Chapter 27
FELIX
I figured, given everything Benji had just heard, it was okay if I kissed Cooper in front of him now.
So I did.
It’d only been a few days, but the moment my lips met Cooper’s, something that had been jittery and untethered inside me settled back into place.
I held his face in both hands, not wanting him to even consider the possibility of getting away, and swiped my tongue over the seam of his lips so he knew I meant business.
Not right here in the street.
Later, though. We’d lost more than enough time already.
“You sure about this?” Cooper asked as I generously gave him some space to breathe. “Otter Bay is…”
“Small,” I finished for him. “It’s never going to have a major ballet company and nothing’s open after midnight except the laundromat.
You can see the stars at night here, and hear the cicadas, who come early because of something to do with the bay.
It’s not New York, and it’s not LA. It’s not even Portland.
But it’s got everything I want. Great coffee.
Incredible ice cream parlor. A studio I could call home, if Amelia will have me.
You,” I said. “And you,” I added, looking down and offering a hand to Benji.
He took it, smiling up at me so wide it made my face hurt.
I realized a second later that was because I was smiling just as wide back.
“And I want all of it,” I continued, turning my attention back to Cooper’s gorgeous brown eyes, set in his handsome face, with its perfect shy smile. “And I don’t want anything else. You’re big enough for me. Wherever you are.”
The sparkle of tears welled up along Cooper’s lashline.
I kissed him again, softer this time, and caught his fingers with my free hand. He squeezed back, resting his forehead against mine.
“Think you’d better come home with me,” he murmured, in the low, warm voice I was hoping to hear every day of my life from now on. “If that’s how you really feel.”
“It is,” I said, leaning in so I could whisper in his ear. “And then you can come home with me.”
I felt the heat rise to his face against my cheek and couldn’t help breaking into another smile.
“Deal,” he said.
We turned back down the street, each holding one of Benji’s hands.
Heading for home.
My stomach swooped as Cooper picked me up at the foot of the stairs to my apartment, our laughter ringing in the narrow stairwell. I loved that he could pick me up, and I was never, ever going to get tired of it.
Especially if it got us to a horizontal surface faster.
“Have I mentioned you’re incredible?” I asked as he nudged the bedroom door open with his hip, twirling me around as he stepped into the room.
He beamed at me, setting me down on the bed so carefully it barely creaked under the weight. I looked up at him, lips parted in awe. Awe of this unbelievable man I couldn’t even hope to deserve but who wanted me anyway.
Cooper, as usual, blushed, glancing away and catching his lower lip between his teeth.
I loved him. I loved him more every second I spent with him.
He offered absolutely no resistance as I reached up to him, pulling him down by the back of his neck and shuffling up the bed at the same time, dragging him after me. All I could think of was how badly I wanted him close, whatever way I could get him—anything other than that was a bonus.
Cooper chuckled into my mouth, easing me down onto the pillows and leaning over me. My fingers tightened in his curls as he let me take just a fraction of his weight, heat rushing south at the feel of him.
I owed Avery a thank you. Flowers and chocolates, probably. I’d handle that later.
For now, I had something much more exciting to handle.
“You’re incredible,” I repeated against Cooper’s mouth, arching my back to make more contact with him. I smiled against his jaw as I slipped a hand under his t-shirt, splaying my fingers over warm skin as I toyed with the waistband of his jeans.
Cooper laughed against my cheek, his whole body shaking with it. Much as I liked hanging out with his family, getting through dinner had been agony tonight. Having him all to myself was much better.
“So’re you,” he murmured, nuzzling my cheek, pressing a little more of his weight against me. He’d figured out how much I liked that. “Do you mean it? That you’re staying here?”
“I mean it,” I said. I wasn’t sure I’d ever meant anything so much in my entire life. “I mean it,” I repeated. “If it means I get to keep you.”
Cooper pulled back to look me in the eyes. His pupils were blown, but there was a lot more than arousal in them. “Definitely,” he said. “I’m all yours. For as long as you’ll have me.”
“Just sixty or seventy years, then.” I grinned up at him, then gave up on any pretense of restraint and pulled him in for another kiss.
Cooper’s laughter made kissing him a little difficult, but it was more than worth the effort as he melted against me, warm body pinning me to the mattress.
I hitched my thigh over his hip, making both of us moan as our bodies slotted closer together.
I was already half-hard, and so, as it turned out, was Cooper.
“That for me?” I asked, sliding the hand on his stomach down over the curve of his ass, squeezing a handful of it to bring his hips closer.
“Any way you want it.”
“In my mouth,” I said without having to think. “To start with.”
It was something I’d always done because it was expected of me. I wanted, this time, to offer it to someone who would never even have asked. To someone I loved. To someone who loved me.
Cooper pulled away again. I was afraid he was going to object, to tell me I couldn’t, or shouldn’t. I knew the concern would be coming from the right place, but…
“No argument here,” he said, tongue darting out to wet his lips. “Where do you want me?”
I surged up, taking advantage of Cooper’s surprise and his willingness to do whatever I wanted to flip us over, the mattress springs creaking under the movement.
“Right about here,” I said, sitting back to look him over like he was a prize I’d won. He felt like one. My mother had a box full of my ballet medals and trophies, but I’d never been as excited to win anything as I was to have Cooper right now. “Work for you?”
Cooper’s eyes glittered as his whole face spilt into a smile. “Anything you want,” he said.
“You know I’ve never been bossy before in my life?”
Cooper’s face softened. He reached out, pushing that one untamable strand of hair away from my forehead. It flopped back immediately, but I appreciated the gesture.
“I’m glad you feel like you can be with me,” he said, a much shier smile replacing the one from before. “And I’m not gonna pretend I don’t think it’s hot.”
“I’d gotten the impression.” I bent down to kiss him, slower this time, sucking his lower lip into my mouth. I was good at sucking dick—I’d had all the practice I could want—and I planned on treating Cooper to my very best performance.
“So,” I continued, licking a stripe over his lips as I let his mouth go free. “You’re gonna lie back and enjoy this, and I’m gonna change your life.”
“You already have,” Cooper said. Which was unfair, because I was trying my hardest to be sexy and that wasn’t nearly as easy when he was melting me with sweetness.
I kissed him again, unable to resist. “Unzip for me,” I said, instead of telling him to quit being so sweet—I didn’t want to ask the impossible—rucking up his t-shirt as I skimmed my hands over his stomach and chest. Cooper laughed again, his hands bumping against mine as he reached down to obey, the same sparks crackling between us as there had been every other time I’d touched him.
He was it, for me. I knew that better than I’d ever known anything in my life.
Which meant I absolutely had to rock his world.
I pushed his t-shirt up as far as it’d go then ducked down, laving the flat of my tongue over one nipple until it peaked, then moving to the other. Cooper squirmed under me, breath hitching, back arching as I scraped my teeth over the sensitive peak.
Good. I wanted him writhing and squirming. A first taste of the incredible sex life we were going to have from now until we were at least ninety.
I hummed as I mouthed and bit my way down, grabbing a mouthful of flesh under his ribs between my teeth, sucking hard enough to bruise. Cooper hissed, fingers threading through my hair—but not pulling. Of course not.
“You could pull,” I said, looking up at him. His eyes were almost completely black, and I had no doubt mine were, too. Having this gentle giant of a man at my mercy was the hottest thing that’d ever happened to me.
Cooper’s tongue darted out, nostrils flaring. He nodded very slightly, fingers flexing experimentally. I let my eyes fall closed, leaning into his touch, smiling as he flexed his fingers again.
“Just like that. Harder, if you want.”
He wouldn’t tug hard enough to hurt. Not that I would’ve minded, but we’d have time to work up to that. For now, I wanted this to be about Cooper. About how much I appreciated him, how badly I wanted him.
Cooper’s back arched as I sunk my teeth into his skin just below his navel, putting another mark on him. He was mine, and I’d never had that before. I wanted to scribble my name all over him and show the whole world.
“Okay?” I asked belatedly. I probably should have asked before I started littering him with bruises.
“So very okay,” Cooper said, breathless. His fingers flexed in my hair again, chest heaving with every breath. I hadn’t even gotten past the waistband of his underwear yet.
I ran my finger along the seam where it met his skin, glancing up to watch his face. He was flushed from ears to neck, squirming, lip caught between his teeth again. When he met my gaze his eyes were wide and glazed, pupils blown out as far as they could go.
God, he was hot. Hot, and all mine. Always.
I grinned at him, tucking my thumbs into the waistband of his boxer-briefs and only then registering the pizza slice print.
“Another Benji pick?”
“Christmas,” Cooper said. “They’re surprisingly comfy.”