by Lucia Jordan
Copyright © 2014 by Lucia Jordan
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Table Of Contents
Touch Me Book 1
Touch Me Book 2
Touch Me Book 3
Touch Me Book 4
Touch Me Book 1
Jenny lifted her fist again but it just won’t do the deed. Her knuckles and the carved wooden door seemed to be the same magnetic poles, and refused to connect no matter how hard she tried. She glanced at the slip of paper in her hand for the tenth time in the past minute. 1202. She was standing outside the right apartment, she was in the correct building, but it didn’t make sense. Cooper can’t possibly live here! The building was opulent and classy aka ‘expensive looking’. Surely the boy she played with in the dirt fifteen years ago couldn’t be living there! A gasp escaped her lips as the door opened swiftly, and she glared at her fist accusingly. Had it knocked? No. But there was a man standing before her with his gleaming tanned torso bared, and his PJ bottoms hanging dangerously low on his navel. She swallowed and stepped back, struggling to drag her eyes away from the brown hair disappearing into the waistband of his trousers. The piercing blue eyes staring back at her crinkled at the corners and she recognized them. Bloody hell!
“Hey, Jen.”
Her lips opened and she narrowed her eyes. Cooper? “Cooper!” she exclaimed as if it was a surprise to see him in the doorway of his own apartment.
All bulging biceps and naked broad chest neared her face, and he wrapped his arms around her neck. His grip was tight, comforting, but she stood awkwardly, her body cringing at the intimacy.
He pulled back but she was still struggling to fathom what was going on. “How are you?”
“Good,” she squeaked.
“Come on in!” He grabbed her suitcase and dragged it inside, and she glared lecherously at the slim hips covered by gray trousers.
“I uh…” He turned at the sound of her voice, all smiles. He looked genuinely happy to see her. “Thank you so much for…having me over.” She dared not even glance at her suitcase. There was no way this man had invited her to stay with him while she found she a solution to her joblessness.
“Are you kidding me? Where else would you go? We’re almost family.”
Really? Some scrumptious family!
She was disgusted by the direction her thoughts had taken. After all, it was Cooper, Cooper Farrell, the boy she had wrestled with and played with while growing up. It seemed almost illegal to think of him that way.
“Why are you standing there? Sit. Get comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What’s with the formality, Jen?”
She bit her lip and tugged her jacket around herself. She felt gauche and awkward in his presence, surveying the impressive apartment. One wall was completely obscured by certificates. She crinkled her eyes to read what they said. I should’ve worn my specs! Who is he? He sat next to her, very close, and she tensed, discreetly pulling away. He reached for her face and she jumped.
He laughed at her noticeable lurch, gripping a strand of long brown hair that was dangling over her cheek. “You grew your hair, tomboy. I'm surprised. You look like a girl!”
She blushed and glanced at him. Wrong move. He was sitting too close. “And you look like a man,” she said breathlessly, as if she was having trouble dragging in air. The truth was, she actually felt like she had forgotten the lifelong habit of breathing evenly. His stomach was hard and lined with neat squares of muscle. God! “A half naked man,” she added tactlessly. Her eyes widened at her stupidity and he laughed out loud.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” he joked gloatingly.
“Of course not!”
He chuckled and stood up. “Let me grab you a coffee.”
“No!” she cried out louder than she had intended to. When he gaped at her in puzzlement, she pasted a smile on her face. “No, thank you. I’ll get one myself. You don’t have to.”
He stared at her, his blue eyes shimmering, and crossed his arms over his chest. It didn’t hide anything, only made his biceps bulge some more. Her throat was as dry as sandpaper. “Are you alright?” he asked sweetly, and she stood up, walking toward the kitchen while maintaining a safe distance from his magnificently naked body.
“Yes. I just…feel overwhelmed,” she improvised, and when he clutched her upper arms, her eyes refused to lift from the thick matting of hair at the center of his chest. “I’ll…” She swallowed to quench the desert in her neck. “I won’t be here long. I have to visit another friend tomorrow so I’ll crash with her.”
“What? Did you find a job during the ten hours since you and I talked over the phone?”
“No.”
“Then you’re going nowhere. Stay here and find a job. I’ll help you.”
“No, really- ”
“Jenny?” he said forcefully and she glanced up into his eyes. He had gotten tall. His hair was short, sexy, and she pictured her fingers sliding through it. “Do you want…” He stopped, letting the words hang in the air.
She swallowed. Want to touch your body? Yes!
“Do you want me to grab a shirt?” he asked incredulously and Jenny blushed bright, shrugging his hands away.
“That would be…great.”
He stilled at her reply, and when he laughed, the sound ricocheted off the celling. She was glad he was finding it funny, because she sure as hell wasn’t. He punched her upper arm and she winced, thankful that he would be dressed appropriately soon. To her utter mortification, he walked over to the kitchen, obviously not planning to cover up his hunky manliness.
“You know what?” he called. “I think this is going to be fun.”
“What is?” She strode behind him, urging her eyes to look anywhere but above his waist. His body emanated heat that was pulling her like a moth to flame. It was shocking because she wasn’t that type of girl. She wasn’t affected easily. No. Not Cooper. Definitely not Cooper. She had to get a grip. She wondered if it was the exhaustion, the stress, the utter confusion and helplessness. He had offered to let her stay, maybe that made her feel more…trusting and titillated. No! This doesn’t make any sense!
Handing her a mug of coffee, he shrugged, laughter twinkling in his eyes. “It’s going to be fun having you around.”
She inhaled sharply. “I have to be somewhere else tomorrow.”
He sobered instantly, glaring at her almost angrily. “When you called me, you said there was nowhere for you to go. What the hell happened?”
“I...” Yeah. I did say that. I had also bawled like a baby at the first sound of your voice.
Growing up with her grandmother, Jenny had never had anyone but the Farrell’s. Their family was exactly what her family wasn’t – their family was complete – and they had included her in everything until she felt like one of them.
“Jen?” She glanced up and the blue eyes had turned softer, warmer. “You and I…we’re family. Alright?”
She was so embarrassed. What had I expected? The same thirteen-year-old boy I had played house with? He had grown up, just like she had. “I don’t want to impose.”
“Hey!” he urged. “Look at me.” She did and he placed his mug on the
kitchen counter, clutching her shoulders persuasively. “I’m only going to say this once so you’d better listen close. You are going nowhere! Until things work out, you’re staying here. I have three spare bedrooms, and I’m always at work so you’ll have the place to yourself. Find a job, and then we might think about you going anywhere else.”
That sounded like the Cooper she remembered. She looked at him like she had always looked at him and felt better – albeit only slightly. She nodded and he grabbed her again, holding her face pressed onto his chest.
She tensed and clenched her eyes shut, not breathing in case she inhaled his scent. Just when I had relaxed, you had to spoil it by your nakedness again. His body shook as he began laughing. He was doing it on purpose. “Relax. It’s still me, Jenny.”
She smiled in the curve of his shoulder and he held her tighter. Tentatively, she placed her hands on his back and the naked skin didn’t feel so wrong. It shouldn’t have felt wrong from the very beginning. It was Cooper. She had to relax. He was right.
“Do you think you could find a shirt somewhere though?” she joked, feeling the stiffness leave her body.
He chuckled and pulled back, pushing her hair off her face affectionately. “Not really. I don’t have any shirts. And these trousers have to be laundered today so I’m afraid I won’t have these either.”
A horrified laugh escaped her chest. “Shut up!” she stuttered, and he snickered adorably. She felt better – profoundly better. As he led her to the guest bedroom, she dragged her feet. She was exhausted. It seemed like so much had happened since she had woken up that morning.
Jason, her boyfriend of five years, had been asleep when she awoke. Hurriedly, she arrived at her office and was ushered straight to her boss’s office. She had been laid off.
Worried and anxious, she had headed straight to an ATM to check her account statement. She had found $72 in her account. Seventy-two measly dollars left from five years of prudent savings. She had bolted home to find Jason still asleep, on his stomach, and she had woken him up so savagely that he had scared her with his lurch.
He had withdrawn it. A boyfriend who she had thought she would one day marry had stolen all her savings.
She sat at the edge of the bed while Cooper brought her a blanket, and surveyed her surroundings. It was lavish. That was the word. And opulent. It looked like one of those pictures in interior decorating magazines. She glanced at Cooper’s back as he placed her suitcase next to the wall. Affection swelled unbridled in her heart. It was just like Cooper to help out an old friend. He had always had that heart.
He had grown taller, broader, and his face had changed to become what girls’ dreams were made of. But he had still not wasted a second before saying: “grab a bus and come over now!”
Tears welled in her eyes. She blamed the exhaustion once again. It was obvious he had changed more than just physically. The three-bedroom house he had grown up in had been filled to capacity with him and his four brothers. And now, he had obviously made something of himself.
The muscles in his chest rippled as he slapped his hands together, pretending to shake off dust. “There you go. What do you want to have for dinner?”
She shook her head. “I had a sandwich earlier. I want to take a nap if that’s alright.’
“Of course. It’s your room, your place, do whatever you like.” She fell back on the pillow and he leant over. His lips descended on her face and she stopped breathing, but their destination was her forehead.
Warm, masculine lips. Cooper’s lips. It didn’t feel as arousing as it was comforting. Thank God! She smiled and grabbed his hand. “Thank you, Coop.” Her voice broke and she pursed her lips. He caught the tears in her voice and smiled stiffly, clasping her hand tightly before placing it beside her.
“Nap. One hour!” He pointed meaningfully with his finger and she gave him a thumbs up sleepily. Exhaustion was clawing at her limbs and her eyelids. She fell asleep instantly, glad that her lecherous thoughts about Cooper had subsided. I had just been shocked, that’s all. I had been taken by surprise.
**
She opened her eyes and didn’t know what had woken her. “Times up!” Cooper yelled from the open doorway, and she knew she had heard that call before.
She fought the sleep dragging her in and threw her legs off the edge of the bed. She remembered Cooper’s naked torso instantly, his utter manliness, and rubbed her forehead in horrified defenselessness. She had to keep reminding herself that it was Cooper, and she couldn’t think of him that way. Hell! I had a boyfriend until this very morning. One who was the sole sexual relationship I had in my whole life. There’s a horny, lecherous, perverted demon possessing me.
“Is pizza alright?”
“Hm?” She pushed her hair off her face and Cooper stilled.
With her lips swollen, her face slightly blushed and her hair tousled, she looked exactly like he had remembered her. “You look pretty,” he blurted out and she reddened. His eyes narrowed, mocking her reaction.
I have to be bolder around him.
He had put on a shirt and a pair of blue jeans, and she was thankful for that. With his chest covered, she just had to deal with the effect his face had on her body. “You look better,” she grumbled hoarsely. If she was going to live with him for a while, she might as well get used to his abrupt, straightforward sentences. She had to be the same carefree, non-serious person she was before she landed at his apartment, jobless and broke.
“Yeah, I thought a shirt might help you concentrate on what you’re saying.”
Her lips parted in a horrified chuckle and he snickered, turning to leave. “The pizza’s getting cold,” he called out like a mom, and she slipped into the bathroom.
Splashing cold water on her face, she surveyed the bathroom in the large mirror. It was as big as her bedroom back at the place she had shared with Jason. There was a concealed shower, and a white marble bathtub sunken into the floor. The sight of it made her want to strip and plunge into it.
She patted her face dry with a fluffy white towel and stepped out. In the living room, Cooper had laid out the pizza box and two plates, along with two chilled beers.
After two slices, she sat back. He was busy annihilating his pizza slice so she used the distraction to survey his appearance. The lamp placed on a nearby table illuminated his face with its golden light, accentuating his features. His nose was strong, his chin square, and his eyebrows thick yet neat. His eyelashes cast shadows on his cheekbones and she smiled as she recalled how his brothers had always made fun of his girly lashes.
“How are your brothers?” she asked, and he wiped his lips with a tissue.
“They’re good. Dexter is the only one in the states. The rest are in Australia.”
“That’s nice.”
“What is?”
“You know, that you all found your place. Made something of yourself.”
He chewed his bite slowly. “You’ll find a job sooner than you think.”
“And how do you know?” she asked playfully.
His expression was almost stern as he swallowed the remnants of his bite. “Because I’m going to make it happen.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Like what…you’re going to storm in with me during interviews and scare them into hiring me?”
“Something like that,” he smiled and her breath caught. She had always been a sucker for nice teeth on men. He had perfect teeth, and his lips stretched over them, giving her a glimpse of the perfect mouth. She swiftly looked away. It was 7 p.m. and she was alone in an apartment with a hunk. It was messing with her brain. She had never been in such a situation. She gritted her teeth and he raised his eyebrows questioningly, sliding closer to her.
They were seated on the carpet, their backs against the couch, their arms touching, and their beers in their hands. He knew she was stressed out and nervous. When he had heard her voice over the phone, he had been ecstatic to finally hear from her, but then the voice had broken down. God! The moment h
e heard her sobbing and muttering something unintelligible about job, fired, and boyfriend, he had wanted to snatch her away from every damn thing that was hurting her. He had had the indescribably furious urge to protect her from everything. Jenny had been his friend, his best buddy since he was three and she was two. They had spent ten years together, and then parted after her grandmother died and she moved to live with an aunt.
He had missed her terribly for years. When she was leaving, he had begged his parents to adopt Jenny so they could stay together. With five boys to raise, his parents hadn’t even entertained the childish idea.
As he sat next to her silently, all he wanted to do was assure her that everything was going to be fine. That he would sort everything out. That she didn’t have to worry. But he didn’t want to trample on her pride anymore. He had offered her a place to stay, and she had been embarrassed over that. He wasn’t going to add to her discomfort.
Jenny savored the hushed support he was offering. The arm pressing onto hers was no longer arousing or uncomfortable. She felt like the twelve year old Jenny again, the one who had no one but Cooper. Tears welled in her eyes. She was exactly where she had been fifteen years ago. She was a pathetic mess. He was a successful man, evident from the lavish way he lived, and she had landed on his doorstep with seventy bucks to her name. She felt useless and worthless, and the fact that he was there meant more than he could have guessed.
Wordlessly, he shifted and raised his arm. Jenny’s eyes widened and she gaped at him but he persevered, sliding it securely around her shoulders. She relaxed instantly, no longer feeling even the slightest bit of uneasiness. Snuggling closer, she rested her head on his chest while he held her. It felt like the most natural, tranquil spot. He took her beer bottle away and the silence, the gentle gestures, made her close her eyes and surrender. She surrendered to the strength of him, to the protective solace he was providing.
Cooper placed her hand on his stomach and clasped her firmer, inhaling the fruity scent of her shampoo. She felt nice. Too nice. He shoved the thought away. She needs me. The realization made his fingers tighten over her arm and to his delight, she nuzzled nearer, no longer the rigid, uncooperative girl he had first hugged.