Never Falling Again: An opposites attract, Navy SEAL on vacation romantic comedy (Falling in Maui Book 3)

by Mercer Scott

  Cooper laughs at me. “One of these days, I’m really going to need you to show me this commune. And maybe I grew up with more than most, but I walked away from all that when I joined the Navy.”

  “You’re telling me that you lived exclusively on your Navy salary for the last eleven years?” I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously.

  Cooper smiles sheepishly back at me. “Maybe I dipped into some parental funding from time to time.”

  “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought. You poor, poor soul. Living off a government salary, and only relying on your super-rich family sometimes? How did you survive?” I shake my head in mock sympathy for his hard times.

  Cooper catches my chin between his thumb and forefinger and presses until I look up at him again. “The money doesn’t matter, Natalia. All that matters is that I’m with you. I was happier with you on a blanket under the stars than I ever was in the fanciest penthouse in New York. And I’m going to be right here proving it to you.”

  “I guess we’re going to find out…”

  A few hours later, our car pulls up to a stop in front of my apartment building. “This is it.”

  When I run my hand along Meowriah’s travel case to ease my nerves, she meows loudly. I’m not sure if it’s a meow of moral support or simply another protest against her dumb travel case.

  Cooper runs his hand over my forehead, smoothing out my frown again. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

  I smile brightly up at him because there really doesn’t seem to be a point in doing anything else. Cooper’s going to see my apartment for himself in about five minutes or less.

  “Nothing. I’m fine. Let’s just go in. I’m sure Meowriah is desperate to stretch her legs.”

  “I’m sure the whole twenty-five minutes she’s actually spent in her travel carrier has been really hard for her.”

  “She thanks you for noticing. It really has been,” I tell him with a laugh.

  “Give her to me. I’ll carry her in. I need her to start liking me more reliably anyways. Maybe if I’m the one who brings her home, she’ll throw a few less murderous glances my way?” Cooper asks with a laugh.

  “You know she’s a cat, right? Murderous glances and judgmental stares are kind of their thing. That’s why it’s so amazing when they decide they like you.”

  Cooper looks at me like I’m crazy. “Or you could just get a pet that actually does like you.”

  “Well, I think she’s going to hate us both now. She’s had free run of a whole mansion for months. And now she’s back home to a one-bedroom apartment. Although she will be glad to see the last of Stinky for a while.”

  “I’m sure she’ll survive. She just wants to be wherever you are. We have that in common.” Cooper leans over and kisses my forehead before picking Meowriah up from my lap.

  Then I slowly start climbing out of the car. Cooper might think his years in the military changed him, but he’s the one who picked the Lincoln Town car and not the ordinary yellow taxi to bring us home.

  And I hate that just because Cooper comes from money that I’m feeling so self-conscious about my little apartment when I’ve always been so proud of it. I spent months online looking for the right place close to the hospital before I found it, but when I saw it, I just knew it was the one. It was in pretty bad shape when I bought it, but I scrubbed and painted it until it was cute and bright and airy. I hunted for furniture at garage sales. And I scrubbed and painted it until it was all pretty and bright, too.

  I have so many happy memories here. Late nights drinking red wine with my best friends. Margarita nights after I bought a fancy new blender for all the smoothies that I was going to drink… before I realized that I don’t actually like smoothies. But thankfully the blender was worth the ridiculous price tag for the superior margaritas alone. And now… Cooper’s here.

  “You know you’re going to have to actually get fully out of the car at some point, right?” He’s standing next to my door staring down at me.

  “Coming.” I slowly slide all the way to the ground. I tell myself that I’m being ridiculous. If Lyle Cooper Hamilton IV doesn’t like my little apartment, then he doesn’t like me. And he can go to hell. But I really want him to like my little apartment. Because I really want him to like me. I’m starting to wonder what my life would even be like without Cooper Hamilton in it.

  Cooper hands me back Meowriah’s travel case while he and the driver unload all our suitcases from the back of the Town car. Well, all my suitcases. Cooper just has a Navy duffle bag. I have three suitcases of stuff I accumulated on Maui and gifts for everyone back home. Another benefit of flying home on Deacon’s private jet was the lack of baggage limits. I thought I was going to have to pay a fortune to bring all this stuff back with me.

  Cooper tips the driver to help us bring all of our luggage into the apartment lobby so we don’t have to make multiple trips. He doesn’t let me carry a single thing, not even Meowriah Furré. My nerves are getting worse and worse as we ride the elevator up to the fourth floor where my apartment is. Cooper quickly unloads all of our stuff off of the elevator, but then he has to make a few trips down the hall to get everything.

  I’m not sure that I thought any of this through. How is my life not going to be a little too real for him? There’s not going to be anyone following us around picking up after us. No one else is here to do the dirty dishes or the dirty laundry. Even at Cooper’s bungalow on Maui, he had a housekeeper. And yes, his bungalow was cute and modest, but it was also right on the beach on Maui… on his family’s estate.

  When we’re finally standing in front of my apartment door with all of our suitcases, and Cooper holding Meowriah Furré in her travel case, I just stand there frozen with nerves.

  “You know you’re going to have to unlock the door at some point, right?” I can hear the smile in his voice.

  But I don’t feel like smiling. And I definitely don’t feel like opening the door. I don’t even know what kind of state I left my apartment in. I was a drunken ball of rage when I threw some clothes in a suitcase and headed for the airport a few months ago.

  “It might be a mess. I left in kind of a hurry…”

  “Open the door, Natalia. It’s all good. We’re here together. That’s all that matters, I promise.” Cooper takes my frozen hand in his and guides the key into the lock. He turns it and then pushes the door open. He gives me a gentle push until I walk through the door.

  The whole place smells like… flowers?

  There’s a big, beautiful bouquet of peonies and lilies on the kitchen island. A bottle of red wine is sitting next to two sparkling clean wine glasses.

  Everywhere I look, the apartment is spotless. The big blanket I have over the back of the sectional sofa in the living room is rigidly straight. The throw pillows have that perfect fold you get when you karate chop them like they tell you to do on interior design shows.

  I have never karate-chopped a throw pillow in my entire life. And I definitely did not leave my apartment in this state of perfection. I don’t think it’s ever actually experienced this state of perfection before. Someone’s been here. Either the cleanest, most polite squatter has been living here. Or one of my friends did this.

  Cassie is out of town, and she would never think about flowers or pillows, anyways. Bridget. Bridget did this. It’s beautiful and perfect. My little apartment is definitely looking its best right now. And it’s… charming.

  The door shuts behind us, and there’s a long pause.

  “This place is a mess! I hate it.” Cooper laughs as his arm reaches around my waist and pulls me to him. He leans down and whispers in my ear. “It’s cute, and small, and quirky, just like you.”

  Meowriah lets out a loud meow from the confines of her cloth prison.

  “Now it’s time to let the cat out, so she can learn to appreciate me like she should.”

  “She does like you… sometimes.” I giggle back at him.

  “Yeah, yeah, for about thirty
seconds at a time, and I spend that time thinking she’s about to attack.”

  Another giggle escapes my lips. “It is really funny when she tries to bite you.”

  Cooper gives me a withering look and sets Meowriah’s carrier down on the floor. He unzips the end and Meowriah extends a hesitant paw out. She taps on the floor in front of her, like she’s not quite sure it’s going to hold. Once she’s satisfied that the floor isn’t going to swallow her up, she races out of the carrier and ping pongs from room to room exploring.

  Cooper smiles down at me. “I think she knows that she’s home.”

  “We’ve been gone so long, it feels weird even being here.”

  “I get that.” Cooper is surveying my apartment, all seven-hundred square feet of it. “Mind if I snoop?”

  “Snoop? Absolutely not. That’s extremely rude.”

  “So, you didn’t take a peek around my place the first time you slept over?” His grin tells me he knows that I did. Crap. I knew my sudden coughing fit didn’t cover crashing the sound well enough.

  Cooper takes three steps and closes the distance between us. His arms curve around me, pulling me close. “I didn’t mind. It’s human nature to be curious. But fair’s fair.”

  “Fine. Snoop away!” I wave my arms around the apartment in every direction. It’s not like there’s really anything for him to find… probably. Then something occurs to me. Distraction.

  “Actually, I think I’m going to take a shower and get into bed.” I pretend to yawn. “I know we flew on a private plane, but I still feel like I need to shower the plane off… want to join me?”

  Cooper’s breathing deepens, and he nods. I reach out for his hand and tug him towards the bathroom after me.

  My bathroom is small and white. I figured everything being white would make it seem bigger. My entire bathroom could fit into the enormous shower at Lara and Deacon’s house. Even Cooper’s bungalow had a pretty nice master bathroom. Since space in here is tight, I press Cooper up against the bathroom sink. He catches himself with his hands tightly grabbing the edge of the counter. A wave of want passes through me as the veins in his arms bulge from the tension.

  Cooper’s eyes are on me, making me feel bold. So, I drag my hand across my stomach, pulling up my tank top slowly over my head. Then I run my hand over my own breasts, feeling my nipples come to life, and smiling when Cooper’s cock comes to life against my stomach as well. The way he wants me makes me feel bold and powerful. I run both hands over my breasts in slow, intentional circles over my bra. Then I find the clasp between them and release it. As I shrug, the bra slips off my shoulders and falls to the floor.

  Cooper steps forward, his hands rising to touch my breasts, but I push him back against the counter with a single hand pressing against the center of his chest. I can feel his pecs flinch against the sensitive skin of my palm.

  Shaking my head at him, I silently tell him to wait his turn. Then I step back and my hands graze over my breasts again and then slide down to my skirt. My thumbs hook into the waistband, and I slowly press it down my thighs until it falls softly to the floor. Now I’m standing here in my thong with no idea how to get it off. Why didn’t I just take them both off at the same time? Damn it.

  Dance. The word pops into my head. I do love to dance, but this is something completely different. I’ve never been this confident before. Stepping towards him, I slowly sway to music that only I can hear. Then I turn my back to him and grind my ass against his hard cock as I sway to the music. My hands reach out behind me and slide down Cooper’s muscular arms until my hands are on top of his. I curl my hands around his and pull them away from the counter, placing them on my hips. And I keep dancing up against him.

  When I’m so hot for him that I need him to be touching me, I pull each of his hands to the straps of my thong and together we push it down my body. Leaning forward, I bend over to give him better access. When my thong falls softly to the floor – following every other piece of clothing I was wearing – I slide Cooper’s hands back up my body, grazing quickly over the sensitive flesh between my legs then circling my breasts. His hands feel completely different than mine, rough and calloused from work that he can never tell me about.

  But I need more than just Cooper’s hands on my breasts. I need him touching me. I need him inside me. So, I slide one of Cooper’s hands back down between my legs and press his fingers inside of me, along with my own. Together, we find my clit, and massage it. Our hands blended together feels different than anything I’ve ever felt before. Cooper takes the lead now, rubbing my clit like only he knows how to do.

  The want is building up inside of me, building up so that I can’t contain it any longer. A cry escapes me. I sounds desperate and hungry for him like I always am.

  “Come for me, Natalia.” Cooper’s voice is a rough demand against my ear.

  “Make me.” I never want this sweet torture to end. I could live right here like this, always just on the edge of falling into the abyss.

  “Challenge accepted.” Cooper chuckles in my ear. His warm breath on my ear is so sexy, my thighs clench together involuntarily, pressing tightly against our joined hands.

  I try to fight the coming wave, but I can’t. Cooper knows exactly what to do to make me orgasm. And he has no mercy. He rubs my clit between his thumb and forefinger, and I’m gone.

  “Cooper!” I cry out, as wave after wave of pleasure crash over me as he keeps rubbing my clit. Shooting stars jump against a black sky behind my closed eyelids. Cooper holds me tightly as my body shakes against him. I don’t think I would still be standing if it wasn’t for him.

  Once my body stops shaking, I’m suddenly embarrassed that I’m standing here naked, with Cooper fully clothed, and both of our hands still inside me. Cooper’s still gently dragging his fingers slowly back and forth across my clit, wringing every last drop of sensation out of my orgasm.

  “Sorry. I don’t know… what that was,” I tell him honestly.

  Cooper’s hand slides out of me, dripping wet from my orgasm. As he turns me around to face him, he slips his fingers into his mouth to lick the taste of me off of them. Then he taps on my chin, until I’m staring straight up into his eyes.

  “Whatever it was, don’t apologize. That was the sexiest fucking thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. Now, what else did you have in mind?” Cooper’s breath is heavy with want. He reaches for my hand and brings both of our palms to rub against his cock through his jeans.

  He’s rock-hard with want for me. I’m never going to get tired of that. I’m never going to get tired of this man wanting me every bit as much as I want him.

  “I have some ideas…” I tell him, flashing him a slow smile.

  “Show me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Natalia

  “So, what’s the plan?”

  “The plan for what?” I ask, sleepily.

  “The plan for today. I know you have your Board meeting at ten o’clock. But maybe when you’re done, I can take your mind off of it while you show me around your city?”

  “Hmmm… I’m facing the Board. Today… Right… I’m so nervous, I feel sick to my stomach.”

  “You’ll do great. Just be yourself. How could they not love you? You’re the best nurse they have.”

  “And exactly how do you know that?”

  “Because you’re the best damn nurse I’ve ever met. And I’ve met a whole lot of nurses.”

  “Probably before you were injured, huh?” I can’t help but frown up at him.

  Cooper laughs, and the whole bed shakes. “Maybe a few before and a few after.”

  “And I’ve never treated you. Or else we couldn’t be here like this right now.” I wave my arm along our naked bodies, our legs all wrapped up together under the sheets.

  “Then it’s a good thing that I never met you before this. Because I’d be pissed if I missed out on this just because you patched up a few bumps and scrapes. But I know exactly what kind of healing th
ese hands are capable of.” Cooper picks up my hands and kisses my palms one-by-one.

  “A few bumps and scrapes? Is that what you’re calling it now?” Even as I shake my head at him, I can’t stop smiling. I just woke up and my face is already sore from smiling at him. “Why don’t you hang out here with Meowriah? And then come by the hospital at eleven-thirty, and we’ll go for lunch and go see some sights. I should be done with the Board after by then. I might just be free permanently actually.”

  “Don’t talk like that. They’d be idiots to let you go. But I’m sure that you could get a job somewhere else if they are actually that stupid.”

  “I wish it was that simple. But most hospitals frown on nurses losing their shit and having meltdowns in the middle of the ER. If San Francisco General won’t take me back, I don’t think my odds of getting a job at another hospital are too great.”

  “That’s downright stupid. Everyone in the ER was probably happy to be entertained. And happy knowing someone else was in a shittier spot than them.”

  “The shittiest spot. But what I did only made it worse. Something really bad happened to me, but that doesn’t excuse the way I acted. I just made everything worse.”

  “You have more in your life than a damn job, no matter how much you love it. I know something about losing a job that I loved.” Cooper pushes my hair back behind my ear and runs his hand along my jaw. “Your job’s not the only thing you have, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “I know that you’re right. But I do love my job, and the thought of losing it kills me.” The fear of losing it has been hanging over my head for months, and now in a couple of hours that fear might actually come true. “But I do have other things. I have Meowriah Furré. I have my friends. I have my apartment.”

  “Can’t think of anything else you have?” Cooper frowns at me.

  “Hmmm, you’re right. I should be grateful for everything that I have. Like my mom and my brother. I have my health. I’m smart. And I’m strong enough ’to get through whatever happens now.”