5. Lachlan
5
LACHLAN
T HIS WAS A bad idea.
A really fucking bad idea.
But when had that ever stopped me from doing what I wanted? That would be never, and also one of the reasons I was at the very top of our illustrious leader’s shit list. It was also the reason I was keeping my current “project” off the books, so to say.
The last thing I needed while researching the potential problem of Boy Scout was Alessio keeping tabs on me—and that was all I was doing, making sure Mr. Wrong Place Wrong Time wasn’t going to turn into a problem.
At least, that’s what I was telling myself. Or trying to, anyway, because if that had been the real reason I was here, sitting in some yuppie-ass coffee shop where they sold drinks that you could personally create on the spot like an annoying douchebag then I’d tell Alessio where I was.
But I’d kept it a secret. I’d kept my interest in him—Cooper Patterson—a secret.
Ever since Alessio had handed over his name and the information I’d asked for, I’d become a man obsessed, and that wasn’t like me. Not even a little bit.
A job was a job. That was how I’d always looked at what I did both privately and publicly at Stone Security, the company I’d started over a decade earlier. It was the “front,” the day job that allowed me the power, money, and influence to be a part of Libertine. As the head of the leading authority around the globe for support to governments, corporations, and individuals, it was imperative to be levelheaded and not let emotions cloud my judgment.
So what the fuck was I doing here now?
Oh, right, Cooper’s face wouldn’t leave my mind. Those wide eyes filled with fear were a constant vision in my head, and at first I’d told myself I was following him to make sure he was okay. That I wanted to make sure no one came after him for retaliation. But that was a fucking lie too.
Not that I was all that concerned about the driver. What kind of a pussy ran from a fight? I mean, yeah, his buddies had been lying on the ground, but still…
It was time to start admitting why I’d trailed Cooper from his home to this coffee shop two days in a row, and then all over the city whenever he got lost and had to make his way back to what I had no doubt was a closet posing as an apartment.
I wanted to know more. I had no business wanting that. But I wanted it anyway.
It was clear he didn’t have a job, or nothing permanent anyway, and yet he came to this spot every day, where he spent hours doing something on his laptop.
What? I had no idea. Alessio’s intel had revealed he was a journalist but didn’t have a job yet. So was he freelancing? Was he writing a story about what had happened to him hoping he could submit it for a job? Or maybe he was writing about a certain someone who’d saved him.
Either way, that would be disastrous for me, which brought me back to my current idea. The really bad one.
The bells over the coffee shop door sounded, and sure as the clock on the wall said eight thirty, Cooper Patterson stepped inside. Today he wore a knit beanie pulled down low, which he promptly took off as he headed across the café to join the line.
Aaand that was my cue.
Leaving my coat over the chair to hold my claim on the table, I stood behind Cooper, who was too busy perusing the daily bakery specials to notice anyone around him.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true. His eyes darted to the door every few seconds, like he expected someone to be following him.
Right behind you.
Like a stalker.
The line moved quickly, and once Cooper placed his order for a croissant and cappuccino, I was up. I hadn’t even bothered glancing at the menu, and the word “cappuccino” left my mouth before I could stop it.
If any of the Kings could see me now… Jesus .
Cooper didn’t notice as I sidled in beside him at the pick-up counter, glancing instead over his shoulder at the door. With his attention elsewhere, I took advantage of being so close and ran my gaze over him. This close, he smelled irresistible, but more than that, he looked it. His hair was a lighter brown in the sun, and he kept his face smooth and clean-shaven, which made him look a little younger than thirty. The one thing I hadn’t gotten a clear read on yet was his eyes, and even though I shouldn’t, I wanted them focused on me.
“Cappuccino,” the barista called out, and I reached for the to go-cup at the same time as Cooper.
“I think that’s—” His eyes widened as he looked up at me, and he let go.
Blue. That was the answer to the lingering question I’d had. Light blue eyes under strong brows that made him more attractive up close than I’d realized, even after all the time spent following him the last few days.
This was a monumentally bad fuck-up.
But it was too late for regrets.
I held his gaze and picked up the coffee, just as the barista called out, “Cappuccino for Stone.”
“Looks like I grabbed yours by mistake,” I said, and glanced at the name on the cup. “Cooper?”
He blinked and then seemed to find his words. “Uh, yeah. That’s me.”
“Sorry about that.” I handed him the coffee, making sure our fingers touched—because I was a glutton for punishment, obviously.
“Oh, no problem. It happens, right?” He smiled at me then, a friendly, interested smile that had me realizing this brief interaction wasn’t going to be enough.
I was so fucked for this.
“Croissant for Cooper,” the barista called out, stealing Cooper’s attention as he reached for the to-go bag. I grabbed my own coffee and didn’t miss the way he glanced past me at the table in the corner that he usually commandeered.
The one I just happened to have my coat thrown over.
Coincidence? Absolutely not.
All it took was seeing the disappointment flash across his face for me to make him an offer.
“Care to join me?” I said, nodding toward the table. “If you’re not rushing off to work or to meet someone, of course.”
“No, I’m not meeting—” He stopped and glanced down at the floor, biting back a smile before he looked up at me. “I mean, sure.”
One side of my lips curved, and I inclined my head for him to follow me, even though that was the last thing he should be doing. The last thing I should be inviting. There was no reason for me to get further involved, to ask questions, to know anything more about him than what Alessio had given me.
But here I was sitting down opposite the one man I knew I should be avoiding.
Cooper pulled his chair out and took a seat, his cheeks a soft pink as he played with the coffee cup in his hands, his eyes glued to the table.
I wonder if that’s from nerves or the warmth of the fire crackling in the corner? Either way, it made him even more appealing than I’d first thought.
“So, um…” Cooper swallowed as his eyes finally found mine across the table. “I didn’t catch your name back there.”
“That’s because I didn’t give it.” I leaned back in my seat and ran my finger along the lip of the cup. “But if you ask me nicely, I could be persuaded.”
Cooper chuckled, and his cheeks turned a deep crimson. “Nicely, huh?”
“Uh huh.”
“That hardly seems fair. You got mine, no trouble at all.”
Now that was a laugh. I’d gotten into a world of trouble saving him and learning his name, and if King knew I was currently sitting in some hipster café with him then I’d be in deep fucking shit.
“Who said anything about trouble?” I sat forward and picked up my coffee to take a sip. “I said if you ask me nicely. But…if trouble is what you’re looking for, I’m not averse to that either.”
Cooper’s eyes darkened at my blatant come-on, and if I wasn’t actually sitting here I wouldn’t believe the stuff coming out of my mouth.
Was I flirting with him?
Yeah, that’s exactly what I was fucking doing. It’d just been so long that I hardly recognized it. But with his blue eyes focused on my mouth, his fingers rubbing up and down the side of his cup, and the tip of his tongue wetting his lower lip, I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
Cooper sat back from me, almost as if he didn’t trust himself—or maybe me, which was a more likely and accurate scenario.
“Okay, so what constitutes ‘nice’?”
I gave a wolfish smile, and something in my expression must’ve tipped him off to my thoughts, because he shook his head.
“Or do I not want to know?”
“Depends.” I shrugged and took another sip of my coffee. “How badly do you want to know my name?”
Cooper snorted and tapped the side of his cup. “You’re very cocky, has anyone ever told you that?”
“Yes. All the time.”
“And that doesn’t bother you?”
“No, why would it?”
“I…I don’t know, actually. It just seems like it might get you in trouble.”
“Ah, there’s that word again.” I stretched my legs out under the table, and when my foot grazed the side of his calf, Cooper sucked in a breath. “And I already told you, I’m not averse to trouble.”
“Or flirting.”
“Is that what I’m doing?”
Cooper started to laugh. “Yes. Pretty hard, too.”
“Want me to stop?” Say yes, because I’m not sure I can.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then I guess the real question is, are you scared of getting in a little trouble yourself?”
“If only you knew.”
Now that was too easy a segue to ignore. “Which means what, exactly? You’re a daredevil?”
He shook his head. “Hardly. I just recently found myself in a situation that—” Cooper stopped, narrowed his eyes, and pointed at me. “Oh no you don’t. Name, please. I already have part of it.”
“Do you now?”
“Your last name, Stone. That’s what the lady said, ‘Cappuccino for Stone.’”
So he’d been paying attention to his surroundings, which was good, or maybe he’d just been paying attention to me. My dick jerked between my legs. Apparently my body liked that idea a whole lot more.
“And how do you know that’s not my first name?”
Cooper ran his eyes down over me, and it might as well have been his hand with the way my body reacted. It hadn’t been that long since I’d gotten laid, and yet one look from Boy Scout and my body felt like a furnace.
“It doesn’t suit you.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No.” Cooper shook his head as I took another long sip of my coffee. “It’s too succinct. Too cold. You need something…”
I settled back and propped my elbow on the arm of the chair, and Cooper’s gaze shifted to the silver bracelets at my wrist, the ring on my finger, then back to my face.
“I need something…?” I arched a brow.
“Hotter.” Cooper shrugged. “Sexier.”
Damn. Nothing shy about him right now, and I had to respect that he was asking for what he wanted. Something I was only too keen on giving.
I slipped my hand inside my jacket, pulled a business card and pen from the pocket, and wrote my main personal cell number on the back. Then I held it up between two fingers and dared him to take it.
As Cooper reached for it, I snatched it back and grinned.
He laughed. “Oh, so you’re a flirt and a tease.”
“What, you don’t like to be teased?”
Cooper plucked the card out of my hand. “I didn’t say that.” He glanced down at the number I’d written on one side and then flipped it over before licking his lips. “Lachlan Stone, CEO, Stone Security.” His eyes flicked up to mine. “Now that suits you.”
“Yeah? Sexy enough?”
“Oh yeah.” That blush made its way back into his cheeks, but to his credit, Cooper didn’t break our stare. “Lachlan.” The way he said it, rolling the Ls around his tongue like he could taste them, made me think he planned to use my name later. In the privacy of his apartment, naked and lying in bed?—
Fuck. My cock ached at the thought as my bastard phone began to vibrate with the alarm I’d set for myself in case I got carried away. I had too much on my plate to be sitting here, eye-fucking Cooper, but I considered blowing it all off for another half-hour.
Unfortunately, that was when I remembered why the meeting was important enough to set the damn alarm in the first place—it was a personal favor to King.
Goddammit.
As I reached down to silence the alarm, I gave Cooper an apologetic smile.“Sorry to cut this short, but work calls.”
His face fell for the briefest of heartbeats before he smoothed it out and waved a hand. “Yeah, of course.”
As I stood and buttoned my suit jacket, I noticed him watching me and nodded at my card still in his hand. “You should give me a call, Cooper. See what trouble we can get into.”
I gathered up my coat and shot him a wink, but left my drink on the table in case he wanted…a taste.
Let’s see how brave the Boy Scout really is.