Chapter 13
Aspen
The Cocoa Crawl went all day, and there were still people lingering in the evening, enjoying dinner at the various restaurants and browsing the shops. The owners of the food trucks agreed to stay until the crowd dissipated, and the line for the carriage rides had only increased into the evening.
The carriage rides were so popular; I needed to ask if they'd be interested in providing them for every town event. I personally loved hearing the clip-clop of the horse's hooves on the streets. It made me feel like I'd gone back in time for a few seconds.
I felt a pang when I realized that what I had with Cooper wouldn't result in a romantic carriage ride. This wasn't going anywhere.
I enjoyed the sex, but I wanted more too. I wanted what I was seeing all around me today, happy couples and families.
At the bar, my brothers had snagged a long table to accommodate everyone.
“I stopped by the inn to check on Cooper, and he was working by himself," Morgan said.
"Really?" I asked, not wanting to give anything away. I was worried about Cooper and wondering if he'd be here for the event, if only to support me. But instead, he'd hid out at the inn.
Morgan nodded. "I'm worried about him. He's been working long hours. Now that we're busy in our personal lives, I'm concerned that he's taking on too much."
"He's seemed fine when I've talked to him," I said blandly as if we weren't intimately acquainted.
Morgan placed his elbows on the table. "Mom's talking about setting you up on blind dates."
"What?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat.
A teasing smile spread across his face. "I guess she wants you to settle down."
"I don't want to be set up on a blind date." Not when I was having amazing sex with Cooper.
He raised a brow. "Tell that to Mom."
"Ugh. I can't believe this, and it's all your fault." I reached across the table to poke his arm, which was the only thing I could reach.
"How so?"
"You're all seeing someone now, and I'm the only single one. Of course Mom is going to focus on me. She probably thinks if I meet someone steady, they'll convince me to get a career and stick with a job. Maybe even have a family."
"She didn't say that," he said carefully, as if he was afraid of my reaction.
I rolled my eyes. "We both know that's what she's thinking."
He winked at me. "She wants you to be happy."
"I am happy. When will she understand that my life doesn't have to look like hers?" I grumbled, sick of people interfering in my life.
"I just wanted to warn you what she was up to, so that you're prepared," he said.
"Tell her to mind her own business."
He just gave me a look. "I'd rather not be the center of her attention. She'll want us to start popping out babies."
"Hudson and Angela are having one." I pointed at Hudson, who was looking at his phone.
"It's not enough. She wants everyone to have babies," Morgan drawled.
I dropped my head into my hands. "I can't have my mother picking my dates."
Maverick rubbed my back. "I'm sorry, sis."
"Tell Mom you're seeing someone," Hudson said, setting his phone down.
I couldn't tell Mom I was seeing anyone. She'd want to know who it was, and I could never tell her that. "I forgot I need to check on something."
Everyone nodded, probably assuming it was a town-event-coordinator kind of thing. I headed toward the inn, hoping that Cooper was still there. I walked through the empty lobby and into the ballroom. The lights were off. He'd probably gone home for the night.
Was it crazy to go to his house? Was that outside the bounds of our relationship, whatever that was? We'd only interacted physically when we'd run into each other at work. We hadn't gone on any dates. There was that one dinner at his house, but that was supposed to be business.
I needed a release, an escape from the pressure of everything in my life, the job, and my parents. It was too much. I felt shaky as I got into my SUV and drove toward Cooper's house.
At any point in time, I could have turned around. I could have come to my senses and kept the boundary we'd set in this relationship. What I was doing was crossing a line. I shouldn't be driving to his house with the hopes of having sex with him.
I'd never done anything like this. But I was upset, and there was only one person who could make me forget everything.
I pulled into his driveway next to his truck. The motion light came on, and I took a steadying breath before I got out. If I knocked on his door, there was no going back. I couldn't pretend that our interactions were chance anymore.
I had time to change my mind, but I was still here staring at his porch. Then I remembered what Maverick had said, how Mom was going to set me up on blind dates.
The panicky feeling returned. My heart raced as I walked toward the porch and up the steps. I lifted my hand and let out a breath. I knocked softly at first, then harder.
I waited for a few seconds, thinking there was still time to run to the car and get out of here. But the door opened.
"Aspen?"
He looked so good standing there in a thin long-sleeve shirt—the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, showing off muscled forearms—and the jeans that bulged around his thighs. His hair was slightly damp as if he'd showered after work, and I couldn't resist anymore.
"I need you," was all I said before I launched myself at him, my legs going around his waist and my arms around his neck.
I pulled his head down so that I could kiss him. My lips slammed against his with no finesse.
He stepped back at the force of my weight, his arms quickly coming around to hold me in place. Still holding me in his arms, he shut the door behind us.
I reveled in the strength of his body, letting my purse fall to the floor as he pressed me against the door.
He rolled his jean-clad dick against my center, and I nearly cried out for him. I was primed and ready.
He lifted his head, checking the expression on my face, as if he needed to ensure that I was in this with him. "Fuck. I needed this." Then his mouth was on mine, his hand under my shirt, palming my breast.
I whimpered against the onslaught of sensations. Everything was happening at once. He wanted me. He hadn't minded that I'd shown up on his doorstep and thrown myself at him.
He was into me too. It was a heady feeling. One I didn't want to let go of.
Everything fell away. The pressure and expectations. The panicked sensation. I wanted to feel alive. I let my head fall back against the door as he kissed down my neck.
"I can't get enough of you."
I wanted to say me too, but his lips were on mine, and the words disappeared. He tore his mouth from mine. "You want it against the door? Or you want to take this upstairs?"
I thought about it for a second. "I need you inside me now."
"Done," he said simply, his jaw tight as he let my feet reach the floor. We pulled off our clothes until we were naked, and then I was in his arms and pressed against the door, his dick at my entrance.
"We're not doing condoms anymore?" he said, his muscles braced.
I shook my head, needing to feel all of him. "No."
"Thank Christ." Then he slid home, and I was overwhelmed with the stretch and burn. "I can't go slow."
"I don't want you to." I tugged on his hair, and he pulled back before snapping his hips. Each thrust built that feeling inside me, the one that I never wanted to end. I wanted to build and build and never feel the delicious release.
I wanted to live inside this moment where no worries existed. I wanted to create a bubble around us, never leaving. But this wasn't real or long lasting. It was just for now, and I was going to enjoy every second of it.
This was his house.
My brothers always complained that they weren't invited here. I assumed Cooper preferred his privacy, and I was grateful for that now. Here, I could do whatever I wanted. And I had no intention of leaving until I got what I needed.
"I fucking love this," he mumbled against my skin, his words punctuated by his thrusts.
The orgasm was right there, threatening to overtake me. But it wasn't enough. It never would be. I had to hold onto him as long as I could. I didn't want to leave.
That panicky feeling crept in again.
He palmed my ass, easing back slightly so that he could slip a hand between my legs, and I was a goner. I cried out, my body shaking as the pleasure shot through it. I'd never felt like this with anyone else, as if I couldn't get enough.
He continued to move through my release, chasing his own.
I held him tight, wishing that we had something more.
That we stuck around to talk afterward, to share our hopes and dreams. That was crazy because Cooper wasn't the kind of guy who did those things with anyone.
I'd be an idiot to think he'd be different with me.
Great sex didn't equate to a relationship, no matter how much I wanted it to.
He thrust once deep and stilled, dropping his head to mine. "You're killing me."
I laughed. "That wasn't my intention."
He carefully placed me on my feet, stepping back slightly to gaze admiringly at my body. We never had time to really look at each other. "You're absolutely gorgeous like this. Freshly fucked. Skin pink. Hair wild. All this for me."
I held my breath, not sure what to make of this sudden emotion. He wasn't one to say how he felt, but he was waxing poetic about my body. Were things changing for him? Or was I looking too deeply into something that was just physical?
He raised his gaze to meet mine. "I'm not done with you." Then he held his hand out to me.
I smirked as I placed my hand in his. "That's good, because I'm not done with you either."
"Let's take a shower. I want to explore this body."
I didn't think it was possible to want someone again so soon, but my skin was already heating. He led the way upstairs through his room and into his bathroom. It was large and updated, in dark grays and crisp whites. A masculine space yet clean and inviting.