by Melody Anne
Neither of them spoke for several tense moments as both of them tried to gain back their breath.
“I . . . uh, thought you were in Japan,” she finally said.
“Cancelled flights . . . sick people,” he mumbled. “Why didn’t you answer me?”
“I was panicked being naked,” she said in a gasp.
Stormy was still beneath him, but that didn’t help. With her hands against his shoulders, her fingers moving slightly, he was about to lose control.
Cooper found himself reaching up, his fingers gliding across her soft cheek as he gazed down into her lovely dark eyes.
A slight moan escaped her mouth, and that was it for Cooper. Her lips were moist and parted and he wasn’t resisting for a moment longer. Bending down, he captured her mouth, and together their moans floated around them.
With every rise of Stormy’s soft breasts against him, and the rhythm of her tongue mating with his, Cooper became harder and harder. Pushing her thighs apart, he rested his throbbing manhood against her moist opening.
She was clutching at his hair, no sign of regret within her. Gripping her hip tightly with one hand, Cooper leaned back slightly and then pushed forward, sinking himself fully within her heat.
She cried out—and Cooper froze.
“Are you going to keep playing games or are you going to admit that you know who I am?” he asked, suddenly furious.
He’d lost control for a moment, and he was still on the verge of doing it again, but dammit, he’d meant to talk to her first about this before plunging within her sweet folds.
“I . . . uh . . .” She wasn’t forming coherent words and he was growing more and more angry.
“Is this a game?” he asked.
With no other choice but to strangle her or let her go, he withdrew from her body, wanting to cry out at how wrong that felt.
“No!” she cried out, quickly sitting up with her arms wrapped protectively around her knees.
“What else am I supposed to think?”
She was quiet for a moment. “You didn’t want more than a one-night stand back then and neither did I,” she said, her voice still too quiet for him to figure out what she was feeling or thinking.
“Maybe I did want more,” he said. He thought of the locket he still had.
“Don’t lie, Cooper. It was a great night—but it was only supposed to be one night,” she said, irritation in her voice.
“Then what are we doing here now?” he asked.
“We were about to have sex,” she grumbled.
He went stock-still for a moment, but Stormy didn’t see the warning in his anger. She grumbled something else and Cooper shot to his feet.
“Is it sex you want, Stormy?” he demanded.
Now she was understanding the full extent of his anger. Her eyes rounded.
“Not when you’re ticked off,” she said, but her breathless excitement belied her words.
“If it’s a night of sex you want, that I can give you.”
Leaning down, he easily lifted her up and then began moving toward the staircase.
“Cooper, what are you doing?” She gasped as she hit his chest. “Put me down!”
“Gladly,” he said, anger and passion mixing within him. He made it to his room in record time and unceremoniously dropped her on the bed.
“Caveman,” she snapped, her voice still a bit breathless.
“Oh baby, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
And then the talking stopped as he joined her on the bed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Stormy should have been furious with Cooper but all she felt at this moment was excitement. The need in his eyes was something she’d never seen before in a man, and she wanted him, but hell would freeze over before she would admit it.
“Do you like games, Stormy?” he asked as he straddled her on the bed, holding her arms above her head.
Her breath was coming out in pants and she almost hated him for making her want him so badly.
“I think you’re the one who likes to play,” she finally replied when he didn’t move.
“That’s right, baby. I do love games,” he said, his lips turning up. “And I win every single time I play.”
It took a moment for those words to process, and when they did a shiver rushed through her. She wasn’t sure if it was excitement or fright. But Stormy knew beyond a doubt that if they didn’t have sex very soon, she was going to perish for sure.
Suddenly, he leaned across the bed and reached over to his nightstand. She couldn’t see what he was doing, but then she sensed what felt like silk being placed around her wrists, and then she couldn’t move her arms. Next, a cloth was being placed over her eyes, and the already dim room went dark.
“What’s going on, Cooper?”
“We’re playing, Stormy,” he replied.
When Cooper moved, leaving her vulnerable on the bed, she twisted to get out of her binds. This was taking a turn she wasn’t too sure about.
“Are you too afraid to play now?”
The rush of air was against her ear as he whispered the words. Then his hand began trailing down her throat and over the swell of her breasts, making her core heat to molten levels.
Stormy could lie to him, tell him that she didn’t want to do this anymore, but her body would betray her. As his fingers swept across her nipples, they hardened painfully, and her back arched as a low groan ripped from her.
“I think you love this game,” he murmured, and then he was atop her body again, and even if she hated the control he had, she couldn’t deny how much she wanted this man to take her.
Still, she wouldn’t tell him that. Even if she had to continue biting her lip to keep from speaking.
Her erect nipples reached for him as his fingers smoothed down her quivering flesh. And when his tongue suddenly swiped the area he’d been touching, she did cry out, her body nearing an orgasm without him even moving below her waistline.
Then he was lying on top of her, and she felt his thickness pressed against her opening. She pushed her hips up, telling him she was done with foreplay, that she wanted him inside her. But Cooper didn’t give her what she wanted.
She was close to begging him for fulfillment when his lips were upon hers, his tongue thrusting inside her mouth the way she wanted his body to. He took ownership of her mouth, possessing her exactly how she wanted to be possessed.
And while he kissed her, his hand trailed down her hip. He leaned over, and then without warning, thrust two fingers deep inside her while his thumb rubbed against her swollen nub.
“Tell me you want more than my fingers, Stormy,” he demanded before taking her bottom lip between his teeth and nipping it.
She was silent, shaking her head, refusing to give him what he wanted.
“You either tell me you want me to fuck you or this stops. I don’t do forced sex,” he growled into her ear as his fingers pumped in and out of her body.
She was so close . . . If she just held out a moment longer she wouldn’t have to ask him.
As if knowing the moment she was about to peak, he suddenly pulled his fingers from her swollen folds, and then ran his tongue along the sensitive skin of her neck.
“This is your last chance before I’m finished,” he warned.
She was still silent, but then she felt him withdrawing from her. In a panic, Stormy struggled to break free from her binds and reach for him.
“Fine!” she shouted. “I want you, Cooper.”
“Good.”
He said nothing else, but suddenly his welcomed weight was atop her, and he was grabbing her hip as he fit himself between her legs.
In one solid, hard thrust, he buried himself inside her, and Stormy reached for the peak of pleasure that was so close.
Cooper pumped in and out of her, while he bent down and once more captured her lips. It was rough and hot and taking her breath away. She never wanted it to end, but she wanted to feel the satisfying grip as she fell over the edge o
f pleasure.
Picking up speed, he plunged even deeper inside her, and Stormy was lost as she shattered around his thickness, her moan captured by his mouth as she shook in his arms.
“That’s it, baby,” he groaned, his lips ripping from hers as he threw his head back and yelled, his thickness pulsing against her throbbing walls.
And then he collapsed against her, both of them breathing heavily for several seconds. Stormy tried moving her arms again, only to realize they were still bound. She was about to say something when Cooper shifted and untied her.
He then lifted the makeshift blindfold he’d made out of a silky tie.
“What was that?” she finally asked when he pulled her against him and gave her a look she couldn’t quite interpret.
“I’ve wanted you for a while. I figured out a few days ago who you were and I’ve been pissed you haven’t fessed up,” he admitted, his anger returning.
“I figured you didn’t recognize me so I wasn’t going to say anything,” she snapped.
“Our first kiss I knew it, and that was the perfect opportunity,” he said, moving over and sitting up.
She covered herself as she glared at him.
“Don’t put all the blame on me. I don’t forget who I sleep with,” she countered.
He glared at her, and her after-sex glow was fully over now. She was just as angry as he was. She began getting up and he grabbed her arm.
“This conversation isn’t over,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“I make mistakes, but that shouldn’t allow you to make a fool of me,” he told her.
“I never set out to make a fool of you,” she thundered, yanking her arm until he released her. “I’m not perfect. I make mistakes, too.” She rose and stepped farther away, taking his sheet with her.
“Well then, we’re a perfectly imperfect pair, aren’t we?”
“I guess we are,” she told him.
He didn’t reply and she began moving toward his door.
“Where are you going?” He began to move off the bed. She held up her hand.
“I’m going to my room where I want to be alone.”
Then she rushed out the door, running across the hall and entering her room, locking the door securely behind her. She stood there for a while and listened, but he didn’t follow her.
It was what she wanted, she told herself as she stepped into her bathroom. Having sex with him again had been a huge mistake.
She was telling herself that hours later when she wasn’t able to sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The music was great, the volume loud, and the liquor flowing freely, but still Cooper couldn’t find it in himself to relax and enjoy the night.
“What’s your problem?” Nick asked.
“I don’t have a problem.” Cooper growled. “What’s yours?”
“I’m a free-loving spirit. There’s nothing wrong with me,” Nick told him with a laugh.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before,” Cooper said. Nick was a good guy, inside and out, though he also thought he was a comedian. In reality, he was. Still, Cooper wasn’t feeling too loving toward him at the moment.
“Loosen up. I only get to be home for a couple weeks before I’m shipped off again, and I want to have some fun,” Nick told him.
“I came out with you tonight, didn’t I?” Cooper pointed out.
“Yeah, but you’ve been a downer all evening. How in the world are you going to play my wingman if you keep acting like a pouting puppet?” Nick asked.
“I didn’t plan on playing any games with you,” Cooper told him.
“Come on, Coop. I need a girlfriend for the night,” Nick said with a laugh.
“Yeah, and since you’re such an ugly bastard, you need my help,” Cooper said, cracking his first real smile of the evening.
“You’re the ugly one of the family,” Nick quickly replied.
“Okay, enough with the insults,” Cooper told him. “Who do you have your eye on?”
The two brothers looked around the upscale bar, scanning the crowd. Yes, there were a lot of gorgeous women surrounding them, sipping on their drinks and giving certain men the look that said he could be next to buy. But none of them were catching Cooper’s eyes.
How could they when all he seemed able to think about was his new housemate, who happened to be the best lover he’d ever had? Since their night together the week before, she’d been avoiding the hell out of him. Now that he’d reawakened his body to her, he wasn’t too pleased about that.
But it was good he wasn’t seeing her, he tried convincing himself. Even though the woman had only lived in his place for a short time, he was beginning to get used to her presence. In fact, he couldn’t really imagine the house without her in it now. She’d made herself scarce since their fight, but her touch was in every single room. He couldn’t escape it and wasn’t sure he wanted to.
Fresh flowers from his garden adorned the table, Stormy making sure they were cleaned up every day. And her perfumed scent lingered in every room, ensuring it was the first thing he noticed the moment he walked in the door.
Each night he passed her shut bedroom door, he felt himself grow hard. And each time it happened, he ended up in the bathroom with the faucet turned to cold. Never had he been that guy who enjoyed relieving himself.
It was too damn good when he had a woman there to do it for him.
Yes, he knew he could get Stormy back into his bed, but he also knew that was a road filled with complications that he just didn’t want to deal with. Plus, he was pissed at her and the games she was playing. So what in the hell was he supposed to do?
Apparently suffer. At least that’s what he’d been doing.
“The blonde over there is giving you the eye,” Nick whispered. “And her friend looks to be just my style.”
Cooper followed Nick’s gaze and found an attractive, short-haired blonde who was indeed showing interest. Without giving himself a chance to change his mind, he sent a smile her way and crooked his finger.
Like clockwork, the two women slowly made their way across the bar.
“Hi, I’m Julie,” the blonde said. “And this is my friend, Debbie.”
“Nice to meet you two ladies. Care to join us?” Nick quickly said, standing up, ever the gentleman.
Cooper stood up as well, though almost reluctantly as he held out a chair for the blonde. What had her name been again?
“What are you doing out tonight?” Nick asked as he sent a questioning look his brother’s way.
“We work over at the Realtor office across the street. Debbie and I just made a big sale and we’re out celebrating,” the blonde said.
“Yeah, Julie is a shark when it comes to sales,” Debbie told them.
Julie! That was it.
“We will have to help you celebrate, then,” Cooper said, finally finding his voice as he gazed into Julie’s eyes.
He had his swagger back. Yes!
After a few more rounds, Nick was standing up with Debbie and leading her to the dance floor, leaving Cooper behind with Julie.
“You haven’t been real talkative tonight,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “Rough day?”
“I don’t know,” he told her honestly.
She laughed. “How do you not know?”
She was pleasant to be around, not overly flirty or needy, not bitchy, a nice girl. Maybe he’d introduce her to Wolf.
That thought made him pause. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never tried to pass a woman off who was stimulating, pretty, and obviously interested in him.
“It’s just been one of those days,” he said with a laugh. “Can I get you a refill?”
“No. I think I’ve had enough for the night. I have an early day tomorrow,” she told him.
Dammit. She was his kind of woman. Obviously not an overindulger.
“I was thinking the same,” he said as he signaled the wait
er to pay the bill.
She stood up, and he quickly jumped to his feet. “Can I give you a lift home?”
She looked him over for a moment and then smiled. “Maybe next time, Cooper,” she finally said. “Here’s my number. Give me a call.”
She turned to see where her friend was, but Nick and Debbie were quickly approaching.
“We’re going to get out of here,” Nick said with a smile sent Cooper’s way.
“Yeah, me too,” Coop said as he grabbed his coat.
Nick raised a brow at his brother, and Coop gave a slight shake of his head. Nick gave him a taunting smile.
“All right, Captain, get some rest before you take up one of the big ones in the morning,” Nick said.
Coop sent a glare his brother’s way. He didn’t need Nick to tell the ladies he was a big, bad pilot so he could get some tail. It was a game they’d played for years. At least the ass knew better than to tell them he was the damn CEO. He’d had enough wallet chasers to last him a lifetime.
“A big one?” Julie asked, pausing in her exit.
“Yeah, my big brother here is a pilot,” Nick said as the four of them made their way toward the front of the bar.
“Ooh, that’s impressive,” Debbie said as she gave Cooper a look of interest.
“Not as impressive as Nick being a chopper pilot for the Coast Guard,” Coop quickly said, and Debbie’s eyes went right back to Nick.
His brother didn’t care all that much if she was interested or not. He’d either sleep with the woman or he wouldn’t. And then he would disappear in the morning. Nick was even more of a bachelor than Cooper, and that was saying a lot.
They made it out front, said their good-byes, and Cooper eagerly headed home. Maybe he’d see his elusive housemate. It was sad how much that thought perked him up.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Shooting straight up in bed, Stormy frantically wiped the sleep from her eyes as the pounding of her heart thumped in her chest. It took a moment, but finally she was able to brush the panic away and calm herself.
With surprise, she swiped her fingers against her cheek and found tears. Never before had she had such a vivid nightmare, one that woke her with terror.