Slow Ride (25 page)

Cooper kissed her, his lips soft against hers. He was careful with her, no doubt knowing
she was still sore, but he tugged her tightly. “Don’t know. Cops in your hometown
are searching for him. Cops here are keeping an eye out, too. They found a bunch of
searches on his computer, one for this place, some for places out west. He had you
flagged at work, probably got your information when you opened your bank account and
transferred funds from the old account. But you don’t have to worry about this anymore.
Until we catch the fuck who did this, me, the guys at the shop, your brother, even
Jackson, we all have your back.”

Kyla yawned, already tired again.

“I love you.” The words floated softly, sweetly in the air between them.

All thoughts of sleep flew out the window. “You love me?” Her tone was one of incredulity,
“How can you . . . I mean, we just. . .” She was trying not to panic, and she was
losing the battle. “How can you love me?”

“‘Cause you’re funny, cute, gorgeous, have a body that makes me hard every time I
look at you, a contagious laugh and a smile that lights up whatever room you’re in.
You sing and I swear to god I’m in the presence of an angel, but it’s matched by that
sweet devil of an attitude you got no fear throwing around.” Cooper ducked his head,
his nose touching the side of hers. “I knew I wanted you the second I heard your voice,
and I knew I loved you not long after that.”

She was trying to hold back the tears, but a few leaked out of her eyes, trickling
down her cheeks. He swiped them away with his thumbs. She was thrilled that he loved
her, but those words, words she desperately wanted to say, stuck as a lump in her
throat.

“Don’t cry, baby. It’s okay, you don’t have to say it back,” he assured her. “Just
say it when you’re ready.”

“I . . . Cooper. . .”

His expression was soft, the blue in his eyes getting deeper, more intense. “Shh,
I know. Go to sleep. You need to rest up and get your strength back.” His lips were
at her ear as he whispered, “And just know that I am going to keep you naked in our
bedroom—hell, the entire house—for awhile once the docs clear you to go home.”

His eyes held a promise in them and that promise made Kyla squirm in the best way
possible. “‘Night, Cooper.”

“‘Night, Kyla.”

• • •

“Cooper, I’ve been resting. I’m fine,” she protested the next day when he insisted
she spend the afternoon in their bed. “I need to get back to work. I have a ton of
things to do at Music & Motors. And if I stay away from the shop too long it will
be like a hurricane went through again.”

Cooper set her bag down on a chair in the corner of the room and turned to her. “Lift
your arms.” It was an order more than a request, but she did it anyway. He tossed
the shirt on the floor and she saw the heat flare in his deep blue eyes. He paused
a beat before he spoke. “You heard the doctor. He wants you to take some time off,
and since I’m your boss, you’re off for a week, which is good, because I still plan
on getting you naked a lot over this week.”

Kyla rolled her eyes. “God, you’re bossy. You’re lucky I find that incredibly attractive
in you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Come to bed with me?”

He grinned. “Hell, yeah. I planned on it. But, all we’re going to do is sleep.”

Kyla snapped. “Oh for god’s sake, Cooper, I got bumped in the head not hit by a car.
I’m fine.”

His arms tightened and he became scarily still. He was silent for a long time, spinning
it out and making Kyla shift in his arms. Finally he said quietly, “You have no idea
what I felt, what went through my head when I got that fuckin’ call. So if I want
to take care of you and not overdo things, even though it kills me ‘cause all I can
think about is stripping you out of all your clothes and fucking you for hours, then
I am going to take it slow. You understand that?”

“I didn’t think about that. I should have. And so I do understand, as long as you
understand I’m going to be fine. I’m not going anywhere, honey. Not ever.”

Cooper relaxed, his hand on her back rubbing small circles over her skin. “Let’s get
to bed.”

She grabbed a t-shirt he tossed at her and pulled it on. She wiggled out of her skirt
and threw that on the floor before crawling under the covers. Once Cooper was undressed,
he slid underneath and she snuggled up against his chest. Cooper looked down and saw
Kyla’s eyes fluttering closed and not long after her breathing evened out. Having
Kyla in his bed was bittersweet. He’d wanted to bring her here, cook dinner and then
sit on the beach after. He knew he didn’t have to seduce Kyla, but he wanted to show
the romantic side of himself and give her something that she clearly hadn’t had when
she was with Frank.

Instead Cooper brought here to recuperate after getting clubbed over the head and
pushed into the bay. He could only imagine what she had experienced. He sighed, staring
at the ceiling as his thoughts raced. He wanted to find the bastard responsible and
beat him into oblivion. All of the emotions Kyla had brought up inside him—the undeniable
constriction on the left side of his chest, the overwhelming need to claim her as
his and protect her until his last dying day—all of it scared the fuck out of him
but he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

• • •

She awakened abruptly when Cooper jerked, then jumped out of bed, grabbing for a gun
he stored in the bedside table.

She hadn’t seen a gun since the night she shot Frank and it threw her off balance.
She needed to push back against the building fear.

“ I heard a noise. Just going to check things out. Go back to sleep,” Cooper said.

“No, I will wait until you get back.” She reached for her phone. “I know I can’t fight
these battles alone now, Cooper, but that doesn’t mean I can’t call 911 if I have
to.”

He grinned at her. “Going to start calling you my wingman.” He winked and then disappeared
through the bedroom doorway.

He returned in less than five minutes. “Just Tommy and Phil checking on things,” he
reported as he sat on the edge of the bed, his hand skimming along the hem of his
shirt and then under it. “I’m sorry if I scared you. Sarah is coming over with your
stuff later.” He tucked some stray locks of hair behind her ear. “But you need to
get a bit more sleep first, or try at least. You need all your strength if you’re
going to be having my back.”

She nodded, shooting him her best mischievous smile. “Oh, I have your back. And your
front, and your sides.” She lifted up on her knees and kissed him hard. “So don’t
doubt my strength. I’m feeling better already, so hurry up with the guys so we can
get started. You are going to be the one who needs lots of energy.”

He took her hand in his and moved it down his body to the front of his cargo pants,
pressing it into his hard length, groaning as she flexed his fingers around him. His
other hand reached lower, grinning as he felt her already damp panties. “I highly
doubt that will be a problem.” His free hand was under her shirt, his thumb sliding
over her hardened nipple. Kyla arched her back, was pressing her chest into his hands
when suddenly he stood. He kissed her one last time and strode from the room, laughing
softly as he did.

She glared at his back. “Tease!” she hollered after him, huffing before settling back
down and going to sleep.

For the next couple of days Kyla was happy to follow Cooper’s direction and take it
easy. This meant lounging around his house, reading, watching television, and listening
to music. And baking. The first day, when Cooper came home from work, she had made
chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies with the ingredients Sarah had brought over
since Kyla wasn’t allowed to drive anywhere. More of Cooper’s rules. Kyla didn’t mind
her imprisonment though, because she knew she needed to stay close, recover from the
concussion, and hopefully in a few days the cops would catch Frank.

Today she was sitting on the stool at the breakfast counter, flipping through a magazine
as she waited for dinner to finish. She’d called Cooper earlier and asked if she could
use the grill, to which his answer was no.

This conversation did not go well. At all.

“But, Cooper, I can handle the grill, I won’t get hurt,” she said, her tone annoyed.
“It’s not like the grill can reach out and beat the crap out of me and drag me under
water.”

He was silent. Perhaps it was too soon to joke about such things, at least with Cooper.
“Babe,” he finally spoke, “I’m not worried about you getting hurt from the grill,
though knowing you as I do, I am sure you could find a way to hurt yourself. The grill
is just . . . well, it’s a guy thing. I man the grill. Take out the steaks, do whatever
you were gonna do to them marinade wise, and I’ll throw ‘em on when I get home.”

“But I wanted to. . .”

“Kyla, seriously, I’m lying under a car right now and I don’t have time to argue about
this. I know you are totally capable of using the thing, but I just want to be the
one who does. I’ll be home at six.”

Now it was her turn to be silent. She was trying to do something nice. “Fine,” she
huffed out. “But just so you know, you’ve gone backwards on the evolutionary scale
and I’m highly pissed off about it. And to think you were making progress. Shows how
much I was paying attention. I’ll talk to you later. Maybe.” She didn’t give him time
to respond, instead tossing her phone over into the couch and stomping to the freezer.
She grabbed the steaks and put them in the marinade, finishing the mashed potatoes,
which would just need to be reheated later. Glowering at the bags of cookies on the
counter and the dishes she washed, she marched out onto the back porch that was elevated
on stilts, overlooking the water.

The sun was in a prime spot right now and so she tossed out her towel on a chair and
settled in on her stomach, unclasping her bikini top to avoid tan lines. She turned
up the music pumping out of her mp3 player, something to match her mood, which meant
the broody music of Pearl Jam.

Cooper had said when she came to stay with him he wanted this to be permanent, not
just her staying here until Frank was caught. But sometimes his over the top manly
ways and beliefs annoyed the crap out her. He wanted to be the one who used it? Well,
whatever. It was his grill, it was his house and his things so if he wanted to do
it, she’d not make an issue out of it. “Who knows how long I’ll be staying here anyways,”
she muttered to herself. .

She must have fallen asleep because she awoke with a start to footsteps coming toward
her on the wraparound porch. She turned her head expecting it to be Cooper or Jack,
who had spent the day hanging around the house to keep an eye on her. But then the
sound stopped and she heard a thud, prompting her to lift her head more.

Concerned, she reached around her back and put her top back on, then rolled off the
chair and was taken off guard when something slammed into her. She hit the floor hard
but pushed back against her attacker. Kyla screamed and the attacker’s hand struck
out to cover her mouth. The grip around her neck tightened and she could feel the
air being squeezed out of her as the person tried to drag her around the other side
of the porch. Kyla tucked her head down slightly and bit at the forearm around her
neck and chin. The attacker howled and dropped the offending arm, giving Kyla a chance
to move out of reach.

“Kyla?”

It was Cooper. She hadn’t heard his car pull in, but she could tell he was close.
She struggled to her feet but only got two steps away when a hand reached out and
yanked her down by her hair. Kyla shrieked from the surprise and went down hard on
her knees, not sure whether she was going to pass out or vomit. Whoever was behind
her must have heard Cooper too, because they ran in the other direction and into the
trees at the side of the house.

“Kyla! Jesus Christ, Kyla!” She could hear the panic in Cooper’s voice and that hurt
her heart almost as much as the new injuries she’d sustained.

“I’m fine,” she croaked out. And she was for the most part. Compared to the knock
to the head and the near drowning, this was nothing. She moved each limb carefully,
finding nothing broken. She lifted a hand to rub her throat where she’d been choked.
“Where’s Jack?”

“He got hit on the head, but he’s fine. Tommy is on his way. Don’t move, we gotta
get you checked out, and then the EMTs will take you to the hospital.”

“No! I’m fine. I’m not going there again.”

“Kyla.”

“Cooper, don’t argue with me about this. Please.” The last word cracked. She was so
tired. Her body was tired of getting her ass kicked, and her brain was fried from
the chaos around her.

He didn’t say anything but slid his arms around her waist to help her up. Kyla leaned
into him, choking back a whimper. “I got you, Kyla. You’re going to be okay.”

“No, I’m not.” She was trembling, but this time it was more from anger than pain.
“Jack got hit in the head, I’ve been attacked twice. It’s not going to be fine. It’s
not going to end until one of us is dead.” Frank was such an asshole, she thought
to herself. Why couldn’t he just let her be?

He picked her up and carried her inside, settling into the couch with her on his lap
and rubbing his hands over her shoulders. He didn’t say anything, but she watched
the muscle in his jaw jump as he tried to control his fury.

After Tommy looked her over, Kyla took a deep breath and leaned into Cooper, burying
her face in his neck. “All I’ve been is a huge pain in the ass. I should have taken
care of this on my own, and not gotten you and your friends involved.”

He moved her so he could look her in the eye. “Kyla, whether you and I were together
or not, you still work for me. And the guys like you, thinking of you as a little
sister. At least they better be. Anyway, they’d be volunteering to keep you safe,
which is what they’re doing now.” He kissed her mouth, a sweet and sexy kiss, his
tongue taking a lazy journey as it explored her mouth. Finally he leaned back. “Besides,
it’s not just the guys. You have your brother, Sarah, Maggie, Rose and Steve. Babe,
everyone is in your corner. As for me, I’m not going anywhere, not now, probably not
until you’re sick of me.”