As long as she didn’t torpedo this for him on purpose.
* * * *
Coop returned to the house, grabbed a cold bottle of water from the cooler in the garage, and headed into the kitchen. He’d already twisted the top off it and had the pill in his hand when he handed them to Hunter, who was alone in the kitchen.
“Under your tongue. Dissolve it.”
Hunter did, nodding, taking a swig from the bottle to help wash the nasty taste out of his mouth. Coop had never taken one himself, but from what Hunter and Dani had both told him, he knew they had to taste like ass.
Not even good ass, either.
“Good boy,” Coop whispered before heading out of the kitchen and into the house. Once that pill kicked in in a few minutes, he knew Hunter would be okay for a couple of hours.
The trick would be getting him through the cookout that night.
Maybe I’ll be the one needing a Xanax by then.
At least if he had to, he could foist Dani onto Hunter later in terms of taking her home and providing an easy out for the two of them. But they’d have to leave at some point so Hunter could get his car.
And he really didn’t want Hunter driving today, if it could be avoided.
He damn sure wouldn’t want Dani driving.
Shit.
He ran into Todd coming out of one of the upstairs bedrooms with a box in hand.
“Well?” Todd asked.
Coop nodded. “She’s coming,” he whispered. “Told her I’d pick her up at five.”
“We can all ride together tonight from our place,” Todd whispered back. “Leave your car there.”
“I could kiss you right now,” Coop said, not even joking. “That’s perfect.”
Todd grinned. “Yeah, well, if it’s anything like the kiss you gave me earlier, I wouldn’t mind.” He teasingly blew Coop a kiss before he headed downstairs with the box.
Coop hadn’t even had time to contemplate that yet. Yeah, he’d have to be playing Todd’s boyfriend. He wouldn’t deny it hadn’t exactly been a hardship kissing the man.
At the time, Coop would have tongued a T-Rex’s taint if it would have helped Hunter.
Kissing Todd was far easier than that.
Far more enjoyable, too.
Shoving that thought out of his mind for now, he headed into the bedroom Todd just exited to grab another box to haul downstairs.
* * * *
Somehow, Todd and Coop got Hunter through the rest of the move. Later, when the men returned to Todd and Hunter’s place to clean up and change, Coop grabbed a quick shower in the guest bathroom before dashing out to pick up Dani.
As Todd and Hunter climbed into the shower in the master bathroom, Todd wrapped his arms around Hunter and held him.
“This’ll be okay, buddy. Trust in Coop.”
“It’s not Coop I’m worried about,” he muttered.
“He wouldn’t let her do this if he thought she’d sink it. You know that.”
Hunter didn’t answer.
Todd worried about him. Coop had wanted Hunter to wait to take another Xanax until he returned with Dani, before they left to return to Terry and Margie’s new house, so it’d kick in about the time they got there.
Todd was wondering if maybe he shouldn’t give Hunter one now.
Or, maybe…
He reached up and fisted Hunter’s hair, kissing him hard before pressing down on the top of his head.
As if Todd had reached into Hunter’s brain and flipped a switch, the man sank to his knees and immediately engulfed Todd’s cock in his mouth.
“Good boy,” he whispered, holding on to Hunter’s head with both hands and slowly fucking his mouth.
One of the fastest ways to short-circuit Hunter’s brain was this. Over the past couple of years, Todd had paid attention to Coop and what he taught him about triggers good and bad. Coop had helped Todd set a couple of good ones in Hunter.
Usually involving sex, which Todd didn’t see so much as a Dominant/submissive thing as a taking charge in bed kind of thing.
Something he had absolutely no trouble doing with Hunter, either.
Fortunately, Todd liked taking charge in bed, even though there were times he enjoyed being the catcher instead of the pitcher.
He slid one hand around to the back of Hunter’s neck and started fucking his mouth, hard, enjoying the way Hunter skillfully deep-throated him without hesitation. When Hunter grabbed onto the back of Todd’s thighs, he said, “Hands behind your back.”
Hunter immediately complied, letting out a soft moan that vibrated all the way through Todd’s cock and into his sac.
Yeah.
Todd hadn’t exactly planned on doing this right now, but…
Hell, it was helping Hunter, and it felt good, so why not?
It didn’t take him long to come with his cock deep down Hunter’s throat. As he stood there recovering, he stroked Hunter’s hair, pulling the other man’s arms around his legs, tenderly whispering to him.
Finally, knowing they were getting close to reaching the end of the hot water, he pulled Hunter to his feet. “Let’s finish up.” He reached down and squeezed Hunter’s cock, which was rigid. “That can wait until tonight, when I reward my good boy.”
Hunter looked up at him. “Love you.”
“Love you, too, buddy.” He slanted his lips over Hunter’s for one last kiss before turning him around and lightly slapping him on the ass. “Get washed up. Don’t want to keep anyone waiting.”
* * * *
Hunter wouldn’t deny he’d needed that little mental reset. He now knew he could wait until Coop returned with Dani to take his Xanax. Maybe even longer.
Then again, not knowing how this evening would go, he wasn’t sure going without a Xanax was a good idea.
I need to trust Coop.
He did trust Coop. He wouldn’t be playing with him, submitting to him, owned by him if he didn’t trust Coop.
Still, it was difficult to silence the throbbing staccato in his brain, the one that wanted to conjure up every bad possible thing, every worst-case scenario, and blow it up on steroids as an absolute certainty for the evening.
His birthday arrived in two weeks. He’d be thirty-five, and eligible for the disbursement again.
If he received it, he would no longer be beholden to his parents, or to the company. It would have to pay his health benefits, as a member of the family, but he would no longer be required to work for the company.
If his father denied him the disbursement yet again, Hunter knew it would absolutely be because his father was a dick. Everyone else who’d received theirs already did so no later than thirty-five. Hell, Terry got his at thirty, when he was marrying Margie, and Kent received his at twenty-five, when he said he wanted to go to a jewelry design school in Florence, Italy, after he’d already graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.
They were both out of the shower, dressed, and ready by the time Coop pulled into the driveway at a quarter before six.
Please let her be kind, at least. Please let her understand how important this is to me. Please let her know I don’t want to come between her and Coop.
* * * *
Coop had been prepared for a lot of things when he jogged up to Dani’s door and knocked at one minute before five, but the sight that met him when she opened the door wasn’t one of them.
“Uh…you heard me say backyard cookout, right?”
She slowly twirled, the hem of the sundress flaring slightly as she did. She’d styled her hair in a casual up-do that accentuated her long, graceful neck. She reminded him a little of an auburn Grace Kelly, casual chic, someone who would show up every damn last one of Hunter’s relatives.
“Well?” she asked.
“You look abso—are you wearing makeup?”
She looked up, batting her eyes at him. “You like?”
“I…” He stared. “What’s going on?” She never wore makeup.
“You told me t
o treat this like a stage role. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
He’d expected to find her barely functioning, possibly surly, likely a snarky ball of anxiety that he’d have to give a quick spanking and teasing to in order to help even out her mood.
Not…not this brightly burning candle of self-confidence.
“Uh…pep talk?” Which was their codeword for dropping her into subspace.
She straightened a little, her facade faltering. “I don’t know if this mascara is waterproof or not,” she said, waving her hand at him to make forth with the deets. “Just…list for me all the reasons this is important to Hunter, please.”
He carefully studied her. He couldn’t afford for her to break down in the middle of the evening.
Rather, Hunter couldn’t afford for her to break down. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“Yes.” The smile he recognized as fake returned, supernova in its brightness. “Just…please.”
He took her hands and tucked them against his chest. “Hunter needs his dad to think that you’re his girlfriend. That you’ve been secretly dating him for a while. We haven’t told them much beyond that. None of the BDSM stuff, obviously. We said you’re a friend of mine. If you want to use your entire backstory minus the BDSM as part of your act, go for it. It’ll make it easier for Hunter.
“Hunter’s grandfather left all the grandkids each an inheritance. His dad has been holding Hunter’s share back. Hunter wants to try to get his dad to give it to him so he can quit and go back to school, but if his dad knows he’s planning on quitting immediately, he’ll likely hold it back as long as possible. That means Hunter would be stuck working for his dad for another five years. If Hunter can get away from working for his family, it’ll be a huge stressor off him.”
She nodded. “Okay. There’s my motivation.” Another falter, her expression fading before she yanked it back into place again. “I need you to do something for me tonight, Sir,” she softly said.
“Anything, pet.”
“Uh, don’t call me that tonight, for starters, while we’re doing this. Not that I don’t want you to, but it’ll be too confusing. If I’m going to own this, I need to fully own it. Don’t look me in the eyes if you can avoid it, because I don’t want to break down crying. Don’t check in with me unless I signal you to. Or with Hunter. Let me handle Hunter.”
That was like the blind leading the blind…across a busy intersection at rush hour in Manhattan.
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely. I can handle Hunter. We don’t want his dad to think I’m a mooch. Well, problem solved, I have my own money and job. I can keep Hunter focused. I’m a trained professional.” She snorted. “Literally. I love improv.”
He leaned in and kissed her. “You are sooooo spending some quality time with the Hitachi tomorrow, sweetheart. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Sir. Now let’s get going before Hunter worries himself into a puking spell.”
* * * *
Hunter let Todd answer the door. Hunter stood in the kitchen, staring at the bottle of Xanax like a dog staring at a cookie jar.
All that was missing was the drooling.
He heard Todd let Coop and Dani in, but he didn’t go greet them.
When he heard them walk into the kitchen, he turned, his gaze darting up when he saw the sandals on Dani’s feet.
Pretty sure his jaw dropped, his eyes swiveled sideways to Coop, who was smiling. “I present your girlfriend, Miss Danielle Webb.”
She didn’t walk over to him, she glided, despite the pain he knew it had to be causing her. She smiled up at him, taking his arm and hooking hers through it.
“Hello, Hunter. I missed you, sweetie. I’m ready to meet your family.”
Speechless, he looked from her to Coop and back again.
“She’s asked to stay in character,” Coop said. “I’ve told her she’s on a loose leash. Tonight, you’ll be her boyfriend, and she’ll be your girlfriend.”
“I hope they don’t mind it took this long for me to work up the nerve to meet them,” she said, still staring intently into his eyes. “I’m very self-conscious around strangers since my accident. I know it’s in my head, but my doctors warned me it might take me a while.”
He swallowed hard, his throat dry. “H-how did we meet?”
“Through mutual friends, silly.” She rested her head against his chest as if this were perfectly natural for them. “Mikayla and her husband had me over for dinner when you were there with Ned and Todd, and he and Todd introduced me to you, since you’re roommates. We hit it off immediately.”
He heard a dry click in his throat when he tried to swallow again. “And how long ago was this?”
“Oh, almost three months?”
That was about how long ago she’d met Coop.
“I still don’t do well in large crowds of people in social settings yet,” she added, still snuggling against him as if getting used to the contact, trying him on like a coat or a sweater. “The accident was very traumatic. You’ve been so sweet and patient with me, trying not to overwhelm me.”
“Put your arms around her,” Coop said.
Hesitantly, Hunter did, knowing he couldn’t act like this in front of his family. They’d never buy it.
Taking a deep breath, he let it out again and pretended like he meant it. If Dani could work up the courage to do this for him, he couldn’t blow the opportunity just because he wasn’t used to hugging her.
She reached her arms around him and looked up into his eyes. “Let me lead tonight,” she softly said. “I’m great at improv. Just follow my lead, and this will be easy-peasy. I promise. We’ve got this.”
He looked over her shoulder at Coop. “Master, I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can, and you will,” he said. “I trust her. Do you trust me?”
“Yes, Master.”
“I trust her,” Todd said.
“She’ll keep you from having an anxiety attack,” Coop said. “She knows the tricks as well as you do. Let her be your anchor tonight. She and I have already talked.”
“But…” He licked his lips, trying not to stare at the Xanax bottle. “I don’t want to lie.”
“You’re not lying,” Coop insisted. “And good job, you, earlier, for dodging around stuff. I did notice that. You’re acting. That doesn’t break any of our rules. I give you permission to say or do whatever it takes to convince your family Dani’s your girlfriend.”
Todd draped an arm around Coop’s shoulders. “Does that mean I get another one of those kisses from you tonight, mister?”
“Maybe. If you’re a good boy,” Coop drawled without taking his gaze off Hunter and Dani. He reached down and delivered a hard slap to Todd’s ass.
Todd let out a snort and dropped his arm. “This should be an interesting evening.”
* * * *
Coop wouldn’t deny feeling the slightest twinge of jealousy watching Dani with Hunter. Only because they were both his, and it killed him that he couldn’t openly march in there with one on each arm and Todd on Hunter’s other side and just be authentic the way they could at Mikayla’s or any of their other friends’ houses.
He had to pretend he didn’t love that woman so damn much that he ached when he couldn’t be with her. He’d fought labeling that sensation until today, when he couldn’t deny it any longer.
And Hunter. He loved him, too, even though he knew his claim to Hunter’s heart was secondary to Todd’s. Still, in some ways, Hunter was his. In the ways Todd didn’t mind him being.
Dani wore a playful smile. “Yes, so what is this kiss I heard about? I’m intrigued.” She stood with her arm hooked around Hunter’s. “I want to see a repeat, since that was supposed to be my special thing.”
“Me, too,” Hunter said. “I missed it.”
Coop turned to Todd. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss the guy, but as they’d eased farther into their wacky little world, he’d imagined the first
time he really kissed either man in a romantic way that it would have been…romantic.
“Want me to take the lead?” Todd snarked.
“I’m the big spoon,” Coop said.
“I’m two inches taller than you,” Todd quipped.
“I’m eight years older than you.”
“I’m—”
“Kiss him!” Dani and Hunter yelled.
Coop stared up into Todd’s green eyes.
Then the bastard dipped his knees, dropping down to Coop’s height. “Better?” He grinned.
“Asshole.” But Coop grabbed him and kissed him, hard, pleasantly surprised when Todd grabbed him back and pulled him close, their bodies now pressed against each other. With his lips slanted over Todd’s, he finally closed his eyes and flicked his tongue over the seam of Todd’s lips. Then the other man’s mouth opened for him and their tongues met and tasted and started dueling for control of the kiss.
Coop reached a hand up into Todd’s short, wavy hair, so different than Hunter’s or Dani’s, and tried to grab a fistful of it to hold him in place.
Todd ground his hips against Coop’s, his fingers digging hard into Coop’s ass, even through his shorts.
Aaannnd I’m hard. Fuck.
He wasn’t the only one. The stiff outline of Todd’s cock rubbed against his through their shorts and briefs.
He stepped forward, roughly pushing Todd back against the counter, pinning him there and holding him in place, taking charge, asserting his control while trying to maintain his own.
* * * *
“Holy fuck,” Hunter muttered.
Dani could sympathize. They stood there, heads tipped to the side like a couple of pet poodles, intently watching this sexy scene play out in front of them.
She didn’t know about Hunter, but she found it hotter than fuck.
They tipped their heads the other way, watching as Ned braced one hand against the upper cabinets even as he kept kissing Todd. Todd now had one leg hooked around Ned’s and was rocking his hips against the man, frantically humping him, one hand on Ned’s ass and the other splayed in the middle of Ned’s back to hold him in place.
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