Damaged and the Beast (9 page)

Staring up at Cooper, I found the needy look from earlier and its intensity made me shiver. “I don’t care if you’re doing it wrong, just keep doing it. You’re driving me nuts here.”

Pressing his lips against mine, Cooper wrapped me tighter in his strong arms and I let myself enjoy his affections. Even with the loud music playing and bikers hanging around, I enjoyed the feel of Cooper against me. In his arms, I felt like someone new and better. After a long life of doing what I had to do to survive, I really needed to be someone new and better.

The kiss deepened to the point of sending hot waves of desire to parts of my body I really didn’t want desiring anything. Soon, my nipples were tips of arousal pressed against his chest. Between my legs, I felt an unfamiliar sensation. Before I might think about what kissing Cooper like this in a public place could lead to, he eased his lips away.

“If that bastard who hurt you was here, I’d tear off his head and let my dogs eat him.”

Smiling, I thought he was full of shit. “Going to jail over something that happened years ago doesn’t make any sense. Even though, it’s a hella sexy thing to say.”

“I kill him around here and there’s no jail.”

“You’re that special?”

Pressing his forehead against mine, Cooper smiled. “Yeah, I’m that fucking special.”

“Good to know,” I said, lowering my gaze.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he whispered slowly like I was dumb or nuts.

“I hope not. Your sister did say you and Tucker would leave me in a shallow grave if I used her nicknames for you.”

Cooper exhaled hard and glared at Bailey who sat on Tucker’s lap while Maddy rested her head on the table.

“Let’s play a game,” he said, easing out of the embrace so only one arm hung loosely around my shoulders. “If you win, I’ll give you a hundred bucks. If I win, we go back to your place and you lose the shirt and bra. Full second base action, but nothing more.”

“Why would I agree to that?”

“Duh, so you could win a hundred bucks. That’s like a week of tips from a twenty minute game.”

Lowering my head, I thought about what he was offering. While I wouldn’t mind getting closer to Cooper, I wasn’t ready for such intimacy.

“Why do you assume you’ll lose?” he asked, fixing the balls and setting them back in the middle of the table. “I’m good, but I’m not pool shark good. A hundred bucks is easy money and I’ll just have to find another way under your shirt.” Cooper inhaled and studied me as if thinking hard. “I can imagine a few ways to get that shirt off, but we’ll leave them for later.”

“Okay. I trust if you win you won’t do more than second base. My pants remain on and you’ll respect that. I trust you.”

“If you say how you trust me a few more times, it’ll sound like you really mean it.”

Rolling my eyes, I took the stick. “Can I start?”

“Sure, baby. I’ll just sit back here and watch you bend over.”

“Making pervy comments won’t distract my concentration. I’m accustomed to freaks cheating.”

“Whatever you say, but I’m mostly interested in the view. A hundred bucks is shit to me.”

“Must be nice,” I said, caressing the stick as if it might be my buddy and help me win.

“Money makes life all kinds of nice. Oh, and the way you’re fondling the stick is making me super horny here. I also suspect you’re doing that on purpose. Now, who’s cheating?”

Glancing back at him, I grinned. “You’re in a constant state of heat. I’m not taking the blame for that.”

Throwing his head back, Cooper laughed. “Fair enough.”

For the next few minutes, I made great shots until a creepy biker guy stood too close and I missed. Cooper took the stick and studied the remaining balls.

“Don’t cry when I beat your ass.”

“Hell yeah,” the biker said, laughing. “Some girls just love it rough.”

Giving me a quick glance, Cooper glared at the guy. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I know your pop.”

“Good for you, but if you don’t back off and stop skeeving out my girl, my pop and I will be attending your funeral.”

The biker opened his mouth to speak before changing his mind. Walking away, he cursed under his breath and I grinned at Cooper.

“I like when you call me your girl,” I said, caressing his arm. “It makes me feel warm all over, but mainly in certain places.”

“Fuck no,” Cooper grumbled even while grinning big. “I’m not getting distracted.”

“Big baby,” I said, sitting down and crossing my arms over the prize. “Fine. I’ll let you lose the old fashioned way. By sucking more than me.”

Cooper made the next two shots perfectly like he was trained from birth to con idiots like me into playing against him.

“Tell ya what,” he said, having missed the next shot. “Why don’t we call it even and I’ll give you the hundred and you give me second base?”

“So like you’re paying me for sex?”

“Man, you’re negative. No, Farah, it’s a tie. We both get what we want.”

“I want to win.”

Cooper leaned down and glared at me eye-to-eye. “You just don’t want me getting what I want. I think you only agreed because you figured it was a done deal that you’d win.”

Standing up, I pushed past him, grabbed the pool stick, and aimed. If I missed this shot, I would likely lose and Cooper would win. I really didn’t want him to win now. I didn’t want him anywhere near me either. With him glaring at me, I wished I’d eaten before the game so I could ask to leave once I beat his ass.

“I want a burger,” Cooper said loudly at the exact moment I hit the ball, startling me and throwing off my aim.

The final ball rolled towards the hole then stopped at the edge, having too little momentum to go inside.
I’d lost!
I’d fucking lost because he cheated and I never wanted him touching me. Anger rising up in my gut, I glared hard at the ball. I didn’t care about the money. I just never wanted the asshole putting his hands on me.

Standing, Cooper hissed through his teeth. “So close.”

Staring at the ball, I fought the tears and wiped angrily at my eyes when they fell anyway. Cooper stood next to the table and stared down at me.

“You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some hot chicks before,” he said, crossing his arms before bumping the table with his hip. “There’s just something about you that’s special.”

The bump was enough to knock the ball into the hole. I watched it fall then forced my wet gaze to him.

Grinning, Cooper gave me a defeated sigh. “I guess I’ll have to find another way under your shirt.”

“You’re a jerk.”

Uncrossing his arms, Cooper leaned down to kiss me. “I’m hungry. Let’s order food.”

As he turned towards where his siblings were seated, I grabbed his tee and pulled him to a stop.

“Thank you,” I said, wishing Cooper knew how awful it would have been if he expected to touch me after he cheated. “I don’t want the money.”

“Screw that. You won fair and square. Besides, I don’t want my girl going hungry.”

Studying his face, I felt confused by how he bounced back and forth from asshole to gentle jerk. When he was sweet, I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything. When he was an asshole, he represented everything I hated in the world. Cooper was a complicated guy, but my feelings for him were a million times more complex.

Watching his brother and sister bicker, Cooper noticed my gaze on him. He focused his dark eyes on my face and stared hard like we were having a contest. I wasn’t sure what he saw on my face this time, but he blinked and let me win.

“Are you hungry?” he asked softly. “We can go somewhere else if you don’t like the food.”

Breathing too fast, I wasn’t sure what to do or say. He was being too sweet and I started wishing he truly wanted me to be his girl. I wanted to be close to someone so badly, but Cooper was scary. Even looking at me like he was, I saw the tension in his jaw as if waiting for someone to piss him off.

“A burger would be great,” I said, sitting at the table where his brother, sister, and Maddy waited.

Cooper pulled a chair from the next table and sat an inch from me. He was watching me in the way he sometimes did at Denny’s. Like he was dissecting me, breaking through all of my barriers, and soon would know my every thought. Hating being scrutinized, I avoided his gaze.

“I should give you your money,” Cooper said after we ordered. “I have a feeling you might freak out soon and I don’t want you storming off without your cash.”

“Why would I freak out?” I whispered, hating to have everyone staring at me. “And I can’t storm off when I don’t know how to get home.”

“I’d take you,” Bailey announced. “But first, we could drop by a frat house and party.” Cooper glared at his sister who grinned. “Find ourselves a few real men and get naked and…”

“Gross,” Tucker muttered. “You naked is a real buzz kill. Now, Farah is someone I wouldn’t mind getting naked for a little fun.”

Cooper looked ready to hit his brother, but Maddy got there first. Elbowing Tucker in the jaw, she stood up and threw her drink at him.

“I’m carrying your baby and you’re trying to fuck this whore!”

There were moments in my life when I wished I was invisible. Right then, I was having one of those moments.

“Baby,” Tucker soothed, wiping his face, “you’re so hormonal and shit.”

“Don’t blame this on hormones. You’re a pig and I hate you for wanting to fuck someone else.”

“Not fuck,” Tucker said softly, hands out in a gesture of peace. “A blowjob at the most.”

The next second everything exploded. Cooper punched Tucker then turned to punch another guy who did something I hadn’t seen. Bailey yelled for Cooper to kill the guy then she yelled for Tucker to kill another guy. Maddy slapped Tucker on his way to the ground then she ran to the bathroom, screaming about a mother protecting her young. I didn’t wait around to find out what happened next.

Bolting out of the bar, I ran without looking back. Once I reached the road, I guessed which way we’d come. Everything was so green and nondescript out by the bar, but my inner GPS screamed for me to head left. I ran up the road, ignoring honking cars speeding by.

I needed to get home behind a locked door so I would be safe. Growing up, how many fights had broken out with me and Tawny nearby? How many times had someone hit me trying to get to my parents? Tawny lost a tooth in such a fight. One minute, we were standing in a store. The next minute, Tawny took a punch to the face meant for our mom. I still thanked God we had dental insurance through the state. If not, my poor sister would be missing one of her front teeth. Like life wasn’t hard enough with her teeth intact.

No more chaos of my childhood. No more madness. I needed free of my past. Free of danger and fear. The apartment I shared with my mother wasn’t fancy or even all that welcoming, but it was nicer than most places I’d lived in. It was as safe as I would find here and I hoped I was running in the right direction.

Past exhaustion with a bone dry throat, I whimpered when I heard the motorcycle. The rural highway had become residential and I believed I was close to my neighborhood. Even nearly safe, I couldn’t outrun a Harley.

Cooper roared to a stop in front of me and let the bike idle. His gaze was angry and I noticed blood on his bottom lip. Standing there sweaty and thirsty, I felt glued to my spot much like I did when I got in trouble as a kid. My dad would tell me to come to him and I knew I would get the belt. Sometimes, I didn’t care. The few times I turned bratty, I didn’t mind a spanking because I hated our life. Those times when I hadn’t really done anything wrong and my dad just wanted to punish someone, I did care about the spankings. I would stare at him and wait for someone to save me. I knew no one would, but I couldn’t move towards my fate. Every time I panicked like that, Dad spanked me where I was glued to the floor.

Now, I waited for payback from a pissed Cooper. Breathing too fast and with a violent look in his eyes, he gestured with his finger for me to come closer. I didn’t move though. I wasn’t walking over to him so I could be punished. If he wanted to do it, he could come to me. It wasn’t much of a stand, but I had learned to accept the small victories.

Cooper shut down his bike and climbed off. Watching him move towards me, I wanted to run. Just like when I was kid waiting for my spanking though, I had nowhere to go.

Before he reached me, Cooper lost the rage in his expression. His dark eyes softened and he sighed. “Why did you run?”

Shaking my head, I just wanted to go home and be safe. What if I said the wrong thing to Cooper and he hurt me? No one would care. No one would help me. He was rich and powerful. I was poor and nobody.

When I said nothing, Cooper frowned a little, looking more confused than pissed.

“Tuck needs to watch his mouth,” Cooper finally said. “Pissing off his pregnant girlfriend is stupid. Like she doesn’t have enough stress. Then, he’s talking about you like you’re a whore. Then, those fucks get in on it, making those gestures. I might not respect many chicks around here, but you and Maddy are solid,” he said, stepping closer. “Why did you run?”

“I was afraid,” I whispered.