“Well, in that case, absolutely.” Coach looked to his son. “Sound good, son?”
“Yeah.”
Fifteen minutes later, Riley found himself wedged between Cooper and Izzy at the pizza place with his coach and best friend across the table. It was damn weird. Almost like a normal family.
Riley couldn’t recall ever having such an average moment before.
And he really liked it. A whole lot.
* * * *
Izzy would not let this moment go south, not for Cooper and not for Riley. They meant too much to her, an admission which scared the crap out of her and gave her warm fuzzies at the same time.
The boys kept up a steady stream of conversation, while the men seemed content to let them talk. Cooper put his arm across the back of the booth behind Riley’s back and rubbed her shoulder. She suppressed a shiver. When Riley leaned forward, Cooper leaned back and winked at Izzy. His lecherous grin promising she’d be naked soon.
She scowled at him, causing him to frown in confusion. Izzy jerked her chin toward Riley. They could engage in foreplay later when they were alone.
Sure, she’d be a lying fool to deny that getting Cooper naked later didn’t turn her on. Her brain raced after her body as both recalled the feel of Cooper’s stubble on her face, his fingers in her hair, and his cock deep inside her.
Only this moment was not about her or Cooper. This moment was about Riley, and Riley bonding with Cooper.
Izzy didn’t want Riley to go back to his mother if and when she was found. She’d force Cooper to see that he was the perfect choice as Riley’s guardian even if she needed to beat that realization into him with his hockey stick.
She just wished he’d quit rubbing her shoulder in slow, sensuous circles, or she might become the first woman to orgasm from shoulder circles. Izzy scooted out of Cooper’s reach. He glared at her, promising she’d pay for this later. She couldn’t wait. She’d pay his price gladly.
Coach Mars leaned forward to speak to Cooper over the boys’ animated conversations about the high school girls two booths away. “So Cooper, have you ever played football?”
Cooper shook his shaggy head of hair. “Never had time. It’s been hockey twenty-four-seven since I was old enough to skate. In fact, my dad swears I was skating before I was walking.”
“You’d have been a good football player,” Bill Mars stated with absolute certainty. Izzy imagined Cooper would be good at anything he set his mind to, including capturing her heart.
Riley stopped making eyes at the girls and turned his head toward Bill and Cooper, watching intently.
“I’ll let Riley be the football player in the family. Hockey is my life.” Cooper winked at Riley and grinned. Riley appeared caught off guard; embarrassed by his uncle’s rare display of affection, Riley ducked his head and concentrated on his pizza. Cooper seemed oblivious as to the effect of his praise.
“Riley’s good, you know,” Bill said.
“I could see that.”
“He’s athletic and smart.”
Cooper nodded, his expression wary, as if he sensed a trap.
“I’ll be moving up to coaching JV next year. I’d like Riley on my team unless varsity steals him away.” Bill moved in for the kill.
A quick glance to Riley revealed that he was holding his breath, as if trying to discern whether or not Cooper would be pissed. Izzy read the hope in his eyes and suspected the teenager must have confessed his woes to his coach.
“Riley’s a good player,” Cooper said smoothly, not committing to anything, not emotionally and not in the way of Riley’s future.
The hope drained from Riley’s face, as if he’d been emotionally bludgeoned by his uncle’s words. Izzy wanted to strangle the insensitive ass, but she couldn’t. At least, not here.
Still, she’d chew his ass tonight. They’d fight, and he’d turn those blue eyes on her and melt her anger. She couldn’t resist him as hard as she tried, but she could hold him off long enough to pummel some sense into his thick skull.
Chapter 15—Right Now
Silence echoed off the walls in Cooper’s big old house as he wandered from room to room.
One minute he’d been eating pizza with Izzy and Riley and the next he’d been driving home alone. His evening plans had involved getting Izzy naked and keeping her occupied all night long. Instead, she was occupied by her business.
Betheni had called with a small emergency at a party the sisters were crashing. Izzy took off to do damage control. Cooper so wanted to check on her and make sure no asshole was hitting on her. Hell, of course, guys were hitting on her. She was fucking gorgeous with a body hot enough to inspire a million wet dreams.
Fine, he’d thought, he still had Riley and maybe they should spend a little uncle-nephew time together.
Then Riley went home with the Mars family, leaving Cooper to go it alone. In the oddest way, he felt betrayed, which didn’t make one damn bit of sense. He liked it when Riley spent the night elsewhere. It allowed Izzy and him to make as much noise as they wanted. Yet tonight, he wasn’t so thrilled. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he’d assumed they’d go home and talk sports. Cooper might not be a football player, but he was a fan of the game. As a guy used to analyzing game film, he had a few tips for Riley. Little things, such as where his eyes went just before the play started, which provided clues to a savvy defender as to the route he’d be running.
Yeah, grudgingly, he admitted he was disappointed and lonely. He liked people, but he’d never minded being alone. He’d always been comfortable with both. Not so much tonight. He tried to watch an adventure movie, but the car chases and bombs only bored him.
Cooper stared around the family room, not sure what to do with himself.
Riley spent a lot of time at his coach’s house, and it was starting to bother Cooper. Maybe because he loved to control every aspect of his life, and he couldn’t control Izzy, so now his attention switched to Riley as a distraction. How come the boys never came to Cooper’s house when Cooper was home, like they did when it was just Izzy here?
Maybe because you’re an indifferent asshole who doesn’t give any indication you’d enjoy having them around?
Even worse, on a few of those occasions when Cooper had been gone, Tanner came to the house. Cooper could just see it now, and he seethed with jealousy over Tanner hanging out at Cooper’s house with Cooper’s nephew and girlfriend.
Girlfriend?
Yeah, girlfriend.
That was exactly how he saw Izzy, and he might as well man-up and admit it. He wondered how she saw him. She’d been informally living in his house for over two weeks, not that he was complaining, not at all. They never talked about dating exclusively. He’d taken their exclusivity as a given, just like he had too many things in his life, but maybe she didn’t see it that way. Cooper sure as hell did. He didn’t want anyone else. When girls threw themselves at him after games, he didn’t feel even a twinge of interest.
Izzy was different, and being with Izzy had never been just physical, not even the first night he met her.
She made him laugh, made him stretch his comfort zone, made him think, and she didn’t take his shit. Instead she flipped it right back at him. Most people didn’t do that, and strangely, he liked it. He liked her here with him, keeping him in line, and keeping him excited.
Only she wasn’t here. No one was. God, he wanted to hop in his car and hunt her down. But he couldn’t. He’d promised, and he kept his promises.
At loose ends and out of sorts, Cooper trudged upstairs. He wasn’t sure why, but he went to Riley’s room. He stood in the doorway and glanced around, a typical kid’s room. The messiness drove him crazy, but he forced himself to look past it. Who was this kid who’d lived in his house for a month? He didn’t know a damn thing about him, didn’t know about his past, didn’t know about his hopes or dreams. Nothing. And he hadn’t wanted to know.
Until now.
Cooper walked around the room, stopping to stare at the signed poster of
Tanner Wolfe on the wall. He snorted and rolled his eyes. Cooper picked up a worn five-by-seven on the nightstand of Riley and his mother. Cooper’s sister didn’t look good in the photo. Her eyes were unfocused, her smile a little forced. Riley’s huge smile didn’t quite hide the sadness in his eyes, old eyes, much older than they had a right to be.
Anger gripped Cooper, anger at his irresponsible sister and a more than a little anger at himself. Riley deserved so much better than he got from his mother or his uncle. Riley deserved stability.
In that moment, Cooper vowed he would do the right thing. Once his parents returned, he’d send Riley to live with them. They were good people, and Riley would be loved and well-cared for. He’d be better off there than with someone like Cooper who travelled a lot and didn’t have time for a teenager.
Cooper put the photo down and accidentally brushed against a stack of papers. The papers scattered to the floor. What kid did anything with paper anymore? Cooper stooped to pick them up and stared in shock, his mouth dropping open. They weren’t girlie pics or anything like Cooper might’ve expected to find in a teenage boy’s room. They were printed photos of Cooper, lots of them, along with a Sockeyes program opened to Cooper’s page. But there was more. There were pictures of Cooper as a Giant, his old team.
Cooper shook his head. The kid had collected photos and kept tabs on him?
Fuck.
What did that mean?
He thought Riley resented him, even blamed him for his mother’s problems because to an extent Cooper blamed himself. But worshipped him? Cooper never would’ve guessed.
Now he felt like an even bigger shit and deservedly so.
* * * *
Izzy dragged her tired body into Cooper’s house and glanced around. She expected him to be waiting up for her, but it was late, after midnight. Those senior citizens had partied down once Izzy and her sisters worked their magic. She thought they’d never leave.
“Cooper?” she called, glancing around the dimly lit entryway. “Cooper?”
“Hey.” He stood at the top of the stairs grinning down at her, but his grin didn’t reach his eyes. Something troubled him, and she sure as hell hoped it wasn’t her being at a party. They’d broken up before over his jealousy, and Cooper had promised this time would be different.
Broken up before?
Did that mean they were a couple again? They sure as hell were sex partners, but only a fool would deny they didn’t have chemistry that went beyond sex. Nor could she deny she only wanted Cooper, wanted to see his sexy smile, see his blue eyes darken with desire, and hear his hearty laugh. God, she just wanted him. His imperfections made him perfect.
“Hey,” she called up to him as he walked down the stairs toward her. He skipped the last couple and swept her in his arms, kissing the hell out of her.
“I missed you,” he whispered against her hair. “Take me with you next time. I can crash a party as well as anyone.”
She leaned back and stared up into his deep blue eyes. “Are you kidding me? First of all, you’re the jealous type. Second, people will recognize you.”
“Yeah, I guess.” He kissed her forehead. “But I did miss you.”
She’d heard him the first time but chose to ignore his words. Missing someone meant you were getting attached, and attachments led to dependency on each other. Izzy did not depend on anyone, and she never would. Never. Not even sexy-as-melted-chocolate Cooper.
Izzy touched his rough cheek. He had that stubble thing going on lately, and it was hot. She opened her mouth to invite him to the bedroom, and stopped. There it was again. That flash of sadness. She doubted anyone else would have caught it, but she did.
“Cooper, what’s wrong?” She cupped his strong jaw in her hands and kissed his chin.
His eyes darkened, and he smiled. “Nothing, now that you’re here.”
She almost believed him, but she’d seen something, and she’d never been one to let well enough alone. “What is it?”
She caught his quick glance up the stairs.
“Did you know Riley has a bunch of pictures of me in his bedroom?” Cooper said.
“Were you snooping in Riley’s bedroom?” No wonder he’d been upstairs.
“It’s—it’s not what you think. I wasn’t looking for anything bad. I just wanted to know him better. I haven’t done a very good job of that,” he said sheepishly, shifting his weight from one foot to another in a rare display of discomfort.
Izzy couldn’t mask her surprise. “No, you haven’t, Coop.” She wouldn’t cut him any slack where Riley was concerned.
He looked up at her, letting her see the sadness in his eyes this time. “Yeah, I’ve been an ass. I was disappointed he didn’t come home with me tonight, and—and—caring like that shocked me.”
“You were disappointed?” She honestly thought he didn’t like Riley underfoot.
“I wanted to talk to him about his game. As a pro athlete, I’m pretty good at analyzing stuff. Even though I don’t play football, it’s very similar to hockey in a lot of ways, and I had some tips for him on his game.”
“Really?” Her heart swelled with affection for this strong, proud man. “I think he would’ve liked that.”
“Or told me to fuck off and die,” Cooper said with a self-deprecating smile.
“That’s always possible.” She grinned and pressed her lips to his. She liked this side of him, a little uncertain, a little vulnerable, and a lot sexy and sweet. Sweet had been a word she’d never thought she could use for Cooper. “You know, I was going to come home tonight and lecture your ass about how you’re treating Riley, but maybe a lecture isn’t necessary.”
“God, I hope not.” He pretended to shudder.
“Yet.” She grinned at him and backed him up against the wall. Those intense blue eyes of his burned with need and desire for her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she threaded her fingers in his hair. His mouth came down on hers and she clung to him as they kissed long and hard.
God, she was crazy for this man, even with all his faults. Maybe his faults made him more attractive. He wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for her. True perfection would be boring.
Drawing back, she slid down his long, muscled frame until she knelt before him on her knees. He smiled down at her, his fingers massaging her scalp. “Hungry?”
“Absolutely. I’ve been hungry for you all night.”
“So have I, honey. So have I.” His gravelly growl reverberated through his body right down to the object of her attention, a rather large object and quickly becoming one of her favorite objects. Okay, maybe already her all-time favorite object.
He leaned against the wall, as she unzipped his faded jeans and lowered both jeans and underwear down past his hungry cock. Her mouth watered at the sight of it.
“You’re so beautiful,” she whispered, worshipping his gorgeous athlete’s body with her eyes, loving the muscles on muscles, even loving the scars because each of them told a story from his life. Someday she’d know all those stories.
“Hey, that’s my line.”
She glanced up at him, a slow smile crossing her face. Lowering her head, she sent him to paradise.
* * * *
Cooper didn’t have a game that next evening. Izzy cuddled on the couch with him, watching The Sound of Music. Cooper had admitted to liking classical musicals. They both had the night off. A hazy rain blanketed the landscape visible out the windows, making Izzy feel lazy and content.
Neither of them had gotten much sleep in the past twenty-four hours. It was Friday night, and Riley pouted in his room because Cooper insisted he stay home, which surprised Izzy. Usually Cooper jumped at any chance to pawn his nephew off on someone else.
Cooper stretched and yawned. “I suppose we should get off our lazy asses and do something about dinner. The kid has to eat, even if we can skip a meal.”
“He is a growing boy,” Izzy agreed.
Cooper arched his eyebrows. “Uh, yeah, he sure is. A horse eats
less than he does.”
“Do you have any chicken?” Izzy asked.
“I’m sure I do.” Cooper kissed the tip of her nose and gazed down at her with a lopsided smile.
Izzy stood quickly, knowing if she didn’t, they’d be doing it on the couch in seconds with Riley able to walk in on them at any time. “I’ll make my signature fried chicken.”
“Sounds great. I’ll help.”
Much to Izzy’s surprise, Cooper was pretty handy in the kitchen. He chopped veggies for a salad and put potatoes in the steamer.
As Izzy manned the frying pan, Cooper moved behind her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. His erection pressed against her butt, and she giggled. Cooper nuzzled her cheek and nipped at the skin on her neck. She tried to shoo him away, but he wasn’t having any part of that.
“Cooper, I’m trying to cook.” She elbowed him in his hard stomach. He didn’t even flinch.
“You’re doing a damn good job because I think I’m already way past well done.” He bit her earlobe, and she couldn’t stifle the groan.
“Oh, God, we can’t do this right now.”
“Who says?” He slid his hands under her sweatshirt and cupped her breasts through the thin material of her bra. He drew circles around her nipples until they were hard and aching for him.
Izzy arched her neck to look into his eyes and his mouth caught hers in a searing kiss that just about blew her Dearfoam slippers off her feet.
“Oh, God, get a room, would ya?”
Cooper jumped back at the sound of Riley’s voice, while Izzy straightened her sweater. Her face burned with embarrassment as she wondered how long Riley had been standing there.
While Izzy gathered her composure, Cooper put on a good show for Riley, as if he hadn’t just been caught coping a feel, leaving Izzy light-headed and weak in the knees.
Riley looked from one to the other, his eyes narrowing and a frown dominating his face. “I don’t see why I couldn’t go to the Mars’ house; then you guys could mess around all you wanted.”
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