“I’m sorry I interrupted your plans.”
“There wasn’t really much of a plan, come home, get drunker and ... How did you get in here? How do you know where I live?”
“Vanessa gave me your forwarding address, and your property manager let me in.”
The cat jumps up on my bed and begins kneading my duvet with its paws. “I can’t have a cat in this building, Cooper.”
“Actually, she said it was okay.”
I shake my head. “Everyone still does exactly what you want, huh? You just throw a smirk their way and everyone falls to their knees in submission.”
“Not everyone.” He rakes a hand through thick black curls and gives me a sad smile. “Apparently.”
“Why did you come here, Coop?”
“I came ... for your birthday.”
“You flew across the world to tell me happy birthday?”
“Kind of, yeah.” His eyes dart away from my face and study my apartment. I suddenly wish I hadn’t chosen to hide out in my blanket fort all day eating Mint Patties and crying over google, and had instead gotten my fat arse up off the bed and cleaned up a little. He smiles awkwardly. “So, how have you been?”
I arch a brow at him. “How do you think I’ve been?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” He shakes his head and looks away. “Tim seems nice.”
“He is nice.”
“Good.” He grabs his jacket and throws it on. “Well, I set up the cat’s litter box in the bathroom, and there’s food on the bench behind you.”
“Okay,” I say dazedly. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He takes a step towards me and cups my face in his hands, and then he kisses my forehead. I close my eyes and melt into his touch. “Happy birthday, Ali-Cat.”
He moves around me, his hand brushing mine as he passes. I close my eyes, and take a deep breath. It’s as though I haven’t been able to breathe since I left him. And it feels so good to breathe again.
“Coop,” I whisper. He turns to face me, and I eliminate the distance between us, sliding my hand behind his head and pulling him down to kiss me. He stills. A beat passes. My heart squeezes painfully because I worry he doesn’t want this, and then he opens to me, his tongue probing, seeking. His mouth hot against mine, and just as needy.
I grab the lapels of his jacket and tug it down his arms, and then I walk us backwards until his hard body is shoved against the door. He lets out a grunt and slides his fingers into my hair, equally as rough, and kisses along my jaw. His stubble grazes my neck, and his mouth devours my flesh with hot, wet kisses.
Cooper licks his way along my collarbone, shoving the thin strap off my shoulder and yanking down the bodice of my dress. The other strap snaps, and I gasp as it stings my skin. He pushes the fabric down, exposing my breasts, then he bends and takes one nipple in his mouth, licking and sucking a brutal trail from one breast to the other. My pussy aches, my skin and senses electric. Too much time apart has made us both desperate for the feel of one another.
Neither one of us can get close enough. Coop palms my arse. He kisses his way up my breasts, threading his fingers through my hair and pulling it hard. I throw my head back as a wordless cry escapes my mouth.
Reaching behind me, I unzip the dress and wiggle it and my panties down over my hips, letting it fall to the floor. I’m completely naked, and he’s wearing far too many clothes. I slide my hands up underneath his shirt and rake my nails down his chest, over soft nipples and tensed muscle. He growls, driving his tongue into my mouth, consuming every breath I have left. I claw at his T-shirt, moaning impatiently when our mouths break apart to pull the material over his head. My greedy hands reach out and stroke him through his jeans. Hard. He’s so very, very deliciously hard. My fingers scrabble for purchase on his fly, but our movements are too hurried and I wind up fumbling. Coop pushes me out of the way. He unzips and shoves his jeans down over his hips.
He takes his cock in his hand and strokes it. A bead of pre-come glistens on the tip and he collects it with his thumb, sliding it over the engorged head. I bite my bottom lip as I watch. When his eyes meet mine, there’s hesitation in his gaze. He opens his mouth to speak, but I press my finger against his lips and say, “No.”
He parts his lips and sucks my finger into his mouth, biting down on my soft flesh. I moan, because even his teeth in my flesh feels more erotic than anything I’ve experienced after weeks of playing with my We-Vibe to take the edge off.
Unable to help myself, and unwilling to prolong my pleasure any longer, I scramble up his body. Coop’s fingers dig into my arse, holding me steady, and then he spins us and slams my back into the door. He braces one hand against the frame—the other moves between us to take hold of his cock. He slides the tip through my juices, and I gasp when he massages my clit with the head of his cock.
“Fuck me, please,” I beg, rocking my hips against him. Coop leans back, spitting on his hand and rubbing it over his cock, and then he pushes inside, hard, until he’s seated balls’ deep.
“Fuck, I missed your tight cunt squeezing my cock, Ali.” He pulls out, almost the entire way, and then slams back inside. My fingers claw at his back, my heels digging into his arse, edging him closer. I need his body, his mouth and his cock to consume me. “Wrap your legs around me, baby.”
I do as he asks, and he returns his hands to my arse. Carrying me over to the bed, he slides out of me and drops me onto the mattress. I grunt in protest, but Coop is clearly done playing nice. He grabs my waist and flips me over so I’m lying on my stomach.
Snaking his arm under my hips, he lifts my arse in the air. I suck in a breath and plant my knees, but he spreads them wider, and then he buries his face in my pussy. His tongue licks from front to back, and when he moves lower and sucks my clit into his mouth, my legs start to shake.
Cooper spreads my cheeks apart and buries his face in my wetness, his tongue sliding into my entrance, the stubble on his cheeks grazing my sensitised flesh. I shudder against him, simultaneously trying to push myself closer and pull away from him. The pads of his long fingers push against my clit as his tongue fucks me. My breathing becomes laboured, my head swims with pleasure, and just as my muscles clamp down with the first wave of orgasm he pushes his thick cock inside me, right to the hilt. I scream and buck against him, but he shows me no mercy—he just pumps in and out of my body. His hips piston and his fingers dig into my waist, holding me up, and if they weren’t I’d most likely collapse beneath the weight of the pleasure running through my body.
He grabs my hair, yanking my head back, but I want more. I need to be closer so I come up on my knees, leaning back into his chest while his hips thrust and his cock pumps in and out of me from behind. The position brings new friction, new heat to an already blazing inferno. He pounds into me, and I rock my hips back to meet his.
“Oh fuck, Cooper.” I wrap one arm behind his neck and sink my fingers into his hair, loving the way he nips at the soft flesh of my bicep.
“I missed you so fucking much, Ali-Cat,” he whispers in my ear, his breathing ragged, and his words tempered with lust or love. It’s hard to tell which, but then again, it always was with him. “So. Fucking. Good.”
Pleasure builds inside me, and when he wraps his arm around my waist and strokes my clit with deft fingers that know all too well what I like, I come. Cooper sinks his teeth into my shoulder, sucking my flesh into his mouth, and his cock jerks inside me. Hot come spurts from his body into mine, and I relish the feel of him softening inside me as we stay like that, both afraid to move, afraid to break the spell.
He places one large hand on my back and pushes me down on the mattress. I’m aching, satiated, and overcome with more emotion than I know what to do with. Tears start to leak out of the corners of my eyes because he won’t lie down with me. He won’t take me in his arms and hold me. Instead, he shifts to the end of the bed, completely naked, his forearms resting on his knees and his hard gaze directed down at the floor.
; “What’s the matter?”
“Coming here was a mistake.”
Ice spreads through my veins, and I swallow hard. Did I hallucinate that amazing sex? Was it bad? Have I been so long without that I forgot what was good and what was average? “Cooper—”
“I have to go.”
“That’s it? You’re gonna fly halfway across the world, fuck me and then leave?”
“I shouldn’t have taken it that far.”
“Why not?”
He shrugs off my hold. “Levi told me you were seeing someone. I’ve known that for weeks.” He buries his head in his hands. “I just fucking met the guy, and I fucked you anyway because I couldn’t help myself. I lose my head completely when I’m with you. I’m sorry, Ali.”
“You think I’m sleeping with Tim?”
“Well, aren’t you?”
“Cooper, he’s my old flatmate. He was Bradley’s best friend. We’re just friends—he felt badly for me when Levi called, so he made out he was my boyfriend.”
“But you brought him back to your apartment?”
“Yeah, and he also found me here four hours ago, with unwashed bedhead and Mint Pattie stuck to my face.”
He frowns. “Why would you have Mint Pattie stuck to your face?”
“Shame spiral.” I wave that away, trying to get him to focus on what’s important here. “It’s irrelevant.”
“So you’re not—”
“Fucking my old roommate? Nope. I’m in love with some other guy. He thinks he’s a big hot-shot rock star, but he’s mostly just average in every way.”
He laughs, and it’s been so long since I’ve heard that sound that more tears spring into my eyes. “That so?”
“Yup. Honestly, the ego on this guy is ridiculous.” I swipe at the tears and Coop climbs over me, settling his hips into the space between my legs and pinning me to the bed, his forearms pushing down into the mattress either side of my head.
“Hi,” he whispers. “I’m the egotistical, average-in-every-way rock star.”
I smile up at him. “Hi.”
“I have to go soon.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I only had an eight-hour layover. I’ve got a show in about forty-six hours.” His eyes light with excitement. “You should come with me.”
“I can’t. There’s that whole paparazzi thing. I finally got them to leave me the hell alone by never leaving my apartment. Plus I have to work.”
“I’ll pay you to never leave my bed.” He says, and then cringes when he realises that hits a little too close to home. “Shit, Ali. I didn’t mean—”
I pull his face down to mine and kiss him deeply, cutting off his apology. Yes, he lied, but I was an idiot to doubt his sincerity or his love for me.
“Sorry,” he says, when I finally release his mouth.
“I am too.” I run my fingers through his curls, and take in those beautiful blue-grey eyes I missed so much.
“Will you think about coming with me? We have three more weeks through Europe and I don’t want to be away from you that long.”
“What about Levi?”
“He’s fine,” Coop says, and I try to hide my grimace at that. Of course he’s fine; he’s dating Victoria’s Secret models and banging anything that moves on the European continent.
“Right.” I smile up at him. “Of course he is.”
Cooper frowns. “Actually, he’s not, but he’s trying to be. He wants you to be happy, Ali.” He lets out a deep breath and says, “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but that’s all I want, too. If he’s what makes you happy, then you should be together.”
“We really made a mess of things, didn’t we?”
He gives a derisive laugh, smoothing the hair back from my forehead. “Little bit, yeah.”
“Levi will always be special to me, Coop. Seeing him with another woman, being around him? That’s not going to be easy. I won’t deny that, but there’s always been a clear choice between the two of you.”
“And I’m it?” he asks. There’s trepidation in his eyes. He seems so uncertain, as if he’s expecting me to turn him away. I can’t help it; I laugh. Because I don’t know how this man could possibly be so damn blind.
“Well, you’re not my first choice. I mean I’ll always be holding out hope that Josh Holme will leave his wife for me, and there’s the ego thing, and then—”
He cuts my insults short by kissing me, deeper than before, but sweeter at the same time. I moan into his mouth, my body tightening and begging for more of him.
“So maybe we hold off on you joining us on tour, just for now. After this leg, I have two months off. I want to head up north, spend some time with Pepper, and I want you to come with me. No paparazzi, no Levi, no Taint. Just you and me.”
“And your ex,” I add, teasingly.
“She’s the mother of my kid, Ali,” he says, tenderly stroking the hair back from my face. “You two are going to have to meet at some point.”
“You know, if we wanted to, I bet we could have our own show with all the messed up stuff that goes on in our lives. We easily out-crazy the Kardashians.”
“I’m done sharing you with others. I just got you back, and I want to keep you all to myself,” he whispers, kissing my jaw, nipping his teeth down my neck and sinking them into my shoulder.
“And I want to let you.”
Hooking his arms beneath my back, Cooper sits up so that I’m straddling his waist, his face just inches from mine. He leans forward and takes my breast into his mouth, sucking hard on the nipple and then biting down until I cry out. I reach between us and take hold of his cock, guiding it into my body, gasping as I sink down on him. Cooper moves in and out of me, filling me up and hitting all of the right spots. I wrap my arms around his shoulders as I rock my pelvis against his lap, grinding my clit against the base of his cock as pleasure arcs through me with each thrust.
My orgasm builds slowly, tempered only by our gentle rocking and his mouth on my flesh, nipping, sucking and licking everywhere that he can reach.
“Fuck,” he says through clenched teeth. His cock jerks inside me. “Come for me, Ali.”
“Coop. Oh god, don’t stop,” I pant, and throw my head back as my body jerks with release. I collapse against him, pushing us both back onto the mattress. He softens and eventually slides out of my body, but neither one of us move. I don’t want to. I’m afraid if I do, he’ll leave.
We doze on and off like that—our bodies flush against one another, chest to chest, my face buried in his neck, legs stretched out on top of his.
“Don’t go,” I whisper against his throat. He doesn’t answer, but his arms tighten around me. Feeling warm and happy for the first time in weeks, I sleep.
“WAKE UP, KITTY CAT,” Cooper whispers. I cover my eyes with the crook of my arm and try to roll over, but his hand slides between my legs, gently rubbing my clit, and a moan escapes my mouth. “I have to leave.”
“No,” I protest, flexing my hips towards him for more. He indulges me, working me faster until I explode with pleasure, white hot and searing.
“Fucking beautiful,” he whispers. I open my eyes and catch him smirking down at me. I throw my pillow at him.
“Stop fucking smirking at me, Ryan.”
He chuckles and leans in, snaking his fingers behind my head and bringing his mouth down on mine in a soft kiss that quickly turns needy. He pulls away with a groan. “I’m gonna miss my plane if I don’t go.”
“Fine. Go make the panties of millions of women wet. I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Promise?” he asks, his mouth tilting up at the sides.
“Cross my heart.” I smirk back.
“Love you, Ali-Cat.”
“Get outta here, butt munch.”
He lays one last kiss on my lips and disappears through my front door. I flop back against the bed with a contented sigh, and then the bastard cat jumps on my chest. I scream. She hisses in my face, and darts over to the windowsill,
meowing at something down below.
I sit up and press my face against the glass. Down on the street, Cooper is getting into a town car. He looks up at my window and catches me staring. I flip him off, and he chuckles. I can practically hear that melodic low tone of his, even from this distance.
He blows me a kiss that I catch, and then I pretend to eat it, poking my tongue out at him afterwards. His shoulders shake with laughter, and then he disappears into the backseat. I can’t see him through the tinted windows, but I’m pretty sure he can see me. So I blow him a kiss and press my fingers to the glass as he drives off.
“Stupid egotistical, average-in-every-way rock stars,” I mutter to my bastard cat. She glares at me as if I’m the reason he drove away, and then goes about licking her genitals while she balances on the windowsill. Lucky bitch.
I get up and make myself a coffee, and then climb back into my bed and wrap my body in sheets that smell like him. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future with Levi, and the press, his ex, and a career that will most certainly see us spending more time apart than we do together, but I know that he’s worth waiting for.
No matter how long it takes. No matter how many time zones, tabloids, tours from hell or fangirls between us, I’ll still be here waiting, because it turns out I’m his biggest fan.
Even if I never wanted to be.
CLOSER
Carmen Jenner
PROLOGUE
THEN
LEVI
How does that song go again? One tequila, two tequila, three ... oh yeah—floor. I take another swig from the bottle and lean back against the headrest. I wish I had tequila, but I’m drinking vodka. Straight.
It’s how I know I truly hate myself at this moment.
I stare at the four walls of the tour bus bedroom. This isn’t the same one we toured the States with, and yet the interior isn’t all that different. The double bed is just as uncomfortable as all tour bus beds, because it’s a pull-out fucking sofa. I push my skull against the squeaky vinyl bedhead and resist the urge to chuck up my guts. My head spins, but it isn’t from the alcohol. It’s from what I’ve just done. I never thought myself capable of a truly selfless act, but I guess you do learn something new every motherfucking day.
TAINTED: THE COMPLETE DUET Page 29