Savage (Park Avenue Kings #1)

8. Cooper

8

COOPER

T HE TWENTY-FOUR hours following my surprising late night visit were torture.

I hadn’t gotten shit done all day, not with the man in the mask stealing every bit of my headspace. He was all I could think about, wondering who he was, why he’d tracked me down, what he wanted from me. Or if I’d somehow made the whole thing up and it was just another part of my dream.

But that couldn’t be true, because surely I would’ve ended it in a much more satisfying way than his crawling back out my window.

And then I went and said he should come back tonight ? That I’d leave the window open ? I needed to have my head thoroughly examined, because that was insane. Inviting a stranger, someone I’d seen do serious bodily harm to others, into my private space.

He wouldn’t come, though. I didn’t know what prompted the visit, or how he’d found out where I lived, or what he wanted, but I’d felt his resolve as he was leaving, like it had been a mistake to see me.

Why, then, did my fucked-up brain think that made this situation even hotter somehow? Was it just the mystery of it all? The fact that he showed restraint with me when it was obvious he could overpower me in a matter of seconds if he wanted to?

Or was I just really hard up after the last few months?

All of the above, I thought as I paced my room and checked the time on my phone. It was late, but maybe not sneaking-up-the-fire-escape late in his eyes. I hadn’t specified a time, and he probably wouldn’t come at all anyway.

But what if he did? What if he was outside watching me pace back and forth like I was counting down the minutes?

God, that was so lame.

I scrubbed a hand over my face and forced myself to sit the hell down and at least look busy. Like I wasn’t expecting anything to happen. Like I actually had a life.

I opened my laptop and stared at the screen for a long moment before shutting it.

No, maybe I shouldn’t be working but doing something more casual, like…reading a book in bed, or watching a movie in bed. Something in bed to entice him to join me.

Because that was what it all came down to—I’d been thinking about this masked stranger since the first time I’d seen him. Hell, I’d been dreaming about him. And all that sexual tension, pushing me up against the wall last night, calling me a Boy Scout in that deep, throaty voice…

A shiver rolled through me, and I stood up and went to check that I still had supplies nearby, just in case things went the way my cock wanted them to. When I was satisfied they were hidden but within reaching distance, I forced myself to lie down and try to relax, which was easier said than done. I hadn’t bothered getting a TV for the place yet, not just because there was barely space for one, but because I spent most of my waking moments trying to do something productive.

But right this moment, I would’ve gladly turned on something mindless. In fact…

I pulled out my tablet, looked for something action packed to hold my attention, and hit play.

Relax, I told myself as I drew in a deep breath and settled back on the mattress. Try not to think about him or all of the what-ifs.

Not the easiest feat when my eyes kept darting to the window.

I couldn’t say how long I lay there. Ten minutes, twenty? But with the show playing on the screen, my eyes began to feel heavy. Maybe I could close them, just for a few minutes. That would make the time pass by. Right?

I turned off the show and put the tablet beside me, not wanting to be woken by a broken nose. Then I scooted down the bed and got comfortable, making sure I had a good visual of the window, should my mystery man make an appearance.

It didn’t take long for sleep to find me, all the overthinking tiring out my brain to where the darkness pulled me in. Peace claimed me, warmth enveloped me, until I felt it surrounding me on all sides, wrapping me in its embrace like a strong pair of?—

My eyes flew open as the delicious weight and warmth registered in my brain as exactly what it was—my vigilante.

The one I’d been waiting for all night, here in my room at the end of my bed, his knees flanking my legs, caging me in place. My heart skipped several beats as I stared up at him, and I knew I should be terrified, or at least a little scared, but the only emotion coursing through me as I stared up at my masked man was…excitement.

No, that was a lie. I felt excited and turned on.

He’d come to me. Come for me. And now all I wanted was for him to come with me.

Was that fucked up? Yes. But as he cocked his head, I shifted under him and arched my hips in invitation, like some horny slut boy.

What the hell was the matter with me? I didn’t know this guy. I didn’t even know what he looked like. I was acting completely out of character.

With the light behind him I couldn’t see his eyes as he shifted up to straddle my thighs, but somehow I knew he was watching me—I could feel his gaze as it burned a path down my body. So I stretched my arms up over my head and let him get a full look at me.

In the same sweats and tank as last night, there was no concealing the hard-on he’d inspired—hell, I’d had it all day. But as I lay there pinned to my mattress, the ache intensified.

Should I say something? Probably. But I didn’t want to scare him away.

Okay, that was just ridiculous. Like I could scare him. But something told me one wrong move and he’d vanish before I could stop him. So like some kind of supplicant I lay beneath him, waiting for whatever it was he wanted to do.

I’d really gone off the deep end. But something about this man, this stranger, had me reaching for and embracing the dark place I’d met him in. As if I could step into the night and go a little mad.

Staring down at me, he brought his gloved hand to the edge of my tank and slipped it under the fabric. The cool touch of the leather against my heated skin had me sucking in a breath.

He paused, but when I didn’t say or do anything to stop him, he continued to push the material up my body until he reached the base of my neck. Then he twisted it in his fist and hauled me up so our faces were only inches apart, but even this close the shadows hid every part of him that would give a key to his identity.

My breathing intensified as he whipped the bottom of my tank over my head and behind my neck, fully exposing my upper body, but when I reached for him, he reared back and shook his head.

“You touch me, this ends.”

It didn’t surprise me in the least that he was dominant, wanting full control while I took whatever he wanted to give. Wasn’t that exactly why I’d left my window open? Because I wanted that too.

Somehow my fantasies had nothing on the reality, though, and I nodded and dropped my hands. “Okay. No touching.”

I could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he said, “Good, Scout.”

There it was again. That nickname. I wanted to ask him why he called me that, but now wasn’t the time for questions. Not when he curled his gloved fingers beneath the waistband of my sweatpants and drew them down, leaving me exposed. Every inch of his skin was covered, making him even more of a mystery than ever—and didn’t that have my cock rising to full mast.

He sat back on his heels, and I could feel the weight of his gaze on me, his slow perusal with only the moonlight as his guide.

I thrust my hips up, feeling restless for what was coming, and said, “Put your hands on me.”The way I sounded so eager and almost breathless was downright embarrassing.

In a flash, he flipped me onto my stomach, and then his body was on mine, hard and heavy as he pressed me into the mattress.

“I’m going to put a whole lot more than my hands on you.”

A shiver rolled through me, physical proof I wasn’t dreaming. I wasn’t able to see him now, or touch him, but he was going to have his way with me, and I’d never been more amped for anything in my life.

Who the fuck am I?

Someone who was asking for it, that was who.

“Make me feel you tomorrow…”

He went still at my words, words I thought I’d kept in my brain.

“You’re not the one calling the shots here, Scout.” He traced the side of my naked body with his gloved hand before grabbing my ass and giving me an almost-painful squeeze. “I’m going to make you feel me for a week .”

Air hit my back as he moved off me, and then he tugged my sweatpants completely off.

I was tempted to turn around, dying to see if he would take off his clothes and what any part of him looked like, but the last thing I wanted was for this to end. Something that was clear as day when he tossed one of his gloves on my pillow.

“Don’t even think about moving?—”

“Or this ends.” I licked my lips. “I won’t.”

A hard smack from his bare hand across my ass made me gasp, but I hadn’t expected anything less. In fact, I canted my ass up higher.

A low chuckle, still muffled by his mask, met my ears as he drew a finger down between my cheeks.

“That’s what makes you a good little Scout. You’re a rule follower.” Something shifted, and when he spoke again, his voice was clearer and husky. “Now let’s see if you taste as good as I’ve imagined.”

And then he spread my cheeks and lowered his mouth onto me.