Sam

Once we’re back at the penthouse, Beth disappears into her suite to do some schoolwork. She’s halfway done with a business degree from University of Chicago, where she takes classes online. Personally, I think it’s just an excuse to take a quick nap—she seemed pretty tired after our outing.

Cooper is in his home office, catching up on rescheduling the monthly weapons assessments that had to be postponed when we went out of town. We have a few hours to kill before our big date, so I head back into the fitness room in the penthouse and work on lifting free weights and doing some pull-ups. I’m tired of being treated like an invalid—I want to get recertified to work as quickly as possible.

I keep watching the clock and pacing myself, not wanting to overdo it. And to make sure I have plenty of time to shower and get into my new clothes.

Shane arranged for us to have a driver tonight. Our reservation is at six, and as the restaurant is practically just around the corner, we don’t have to leave until a quarter ‘til six. At five, I jump in the shower, letting the hot water soothe my aching leg. So much for not overdoing it.

I hear someone putzing around in the bathroom, so I assume Cooper’s getting dressed as well. But when I get out of the shower, he’s gone already, so I don’t get a sneak peek at what he’s wearing. Darn it.

After drying off and putting up my hair, I dress in my new clothes and boots and head to the great room about five-thirty. Cooper’s in the kitchen, putting two covered plates in the warming bin, presumably dinner for Beth and Shane.

When he turns to me, I whistle at the sight of him. He didn’t shave—I’m glad of that because I like him with this short beard—but he is dressed up in black slacks and a white dress shirt with a black tie. He’s also wearing a black blazer, which looks really sharp on him. The dark clothing really makes his silver hair stand out.

“Damn,” I say, looking him over. I wink at him. “You look hot. For an older guy, I mean.”

He smirks at me. “Funny.” Then he walks right up to me and pulls me into his arms for a kiss. “You look incredible, as always. I mean, I love seeing you in ripped jeans and a tee, but this—you look edible. And I’m going to enjoy eating you up tonight.”

Before I can respond, the elevator pings and the doors open. We both turn just as Killian steps out of the elevator. “Are you studs ready for a night out on the town?”

“You’re our driver?” I say, surprised to see him twice in one day.

Killian shrugs. “Only the best for you, son. The boss reassigned me to this building until that Stevens motherfucker is caught, so I might as well escort yawl to dinner. Besides, Tavern on Rush has some mighty fine Jambalaya on the menu—good enough to make my mama proud. At least I won’t starve babysitting the two of you.”

Shane and Beth surface from their suite just in time to see us off. Shane shakes hands with Killian and gets a status report on the building’s perimeter security. There’s been no sign of Roger Stevens anywhere near the property. But the authorities in Sweetwater have had no luck locating him either, so his current location is anyone’s guess. Until he’s located and apprehended, Shane and Cooper both are going to be on high alert, so we might as well all get used to it.

* * *

We head down to the underground parking garage with Killian taking the lead. He’s got one of Shane’s shiny black Mercedes sedans ready to go. Acting the chauffeur, Killian opens the rear passenger door for us, and both Cooper and I slide into the back seat. Killian drives us ten minutes to the restaurant and parks in a spot marked VIP.

“Shane’s got connections,” Cooper says, when I raise my eyebrows.

I follow Cooper up to the front entrance to the restaurant, Killian following a few yards behind. I guess it’s time for his disappearing act to begin. When we check in with the hostess, she gives us a big smile and says our table is ready. As she escorts us to our table, I turn back and see that Killian has disappeared already. Presumably he’s lurking somewhere out of sight. I hope someone takes pity on the guy and feeds him.

The hostess leads us to a corner table for two, in a semi-private setting. The dinnerware is fancy, and there are wine glasses on the table and an antique silver candleholder. She lays our menus on the table and lights the candle before walking away, after promising that our server will be at our table shortly to take our drink orders.

Cooper’s hand brushes lightly against my hip, just a gentle caress, as he reaches around me and pulls out my chair. I sit, and he helps me push my chair in. Glancing around us, I feel a little self-conscious on his behalf, but no one is paying us any mind. So I relax into my seat and watch him take his seat across the table from me.

Honestly, I am blown away. I would have been happy if he’d taken me to a crowded, dark sports bar, and we’d had hot wings and beer. But this—this is over the top. I never expected anything like this.

Feeling a little out of my element, I pick up my menu and scan the list of entrees. They’re famous for their steak and seafood, so I figure I’ll get a small ribeye steak and a salad.

I watch Cooper as he pulls a pair of reading glasses out of his jacket pocket and slips them on so he can read the menu. He looks damn hot in glasses.

A cute blond guy arrives at our table to take our orders. We both end up ordering steaks, and Cooper orders a bottle of very expensive red wine. It’s a good thing we have a designated driver tonight.

“What are you looking at?” Cooper says when he catches me watching him.

“Just admiring the view.”

He smirks. “Don’t be a smart ass.”

“I’m serious. You look handsome as hell dressed up like that. Why don’t you do it more often?”

He shrugs. “I don’t have any use for monkey suits. That’s more Shane’s style. Besides, a suit would be impractical at the shooting range. Speaking of, you need to come in and complete your shooting recertification. You could come with me to the range just to practice, too. Spend a few hours there with me, and then I’ll send you home.”

Just the mention of the shooting range makes me smile—it brings back fond memories of how we first met. I laugh, blushing at the memory, and he smiles too. I’m pretty sure we’re thinking about the same thing.

I’d applied for a job at McIntyre Security shortly after recuperating from the parachuting accident that ended my military career. It was just a training jump, nothing strenuous, but my chute didn’t open. I fell into a Maple tree—thank God, it cushioned my fall—and I managed to break only fourteen bones. It was enough to end my career in the Army.

A former Army colleague—Miles Bennett—told me about this great company he worked for in Chicago, McIntyre Security, Inc. He told me the company specialized in personal protection, and that it was run mostly by former special-ops military guys. That sounded good to me, so I came to Chicago to check it out. Shane interviewed me, then sent me to the company’s shooting range for a weapons evaluation. And that’s where I met my guy.

Just out of the blue, this hot older guy walks up to me, a Glock tucked into his chest holster, looking all bad ass and so damn fuckable. I was practically drooling over him. He watched me shoot off a couple magazines at some paper targets. When I was done, I took off my ear protection, and then there he was, standing right behind me. He leaned close and whispered in my ear.

“Have you ever kissed a man?”

I swear, that was the hottest thing anyone had ever said to me.

“Yes,” I’d answered, nearly choking on the sudden knot in my throat.

“Did you like it?”

“Yes.”

Damn! Just thinking about that day puts a smile on my face.

Cooper grins. “What are you thinking about?”

“The first time we met. When you asked me if I’d ever kissed a man.”

He grins. “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

“You took a hell of a chance, you know. What if I hadn’t been gay?”

He smiles. “I knew you were.”

“How could you have been sure? We’d barely spoken a word to each other before that.”

“Because you were just too pretty not to be, sweetheart. Life couldn’t be so cruel as to drop you in my lap, so to speak, and not give me a chance to make you mine. Hell, I knew you played on my team. And when I asked you if you’d ever kissed a man, you looked me straight in the eye, all balls and brawn, and said ‘yes’ without batting an eye. At that moment, I knew I wanted you—bad. I didn’t give a damn that you were too young for me. I just wanted you in my bed. Shane read me the riot act for even thinking of pursuing you, but I wanted you more than I wanted my next breath…and now here we are.”

My throat tightens painfully at his declaration, and I swallow hard as I try to hold it together. “And now, here we are. On a date.”

He frowns as he reaches across the table for my hand—holding my God-damned hand in a dining room filled with over a hundred people. “I’m sorry I disappointed you at Beth’s wedding. I think about that day a lot, and I regret it so much.” He shakes his head. “If I could go back and do things differently, I would. When I discovered the next morning that you’d left town—you’d left me—I panicked. I really thought I’d lost you.”

A sharp pang of guilt stabs me in the chest. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“No,” he says, squeezing my hand, shaking his head. “Don’t apologize. I needed to be shaken out of my paralysis. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Our meals arrive, along with the bottle of wine, and we dig in to our food. The steaks are amazing, flavorful and tender, and the wine is the best I’ve ever tasted. Several times during the meal, Cooper reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze, holding it for a few minutes before letting go. I don’t know if it’s the food, the wine, or the company, but I feel really warm and mellow. But as much as I’m enjoying our meal—and our first real date—my mind is on what’s going to happen when we get home.

I hear thunder just as rain begins to pelt the windows. An early spring rainstorm. It makes me want to go home and curl up in bed with Cooper and forget the rest of the world. There’s something so romantic about a thunderstorm, especially when you’re holed up inside, all cozy with the man of your dreams.

I suspect Cooper’s thinking along the same lines because his gaze is hot on me, his expression darkening with hunger—and not for food. We’ve pretty much satisfied that already. All I can think about now is getting home and putting my mouth on him. I want to kiss and lick and suck—.

“Are you ready to go home?” Cooper says, laying his napkin on the table.

I feel my face heat up as I grin at him. Yeah, we’re thinking along the same lines. The way he says home gives me butterflies. I nod.

Our server brings the check, and Cooper pays the bill in cash, leaving a generous tip. As we head for the exit, Killian appears out of nowhere, falling in at the front, leading us out to the car. Damn, that guy’s quiet.

“Did you get something to eat?” I ask him.

“Sure did,” he replies, a telling grin on his face. “That hostess is a very accommodating woman.”

* * *

It’s just eight o’clock when we arrive back at the penthouse. Killian drops us off in front of the private elevator in the garage, and once we’re safely inside the elevator car, he leaves to check in with Jake.

We take the elevator upstairs, and when we step into the great room, we find Shane and Beth curled up on the sofa. There’s a fire in the hearth and a basketball game playing on the big flat-screen TV, the volume set on low. Even though it’s only eight o’clock, Beth’s in her PJs already, with her feet tucked up on the sofa, cuddling with Shane beneath a fleece blanket. It’s all very cozy.

Shane turns to glance at us over the back of the sofa. “Hey guys, how was dinner?”

I come around to sit beside Beth, putting her feet in my lap. “It was fantastic. The food was great, and my date was very gallant.”

Cooper sits in one of the arm chairs near the fireplace and smiles at me. “Very nice.” Then he sets our wine bottle, which is still about half full, on the coffee table. “Can I interest anyone in a glass of wine? It’s good stuff.”

“Sure,” Shane says, shifting as if to get up. “I’ll take some.”

Cooper rises to his feet. “Stay where you are. I’ll get you a glass.”

Cooper heads for the bar and grabs three wine glasses, bringing them back to the seating area by the fire. He sets them on the coffee table and splits what’s left of the wine among the glasses. He hands Shane a glass, then hands one to me, keeping the last one for himself. “Sorry, none for you, kiddo,” he says to Beth.

Beth snuggles closer to Shane. “That’s okay. I’ve had so much water today my bladder is in danger of exploding.”

We finish off the wine while watching a bit of the game on TV, Chicago Bulls versus Dallas Mavericks.

After he finishes his glass of wine, Cooper returns to the kitchen and tosses the empty bottle into the recycling bin. I hear him turn on the faucet in the kitchen sink.

“Anyone want coffee?” he says, filling a pot with water.

I abandon Beth to her husband and her iPad and join Cooper in the kitchen.

Walking up behind him, I slip my arms around his waist and rest my chin on his shoulder. “Thank you for a wonderful dinner tonight. That was the best date I’ve ever had.”

He chuckles. “It was just dinner. It was hardly that big a deal.”

“Yeah, but you took me out, and that makes it a big deal.”

I kiss the side of his neck and smile when he shivers. He’s warm, radiating heat, and smells so damn good. I run my nose along his neck, breathing in his masculine scent. “How about a movie?” I say. “We could watch a movie in bed.” I pull his hips back against mine, and I know he can feel my erection straining against the front of my slacks.

He makes a low sound deep in his throat.

“You can even pick the movie,” I say, sweetening the deal.

Cooper shuts off the faucet and sets the pot of water in the sink before turning in my arms and putting his own around me. He glances past me at our housemates, as if checking to see if we have an audience, but when he relaxes in my arms, I know no one’s paying us any attention.

“I accept,” he says. His hands slide down to cup my ass.

“Perfect.”

Since no one else wanted coffee, Cooper abandons the pot of water, leaving it for morning. I take his hand and lead him across the great room, stopping briefly behind the sofa. “We’re calling it a night,” I tell Shane and Beth. “See you in the morning.”

Beth pops up to look at us over the back of the sofa, blinking drowsily. “You’re going to bed already?” Then she notices that I’m holding Cooper’s hand. “Oh. Well, good night then.” She grins at me. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, guys,” Shane says, his eyes glued to the basketball game.

When we step into our room and shut the door behind us, I grab the remote and turn on the TV. “What do you want to watch?”

Cooper deliberates for a minute. “How about a western?”

“Okay.” Not my first choice, but I did offer to let him choose. “Which one?”

“Magnificent Seven.”

“The old one or the new one?”

“The new one. I like the cast, especially Chris Pratt and Denzel Washington.”

While I cue up the movie, Cooper heads for the closet to undress. By the time I join him there, his jacket is off and hung up, and his tie is off. He’s still wearing the white dress shirt, which his broad shoulders fill out quite nicely.

I walk to him and brush his hands aside as he begins to unbutton his shirt. “Allow me.”

He raises an eyebrow and smiles as he lowers his arms to his side. “Be my guest.”

I think back to the guys I dated in high school and shortly after. They were pretty fit, but they were boys. Their bodies pale in comparison to Cooper’s. His is a man’s body, with well-delineated musculature, rough-hewn muscles that make me want to stroke and touch. The hair on his chest is a total turn-on for me… just enough to make me think about sex and hot, sweaty bodies.

As I unbutton his shirt, I let the backs of my fingers brush along his torso. His expression darkens as he makes eye contact with me, and his nostrils flare as his rate of breathing picks up. His shirt falls open, and I skim my gaze down his torso, from his throat and clavicles, down to his sternum, past his ridged abdomen, to his belly button. His dark chest hair converges into a line that disappears beneath his waistband, and I’m itching to follow it to its destination.

I push the sides of his shirt off his shoulders—exposing well-defined, firm muscles—then let the fabric fall away, leaving his chest fully exposed. His nipples are tight little points peeking out of the hair on his pectorals, and I’m tempted to lick one just to hear his reaction.

I love bottoming for Cooper, but sometimes, like tonight, I just want to devour him. I don’t know if it’s the date, or the excellent wine…but I feel aggressively aroused. I’ve topped him before, and I know he would be open to letting me do it again if I wanted to. Sometimes I think I want to, but then I’d miss out on how amazing it feels when he takes me.

I maintain eye contact with him as I reach down and unbuckle his leather belt, pulling it from the belt loops of his trousers. I toss his belt to the floor, then reach for the fastener of his slacks, slowly undoing them and unzipping them, exposing his underwear. My eyes widen at the sight of his sexy black silk boxers, which are a far cry from his usual and very utilitarian cotton boxer briefs.

I run the back of one hand along his cock, brushing it through the cool, silky material, feeling it harden further. He makes a noise and closes his eyes for a moment, reveling in my touch. When he opens them again, they’re burning. He moves to unbutton my shirt, but I shake my head and take a step back. No, this is for him. This is his reward for being such a good boyfriend tonight. This is his reward for trying.

I tug his slacks and boxers down his legs, dropping them to the floor, and motion for him to step out of them. Then I relieve him of his socks, leaving him naked.

“Thank you for this evening,” I tell him once more, wanting him to know how much our date meant to me. There was a time when I was sure he’d never do something like that for me. But tonight, he did. I guess miracles do happen.

I lean closer and kiss the curve of his neck, tasting his warm, slightly salty skin, licking his pulse point. When he groans loudly, I smile, happy that I can pleasure him. I kiss my way down his chest, taking time to flick my tongue against the hard peaks of his nipples, first one, then the other. Then I follow the path of his chest hair, lower, past his abs and his belly button, to his thick cock, which is at full mast, defying gravity as it strains upward. I drop to my knees and grasp his impressive erection, directing the tip of it into my mouth, where my tongue flits against the crown before licking over the tip.

“Jesus, Sam,” Cooper says in a wonderfully gruff voice that sends a shiver down my spine, directly to my balls. He grasps the sides of my head, but refrains from directing me or thrusting. I draw him into my mouth, as far back as I can take him, wetting him with my saliva. Then I pull back and work him with my hands and mouth, teasing him and driving his arousal higher and higher, until he can’t help himself any longer. He grasps my head tightly and holds me in place as he begins to thrust in earnest. “Oh, God,” he groans, thrusting long and deep. He threads his fingers through my hair, gripping my topknot and using it to direct my movements.

I relax my throat muscles and breathe slowly through my nose, loving how he lets himself use me like this. I want to please him, I want to blow his mind. He thrusts faster and faster, rocking me on my knees as I brace myself. His moans and grunts are erratic now, almost desperate, and I know he’s close.

“I’m coming!” he says, making a move to pull out.

I grab his ass and hold him tightly to me, his cock buried deep in my throat. When he does blow, he arches his back and cries out loud enough to shake the rafters. I swallow every drop, my hands and mouth gentling as he slows his movements and gradually comes to a stop. His cock is hyper-sensitive, and he gasps when he eventually pulls out.

Cooper reaches down and hauls me to my feet, pulling me in close for a hot kiss. He devours my mouth, his tongue thrusting against mine.

“I thought we were going to watch a movie,” he says, a little breathlessly, but obviously sounding pleased.

“We are. But first I needed to do that. Once I got the idea in my head at dinner, I couldn’t let it go.”

Cooper makes short work of my clothing, stripping me down to my birthday suit. We both head for the bathroom to take care of business and get ready for bed because neither one of us will want to move a muscle once we’re wrapped up in each other’s arms.

Once we’re in bed, propped up on pillows and lying in each other’s arms, we start the film and lie back to watch. The room is dark, but there’s enough light coming from the television screen that I can make out what Cooper’s doing as he casually reaches over to open the nightstand drawer and pull out a bottle of lotion. He tosses the bedding aside, then squirts some lotion into his hand.

I don’t say a word, but instead just lie there and try to watch the movie as he grips my cock, his big hand leisurely stroking me from base to tip. As his grip tightens, I moan, turning to press my hot face into his shoulder. He’s going to torture me like this—I just know he is—keeping me on the edge of arousal as long as he can, before he eventually lets me come. Before long, I’m breathing hard, like I’ve just run a marathon, and groaning shamelessly against his shoulder. He continues jerking me off, squeezing and stroking and tugging on me until I’m squirming, desperate to come. My body tenses and my ballsac draws up tight. Fire races down my spine and into my balls, and I muffle my cry against him as I erupt in thick, scalding ribbons of come that shoot onto my belly and chest. He continues to milk me, alternately murmuring to me and kissing me as I gradually come down from the high.

After a quick clean-up with a hand towel, we both settle into each other’s arms and watch the last of the film. When the credits roll, I turn off the TV and turn toward Cooper. He pulls me into his arms, my head tucked into the crook of his shoulder, my body warm and sated.

I’ve never felt so contented in my life. “I love you.” Three short words, and yet they carry so much meaning.

He clears his throat, swallowing hard. “I love you too, baby.”