Chapter 14
14
Cooper
HE STARED AT the photo Isla sent, brain struggling to come up with something to reply back because every bit of the blood in his body had dropped south of the equator.
He’d dated a handful of women in his life, and he’d gotten his fair share of sexy pictures, but not a single one of them came close to the one taunting him now. Isla was stretched across her bed, the length of her dark hair spread around her. A lacy black bodysuit thing hugged her curves, standing out against her fair skin as it clung to her tits and hips. It wasn’t completely see-through, but there was enough transparency he could make out the tight pucker of her nipples and the dark shadow of hair covering her…
“Fuck.” He scrubbed one hand over his face. He couldn’t be thinking about her like that.
Could he?
No. That would be… Wrong?
Right?
Cooper’s eyes drifted back to the photo and he shifted in his seat, trying to ease the pressure on his fully hard dick. He’d been expecting her to show him a picture of what she had for dinner. Maybe a photo of her hair, or possibly a list of names she’d come up with for their chicks. Not a single cell in his body had been expecting what he was still staring at, but every one of them appreciated it. Way too fucking much.
And now he had to say something back. Had to respond in some sort of appropriate way. A way that wasn’t creepy and also left Isla feeling good about herself.
He typed out the word ‘wow’ then deleted it. Then he tried ‘beautiful,’ but that wasn’t right either. He slammed his thumb against the backspace button in frustration then let his head fall against the rest, repeating the only word that fully encompassed how he was feeling. “Fuck.”
The sound of a message sending had his eyes flying open and jumping to the screen of his phone as the little bubble of a voice recording popped up.
On his side of the thread.
“Shit.” He tapped the recording, praying it hadn’t caught anything and was just dead air. Instead he heard his own voice repeating ‘fuck’ back at him. It sounded strained. Rough. Deep and a little desperate.
Almost like he was…
“Fuck.” One hand went to his hair, raking through it as a call came through the radio, forcing him to abandon the nightmare of a mess he’d just accidentally made to flip on his lights and siren.
It was two hours before he could get back to his phone. Back to Isla in that fucking bodysuit. And when he opened their chat, his heart stopped beating in his chest at what was there.
Yeah? What about these?
A series of photos of her in various positions, her perfect body accentuated by the dim light filtering across her skin, assaulted him in the best possible way.
The ache in his groin that had subsided while he was dealing with the call came back full-force as he scrolled through the images, each one making the throb in his dick more pronounced.
He was going to die. They were going to find him in his cruiser, stroked out, his dick still hard as stone. They’d see Isla’s pictures and it would all make sense, but it wouldn’t be long before everyone in Moss Creek knew what a piece of shit he was for lusting after the woman who was supposed to be his friend.
Luckily Isla didn’t seem to know it. Otherwise she wouldn’t have continued sending photos. He must not have totally fucked up with that message. Thank God. Because he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. She made the days feel less empty. The nights not as long. Her friendship meant everything, and if he lost it…
No. He couldn’t even stomach the thought.
Checking the clock on his dash, he set his phone aside, deciding to wait until he was home to figure out how to respond.
After driving back to the station, finishing up his paperwork, and clocking out, he got in his truck and headed home, anticipation simmering under his skin.
Because he had an idea to smooth his earlier mishap over completely and get them back on the right track.
Once he was parked and inside, he took a quick shower and pulled on a pair of pajama pants, then he flopped onto his bed and snapped a photo, making a weird face at the camera. Sending it off, he immediately followed it up with a text.
Mine doesn’t look as good as yours.
Isla sent a laughing emoji then a link to an Instagram profile, followed by a message of her own.
You might want to check this woman out. She has some great ideas.
He opened the link and it took him a second to figure out what was going on, but then it clicked.
This chick was teaching men to take hot pictures women would actually like instead of just sending weirdly positioned, up-close photos of their dicks.
He watched a few of her videos then decided to give it a try.
It wasn’t as easy as she made it look, but after a lot of trial and error he had a few that weren’t terrible. One was a photo that was mostly of his arm and hand—apparently women liked forearms?—with the rest of him serving as the background. In another he was leaned back against the headboard with one arm curved over his head. The last was him leaning one arm against the edge of a window, the other hand in the pocket of his pants, as he looked out. That one required the most work. He had to figure out a way to prop his phone up and set a timer.
But they didn’t look half bad.
He sent them Isla’s way, chuckling at the turn his night had taken. Never would he have expected to spend it trying to figure out how to take an appealing—slightly sexy—photo of himself. It was a testament to the closeness of the friendship he and Isla managed to build over the past few weeks. The way they could talk about anything.
It was fucking amazing.
Almost as amazing as those pictures she’d sent him.
A little part of him still felt shitty about his initial reaction to them, but it was just because they’d been unexpected.
Nothing had changed.
They were still friends.
A fact that was reiterated when Isla’s voice message popped up on his phone.
He opened it right away, grinning at what he heard. Her sweet voice tried to match his earlier tone as she said a single word.
“Fuck .”
* * *
“Good morning.” Isla came out the door of her building looking just as sweet and sexy as?—
Fuck. No. Not sexy.
She looked like her normal, sweet self as she came his way. There was a hint of shyness in her expression. Like she thought maybe things were different between them now.
“Good morning.” He handed off the coffee he’d made before leaving his house. “You get home brew this morning.”
There was a flash of relief in her eyes as she took the travel mug. “I love home brew.” Taking a sip, she let out a little sigh. “You make pretty good coffee, Officer Staks.”
He stared at her, that sigh shooting straight where it didn’t need to be. Poking the bear he’d locked in a cage before setting out to pick her up.
It hadn’t been difficult to convince himself it would be just another normal day, but they weren’t even thirty seconds in and he was already in trouble. Already those photos she sent were floating around his brain, daring him to see them the way he wanted to instead of the way Isla meant them.
“Thanks.” He took his spot in the passenger seat, trying to get comfortable while she got situated behind the wheel. Then they were off, heading to Billings to find her a heavy coat for working outside.
Hopefully she had it on the next time she decided to send him pictures. Otherwise there’s no telling what he might do, and that scared the shit out of him. Terrified him in a way nothing had before in his life. He’d faced down armed men and walked into every sort of dangerous situation a person could think up.
But the threat of losing Isla—not having her in his life—put them all to shame.
They reached the farm supply store that carried the best selection of women’s outerwear around, and Isla spent an hour picking through the options, eventually settling on a simple zip-up coat in camel colored canvas. They also got her a pair of overalls for the extra cold days and a set of insulated work gloves.
A stop for lunch was followed by a little maneuverability practice at a park he’d found online. It took her a few tries to get the hang of it, but once she did, Isla was able to whip his huge truck through the cones without a problem.
Which was a problem.
“I think you might be ready to take your test.”
He hated how much he dreaded her not needing him to get around. It wasn’t about her relying on him—though he could admit he liked being someone she could rely on—as much as it was about knowing there would always be a reason to see her. An excuse to spend time together without seeming like he was overstepping or trying to dominate every spare minute she had.
Isla’s eyes snapped his way. “You think?” She rubbed both palms down the fronts of her legs, sliding them against the fabric of her jeans. “I guess I don’t need a car to have my license, huh?”
That’s right. She didn’t have a car yet. She’d still need help getting around.
She’d still need him.
“Nope. Not a requirement.”
She took a deep breath. “I guess I’ll get it scheduled then.” Her eyes came to his. “Do you think you’d have time to take me? I’d feel better if you’re the one there.”
That soothed a little of the concern still irritating his insides. Made him less worried their time together would evaporate if she didn’t need him around. “I always have time for you.” And if it wasn’t there, he’d make it. Lord knew he’d taken over enough shifts for everyone else. He had plenty of favors to cash in.
Isla beamed at him, her smile easing the last of his lingering fear. “You’re the best.” She leaned across the console and pressed her lips against his cheek in a soft kiss. “Thank you for being so great.”
He wasn’t nearly as great as she believed, because the feel of her mouth on his skin was enough to have some of his parts proving what an ass he actually was.
He’d been single for a while, which was no big deal. What was turning out to be a big deal was his abstinence from taking matters into his own hands. It’d been at least two weeks. Maybe longer. And it was starting to become a problem. The bigger problem was, he couldn’t actually jack off. Not when his mind was only interested in thinking about one particular person when he tried to do it.
“Yup.” He turned to the windshield, keeping his eyes away from her, breathing deep as he willed his dick to calm the fuck down. To act right.
To not ruin this good thing he had going.
Isla drove them back to Moss Creek, passing her apartment so they could go check on the chicks and the horses. The day had warmed up a little, so she left her coat and other items in the truck as they worked side-by-side, changing out bedding and water and refilling food and giving attention and treats. He hadn’t had anyone to help with the chores that came with a place like his since his parents moved to Florida. Even then their help was different from Isla’s. His parents were his parents.
Isla was more like his… partner. And the different was really fucking with his head. At least it was the upper one causing issues this time.
Once everyone was taken care of, they went inside and washed their hands. Isla was drying hers off when she turned to him, brows pinched together. “Are you actually off work today?”
“I am.” He grinned, feeling better after the physical activity. “I almost don’t know what to do with myself.”
“I could probably be convinced to curl up on your fancy couch and watch a movie.” She wiggled her brows at him. “If you have decent snacks.”
“So let me get this straight.” He leaned back against the counter, crossing both arms over his chest. “First you use me for my chickens. Then you make my horses like you best. Now you want to take over my couch and eat all my snacks?”
Isla pursed her lips, eyes squinting in thought. “That sounds about right.”
He straightened. “I accept.”
Cooper went to the pantry and started grabbing bags and boxes, loading up Isla’s arms and his. He added a couple bottles of beer from the fridge and they carried everything out to the family room and piled it onto the coffee table.
He lifted the lid on the storage side of the large table. “You want a blanket?”
Isla scoffed. “Of course I want a blanket, nerd.” She fished through the food while he pulled out the softest of his blanket options. Once she had her preferred snack in hand, they went through the movie options, but nothing seemed to jump out.
“I have been watching this show I really like.” She lined a row of Bugles down her fingertips then popped one into her mouth. “It’s not a movie though. It’s a series.”
“I like a good series.” He handed off the remote and leaned back, stretching out along one side of the sectional with a packaged brownie.
“ Yay .” Isla bounced a little in her spot. “I’ve been dying to get back to it.” She started the first episode and shifted back.
“I thought you already watched some of this?”
“I have, but you haven’t seen it.” She continued wiggling around, tucking both legs under her body, then stretching them out to prop her feet onto the table. “And it’s no fun to watch it together if you don’t know what’s going on.”
That was a fair point, but he didn’t want her to be bored with him. “We can watch something neither of us have ever seen.”
“Too late.” Isla changed positions again, this time letting out a frustrated little grunt. “We’re watching this. I already started it.” Her eyes drifted to where he lay. “But maybe I should just start where I left off since you took the best spot.”
He lifted one arm. “It’s a big couch. There’s plenty of room over here for both of us.”
She didn’t hesitate. Isla came right at him, tucking under the arm he had out, tossing the blanket over both their bodies. She cuddled right into his side, her head resting against his shoulder, as the show started to play.
Starting it from the beginning turned out to be a waste. He was having a hard time paying attention to anything but how good it felt to be cuddling like this with someone.
No. Not someone.
It felt good because it was her .