Cooper: Casanova Club #8

by Ali Parker

  And truth be told, I wasn’t sure where my home was anymore.

  “Don’t be such a baby,” I grumbled to myself. I closed my eyes and lay there, wishing I could ignore the bass of the music rolling through the house.

  Sleep did not come for a long, long time.

  CHAPTER 6

  COOPER

  “Fuck me sideways,” I mumbled.

  Sunlight bathed my room the morning after the party, and it felt like someone was skewering my eyeballs with ice picks. White-hot, spiteful, wicked little ice picks.

  Last night had been a rager. And a damn good one.

  My memory was blurry, but there were pockets of time that were still fairly clear. Like Piper’s arrival at the party.

  She’d emerged in a tight purple little number, looking the part of the beach goddess of my dreams—minus the tan. I recalled her annoyed mood and how she’d blown me off, and from that point, the night started to get fuzzy. Tequila. More tequila. And more tequila.

  I remembered being at the bar with some beautiful women in teeny tiny bikinis that left little to the imagination and then Mitch coming over to tell me Piper had retired to her bedroom. He’d hinted that I should go up and check on her, or at least apologize for throwing a rager on her first night in town.

  But that was nonsense.

  This was my life. And the whole point of her spending a month in my company was to get a taste for what Cooper Diaz had to offer. And this was it. Lavish parties. Fun evenings. Wild sex. Days sprawled on the sand, broken up by afternoon drinks and hot—figuratively and literally—fuck sessions in the shower afterward, with our skin still sizzling from the sun and our tongues still tasting like margaritas.

  If this wasn’t for her, then she wasn’t for me, and we could slap a pretty bow on this thing and call it finished when July came to a close.

  I didn’t really give a damn that she’d fled the party. In fact, within ten minutes of her departure, I’d forgotten about her entirely and moved on to enjoy the rest of my evening. I had certainly enjoyed it.

  So did Mitch. If memory served me correctly, I was fairly certain he’d departed the party shortly after one in the morning with one of the pretty girls in the tiny bikinis from the bar draped on his arm. I would have bet ten grand the girl was half naked before they made it halfway down the beach to his place.

  Lucky bastard. She had amazing tits.

  I shielded my eyes from the sun with a forearm draped over my face. A groan passed my lips as I considered getting out of bed and decided that it was far too early for such a thing. Then I glanced at the clock.

  It was ten in the morning.

  “Fuck me sideways,” I muttered again, jerking the blankets down and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The room swung as well. I stayed where I was for a moment until everything righted itself, and then I pushed myself to my feet and padded over to my closet, where I pulled on a pair of boxers and athletic shorts. Once my sneakers were laced, I took a piss, brushed my teeth, and splashed cold water on my face to try to wake up.

  It helped only a little.

  Downstairs, I kicked off my morning routine in the kitchen. Step one: drink a glass of water. Step two: blend protein shake. Step three: ingest protein shake.

  I was in the middle of step two when I had the sense that someone was watching me. I looked up and saw Piper standing in the living room, looking across the dining room toward me with a sleepy frown on her pretty face.

  The blender stopped. “Did I wake you?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “No. I’ve been awake for a while.”

  “Where were you?”

  “In my room.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Are you sure I didn’t wake you up?”

  “Quite positive.”

  “What were you doing in there?” I waggled my eyebrows.

  “Well,” she said stiffly, “for starters, I found where you keep your extra sheets and remade my bed because I found two people fucking in it last night.”

  I liked the way the word “fucking” sounded on those lips of hers.

  She moved into the kitchen with a disgruntled sigh, and her gaze settled on the coffee pot. “Coffee,” she muttered. Then she looked up at me. “Where do you keep your coffee?”

  “Who did you catch fucking in your bed?”

  “I don’t know. A pretty girl and a good-looking guy.”

  That didn’t narrow it down. Everyone at my parties was good looking. It was basically an entrance requirement.

  I chuckled. “Did you catch any of the show?”

  Piper braced herself against the kitchen counter and glowered up at me from beneath her sharp, dramatic eyebrows. “No, I did not, thankfully. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep in that bed. Now, by all that is holy, please help me make a cup of coffee.”

  “All right, all right,” I said, holding on to the laughter that threatened to consume me. I showed her which cupboard I stored my coffee and filters in, and Piper went about brewing herself a cup while I drank my protein shake.

  A minute passed, and then two, and it became clear that she wasn’t going to strike up a conversation.

  So I took the lead. “That’s what you did all morning? You re-made the bed?”

  “And I read my book.”

  “Really?”

  She planted her fists on her hips. “Yes. Why is that so hard to believe?”

  I shrugged. “In a place like this, I figured you’d want to take advantage of the amenities.”

  “Dear God, I hope you’re not referring to yourself.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. She was fucking funny, whether she knew it or not, and I was a sucker for a girl who could make me laugh. Like, really laugh. This was a full-belly, head-thrown-back laugh, and it felt pretty damn good. When I recovered, Piper was still giving me a foul look.

  I held up both hands apologetically. “I’m sorry. No. That’s not what I was referring to. But that would have been a good one, wouldn’t it? I meant the pool. Or the beach. The gardens. The exercise room. Sauna. Whirlpool. Yoga room. Take your pick.”

  Piper’s cheeks were pink as she poured herself a cup of coffee. I finished my protein shake and kept a steady eye on her as she shuffled backward and sipped from her mug.

  She was dressed in a pale-pink silk sleeping set. The pants went down to the middle of her shins and were trimmed in white lace, and the shirt was a button up with the same matching lace on the sleeves. It was cute, but not sexy, and part of me wondered if she’d done that intentionally to avoid my needy stare.

  A smart move, really.

  But even though the outfit wasn’t sexy, she still looked attractive in it. There was something classy about it, high end, sophisticated. It made me itch to know what lay beneath the silky material, even though I’d seen her in a bikini just the day before. It didn’t matter. The tease was there.

  “What are you going to do now?” I asked.

  Piper didn’t look at me. Instead, she looked out at the pool. “I think I’m going to go get my book and sit by the pool and read. If that’s all right with you.” Her big brown eyes flicked in my direction and rested on me in a stare that said, I dare you to say it’s not.

  “Make yourself at home. I’m going to work out.”

  “Enjoy,” she said before marching toward the stairs to retrieve her book.

  I watched her climb the stairs with her cup of coffee in hand, and once she disappeared from sight, I set out for my exercise room.

  I’d had it custom designed when the house was built. It faced the pool in a solarium-type room off the back of the house. It wasn’t all that big, but it was large enough to fit all the proper machines and free weights that I needed to get in a good sweat. My body took work and maintenance, and this was the place where the gains were made.

  I didn’t take days off from the gym. Even the worst of hangovers couldn’t keep me from pumping iron.

  I focused on my chest, triceps, and biceps. I
moved from free weights to machines in a strict circuit of time under tension, making sure my movements were slow, precise, and getting the most bang for my buck.

  While I was standing by the window, curling dumbbells, and looking out at the pool, Piper stepped out of the house. She was no longer wearing her pink sleep set.

  Instead, she had on a bathing suit coverup that was the same color as the ocean. Little gold beads dangled off the hem and caught the sunlight as they shimmered around her thighs. She had a book clutched in one hand and her coffee in the other, and she walked languidly to a pool chair, draped herself over it, and set her mug on the table beside her.

  Then she let her cover-up fall from her shoulders. The sun kissed her skin, milky smooth and fair, and she opened her book to rest it upon her lap and read.

  I finished my set and put the weights on the rack before taking several greedy gulps of water. While I drank, I kept my eyes on the pretty girl by my pool.

  She wasn’t my type. Not even close.

  And yet, I was ogling her, wondering what exactly it was about her that had me thinking of all the things I’d like to do to her. And for her.

  I shook my head.

  Get your shit together, Coop. Real ladies are a bore.

  I picked up heavier weights and set to lifting.

  Piper crossed one leg over the other and turned the page in her book. She ran a finger down the side of the page, and the sunlight broke across it, almost turning it transparent. From where she sat, it didn’t seem to bother her. She sat and read, as motionless as the chair beneath her, except for the turning of the page every minute or so, and I, the dumb oaf watching her, lost count of numerous reps and had to set the weights down and be done with it.

  I was about to go tell her to sit somewhere else and stop distracting me when she got to her feet. The coverup remained on her chair, and she set her book down and turned toward the pool. She was wearing a different bathing suit than yesterday. This one was emerald green with little gold jewels hanging from the ties at her hips and between her breasts. It matched her coverup perfectly.

  She moved to the pool and bent one leg to dip her toes in. In that moment, she reminded me of a gazelle.

  Deeming the water safe, Piper stood back, pointed her hands above her head, and dove in headfirst, graceful as a swan. She swam beneath the surface for half the length of the pool before breaking the surface and slicking her dark hair back.

  Her eyes fluttered open, and even though she was far away, I could tell she was looking right at me.

  CHAPTER 7

  PIPER

  I’d found one good thing about being in this damn house: the pool.

  The water was refreshing and brisk, and it cooled my skin from sitting in the morning sun with my book. It was a jolt to my system, and it knocked the chip off my shoulder I’d been carrying around since last night. A swim was the perfect way to clear a frustrated mind.

  As I swam laps, I was aware of Cooper’s eyes on me. He was over in the gym working out—if that was what one could even call it. Half the time, he just stood around breathing hard and looking at me, and every time he set his weights down or moved to a different machine, his eyes would shift over to me like clockwork.

  I didn’t give him the time of day or let on that I was aware of his watchful gaze. I busied myself with swimming and working on my form. I loved being in the water. It made me feel like I was part of something bigger.

  I liked the way it pushed against my palms as I propelled myself forward, like it was trying to squeeze between my fingers. I liked the sound of it in my ears when I was below the surface. It muted out the rest of the world and seemed to embrace me like a long-lost friend.

  The best part was the way the sun struck it and cast wavering reflections upon the pool floor. I loved that part. It made me feel like a child again, when I used to pretend to be a mermaid at the outdoor swimming pool my parents took Phillip and me to.

  The water was a safe place for me. Always had been. Always would be. Even Cooper Diaz couldn’t ruin it for me.

  When I stepped out of the pool, Cooper was no longer in the gym. I paid that no mind and went back to my chair to let the sun dry me off. I made it through two chapters of my book before I was dry enough to go back inside. My game plan was to have a shower and then go off into town somewhere.

  Without Cooper.

  But he was standing at the kitchen island, eating two cooked eggs and watching me from beneath his dark brows.

  “Have a good swim?”

  I wanted to ignore him. “Yes.”

  “You’re a natural in the water.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was complimenting me or not, so I didn’t say anything. Instead, I helped myself to a glass of water, drank it, and made for the stairs.

  “Do you have plans today?” Cooper asked.

  I hesitated with one foot on the bottom step and my hand on the rail. I should have told him yes, I did have plans. It would have been a white lie and nothing more, and it wasn’t like I owed him anything. He’d proven within the first twelve hours of me being here that he didn’t respect me, so I didn’t have to respect him, right?

  I sighed. “I don’t have plans.”

  Cooper pushed himself away from the counter and wiped his hands on his shorts. “How about we do something water related?”

  “I’m listening.” I moved my foot from the bottom stair and turned to face him.

  “Ever been diving?”

  “Scuba diving?” I asked.

  Cooper nodded.

  I pursed my lips. “No, but I’ve always wanted to.”

  “I can take you.”

  “I don’t have any certification,” I said.

  “You don’t need it. Money can buy any form of certification. And lucky for you, I have a shit-ton of it, as well as some connections who will take us to the best diving spots on the island.”

  I frowned. “That sounds dangerous.”

  Cooper barked out a laugh. “I should have known you’d say something like that.”

  “Forgive me for having self-preservation skills.”

  “Piper,” Cooper said, coming toward me. He stopped about two feet away. “We’ll do some training first. I know experts in the field. Trainers themselves who’ve been doing this for decades. They won’t let you go down unless they’re completely confident you can handle it.”

  “And if they don’t think I can?”

  Cooper shrugged. “We snorkel instead. Deal?”

  I wished he hadn’t had a fallback option. It would have been easier to say no if scuba diving was the only option. But as it was, snorkeling was safe, and scuba diving was damn tempting, and so was getting out on the ocean.

  “Fine,” I said, lifting my chin.

  “Excellent. I’ll make some calls. Pack your bag. Bring a hat. And a more practical bathing suit.”

  He and I both looked down at my bathing suit in unison, and I felt my cheeks flush. “Practical?”

  He nodded. “Less tits. More coverage. You know. For the sake of the fish.”

  “The fish?” I asked flatly.

  Cooper flashed me a dazzling smile. “Yes. The fish.”

  * * *

  I had a margarita with Cooper at the bar on the marina while his crew got everything in order on his yacht—because Cooper was the kind of person who went scuba diving off a yacht apparently—and the drink helped settle my nerves. When it was time to shrug into the harness that held my oxygen tank, I was only slightly terrified.

  Slightly was better than completely in my books.

  The trainer Cooper had called to ride along with us was a man in his mid-fifties named Bob. Yep, Bob. He had hair whiter than the skin on my ass, which hadn’t seen the sun in years, and eyes as blue as my mood.

  But he was kind.

  “All right, Piper,” Bob said, tightening the harness around my ribs. “This is going to be easy. You’re not going deep. And we’ve gone over all the important bits. You were a champ. You know wha
t you’re doing. Are you comfortable getting in the water?”

  I licked my lips. Champ seemed like an exaggeration. Before the yacht left the marina, Bob had brought me into the water for a crash course. This was the second time he’d strapped this contraption on me, and it still felt as awkward and cumbersome as the first.

  Things had gone well in the shallows at the marina. Bob was in the water with me, and he held on to me as we went under together. I breathed underwater, which was spectacular, and I got acquainted with all the equipment. Bob assured me I wouldn’t have to do anything fancy while we were diving. He would be out in the water with Cooper and me, keeping an eye on everything, and the water was shallow where we were going. Quite shallow. In most spots, I’d be able to touch the bottom.

  If I was feeling brave, I could swim out into deeper waters and dive down to see an underwater cliff completely overgrown with coral. Bob had called it a submerged vertical ecosystem, or something along those lines. The nerves were making my mind foggy.

  “I’m ready,” I said.

  Bob patted my shoulder. “Fantastic. Come with me then. We go off the back.”

  Cooper was already standing at the back of the boat. He was fully decked out in all his equipment, and even though I couldn’t really make out his face behind his goggles, I could tell he was impatient. I’d held us up, asking for one more check with Bob to make sure I was ready to go in the water.

  Now the time had come. We had to get in the water.

  Bob stood on my left, while Cooper stood on my right. I felt tiny between them and looked back and forth between both men as Bob told me how to get in the water.

  “Piper, let’s get ready. Hold your regulator and your mask with your right hand. Very good. Got a good hold? You don’t want it popping off when we hit the water.”

  I nodded.

  Bob gave me a thumbs-up. “We step forward into the water. Keep your chin up and your eyes on the horizon. I’m right behind you. In three. Two. One.”