Evanescent (22 page)

The curve of a devilish smile plays on his
lips as he pulls me in. The light scent of his woodsy cologne
encircles us, makes me dizzy in a good way. I lay my face against
his chest, and my cheek sears over his heated flesh.

Coop presses his hand into the small of my
back, and my body takes on his contours. I can feel his strong arms
protecting me like wings of steel. His erection protrudes against
my thigh, but I choose to ignore it for now.

He sighs into me, blowing a warm breath over
my hair before bowing down and planting a kiss just behind my
ear.

“Laken.” It heaves from him with the
undertones of disappointment—a sadness that we share while rocking
steady to the music.

It’s torture like this with Coop.

He pulls back and winces into me. His eyes
lock over mine as a blaze ignites in our hearts. It lights the
entire room up in flames, and, dear God, do I ever want to
burn.

Cooper leans in and touches his cheek to
mine. He draws his forehead over the top of my head—his mouth
hedges just shy of my lips as if asking permission. His chest pumps
wild against my own as if demanding an explanation as to why I’m
denying a god like Cooper Flanders the right to love me like he
wants to. A question I’m beginning to ask myself on a loop.

Coop heaves a heated breath right over my
mouth, and I turn my face ever so slightly to deflect something
that I want just as bad as he does. His hands move manic over my
body, his hips grind into mine with bone-crushing intensity. I can
feel every nuance—I can feel
him
.

He rocks us steady over to the bed, and I
fall back all too willingly.

Cooper lands on top of me, our fingers still
interlaced. He locks my legs with his knees as he nuzzles into my
neck.

Coop lets out a defeated sigh. His warm
breath washes over me with all of the love and affection he can
afford.

This is it. A real do or die moment. Things
could swing either way. I take in a ragged breath and close my
eyes. If he kisses me I won’t stop him. If he pushes the limits I
won’t resist. I’ve worn myself out trying to hold back my affection
for Coop. Trying to pull Wes in from the riptide, the Counts
created, has only blown us an ocean apart and ground me down to
nothing in the process.

His body relaxes over mine. Coop buries his
face in my neck and takes in my scent one more time.

He pulls back and gives the hint of a smile
before descending toward my lips. Coop cautiously inches his way to
my mouth, closer, then nothing but a breath away. My heart
detonates with a horrific charge, beating Wesley’s name with every
thump as if it were urging me to stop and consider—to bury the last
relationship before starting another.

I can feel the warmth of his mouth just over
mine, as I part my lips, ready—so ready.

A loud knock booms from the other side of
the door.

“Good night you two!” Dr. Flanders calls
out.

“Good night!” Coop and I shout in unison, a
little overeager. Cooper rolls off and lets out a quiet sigh.

“That scared me,” I whisper as the footsteps
dissipate back downstairs.

Coop takes up my hand again, his face still
wearing that eternal look of sorrow—that stolen smile.

“What scared you? My dad or me?”

“Both of you.” I sink into the mattress.
“I’m so sorry, Coop. Never in my wildest dreams would I want to
lead you on.”

“You want Wes, I get it.” His gaze drops
down to the narrow space between us. The stale light of the moon
seeps in over the bed and lights a line over our bodies as if
sealing us together.

“I don’t know what I want. In my heart I
don’t think I can reach him again. He’s gone, Coop, but a part of
me can’t accept that.” I swallow hard. “He says he has something
special planned for me on Halloween. I thought maybe it was,” I
pause motioning with my fingers, “you know.” I shake my head. “He
said it isn’t, but it got me thinking. How far am I willing to go?
Am I going to sleep with him?” It’s a rhetorical question but one
I’d really like Coop’s thoughts on.

“I vote for no,” he deadpans.

“
Coop
.” I let out a little laugh and
swat him over the shoulder. “I mean—I
could
. If he thinks
we’re close then maybe he’d take me to the tunnels. I need my
sister, Coop. Our families are suffering.” I can’t bring myself to
extrapolate any further on the subject. It’s like I’m gearing up
for a life of sexual espionage. Trading secrets for sex sounds
dirty even if the recipient is Wes.

Coop pinches his lower lip as if he’s
physically trying to restrain himself from saying anything.

“Sorry about that.” I’m pretty sure sexually
strategizing with Cooper Flanders is a rotten idea. If anything,
Cooper is a part of the problem, not the solution. Really, I
wouldn’t be having this conversation if it weren’t for him. In
fact, I would have long since given myself to Wes—to hell with his
self-imposed rule on waiting to get my memory back.

“Laken,” he whispers, carefully stroking the
hair away from my face. “I would never in my wildest dreams ask you
to touch another person to further this endeavor. I swear to you,
if you want to sit back and watch from the sidelines, I’ll find a
way into those tunnels. I can do this on my own.”

“Wes is the door.”

“So are the Tobias sisters.” He’s quick with
the reply. “Please Laken…” Coop shakes his head. His eyes plead
with me more than words could ever do. “Don’t give something away
that’s so sacred. Don’t erode the landscape of your heart like
this. One day you’re going to really want to be with someone,” he
pauses, and I reflect on the fact he just replaced Wesley’s name
with the word
someone
, presumably him. “And when you are”—he
reaches up and rakes his fingers through my hair—“it should be a
thing of beauty—not a lure or a trap. You deserve something pure.
You deserve perfect love.”

My heart rattles inside me as if it were
trying to escape. It would be beautiful with Coop, pure—perfect
love.

“The Tobias sisters,” I whisper their name
in lieu of admitting I won’t sleep with Wes.

“I did some research,” he starts in gun shy.
“Their father’s name was Emmanuel, the brother is Richard.”

“What about the little sister?” I remember
Hattie mentioned her because she was Lacey’s age.

“Kara.” He digs a smile in his cheek. “I
filled Flynn in on everything I knew. Told him not to tell his new
gal pal in the event she tries to mislead us.”

I give a silent nod. Coop has everything
under control. At least the things he can.

“Sounds like you’re getting along better
with Flynn. What was that about anyway?” I ask it sweetly, almost
too quiet for him to hear. I like it like this with Coop, our
midnight murmurs with secrets spilling like oil.

“A girl.” He presses out a wry smile.

I scoot into him. “This is getting good.” I
try to lighten the mood. I’ll talk about anything to get my mind
off the Counts and what they’ve done, and are still doing, to our
families. “Dish.” I give a crooked grin.

“You sure you want to hear this?” His brows
dip as if he’s sure I don’t.

“Yes. I’m totally in the mood for an erotic
bedtime story. Go right ahead. Who was she?” I bet its some girl
they fought over in fourth grade with pigtails and glasses. I can
totally imagine Flynn, hot on the prowl even then, and, of course,
girls of all ages would be attracted to Coop. That’s just the law
of physics.

“Grayson.” He gives a long tired blink.

My stomach flinches as if I had just been
sucker punched.

That’s right, I think Flynn mentioned it a
while back and I was quick to put it out of my mind. For whatever
reason I didn’t think it was real coming from Flynn, but from
Cooper’s mouth it’s scripture.

My heart drops. I let out my defeat in a
drawn out sigh. Coop was right. I didn’t want to know.

“You fought over Grayson?” And I needed to
repeat this, why?

“I’m not sure you could call it a fight. He
was fooling around with her at the same time I was. I just so
happened to be the only one out of the loop.”

“Sounds like you’ve misplaced your anger.”
Funny because I can feel mine beginning to rise. “She’s the one who
cheated. Flynn was just being Flynn.”

He shakes his head. “You’re right about
Flynn, but Grayson didn’t cheat. We weren’t officially together. I
just didn’t like the feeling I was getting played. It left a bad
taste in my mouth. And I don’t have it in me to be ticked off at a
girl, so I shut down on Flynn. The end.”

“Oh.” I draw my thumb to my lower lip and
consider this a good long while. Coop and Grayson. My mind starts
in on an entire series of inappropriate thoughts involving Coop and
Grayson’s boobs—their limbs knotted up in passion, Coop lost in the
folds of her pillowy flesh. The entire idea makes me want to
hurl.

“I’m sorry, Laken.” He says it sober as if
he had somehow truly hurt me with this—and he had.

“No, don’t be. You didn’t do anything
wrong.” I glance down at the slim space between us. I’m the one
who’s sorry. I’m sorry we ever went down this thorny trail.
Very
sorry. “It’s fine. I mean, I’m still with Wes.” I blink
back tears. “And you should be with whoever you want. If that
person is Grayson, then that’s who you should be with.” God, I’m
going to die the next time I see them together knowing he touched
her in such an intimate way. My entire body revolts at the
concept.

“I
am
with the exact person I want.”
He touches his thumb to my cheek. “I want you, Laken. I don’t want
to leave any shadow of a doubt. I swear to you when I saw you that
first day in the forest, I felt like you were family—like in some
strange way we’d see each other again because it was inevitable.
From the moment I laid eyes on you, you’ve never left my heart, my
head, even when I sleep you’re there waiting for me. All chaste
dreams of course.” He raises his hand like a Boy Scout and holds
back a smile. “Mostly.” He gives a quick wink. “Laken, I know
you’re not through with Wes, that the old Wesley still means
everything to you. But when you dig down deep and don’t find him
there anymore, I want you to know I’ll be waiting for you. Maybe we
can try things out. See if it works.” He interlaces our fingers.
“Because if I’m right, this”—he touches my hand to his lips—“this
is meant to be.”

Deep down inside I know he’s right. There is
definitely some connection here that spans time and place, life and
death, and links me right back to Cooper. Destiny meant him to be
more than a friend. This is real, and this is right.

“I think you’re really special, Coop.” An
unexpected surge of tears stings my eyes, and I blink them away.
“In fact, I
know
you’re special. Something is happening
here. I feel things for you—amazing things.”

Wes flashes before me like an unwanted
hologram. Not even in the recesses of my mind had I thought I
wouldn’t get old Wes back. It weighs me down with a grief so
palpable I can hardly stand to breathe.

Coop scoots in until I’m resting against his
chest again. His familiar woodsy scent pulsates over me in waves,
and he comforts me with his body warm against mine.

“Do you think we can we sleep like this
tonight?” It comes out childlike, and I feel like a horrible person
for even asking. I’m pretty sure Grayson was anything but childlike
while lying in bed with Coop. Grayson Evans is everything I’m
not.

“You don’t sound childlike, Laken.” He
kisses my finger. “You sound pure—
sweet
. And, you’re right,
that’s everything Grayson’s not.” He presses out a slow spreading
grin, and the dimple above his eye ignites. “I don’t want Grayson.
I never did. I only want you, Laken, and I’m sorry I came on so
strong. I’ll try harder to control myself.”

“I wanted to kiss you.” I bleed the words
out, and my body exhales as if I had been holding up a boulder all
night. “I just don’t want to be that girl, Coop. The one who runs
around kissing two boys, telling them both the same things. I
couldn’t look at myself in the mirror, and, by the way, I’m already
having a tough time.” I give his hand a squeeze. “If Wes found out
about us… if he knew I’ve been spending the night, drawing the
blood from your body—enjoying every touch, every glance you’ve ever
given me”—I brush my fingers over his heart-stopping
features—“everything would come crashing to an end. Our only hope
would be the Tobias sisters, and, as it stands, the clock is
ticking on their offer.” I bow my head in defeat. Time is cascading
away like sand through our fingers, and of all the things to worry
about it’s my relationship with Cooper that crowds the forefront of
my mind. Where will we end up when all is said and done? My heart
aches to know this.

The sound of a car skidding off the property
startles us. Coop hops over me and peers out the window. His chest
expands as the car melts back into the night.

“What was that?”

“Not what—who.” Coop leans against his desk
with a faraway look in his eye. “We’d better find the Tobias
family, Laken. It looks like they might be our only hope.”

A shiver runs through me. Every muscle in my
body freezes because I think I know the answer to my next question.
“Why are they our only hope?”

“That car that just drove off like a bat out
of hell? It was Wes.”

Cooper

The next day drizzles by as uneventful as
the weather. Flynn insists he’s getting closer to the Tobias family
as he continues his underground “Spectator” sport of personally
tracking them down.

“So what exactly are you doing to gain their
trust?” I ask as we trek through the murky backwoods just north of
campus.

“I’m offering their lives back in exchange
for information.” He grunts as he trips over a root as thick as my
leg.