by Ramona Gray
Her voice was rising, and she looked around to see if anyone was watching them. “I hate that you’re going to sleep with her.”
“I’m not, baby. I only want to sleep with you,” he said.
“Yeah, well, we tried that, and it didn’t work.”
“It’s my fault,” he said. “I left the other night because you were afraid, but -”
“You didn’t even give me a chance to explain,” she said, her beautiful face red with frustration. “I was afraid for, like, two seconds, but you wouldn’t even give me the chance to work through it. You just walked away.”
“I know,” he said. “I won’t do that again.”
“Do you think I like having those moments of fear with you? I don’t.” She was working herself up, her tiny hands clenched into fists, and the flush in her face flowing down her neck and across her chest. “I hate it! But I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again, and maybe I won’t be able to go through with sex, I don’t know. The only way to find out is if we try, but I don’t want to act like a tease. It isn’t fair to you, but I don’t know what else to do. If we don’t try, it’ll never happen. But if we try and I’m afraid and have to stop, you’re going to be disappointed and maybe even upset and -”
“Baby, stop.” He reached out and took her hands, massaging them open from their tight fists before purring to her. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths. He continued to purr until the tension eased from her body and the flush in her face faded.
When she opened her eyes, he squeezed her hands. “I want to be with you, Daisy. If that means we take things really slow, I am one hundred percent on board. Whatever you need from me, I’ll give you. If that means nothing more than kissing and touching, I can do that.”
“What if we have to stop?” she said. “What if we’re about to… and I’m afraid and want to stop.”
“Then we’ll stop,” he said.
“It’s not that simple,” she said.
“It is.”
“It isn’t. I’ll be a… a tease and it isn’t fair to you if I keep having orgasms and you don’t.”
He grinned at her. “Baby, my new favourite thing is giving you orgasms so if that’s all we do for the next six months, I’m perfectly fine with that.”
“You’re crazy, Cooper. You can’t go that long without…” She flushed and lowered her gaze to the table.
“Look at me, my mate,” Cooper said.
She stared up at him and he rubbed his thumbs over the inner skin of her wrists. “Not to brag, but I’m pretty good at masturbating. If I need to take care of myself until you’re comfortable in lending me a hand, I can do that.”
Her mouth dropped open and he purred to her when she started to giggle. “Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re sitting in a pub talking about sex and masturbation.”
“I’ve had weirder conversations in a pub,” he said.
“You have not,” she said.
“I’m friends with Boone, remember?”
She giggled again, and the tension in his chest eased when she turned her hands in his and linked their fingers together. “Are you sure you want to try this, Cooper? I really don’t know if I’ll be able to go through with it. At least not at first.”
“I’m positive,” Cooper said. “You are my mate, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
She stared at their linked hands before smiling at him. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Eighteen
Daisy didn’t need a shifter’s sense of smell to know that Cooper was nervous. His big body was stiff, his face was pinched, and she wondered if he would call the whole thing off. He might, she decided, despite what he’d said to her in the pub. When he led her into the living room, instead of his bedroom, her stomach sank.
He sat down on the couch and tugged on her hand. “Sit with me, Daisy.”
“Why don’t we go to the bedroom instead?” she said.
“In a bit. Do you want to watch a movie?”
She sat down next to him, shoving away her disappointment. “One of your romantic comedies?”
He flushed bright red – God, he was adorable when he blushed – and said, “Fucking Boone. I’m gonna kill him. He told you, didn’t he?”
She grinned at him, settling back into the couch beside him, liking the heat of his big body next to hers. “He did.”
“I suppose he also told you I crochet.”
“Nope.” She folded her legs under her and leaned against Cooper. Maybe if he could see and not just smell that she was relaxed, he’d be more open to trying to have sex. “You told me that yourself.”
He stared at her before understanding dawned. “That night you drugged me.”
She burst into laughter. “I did not drug you, Cooper. But yes, that’s when you told me. You’re making a granny square blanket for Wes, you said.”
He nodded and she took his hand. “I like that you crochet. I’ve always wanted to learn. Maybe you could teach me.”
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. The firm warmth of his mouth sent shivers down her spine. “I’m too new at it to teach anyone. But we can watch the YouTube tutorials I watched, and I can give you some tips.”
“I’d like that,” she said. “Will you ever give me my scarf?”
He blushed again. “I told you about the scarf?”
“It matches the colour of my hair,” she said.
“Jesus,” he groaned, “did I say that?”
“Yes. I thought it was sweet.”
He studied her and then reached out with his free hand and smoothed a lock of her hair between his fingers. “I love your hair. It’s so soft and the colour is beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She reached up and slid her hand around the back of his thick neck, tugging until he bent his head toward her. She pressed her lips against his, smiling at the way he immediately purred.
She rested her hand on his chest, that deep vibration making her fingertips tingle as she licked his bottom lip. When he parted his lips, she slipped her tongue into his mouth, feeling bold and horny. She touched his tongue delicately with hers. His low groan and the way his purring increased in sound sent warmth from her belly to her pelvis.
He took the kiss deeper, angling his mouth over hers and cupping her face with one warm hand. She crowded in close, resting her hand on his thick thigh and rubbing gently. When he cupped her breast, she arched into him and moaned when he rubbed his thumb over her nipple.
He pulled back. “Is this okay?”
“Yes,” she said before tugging on the hem of his shirt. “Take this off.”
He yanked his t-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. She stared in awe at his amazing chest, her fingers itching to thread through the light layer of hair.
Do it. He’s your mate, remember?
She shuddered with pleasure when he kissed her neck before sucking on her earlobe. Her heart thumping, she rested one hand on his chest, smiling delightedly at the feel of the coarse hair. His hand had slid under her shirt and he cupped her breast through her bra. His fingers traced the edge of her bra before he leaned back.
“This okay, baby?”
Irritation threaded past the desire. If he was going to check in with her every thirty seconds, it would take forever to get her damn orgasm.
“You don’t have to ask every time you touch me,” she said. “My God, you’ve seen me half naked and touched my…”
A deliciously dirty grin crossed his face, and he slid his fingers under her bra to caress her throbbing nipple. “Your pussy?”
She blushed, her fingers curling into the hair on his chest. “Yes.”
He nipped her neck. “I loved the way you moaned when my finger was in your pussy, baby. You’re so tight and wet. I can’t wait to feel you tighten around my dick.”
She gasped, fresh hot desire slamming into her. When Cooper pulled on her shirt, she raised her arms so he could strip it off. Before he could ask, she took off her bra,
tossing it aside as he stared greedily at her naked breasts.
“So pretty,” he growled before purring to her. His big hands cupped both her breasts and he pulled lightly on her nipples.
“Oh God,” she moaned. “Cooper, take me to your bed.”
“Not yet, little mate.”
“But I want to go,” she said with an embarrassing pout.
He smiled at her but shook his head. “We’re taking things slow, remember?”
“We can be slow in the bedroom,” she said.
He ignored her and she clutched at his thick blond hair when he dipped his head and pressed a kiss between her breasts. He licked and nipped at the underside of each breast until she couldn’t stand the teasing.
“Cooper, please!” She pushed his head in the direction of her nipple, not even ashamed when he made a low laugh.
His hot wet mouth closed around her nipple and sucked. Pleasure speared straight to her pussy and her hips arched. Her pussy was aching and throbbing and she wanted, no needed, him to touch her.
His lips were still teasing her nipples, moving from one to the other, sucking and licking and driving her mad with desire. She grabbed his hand and tried to shove it between her legs. He resisted and she moaned in frustration.
“Patience, my mate,” he said against her breast.
She pushed her own hand between her legs, scowling when he immediately pulled her hand away. He held her wrist and she could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “You can wait a little longer to come.”
She uttered a curse before squirming over until she was straddling him. She needed friction against her clit and… she moaned, rubbing her pussy against that perfect hard length of him behind the denim.
It wasn’t completely ideal… ideal would be both of them naked so she could drag his length directly against her clit, but it was better than nothing. She was so turned on, if she rubbed hard enough, she could come this way, and she was definitely motivated enough to do just that. She finally understood the appeal of dry humping.
Cooper hissed out a breath that turned into a purr as his big hands clamped down on her hips. She squirmed again, trying to find the right position and Cooper said, “Baby, wait.”
“I don’t want to wait. I want to…”
Her breath caught in her throat when she glanced up. Cooper’s eyes were dark yellow and while she couldn’t see them with his mouth closed, she had no doubt that his fangs were out. She stared at the pretty blue flecks in the yellow of his iris as his pupils narrowed.
“My mate,” Cooper’s voice had lowered. “Don’t be afraid.”
“I’m not afraid,” she said. “I’m annoyed because I want to come, and you won’t let me.”
The tension she could feel developing between them disappeared with his laughter. He pressed a kiss against her collarbone before squeezing her denim-clad ass. “I’ll let you, I just think we should take it slow.”
“Well, I think we should both be naked,” she said.
His nostrils flared and his hands tightened on her ass again. “Are you certain that’s what you want? We don’t have to -”
“I’m positive,” she said.
She hopped off his lap, pulling off her socks and then reaching for the button on her jeans. Cooper leaned forward and pushed her hands away. “Let me.”
He unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans before tugging them down her legs. She stepped out of them and kicked them inside, gasping when Cooper brushed his mouth just below her belly button. His hands gripped her ass and squeezed before he ran his fingers up and down the backs of her thighs. He stared up at her. She brushed his hair back from his face and smiled at him.
“Are you sure, my mate?” His fingers curled around the waistband of her panties. She stared at his beautiful golden eyes and nodded.
He pulled her panties down her thighs, helping her to step out of them before he tossed them on top of her discarded jeans. Nerves and shyness were starting to creep in, and she tensed when he leaned forward again and kissed the small patch of auburn curls at the top of her mound.
He pulled back immediately, staring up at her before leaning back against the couch. “We can stop, baby.”
“I don’t want to,” she said.
“All right,” he said. “Straddle me.”
“Aren’t you going to, um…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words ‘eat my pussy’. That was for women who were brave and confident in their sexuality.
Apparently, he knew what she meant. “Not right now.”
“But I want you to, um, do that. I don’t have a lot of experience in bed so that’s why I’m nervous. I’m not afraid of you.”
He smiled at her and tugged on her wrists until she straddled him again. “I still think it’s better if we wait.”
“You’re not even naked,” she complained. “Didn’t we agree to both be naked… oh! Oh my God!”
Cooper had slipped his hand between her thighs, and she immediately forgot about her annoyance when his rough fingers rubbed across her clit. She rubbed herself shamelessly against his hand, grabbing onto his shoulders for support.
He splayed his other hand across her lower back and bent his head to capture one nipple in his mouth. He worried it with his tongue and his teeth and when she felt his fangs scrape lightly against her nipple, pleasure exploded inside of her.
“Holy fuck,” she said.
He laughed against her breast before licking the hollow between them while his thumb brushed repeatedly against her clit. “I love my mate’s reaction to my touch.”
“Touch harder,” she demanded.
She hardly recognized herself. It wasn’t like her to be so bossy or needy, but she was finally starting to understand why people acted so crazy about sex. She was feeling halfway to crazy herself and they hadn’t even had sex yet.
Speaking of which…
“I want you naked,” she said. “Right now.”
“Soon,” he said before nuzzling her nipple.
“No, now,” she said. “Right… oh… oh fuck!”
He laughed and slid a second finger inside of her while his thumb continued to rub her clit. “Feel good, baby?”
She ground herself against his hand, her nails digging into his shoulders and her breath coming in harsh, hot pants. She rocked back and forth, the pleasure steadily building, reaching for that peak.
She was riding a man’s hand. She, the girl who thought sex was barely worth the effort, was riding Cooper’s hand like a woman possessed and not the least bit ashamed by it. She wanted her orgasm, needed it, and –
“Cooper, no!” she wailed in frustration and need when he moved his hand away.
He kissed the tip of one nipple. “Shh, baby, I’ll give you want you want. Stand up for a second.”
He helped her stand. Her legs felt weirdly shaky and her lower body was throbbing with need to the point where it was almost painful.
“Can we please go to the bedroom,” she said.
He’d taken his wallet out of his back pocket and she watched as he pulled out a condom. “I think we should stay here.”
“Why?” She should have felt self-conscious standing completely naked in front of Cooper. Instead she felt impatient and needy.
“I think it’s best. You can be on top, all right? You’re in charge, my mate,” he said as he unbuckled his belt.
She nodded. A little of her common sense was returning and while she wasn’t afraid now, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t be when she saw his dick, or they started to have sex. Cooper was bigger and stronger than her but being on top would give her a sense of control, even if it wasn’t really true.
He paused in unbuttoning his jeans. “Are you certain this is what you want, Daisy?”
“Yes,” she said.
He didn’t wait for her to say anything else. He unzipped his jeans and lifted his hips, shoving both his jeans and his briefs down past his knees. He bent and removed them and his socks with a fluid grace she envied before st
raightening and sitting back.
Her gaze dropped to his dick. He was big and thick which wasn’t surprising. What surprised her was her lack of fear. Hell, she didn’t even feel a lick of trepidation. She bit her bottom lip when Cooper fisted his shaft slowly, making a bead of precum appear at the tip.
“We can stop, my mate.” His voice was low and reassuring.
She believed him, despite the look of need on his face and the hardness of his cock. If she said she wanted to stop, he would stop, and he wouldn’t make her feel guilty or like a tease.
“You really are the best. You know that, right?” she said.
He smiled at her. “I want to make you happy.”
“I want you to put on that condom,” she said.
He laughed and tore open the condom, rolling it onto his dick. He held his hand out to her and she took it, linking their fingers together as she straddled him again.
“You’re in control,” he repeated. “Go as slow as you want or need.”
She appreciated what he was doing but going slow was the last thing she wanted. She was aching and empty, and she needed his cock. She grasped the base of his dick, barely hearing his low groan as she tried to straighten to her knees. She kept sinking into the couch and she muttered a frustrated curse.
“Cooper, help me.”
His big hands cupped her hips and lifted her up, easing her forward until his dick pressed against her pussy. She knew he was strong, knew that he was powerful, but his ability to lift her so easily made her pause. She studied his face, one hand still wrapped around his dick, the other gripping his shoulder for balance.
He inhaled deeply and said, “We can stop, my mate.”
His voice was hoarse, and the need on his face matched the intensity on her own. She guided his cock to her entrance. “No, I don’t want to stop.”
The relief that crossed his face sent a giggle bubbling up her throat. It disappeared when the head of Cooper’s cock slid into her. She clutched at his shoulders, staring at his gorgeous face as he carefully eased her down onto his cock until she was sitting in his lap and stuffed full of his glorious dick.