She smiled slowly, delighted, “You’re getting good at this relationship stuff, Graves.” She scooted closer, “Let’s just say it’s an idea for now?”
“Whatever makes you happy.”
“I’m easy to please. You don’t even have to buy me houses, hell, you don’t even have to buy me dinner.”
“Should we try again?” He husked, biting his bottom lip.
Dani knew what he meant and his excitement gave her the courage to nod.
“I bought some condoms,” He was staring at her lips. “They’re in the car.”
Dani bent to her handbag pulling out an unopened box, “I got some too.”
But his smile changed and Dani could see his shutters of self-doubt threatening. Gulping, he said “Where were we?” Pulling Dani to her feet he quickly stripped her clothes away until she stood in only her underwear. She let him remove his own clothes, her breath hitching when he stood before her completely naked. She fought the urge to cover herself, uncomfortable being so exposed in the daylight. She was feeling vulnerable but that was right when she was with Cooper, his problems demanded nothing but bare honesty from her. It would have been too cold anywhere else in this big old house, but right here in the sunshine it was warm and Cooper’s proximity, his own vulnerability left no room for the cold.
“Have I mentioned you’re stunning?” Cooper sighed.
“Thank you but how are you going?”
“Figuring I have this raging hard-on pointing at you I guess you can see what’s going on in my head, both of them.”
“You’re very cute and there’s no expectation on you, alright? We’ll stop when you want, at any time.”
When he stepped closer his eyes were less frightened and Dani was suddenly on her back, staring up at Cooper who’s breathing hardly changed at all. This was definite improvement.
After asking if he was okay several times, Cooper griped, “Dani, I’m fine. Just enjoy this with me.”
With that she let herself relax, roaming his body, kissing him, feeling his heavy weight and enjoying his growing confidence. Without fanfare he rolled a condom on then took a deep breath and eyed Dani’s underwear. She lay still, leaving Cooper to decide how to proceed. He was okay, not even close to a panic attack yet. All Dani’s fears for a future with Cooper disappeared. She wanted to be here with him more than with any man before.
He slid the underwear away and Dani felt flushed with pride when he barely flinched. He adjusted his weight above her, this time settling between her thighs. Dani gasped as she felt his solid length so close to where she wanted it. She was more than ready, had been ready since meeting him, all they had gone through only solidified their bond. She now wanted him as close as possible physically.
He moved and Dani’s back arched as he pressed inside. She wanted to sob with relief or cry with pleasure but Cooper’s breathing was quickly becoming ragged so she rubbed his cheeks trying to force her own calmness into him. His eyes were clamped shut and Dani knew this wasn’t a good idea.
“Cooper, look at me.” She tried to keep her voice normal while her body craved to move beneath him, to feel him moving within her, connecting them together. She waited for his eyes to open before adding, “It’s just me, Coop. No memories, stay here with me, this is important for us.”
“I’m trying.” He husked, his breath still escalating. Dani, knowing she had only moments before he would force them back into that embarrassed shame.
“I’m thinking about going to the game.” She said, surprised and horrified as the words fell from her mouth. Some part of her, the part that had grown up with rugby players, knew this was the one thing that would drag his attention away from the past and unsurprisingly Cooper became still, watching her closely.
“You’re just saying that to take my mind off this.”
“Okay, you’re right. I really don’t want to go.”
“Oh, you're going. Jacob will think I’m a fucking saint.”
“No, I’m not going. And please don’t talk about my father right now, that’s just creepy.” She couldn’t resist running a line of kisses along his thick throat.
“Too late, you said it and you’re going.” He was grinning, looking far too comfortable for a man now buried to the hilt in a woman, his first in a very long time, without a gasping breath thanks to Dani’s efforts.
“Hey, Cooper?”
“What?” He dreamily said, kissing her lips.
“You’ve stopped freaking out so can you shut up and give a girl some relief.”
His eyes widened and his body jolted in response. He moved again, more experimentally and Dani had to close her eyes on a deep and completely pleasured groan. Cooper lifted himself onto his hands to study her reactions. Dani lifted her legs, forcing him further inside, gratified when Cooper moaned and shivered in pleasure. He was going slow, had been out of action for a long time and was clearly forcing his big body away from the quick release it wanted. Dani had been patient yet persistent, she hadn’t played games or been anything but honest and Cooper was showing her in the only way he could how much he appreciated her.
She wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him close.
“I’m scared.” He said, shaking. “I need to concentrate.”
“Let go, Cooper.” Dani rocked against him, “It’s just us. Do this with me.”
He sighed deeply, his body shivering as Dani held him in place with her fingers in his hair, knowing that if he closed his eyes he would find a way to think this was wrong when it was so right.
With her back arching, struggling to remain impassive as her greedy needs took over, Cooper groaned, pressing into her deeper, holding a hand to her cheek, seeking her gaze as if ensuring she was still certain, claiming her lips when she smiled in encouragement. After a long time Dani could not contain herself and tipped into the ultimate surrender, her mind blanking out in utter pleasure, she called Cooper’s name, rejoicing in his now frantic lovemaking, the deep kiss that mirrored their bodies, the heavy press of his hips.
Then he froze and Dani had a moment of panic. Was he freaking out again? Instead she found him staring at her with ferocious intensity and when he moved again he rumbled deep in his chest, a groan so long held it was painful. She felt him pulsing deep within her and sighed in relief.
He began shaking violently, staring at her in shock then burying his face in her neck and crying, deep sobs of emotion. Dani said nothing, just held him tight, letting him take his time.
He finally sat up, swiping at his eyes, “Sorry.” He mumbled.
“What for?” She needed him to explain.
“For this.” He indicated his damp eyes and fingertips.
Dani pulled his hand to her lips and kissed them, “You’ve been through a lot. This is expected, normal.”
Now in his lap, he hugged her tightly, rocking gently. Dani propped her chin on his shoulder, staring out the window, running lazy circles on his back. Cooper had been tough, his progress from their first try remarkable. She wanted to experiment with Cooper Graves, push him to his limits and see what she found in him.
When he spoke his voice was raw with emotion, “Thank you, Dani, for everything. I don’t know how I survived without you.”
She pulled her gaze from the captivating view outside to find one even more alluring, “I had a touch of self interest. Whatever happened back then doesn’t mean your life ended. You were never charged. I know the accusation was awful but you must know there are people who lie for their own purposes. You deserve to get on with your life. You deserve to be happy.”
“Then why do I feel so guilty? Like I’m still trapped? That something is waiting around the corner to pull you away from me?”
“I guess we have to trust each other and hope for the best. What other choice do we have? Life does what it wants, so I suggest we enjoy whatever time we have.”
Kissing her shoulder, Cooper smiled, “You are a very wise woman.”
“Years of listening to drunks. People
say the most profound things when they’re tanked. They say really stupid shit too but, hey, everything in balance right?”
“Are you in a hurry?” He asked.
“No, I didn’t think we’d get this far so quickly.” She pecked him on the nose, “You are astounding, Cooper Graves.”
“All this and I got you to the rugby with me.” He was returning to his old self, the dark clouds of doubt clearing.
She groaned, “Alright, I did agree but I’m sitting in the stands. No coach’s booth, no WAG’s box. I’ll slink in and slink out, only you’ll know I was there.”
“Come on, Dani. I want to see your father’s face when you turn up to see me.”
“Are you kidding? He’ll think you got me pregnant.” She was joking like she didn’t care when in fact she felt sick at the thought of being at a game. If she took her headphones and sat by herself she would get through. Her parents always had games blaring from two big screens, this would be similar just with more people around her.
“Should Jacob be concerned? I mean, is something going on between us, I mean, do you want something to continue going on between us?” Cooper was sweetly nervous. He was an easy target sometimes.
“I’m sitting in this horrid old house in the middle of the day, it’s cold and I’m naked. I can honestly say something is going on between us and it had better continue. I hope you haven’t found your mojo only to turn back into a dick.”
“Are you worried?” He appeared genuinely delighted.
“Don’t be ridiculous, the only thing I’m worried about is this great big pile of shit house. How much time is this going to take?”
“We plan to have it done in twelve weeks, max.”
That was surprising. “But that’s impossible.”
“No, we’ll work hard and get plenty of good help. To make it worthwhile we’ll turn places over as fast as possible. This isn’t as bad as it looks. The family had started working on it before it was sold. The piles were done which is a major and the wiring was fully replaced. We still have plumbing but the guys are starting tomorrow. JD and I are going to start stripping it out first thing in the morning.”
“But JD has work, he’ll be exhausted.”
“He’s young and he wants to do this. He sees it as his big break.”
“And is it?”
“Yes. He’ll make good money and he has other properties in mind. He knows what he’s doing and he’s hungry to work. I couldn’t ask for more from him.”
“That’s good, I really like JD.”
“Not too much I hope?” Cooper asked, suspicious.
Dani laughed, “JD’s too nice for me, I prefer bastards.”
Without a word Cooper pushed her off his lap and left the room to discard the used condom. Dani collected her clothes, the chill seeping into her skin. When Cooper called from the door she yelped in surprise.
“What are you doing?” He asked. “We are not even close to finished here. As you said, my mojo’s back and it wants to play with you.”
“Okay.” She said, her stomach fluttering in excited anticipation of Cooper’s growing confidence and the new condom in place. The man was mouth-watering, and Dani was getting an attachment to this awful house, or was it to Cooper? She had never felt like this before. She had never pushed a man into sex before either but from the start she had known what he needed.
“Do you want to continue this at my apartment?” He asked, mistaking her goose bumps for being cold.
“No, this is perfect.”
“Are you starting to see things my way about this house?” He grinned.
“That depends how nice your mojo is to me.”
“I promise my mojo will be very nice to you. In fact, my mojo wants to show you how thankful it is to you right now.”
He kissed her deeply, lifting her and wrapping first one leg then the other around his waist. She marveled at his strength as he sat on the window seat. Dani groaned as his erection rubbed against her. Cooper then lifted her and slid inside. Her wet flesh gave way and Cooper leaned forward, nuzzling her breasts.
“Christ.” He hissed, “I feel closer than last time.”
Dani leaned back to grant him better access to her breasts, unable to remain still, Cooper smiling as her breathing became as erratic as his during a panic attack.
Holding her tightly, Cooper lifted her, in and out, small effective movements that sent Dani crazy and as she clenched around him Cooper upped his tempo, lifting her higher, ramming inside, grinding against her.
Her limp body was soon moving again and they were quickly running with sweat. Cooper came on another deep groan, this one less pained.
Dani remained draped over him as their breathing returned to normal, running her hands over his wide back, enjoying the emotion and the outside view. The windows leadlight shooting crazy colors over Cooper’s back. A flash outside caught her attention and Dani froze at the realization that someone had either binoculars or a camera trained in their direction.
She slid off Cooper and began tugging clothes on, trying to sound calm, “Someone’s taking photos of us from the park.”
“What!” Cooper roared, yanking his jeans on, leaving his chest bare. He was out the door before Dani hauled her shirt over her head. She sprinted to catch up but by the time she got to the park Cooper had a man in a headlock while he scanned photos on an expensive camera.
“I’ll call the police.” Dani said, looking back up the hill on a sigh, wondering why she hadn’t take a moment to grab her phone. Back at the house she panted her emergency to an operator who told her there was no one in the area.
She hung up, surprised when Cooper quietly returned with the camera in his hand. “Where is he?” Dani asked.
“I let him go.”
“Cooper, why? You have to show you’re serious about . . .”
He held a hand up, “I found out who paid him.”
“Who?” Dani had yet to mention Michelle Brink. She had said no secrets but they were happening on their own.
“Who do you think?” He sighed.
“Birgetta?”
“Bingo. I told him I’ll talk to the police and if I ever see him again I’ll snap his fucking neck. He appeared satisfied with that deal.”
“She’ll just find someone else.”
Cooper rubbed his eyes, “I know, I’m sorry.”
Dani fidgeted with the camera until she found their photos. “Hey, these are good.” She grinned, “Can we keep them?” The leadlight windows meant the photos only showed Dani’s face and Cooper’s big shoulders but it was clear by her expression what was happening.
Shaking his head as if she were insane Cooper studied them, eventually conceding, “For our enjoyment only.”
“We are banned from that corner too. What a shame, it’s such a great spot.” She began to shiver as the chill from the floorboards seeped into her bones and Cooper led her back up the rickety stairs to gather the rest of their clothes. When his gaze again became hooded, while marveling at his recovery, Dani decided it was time to come clean.
“Do you know a woman called Michelle Brink?”
His unconcerned shrug was a relief, “Yeah, she’s from New Zealand too. She wanted me on some reality show. I told her there was no chance I’d ever go on one.”
“Was this before or after . . . you know.”
“The rape.” He stated with no emotion.
“The alleged rape.”
He thought about it, “Before, I think. Then she called afterward, said she had the perfect show to repair my image. I had already signed the contract for France, and I hate those fucking shows, voyeuristic bullshit.”
“Plenty of people like them.”
“I don’t know why. I mean how they portray people is ruthless.”
“You can’t change how people are.”
“Are you kidding? They have cameras on those people 24/7. The cameras say whatever the producer wants it to say. The joy of editing.”
“Was Miche
lle angry you wouldn’t do her shows?”
He became uncomfortable, “She wanted to meet face to face, she had an offer I couldn’t refuse.” He grimaced. “So we met up.”
Dani gasped, “Did you have sex with her?”
“It was worse than that.” At Dani’s blank expression he said, “She tried to have sex on me. She knew my reputation and said she was the best I would ever get.”
“So did you?”
“Almost.”
“What does that mean?” Dani barked.
“Before we did it, she insisted I agree to going on her show.”
“And you obviously didn’t.”
“No, I had already suffered enough because of my cock. I was furious, more at myself. I told her if she came near me again I’d tell her husband.”
“Hell.” Dani whispered, “She must have been furious.”
“I didn’t stay around to find out. I mean, how could I get myself into that situation? Even after what had happened with the girl, I couldn’t keep my fucking pants on. I think up until that moment I had expected it all to go away. I knew Michelle had permanently moved to the UK and done well. She got in touch again when I landed, suggested I do that show to give my side of the story. I told her my threat to tell her husband still stood and she said she was going to bury me.”
“Do you think Michelle’s husband knows? I mean is he the jealous type?”
“No idea. I know who he is but I don’t think I ever met him.”
“What about Birgetta? Did you have any physical contact with her?”
“No!” He was emphatic, “The Growler’s just a pain in the ass, if you can’t stay out of her way you just endure her and behave. What’s with the interest?”
Dani took a breath, “No secrets.” She said this more to herself than him. “I met Birgetta, to tell her to back off or I was going to make life very difficult for her.”
“Dani, the Growler’s an expert at manipulating the media to her own end.”
“But I’ve got nothing to lose if I went public with some lies of my own.”
“Like what?” He was suspicious. Dani hated that he still couldn’t trust her.
Rules of her Game: A Contemporary Sports Romance Page 18