CHAPTER 9
LIAM
“Uh, what’s that, Coop?”
It’s two weeks after the wedding, one day before we leave for our honeymoon.
Ten whole days of me and Cooper with no interruptions and no responsibilities.
Cooper who, for some reason, jumps when he hears my voice and snaps the suitcase shut, before I can peek over his shoulder.
“Nothing,” he blurts out, whirling around and blocking my view of our luggage, an innocent smile I know far too well tipping up his lips.
“Nothing.”
“Mhm.” He nods fast like a cute little bobblehead.
“Because I could swear I just saw something covered in watermelons.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
We stare at each other for all of five seconds before I step closer, crowding him against the edge of the bed.
“What are you up to, baby?”
He scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Who says I’m up to anything?”
“You’re always up to something.”
“I find those allegations extremely insulting.”
“And completely true.”
His lips twitch like mad, and I know he’s dying to let one of his Cooper grins loose.
He pokes my chest with his forefinger, his crystal blue eyes twinkling.
“Who do you think you are, talking to me like this?”
His breath hitches when I enfold his hand in mine, bringing it to my mouth and kissing the inside of his palm.
“Your best friend. Your husband. The man who’s crazy about you,” I mumble against his skin, peering at him and the blush currently bleeding from his cheeks down to his throat. “And the man who knows all the crazy shit you pulled when we were kids.”
He narrows his eyes at me like an angry kitten, but he looks so soft when he steps into me, letting me wrap my other arm around him.
“I hate you,” he grumbles but presses closer, warmth spreading through my entire body. “They’re swim trunks.”
My eyebrows climb up in surprise, just as my mouth stretches into a smile.
“With watermelons on them?”
“Yes.”
“Are those supposed to be mine or yours?”
“Mine. Yours are a surprise.”
“I see. And I suppose there’s more I don’t know about?”
The mischief is plain as day in his expression.
“Oh yeah.”
“Should I be scared?”
“Probably.” He shrugs like the perfect little unapologetic chaos demon he’s always been. “We’re going on a tropical honeymoon, Li. What did you expect?”
“You want the full experience, don’t you?”
“You’re damn right I do.” He gives up on staying composed, beaming at me. “It’s gonna be so fun. I can’t wait!”
Excitement practically radiates from his pores, and he looks so much like the boy who once sat on his bed next to me when we were eighteen and told me of the trip he wanted us to take that for a few moments I can’t breathe. I can only stare at him.
Leaning in, I peck his lips, basking in the happy hum that slips out of him.
“I can’t wait either, Coop.”
He’s quietly glowing when I release him, giving his hand one final squeeze before he goes back to his last-minute packing. But his voice stops me right as I’m about to leave the bedroom.
“And you don’t have to worry, by the way. I’ll be good, I promise,” he says with his back turned to me.
“Oh, I’m not worried. I know exactly what a good boy you can be, sweetheart.”
He sucks in a breath, his face perfectly pink when he looks at me over his shoulder, his blue eyes liquid fire burning through me.
He gets back to that last-minute packing.
Eventually.
***
It takes us more than a day to arrive to our destination. At some point, I actually start thinking we’re never going to get there.
Cooper alternates between dozing with his head on my shoulder, his soft snores puffing against my neck, munching on snacks, and staring outside the plane window like an excited puppy.
He’s so fucking adorable.
Two flights, one long layover, and one short boat ride later, we finally set foot on the island, where we’re meeting someone who’s going to take us to the resort.
No photo has done justice to the sight that lies before us—crystal-clear, turquoise waters as far as the eye can see, white sands that almost glow under the late morning sun, coconut palm trees, and lush, tropical greenery. So damn pretty.
I turn to tell Coop, but the words never manage to leave my mouth.
His eyes are wide as he takes everything in from the small pier we’re standing on. I watch mesmerized as he drinks in every detail, his lips parted in a tiny, stunned smile.
There’s movement around us, people walking down the pier with their luggage, chattering, snapping pictures.
It’s all a distant buzz to me.
“Hey,” I tell him, an inexplicable rasp in my throat that only gets worse when he looks at me. “Do you like it?”
My heart beats loud in my ears, and when his expression softens and he steps closer, I wonder if everyone can hear it.
He doesn’t reply with words, he simply kisses my lips and nods against them with sparkling eyes. And it’s all the answer I need.
That brief kiss lingers the entire time it takes us to get to the resort’s central establishment for our check-in, and then to the seaside villa we’ve booked.
Our very private seaside villa—a fact that doesn’t escape Cooper’s notice, judging by his flushed cheeks and the distracted look on his face when the resort employee driving the cart transporting us slows to a stop.
We chose the villa together, so it’s not like we’re seeing it for the first time, but you can’t tell how secluded it actually is unless you’re here.
When the door clicks shut behind us, Cooper turns to me.
“When we die, we are spending our eternity here.”
Fuck, he makes me warm.
“Is that right?”
“Mhm. We will come here and do nothing but stare at that damn beautiful blue out there, sip cocktails, and be together.”
My chest squeezes so hard, it takes me a few moments before I can react.
I wrap an arm around his waist and pull him to me, his body melding with mine like we’re two pieces of the same whole.
“I love you,” I murmur in a hoarse whisper, and his smile is so intimate, it’s impossible not to cup his face and bring his mouth to mine.
I have every intention of keeping the kiss short and sweet, but when Coop lets out the most perfect little moan there is, slow-burning heat courses through me.
It’s a unique, Cooper-coded heat that never fucking goes away, but simmers under my skin all the time, coming to life every time he so much as breathes around me.
Like now.
It doesn’t matter that we’re both dead tired from travelling for who knows how many hours. He moans for me and I’m fucking done.
Coop opens for me, and I sink inside his hot mouth, tiny, muffled whimpers spilling on my tongue when his back hits the door. I press him hard against it, and he fists my shirt, pulling me tightly on him.
And that’s what always turns the initial slow burn into a blazing inferno.
That he’s always horny for me, too.
“I want your load down my throat, baby,” I grate out, and a faint tremble goes through him.
“W-What? Are you crazy? I haven’t showered in almost two days.”
He gasps when I grip his jaw in a firm hold that has his pulse speeding up and his breathing grow shallow, eyes locked with mine.
“Do you think I give a shit that you haven’t showered?” I suckle on his bottom lip, leaving it wet and red when I’m done. “Do you think that will stop me from getting on my knees right now and swallowing you down?”
“Oh, God. You would actually do that, wouldn’t you?”
“In a heartbeat.”
He exhales shakily, his eyes straying from mine for a few seconds, looking at something behind me before he looks back at me.
“I have a better idea,” he breathes, and I follow his gaze.
All the way to the semi-open-air shower outside.
I’m pretty sure all the blood in my body rushes to my dick.
“You want it out there, sweetheart?”
Nobody will see us. It’s not just the fact that we saw the closest villa at quite a distance from ours, but the shower also has a couple of strategically-placed walls made of slabs of dark wood that would hide us from any prying eyes.
No, it’s the idea of him wanting me to suck him off out there that pours lava in my veins.
It’s not the first time I’ve noticed Cooper has a bit of an exhibitionist kink. He doesn’t really want to be watched by others, but he fucking lights up at the fantasy of it.
I lean in, nuzzling the side of his face.
“You want me to take care of you outside where anyone could see us, see you feeding me your dick?”
“Yes.” The word punches out of him, steeped in desperation. “Yes, Li, I want that.”
I nod slowly against him, pressing one last kiss on his temple before I speak.
“You have two minutes to get naked and figure out how that shower works. After that, I’m coming after you, and I won’t care if you’re under that spray or not. Got it?”
He swallows thickly, but his eyes are twinkling with excitement and heat, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. Smiling.
“Got it.”
Something feral rears its head inside my chest, every muscle in my body tensing in anticipation.
“Run.”
And fuck, he takes off with a breathless laugh, shedding clothes as he goes, almost tripping in his haste. God, I love that man.
The moment I see him stepping into the shower, mouthwatering ass on display, I start stripping. And despite what I told him, I do it leisurely, stalking after him at my own pace, knowing exactly how impatient my baby can get.
He’s already under the warm spray when I reach him, inky hair slicked back, rivulets of water running down his body in a fucking sinful way.
His body is so attuned to mine that he doesn’t startle when I grab his hips, pulling him against my chest. He simply melts, craning his neck, asking silently for what he wants.
“Caught you,” I mutter, sucking small bruises on the slope of his throat while my hand wraps around his almost fully-hard cock.
Cooper lets out a choked whimper that’s like music to my ears, unable to stop himself when I pump him harder, playing with him from root to crown.
He whines when I stop, and I chuckle darkly against his skin.
“That’s enough for now, sweetheart. Turn around. Give me what’s mine.”