Chapter 19 #2
I frantically started clicking buttons until I found “The Office.” “Oh, um, that’s fine.
You’re more than welcome to.” Ignoring his imploring gaze, I kept my attention on the TV.
I saw him studying me out of the corner of my eye, so I turned the volume up, hoping it would overpower the hammering of my heart.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered.”
Cooper’s comment registered, and I jerked my head to the right.
I clutched my wine glass in one hand, the remote in the other.
It was better to keep my hands occupied so I wasn’t inclined to jump him.
I cleared my throat. “I look like I’m homeless, and I probably smell like cilantro,” I replied, trying my hardest to keep the tone light.
It was true. I’d spent the day cleaning, so I was only wearing sweatpants and a casual tank top. My hair was down, partially knotted, and the only makeup to adorn my face was mascara.
He smiled, his focus drifting to my lips. “I stand by my statement.”
I took a sip of wine that was more of a chug.
Maybe a few chugs.
Actually, I’d finished it.
“You know, I’m a little tired. I think I’m going to turn in for the night,” I said suddenly.
I wasn’t tired.
But this wasn’t going anywhere and was only driving my sanity over a steep cliff.
We could flirt, hug, and make eyes at each other all night, but when all was said and done, I would be sleeping alone. Why prolong the inevitable?
Cooper looked surprised; disappointed, even. “You don’t want to watch ‘The Office?’ I thought you were all into the Pam-Jim shipper thing.”
“Cute.” I laughed. “I’ve seen it, though. I know what happens.”
His eyes twinkled. “Do they end up together?”
Faltering, I wondered if he was still talking about the show. I nodded. “They do.”
“Happily ever after?”
“I’d like to think so.”
He held my gaze, that same look still there. Still reeling me in.
“All right. Well…” Cooper blew out a breath and pulled to a stand. “I’ll head to bed, too. It’s been a hectic week.”
I flipped off the television and set my empty wine glass down on the end table. As I rose from the couch, I offered Cooper a small smile. “Goodnight.”
When I stepped away, he followed. I heard his footfalls close behind me before we both paused in front of our respective bedroom doors.
Hesitation. Indecision.
Reluctance.
Our heads twisted at the same time as we faced each other from a few feet apart, my hand on my doorknob, his hand on his doorknob.
How easy it would be to invite him into my room.
Into my bed.
He could hold me again, keep me warm and safe, free from nightmares.
How easy it would be…
And how impossible it would be to ever let him go.
Cooper broke away first. “Goodnight, Abby.” Opening the door, he pushed through the threshold and disappeared inside, closing it behind him.
It clicked shut.
I sighed miserably, doing the same.
Jitters raced through me as I glided around the room, slipping into a silk nightgown and combing my hair.
I brushed my teeth in the attached bathroom and glanced into the vintage mirror, noting that my cheeks were flushed bright pink.
I placed my palms against them, feeling the heat radiate into the pads of my fingertips.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, I faced the far wall, listening to Cooper on the other side of it.
He rustled around the room, so close yet so far away.
I slowly paced toward my bed then crawled across the mattress to the headboard. I pressed my hand against the wall, much like I’d done the night before. Inhaling a drawn-out breath, I rested my forehead against the sea-green wall that Cooper had helped me paint.
I knocked twice.
And then I waited.
I waited a long time, for what felt like an eternity. My heart was trying to climb right out of my chest. It was never where it was supposed to be.
Always in my throat, or on my sleeve.
In his hands.
It was a rebel heart.
I jumped when I finally heard his two knocks. But I jumped because they hadn’t come from the other side of the wall like I’d expected them to.
They’d come from my bedroom door.
Swallowing, I didn’t move right away. I couldn’t. I was frozen to the bed, weighed down by startling implication.
Then, finally, carefully, I rose to my feet. My trembling, cowardly feet. I forced them toward the door, toward the thrilling unknown.
Toward him.
Whipping open the door, I saw him standing there, leaning against the frame.
His eyes locked on mine.
And I waited some more.
Cooper
I knew right then what was about to happen. She knew it, too. Her eyes flashed with fire, holding my gaze, glimmering with anticipation.
Shit.
There was a brief pause, one where I wondered if I’d made a mistake coming to her bedroom. I’d worked so hard at avoiding this exact moment. This shouldn’t happen.
But, fuck, I wanted it to. I was drunk on just the thought of it. My tipsy heart was practically begging me to concede. Surrender. Admit defeat.
You win, Abby.
I moved inside the room, stalking toward her with every shred of doubt scrubbed from my mind.
I reached out, grabbed her face between my hands, and pulled her mouth to mine, kissing the hell out of her.
She mewled in response. It was a primal sound that I’d ripped from the back of her throat.
It made me burn with desire so strong, the only thing I could do was kiss her harder.
We stumbled backward toward the bed, my tongue in her mouth, my hands in her hair. She was clutching my T-shirt to keep herself from falling, so I yanked it over my head.
If I was falling, then she was coming me.
I reached for the hem of her nightgown, bunching the silky fabric between my fists.
Inching it up over her thighs, slowly, methodically, I waited for her to stop me.
She didn’t. She only pulled back slightly to drink in my bare chest. Her hands roved over me, making my muscles twitch, my skin come alive with heat.
Her eyes lifted to mine as her fingertips grazed the planks of my abdomen.
Something all-consuming passed between us, something powerful and raw.
It was the permission I needed to pull her nightgown up over her head and toss it to the floor.
Champagne hair cascaded down her back and shoulders as she stood there in only her panties, with wide eyes and parted lips.
Goddamn, she was gorgeous.
My eyes roamed her body, lingering on her breasts. Full, with dusky, beaded nipples longing to be sucked. My cock was hard like steel as my attention drifted back up to her face.
I was overcome with need, desire, fierce protection.
Mine, I thought.
I hated that word; I hated laying claim to another human being, but it was the only word that fit. It was the only word that made sense.
We reached for each other at the same time.
I found her lips again, my hands running along her curves, palming her creamy-white breasts.
She responded by arching her back, shuddering against me, as my tongue slipped inside her mouth.
Abby clung to me, her own hands curling around my nape, fingers pulling at my hair.
With a moan, I pushed her backward until her legs grazed the side of the bed.
She broke away and sat down, inching her way to the middle of the mattress. I crawled over her and she fell back, pulling me with her. Our mouths collided, desperate to continue tasting. Desperate to feel and explore.
The kiss became heated, frantic. She was making sounds I’d never heard before, sucking my tongue into her mouth until I nearly growled.
Her legs wrapped around my waist, hips rising off the bed, searching for contact.
She ground her hot center against my erection, writhing, burning beneath me.
Needy, whimpering. I trailed wet kisses down her throat, her chest, taking her breast into my mouth while I cupped the other.
Abby gasped, bending her back. “Cooper, please. I need you.”
I groaned. She was practically begging me, and it was making my cock throb against the confines of my jeans. Nicking her nipple with my teeth, I kissed my way back up to her ear and whispered against it. “Tell me what you need.”
She didn’t hesitate. “I need you inside me. Now.” Reaching down, she tried unbuckling my belt, her hands shaking as she fumbled with the latch.
Jesus.
I rose to my knees and pulled the belt loose, unzipping my pants and leaning back over her.
I yanked the jeans down my hips and kicked them off, along with my boxers.
Freeing myself, I gripped my cock, watching as she tugged her panties down her thighs and wiggled out of them.
Her cheeks were red, but her irises were the bluest I’d ever seen them.
Golden hair was splayed out in waves around her like a halo.
Abby gripped my hips, digging her fingernails into my skin.
Moaning, I reached underneath her thighs and hooked her legs around my waist, still on my knees. “Fuck, Abby, you have no idea what you do to me…” The tip of my cock pressed against her wet heat, teasing her, making her squirm.
A thought crossed my mind, and I faltered. “I don’t have a condom.”
Abby’s eyelids fluttered as she bowed her back. “I’m on the pill.”
She thrust her hips upward, as if to say, “what the hell are you waiting for?”
I fell forward to kiss her, my hands tangling in her hair, my tongue plunging back into her mouth.
I’d been missing her kiss, having thought about it every day since our mouths had fused together in my kitchen and I’d almost taken her right there against my refrigerator.
She’d wanted me to; told me to. The memory scorched me.
Sighing, I caught her bottom lip between my teeth and reached down to situate myself between her thighs.
Abby gasped at the feel of me nudging her entrance. She squeezed the back of my neck with one hand, tugging my hair with the other.
Her eyes were closed. My forearm was bearing my weight, propping me up above her, so I leaned down and whispered against her lips, “Look at me, Abby.”
She did.
A fever burned between us, something dangerous, something absolute, and I held her gaze as I pushed inside.
Hard, to the hilt.
We both froze for a split second as the magnitude of the moment swept between us. Our eyes were locked, our limbs entangled, our hearts pounding against one another’s. I began to move, drinking in every crease and emotion on her face.
This was more than sex.
It was pure intimacy.
Abby clung harder, her head tilting back and exposing her ivory neck. Kissing it, I sucked along the tender skin, hard enough to leave a bruise.
Mine.
She moaned as I moved in and out of her, her hips rising in dual rhythm with mine.
My pace increased as her breathing intensified.
She was so warm, so tight, so damn perfect.
Abby’s nails scratched down my bare back as I filled her, hard and deep.
Skin slapped. Moans echoed. She cried out with every thrust, pushing me closer and closer to the edge.
I cupped her face and kissed her, our teeth crashing together, tongues frenzied.
I felt her stiffen, her hands lifting over her head to grip the bed sheets between her fists.
She was close.
Fuck yes.
Abby draped the back of her arm across her mouth, trying to stifle the sounds, but I quickly tugged it away, pinning it above her head by the wrist. “No, don’t hold back.” Bending down, I pressed our foreheads together. “I need to hear you come.”
Her lips parted, pink and puffy from our kisses. Our fingers entwined. She closed her eyes and arched her back, her body tensing, legs latching around my waist as I thrust harder.
“Ooh,” she moaned, squeezing my hand, her other pulling at my hair.
She wasn’t quiet.
And God, it was sexy.
Sweat glistened on my brow as I continued to move inside of her, my pace quickening until I felt my own orgasm crest. I buried my face into the curve of her neck as I came, groaning through the climax, spilling into her, and breathing in her hair while clinging to her hand.
We were quiet for a moment as the shockwaves subsided and reality flickered to the surface. Our breaths settled, bodies relaxing, and I finally lifted my head from the arch of her neck.
I found her eyes again, unsure what to expect.
But she smiled.
Abby smiled at me, grazing her toes down my bare calf and crinkling her nose.
I was overcome.
I knew then, I wanted more. More than physical, more than surface deep—I wanted all of Abigail Stone.
I would fight her demons. I would slay her dragons.
I would be her hero, not just now…
But always.