CHAPTER 7
COOPER
On Saturday morning, someone—or several someones—seem to have a death wish when my phone pings with text after text before I’ve even opened my eyes.
I bury my nose deeper against the warm skin that still faintly smells of orange and lavender, grumbling something unintelligible even to my own ears. The warm skin shakes beneath my face as a quiet chuckle vibrates through me.
I rub my cheek against the source of that awesome sound.
Another ping cuts through the peaceful quiet.
God, what is up with people today?
Today.
Awareness slowly trickles in, and my heart picks up speed, flutters erupting in my stomach.
Soft morning light slips through the blinds as my eyes crack open, my face heating when I realize I’m practically clinging to Liam like an octopus, even in my sleep.
A strong arm pulls me in tighter at the same time that a warm breath ruffles my hair.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” comes Li’s sleep-thickened voice before I feel him press a kiss to my messy hair.
And damn if I don’t melt right there.
Well, in all honesty, I melt with pretty much everything he does. Every time he kisses me, touches me, whispers sweet nothings in my ear, I turn into a puddle of gooey happiness.
Craning my neck, I look up at him and, sure enough, that warm, forest-green gaze falls on me like the softest caress.
No one has ever looked at me like this. Like I’m the only thing that’s ever mattered to them.
“Good morning,” I whisper.
We look at each other for about five seconds before I feel my face split into a beaming smile and watch as Liam stares at it with an intensity that has my earlier flutters rioting.
“Come here,” he mutters hoarsely, the soft command paired with the hand now wrapped around my nape making me swallow thickly.
I surge up at the same time he pulls my mouth to his. He pries my lips open, licking inside, and I pour my ragged moan down his throat. He devours my mouth, sucking on my lips, biting them raw, leaving me unable to do anything but hold on to him as he eats me alive.
I’m light-headed, breathing hard, and pulsing in my boxer-briefs when he releases me.
My lips feel sensitive and swollen when I run my tongue over them, and Liam’s eyes are much darker than before.
“What—” I pause, trying in vain to make my voice sound normal. “What was that?”
“When you smile like that, I want to eat you whole,” he says simply.
A breathless “Oh” is the only thing I manage to say in answer, and Liam smirks, pulling me in for another kiss that has my toes curling.
Another cursed ping comes from my phone on the nightstand, and I whine at the stupid thing that’s trying to pierce through this perfect fog.
“You should check it. Maybe it’s important,” Li whispers against my lips.
“If it was important, both our phones would be blowing up with texts. It’s probably our wedding party group chat being idiots.”
Huh. Who knew I still had a functional brain after those kisses?
Liam chuckles, and I arch my neck to make more room for him to suck gentle kisses down my throat.
“Check it anyway just to be sure.”
I grumble some more, but I do it, narrowing my eyes at my screen.
Ginny: Yo, bro. You better be up.
Lizzy: G, come on. It’s Cooper.
Lizzy: Of course, he’s not up.
Ginny: You’re right.
Ginny: Wishful thinking.
Nate: Girls, relax. They’re probably just boning.
Ginny: Ew.
Lizzy: That’s our brother you’re talking about.
Lizzy: Though he’s probably right.
Dylan: Um, in case you forgot, your wedding planner is in this chat.
Nate: Oh, sorry. TMI?
Dylan: Nope, just having a tiny panic attack because apparently one of my grooms likes to SLEEP IN?
Ginny: Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.
Ginny: We’ll probably have to reschedule.
Dylan: GIF *man wheezes into a paper bag*
Me: I hate you, all.
Me: Not you, Dylan.
Dylan: GIF *man clutches chest in relief*
Lizzy: Had to go with the odds, big bro.
Me: Haha, very funny.
Me: You’re off best woman duty.
Dylan: Um, hi again. Could you please not make last-minute changes to the wedding party?
Ginny: Don’t worry, he doesn’t mean it.
Lizzy: He’s all bark and no bite.
Ginny: Yeah, he’s a big softie, and he loves us.
Dylan: Oh, thank God.
Me: Unfortunately, that’s true.
Me: <3
Me: Anyway, you’re all bothering me. See you in a few hours.
Lizzy: Don’t go back to sleep.
Nate: Sleep. Sure.
I’m one second away from telling Nate to fuck off when the phone slowly slides from my fingers, and I come face to face with a grinning Liam.
“Can you believe them?” I huff.
“Uh, yes?”
“Excuse me?”
His arm suddenly wraps around my waist, and I fall on his hard chest, my breath whooshing out of me.
“Baby, you hate mornings, don’t you?”
I pout, nodding at his stupidly handsome face.
“And you loathe waking up early.”
I peer into his sparkling green eyes, bracing my forearms on either side of his head and settling on him, our bodies slotting together like puzzle pieces.
“Not anymore, Li.”
The grin slips off his face as I cup his cheek and run my thumb back and forth across his cheekbone.
“I haven’t hated waking up early in a very long time, probably since the first time I woke up next to you. Early mornings and late nights are my favorite parts of the day.”
His heart beats hard in his chest under mine, his eyes burning into me as his arm tightens further.
“We can’t be late today, Coop.”
His words send a shiver through me, the corner of my lips pulling up.
“Why would we be late?”
“Because if you keep saying things like that, I’m not sure how I can let you out of this bed.”
Fuck, the possessiveness bleeding into his voice, into the grip he has on me, is damn addictive.
“Oh, you will,” I mutter, running my thumb over his lip next, my dick twitching when he nips it. “In fact, you know what we’re going to do?”
“Tell me.”
“In a few minutes, after you make me stupid with a couple more kisses, we’re going to get up and shower, where we’re going to make each other a little dirtier before we get clean.
” The smile he gives me is feral. “Then we’re going to shave and put on those eye patches I bought that will, supposedly, make us look less tired.
They probably won’t, but it’s worth a shot.
” Liam is openly laughing now under me. God, I love his laugh.
“After that, you’re going to make us pancakes and feed them to me because I’m in the mood to be spoiled.
” I sigh when I feel his fingers feathering over my spine, before his palm settles between my shoulder blades.
“And then, when we’re done, we’ll get our suits and gather all our stuff, we’ll get in our car, and we’ll go get married.
” I could drown in the way he looks at me.
“Sound good?” I finish in a soft whisper.
He doesn’t answer me with words. He only pulls my mouth to his and proceeds to make me stupid just like I asked him to.
***
We arrive at the venue around noon, a mere 40-minute drive from the city center.
The summer heat still clings to these first few days of September, the balmy breeze slipping in through our open car windows. But it’s a mellow heat—a warmth that falls on the skin gently, that doesn’t stifle. It’s comfortable. It reminds me of that first camping trip Li and I went to at eighteen.
But it’s when we step out of the car at the small parking area that it feels like I’ve stepped back in time.
While Dylan has shown us everything and has checked in with us about all major decisions, we’ve been pretty much hands-off during the entirety of the preparations, and seeing pictures of this place has nothing on actually being here.
Cedar, pine, and fir trees tower over us, the air ripe with the crisp scent of resin and wildflowers. Rays of sunlight pierce the thick canopy of trees, the gentle sound of the wind moving through the branches, creating a sense of peace and quiet that makes something in my chest tighten.
This place is so much like the place Liam and I went to for that summer adventure that changed everything. So much like the place Liam took me to again weeks ago and asked me to be with him forever.
One look at him tells me the exact same thoughts are going through his head, his gaze roaming over our surroundings before it finds me and stays. It never strays from me as he rounds the car and reaches me, kissing my cheek and moving on to gather our things.
Leaving me blushing like someone who just got their first kiss from their crush.
God, this man has done unspeakable things to me, and yet a kiss on the cheek makes my entire body tingle. Which, of course, the bastard knows very well, judging by the smug smirk on his face as he hands me the garment bag with my suit.
I make a feeble attempt to pinch his side, despite my hands being kind of full, but he jumps away before I can make contact, grinning as he does it.
We follow a short pathway, the silence soon giving way to sounds of commotion and activity that grow more and more prominent.
My eyes fall on the large, rustic cottage in cream and earth tones, the property perfectly blending in with the wildness of the forest surrounding it.
It feels secluded and intimate.
It’s perfect.
A couple of members of staff are already there to greet us and help with our things, leading us inside.
We barely catch a glimpse of the preparations, since both the ceremony and the reception will be held outdoors and both locations are hidden by the cottage itself, but Dylan pops in with a huge smile to let us know everything is going great before he’s dashing outside again, fluttering all over the place.
We might as well throw in a new car, aside from the house we’ll have to buy that man.
After dealing with a few standard issues, we are shown upstairs, where we’re told there are private rooms waiting for us to relax and get ready.
Separate private rooms.
“Uh, excuse me,” I interrupt a very polite Kelly, the employee currently giving us a tour of one of the rooms. “We would like to use the same room to get ready, if that’s okay.”
My gaze strays to Liam, since this isn’t something we’ve discussed, but the warmth in his green eyes tells me all I need to know.
“Of course, Mr. West,” she replies with a smile. “We’ll keep the other room available if you, or anyone else from the wedding party, wishes to use it. Feel free to let us know if you want us to bring you some light lunch later, and our in-house hairdresser is available whenever you need her.”
We both thank her as she leaves us, the door shutting behind her with a small click.
I sigh when a hard chest presses against my back, and Liam’s arm wraps around me, melding us together, his lips grazing my neck.
“Do you like this, Mr. West?” he rumbles, nipping the skin behind my ear playfully, and I feel his smile without needing to see it. “Or should I start calling you ‘Mr. Carter?’”
God, he makes my heart race.
“There’s only one thing I want you to call me.” I look into his blazing eyes over my shoulder. “Yours.”
His chest rises and falls with his breathing, his own heart beating hard enough for me to feel it through our shirts.
It’s impossible not to turn into his arms, not to let myself relax as he parts my lips with his in an achingly tender kiss, not to sink into the word he whispers over and over.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
I feel a little unsteady when we pull apart.
“Wanna hang out before the crazy brigade shows up?” he mutters, his eyes twinkling, and I grin.
“Absolutely.”
And that’s exactly what we do.
I have no idea where the time goes, how noon bleeds into early afternoon, and I find myself with perfectly-done hair, staring at the image of me in my wedding suit in the full-length mirror.
“Coop.”
I turn at the sound of his voice, at the sound of that shortened name he’s used for me since forever, and something thrashes fiercely in my chest when I see him.
Champagne-colored suit, crisp white shirt left unbuttoned at the top, exposing the hollow of his throat, blond hair swept back, gaze that pins me to the spot, devouring every inch of me.
“It’s not fair,” I mumble, my feet moving of their own accord, taking me to him and stopping only shy of us touching.
“What?”
Fuck, that low, deep timbre is definitely not helping things.
“Nobody should look this good, Li.” My fingers caress the soft material of his shirt, feeling his warm skin underneath. “I want to hide you somewhere so no one can see you like this.”
“Baby…” he rasps, and my breath hitches when he leans in and nuzzles my cheek, the curve of my jaw, my temple, his palm cradling my neck.
“No one will spare me a second glance with you next to me.” His hot breath in my ear makes me tremble.
“You’re making it so damn hard to keep my hands off you right now, to keep from peeling this suit off you. ”
The raw want in his words is enough to make me drunk.
Pulling back to meet his eyes, I aim my best coy smile at him.
“Take it off me later?”
“Fuck, yes.” A growl.
Jesus.
Okay, we need to chill before these gorgeous suits get ruined with something.
Like cum.
Taking a steadying breath, I try to take a step back, but Liam’s hand on my neck holds me firm, tightening even further.
“Where are you going?”
“Just grabbing some flowers to pin on your suit jacket to match mine. And making sure we don’t do anything to fuck up our suits.”
Liam’s smile is all teeth.
“What would we do to fuck them up?”
Aaand my dick fucking stirs.
Go to sleep, dick. It’s not the fucking time now.
“Lots of things, Li. There are so many damn things we could do to fuck them up, and we still have a ceremony and a reception to go through before we don’t have to care anymore about what happens to them.”
He nods slowly, saying nothing, merely looking me up and down.
“You’re thinking about what kind of things I’m talking about, aren’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Well, stop it. I can read it all over your face.”
“Sorry.” He shrugs, zero apology in his expression.
“You’re very clearly not.”
“Yeah, I’m not.”
I smack his arm, and he laughs.
“I really hope you have your pants on. I’d hate to be traumatized for life,” comes my sister, Ginny’s, voice from the other side of the door.
I groan, and Liam chuckles, pecking my lips before he tells her to come in.
And so it begins.