My One and Only (Ardent Springs Book 3) (22 page)

Not only did Haleigh scream his name, she repeated it over and over as the waves hit one after another. Cooper stayed with her through them all, sending her soaring beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Her body shook with the force of the orgasm, and she would have sworn the zing reached the ends of her hair.

With tingling teeth, she panted for breath as her body relaxed into a puddle of sheer bliss.

As if he hadn’t just tried to kill her, Cooper kissed his way up her body to nestle against her, and with a leg thrown over hers, he said, “Not bad to get us started.”

Haleigh tried to laugh, but a strained croak escaped instead. “Pretty sure my vital signs say that was more than getting started. If what’s to come is better than that, I may not make it through the night.”

“You can’t give up now,” he said, nuzzling her ear. “We haven’t gotten to the best part.”

Arousal sparked anew. “You’ve set the bar pretty high if you plan to top that,” she said, wrapping her hand around the appendage currently poking her in the hip. His breathing thinned as she worked him up and down. “But I’m willing to let you try.”

Moving fast for a man his size, Cooper shifted her beneath him, holding most of his weight on his elbows as his pulsing heat pressed against her core.

“Trust me,” he drawled. “You won’t be disappointed.”

Eyes the color of aged whiskey looked up with anticipation as the smile softened from flirtation to open invitation.

Pressing an index finger against his lips, she said, “You could never disappoint me, Cooper. Ever.”

Unable to find the words to respond, he answered with actions. Cupping her breast, he worshiped her nipple until she arched in offering, moaning in satisfaction. Slick and hot, her body responded to every lick and tug, pinch and bite, until Cooper was certain she’d reached the edge. He pulled back and received a cry of protest.

“Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

“There’s no need to rush,” he said, transitioning to the other breast and repeating the process.

The moans grew louder and her nails dug into his back. When her knees came up to cradle him between her thighs, Cooper teased her entrance, testing the limits of his control. Taking her mouth, his tongue drove deep and Haleigh demanded more, wrapping her arms around his neck and bucking against him.

“I need to be inside you,” he said, reaching for the nightstand. “I can’t wait.”

“Yes,” she purred, her fingers digging into his ass. “Now. Right now.”

Ripping the condom open with his teeth, he rolled to the side to sheathe himself and then pulled her with him, giving her the top position. With a gasp, she braced her hands against his chest and lowered her hips, taking him in until they were fully joined.

“God, that feels good,” he growled, unable to resist driving up hard against her.

Haleigh sighed in agreement, taking each thrust deeper. Setting a steady rhythm, her body bowed forward while damp curls danced across her breasts. Cooper cupped her breasts with both hands. She leaned into his touch, her skin flushed with arousal.

“So close,” she panted, throwing her head back.

As her hands locked on his thighs, Cooper slid a hand down between them to rub his thumb against her clit. Within seconds, Haleigh tensed as she hit the peak, clenching tight around him and sending Cooper flying with her. They trembled together until Haleigh collapsed on his chest, golden locks draping his shoulders.

Silent and struggling to catch his breath, Cooper held tight to the woman sprawled on top of him. If he never saw the light of day again, he’d had one night of perfection.

Chapter 23

“You better not be sleeping,” Haleigh mumbled against Cooper’s chest. She’d have looked up to check on his state of consciousness, but every muscle in her body remained useless. For all she knew, she’d dissolved into a puddle on the bed.

“Mmmm . . .” Cooper hummed, the vibration stirring her weakened limbs. “I was thinking about it.”

Resting her chin on his sternum, she tweaked one of his nipples. “Then I hope it’s only a cat nap to recharge, because we definitely need to do that again.”

His bark of laughter threatened to dislodge Haleigh, but she held on, averse to surrendering her cozy position.

“Now who is trying to kill who?”

“I think it should be whom.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Featherstone,” he replied, referring to their former English teacher. “Either way, you’re going to be the death of me.”

Twirling a finger through the fine hair on his pecs, she said, “At least we’ll go together.”

Pulling her up his body until they were face-to-face, Cooper lifted Haleigh’s hair out of her eyes and said, “If that’s the case, then I’ll die a happy man. How about you?”

Haleigh struggled to put her feelings into words. To say she was happy would be the understatement of her life. Cooper did more than make her happy, he made her feel cherished and protected, lighthearted and optimistic. He fed her spirit and drove away the voices of doubt and denigration. Most of all, he made her feel wanted. Not for what she could do, but for who she was.

Cooper was the first person in her life who had glimpsed all her dark corners, and found the light even she didn’t believe was there. A voice in the back of her mind pointed out that all of those feelings could be summed up in one word. A word that scared Haleigh to the tips of her toes.

“Yes,” she said lamely. “I’d definitely go with a smile on my face.”

As he ran his fingers through her hair, one corner of his mouth curled up in a sensual grin. “Does that mean you found the main event acceptable?”

“That means,” she said, pausing for a mind-melting kiss that ended with them both breathless and aroused, “I liked it so much, I demand an encore performance.”

Powerful hands locked on her bottom as he ground against her. “I do aim to please,” he said, before rolling to pin her beneath him. When her head settled on the pillow, he grew serious, his green eyes locked intently on hers. “I can make you happy, Haleigh Rae. Just give me the chance.”

Thankful for the fading light, Haleigh ignored the tear that rolled down her temple. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” he said, before proceeding to make Haleigh happy enough to scream his name many more times.

By Tuesday morning, Cooper still couldn’t believe the turn his life had taken. Haleigh Rae had spent every night since Friday sleeping beside him until just before dawn, when she raced home to arrive before Abby pulled in from work. He’d argued that they were adults and Haleigh shouldn’t have to hit some early-morning curfew to placate his sister, but their friendship meant a lot to Haleigh, and she hoped that Abby’s feelings would change before she and Cooper revealed how far they’d taken their relationship.

Of course, the fact that he was
in
a relationship at all with Haleigh still blew Cooper’s mind.

“It’s good to see that you aren’t dead,” Spencer said as he stepped up to the car that Cooper was working on. “I don’t suppose you’ve checked your messages lately?”

Between keeping up with repair jobs and spending all his free time with Haleigh, Cooper hadn’t been paying much attention to his phone.

“By your tone, I’m guessing I missed something?”

“Lorelei had a question about a vendor for the fundraiser. She needed you to provide the answer.”

“What’s the question?” he said, tugging a stained rag from his back pocket to wipe his hands.

Spencer shook his head. “Too late. When she couldn’t give them an answer yesterday, they backed out. That means we’re down one food truck, thanks to you.”

Where the hell was the dickish attitude coming from?

“I don’t appreciate your tone,” Cooper said, stepping away from the car. “I didn’t ignore the message on purpose, so don’t give me shit because your girlfriend is annoyed.”

“This isn’t about my girlfriend,” Spencer hissed. “This is about you shirking your responsibility because Haleigh Rae Mitchner is finally giving you the time of day.”

“Look,” Cooper said, widening his stance. “Missing one phone call isn’t a criminal offense. So we’re down one truck. We still have two others.”

“Based on the projected turnout, we were already stretching it thin with three.”

“And that projected turnout is only happening because I’ve busted my ass for months to
make
it happen.” Cooper would be damned if he’d let anyone dismiss the work he’d put into this fundraiser. Not even Spencer. “I didn’t harass you during football season when you went trailing after Lorelei, shopping down in Nashville, instead of watching the games like we always have. And I’ve never said a word about her tagging along on pool nights, or insisting we include her and Snow on poker night. But now that I have someone, you’re going to give
me
shit?” Shoving the rag into his pocket, he said, “I don’t think so.”

“We have less than two weeks to go,” Spencer said, undeterred by Cooper’s speech. “You want to blow us off after that, go ahead. But until then, answer your goddamn messages.” Before he turned to leave, Spencer landed a parting shot. “And if you don’t want my fiancée around, find yourself a new friend.”

“Dammit,” Cooper yelled. “Spencer, wait.”

His oldest friend didn’t so much as slow down. Knowing they’d both crossed a line, Cooper charged out of the garage.

“I said wait up.” Cooper reached the silver Dodge before the shorter man could open his door. “Since when is it such a hassle for me to have a life?” he asked, blocking the vehicle.

“You can have whatever life you want, Cooper. Now get the hell out of my way.”

“We both know that I can kick your ass,” he answered. “And we both know that I won’t do it, so back up and listen. When you got back together with Lorelei, I was happy for you. I could have told you that you were being an idiot and might get your ass handed to you, but I didn’t. Because that’s not what friends do.”

“Your support is overwhelming. What’s your point?”

“It’s my turn, man. Haleigh is my Lorelei. She’s the one, and I’m not going to apologize for spending as much time with her as I can.” Pointing at his friend, Cooper added, “You, of all people, should understand that.”

Spencer continued to fume before shaking his head. “This just isn’t you, Coop. You don’t drop stuff like this.”

“This
is
me,” Cooper defended. “It’s just me with a new priority. But I’m as committed to this rally as ever. I’ll find another vendor, okay?”

Relaxing his stance, Spencer said, “I don’t know how you plan to do that with such short notice, but if you do pull off a miracle, let Lor know so she can keep everything on the food side straight.”

“Will do,” Cooper said, stepping to the side.

After opening the door, Spencer hesitated before climbing in. “Do you really think Haleigh Rae is the one for you?” he asked.

Considering that Spencer knew better than anyone how long Cooper had wanted this, the question took him by surprise.

“I do,” he answered. “I always have.”

“Does she feel the same about you?”

They’d only been together for four nights, and no one had thrown around the L-word yet, but the way Haleigh responded, the way she gave as much as he did, made Cooper confident that she’d get there. Eventually. Considering the alternative made him want to punch a hole in Spencer’s truck.

“She hasn’t said as much, but I think we’re heading in the same direction.”

Stepping into the driver’s seat, Spencer said, “I hope you’re right, buddy. But if you hit a snag, you’ve got friends, okay?”

“No snags in sight,” Cooper said, more for his own benefit than Spencer’s. “But that’s good to know.”

For all intents and purposes, Haleigh should have been a walking zombie considering how little sleep she’d had in the last few days. Instead, she’d never felt so awake in her life.

Each night, they talked about their day while making small meals in Cooper’s kitchen. Another benefit from the high-energy sex was a return of Haleigh’s appetite, and her new lover was more than happy to feed her, body and soul. Never much of a domestic goddess, she’d been surprised to feel so comfortable in Cooper’s kitchen. She made sandwiches while he mixed sweet tea. Or he flipped the grilled cheese while Haleigh stirred the tomato soup.

What they were doing didn’t seem to matter as much as that they were doing it together. And heaven help her, Haleigh wanted to keep doing everything with Cooper for a very long time.

Not that she’d admitted as much, at least not aloud. To say Cooper had gotten a head start on this relationship was like saying the sun was kind of far away. For Haleigh, this was all brand-new. Shiny and bright and possibly misleading. What did she know about healthy relationships? She still didn’t even like herself all that much, though the more Cooper preached of her awesomeness, the more she grew to believe him.

That fact was, each day she spent with him, the happier she got. And the happier she got, the greater the fear of messing up.

“You just couldn’t stay away from him, could you?” asked a voice behind her.

Haleigh jumped, splashing coffee onto her hand. “Hot hot hot,” she said, shaking the steaming liquid off her skin. “Warn a girl before you scare her half to death, Abby,” Haleigh mumbled as she reached for a napkin.

Since Abby’s shift had ended hours ago, encountering her in the cafeteria at ten in the morning was unexpected. And based on her opening line, her sentiments regarding Haleigh dating her brother hadn’t altered in the last two weeks.

“I talked to Jessi this morning,” her roommate said, ignoring the sarcastic comment. “She’s exhausted. It seems Emma still isn’t sleeping and there hasn’t been anyone else around to help during the night.” Tilting her head, she added, “I’ve been at work. What’s your excuse?”

Abby must have caught Jessi in a weak moment. She never would have squealed otherwise.

“It’s obvious that you know where I’ve been, so excuse me if I refuse to play your interrogation game.” As much as she loved her best friend, Haleigh was creeping extremely close to her limit where this attitude was concerned. So she didn’t have a great track record. Big effing deal. Everybody deserved a second chance.

Haleigh moved to step away from the coffee counter, but Abby blocked her path. “You promised.”

“I promised not to hurt him,” Haleigh clarified. “I never said I wouldn’t see him.”

“We both know that one always leads to the other,” Abby insisted.

Taking a deep breath, Haleigh battled with the desire to tell her best friend exactly where she could stick it. Instead she said, “What did I do, Abby? What unforgivable sin did I commit to bring this on? Every relationship I’ve had didn’t end with a man going down in flames. Have they all been healthy? No. Was I always the worst person in the pairing? Absolutely not. I admit that I have issues. Everyone does. But I’m doing my best to make a change, and I am not going to continue being unhappy because you and my mother believe I haven’t yet paid my penance.”

Once the words were out, Haleigh felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She was not a villain, and she would no longer accept being treated like one. Since Abby didn’t respond, she said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to work.”

Unfortunately, Abby wasn’t finished. “I want you out,” she said, jerking Haleigh to a stop with her words. “You have thirty days.”

Open-mouthed, Haleigh watched the dark-haired stranger walk away. No way in hell was this all about Cooper, but whatever the source, Abby had officially pulled the plug on their friendship. Haleigh fought down the bile collecting at the back of her throat.

Twenty-three years and Abby tossed her away without showing a hint of regret. As if cutting Haleigh out of her life was as simple as taking out the trash. Feeling empty, she waited for the urge to hit. The desire for a drink that would tip her off the wagon once more.