Awaken (14 page)

The Master had given Cooper a sense of peace in his life – a way to explore his sexual desires.
 

Lacey Winters wasn’t going to change that.

Cooper angrily shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about this… about Mimi… about Lacey. He needed to focus on work. The company takeover in San Francisco required his attention. That’s all that mattered now.
 

After a quick workout and shower, he made his way into the office.

He spent most of the morning on the phone with his team in San Francisco, strategizing on how to bring the company he just purchased into the West Group family. As usual, positions and titles needed to be rearranged, and he needed to make sure everyone was happy with their new role.
If people aren’t happy at work
, Cooper firmly believed,
they won’t do good work
.
It’s better to reposition them to an area where they can flourish and use their talents.

Cooper gave his assistant, Todd, strict orders not to interrupt him while he was on the phone. So, he was surprised when later that morning he heard a knock at his door. When he looked up from his desk it wasn’t Todd that he saw, but his sister, Cybil.

She walked nonchalantly into his office and took a seat in the chair facing his desk. As she crossed her long legs, she shot him a mischievous smirk.

What the hell is she doing here?
He wondered.
She lives in Seattle. She could have at least given me some notice if she was going to be in town.

“Everyone, I’m going to have to drop off the call,” said Cooper with a sigh. “Send me the new schematic this afternoon, and I’ll let you know what I think.”

After hanging up, Cooper turned to his sister, wide eyed.
 

“Happy Birthday, Baby Brother,” said Cybil. She shot him a concerned look. “You’ve lost weight.”
 

Cooper shrugged.

“Are you overworking and not eating, as usual?” she asked in that big-sister tone that always annoyed Cooper.

“Cybil, why are you here?” he asked flatly.

Cybil faked being shocked. “Is it so wrong for me to pay a visit to my baby brother and see how he’s doing?”

“A call ahead of time would have been nice.”

Cybil laughed, tossing back her long blonde hair. “Please, then you would have just given me some lame excuse about how you’re too busy to see me.”

“I am busy,” Cooper argued.

“So am I,” said Cybil. “I’m in town for a corporate litigation.” She cocked her head and looked at Cooper fondly. “But there’s always time for a celebratory birthday lunch with my baby brother.”

“My birthday was days ago,” complained Cooper.

Cybil stood up, flinging her purse over her shoulder. “A mere formality. Let’s go. I made us a lunch reservation at The Capital Grill.”

Cooper sighed, realizing there was no way out of this. “You’re really a pain, Cybil.”

“Ha,” she laughed. “You say that because I love you. Now get up and let’s go eat.”

Cooper sighed again, realizing arguing with his older sister wasn’t worth it. “Fine,” he said. “But it’s going to have to be fast. No desert. That means no birthday cake, or cupcake, or any of that.”

Cybil rolled her eyes. “You are such a grouch.”

“And will you stop calling me baby brother,” said Cooper. “Especially in front of other people.”

Cybil closed her eyes and shook her head gravely. “No. I know it annoys you, and that’s why I’ll continue to do it until the day I die. Now, let’s get some food in you, Coop. If mom saw how thin you’ve gotten, she’d freak out.”

Twenty minutes later, Cooper and his sister Cybil were on the west side of Manhattan, sitting at a table, having just placed their order. Cybil handed Cooper her phone.

Cooper looked at the faces of two young boys, ages three and five, smiling back at him – his nephews, Jake and Tyler.

“Damn, they’ve gotten big,” he said with a smirk.

“Yep,” said Cybil. Then she added leaning forward, “You haven’t seen them in months.”
 

Cooper sighed and handed Cybil her phone. “Don’t give me a guilt trip. I’ve been busy. This San Francisco merger has been a nightmare.”

Cybil shook her head, not accepting that as an excuse. She stared at him with her vivid hazel eyes. She was about to say something when their food arrived.
 

Cooper was thankful for the waiter’s interruption. But after a few silent moments eating, Cybil began her interrogation.

“So, are you seeing anyone?” she asked, as Cooper cut into his steak.

Cooper shook his head, then took a bite.

“Are you trying to meet anyone?” Cybil pressed.

Cooper shook his head.

“Why not? Don’t you get lonely?”

“I’m too busy to get lonely,” Cooper said with a shrug.

Cybil looked at her brother with concern. She put down her fork and readjusted the napkin on her lap.

“Coop, Mom, Dad, and I have been talking. We’re worried about you. You can’t continue closing yourself off. You’ll become a miserable old man. Enough time has passed.”

“Stay out of it, Cybil,” he said crisply, sensing where the conversation was going. He took another bite of his steak, avoiding eye contact.

But Cybil wouldn’t let it go. “You have to stop blaming yourself for Julia.”

Cooper shot his sister a sharp look. “I told you never to bring it up again.” He put his fork down. He wiped his mouth and stood up.

Cybil sighed. “Come on, Coop. Sit down. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.”

Cooper looked at his sister, annoyed. He had lost his appetite. He said flatly, “It was great seeing you, sis. Tell Jake and Tyler I’ll see them on Thanksgiving.”

Then he walked out of the restaurant.

Lunch with his sister had put Cooper in a foul mood.
Although he knew Cybil meant well, she just didn’t understand him, or why he chose to approach life and people the way he did. It was the only way he managed to survive that tragic day ten years ago. And if someone didn’t understand that, fuck them. He wasn’t going to explain himself.
 

When he returned to his office, before beginning his afternoon round of conference calls, Cooper called Lacey.
 

“What a pleasant surprise,” she said. Her voice sounded lively, inviting.

“Be outside your building at 7pm, sharp,” commanded Cooper, not allowing the pleasantness of Lacey’s voice to rattle him. “We’re going to have our first session.”
 

“That might be a bit of a problem.”
 

“Why?” asked Cooper, agitated.

“Well, I was planning on washing my hair.”

“What?” replied Cooper, now confused.

Lacey laughed. “I was joking. Geez, somebody sounds a little tense today.”

“That’s why we’re having our session tonight,” he said firmly.

“Yes, sir.”

“That’s more like it,” Cooper said. “Be ready at seven. Wear a coat, nothing underneath.”

“Wait, what –”

Cooper hung up and leaned back in his chair. He slowly massaged his crotch. A good long fuck tonight was just what he needed to put him in a better mood.

Lacey wasn’t sure she heard Cooper correctly.
 

Did he want me to go out naked, with nothing on but a coat?

She was about to call him back, but then stopped.
He sounded like he was in a bad mood. What if I call him back and he tells me to do something even more outrageous? Although what could be more outrageous than going out on the streets of New York with nothing underneath your coat? I’m sure Cooper West would be able to come up with something.
 

Lacey decided to go with the flow. Besides, if she was flirting with the idea of participating in a gallery exhibit of erotic imagery, she better get used to walking on the wild side. The good news was she didn’t have to worry about what to wear tonight.

At 7pm, Lacey stepped out of her building wearing nothing but a black Burberry raincoat with the belt wrapped tightly around her waist. She was expecting to see Cooper’s limo waiting for her out on the street, but it was nowhere to be seen.
 

She looked at her watch.
Great, now what? Am I supposed to stand out here like a hooker?

As a cool breeze suddenly brushed against her legs, Lacey felt nervous and excited.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. I’m completely naked underneath this coat. I feel like I’m acting in a scene from a movie, waiting to be whisked away in a limo to have hot sex with a gorgeous, brooding billionaire. I can’t wait to run my hands through his thick hair, kiss his warm, luscious lips.
 

A group of people suddenly turned the corner and walked past her building. One of the men in the group shot her a look. Lacey immediately looked down at the ground.

Can he tell I’m naked underneath?
She worried. Lacey nervously adjusted the belt around her waist.

“Sweetie, would you mind helping me with my cart? My back is killing me today.”

Lacey looked up. At the steps of her building, an old lady who lived on the third floor stared at her with a smile. She had a cart filled with groceries by her side.
 

Lacey looked around to see if anyone else was walking by.
 

“Sure,” she said and quickly pulled the shopping cart up the front steps of the building.
 

“Thanks so much, hon,” said the old lady as she slowly followed up the steps. She took the cart from Lacey and unlocked the front door. She looked Lacey up and down. “You have fun tonight,” she said with a playful smirk. “You’re sure dressed for it.”

Lacey blushed. Thankfully, just then, Cooper’s limo pulled up to her building. She hurried down the steps and yanked open the back door of the limo.

“You’re late,” she said as she stepped inside. “And now my neighbor thinks I’m a hooker.”
 

But Lacey was surprised to discover that Cooper wasn’t in the car.

“I’m sorry,” apologized the driver from the front of the limo. Lacey looked and saw a bald headed man staring at her through the rearview mirror. “There was traffic on the bridge.”
 

“Where is he?” asked Lacey.

“Mr. West told me to pick you up and bring you to his apartment.”

“I see,” she said as she closed the door behind her.
 

The limo took off.
 

“It looks like we might get some traffic heading back into Manhattan,” said the driver, who introduced himself as Clyde.
 

As she looked out the window, Lacey wondered if Cooper invited many women up to his apartment. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer but decided to find out.

“Clyde, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, but I can’t promise I’ll answer the question,” said Clyde with a kind smile from the front seat.

“Does Mr. West have you drive many women to his apartment?”

Clyde paused and looked at Lacey through the rearview mirror.

“I’m not at liberty to say, Miss.”

“So that’s a yes.” Her thought escaped from her lips.

“Now, I didn’t say that. Did I?” responded Clyde with another smile.

Lacey’s cellphone rang. It was Cooper.

“Speak of the devil,” she said to Clyde.

“Are you on your way?” Cooper asked when she answered.

“Yeah,” Lacey said. “We’re just stuck in some traffic on the bridge.”

“Good.”

“Are you at work?”

“No. I’m home, waiting for you.”

Lacey was confused. “Then why is it good that I’m stuck in traffic?”

Cooper breathed slowly into the phone and said seductively, “Because now you can get yourself warmed up for me, Lacey. On the armrest to your left, there’s a button to slide the divider up between you and Clyde. Press it.”

Lacey pressed the button and watched the divider go up, and Clyde disappeared from view.
 

“Okay, it’s up.”

“Good. Now I want you to unfasten your coat, part it open.”

Here we go,
Lacey thought.
This is what you wanted. There’s no backing out now.

She nervously glanced at the divider separating her from Clyde.

“Clyde can’t see me, right?”

“No,” Cooper replied.

Lacey took a deep breath and unfastened the belt of her coat. She parted it, exposing her body. She looked down at her naked flesh and felt a rush of nervous energy run through her.
 

“Okay,” she said after taking a short breath. “And you’re sure there’s no way Clyde can see, right?”

“I’ve already answered that question.”

“Right, sorry,” Lacey apologized.

Cooper continued, his voice dropping into a low, sensuous tone. “Now, I want you to lean back, and rest your head against the seat. What I have planned tonight requires that your body be completely relaxed. I want you to forget that you’re stuck in traffic and ignore the honking outside. Close your eyes and just focus on my voice.”

That shouldn’t be hard,
thought Lacey.
Not when your voice sounds the way it does – like it’s wrapped in silk and dipped in honey, but firm and strong when it needs to be. You could probably talk me into anything, sounding the way you do.

“I had a rough day today,” Cooper said softly.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” replied Lacey, her eyes closed, focusing on his voice.
 

“And at the end of a long, rough day,” said Cooper. “There’s nothing I like more than a good slow fuck.”

Lacey felt a flash of heat race through her. As those last two words rolled off Cooper’s tongue, her pussy began to tingle.
His voice sounds so hot. I can’t wait to kiss him and grab his hard cock.
 

“Maybe I can help you in that department,” she said into the phone, getting wet just thinking about it.
 

“I hope you can, too.”

“While you’re in the back of my limo, Lacey, I’m standing by my window looking down at the city. I’m slowly massaging my cock as I picture your hot naked body spread out on my back seat. Imagining you like that is getting my cock so hard that I might have to jerk myself off.”