by Kat Baxter
I’d been here a few times when we’d been growing up and Cooper had spent the summers being a lifeguard. He’d never needed to work and it was something that had always irritated his parents, but he’d always had that drive to make his own way, earn his own money. It was one of the things I admired most about him.
“We always knew the two of you would end up together,” an older woman said. She squeezed my arm. “You both look so happy. Congratulations, dear.”
“Who was that?” I asked as the woman walked away. “She looks familiar.”
“Mrs. Phillips...or Phelps, something like that. She plays the organ at my parent’s church. And I think we went to school with her granddaughter, though she was a few years behind us.”
We had several more similar encounters with guests. Random people telling us they’d always known we’d end up as a couple.
“May I have everyone’s attention?” Cooper’s mother’s voice sounded over the microphone. “I want to thank each and every one of you for attending today’s glorious celebration. I’ve wanted my dear Cooper to find his special someone for years. Turns out she’d been under our nose all this time.”
“She’s laying it on thick, isn’t she?” I asked under my breath.
“It’s my mom, she doesn’t know how to do things any other way.”
“Good point.”
“I’d like to ask the happy couple to come up here to the front. It’s time to cut the cake.” Kitty managed to pinpoint our location and waved us forward. “Come on, you two.”
Cooper set our wine glasses down, after I had downed the remainder of mine, then he led me over to the cake table. The five-tiered solid white cake was the biggest I’d ever seen.
“I hope we don’t knock it over,” he whispered to me.
I laughed, which no doubt enhanced our charade of the loving couple. “That is not the cake I picked out. I guess Kitty thought we needed something bigger.” Waiters with trays of champagne filtered through the room passing out the bubbling glasses.
With his hand covering mine, we sliced into the bottom layer of the cake, cutting a small piece. If this were our real wedding reception and I was a real blushing bride, this would likely be my favorite part. But this wasn’t real on either account so Coop neatly placed a bite in my opened mouth, then I politely did the same as cheers went up.
One person in the crowd clanked their champagne glass with their fork and it began a chorus of the same. They wanted us to kiss. In the last week, we’d kissed a thousand times, it seemed. But here, in this moment, I felt like a fraud.
He leaned in and placed his mouth on mine. The room faded, and just like that my nerves dissolved along with the rest of the room. It was just the two of us standing there, his hand on my waist, the other under my chin and our mouths moving against one another. He tasted of cake frosting and rich wine, and I knew it wouldn’t take much for me to get drunk on his kiss. His touch. He ended the kiss and I realized the thundering noise I heard wasn’t my beating heart, but rather a round of applause.
He squeezed me tightly to him, placed a kiss on my forehead.
We managed to maneuver ourselves away from the cake table after the line for the dessert had formed.
“Look at that.” I nodded towards the table in the corner.
It was covered with gifts and when room had run out on the table’s surface people had begun to place the wrapped boxes and bags on the floor around it.
“So the cake wasn’t your only request my mother ignored. I’ll talk to her.”
“Don’t bother. It’s really not a big deal. But what about the gifts? What should we do with them?” I asked.
“We should just keep them,” he said, his voice low and hot against my ear. “People don’t return wedding gifts after they get divorced, why should we?”
Divorce. Right because they’d be getting a divorce someday when this charade was over.
He pulled me tightly to him and bent to reach my ear. “You’re going to have to relax or I’m going to have to sneak you out of here and lick your sweet pussy until you do.”
I sucked in a breath. “Cooper,” I hissed.
“I’m serious. I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
“Would you stop?”
“Absolutely not. I could spend hours between your legs. So sweet.”
I shifted on my feet, the slickness between my legs noticeable. “Now I’ve got to go to the bathroom and clean myself up. I can’t stand here with my panties wet like this.”
He chuckled. The sexy rumble slid through me setting my skin on fire. “Want me to come with you?”
Ally had disappeared to the restroom and evidently my brother had been waiting for such a moment to approach me.
“James,” I said.
He eyed me with disdain.
Despite only three years separating us, we’d never really gotten along, never had much of a relationship; we were simply too different. He’d been cut from the same cloth as our parents, whereas I’d felt different as long as I could remember.
“How could you do this to Mother?” James whispered.
“Do what exactly?”
“Marry her? You know how Mother feels about her.”
Hot anger pricked at my neck and I slid a finger inside my collar in a vain effort to loosen it. “Her name is Ally and she’s my wife. And before that she was my best friend. For years. James, Ally has been in my life since we were kids. You and Mother both know that. Nothing will ever change that.”
And in that moment I was certain of one thing. I didn’t want to divorce Ally. We didn’t have a conventional marriage, perhaps, but it was pretty damn perfect. Friends with some amazing benefits. It was a lot more than I ever expected to end up with. And maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to make her realize how we belonged together. Maybe she’d fall in love with me the way I’d always loved her.
James’s sneer grew. “Well, Mother is devastated and this will just further drive a rift into our family so I hope you’re happy.”
I chuckled. I couldn’t even help it. My older brother had always had a flair for the dramatics. I suspected he was a miserable person because he wouldn’t own up to who he truly was. He was so firmly in the closet, the door was practically nailed shut. “There is no rift.”
“You don’t see or hear what I do.”
“That’s true. Probably because I actually moved away and built my own life. Whereas you live in Mother’s backyard and run Dad’s business.”
“Well, someone had to run his business. He left it to both of us when he died. It’s disgraceful you sold your half.”
“I’m not arguing with you about this again. I sold it to you, you asshat. It’s not like I gave it away to the competition.”
“I want you to think long and hard about what you’ve done to our mother.”
I was so close to hitting him, which normally I wouldn’t even consider. He was slightly taller, but I had twenty-five pounds of muscle on him. “Hear me now, dear brother, if the day comes when I have to actually choose between my family and Ally, the choice is already made. She’s my wife and she’ll always be my first choice. Always.”
I couldn’t wait any longer. I set down my toothbrush and met Cooper’s gaze in the mirror.
“I heard you and James talking.”
He stopped mid-floss, then resumed as quickly. Once he was finished he tossed his trash and leaned against the bathroom counter.
“James is an ass, you know that. He’s so fucking miserable trying to be someone he’s not.” He scraped his fingers through his hair. “He wants everyone else to be miserable, too.”
“But none of it is real, Cooper.” I turned to face him instead of looking at his reflection. I met his eyes. “This isn’t a real marriage and I don’t want to be the reason your mother hates you. I know she’s never liked me. I don’t want to come between you and your family. I could never ask you to do that.”
His hands gripped my arms, then rubbed against my bare skin
. The simple movement so intimate, it nearly stole my breath. “Whether or not our marriage is traditional or forever or whatever doesn’t matter. You’re the most real part of my life. You always have been. Wife or not, you’ll always be my choice, Ally. Always.”
His words struck deep and in that moment I wished he meant them in a different way. I knew a romantic relationship would never ultimately work for us. Cooper wasn’t built for commitment like that. And when he remembered that simple fact, I’d be the one left with a broken heart. But right here standing together in our bathroom, about to get into our bed where we would kiss and touch and love each other’s bodies, right here I wanted those words to mean everything. I wanted him to love me.
He cradled my face and kissed me, his mouth soft and gentle, then coaxing. He lifted me so I sat on the edge of the bathroom counter and stepped between my legs. I wrapped myself around him, pulling his body close. That towel wrapped around his hips did nothing to hide the hard heat of his erection.
It was heady when I stopped and recognized how much he legitimately desired me. Granted, I was the only woman he could have in his bed at the moment, but this felt like so much more than lust for the sake of convenience.
“Take me to bed, Coop,” I said, my voice breathless.
He took my mouth in a kiss again, but this time he held nothing back and neither did I. It was lips and teeth and tongues and totally erotic. Desire, wet and hot, surged through my body, heating my limbs and pooling between my legs. Then he lifted me and walked us to the bed, me clinging to him.
Somewhere along the way he’d lost the towel so when he deposited me on the bed he stood there completely naked with all that golden, muscled skin on display. I sat up and reached out, trailing a hand down his perfect abs.
“You’re so beautiful,” I said.
“That’s still my line.”
I shook my head. “No. It’s true.” I ran my open palm up his cock, starting at his balls and sliding up the shaft to end at the mushroom-shaped head.
He hissed through his teeth.
I leaned forward and repeated the motion, but this time with my tongue. Then I sucked him into my mouth, hollowing my cheeks and sliding down his length.
“Oh fuck, Ally.” He dug his fingers through my hair, but made no move to control my pace.
I’d never really been one to give blow jobs. It always seemed awkward to me and I got too self-conscious wondering if I was going to gag or if I was drooling on myself. So on the whole, I steered clear of them. But right now there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do more than suck Cooper’s cock.
I shifted my position, climbing off the bed and moving to my knees in front of him.
“Ally,” Cooper met my gaze. “You don’t have to do this, sweetheart.”
“I know that. I want to.” I was so wet at that moment I figured all it would take was a breeze against my clit to set me off. But this wasn’t about my pleasure. This was just about him. So I licked my way back up his shaft, then slid him back into my mouth. From this position, I could fondle his balls or reach behind him and grab his oh-so-fine ass. Truly, his ass was a piece of art.
His noises of pleasure were driving me insane. “Oh fuck...yes...shit, baby, it’s so good...your mouth...your tongue.” He gripped my hair tighter, but still didn’t try to control anything. Except when he tried to pull me off. “Sweetheart, you’ve gotta stop. I’m gonna come.”
Was it wasting his sperm? Yes, but right now I didn’t give a shit. I wanted him to lose control. I want him to come down my throat.
“Ally, oh fuck, oh fuck, I’m coming...”
I gripped his ass tight as hot spurts of his semen went off in my mouth. I swallowed, then released him with a pop.
I looked up at him and he was staring at me as if I were the most amazing thing he’d ever seen.
“Holy shit. That was the best blow job in the history of blow jobs.” He grabbed me under my armpits and pulled me to my feet.
“Like that anyone has ever given?”
“Or received,” he said with a nod.
I giggled. “That’s doubtful, but I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Enjoyed it is a huge understatement. Come here.” He pulled me to him, enveloping me in his warm embrace. He gave the best hugs. Always had.
My heart was still pounding so damn hard I could barely breathe. Nothing had ever felt more right than this moment with Ally in my arms.
Yes, she’d just given me the most amazing blow job of my life. And she’d fucking swallowed and I knew that could mean something, but I couldn’t even gather my thoughts enough to decipher anything.
I’d meant every word I’d said to my brother and to her. No one had ever been more important to me than she was. She was my person.
Her warm, soft curves pressed against me and I knew it wouldn’t be too long before I’d need to be inside her. Nothing ever felt as good as being inside her. No other woman had ever felt so hot, so tight, so fucking right. As if her body had been specifically made for mine.
But first I needed to spend my time making her feel as good as she’d just made me feel.
“Damn, Ally.” I reached down and gripped her lush ass. “I suppose it’s best I didn’t know how fucking good you are at that.”
She giggled. “Why’s that?”
I leaned down and nibbled on her neck and her breath caught. It was a sexy as fuck sound. “Because I would’ve been begging you for one pretty much every day.” I nibbled across her collarbone—sexiest damn collarbone—until I reached her ear. I licked at the shell. “But now it’s my turn.”
With one swift movement I picked her up and tossed her onto the bed. She still wore her tiny sleep shorts and barely-there tank top, but not for long. I crawled up her body, never taking my eyes off hers until I reached the top of her shorts. Then I gently bit down on the waistband and pulled down.
The black of her pupils nearly swallowed the lovely blue of her eyes. “Oh God, that’s hot.”
Slowly, I tugged those shorts and her panties off, then did the same to remove her tank. But I hadn’t touched her skin yet.
“Spread those pretty legs for me, sweetheart.”
She did as I asked and I could see her desire glistening on her pretty pink pussy.
“Ally, baby, you’re soaked.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
“Sucking my cock turn you on?”
She swallowed and nodded.
And that was all it took for me to be rock hard again. I gripped her ass and lifted her to my mouth and licked her straight up the center. She was fucking delicious. Sweet and perfect. I pushed my tongue inside her and she nearly levitated off the bed but I held her tight while I explored her with my mouth.
I teased all around her, never quite getting to her clit and she whimpered every time I got close.
“Cooper, please.”
“What do you need, sweetheart?”
“My clit...I need to come.”
I ghosted one fingertip across her clit. “Like this?”
“More. Lick me. Suck me.”
I leaned forward and latched my mouth onto her clit and sucked it into my mouth. I slid two fingers inside her hot channel and curved them upwards finding that spot that drove her wild and then I worked her until she was crying out and coming. Again and again.
After her second orgasm, she pressed her hand to my forehead to push me aside. So I took my time licking up her body until I could torment her nipples. She squirmed beneath me, then reached between us and grabbed onto my cock.
“Fuck me now.”
I laughed. “Yes ma’am.” Then I slid inside her, balls deep. Fuck she felt good. So damn right. I put my hands on either side of her face as I started to move and I watched her eyes. “You’re so beautiful. Do you know that?”
Her eyes glistened with tears and she shook her head.
“You are. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
Again she shook her head, but clung to me. I wante
d this marriage to be real. I wanted Ally forever, not just as my best friend. She’d always be that. But I wanted this. I wanted her in my bed. I wanted her as my wife. I waited for the panic to hit, but nothing came. There was nothing about being with her that gave me pause.
Her hands snaked around neck and her heels pressed into my back as she pulled me tighter, closer.
I knew some women didn’t like to kiss after oral sex, but she pulled my head down and kissed me. Her tongue stroked mine and I knew there was no way she didn’t feel it too, this connection between us. This was more than two friends with benefits trying to make a baby. This wasn’t just sex. We weren’t fucking.
We were making love and I didn’t give a shit how cheesy that sounded. It was the truth. It was real and raw and so fucking beautiful that my heart clenched.
We kissed as I moved inside her until she cried out, effectively breaking the bond of our mouths. Her eyes opened and met mine and her breath quickened.
“So good,” she whispered. “No one has ever felt this good.”
“Don’t close your eyes, Ally. Let me watch you fall apart while I’m inside you. Let me see you.”
Her eyes widened and her nails bit into my shoulders. “Oh, Cooper, yes, yes...”
Watching her orgasm roll through her brought on my own and I shuddered my release, filling her with everything I had.
She smiled at me then, a smile so sincere, so full of affection and awe that I realized something critical.
If I didn’t convince her to love me before this was all over, she was going to break my heart. And I’d never be the same.
Chapter 17
My body was still humming and ripples of that last orgasm seemed to linger. I curled into Cooper, laying my head on his chest. He kissed my head.
“Hey,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Will you tell me what happened between you and Brandon?”
My heart stuttered. I leaned up on him, placing my chin on his rock-hard stomach. “You’re thinking about Brandon now?”
He cocked a grin at me. “Not like that. I was thinking about him and us the other day.” His shoulder hitched in a shrug. “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay. We just never really did. It was over and then we didn’t talk and then your mom died...”