CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
COOPER studied Harley, not sure what she was trying to say. He was well aware the cab was stopped and the driver was looking at them over his shoulder expectantly, waiting for them to exit. The night had been a roller coaster. The kind that flipped you upside down and rattled your teeth. If he had to walk into his house and go to bed alone, without any understanding of what was going on in Harley’s beautiful head, he was not going to be a happy man.
But he realized that for all her moments of sassy bravado, Harley was, and always had been, a woman who kept her thoughts to herself. That didn’t mean he didn’t know her, because he felt strongly like he did. So he paused and thought about what he knew about her and what she was trying to say to him. It occurred to him that she was feeling insecure about his stupid insistence that the sex with her, who he had thought was Charity, was awful. That was what lying got him.
Of course, she had lied as well, so they were about even, if he was keeping score. But he wasn’t.
This was about stepping into his house with the only woman he’d ever met who made him feel like he could picture waking up next to her every morning for the rest of his life. And he hadn’t even woken up next to her yet.
He didn’t want to screw that up.
He cupped her cheek with his hand and kissed her softly, feeling her tremble a little beneath his touch. That alone humbled him, erased his anger. “Harley.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sure. I’ve never been so damn sure of anything. Now let’s go in the house before this driver starts videorecording us on his cell phone.” For all he knew, six pictures had already been taken over the guy’s shoulder. Not that it mattered. He hadn’t exactly defined discretion at the Buckle. He’d made out with Harley in full view of half a dozen people. Tonight had not been one of his finer moments, on the whole.
Shoving the car door open, he stepped out, then held his hand out to Harley to help her. Once she was standing on the front stoop, the overhang shielding her a little from the biting cold wind, Cooper leaned down to talk to the cabdriver, a guy in his fifties who was staring at them with wide-eyed curiosity. It was obvious he had recognized Cooper or the house, or both. It usually wasn’t a secret which driver lived in which house.
So he pulled out his wallet and held up three times what the actual fare was, giving the guy a charming smile. “Thanks for the safe ride, man. Had a bit too much to drink tonight.”
“Sure, no problem. My pleasure. You’re Cooper Brickman, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Yep. Crashed a bachelorette party tonight.”
“That the bride?” The driver looked past Cooper to Harley standing there. “Damn.”
“No! It’s not the bride. This is my girlfriend.” He wasn’t sure he had the right to say that, but he did it anyway, testing the word on his tongue. It felt good. Right.
“Oh, okay.” He laughed, his nose twitching as he did. “Sorry. Didn’t mean anything by that.”
“No problem. Thanks, bro.” Cooper handed him the money and gave him a fist bump. “Keep the change.”
“Thanks a lot, Mr. Brickman. Thanks, I really appreciate it.” His eyes were huge as he fisted the cash. “And have a good night.”
Cooper grinned. “I’m pretty sure I will.”
The driver laughed, eyes darting past him to Harley. “No doubt.”
The cab had barely pulled away when Harley was tugging him on the hand. “Get in the house, Cooper. It’s freezing.”
Shoving his key in the lock, he gave her a smile. “And here I thought you were just eager to get me naked and have your way with me.”
Then she surprised him, as she frequently did, by slipping past the door he held open for her, her hand reaching out with unfailing accuracy and landing on his cock. She gave him a long rub and a sassy smile. “That goes without saying.”
“Oh, I’d prefer you say it.” He closed the door softly, well aware of the echo in the silent house. As Harley walked over the marble floor he glanced upstairs, waiting for MJ’s head to pop up suddenly and without warning. “But hold that thought.”
He took her hand, kicked off his shoes, and tugged her up the stairs. She followed him obediently, without a word, without a sound, and there it was again. That kick in the nuts, the crack to the ribs, that overwhelming realization that she trusted him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever truly be granted total trust. Nor had he ever really asked for it.
It made him feel insanely romantic. Like he just had to go for the grand gesture, the thing that would cement her opinion that he was the guy for her. So when they got to the top of the stairs he swept her up into his arms. She gave a startled sound, but she looked at him with so much raw emotion he was really damn pleased with himself.
She felt perfect in his arms and he was fucking Romeo. Without the melodramatics. Or the dying-at-the-end crap.
“I can walk,” she whispered.
“But why should you when I can carry you?”
“You make a strong case. Though I wonder if I shouldn’t always let you have your way.”
She wasn’t heavy in his arms, but he enjoyed the scent of her flesh, the feel of her curves pressed up against him. Her ass tucked along his hip. “I’m the one in the driver’s seat, sweetheart.”
The look she gave him was one only Harley was capable of. It was seductive and sweet all at once. “We’re not on the track.”
“True.” He kicked the door to his bedroom open with his foot. “Would you like to be in charge then?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want either of us to be in charge. I want to be partners.”
Again, she disarmed him. Had a way of making him understand what was real, how this should work. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to press his case. He stepped inside and nudged the door closed behind them. After a second he realized it would be wise to lock it, so he did. “Think of yourself as the crew chief. You can spot for me and call out hazards, but ultimately the decision is mine whether to go low or high.”
That seemed to amuse her. “We’ll see. And don’t talk to me in driving analogies. I’m no pit lizard. I don’t think it’s cute.”
The sass was back.
Cooper was so turned on he wasn’t sure he could take another step.
But he was sure he was about to thoroughly enjoy himself.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And don’t call me ma’am.”
Now she was just pushing it. Fighting the urge to grin, Cooper walked over to his bed and dropped Harley down onto it. “When did you get so bossy? Ma’am.”
“I’m not bossy.” Wiggling backward on the bed, Harley unzipped her coat and peeled her arms out of the sleeves.
Cooper almost never wore a coat. He was just in a sweatshirt, but he took a cue from her and lifted it off over his head. Things were about to get a whole lot warmer in there and he didn’t need layers. “You have your moments, sweetheart, I hate to break it to you.”
She made a noise, but she didn’t outright disagree.
He walked to his nightstand and turned the lamp on. He didn’t want to make love to Harley in the dark. He wanted to see what he was touching. He wanted to see her expression as she shattered beneath him.
“I’ve never been in your room before.” She looked around in curiosity. “It’s weird that I live here, but not here.”
He was hoping to change that, but now wasn’t the time to bring that up. “It’s like the rest of the house—big.”
“It’s very tasteful. But it doesn’t look like you to me.” Harley shook her head. “I’m sorry. That was rude.”
But Cooper was curious. He climbed onto the bed with Harley and pulled her down alongside him so he could look into her eyes. “No. It’s fine. What do you think I look like? Or what do you think would make sense for my bedroom?”
“I know you like things clean, tidy. But maybe not so . . . cold.”
“Maybe it just needs you to warm it up.” Cooper laced her fingers through his. “You being here in the house? It’s made me very happy.”
“I’m very happy here,” she murmured.
“So even though I’m still upset that you lied to me, I can’t resist you, Harley, you know that, don’t you?”
She shook her head.
That was pure insanity. How could she not know what she did to him? Cooper brushed his lips over each corner of her mouth and the divot in the middle of her chin. “I. Can’t. Resist. You.” He punctuated each word with a kiss.
“I’ve never been irresistible,” she whispered.
“I find that hard to believe.” But before she could answer or protest, Cooper covered her mouth with his, enjoying the way she relaxed and sighed. They were lying on their sides, facing each other, and he lazily stroked her back, liking that she was so close to him, that he had the right to touch her without guilt or recrimination.
Because she was Harley and she was his.
He loved that. He loved her.
It was a scary-ass thought to have, but as he tasted her, he knew it was true. He loved her.
Moving down her chin, to her neck, he explored and tasted her, running his tongue along her collarbone, pushing her sweater down with his chin to give him more access to her flesh. He had tasted her before, at the Biltmore, but this was different. He hadn’t known her then. This was slow, exploratory. This was him learning the contours of the body of the woman he admired more than any other. He listened to her reactions, to the soft sigh she gave when he brushed her nipple, when his hand strayed low on her hip. To the way her chest heaved when his thumb stroked across the front of her jeans.
He kissed her again and again until her body was shifting restlessly and she was making the most delectable sounds of desperation and desire. It was a sweet torture for him, his own body tense, erection throbbing and hard, mouth hot with saliva. But he wanted to draw this out as long as possible. Hell, all night.
But Harley was getting impatient enough to spur him on. She tugged at his T-shirt, yanking it up so that she could brush her fingers across his chest.
“You have a nice chest,” she said.
“So do you.” He cupped her breast and gave her a smile.
She laughed. “Thanks. Would you like to see it?”
“Yes. Lie on your back,” he urged, wanting to be the one to take her shirt up inch by inch, wanting to be the one to expose her to his view. He didn’t want her to just tug off her top in a quick motion.
She complied and he bent over her waist, lifting her shirt just an inch, just enough to allow him to press his lips on her belly and dip his tongue into her belly button. Harley sighed.
“Why is it for a man who goes fast every weekend, you’re going so damn slow right now?”
He chuckled. She sounded so put out. “What’s the rush, McLain? We have all night.”
“It’s two in the morning already.”
“So?” He popped the button on her jeans with his teeth. He enjoyed the way her breath caught.
But then she said, “I have to get up with your sister. She’s online by eight every morning.”
He did not want to discuss his sister at the moment. “Shh. Don’t worry about it.”
“But . . .”
He hadn’t intended to strip her jeans off so soon, but she left him no choice. He wanted her eyes rolling back in her head again. So he yanked the denim down to her knees and pressed a kiss against the front of her panties. Her response was to give a low groan that was so throaty and arousing, he had to pause and listen, absorb the sound, appreciate it. Holy shit, she sounded turned on. That spurred him on to tug aside the lace of her panties and slip his finger into her wet heat. And wet she was. Damn. He felt his nostrils flare and his cock harden as he stroked her, her pleasure obvious from the way her eyes rolled back and her breath caught.
Shifting upward, he kissed her again, wanting to capture those low moans. Her hand landed on him, and her rhythm quickly matched his, while their mouths melted together with an ease, yet a ferocity that was new to Cooper. He’d never thought he’d held back with a woman before, never thought that he had any more to give than what he had been giving, but kissing Harley, he realized there had always been a reserve, a control. With her, there was no keeping a part of himself remote.
He wanted her, all of her. He wanted to give, all of him.
Focusing entirely on pleasing her, he angled his finger deeper inside her and listened for her reactions to his touch so he could adjust accordingly. With his other hand he cupped her breast and angled his body so that his legs forced hers further apart. “Does that feel good?” he asked.
“It’s good.” But her breathing revealed it was way more than just good.
He caressed her clitoris with his thumb, enjoying the way she started to rock onto his touch, her fingers gripping his biceps tightly for support. There were a whole lot of things he wanted to say to her, but for some reason there was a lump in his throat and his chest felt tight. He couldn’t force any words out, wasn’t even sure how to formulate what he was thinking. Instead, he let his fingers do the talking. He found a rhythm and kept it steady as her breathing grew ragged. When she gripped his wrist tightly, her eyes widened as the orgasm swept over her.
Cooper watched her, in awe. She was beautiful in her pleasure. She was beautiful in the way she gave herself, her trust, to him. He felt humbled and grateful that she was here, with him. He didn’t deserve her. Part of him felt that was why she had lied about who she was. She had known he didn’t deserve her, that he wasn’t the guy the nice girl stayed with. That he was good for some fun, but that he didn’t have staying power.
He wanted to prove to Harley that he had staying power. That he could commit to her, to a future between them. That her pleasure, her comfort, her happiness, was a priority to him.
Cooper kissed her softly. “How was that? Good?”
She nodded. “I didn’t think I was going to come. I’m sorry.”
He laughed. “Oh, I knew you were going to come. That’s kind of the point, honey.”
But Harley didn’t smile. She just looked at him with her heart in her eyes and it took his breath away. It robbed him of speech, thought, action. No woman had ever looked at him like that.
So without thinking it through, without caution or fear, he told her, “I’m falling in love with you. I’ve been falling in love with you since the day I met you.”
Her mouth formed a perfect O. “You are?” she whispered.
He nodded. “I am.” It felt right, easy to tell her how he felt.
Her fingers came up to brush his hair back. “I’ve been falling in love with you, too. You’re an amazing man. I feel very, very lucky right now.”
“I’m the lucky one,” he told her honestly.
Then because his emotion felt like a big old hot air balloon about to levitate him out of bed, he dealt with it the only way he knew how. He tore off his shirt and his jeans, wanting to feel his skin against hers. Pulling her into his arms, he rolled onto his back, so that he could feel her weight pressing down on him. Her sweater was bunched half up, so he divested her of it, tossing it onto the floor. It felt glorious to have her warm flesh on his.
With his foot, he caught her jeans that were still around her knees and shoved them down to her ankles as he kissed her. She was making those sounds he loved, and her hips were rocking against his cock. The heat radiating off her inner thighs excited him, made him want to feel her wetness again, squeezed around him. He also wanted to see her taking pleasure from him, in charge of her own desire.
“Ride me, baby,” he urged her, popping the back of her bra.
Her eyes and her hair were wild. She rolled off him and shoved her panties down while he did the same with his briefs. Half in shadow, she took the time to take off her socks, too, and roll them together, which made him smile in the midst of his desperate need to take her. When he went for a condom, he yanked the pull on the drawer of the nightstand so hard the whole thing flew out and landed on the floor.
“Fuck.” Leaning over, he left it there, just digging in the exposed drawer for the condoms he knew were in an unopened box.
“You don’t need it, Cooper. I’m on birth control.”
He froze, hand still outstretched. Looking over his shoulder at her he wanted to groan. Damn, she looked so sexy, so tempting. She was sitting up, hair tumbling forward over her shoulder, lips swollen, nipples high and taut. She was leaning on one arm, and he couldn’t see the apex of her thighs because of the way she was sitting, but he knew the sweet wetness that awaited him beneath her soft blond curls.
“But . . .” he said, well aware he was sputtering. He didn’t go bareback with women. He just didn’t.
Then again, it had been a decade since he’d been exclusively with one woman for an extended period of time, and damn it to hell, that’s what he was doing here, whether Harley liked it or not. So why couldn’t he forgo the condom?
“Are you sure?” he asked. Then before she could answer, he wanted to assure her. “You can trust me, Harley. I would never do anything to hurt you. Anything.”
The corner of her mouth turned up in a smile. “I know. Come here.”
She didn’t have to ask him twice. Cooper abandoned the condom project and reached for Harley.