The Perfect Stroke (19 page)

“What are you doing here, Cooper?” Gray asks me ten minutes later. It took him ten minutes to clear out the kitchen and make sure his nephew’s mess had been cleaned up. Speaking of which, he managed to pee on Gray’s boot. I like that kid; he’s got style.

“I came to tell you that you’re an asshole.”

“You traveled all the way from Kentucky to tell me I’m an asshole?”

“I was mad.”

“Because I’m supposedly engaged to Cammie Riverton?”

“She said you were,” I defend, resenting the way he’s starting to make me feel…
stupid
.

“She’s fucking nuts,” he growls. Well, I can’t argue with that.

“So you’re saying you didn’t ask her to marry you?”

“I don’t want to marry anyone!” he growls, and I ignore the fact that that feels like a slap in the face. I mean, I’m not looking for marriage either, right?

“Don’t scream at me!”

“Then start making sense!”

“You’re an asshole,” I tell him, then stick my tongue out for good measure.

“Don’t stick that tongue out at me unless you’re willing to use it.”

“In case you missed it, I’m rolling my eyes at you too.”

“Why are you really here, Cooper?”

I swallow, rubbing my arms nervously. “I got mad.”

“Why? You are the one who broke up with me.”

“I didn’t break up with you. I just didn’t want to meet your family!”

“What’s wrong with us?” I hear a woman ask.

“Yeah, we’re pretty damn good people,” White answers.

“White, watch that mouth of yours,” Ida Sue grumbles. From the sound of all their voices, you can tell they’re pushed up against the kitchen door, listening.

“You’re great! I just didn’t want to meet you! I wasn’t ready for that!”

“Why not?” Ida Sue asks.

“Mom,” Gray growls.

“It’s a legitimate question, Grayson,” she chides.

I hold my head down wondering what in the hell I’m doing. “Because,” I groan.

“That’s not a good reason, dear. Whenever my kids gave that kind of reasoning, it usually ended up with my spanking their asses,” Ida Sue says through the still-closed but useless door.

“Hey, that’s it, Gray. Spank her ass.”

“I’ve got to say, that helps iron out Ida when she gets a knot up her ass.”

“Eww. Damn it, Janson,” White growls. 

“Spanking can help iron out difficulties,” Ida Sue says, and moans can be heard echoing for miles.

“Jesus. I belong to a nut-house,” Gray grumbles, grabbing my arm and pulling me outside. The kitchen door slams behind us and I can barely keep up as Gray pulls me towards an old painted red barn. I want to argue with him, but honestly I’d rather his family didn’t hear everything we say, so I go with him.

I just wish I knew what I could say to get out of this without looking like the jealous freak I am.

I pull CC into the barn with me and don’t stop until we’re in the far corner where the fresh hay has been piled up. I push her against the wall with my body and trap her there with my arms. I look down at her, pinning her with my eyes.

“Okay, Cooper. It’s just you and me now.” I watch the line of her throat as she swallows. God, everything about her is appealing. I want to move my tongue along the lines of her throat and taste her skin.

“Did you kiss Cammie?” she asks, and whatever I expected, for some reason that’s not it. Because I take too long to respond, she punches me in the stomach. “You fucking asshole!” She does her best to push me out of the way. When my woman gets mad, she packs a punch. I grab her fists and push them up against the wall. Her breath is coming in hard gasps and she’s pushing against my hold, but I don’t let her go.

“
She
kissed
me!
”

“Oh my God. You did not just say that to me!”

“Are you jealous? I swear, it was nothing!”

“Are you an idiot?”

“I’m serious. I didn’t expect it, and I did nothing to encourage it.”

“Fine! Then I’ll go out there and kiss White and we’ll be even!”

“I love my brother, but if you kiss him, I may have to kill him.”

“Are
you
jealous?” she throws back in my face, and I have to say I am.

“Damn straight. Now that I’ve had your lips, they’re mine.”

“Gray…”

“Now that I’ve had you, CC,
you
are
mine
. You need to understand that.”

I see the moment fear hits her face, and I know I’m pushing her way too hard, but I can’t seem to stop myself. The last thing I expected was to have her follow me here. Now that she’s here, I’m going to make damn sure she understands what her being here means.

“You broke up with me.”

“I left, but I was coming back, Cooper. You’re not getting away from me.”

“We were a one-night stand, Gray.”

“That’s just it, CC. We
were
. What we are
now
, what we
could
be, is so much
more
.”

“Gray, I don’t do relationships real well.”

“Do you want what we have to end, sweetheart?”

“No…”

“Then take a chance. I don’t do relationships either, but I do
not
want to let go of what we have here.”

“We’re completely different,” she says, but I see a little of the fear on her face fade and I know I’m starting to get through to her.

“Opposites attract.”

“What if Cammie’s right and I hurt you?”

“Hurt me?”

“In your business, with your whole hitting-balls-in-weird-pants thing,” she says and I have to laugh.

“Sweetheart, I can assure you the only way you could hurt me is if you walk away without giving us a chance.”

“I don’t come from money, Gray. I’m never going to be comfortable around people like…”

I put my lips to hers and kiss her gently to stop whatever she’s going to say. Her lips are as tender and sweet as I remember. I drink in the flavor of her and pull slowly back.

“You’ve met my family, Cooper. Do you honestly think they’re anything like the Rivertons?”

“Well, Ida Sue’s pet cow
does
remind me of Cammie a little.”

“Oh, that was bad, Claudia Cooper.”

“I could show you bad…”

“Right here? In the barn?”

“Let’s be honest. Your family already thinks we’re having sex. We might as well.”

I step away from her. I think she actually thinks I’m a stupid man because her face shows her confusion. She actually thinks I’m turning her down. I pull my shirt up over my body and throw it down on the hay.

“Well, what are you waiting for, Cooper? Strip,” I tell her, kicking off my boots. When she starts undressing while smiling at me, something clicks into place. Claudia Cooper is my forever.

Now I just have to prove it to her.

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Then again, I can’t believe I’m here. Something about Gray makes me do things I would normally never do—like have sex in a barn on a pile of hay in the middle of the afternoon with his crazy family milling around outside. Yet
here I am
.

I watch him the entire time I undress. I can’t go slowly because there’s a good chance I’ll lose my nerve and an even bigger chance his mom will come out to do something crazy like give her cow a manicure. It doesn’t matter because the last article of my clothing hits the ground, then Gray grabs me and kisses me. His body is warmer than I remember, softer, yet strong at the same time. I open my mouth to him, groaning as his tongue pushes inside and takes over my mouth. His mouth slants over mine, our lips caressing, tasting and devouring each other. I’ve been kissed before, but Gray’s kisses are always like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I could kiss him for hours upon hours and still crave more.

When we break apart, I take a deep breath. My body is literally shaking from the need and the storm he has awakened inside of me. I dig my fingers into his back and hold on as I raise my head to look at him. Gray has to be the most beautiful man on the face of the planet. Have I said that? It needs to be repeated. The man is so masculine and sexy that it should be illegal. With his hair rumpled and his eyes sparkling with mischief, he is like nothing I’ve ever encountered. He could charm a nun into spreading her legs.

“What are you thinking, sweet lips?” he asks and I shake my head at that horrible nickname he insists on using. I want to say something smart. I’m already feeling exposed, but before I can stop myself, the truth slips out.

“I missed you,” I whisper. What is it about Gray that undermines my defenses and allows these moments of weakness that leave me vulnerable? Gray groans my name, his hand moving down to cup the side of my neck, and he pulls my mouth back to him.

“I’ve missed you so fucking much, woman,” he purrs into my ear. The vibration of his words rock me.
Is it another line?
If it is, it’s a fucking good one.

When his lips slide down the side of my neck and his hands come around to hold my breasts, squeezing them gently, I stop thinking altogether. His thumbs scrape against my nipples at the same time he gently bites my shoulder. A ripple of need pushes through my body, making my knees feel weak. I can feel myself getting wetter as he kisses down my chest to suck one of my nipples in his mouth, feeding my desire. His tongue moves around it, petting it, teasing it and sending shards of electricity through my body.

“Gray,” I whimper, torn between never wanting him to stop what he’s doing and demanding he just take me.

“I love your breasts, CC. The way they feel in my hands, the way your nipples strain for attention. How they respond when I tease you,” he whispers against my skin before taking one fully in his mouth and sucking on it. My head goes back with a gasp, my nails flexing into his skin and scoring his back as desire rips through me. His tongue pushes the nipple to the roof of his mouth, the slick, moist skin tightly sliding against it right before he flicks his tongue over it and puts it in place so he can bite down on it. A small burst of pain scissors like white heat through me.

I feel his hand move down my stomach, his rough callused skin making me feel more feminine than I’ve ever felt in my life. “Are you wet for me, Cooper?”

For the life of me I can do nothing, not even mumble. My breath is lodged in my throat as I wait to see what else he does to my body. Gray doesn’t stop until he reaches my center. The tips of his fingers slide through the sticky moisture gathered on the outside. “Soaked,” he grunts, answering himself, right before thrusting his fingers inside of me. “Always so wet, tight, and ready for me. You were made for me, Cooper,” his deep voice growls while he slowly thrusts his fingers in and out of me.

“Gray,” I plead, my voice weak and filled with need.

“What is it, sweetheart? What do you want?”

I’d answer him if I could, I really would, but words are kind of beyond me. Next time, I’ll try and remain in control and torture him like he is doing to me right now. Instead, I do the only thing I can manage, the only thing my brain allows me to do. I reach down and grab his cock. It manages somehow to be even more heated than the rest of him. So hot and thick, it fills my hand and makes my knees want to buckle at the same time. Now it’s his turn to groan. I stroke him once, forcing myself to open my eyes and watch his face as I squeeze his cock tightly in my hand. His eyes go inky dark, his breath labored.

“Keep that up and this is going to go pretty fucking fast, Cooper. I’ve been without you too long.”

“I need you inside of me, Gray. It’s been way too long,” I tell him honestly. It has. In the last few days, I’d wake up in the middle of the night after dreaming about making love with Gray, and I’d want to cry because he wasn’t there. “I feel so empty,” I tell him, squeezing his dick harder.

He growls and then takes complete control. His fingers leave me and I cry out in frustration. I want to complain, but I can’t because he’s too busy lying me back on the hay. It pokes against my skin and I have to wonder why you hear so often about people rolling around in the hay because it’s
not
comfortable at all. Then, Gray’s body comes over mine. He braces himself with one hand as he pushes against my leg. I spread as wide as I can to make room for him. He positions his dick at my entrance. I can feel the tip of his cock and try to thrust up to bring him inside. He grabs hold of my hip quickly, preventing it. His hand holds me almost to the point of bruising, but I love every moment of it.