Faithful (18 page)

“Baby, I have never seen you like this. You’re on the verge of becoming hysterical. I think it’s because you’re nervous about us and what’s running through that pretty head of yours about tonight.”

The waiter returns with our food wrapped as lovely little tinfoil swans. Then Cooper pays the bill as I gather our fragile swans. He puts his arm around me and walks me out to the truck where he opens my door and tosses the swans into the cab.

“Gah, you mangled their necks,” I say, reaching for the foil packages, but Cooper pulls me back. “Oh, kcuf! I was going to treat you, why didn’t you remind me? Let me go put the bill on my credit card.”

“Settle down.” Cooper pulls me tightly against him and strokes my cheek. “It’s me. There’s nothing to be nervous about, Imogene.”

Imogene
sounds like the sexiest, most provocative word rolling off his tongue. I inhale slowly to compose myself.

“Do you know why I wanted this date with you?” he asks, gently cupping my chin.

“I guess it wasn’t about the food since you hardly ate anything.”

“I wanted to be out with you like regular people who enjoy each other’s company. I liked going to the estate sale with you, but that’s business. And I like the dancing classes, but that’s for Leo and Lauren. Tonight is about you and me doing our own thing.”

“Sorry I got a little strung out in there. A lot of things are happening at once, and I don’t have it as together as I should.”

“Come home with me, Imogene, and for tonight, let’s not play these roles.”

“What roles?”

“Where you say something funny to blow me off, and I say something funny to continue the pursuit.”

“I’m tired of being funny.”

Cooper sighs, looking worried, as if he’s expecting me to reject him. “Imogene, you’ll always be funny, sexy, and beautiful no matter how little effort you put into it. I don’t want to change you. I want to be with you.”

“Let’s go to your house.” My voice doesn’t waver this time.

Cooper looks down at me with a slight curve of his mouth. Then he leans in and kisses me again. It’s an erotic slow dance of lips and tongues, and everything is warm, soft, and sensual. My body reacts instantly with shivers of excitement and need.

He takes one last nip at my lower lip then slowly pulls away. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

He wastes no more time, hustling me into the truck then speeding to the interstate to get us back to Hera.

“Text Leo and tell him he’ll get his truck back tomorrow,” Cooper commands as he zooms onto a rural road that only the locals know about.

I’m a good faker, but I am so nervous my fingers have trouble texting on the bumpy dirt road that Cooper plows onto. I try to rewrite the text:
U get fuck tom.

“Oh, whatever,” I mutter and push
send
.

“You okay?” Cooper glances over at me. “Second thoughts?”

“Let me see. I washed my hair, shaved my legs, and I have my guy-gettin’ dress on and my best panties. I’m ready for takeoff.”

Cooper barks out a laugh. He takes my hand and holds it for a moment until we come to a barricade on the dirt road, then he grabs the stick shift.

“Well fuck that,” Cooper hisses. “Hold on to the handle and your panties because we’re going around this sucker.”

I yelp, grabbing the door handle and the headrest as the truck jolts as we go off road, driving through a shallow ravine and then up a steep hill to go around the barricade.

As we come back down and hit the road on the other side, Cooper guns it.

“I guess you really like short cuts,” I say, letting go of the headrest.

“I really like getting you home quickly.”

Fifteen

I’ve never been to Cooper’s house. All I know is he’s renovating it with the help of Carson, Dylan, and some of the men from Carson’s contracting business.

When we arrive at a log-style home nestled in the woods, there’s one front light on; otherwise, the area is pitch black. I grab the foil swans by their twisted necks and hop out of the truck, hearing rushing water in the distance.

“Are you on the creek?” I ask.

“Yep.” Cooper slips an arm around my waist, practically pulling me to the front door.

I yank off my heels when we get inside while Cooper flips on some light-switches.

“Wow,” I exclaim. “Lauren was right. You are tidy.”

“Tidy?” He winces.

“I always expect single guys to be slobs, but your place is clean, and you must be the first guy who doesn’t have his furniture arranged around a TV.” I take in the Blackard Designs furniture and a few prints on the walls, creating a very rustic and comfortable appearance.

“That’s my sister’s doing. When Greer visits, she moves everything around.”

“Greer? That’s nice. And how many brothers?”

“Three brothers. They’re just as nosy and annoying as my sister.”

“Still, it must be nice. Lauren and I always felt cheated not having siblings.”

“That’s why you two are so close, though.” He puts an arm around my waist and kisses my temple. “Let me give you the ten-second tour. It’s a small place, not much to see.”

“I like it.” I nod in approval as I look around the room.

“Good.” He takes my hand and pulls me down the short hallway to the kitchen. It looks like something out of a 1970s sitcom.

“Oh, my,” I laugh. The kitchen has a sort of deranged festive theme going on with orange Formica counters and carpeting and dated, dark brown cabinetry and appliances.

“Scary, right? It’s like a pumpkin exploded in here. Even the fridge is painted orange. Who does that?” he asks as he tosses our food packages that no longer resemble swans into the fridge. “This is my next project after I finish adding the screened porch. I’m ripping everything out of here. There’s concrete under the felt carpet so I’m going to polish it, similar to what Carson has at his house.”

“Do you cook?”

“No, but I can’t even drink my coffee in here. This is a really hideous sight first thing in the morning,” Cooper laughs.

I laugh, too. It helps to calm my nerves.

“Come see this.” His striking eyes are gleaming as his laughing mouth grazes my forehead.

He takes me through a door to the porch off the side of the kitchen. It’s huge, practically a whole other room that could easily hold fifty people, and smells like fresh cut wood. It has three sides open to the forest and sits on stilts close to the creek. Everything except the screen and outdoor furniture is in place.

“It should be finished in a few weeks. I have to put up the screens and stain the wood. And Greer wants to help me pick out the furniture, but I think this is where I’ll probably spend most of my time.”

“It’s fantastic, Cooper. This is where you’ll be able to drink your coffee every morning.” I am smiling big time because I am in awe that he’s doing this. It also means he’s sticking around Hera, and that gives me more joy than I’ve expected.

I turn to him to see he’s quietly observing me with a little smile.

“Let me show you the rest.” He motions for me to go back inside.

We walk through the kitchen and down another hallway that has three immaculate bedrooms, tastefully decorated with the Blackard furniture and other modern touches against the beautifully refinished floors. The bathroom still needs a gut job, he informs me, but I’m surprised at how clean it is.

“Were you expecting me to spend the night?” I ask as we stand at the threshold to his bedroom.

“No. I definitely thought about it and hoped you would, but I didn’t think you’d come home with me tonight.”

“I didn’t, either. It was when you started clapping for the baby.”

He gives me a perplexed frown.

“It was such a sweet thing to do, and you looked so … you know.”

“No.” He shakes his head and moves closer to me. “I don’t know.”

“Dashing … and …” As I wrap my arms around his waist, pressing myself against his warmth and gazing up at him, he moves his hands to rest firmly against my back.

The quiet moment between us is bewitching to me, nothing short of a waterfall of emotions. It’s unprecedented for me to feel both arousal and gratitude, but Cooper triggers all these good feelings in me at once. I’m immediately thankful I am with him tonight and not some guy I brought home from a bar who I’d despise in the morning.

“So, are we going in there or what?” I nod at his large bed with the blue and gray bedding. Then I see the bookcases wrapped around two walls under the windows. I push away from him, deadly curious to know what books he reads. I drop to my hands and knees and begin reading the titles. “Kant? Oh, no, no, no. Russell Bertrand.
Crime and Punishment
? Thomas Hardy? Okay, I like him. God, Cooper, we really do not read the same books.”

“That’s okay, we don’t need to.”

“Oh, good.
It
, a demon clown that terrorizes a town. Finally, a book I can relate to. I can’t believe you read Stephen King, Kafka, and
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
. So Kimberly was telling the truth; you are a philosophy junkie. This is so
not
what I read. For the most part, I like happy books. And you have so many books on psychology and the human brain. Yikes.”

“They are happy books. We’ll read later. Come here.” He lifts me up and pulls me back into his arms.

“I’m surprised. I had you pegged … differently.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Good.” I hesitate.

“Imogene,” he croons all three syllables in a deep timbre, waiting for me to acknowledge what he has been saying all along.

“Yes,” I admit. “Okay, it was not a date from hell, although you did kill our swans. But you’re right; I’m enjoying this, and … I like you, Cooper.”

His mouth is on mine in a flash as he walks me backwards until my legs touch the edge of the bed. One of his hands travels up my bare thigh and underneath my dress until it settles firmly on a butt cheek. He doesn’t let up on the kiss while his other hand pulls the tie of the halter behind my neck. I feel it fall forward as he suddenly pulls back to look at me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, aware that my dress has fallen to the floor, my thong covers nothing, and my breasts are bursting out of my lacy demi bra. If this doesn’t have his attention, then I’ve definitely lost my sex appeal.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You are perfect,” he replies, taking a long, appreciative sweep of my body.

I try to relax my breathing as he slides my bra straps off my shoulders and unhooks the front clasp. My nipples harden the minute I feel his gaze. Running the pads of his thumbs over my nipples, he then leans down to caress one with his tongue. While I moan as that wonderful pull in my center makes my hands frantic to touch him, he pushes me back onto the bed, bringing me swiftly up towards the pillows. His tongue circles each breast before he bites and sucks the nipples.

“Harder,” I whisper.

He settles himself between my legs, the erection in his jeans taunting my fresh bikini wax. I tangle my hands in his hair and hold his head against me as he sucks harder. Instinctively pushing myself against his hardness, feeling myself getting wetter, I arch up. He snaps my thong down, trailing it slowly to my feet where he flings it behind him, leaving me completely naked while he’s fully dressed. With his hands firmly holding my hips in place, he kisses his way down to my stomach then below to the wetness building between my legs.

“Wait,” I say softly. When he looks up at me, the stubble on his chin brushes against my sensitive flesh, sending an arousing jolt through me. “Get naked. Take off your clothes.”

He smiles and runs his tongue slowly around my clit to give me a preview before standing up. He’s quite magnificent, towering over me at his full height while I lie on the bed.
He’s your gorgeous Viking, Imogene.

He takes his time unbuttoning his shirt, as if he knows this is a show for my benefit. What a great show. I fling my arms above my head and let every muscle relax as I watch him expose his ripped pectorals and abs. With his golden tan and that surfer blond hair, I’m a hot mess, and he’s not even naked yet.

He pauses in his strip tease. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”

I smile. It’s been a long time since a man has admired me or looked at me with adoration. I am elated that it’s coming from this man.

As a renter of Jessica’s Victorian home, I’ve had the privilege to admire plenty of half-naked men as they did restoration work; however, I’ve never seen Cooper without a shirt. He’s the one that gives me the silly tremors that wake up my mind and body. I’ve been trying to hide this from him, but I have run out of excuses when it comes to Cooper. He’s the only man I’ve been attracted to in ages, and this is a whopper of combustible attraction.

His eyes never leave mine, and I sense he’s using his damn profiling skills on me. He kicks his shoes off then unzips his jeans and tosses them, just my Viking in a pair of black boxer briefs now remaining. When he hooks his thumbs in the band and pushes them down, his enormous cock springs out, and I exhale and whistle at the same time.

“You’re quite gorgeous,” I blurt out. “Get your rubbers please, Mr. MacKenzie.”

He strides over to the nightstand and pulls out some condoms, giving an excellent view of his long, muscular legs that lead up to his firm ass. Christ, I have been with plenty of attractive guys, but they sure didn’t look or act like Cooper. He’s unique. Cooper is …
the
complete package
.

“How many do we need for tonight? Five? Seven?” He dangles a strip of condoms in front of me.

“Let’s start with one,” I say, trembling a bit.

While he rips open a foil package and rolls it on, I watch him with fascination, as if I’ve never seen this before. His amused eyes are on me the whole time, roving slowly up and down my body, as though he’s deciding where to start. My breath catches when he moves gracefully, like a panther, and plants himself above me on all fours.

“I have Imogene naked in my bed, and she is suddenly nervous and mute. Amazing.” His deep, raspy voice sends a ripple, an awakening, through my body with the anticipation of his touch.