Coop moved back and released her arm. Josie’s cheeks looked pink, and she bit her plump bottom lip. Had she no idea what she was doing to him?
Apparently not, because she ignored him while she talked to the nurse.
“Okay. Let’s get you in to X-ray.” The nurse grabbed a wheelchair from the corner and waited for Josie to sit in it.
“Do I have to use that?”
“Yes,” he and the nurse said together.
An hour later, the tech confided to Coop that he’d found no break, but they had to wait for the doctor’s say-so. Coop took Josie back to the waiting room. The doc soon verified she’d badly sprained her wrist, then gave Coop a look upon hearing the details of how she’d sprained it. Josie grumbled about leaving, and Coop nodded to the doc to step outside.
“Jesus, Coop. Now you’re falling on them when they say no?” Tanya Winters laughed at him.
“Oh come on, Doc. You know Hannah and that damn cat. She’s such a pain in the ass.” He said a few more uncomplimentary things about his sister, to which Tanya nodded in sympathy. The poor woman had four sisters herself. “But I love her, so you can’t repeat that to anyone.” Not even her husband, his battalion chief.
“Right. Mum’s the word on the pain in the ass.”
She pulled him aside to get his opinion on what she planned to buy her husband for his birthday, and when he told her about what the chief had been hinting he wanted, she thanked him and handed him Josie’s prescription for some pain pills.
“Oh, and Coop, you want my advice? Next time just ask her out. Tackling her to the ground isn’t sending a good message.”
“Everyone’s a smartass,” he muttered and left her laughing behind him. But when he returned to Josie’s room, he found her, her purse, and the damn car keys gone.
He hurried back out. “Hey, Beth,” he called to the nurse who’d been helping them. “Where did Josie go?”
“Ms. Young? Well, after hearing you call her a few names, she got fed up and left.” Beth frowned at him. “Seriously, Coop. Next time be a little more circumspect, you know?”
“I was talking about someone else,” he said through gritted teeth, feeling both exasperated and bad that Josie had the impression he didn’t like her. “Shit.” He pulled out his cell phone and ordered Harrison to pick him up. Considering Harrison had started all this way back when, he figured his brother owed him.
And he was annoyed enough to call him on it.
***
Josie returned home annoyed, tired, and sick of men in general. She had half a notion to wolf down her entire cheesecake and add on even more pounds to make her feel less attractive. The less she liked looking at herself, the less she felt like going out.
“Men suck,” she said to herself and plopped down with the television.
Sometime later, Miranda woke her up and demanded to know why Josie had her wrist wrapped and her arm in a sling After dishing on the details, Josie made a sad face. “I don’t even have the energy to order pizza for dinner.”
Miranda rolled her eyes. “Please. I already ordered a supreme. And…” She checked her watch. “It’s time for me to go pick it up. I’ll be back soon.”
She left but returned too soon to have gotten the pizza. Miranda must have locked herself out, Josie figured, because she kept ringing the blasted doorbell.
“Hello? Spare key under the planter?” Josie rose to her feet, still feeling miserable, and unlocked the door, then without opening it, turned back toward the couch. She heard the door open. “Seriously, Miranda. You could have just used the key.”
“Good to know.” The deep voice that answered wasn’t Miranda.
Josie spun around and gaped at Cooper Talbot, who looked none too pleased with her. “Cooper?”
“Yeah, me. For the record, I was bitching about my sister at the hospital. Not you. And you left before you could get your pain pills.” He held up a paper bag. “Honey, no offense, but you look like you need it.” He gave her a wry grin. “Happy birthday.”
Everything felt as if it came to a head. She was starved. Her wrist hurt like a bitch. The man of her dreams still didn’t love her, and she had no date and no fun on the horizon for her birthday.
Josie burst into tears.
Cooper looked horrified, and she expected him to turn tail and leave. Instead, he shocked her by pulling her carefully into his arms—not jostling her wrist at all—and giving her a warm hug.
“Shh. It’ll be okay, gorgeous. Let it out.”
She sobbed harder, embarrassed, miserable, and now aroused on top of everything. I am so perverted. God. She couldn’t help noticing how hot he felt, both literally and figuratively. Cooper radiated heat like a furnace, and those muscles beckoned to be touched. She had to curl the fingers on her good hand so as not to pet him all over.
Josie sniffed and tried to pull herself together. Coop guided her to the couch and eased her down. “Be right back.” He left and returned moments later with a box of tissues he must have grabbed from the bathroom. Fortunately, she’d cleaned it only yesterday. “Go on, blow.”
She took the tissue from him and cleared her sinuses, then wadded it in her hand. “Why are you here?”
He straightened and rocked back on his heels, his hands in his pockets, and regarded her with narrowed gray eyes. “Why am I here? One, because it’s my fault you’re feeling bad. Two, because you left before you got your painkillers. Three…”
“Three?”
“Did you know you’re actually pretty when you cry? I’ve seen lots of tears, and normally it’s not a good look—on anyone. But your eyes are just so…blue.” He wiped her cheek, and they both tensed. “Do you feel that?”
She wanted to answer but didn’t know what to say. The truth? That she wanted to climb him lumberjack-style and slide down his wood? She almost laughed hysterically at the bad pun—a sure sign of desire and nerves. Should she tell him she felt nothing but the doomed needs of a nearly born-again virgin? And would he please just take pity on her and strip down so she could at least see a hot man before she turned thirty… in three more years.
Miranda returned just in time carrying a large box that made Josie’s mouth water. “I come bearing… Oh my. Who let you in?” He stood and turned, and she blinked. “You’re not Officer Do Me.” Cooper frowned, and Miranda laughed. “Oh, gray eyes. The face is a little harder, rougher. You’re Hulk-shorts, aren’t you?”
Josie groaned. Shoot me now.
Chapter Four
“Hulk-shorts?” Coop turned to Josie, but she refused to meet his gaze. “I see you clearly haven’t forgotten high school.”
“Hey, remember, you admitted to being a dickhead.”
He sighed. “So I did.” He left her and held out his hand to Miranda, then apparently rethought the idea and rescued Miranda from the large pizza box. “Hi. I’m Cooper Talbot. You already met my brother, Harrison. Officer Do Me.”
Miranda didn’t blush. She laughed. “Miranda Fenton, Josie’s roommate. Are you staying for dinner?”
Josie wanted to sink into the floor, not wanting to see this Talbot fall victim to Miranda’s beauty and charm. Miranda couldn’t help being her dazzling self, but it hadn’t seemed to matter with other men.
To her shock, Cooper didn’t seem fazed. He looked back at Josie and smiled. “Dinner sounds perfect. Come on, walking wounded. Let’s get you doped up and fed. Then Miranda and I can tell stories about you.”
“Sounds like a plan. Be right back.” Miranda rubbed her hands together and left them alone in the living room.
“Um, what are you doing?”
“Time to make up for what’s been a crappy birthday. How about having a lowly Talbot serve you dinner and dessert?” He leaned close to whisper, “Don’t tell anyone, but I give killer foot rubs. Hannah used to blackmail all of us into rubbing her big feet, and we’ve become experts in the art of heel massage and arch therapy—as she likes to call it.”
“Well, I mean, I don’t know… I’m thinking you’re j
ust in this for the free pizza.” Who was this man, and what had he done with the Cooper Talbot she thought she knew?
He smiled, and she felt short of breath. “That’s one way of looking at it. Another is that you can tell all your friends about some moron who hurt your wrist, and how you made him pay by servicing you.”
Her thoughts immediately went into the gutter at mention of servicing.
“Male servitude.” He nodded. “I’m told this is a fantasy many women share.”
“Oh, we do,” Miranda answered from behind him, wearing a different outfit than the one she’d worn before. She now wore a pair of form-hugging jeans and a sweater instead of her casual dress. “Josie’ll take you up on your offer, thank you very much. This actually works out great, because I had something come up I have to handle. Cooper, would you mind helping Josie tonight? I have a feeling I’ll be back late.” She sighed and gave Josie a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so sorry to bail on your birthday, but it’s an emergency. Nothing earth-shattering—I hope—just one of my student’s parents concerned about her kid.”
“On a Saturday night?” Josie frowned and got to her feet. No sense in letting all the tall people loom over her.
“The mom works weird hours and is usually strapped for time, so we’ve never talked in person. But now, it can’t wait.”
Knowing there was more to the story Miranda obviously didn’t want to get into in front of Cooper, Josie relented. “Oh. Okay.” Disappointed but understanding, she added, “I’ll save you some pizza and cheesecake.”
“No worries on the pizza. I’ll get something while I’m out. But you better save me some dessert.” She turned to Cooper and shook her finger at him. “Take good care of her.”
“Oh, I will.” He didn’t watch her leave, instead kept his gaze on Josie. Again, he’d ignored Miranda for her. Guilt obviously did strange things to people.
Miranda left, and Josie felt the awkward silence build. It didn’t help Cooper looked amazing, while she probably resembled another accident waiting to happen.
“Do you want some water for the pills?” he asked.
“Oh. Actually, no. My wrist isn’t that bad.” It had started feeling a bit better, but the truth was she couldn’t afford taking anything now, not when she needed to be in full command of herself around him. “I could go for some water though.”
“Okay.” When he moved into the kitchen and started rummaging through her cabinets, she hurried to follow him. “Wait. I can do that. I’m not a complete invalid.”
He ignored her and fetched her a glass of water, then set down plates and had pizza laid out in no time. And all the while she watched him, seeing the play of light over the many ripples of muscle glorifying the tight tee-shirt he wore. God help her, but the man had one hell of a back view. His tapered waist broadened into a V up toward his muscular lats and shoulders. She wanted to curl her hands around his biceps and stroke him all over, then…
Totally overheating. She drank more water, and her stomach grumbled, wanting sustenance. It had been a long day.
She noticed him watching her again. “What?”
“Happy birthday.” He smiled, and she felt warm in places that had been cold for too long. Suddenly her birthday didn’t seem so bad after all.
She smiled back, and they ate in companionable silence, until she just had to say something.
“Wow, Cooper. Four pieces? I’m impressed.” She’d stopped at two, eyeing a third but knowing she needed to save room for dessert. “Where do you put it all?”
His smile was nothing short of sinful. “Well now, Josie, a body this well put together needs fuel, wouldn’t you say?” Oh, the braggart. Of course he was a walking work of art. He didn’t have to point out the obvious.
“I imagine all the food goes to your big…”
“Yes?” He drawled, his eyes twinkling.
“Well, I was going to say feet. Then I thought fat head might work better.”
He chuckled. “You think that injured wrist makes you safe? Think again, lady.”
“Oh?” She raised a brow in a manner that normally quelled her most rambunctious students.
“If I’d had a teacher like you back in school, I’m sure I would have passed all my classes with flying colors.” He cleared their plates and came back to sit next to her with two beers in hand. “Hope you don’t mind. I kind of helped myself.”
The look he was giving her put her even more on edge, because she felt like a deer ogled by a large, hungry wolf.
“Cooper?”
“Here.” He handed her a beer, then clinked her bottle with his. “To an even better year.”
“Cheers.” She took a large swallow. Noting him still watching her, she took another, and then another. Feeling much better, she left the table for the couch. He didn’t hesitate to sit right next to her. So much for personal space.
“Okay. Belly full, beer in hand. You look good.” He winked. “Ready for that foot rub?”
“Well, it is my birthday.” She decided to go for broke. Hey, she might be untouched in other places, but only a fool would turn down a free foot rub from Cooper Talbot.
“There’s the spirit.” He sat back a little and took her foot in hand. He’d just peeled off her sock before he paused. “Or did you want that cheesecake first?”
“Are you kidding? I’m stuffed. But I bet you’d like a bite.”
He stared right at her and quirked a grin. “Yeah, I would.”
She blinked at him, thinking she had to be hearing things. Innuendo? From Cooper Talbot? For her, a woman he’d mostly hated for years?
Cooper didn’t make a move or do anything improper, to her great displeasure. Instead he took her foot and eased past her knotty arch to her heel.
“Oh, wow.” She moaned and leaned back against the pillows behind her. “You are good.”
He chuckled. “Yep. I have hands of steel.”
“You do. Lucky Hannah.”
He continued to rub the tension from her, pushing into all her pleasure—pressure—points. Except she’d been right the first time. Pleasure should have been his middle name. Her panties were damp, her arousal sky-high with his huge hands touching her while her other foot brushed his thigh.
She tried not to squirm but couldn’t help her hard nipples poking visibly at her shirt.
Fortunately, he seemed bent on his task, his focus on her feet. “Relax, Josie. I’ll take care of you.”
“Famous last words,” she thought she’d said under her breath, but he laughed and glanced up.
His gaze moved from her face to her chest and settled there before lifting once more to her mouth. The touch of his hands changed. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she felt the difference.
“How about I roll your jeans up a little, so I can get higher on your ankle?”
She nodded, unable to speak. He continued to watch her while his hands dragged another unwilling moan from her lips. Those damn hands weren’t easing anything. Stroking her lower ankles and calves, he turned her legs into erogenous zones. Her breathing came faster, and then she accidentally grazed his rock hard lap with her other foot. Unless he had a third leg, something had definitely grown between his legs since he’d sat down with her.
Shocked, she glanced up at him and saw his intense need.
In a smoky voice he asked, “How about I make you feel even better?”
“I-I’m listening.” Her nipples sure were. The damn things were like beacons for attention, standing out like that.
“Why don’t you lose the pants, and I’ll rub you all over? You look like you could use some ease. I mean, today at my place was a nightmare. You’ve got to be tense.” He gave her a wry grin. “And you said it, confronting a room full of dickheads after dealing with my sister…and on your birthday? Now that’s just cruel.”
“So ‘rub you all over’ means what, exactly?”
“It means I make you feel good. My clothes stay on the entire time, but you’ll be moaning and sighing when
I’m done.”
“Sighing too, huh?” Could this possibly be real? “Is this a joke?”
“No joke.” The look he gave her seared her to her toes. “You’ve had a hard day, honey. Let me make it better.”
“And you’ll keep your clothes on?” She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. But then, she didn’t intend to be another notch on his love belt. If he thought he’d come over to take advantage of an injured woman, he could think again about getting his rocks off.
“Yep. Much as it might kill me—and it might—my clothes stay on,” he said firmly. “Come on. What do you have to lose besides an orgasm or two?”
“You really went there.”
“Well, what did you think I was talking about?” He kept stroking her legs, and she trembled with desire.
“I don’t know. You were doing such a great job of being forward but not too forward. But orgasm pretty much leaves nothing to question.”
“So is that a yes or no? Josie, I’m not here to hurt you. I swear. I just want you to feel good.” He paused. “You did say you had no plans tonight except for a book and that cheesecake, right?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes narrowed, and before she could second-guess herself, she made her decision. Time for some Josie-fun for once. “Okay, Casanova. Show me what you got.”
Game. On. Coop stopped himself from a fist pump, figuring he’d look like an ass acting all victorious. Giving her a few orgasms was just the beginning of what he wanted from sweet little Josie Young.
“Keep that wrist out of the way, okay?”
She nodded, her large eyes luminous, and planted her injured hand on top of the couch cushions. Christ, it was like staring down at an erotic pixie. Deep red hair framed a face too pretty to be real. A pert nose, big blue eyes, and that ripe mouth he wanted to plunder temped him to lose all control. He could too easily see those red petals wrapped around his cock, sucking him off to heaven.
He fucking hurt, yet the pain challenged him, as did the dare in Josie’s gaze.
“Too much for you?” she asked, her lips curled.
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