Guilty Pleasures (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 3)

by Eilzabeth Lennox

  “Yes!” she screamed, her legs tightening around his waist and Cooper felt her body throb around his erection. After that, his own powerful climax followed. He thrust into her fast and hard and, through the haze of his own pleasure, he felt her body tighten again before he finally fell on top of her, burying his face against the softness of her hair and neck.

  Willow shivered with yet another after shock, and sighed happily when she felt his lips caress her neck. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering what in the world had just happened. She’d had sex before but…okay, not a lot of sex! But some. And it had never been like that! In the past, sex had been…fine.

  But what she’d just experienced with Cooper had been….mind-blowing! For the first time, she truly understood how amazing sex could be! Wow! Willow accepted that, for the very first time in her life, she’d been out of control. The way Cooper had touched her had driven her wild!

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked, his face still buried in her neck, one hand playing with her hair.

  “Umm…” He lifted his head and looked down at her. “Nothing,” she finally answered.

  She heard his deep chuckle, as he shook his head. “That is not a ‘nothing’ expression.” He shifted, pulling out from her and she gasped at the loss. He stood up and disappeared into the bathroom and she heard the water running. She pulled the comforter over her nakedness and curled sideways, still in shock.

  When he came back, Cooper pulled the comforter away and replaced its warmth with his body. “Talk to me, Willow. What’s bothering you?”

  She was encompassed in his warmth, with his chest warming her back and his legs curled along hers. One of his legs pressed between hers as his arms wrapped around her waist and over her head.

  He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Do you regret having sex with me?”

  “No!” she gasped, looking at him over her shoulder. Instantly, she felt him relax against her again. “No! Just the opposite.”

  He kissed her shoulder again, one hand stroking her hip and leg. “The expression on your face doesn’t agree with your words, honey.”

  She laughed when he tickled her waist and she wiggled, becoming aware of him in different ways. “I just…,” she closed her eyes, trying to figure out what to say. Or more specifically, how to say it without revealing too much.

  “I loved being inside of you, Willow,” he told her, his hand coming up to curl around her breast. “In fact, I’m giving you warning that it is going to happen again. Very soon,” he nipped at her neck.

  Willow smiled, already her body was warming up. “I don’t think I can do that all over again.”

  He laughed and smoothed his hand up her side. “Let me take care of getting you ready. You just make all of those sexy sounds again.”

  She blushed and groaned, burying her head towards the pillow. “I didn’t do that.”

  “Yes,” he kissed her neck. “You did. And I loved it.”

  She lifted her head slightly, peeking up at him. “You did?”

  “Hell yes!” he told her. His hand moved down to her bottom and he pulled her leg back over his. “It turned me on every time.” His finger slid into her heat and she had no idea that she was so ready for another round. But he knew and he smiled as he pressed deeper into her body. “Every time I found another way to make you moan or gasp, I had a hard time holding back.”

  She moaned, closing her eyes. “I just…”

  “You what?” he prompted, moving his fingers again. “Want me to do this?” he asked, then rubbed against her nub. Immediately, Willow jumped at the friction and he moved his fingers away. But she shook her head, pulling his hand back.

  “Please,” she whispered, biting her lip as she brought his fingers back to that spot.

  “Tell me you enjoyed the last time.”

  “I loved it,” she said, and made another sound when he pressed two fingers into her. A split second later, he moved away and she felt like crumbling. Rolling over, she wanted to demand that he keep touching her like that. But then realized that he was only getting more protection. “Can I do that?” she asked, sitting up with her legs curled underneath her.

  He looked at her, then at her hands. He started to shake his head, but saw the disappointment in her eyes and relented. “Fine. But you have to be quick about it,” he warned, handing the condom to her. “I thought I’d regained a bit of control after the last round, but hearing you make those sounds, I’m ready to go again.”

  She bit her lip and looked at the condom, then at his erection. She reached out and started to touch him, but he shuddered and Willow quickly pulled back.

  “Touch me, Willow,” he urged, reaching out and taking her hand, wrapping her fingers around his erection. “Like this,” he said and showed her how to move her fingers around him. When he released her hands, he waited for her to continue the ministrations and his own hands dove into her hair, tangling the red locks even further, but Willow didn’t care. She explored, feeling all of him and even reached down to cup his testicles, enjoying the weight of them in her palm. But even more, she loved feeling his huge body shudder with every new touch. Was this what he meant? She suspected that it was and moved her hands more confidently, watching his face. But his eyes closed as she moved her hand up and down his shaft, shifting and testing, caressing her thumb over the tip.

  That movement jerked him out of her grip and, with gritted teeth, he took the condom and rolled it down over himself. Then he pushed her back against the mattress. With one swift movement, he entered her, pinning her hands over her head. “That felt amazing, but now it’s my turn.”

  He started moving, thrusting into her and eventually found that exact movement that brought her closer and closer to the edge. Willow wasn’t aware of anything other than his thrusting, the intense feelings that overwhelmed her, driving her wild. Over and over, she matched his thrust by lifting her hips, needing that friction.

  In no time at all, she felt her body spiral out of control into a climax even more powerful than the last. It was so intense, she wondered if she’d actually passed out. But the pleasure continued, seeming to be endless. Vaguely, she was aware of him finding his own release, but she was so caught up in the mindless pleasure she couldn’t do anything to help him.

  Again, she opened her eyes to find herself curled up next to him, but this time, she was staring at his chest instead of the ceiling. They were both breathing heavily and she knew that her muscles were gone. They’d left her body. She was muscle-less and…loved it.

  He disappeared again, but this time, she didn’t have the energy to pull the blanket over her body. A few minutes later, Cooper came back, pulling her into his arms. He turned out the light, kissed the top of her head, and then she was asleep.

  Chapter 11

  Willow stepped out of the bedroom, wrapped up in one of his huge shirts. She’d showered and pulled on her bra and underwear from the night before, but she hadn’t wanted to put the red dress back on. So she’d grabbed one of his shirts, tugging the ends closed and rolling up the sleeves.

  Stepping out of the bedroom, she pushed her wet hair out of her eyes and looked around. The strong lines and high ceilings were nice. As she stepped out of the hallway into the great room, she looked up, amazed at the tall, straight windows that looked out at a lush garden. But that was about all that she liked about his house. The furniture was dark and sparse with clean, straight lines. Everything looked immaculate and brand new. Did he actually live here? The walls were white. The furniture black and white. In fact, the landscaping from outside was the only color in the room. The floors were cold slate under her bare feet. At least the floors had been hardwood in the bedroom. Not cold but not comfortable either.

  She heard noises coming from the far end of the horrible, stark room. She could smell something delicious cooking and she felt her stomach growl. No wonder she was starving, Willow thought. She’d been up half the night dancing and talking and the other half making love with Cooper. She h
ad no idea what time they’d finally fallen asleep, but it was past noon now.

  Stepping into the kitchen, she spotted Cooper and smiled. He was chopping something at the countertop, and turned to add it to a pan on the stove. He wore only a pair of jeans, leaving his amazing shoulders and chest bare. He was an amazing man and shockingly experienced in bed. There was a bit of jealousy at the idea of Cooper with another woman, but she pushed the thought aside. If he hadn’t been with those other ladies, then last night wouldn’t have been as wonderful.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  Willow laughed and stepped into the kitchen, watching with gratitude as he reached out and poured a cup of coffee for her.

  “I was reveling at how nice your chest looked and tamping down jealousy at the other women who had taught you those moves.” She took a sip of coffee as his deep laughter soothed her. “And I was angry that I hadn’t gained a bit more experience to share with you.”

  He looked startled. He set down the knife and came around to the other side of the island, taking her into his arms and kissing her. When he lifted his mouth, he looked into her eyes. “Sorry, Willow, but I’m just enough of a chauvinist that I like the fact that you haven’t been with a lot of men.” He kissed her again, more gently this time. “You’re mine,” he growled, then released her to move back around to continue cooking again. “I’m making omelets. What do you like in yours?”

  “Cheese,” she told him, surveying the vegetables that he’d already cut up. “And olives, onions…is that basil?”

  He nodded with an amused glance. “Yes. I grow herbs in the backyard.”

  “You do?” she asked, astonished.

  “Yes. I like gardening.”

  Willow tilted her head to the side, looking at him with surprise. “You don’t look like the type of guy who would enjoy gardening.”

  “Are you kidding? We always had a full garden of vegetables in the backyard, my grandmother and I. She loves trees, but she also loves growing her own fruits and vegetables. I just don’t have the time for a full vegetable garden anymore, but herbs are easy to grow and they add so much more flavor than the stuff you buy in the grocery store.” He tossed some spices into the pan as he continued, “The upside to fresh fruit and vegetables is obvious. The downside is that those gardens need to be weeded almost every day. A lot of my summer youth was spent weeding.”

  “And now you hate gardening?” she asked, looking pointedly at the lush evergreens that surrounded the kitchen. One wall of the kitchen was made up of windows and sliding glass doors that led out to a stone patio. It was so seamless, the patio almost seemed like an extension of the kitchen. But again, the only color was from the outside. There was a brick wall behind the stove in between the upper and lower cabinets, but the brick was more of a neutral palate, it didn’t add any warmth. And because the room was so huge, there was no coziness to the space. There was nothing that invited one in and helped the mind relax.

  Willow loved to cook, especially baking. On a cold, winter’s day, there was nothing better than knocking off work early and making a batch of cookies. But Willow couldn’t imagine making anything in this stark kitchen. The cabinets were so streamlined that they might as well just be one, huge pantry. One could barely see the lines separating one cabinet from the next.

  There were very few spaces that Willow couldn’t like. In fact, when she stepped into most homes, her initial instinct was to redecorate the spaces and fill them with crafts to make everything more cozy and welcoming.

  Looking around here, her mind went blank. She couldn’t think of anything that might soften the lines of this kitchen. Maybe if he replaced those nightmarish cabinets with something softer, then she could…

  Not her space, she reminded herself. And what’s more, she was his guest and would be gone from this country in a few weeks. So there was no point in redecorating here when she had so much work to finish at her grandmother’s house. Yes, that’s where she needed to focus her energy. Not on this monstrosity.

  He served her a beautifully cooked omelet and Willow eagerly took a bite. No matter what she thought about his house, the man could cook! “Oh, my, this is wonderful!” she gasped, taking another bite of the cheesy, fluffy goodness.

  “Thank you,” he replied. They sat at the white, and probably very expensive, table…a table that blended in with the white walls…as they discussed the gala from the previous night and compared that event to other charity functions they’d been to in the past.

  After she cleaned up and stored the dirty dishes in the sleek dishwasher, she turned around to find him looking at her legs.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, her toes curling.

  “Not a damn thing,” he told her. A moment later, she yelped when he walked around the island and tossed her over his shoulder. Willow knew that she should argue with him about his caveman tactics, but she was laughing too hard as he carried her into the bedroom and tossed her back onto his bed. He only paused long enough to take off his jeans before he joined her. Willow was amazed…and appreciative…that he hadn’t bothered to put on boxers this morning. Much more efficient, she thought.

  Chapter 12

  “It’s not working!” Willow grumbled, leaning back so Jake, the carpenter on her team, could see what she was doing. “See here?” she aimed her tablet at the edge of the cabinet in the kitchen, streaming their conversation across the Atlantic Ocean. It was an old kitchen that had those beautiful, built-in, old cabinets with the metal handle-latching mechanisms. Years ago, the cabinets had been painted a soft, eggshell blue. “I don’t want to lose these cabinets, Jake. But none of them are closing properly and I can’t figure out what’s wrong.”

  Jake pushed his glasses higher up on his nose, moving closer to the screen on his end of the world. He was still in Wyoming, working on developing projects for their next series while she was here, trying to fix up her grandmother’s house and learning about the woman she’d never met. Since her team had already started developing the crafts and videos for the next season, she’d decided not to drag them here to London. Instead, she was going to hurry through the house fix-up and…well, that was as far as she’d gotten with her plans.

  “You might need to replace the hinges,” Jake suggested.

  Willow grimaced. “I don’t want to do that,” she argued. “Isn’t there some way to fix them without replacing them?”

  He grinned, his salt and pepper beard twitching with his amusement. “I know that you prefer saving everything old, Willow. But sometimes, old is just…broken.”

  Willow sighed, her shoulders slumping as she eyed the cabinets. She’d video conferenced Jake with the hopes that he would know what to do but so far, he hadn’t been much help. “Okay, so what would an alternative be?” she asked.

  A knock on the back door sounded and Willow turned to see Bonnie waving through the screen door. “Hey there!” Willow called out, smiling at the older woman. “Come on in and meet Jake,” she said.

  Bonnie smiled at Willow as she pulled the old-fashioned screen door open and stepped into the blue kitchen. “Well, hello,” she said, her elegant, British accent greeting Jake, the ultimate gentleman.

  “Hello, beautiful lady!” Jake replied, his southern charm coming out.

  “Down, Jake,” Willow teased. Bonnie giggled even though she was probably twenty or even thirty years older than the carpenter. “She’s a wonderful lady.”

  “I can see that,” he teased. “Maybe this is why you haven’t brought me over to fix those cabinets in person. Because you know that I’ll sweep the lovely lady away.”

  Bonnie giggled, waving her hand as if she were a school girl. At that moment, she could have kissed Jake for his sweet flirting.

  “You’re a wonderful liar, Mr. Jake. But I need Willow’s assistance. Would you mind if I stole her away?”

  Jake’s hands flew to cover his heart with melodramatic flair. “Alas, my life is a series of women walking
away from me,” he teased. “Goodbye, lovely ladies!” And the screen went blank.

  Willow put her tablet to sleep, then turned to Bonnie. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  Bonnie’s smile disappeared and Willow became worried. “I was outside working on my roses, dear, and I heard a sound. I think something is…well, trapped.”

  Willow blinked, not sure she understood. “An animal?”

  “Yes. No,” she replied, sighing and wringing her hands. “I don’t know.”

  Willow understood that, whatever was out in the woman’s backyard, Bonnie was upset about it. “Let’s go find out, okay?” she suggested and instantly, Bonnie’s eyes cleared.

  “Oh, thank you dear. I just…old age sucks!” she burst out, obviously upset but still trying to laugh at life and the world.

  Willow laughed as well, a bit shocked by the outrageous language but agreeing with her. “I understand.” Except that she was only twenty-seven, so she didn’t really know.

  “This way, dear,” Bonnie led Willow out into the backyard.

  Bonnie led her out through the yard to the very back of their properties. In the corner where both of their yards connected, there was a sound. A very weak sound. A sound that sounded terrified!

  “This isn’t good, Bonnie,” Willow announced, worried about what she might discover. They moved around the yard, peering under the bushes and the trees, trying to locate the animal making the whimpering noises.

  Willow finally tracked the sound to a pile of logs and sticks that had been dumped in the corner. It looked more like a disposal pile than anything intentional.

  “I think he’s in here,” Willow called to Bonnie, who rushed over.

  Willow got down on her hands and knees, peering through the sticks. They were too heavy for her to lift, but she managed to shove several of them out of the way and…there!

  “It’s a small dog!” Willow yelped. “At least, I think it’s a dog. It might be a fox, but it looks like a dog and he’s caught in the twigs.”