Claiming Cooper

by A. F. Crowell

  Maybe I should put my bra back on and just do bra and panties. That was sexy, right?

  The creak of the floor board dissuaded my thought as I realized Coop was coming down the hall. I had no more time.

  “Babe?” Cooper called out. Rounding the corner of the doorframe, he stopped, still dressed in his faded jeans and blue, cottony-soft t-shirt. His eyes met mine and all the confidence I once had vanished along with the air in my lungs. It took me a minute of chewing my bottom lip to find my voice.

  “I . . .” I swallowed hard, “I don’t want to wait anymore, Coop.”

  “Kins.” Cooper shut the bedroom door, turned around and ran his hand through his dark hair. “It’s too soon. You just had surgery three weeks ago.”

  My chest felt like it was being ripped open. He didn’t want me?. I fought the urge to pout at his rejection, but did a shitty job.

  “Babe, don’t look at me like that.” He came around and climbed onto the bed, facing me. “If I thought for one damn second that we could without you getting hurt, I’d be ripping off your clothes and fucking you senseless.” He leaned forward and kissed me. His tongue teased and tempted, causing my nipples to harden under my shirt.

  Planting my hand in the middle of his hard chest, I pushed him away a little and looked into his eyes, searching for the other half of my soul. “I love you, Cooper. I trust you to take care of me. You won’t hurt me,” I reassured him.

  Curling my hand into his shirt, I pulled him back down on top of me, wrapping my arms around his back. I kissed him like my life depended on it. I poured every ounce of passion and lust I had held onto for almost ten years into that kiss. My hands skated down his back to the hem of his shirt and found their way underneath. I gently scratched my nails up and down his back like I had for the last few weeks because I knew that drove him crazy.

  Covering my right half, Cooper laid off to one side, resting on his forearm beside my head and his knee between my legs. His right hand glided down my neck, over my breast along my left side, careful of my small incisions and found the soft skin of my navel. His tongue swirled around mine as his hand slid underneath my shirt, finding my breast. Teasing my nipple, he rolled and pinched it just enough to cause me to moan into his kiss.

  “Please,” I begged. I needed to feel him. All of him.

  My pleading seemed to ignite a deep burn within him. His kiss, rougher than before, got more hurried as he rolled his hips into mine. Just as I thought I might get what I want, Cooper pushed up and rolled away. Without a word, he stood and walked to the dresser.

  My breath, heavy, was the only thing I could hear as he turned to look at me, leaning on the dresser at the foot of the bed. He watched me with the most hedonistic look in his eyes. His hands crossed his stomach, pulling at the hem of his shirt. It was gone and what remained was pure perfection. Thank you, Army.

  “I can’t promise you that I won’t hurt you.” His voice was low and raspy.

  “I’m not looking for promises,” I told him, leaning up on my elbows, watching him stride back over to me. “I just want you. Inside me.”

  Even though I said the words, my own boldness shocked me. I would have to tell him but not now.

  I sat the rest of the way up. Ridding myself of his shirt and tossing it to him, I laid back, baring myself to him. It was the last straw for him. He dove into the soft bed and captured my face with his hands, kissing me hard and fast. His teeth raked over my tongue as I withdrew from his mouth. Before I could pull away, he latched on to my bottom lip and sucked it in between his lips until it almost hurt. The pain was shockingly arousing.

  His hands found their way down to my breasts. Pulling his lips away, I closed my eyes and a soft groan came from my throat as Cooper’s lips captured my nipple. The warmth and wetness of his tongue swirling around and gently biting the sensitive flesh caused my hips to involuntarily thrust.

  His hands, mouth, and tongue continued to devour their way down my body to the inside of my hips. Coop stopped at the top of my thong but only for a minute. I started to slide my right heel back toward my butt, so I could lift myself up but before I could I heard fabric rip. My head shot off the pillow to see Cooper resting between my legs, my thong in his hand.

  “I’ll buy you more.” His words, a promise. His actions, a turn on like I had never expected. My core clenched in response. It had been a very long time since I had anyone down there. Thank God I shaved this morning.

  Cooper’s face dipped down as his fingers trailed through my wetness, stopping at my clit to circle it once, twice.

  “Oh God,” I moaned, my hands fisting the comforter below me. I tried to move my broken leg out more, spreading my legs further, in need of more. His tongue met my sex in a quick sweeping motion up to my throbbing clit as he slowly slid one, then two fingers inside me. My moans became more and more breathless as Cooper’s tongue continued to apply the perfect pressure, slipping and sliding around the bundle of nerves.

  Pulling his mouth away, his finger continued to delve in and out of me as he said, “Let go, baby. Come all over my face.”

  Holy fuck.

  His mouth returned to my core and seconds later, my body exploded in ways I had never felt. Fireworks burst beneath the lids of my closed eyes. My core spasmed as fast as my heart raced and my toes curled before all the muscles in my legs went lax at once. I’ve had orgasms before, but not like that.

  He had just set the bar really high. Nothing else in my life would ever compare to that orgasm.

  Rolling over to the bedside table, Cooper pulled a condom out of the drawer. When he shed himself of his jeans and boxers, I almost passed out. There had been a few occasions over the last week that I had tried to touch him, but he stopped me. I knew he was big, but feeling him through clothes was vastly different than seeing him naked. I was not at all prepared for how large he was.

  He kicked the clothes back and lifting the condom to his teeth, he ripped off the corner. “You’re sure?” he asked before rolling the latex down his thick length.

  I wasn’t sure, but I would never admit that out loud and certainly not to him.

  I nodded, licking my lips.

  “Let me hear you, baby. Tell me what you want,” Cooper demanded.

  “I want you. All of you. I always have, and I always will,” I assured him.

  Crawling into the bed next to me, his lips descended on mine as he positioned himself between my legs. Carefully, he hooked my right leg with his arm, spreading me open for him. His movements were purposeful and calculated but gentle and cautious. My hands fell from his neck to his broad shoulders then slid down to his flexed biceps.

  I chose that moment to finally tell him but couldn’t look him in the eye, so I looked down at where we were to be joined. “Go slow, please. I . . . uh,” how do I tell him I’ve never done this.

  Finally looking up, his eyes met mine. His head turned slightly as his mouth opened then closed. He knew what I meant. “You’ve never . . .” his voice trailed off.

  Suddenly, I felt like my chest was sinking in. What he must think of me. A twenty-two-year-old virgin.

  “No.” My body trembled in anxiety and excitement.

  He leaned down and his lips captured mine sweetly, pulling at my bottom lip. “I’ll be gentle.”

  He slowly pushed in, past the tight barrier and I thought I was going to die. My eyes slammed shut while my eyebrows pinched together, and my fingertips dug into his biceps.

  True to his word, he was gentle. After a few shallow thrusts, he went deeper, stretching me further. “You okay, baby?”

  I saw the struggle behind his eyes. He tortured himself to not hurt me. “Yeah,” I moaned, the pain slowly subsiding each time he sank into me. “More,” I panted. “I need more.”

  “Fuck, babe, you’re so fuckin’ tight.” He pulled back and slammed in harder.

  “Ahh.” I gripped his arms tighter. “Oh God, Cooper, don’t stop.”

  Thrusting into me, finding a steady rhythm, he
said, “God, I love the way my name sounds on your lips as I finally claim what has always been mine.”

  Crooking his neck, his hand palmed my breast and his mouth clamped down on my nipple as I whimpered in pleasure and pain. “Mine,” he declared, repeating with the other breast.

  Releasing my breast and leaning back, his hand slid between us, reaching down until his fingertips found my clit. “Give it to me, Kins. I wanna feel that tight pussy come all over my cock.”

  With a few flicks, my legs had lightning shooting through them as Cooper pounded into my tightening core. “Oh God! Yes,” I chanted over and over as I fell head over feet into the blissful abyss that was the world’s best orgasm. It went on longer than I had ever thought possible. With every thrust, Cooper seemed to extend the euphoria until my legs shook uncontrollably and my arms fell to the bed beside me.

  His pace quickened, and it felt like he was swelling inside of me. His head dipped down and rested on my forehead. “I’m not gonna last much longer, baby. You feel too fuckin’ good.”

  My pride soared when he told me how good I felt. I was scared I wouldn’t. I smiled up at him. Our eyes locked on each other and my hands lifted, running my fingers through his hair as my leg hitched up and around his back. “Give it to me, Coop. Give me all you can.”

  “Fuck,” he roared, slamming into me wildly until he stilled, and his lips claimed mine roughly. “Goddamn, Kins. That was . . .” he panted, “amazing.”

  He pulled out and my body wept in disapproval. “I had no idea.” Every cell in my body swam in post-sex lust. I watched as he stood up and walked to the end of the bed to the trashcan, discarding the condom.

  “I’ll be back,” he told me. Pulling out a pair of shorts and slipping them on, he left the bedroom. A second later, the water next door could be heard through the wall. He returned with a warm, wet washcloth. “I didn’t want you to have to get up,” he said, lightly rubbing the cloth over my sore, but satisfied, sex.

  “How did I get so lucky?” I beamed as he cleaned me. “Thanks, baby.”

  He tossed the washcloth into the dirty clothes hamper then pulled back the comforter and sheet on his side. I leaned over and turned off the lamp then reached behind me and found my edge of the blanket, pushing it down. Lifting my butt and leg, I settled under the blankets. Cooper took one of the pillows and pushed it down between his legs then pulled me to him. His chest had a fine sheen of sweat, reminding me of what we had just done. I laid my head on his chest and carefully draped my leg over his, resting it on the pillow he positioned perfectly for me.

  “You wanna tell me why you didn’t tell me?” he asked then kissed my forehead.

  I ran my fingertips up and down the valleys and peaks of his abs. “I don’t know. I guess I was worried.”

  “About?” He rubbed my back.

  I took a breath, then turned my head to look at him. “If you knew, you wouldn’t want me.”

  “Well, you found out how wrong you were.” He laughed a deep rumble. “Why’d you wait so long? You’ve dated plenty of guys and you never . . .”

  “They weren’t you,” I admitted, my lips spreading into a stupid grin against his side.

  My body pressed to his with no barriers between us felt like heaven. His skin was warm and soft. We talked for another half hour, but the answers and questions came slower as we drifted off to sleep.

  The last thing I thought I heard him mumble was I love you, Kinsley, but I was too far gone to speak.

  THE NEXT MORNING, I WOKE up briefly as Coop untangled our bodies and climbed from bed. The next time I woke up I found a note on the pillow from Cooper.

  K,

  I want you in bed, wearing exactly what you have on now, when I get home.

  Love,

  C

  Glancing down, I giggled. I wasn’t wearing anything. I rolled over and picked up my phone, it was nine. I tapped the green phone button and called Anna, telling her to get dressed and get her butt over to the farm. Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed, and she sat on the end of Cooper’s bed.

  We shared the events of our respective evenings with absolutely no specifics other than how amazing it was. Before she left, her phone rang.

  “Ugh.”

  I cocked my head. “What’s wrong, honey?”

  She silenced the phone and slipped it in the back pocket of her shorts. “It’s my dad again.” She shook her head. “He’s bitching about me coming home for a few days before I go back to school.”

  “I don’t understand . . . what’s the problem?” My eyebrows pulled together.

  Anna sighed. “I just don’t feel like listening to him go on and on about my responsibilities to the family and coming to work for the family business after school and blah, blah, blah.”

  Later that morning, after showers and breakfast, Anna and I went to the mall at my behest. I wanted to find something sexy that would make up for last night’s attire.

  It didn’t take long before we were in and out. I found a sexy, red corset with black ribbon lacing the chest, with a matching thong and garter belt. While I couldn’t use the garter belt, Anna insisted I buy it for later when my leg had healed. She found a smoking hot black bra and panty set with matching garters and thigh-highs.

  That night Cooper called me around six and apologized and said he had to work late. His team had a deadline for a new project and ran into some issues earlier in the day. From his tone, I gathered it would be a few more hours before he got home. Lighting a few jarred candles that I had found around the house, I tried to make the room a little more romantic than last night. Laying down in bed, in my new lingerie, I decided to wait for him there and surprise him.

  While watching a rerun of Gilmore Girls, I heard the wooden boards on the front porch creak, signaling someone’s arrival. I was up and out of bed, slipping into one of Coop’s t-shirts that was thrown haphazardly on the dresser and pulled out a pair of his basketball shorts that would easily go over my brace. Crutching over to the door, I pulled it back and looked down the dark empty hallway. In front of me, Storm’s bedroom door was open but the room empty.

  I didn’t expect Cooper home for another hour or two, so I knew I had plenty of time to finish getting ready. Anna and Ash were across the road, and while I didn’t want to think about what they were doing in my bed, gross, I knew she had similar plans for Ashton. It could have been Maria, but she told me thirty minutes prior she was going to go soak in her bathtub.

  It could have been Storm, but I hadn’t heard anything about him coming home for a visit. It wouldn’t be out of the norm for Ryan to just show up unannounced.

  I slowly hopped down the hall on my crutches toward the middle of the house. Rain fell so lightly outside it didn’t make a sound on the tin roof. Stopping in front of the bathroom, I listened for any indication of who was out front but heard nothing, so I continued.

  Maybe Ryan stopped by, but didn’t see Ash’s truck and he left.

  I heard the television quietly coming from Maria and Scott’s side of the house. The thought of Scott distracted me momentarily, making my heart shutter. Regrouping, I made my way past to the front door. Unlocking the door, I pulled it open, looking through the screen door but saw nothing. Using the bottom of my crutch, I pushed the door open and stepped out cautiously. I looked around, but there was no one there. Using the crutches, I walked to the swing, looking down the driveway. Nothing but the wheelbarrow by the steps.

  Releasing a ragged breath, my shoulders slumped, and I hung my head for a second before I turned and started back to the door. No sooner than I reached the door, an eerie feeling shrouded my body.

  I don’t remember the wheelbarrow being out here when Anna and I came home earlier.

  Hearing a board creak behind me, I stopped and started to turn around when something hard hit me in the head. I felt my body falling but I was out cold before I hit the floorboards.

  * * *

  My breathing was labored, and my leg hurt like hell, but after a min
ute I finally inhaled deeply. The smell of fresh hay and the pungent odor of the barn after it rained assaulted my nostrils. I had to be in the barn. Beneath me, on my bare legs, I could feel the stiff, scratchy straw. Before I opened my eyes, I heard footsteps pacing back and forth.

  “Open your eyes. I already know you’re awake,” a female voice commanded as a hand slapped my cheek with enough force my head fell to one side and spit flew out my mouth.

  I knew that voice.

  Groaning, I slowly blinked my eyes open and tried to raise my hand to my face but couldn’t, something bound my wrists together. I laid on the floor of a box stall amongst the straw, damp from the humid air. My hands were tied with a lead rope and snapped to one of the O-rings on the front wall of the stall.

  In front of me was Cooper’s ex-wife, muttering to herself, dressed in tight black jeans and a charcoal t-shirt.

  “What the hell, Maggie?” I asked. “Have you lost your ever-fucking mind?”

  She stopped and turned to look at me, fists clenched at her side. “I. Fucking. Warned. You,” she screamed like a maniac, her eyes bulging. When she turned to start pacing again she went the opposite way, the dim light from above reflected off the shiny, stainless-steel blade of a knife she held in her right hand.

  A cold sweat broke out across my skin and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Bile rose up my throat as I thought about what she might do to me. I only let one thought come to mind before I pushed the awful images from my head. I wasn’t sure asking her at that point was a wise idea.

  I kept my head focused on her but let my eyes dart from side to side looking for a weapon of some sort; pitchfork, shovel, feed scoop. If she came at me, I needed something, but my search proved to be frivolous.

  “What . . . do you want?” I finally asked, the words catching because my heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest.

  “What do I want?” she yelled back at me, incredulously. “I want for you to leave my husband alone.” She came at me, pulling her right foot back and kicked me in the stomach. Pain seared through my ribs and side, causing me to scream. Again, pacing, she gritted out with each breath. “He. Is. Mine.”