had one last month. I’m clean. I don’t have any diseases.”
Her thighs actually trembled. “We don’t need a condom.”
“Thank you,” he whispered fervently. With stunning swiftness, he whipped her top off and disposed of her shorts. She helped him undress, pushing his pants down to his ankles until he kicked them off. With that done, he picked her up and guided her legs around his waist. A ripping sound broke the silence. Taylor looked down in time to see her panties flutter down to floor, a white lacy flag of surrender. When he finally slid his long, rigid length inside her, they both moaned.
It felt so good.
Her back hit the door with a soft thud as Cooper planted his feet on the floor and started thrusting. It was hard and fast, exactly what she needed. His hips powered inside her, penetrating deeper than before. Sharp, delicious tingles raced up her spine, signaling the imminence of her orgasm. A moment later, she came, his name a cry on her lips. Dimly she was aware of him heaving one powerful thrust and then she felt hard spurts splashing against her quivering pussy as he came inside her.
“Someday,” he panted against her neck, “I promise, I will be able to make love to you like I’m not in a goddamned race.”
Incredibly enough he was still hard inside her. She struggled to catch her breath. “You notice I’m not complaining.”
“I assure you, I do know how to slow the pace.”
She caught her breath as he flexed inside her. “Oh yeah?”
He let out a brief chuckle. “Definitely.”
“You’re in luck. I’m free for the next, oh, six or seven hours.”
“Is that all? I better not waste my time then.” He hefted her higher and strode down the hallway to her bedroom. “The shower is in there?”
Taylor bit her lip. Every step he took pushed him higher inside her. She was so wet he slid with ease. “Uh-huh.”
Cooper made straight for the bathroom and reached inside the stall to turn on the taps. He gently disengaged from her and set her down on her feet, holding her steady. His still-erect penis jutted proudly from a nest of dark curls. Her thighs clenched. God, she was ready to go again. He’d turned her into a nymphomaniac.
“Come on,” he urged huskily inside the steam-filled cubicle. “Let’s take a shower. At the rate we’re going, we’re liable to kill ourselves.”
* * * * *
He was killing her.
Beads of perspiration dotted her skin as she clutched the sheets with white-knuckled tightness. She writhed on the bed, trying to raise her hips, trying to dislodge his hold on her. “Cooper,” she protested.
He raised his head from between her parted legs. “Stay still.”
She whimpered. “I can’t.”
His hold was firm but gentle. Wide shoulders spread her thighs apart as he feasted on her. Tortured her would be more like it. Taylor rotated her hips, trying to put her clit in the path of his lips and tongue, but he only gave it a brief lick. She almost reared off the bed and slumped
back in frustration. Just as soon as she could, she was going to kill him.
Cooper hummed, the sound vibrating against the wet, sensitive tissues of her sheath. She jerked against him, painfully aroused, panting. He applied himself to the task of eating her with deep focus, seemingly intent on learning every inch of her pussy. A finger swirled her juices around before slipping inside her slit. Taylor let out a long moan. “More,” she demanded.
He chuckled. “Patience.”
She tried to glare at him from her position. “Payback’s a—”
He stuck his tongue high up inside her, cutting off her words. Her clit throbbed painfully, swollen and aching. “I’m not rushing this one, Taylor. I want it to last.”
Last? She was a hairsbreadth away from coming. Her belly was tight and she was so sensitive that a blow of air on her clit was going to set her off like firecrackers. She lay back down and heaved deep breaths, pulling back from the edge.
“Good,” he murmured approvingly, his eyes dark with hunger and need. Damn him. “It will be all the sweeter when it comes. Trust me. Now touch your breasts.”
Bossy. The man was just too used to having his way, his orders followed. She didn’t want to analyze how much she liked it. She did as he asked—no, commanded—and touched herself. If he could torture her, she could damn well return the favor.
Cupping her breasts, she plied her nipples, gently tugging on the hardened tips. “Like this?”
He watched intently, his nostrils flared. “Oh yeah.”
The man was a born sensualist. He was demanding in the bedroom, as she’d quickly found out. No holds barred. No inhibition. Taylor had never been with a man like him. Cooper was intensely sexual. He demanded total surrender.
God her nipples were diamond hard, aching to feel his lips. They needed to be sucked. Every time she pulled at them, an answering ripple tore through her pussy. Her hips rotated in time with her fingers. His eyes were locked on her breasts, at the red and swollen tips.
“Suck them. Please,” she whispered.
The faint twist of his lips was the only sign of his barely leashed hunger. Sliding up over her, he braced himself on his elbows and looked down. His cock was huge, sticking straight up. The man was certainly built. Taylor licked her lips, suddenly hungry for a taste. Then all thought fled her mind when he latched onto a nipple. It sent her shooting to the sky immediately, crying his name out. He bit her gently, the edge of his teeth scraping against the sensitive tip. The little bit of pain magnified her pleasure. Her brain was fried. She was no longer capable of thinking. He’d primed her carefully and every lick, suck and bite just made her want more.
“Cooper,” she pleaded. “I have to—”
He gave her a brief kiss, his tongue dipping into her mouth in quick licks before he once again took his place between her legs. He tasted her, sipping at her juice before he sucked her clit.
“Yes,” she cried out as she shuddered violently. Hard spasms tore through her, pleasure traveling through her body like lightning. He rode out her orgasm, nipping at her sensitive clit, sending her into orbit once more. Taylor lost track of time, utterly spent and boneless. She’d climaxed before, of course, but nothing like the teeth-grinding, ear-buzzing orgasms she’d been experiencing with Cooper. Sharp pulses of pleasure thrummed through her, robbing her of the ability to move. She floated on a cloud, semiconscious and unable to do anything until the raging torrent slowed down to a gentle flow.
When she stirred, Cooper stood at the foot of the bed, watching her quietly. His cock was still thick, plum colored and unbelievably aroused. Unspent. Taylor felt the stirrings of arousal again. Unbelievable. One round was usually enough for her. But here she was, staring at his engorged cock, her mouth watering.
She sat up and reached out with a finger to swipe the moisture hovering on the slit of the swollen head. His breath hissed between his gritted teeth. She did what she’d wanted to do since her first glimpse of his very impressive penis. Licked him from the balls to tip in one long swipe of her tongue. The contrast of baby-soft skin and hard, tensile strength was fascinating. She wrapped her lips around the head and opened wide. There was no way she’d be able to take all of him in. He was much too big for that, but Taylor took him deep, as deep as she could, until he touched the back of her throat.
He groaned, a pained, guttural sound that was music to her ears. Driven by the need to pleasure him, she repeated the action, tightening her lips around him in a delicious suck as she went back up. His thighs quivered under her hands and she moaned. Fellatio was something she’d never particularly enjoyed before, an act that she practiced sparingly. But she found that she liked taking Cooper in her mouth, licking the head in long, luxurious licks, sipping at the slit, before taking him deep again and again. His cock throbbed inside her mouth, swelling even more.
He wrapped his hands around her jaw, holding and guiding her. He showed her what he liked, grunting when she laved the sensitive underside of the head, silently bidding her to do it again and again. But it was taking him deep and tasting the saltiness of the pre-come that seeped from his cock that she enjoyed the most.
“Taylor,” he growled in warning.
She released his cock with an audible pop and looked up at him. “Come in my mouth.”
He let out a groan when she went deep again. He cradled her head in his warm hands, plunging his fingers in her hair. She didn’t have to wait long. All the warning she got was a grunt then his cock swelled in her mouth a moment before he spilled his seed. She looked up and watched his face twist with the pleasure, a faint grimace to his lips. Cooper in the throes of his orgasm was a beautiful sight to behold. It was a picture that would be imprinted in her memory forever.
Afterward he pulled her down to the bed and held her in his arms. Long moments passed. Contentment seeped into her bones. She didn’t want to move, wouldn’t have been able to anyway with Cooper wrapped around her, one leg thrown over both of hers. She grinned. She didn’t mind that at all.
In the back of her mind, she thought of how addicted she could become to being with Cooper. It would be all too easy. Taylor closed her eyes, unwilling at the moment to speculate about the future. She didn’t want to think of how hard it would be to let Cooper go when the time came. But she would have to. She would just have to.
Cooper gazed down at Taylor and barely restrained himself from voicing the thoughts that were churning in his mind. He was grappling with unfamiliar emotions. For the past couple of days, he’d stayed away from her, trying to figure out how to deal with this friends-with-benefits bullshit. He should be happy as a clam that he wasn’t going to be faced with a woman looking for commitment. Taylor’s proposed arrangement had mirrored his usual way with the women he’d been involved with. No strings. Just good old-fashioned sex to slake a need. Sex for mutual pleasure. No more beyond that. That was all.
So why did he get pissed when she’d said they were friends with benefits and would be together only when they “needed” each other? It had felt like he’d been slapped in the face. Maybe it was because for the first time he wasn’t calling the shots in a situation? Or had karma turned the tables on him and now he was faced with a woman who only wanted sex from him and he was the one hoping for more? Taylor was hot in bed. Responsive and willing. What was so wrong with keeping it just about sex with her? He should have been thrilled with the arrangement.
He had to force himself to push aside the irritation he felt and had to give the situation a long, hard look. The only conclusion he could come to was that friends with benefits wasn’t what he wanted. But timing was key to everything. Right now the situation wasn’t exactly ideal, with Bettina constantly bringing up his name in inflammatory articles in tabloids and magazines. He knew Bettina was gearing up for something nasty. He could feel it in his bones. Keeping Taylor out of the paparazzo’s sight was the most important thing at the moment. The last thing he wanted was for her name to be linked to his and her pictures plastered all over the place. He d
idn’t want her to relive the ordeal of having her life played out in the media. Until he resolved this situation with Bettina and her penchant for using the press in a futile attempt to score points against him, it was better if nobody knew about Taylor. He decided he’d go along with her friends-with-benefits idea.
For now.
* * * * *
There was a brief knock on his office door before it opened. Laura, his secretary, came in before closing the door softly behind her.
She approached his desk, her lips pursed tightly. “Bettina Hathaway and her son are here, insisting on seeing you. Do you want me to call security?”
Irritation bloomed inside his chest. Bettina was rapidly becoming more than a nuisance, but she’d never before dared to show up in person in his office. Know thy enemy, he thought.
“No. Show them in.” He stood up and faced his stepmother and her son when they walked into his office.
A cloud of perfume surrounded Bettina, heavy and cloying. She was dressed in an obviously expensive dress, with diamonds glinting at her neck and ears. Bettina was still playing the part of a rich woman, when Cooper knew that her finances were in dire straits. His glance shifted from her to her son, Rich. He fought not to let his lips curl in disgust. Rich was a fucking bum, with no gainful employment to speak of, preferring to leech off his mother. Together mother and son had run Hathaway Publishing to the ground.
“I don’t think it’s wise for you to be here without your attorney present,” Cooper said, keeping his voice mild.
Bettina waved her hand dismissively. “I prefer to keep this matter between us.”
He watched as Rich stood behind his mother, letting her do the talking. Spineless ass. “Let’s keep it brief. I’m busy.”
She laid her palms flat on his desk. “I want you to give me ten million dollars.”
Tempting Taylor Page 9
