by Cari Quinn
I kissed her forehead. “Let me see if I can find some meds.”
She sighed. “All right.”
She must’ve felt like crap if she didn’t argue.
I went out into the kitchen. Cole was on the phone, talking in low tones. I found a bottle of water in the fridge. The power was out, leaving the rest of the fridge rank with spoiling food since it was summer.
I slammed it shut and found meds in her bathroom. By the time I returned, she was half under her bed.
“Babe, what are you doing?”
“I’m hoping my uniform survived.”
“Uniform?”
She swung out a large white flat bin. She flipped off the top and pulled out one of those space saver bags all shrunken down. “Cheerleader uniform.”
My dick didn’t have a chance. Full attention from zero to sixty. “Well, we’ll have some use for that.”
She gave me a cheeky smile. It was a bit more brave than flirty, but I appreciated the sentiment.
“Guys, we really need to get out of here. I think the press has found us. I just had to toss an asshole off the front lawn,” Cole called from the front of the house.
“Shit.” I grabbed the other smaller bin from her bed. “What else do you need right now?”
She glanced around. “Check my bedside table. All my stuff in the top drawers.”
“Right.” I went around her bed and found an arsenal of girl things. Jewelry, makeup, backup medications like the very important birth control. I snagged that first and shoved it in my jacket. Then dumped the rest in the box.
“Just the top?”
“Yes, don’t go—”
I opened the bottom drawer and sat back on my feet. “Holy fuck.”
“Shit. You weren’t supposed to go in there.”
I reached in for the very large and complicated vibrator. “Wow.”
Her face was so bright red that her freckles were on fire. “I’ve been single for a while.”
“Jesus.” The drawer didn’t end. Vibrators, lubes, those little egg things. It was a fucking treasure trove of personal pleasure.
“Cooper.” She tried to shove it shut.
I wrapped my arm around her waist. “Oh, hell, no. That’s coming with us. I’ll find uses for it.” I nipped at the hammering pulse in her neck. “Man, I am the luckiest dude.”
“What? You’re not disgusted?” She hooked one arm around me.
“Hell, no. A woman who knows how to get herself off is the hottest kind of woman.” I held up the little pocket version in a small plastic pouch. “Slip this one in.”
“What? No.” Her gaze flew over my shoulder. “Cole is right out there.”
“I know.” I flicked on the tiny remote, and the toy gave a healthy buzz. “I want you all wet and hot for me by the time we get home.”
“There is no problem in that department, Cooper Dallas.”
I kissed off the frown on her face. “No, there sure isn’t. Takes a bit to get to my place with traffic though.”
Her face flushed for a whole different reason this time.
“Or are you too sensitive from when I got you off earlier?”
“No.”
I tugged on the button of her stupidly short shorts. “Then what’s some extra incentive for me to get home faster?” When she didn’t reply, I unzipped her shorts and slid the little bullet into her panties and tucked it tight against her clit. “Inside or here?” I nipped at her chin.
She shivered. “There.”
I smiled against her lips. “You like that.” It wasn’t a question. I could see the excitement brewing in her eyes. “Knowing I can make you squirm anytime?”
Her gaze didn’t shift. “Yes.”
“Fuck. You’re so goddamn hot.”
She grinned back at me, and then I hit the remote. She let out a quick breath before she zipped up her shorts and stood. “I’m going to regret this.”
“I’m not.” Grabbing the bin, I shoveled all the toys inside and covered them with a small silky covering from her end table. It was too Teagan to leave behind. A trip through my washing machine would fix it right up.
I put the lid on and stacked it on the other bin. “You good?”
She did a twirl in the room, looking around. She snatched a stuffed owl off the dresser and tucked it into her arm. She was gnawing on her lip, picking things up and putting them down.
“Teag?”
“Yeah?”
“Come here.”
She huffed out a breath. “There’s just so much.”
“Lila will take care of it. You know that.”
“Yeah. I know it’s just stuff, but this is my place, you know?”
“I do. And we’re going to fix it up after this leg of the tour. We’ve got some time off this winter.”
“You’d do that?”
I hefted the bins. “Babe, you can’t get rid of me. And lucky for you, I knocked around half the world doing construction of all kinds.”
She stuck the owl on top of my pile. “You’re pretty sweet, Coop.”
I love you.
Dammit, it almost flew right out of my mouth. There was no denying it. I’d loved her for so long, I hadn’t even felt it actually happen. Then Oz had to go and mention it, and now it was all I could think about.
I wanted to tell her. Hell, I wanted to shout it from every stage in the world, but she wasn’t ready, and I couldn’t be that fucking selfish.
“I’ll remind you that you said that when I make you come your brains out on the ride to my place.” I quickly tapped her ass with my foot. “Get a move on, Daly.”
“Going.” She seemed to have spotted something important and went onto her tippy toes to grab a battered ball cap. “Lucky hat.”
“Will be once I’m done with you.”
She tugged it on her head and did that girl trick with her hair, and then got behind me and pushed me forward. “Is that all you think of?”
I leaned against the doorjamb long enough to set down the bins and reach into my pocket to turn on the bullet. “Yep.”
“Cooper.”
I picked up the bins again and walked down the hall, grinning at Cole when I heard a faint, “fuck,” from Teagan behind me.
She crowded behind me, twisting my shirt. “You can’t leave it on.”
“Sorry, hands are full.”
“Let’s get moving.” Cole’s voice brooked no argument, and I followed him down the steps. “Want me to take those?”
I tightened my grip on the plastic bins. “No, I got ‘em.”
“Jerk,” she muttered from behind me.
Cole followed us to my car, but I didn’t have it in me to get annoyed about it, especially since Teagan kept bumping into me with a pinch every few steps. We put everything in my trunk, and Cole waited until we were in the car and locked in.
I was pretty sure he wouldn’t be truly happy unless my entire car was armored with bulletproof windows. If shit kept getting worse, it probably would mean exactly that. We’d be shuttled about in protective shielded cars and trucks.
What a sobering thought.
“Would you turn this thing off?”
I side-eyed her and started the car. “Nope.”
“God.” She gave a full body shiver and nudged the seat back a little before buckling up.
“Can’t handle it?”
She gritted her teeth. “I can handle it.”
I gunned the engine, giving it an extra rumble.
She flinched and punched me in the arm. “Keep it up.”
I pulled the remote out. “Does this turn up or something?”
“Hateful.”
I turned it around and found settings along the side. “Oh, look at that.” I liked the sound of pulse.
She lifted her hips off the seat. “What the hell.”
“Didn’t you try this out before?”
“I thought I liked the egg better. I still think I do, because this is torture.” She shifted in her seat, grinding her God
-given assets into my leather. Her scent? Yeah, that was never getting removed from this car.
I reached a straightaway and settled my hand on her thigh. “How wet are you?” I slid it up higher and groaned when she widened her thighs for me to find out. And then I was the one feeling a whole helluva lot of discomfort. Her thighs were slick, and her panties soaked. “Goddamn.”
“I gotta come.”
“Not until we get home.”
She pulled my fingers up closer to her swollen center. I could feel her lips puffing out around the little silver bullet. I had to pay attention to the road, so I couldn’t exactly pull off and take care of her.
“Touch yourself.”
“Here?” She looked around at the cars far too close to us.
I flicked her zipper down and dipped my fingers in, then brought them to my mouth with a groan. She was literally going to kill me. I reached over again and tucked the little vibrator deeper into her.
She slammed her head into the headrest and arched. Her nipples were tight little knots, straining against my old cotton shirt.
I lifted her wrist to my mouth and scraped my teeth over the fragile skin then placed it over the opened zipper. “Let me hear you come.”
Her soft, mewling moans were going to follow me into my grave.
I tried to keep my eyes on the road and nearly rear-ended a cab in front of me as I caught her fingers circling her clit with ruthless strokes. My cock pulsed behind my zipper in reaction.
I fumbled the remote out of my pocket and flicked it to intermittent pulses, and she shuddered out my name as she strained against the seatbelt. She had one hand on her breast, tugging at her nipple and the other buried deep inside of her.
Right where I wanted to be.
“Fuck.”
“Off. Turn it off.” She twisted in her seat then tugged her hand out of her pants and held it to my lips. I grabbed her wrist and sucked each one until there was not one bit of her remaining. She watched me lick her, those huge eyes dark with want.
We came to a stop on a side street at a stop sign. I didn’t wait, simply leaned across the console and covered her mouth. Even with a horn blaring behind me, I kissed her hungrily, and then breathed her in and groaned before I reluctantly let her go.
I flicked the remote off, and she sagged in her seat.
“This is my new favorite toy in all the world,” she said with a laugh.
“You make me nuts.”
She was still turned in her seat, facing me. “You like it.”
“Damn right.”
She reached over to me and tucked the tip of her finger in my dimple. “These don’t come out enough.”
“More since you.”
Her smile was soft. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Her eyelids fluttered down then she yawned hugely. “My turn to fall asleep immediately after an orgasm.”
“Never going to live that down, am I?”
She smiled and slipped into sleep.
Part of me wanted to turn on the little piece of wonder, but the other part of me was glad she was getting some rest. It had been an emotional day all around.
The extra twenty minutes with her sleeping allowed me to calm the fuck down. Thankful for the parking garage that was a perk to the penthouse, I pulled in. Lila, being Lila, had procured Cole a spot as well. I didn’t want to think about how much that cost.
Then again, security was a large part of my building’s amenities. They probably had some sort of deal with security agencies around the city. Roth was a big name especially in New York.
I nodded to Cole who’d pulled up next to me, and then I leaned over to Teagan, kissing each closed eyelid. “Wake up, babe.”
She moaned and pushed at my chest. “Go away.”
“Come on. Inside. We’re home.”
Her lips turned down. “My home is gone.”
“Aww, baby.” I cupped her face. “It’s not gone.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “It’ll never be the same.”
“No, it won’t. But we can try to make it better. Together.”
She touched my lips with her forefinger. “Together?”
“Always.” At her frown, I nipped her fingertip. “You ready to go in?”
“Yeah. I could really use a shower.”
“You and me both. Guess we’ll just have to do that part together, huh?”
“I mean, if we gotta. Water conservation and all.”
I buried my nose into her neck until she giggled, and then I pulled away. “Let’s go before we give Cole any more of a show.”
She winced. “Right.”
Thankful for elevators and Uber Eats, I managed to get her settled in my place. I ordered food for us while she showered in peace. I was tempted to go in with her, but the circles under her eyes, plus her obvious emotional exhaustion had me rethinking my plans.
We had an unexpected delivery with our meal. After Cole checked it over, we discovered two hefty boxes of clothing with a note from Daisy. She’d gone on a shopping spree. Since she knew Teagan’s style and sizes, she was able to get her a few things to hold her over until she could figure out what was salvageable from her house. Which was a good thing because the bag of clothes Cole had brought didn’t leave her with much.
After our very late lunch—tacos pretty much made anyone feel better—Cole left us to our own devices, choosing to head into the guest room to make more phone calls. He brought in a suitcase with him, which reinforced that lovely we are not alone feeling.
By the time we cleaned up, Teagan was pretty much asleep on her feet.
“Nap?”
She was halfheartedly looking at her phone, nearly laying on the marble bar top of my kitchen. She sat up straight. “I’m not tired.”
“Maybe I am.”
“You’ve never taken a nap unless you were ill.”
I came around the end of the counter and spun her on the stool so I could move between her legs. “Someone didn’t let me get much sleep last night.”
“Pretty sure you were the one waking me.” She laced her fingers together behind my neck.
I lowered my mouth to hers for a light kiss. “I can’t get enough.”
“So, maybe we should go to bed and see what else we can come up with?”
“If you insist.” I lifted her off the stool and up over my shoulder.
“Cooper, wait. I’m too heavy.”
“You do realize I used to drag eighty-pound packs through the desert.”
“I am not eighty pounds.”
“Let me finish.” I slapped her ass. “And I had to be able to carry a two-hundred-pound soldier.”
“If you’re saying my ass is as big as a soldier’s, you’re a dead man.”
“Your ass is perfect.” I headed up the stairs to my bedroom suite and set her down on my bed. “Now strip.”
She flicked off the ballet shoes she was forever wearing and sat cross-legged. She had on one of those flowing sundresses from the box o’plenty. “Excuse you? This is not the seduction scene I signed up for.”
“I want to hold you and prefer you naked.”
“So bossy. You could have just—hey!”
I drew her to her feet and whisked the dress over her head. A second later, her bra and panties sailed into the club chair I had in the corner. I shucked my own clothing and pulled her into bed, curling around her back.
“Much better.”
“You are a maniac.” But she cuddled into me and tugged my arm around her middle. “But maybe I’m a little tired.”
She’d pulled her hair into a loose tail, and I took full advantage of her neck. Before I could get to her shoulder, she was already asleep.
I closed my own eyes. It was a hell of a thing, holding my world in my arms.
Fifteen
Green grass stretched as far as I could see, so soft and ticklish under my feet as I walked. “C’mon, honey. See that rainbow over there? That’s where we’re headed.”
The little girl beside me hurri
ed ahead on chubby legs. She had red hair just like me, long downy ringlets of it. A circlet of flowers crowned her head. “Rainbow?”
“Yeah. All those pretty colors. See it in the sky? They come out after the rain.” I squeezed her small, warm fingers in mine. “You just have to look for them. Don’t stop looking.”
She smiled up at me trustingly. Her blue eyes were a mirror of my own, back when I’d been innocent and believed in fairy tales. “I see it.”
The distant chime of bells made me shiver and burrow deeper under the covers. It was chilly in here with the A/C vent pumping directly overhead. Usually, I kept my room at a nice sixty-eight. Even in the summer, I tended to like it warmer, especially when I slept.
Except this wasn’t my room. Not my stack of pillows, although the one under my head was nice and firm. The comforter was thin, and the sheets were tangled around me. Neither were as snuggly as mine.
Because men are always hot.
I was with a man.
Which was about as usual in my life as…not at all.
My eyes flew open. The shadowy light of twilight cast shadows over the room, and it was silent except for the low sound of Cooper’s breathing beside me.
I peeked over my shoulder. He was sprawled with his arms over his head and his body taking most of the space. I was cocooned and in the fetal position.
Stressed? Needing comfort? Who me?
I really had to pee. And stretch. I rubbed a vague ache in my lower back. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had aches in other places too. Ones that hadn’t any activity in a long while but were now getting a thorough workout.
Surreptitiously, I took another look at Cooper. As dark as it was in here, I could just make out the long planes and indents of his torso. All those lean muscles were deliciously on display. The sheets were tangled around his waist. Hiding what I already wanted to see again. And touch and lick and ride…
I couldn’t help smiling as I hugged the comforter to my chest.
Sex fiend.
But he didn’t mind. Not one bit. And wasn’t that lucky for me? We definitely should have been doing this sooner. If my various neuroses courtesy of my ex would have allowed that to happen.
Maybe we were right on time.
Discounting fires and destruction and poisoned drinks and everything else that made me want to pull the pillow over my head and hide.