Her mouth fell open and all the color drained from her face.
“You didn’t know about them, then?”
“No! When… when did he take them out?”
“Three months ago.”
She shook her head suddenly. “It doesn’t make any sense, then. We were already separated. Three months ago, the judge was ripping Jake a new one for assuming—”
“What, Sonnie?” She’d just stopped talking, her hand covering her mouth as she worked something out in her head. “What is it?”
“Three months ago, the judge in our divorce case told Jake that he didn’t get alimony. He laughed him out of the court for thinking he would.”
I squeezed her thigh. “It’s okay, Sonnie. We’re going to protect you.”
She snapped her face to me and shook her head, hard enough to make her bun fall to the side. “No. He wouldn’t. There has to be some other explanation.”
“It really looks like Jake is planning something bad, Sonnie. Why else would he take a life insurance policy out on you after the divorce was in the works? Obviously you’d cut him out of your will, so he wouldn’t get anything from you that way. The policy would be the only way he got anything.”
If possible, she paled even further. “I don’t have a will.”
My heart slowed down and contracted. The horrified look on her face didn’t sit right with me. “So, if something happened to you right now, before the divorce was finalized…?”
“He’d get everything.”
“How much is everything, Sonnie?”
She looked up at the ceiling and rubbed her hands over her face. “It’s a lot.”
“How much?”
“I got a trust fund from my grandfather when he passed. I don’t touch it because he wasn’t a nice man, but it alone is worth nearly seventy-five million dollars.”
I felt my eyes go wide and stood up. “Holy fucking shit, Sonnie.”
“What?” She looked ashamed. “That’s not my money. I’m not worth that much. I did well on my own with my books, but nowhere near that well.”
“He’s set to come into at least seventy-seven million if you die before the divorce is finalized, Sonnie. Not including whatever else you’re worth. He’s going to try to kill you.”
She stood up too, and shook her head. “That’s crazy. This is all just some coincidence.”
“Didn’t you tell me that Jake is having the divorce held up?”
“Yes, but—”
“The life insurance policy? How do you explain that?”
She stuttered. “I… I don’t know! There must be some explanation, though. He wouldn’t just kill me. That’s crazy.”
“Last week, you swore he’d never hurt you.”
Her face crumpled and she moved away. “I can’t do this. It’s crazy.”
I stepped forward to grab her arm, but she pulled away from me. “Sonnie, we—”
“No! This is insane. I can’t deal with it, Cooper. I can’t. I married Jake when I was a kid still. We did everything together. He was my first kiss, first time, first everything. He loved me! How could the man who loved me want to kill me? It makes no sense.”
I hated hurting her. I also hated hearing about Jake being her first. “Sonnie, we need to talk about this.”
“No. No, I’m done. I’m going back to bed. This didn’t happen.”
I watched her go, fighting the urge to take her into my arms and let her forget all of it.
Chapter 18
Sonnie
I locked myself in my room and sank down right there against the door. They were crazy. Jake didn’t want to kill me. It was the craziest thing I’d ever heard. He was angry and upset, but he didn’t want to kill me. I knew him. I knew he wasn’t a killer.
Yet, he’d taken a life insurance policy out on me. I didn’t know what to think of that. We’d never discussed policies. Not once had they been brought up, just like with my will. I knew it was reckless, but I hadn’t ever wanted to face my own demise, I guessed. I’d had my grandfather’s lawyers telling me what to do when I was younger, but I hated them and anything connected to him, so I hadn’t listened. I’d stayed away from everything they were.
So, Jake stood to make so much money if something did happen to me.
He wouldn’t, though. He couldn’t. He wasn’t a killer. He just wasn’t. He’d cried when he proposed to me. A guy who cried during the proposal didn’t try to kill his wife, even if she became an ex. Right?
I buried my face in my hands and let myself cry. Even more. I was sick of crying and being a mess, but it wasn’t every day that someone told you that your soon-to-be ex-husband wanted to kill you.
I dropped my head back against the door and groaned. “What the hell is going on?”
To add on to the stress of that, I had to also wake up and face the reality that I’d fallen asleep on Cooper the night before. I’d probably drooled and snored on him. He was probably terrified of me after it. I couldn’t blame him. I’d always been told that I wasn’t a pretty sleeper. I wasn’t in it for the beauty. I was in it for the deep sleep.
It was all too much. I was becoming a drama queen, but I felt like throwing myself on the floor and demanding that life start playing fair.
I opened my eyes just in time to see movement from across my room. I turned towards it to see Jake’s face in my bedroom window, his hands on the bottom, pushing it open.
I screamed for all I was worth and clamored to my feet. I was a bumbling mess trying to get the door unlocked and opened, but I felt like Jake was breathing down my neck. My fingers slipped time and time again, but finally I got the lock and threw the door open, just to run smack into Cooper’s chest.
He grabbed me and held my arms. “What’s wrong? What is it?”
I pointed behind me while still pushing against him to back us out of the room. “Jake. Jake was at my window.”
Cooper went into SEAL mode instantly. He yanked me into the hallway bathroom and thrust a huge knife into my hands. I didn’t even see where he pulled it from. “If anyone besides me or the team tries to come in here with you, fucking gut them. Lock the door, Sonnie.”
I shivered against the coldness in his eyes, but did as he said. I locked the door, and a few seconds later heard the alarm come on as the front door slammed shut. I knew I was alone in the house and felt my body shaking in fear. In real fear of Jake, because maybe I did believe that he would hurt me.
It was possible that I didn’t know Jake at all. He could be the monster that they were saying he was, the monster I’d seen when he hit me. Why would he sneak up to my window like that after hitting me and spraying crap on my house? I’d seen the look on his face, too. It’d been angry.
The realization that Jake wanted to hurt me sank in and the shaking got worse. He was going to try to kill me for my money.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, clutching Cooper’s knife, but my legs had started to ache from being locked up. Still, I stood there, like a statue, ready for Jake to burst into the bathroom with me. My heart beating against my ribcage like crazy wasn’t ideal for a knife fight, I was sure, but I would handle it if I had to.
I really hoped I didn’t have to.
More time passed before I heard the alarm beep. I pressed my ear against the door, listening for signs that it was Cooper. Only, it was completely silent. I was straining to hear when a light knock sounded by my head. I screamed and stumbled away from the door.
“It’s me, Sonnie.” Cooper’s deep voice was void of the normal humor there. He sounded angry and tired.
I unlocked the door and opened it. Cooper was right there, his forearm braced against the doorframe, leaning into me. For a second, I wanted to forget everything and just kiss him. I knew it would be good. He kissed like a god.
“He disappeared.”
“What?” I’d gotten distracted for a second. He was standing there, looking slightly sweaty, smelling like heaven. It was hard to focus.
“Jake. We
couldn’t find him. You sure your ex doesn’t have some kind of military training?”
I blinked away my other thoughts and looked up at Cooper’s frustrated expression. “His father was in the army, but I don’t think he ever talked to Jake about it.”
Cooper wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me into his chest. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“How?” My voice was muffled by his shirt, but I was right where I wanted to be.
“You screamed. I never want to hear that scream again. It made my blood run cold.”
Something warmed in my chest and I slowly wrapped my arms around his waist, wanting to hold on to him, to the moment. He’d been scared for me. Worried. I rested my cheek on his chest and sighed.
“I don’t remember the last time I felt like someone truly worried about me.” I hesitated. “Not someone. I mean a man. I was always the caretaker with Jake. I worried. He just… lived.”
Cooper pressed a kiss to the top of my head and held me tighter. “How’s it feel?”
“So good. Especially when it comes in the form of you holding me like this. This is as good as a spa treatment.”
“Flatterer.”
I stayed there for a few more seconds and then pulled back. “I think you’re right. I think Jake wants to hurt me.”
Cooper growled and pulled me back into his chest. “He’s not going to touch you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’m right.” He held me for a little while longer and then rubbed my arms and pulled away. “We’re going to go to the office for right now. We’ll figure out what to do from there.”
I shivered. “He came in broad daylight.”
Cooper tugged me after him, down the stairs. “Yeah. That’s not good.”
I kept quiet and allowed him to do his tactical exit for me. When I was in the truck with my head next to his warm thigh, I sighed. “I miss my boring life.”
His large hand rested on my head, with his fingers stroking through my hair. “We’ll get you back to it soon.”
It was what I wanted, but suddenly the idea of life without Cooper in it was sad. I felt like crying. I stayed quiet the rest of the trip, but I let myself have the pleasure of resting my fingers against the side of his knee, the denim there warm and soft from wear.
He ushered me into the back of the building with the same tactics, but I wasn’t feeling so ridiculous about them after seeing Jake’s face in my window. Once we were inside, he locked the door behind us and rearmed an alarm system that was even more intense than mine.
Without my say-so, my eyes moved over to the spot where he’d last kissed me. I stood there, staring at the spot, wishing things were simpler. I wished that I’d met Cooper in a different life, somewhere where it was easier to start something. Where we were just woman and man instead of all the crap we were.
I sighed and caught Cooper’s attention. He’d been on his phone, making calls, but he held it away from his face and mouthed to me, asking if I was okay.
I forced a smile and nodded before walking over to a workout bench and sitting on it. I felt older than my years. I felt the responsibilities of life weighing heavily on me, dragging me down. I wanted that different life. I wanted to be free enough to walk into something with Cooper and not have to worry about anything else.
I looked up and found Cooper still staring at me. His eyes were narrowed and intense, giving him a dangerous edge. I stood up. I wanted that dangerous edge and intensity on me.
Something came over me and I wanted to feel alive. I wanted to feel Cooper. Desperation to feel alive and okay flooded my senses until I was walking back to him. I didn’t stop until my chest was pressed against his and my hands were grasping at his shirt.
“Sonnie?”
I looked up at Cooper and threw caution to the wind. I stood up on my toes and pressed my mouth against his. He didn’t kiss me back right away, but I wasn’t worried that he didn’t want what I was doing. His body was instantly hard against mine.
He pulled away, though, putting enough space between us that my hands fell from his chest. His chest rose and fell heavily and he stared down at me with a heat that I’d only seen from him. I had serious doubts that any other man could look at a woman and make them feel like combusting like he could.
He put his phone back against his ear and grunted something out that I didn’t catch. I hadn’t even realized he was still on the phone.
Embarrassment made me turn away from him and struggle to remember why I’d been so adamant about making an ass of myself that way. Before I could get away from the situation, thick arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back into a hard chest.
“We’re doing this.” Cooper’s voice was deeper and huskier than normal, filling my head with carnal things that this could mean.
I looked over my shoulder at him and licked my lips. “This?”
He spun me around and sank his hands into my hair before dragging my mouth up to his. He kissed me with force and something wild that set my nerves on edge in the hottest way possible. My whole body stood to attention as I quickly realized what this was.
Just as quickly as he’d turned me into his arms, he moved the kiss into something hotter. He didn’t hesitate to slip his tongue into my mouth and taste me. Our tongues danced against each other, our teeth bumped, lips were tugged at. Fingertips dug into my scalp and I pressed my body against his as hard as I could, desperate to feel more of him.
We were moving, but I just clung to Cooper, willing to let him take me anywhere. When I stumbled, he scooped me up and tugged my thighs around his waist. Our cores bumped together as he strode across the room, making my breath labored and giving it an edge of porn star. I didn’t mind. I wanted him to want me as much as I wanted him.
Cooper kicked a door open and then shut it once we were inside a smaller room by planting my back against the door and walking me forward until we were closed in, locked together there.
“This. I want to be in you, Sonnie. If that’s not something you want, tell me now.”
I gasped and dropped my head back against the door as he slipped his lips down my throat and teased my skin. Without much effort, he found the sensitive spot below my ear and bit down enough to make my fingers dig into his shoulders. “I want you.”
He leaned his head back and met my eyes. “Tell me. Tell me what you want, Sonnie.”
My shame had faded sometime between the first kiss and my back planted against a door with his thighs between my stretched-open legs. “I want you in me. I want this. I need this.”
Chapter 19
Cooper
Fuck. It was all I needed to hear, but hearing it in her breathy voice with her eyes rolling back in her head as she all but begged made me weak in the knees.
“Who am I to argue with a beautiful woman?” I bit that spot under her ear again while sliding my hands up the outsides of her thighs and up her sides. I caught the hem of her shirt and worked it up so I could touch her bare skin. She was soft as silk and she tasted like heaven. I couldn’t wait to find out if the rest of her tasted as sweet.
Feeling on the edge of losing control, I moved my hands to her back and then slid them between her ass and the wall, into her shorts. The ass I’d been admiring so much didn’t disappoint. She was soft there, too. And bare. With no panties to be found, I slipped her shorts down and dipped my fingers lower to feel. Wet heat met my fingers and offered no resistance as I slipped inside her folds and caressed her.
Sonnie tightened her thighs around me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling us closer. “This feels… crazy.”
I knew what she meant. My heart was pounding and my breathing was already erratic, even though I hadn’t done anything yet. Something about us together was explosive. I should’ve been afraid of lighting that fuse, but I couldn’t be. She was too good.
I pushed a finger into her and felt her clench around it. I captured her lips again and grunted when her teeth nipped the tip
of my tongue. She sucked it into her mouth and rubbed it with her tongue, making my eyes almost cross.
Pushing another finger into her hot core, I rubbed her inside walls and gently stretched her, getting her ready for me. I wasn’t a small man and I didn’t know how gentle the first time between us was going to be.
“Off. Take this off.” Sonnie was suddenly pulling at my shirt, yanking at it. “I want to touch you.”
I used my free hand to reach over my head and grab the material to pull it off. I was clumsy and got it stuck on my head, but Sonnie just pulled it the rest of the way off and then pressed her lips to my bare chest. Her tongue came out to play and when she ran it over my nipples, I gasped and my hips surged forward into her.
Done waiting, I put her down and yanked her own shirt over her head and pushed her shorts the rest of the way down. Looking down at her naked body, I swallowed and prayed I didn’t come too soon. She was sexy as hell standing in front of me, fully displayed like she was. Her breasts were full and her nipples bright pink and begging to be sucked. I leaned down and did just that.
Sonnie moaned and thrust her chest out farther. Her breath was labored and she wobbled on her feet like she’d fall over at any second.
I was a man possessed. I turned her around and put her hands on the countertop, one on each side of the sink. Then I slipped my hand between her thighs and pushed her legs apart until she was standing, ready for me. I shoved my jeans down as far as I could get them and gripped my dick.
Sonnie’s heated eyes met mine in the mirror in front of her and a smile lifted one side of her mouth. It was all for me.
I lined our bodies up and pushed forward, filling her with one fluid thrust. I watched her eyes flutter closed and her mouth drop open. Her fingers balled up on the counter and a flush rose over her chest and face. I could see all of her exposed in the mirror and it fueled the animal in me that wanted to possess her fully.
I slid back out and then thrust back into her faster, the head of my dick bumping against the deepest part of her. Her eyes flew open and she made a little whimpering sound that did me in.
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