Chapter 21
JOY
Icouldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Every rational thought I ever had about keeping things professional evaporated the moment Cooper’s hands settled on my hips.
“We shouldn’t,” he whispered against my lips, but his grip on me tightened, pulling me closer instead of pushing me away.
“I know,” I breathed back, even as I threaded my fingers through his hair. “We really, really shouldn’t.”
But then his mouth was on mine, and nothing else mattered.
It wasn’t like our chaste kiss at the tree lighting. This was desperate, hungry, ten years of pent-up want and need finally breaking free. Cooper kissed me like he was drowning, and I was air. His hands tangled in my hair as he deepened the kiss.
I shifted on his lap. The sound he made against my mouth sent liquid heat straight through me. I could feel him hardening beneath me, and when I rocked my hips experimentally, his hands flew to my waist to hold me still.
“Joy,” he groaned, his voice strained. “If you keep doing that…”
“What?” I asked innocently, doing it again just to watch his eyes flutter closed. “This?”
His response was to flip us, pressing me back against the table as he settled between my thighs. I gasped when his hips thrust and his hard length rubbed between my legs. Cooper took advantage, his tongue sliding against mine as his hands roamed over the ridiculous Santa pants I was still wearing.
“These have to come off,” he muttered, tugging at the red velvet pants.
I helped him, shimmying out of the oversized costume until I was left in just my leggings and sweater. Cooper’s Santa coat came off next, leaving him in that fitted long-sleeved shirt that had been driving me crazy all day.
“Now this,” I said, pulling at the hem of his shirt.
He obliged, yanking it over his head in one smooth motion.
I nearly whimpered at the sight of him. I had imagined what Cooper might look like without his shirt—had spent more time than I cared to admit fantasizing about it—but the reality was so much better than anything my imagination had conjured.
His chest was broad and defined, with just the right amount of dark hair trailing down his stomach. Scars dotted his torso, evidence of his dangerous job. I traced one with my fingertip, making him shiver.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered, and watched his cheeks flush.
“That’s my line,” he said, his hands finding the hem of my sweater. “Can I?”
I nodded, lifting my arms so he could pull it over my head. His eyes went dark as he took in my black lace bra, and when he traced the edge of the cup with one finger, I arched into his touch.
“I’ve thought about this,” he admitted, his voice rough. “God, Joy, I’ve thought about this so many times.”
“Just thinking?” I challenged, reaching for the button of his jeans.
He caught my wrist, his grip gentle but firm. “Are you sure about this? Because once we cross this line…”
“I’m sure,” I said without hesitation. “I’ve been sure since I was seventeen years old.”
Something shifted in his expression at that admission. The last of his resistance crumbled, and suddenly his mouth was on my neck, my collarbone, trailing hot kisses down to the swell of my breasts above my bra.
I fumbled with his belt, my fingers clumsy with want. When I finally got his jeans undone and slipped my hand inside his boxers, he made a sound that was half groan, half prayer.
“Fuck, Joy,” he breathed, his hips jerking into my touch.
I stroked him slowly, reveling in the way his breathing became ragged and the way his hands tightened on my hips. He was bigger than I expected, thick and hard in my palm. The thought of him inside me made me clench with need.
“I need you,” I whispered against his ear. “Cooper, please.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice. His hands were on my leggings, peeling them down my legs along with my panties like he was unwrapping a present. The cold air made me gasp, but then Cooper’s warm hands were on my thighs, spreading them wider as he settled between them.
“You’re so wet,” he marveled, his fingers finding my center. “Is this all for me?”
I couldn’t form words, could only nod as he stroked me with maddening precision. He found my clit with his thumb, circling it slowly while one finger, then two, pushed inside me.
“Cooper,” I moaned, my hips rising to meet his touch. “I need more.”
He withdrew his fingers. I whimpered at the loss until I felt the head of his cock pressing against my entrance. He paused, his forehead pressed against mine.
“I don’t have a condom,” he said, his voice strained with the effort of holding back.
“I’m on birth control,” I gasped. “And I’m clean. Haven’t been with anyone in over a year.”
“Neither have I,” he admitted. “Not since Lynn.”
The mention of his ex should have killed the mood, but instead it only made me want him more. I wanted to erase every memory of her, wanted to be the only woman on his mind.
“Then what are you waiting for?” I challenged.
He pushed forward slowly, stretching me inch by delicious inch until he was fully seated inside me. We both groaned at the sensation, and for a moment we just stayed like that, joined completely, breathing hard.
“You feel incredible,” he whispered, pressing soft kisses to my jaw. “Better than I ever imagined.”
I wrapped my legs around his waist, urging him deeper. “Move,” I demanded. “Please, Cooper, I need you to move.”
He started slowly, pulling almost all the way out before pushing back in, setting a rhythm that had me seeing stars. But it wasn’t enough. I needed more, needed him to lose control the way I was losing mine.
“Harder,” I begged, my nails digging into his shoulders. “I won’t break.”
That seemed to snap something inside him. His pace quickened, his thrusts becoming deeper, more urgent. The table creaked beneath us, and the sound of skin against skin echoed in the empty room.
“Is this what you wanted?” he growled, his voice rough with exertion. “Is this hard enough for you?”
“Yes,” I gasped, my back arching off the table. “God, yes, just like that.”
I could feel my orgasm building, coiling tight in my belly. Cooper seemed to sense it too, because he reached between us, his thumb finding my clit and rubbing in tight circles.
“It’s been too long,” he groaned. “I’m not going to last.”
“Me either.”
“Come for me,” he commanded. “I want to feel you come around my cock.”
His words pushed me over the edge. I came with a cry that echoed through the empty building. My body clenched around him as waves of pleasure crashed over me. Cooper followed seconds later, his rhythm faltering as he spilled inside me with a groan that sounded like my name.
We stayed like that for a while, both of us breathing hard, our bodies slick with sweat despite the cold air. Finally, Cooper pulled back to look at me, his eyes staring deeply into mine.
“That was amazing,” he said, breathless.
“Yeah,” I agreed, suddenly feeling vulnerable lying there half-naked on a break room table in City Hall. “It really was.”
“Come here. I’ll make us a bed in the corner. We’ll need the body heat.”
I looked at him, and suddenly, it wasn’t weird anymore. We were going to get the post-coital cuddle.
We snuggled together in the corner of the room, the Santa coat thrown over us like a blanket. We had both put on our underwear and nothing else. It was all skin-to-skin contact. It felt good. It felt right. And after the long day, I fell asleep within minutes of closing my eyes.
I woke to the sound of Cooper’s heartbeat beneath my ear, steady and strong, and for a moment I couldn’t remember where I was. Then it all came rushing back.
Reality felt both more and less complicated than it had in the darkness.
Cooper was still asleep, his face relaxed. The worry lines that seemed permanently etched between his brows had smoothed out. His arm was wrapped around me, holding me close even in unconsciousness, as if his body didn’t want to let me go.
I should have felt awkward. Should have been wondering what this meant, where we went from here and how we’d navigate the morning-after conversation that was inevitable. Instead, I felt… peaceful. Right. Like this was exactly where I was supposed to be.
His breathing changed, becoming less deep and rhythmic. I knew he was waking up. I stayed still, not ready to break whatever spell the snowstorm had woven around us. Not ready for the walls to go back up or for him to retreat behind that careful professional mask he wore like armor.
“Joy?” His voice was rough with sleep, uncertain. “Is this a dream?”
I tilted my head up to look at him, finding his blue eyes already focused on my face. “Do you want me to pinch you?”
Something flickered across his expression. Relief, maybe? As if he’d been worried I might regret what had happened between us. The thought made my chest tight with tenderness.
“How did you sleep?” he asked.
“Better than I have in weeks,” I admitted, which was the truth. Despite the circumstances and the improvised bedding, I had slept more soundly wrapped in Cooper’s arms than I had in any bed since coming back to town.
His eyes searched mine, and I could see him processing my admission. Cooper was always cataloging information, always thinking three steps ahead, but right now he looked like he didn’t know what came next.
Before either of us could figure out how to navigate this moment, the sound of heavy machinery rumbled to life outside. Snowplows, from the sound of it, and the scrape of shovels against concrete.
“The cavalry has arrived,” Cooper said dryly, but he didn’t move to untangle himself from our makeshift nest.
I listened to the sounds of the town coming back to life. Voices called out to each other. Soon, very soon, the doors would open, and the real world would intrude on whatever this was between us.
The voices outside were getting closer. I could hear someone rattling the front door of the building. Cooper seemed to realize the same thing because he carefully extracted his arm from beneath me and sat up, running a hand through his rumpled hair.
“We should probably…” he gestured vaguely toward our clothing. “I don’t want to end up on the front page again.”
“Right.” I pushed myself upright, immediately missing his warmth. The building was still cold, though not as brutally as it had been in the middle of the night. “Can’t have anyone finding us like this.”
We both quickly dressed without saying a word.
“Ready?” Cooper asked.
I nodded, even though I wasn’t ready at all. Wasn’t ready to pretend that nothing had changed. But I followed him anyway.
Outside, the sun was shining. The streets were already plowed, and people were shoveling sidewalks in front of their businesses. No one even seemed to notice us.
“I’ll check in with you later,” Cooper said.
“Yep. Later.”
“Need help digging out?” he asked, nodding toward my car.
“I’ll be fine,” I said quickly.
We stood there for another moment. Last night, we’d been pressed together from shoulder to hip, sharing breath and warmth and something that felt dangerously like intimacy. Now we were awkward strangers again, struggling to find solid ground.
He turned and walked toward his truck. I watched him go. When he reached his vehicle, he turned back once, and our eyes met across the distance.
For a heartbeat, I thought he might come back. Might close the space between us and say something that acknowledged what had passed between us in the darkness. Instead, he lifted his hand in a small wave and climbed into his truck.
I had no idea what we were doing or where we went from here.