Amy had an appointment, with the Board of a Homeless foundation she sponsored, at eleven that morning so there was no time to see Coop. After finding out how hard he usually worked, she felt guilty even considering going to see him during working hours. So she kept her distance and went on with her life as she always had.
Or maybe not quite as she always had. Her new-found confidence was a palpable thing. Amy noticed the way the people in her life looked at her oddly when she passed. They seemed to note the lightness of her step, the lift of her chin, and the glint in her eyes, and wondered at it. Let them, she decided. It was nobody's business but her own, if she'd suddenly come into her power.
Though her mother had insisted she take up the role of socialite, supporting with her time and money suitable charities, she had never felt comfortable doing it. Somehow, it always felt like window-dressing. Now she knew exactly how false it all was.
While her father grew exponentially richer by closing down factories and 'under-performing' companies, she worked to provide a little superficial support for the homeless who had lost their jobs in those factories. It was a cruel joke at the expense of those poor people, and she hated being a party to it. Somehow, when she got control of the Hays' business interests she'd make changes that would right some of those wrongs.
But could she, and remain within the ranks of the Guild? Wouldn't doing anything overtly benign be seen as a weakness and have her shunned? It was going to be hard enough being a woman making her way in the Guild, without adding
bleeding heart
to her already bad reputation. Was there some way she could overtly do ruthless things and covertly work to relieve the consequences of that ruthlessness? It would take cleverer minds than her own to work that out. Maybe Coop or Chase could help her?
Amy had missed a call from Coop while she was in the meeting, which didn't finish up until one and was followed by an obscenely large buffet lunch she had to attend. On a trip to the Ladies during luncheon, she returned the call. It felt like forever since she'd heard Coop's voice, and from his edgy tone, it sounded like she wasn't the only one missing their connection.
"Hey gorgeous," he started off, keeping it up-beat. "I was getting worried."
"I turn off my cell when I'm at meetings. Then I had to attend this buffet afterwards. I kept looking at all the food and remembering what you said last night."
She heard him laugh, and knew he was okay now. "Did you have trouble deciding where to start?"
"I would rather have been working out where to start on you again." Was she flirting outrageously? Who was this girl?
"As a wise woman once said to me, you can always come back for seconds, so it doesn't matter where you start."
She sighed wistfully. "When can I see you?"
"Probably not for a while. Things are happening fast. In the next few hours you'll be getting terrible news. The press will have you under a magnifying glass after that."
"So soon? Can't I see you now, even if it's only for a little while?"
"Where are you? How long before you can get away?"
"Barrington on the Bay. Half an hour? It's winding up."
"Book a room and I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Using my credit card?"
"Yeah. If anybody queries it, say you felt exhausted and couldn't face the drive home. It doesn't matter, your fa… Hays won't be there to query your spending, anyway."
"Okay. See you soon."
Amy barely registered the polite, pointless conversations for the next forty-five minutes. Then she made her excuses and headed for the reception desk. Here she booked a small double room and told the receptionist a man would arrive shortly to pick up a second key.
Once in the room she went into a flurry of activity. She needed a shower, even though she'd only had one a few hours ago. What if she had a bubble bath and was in there, lounging seductively when Coop arrived? Now he had the use of his legs he could climb in with her.
Then again, maybe she should be lying on the bed when he arrived, wearing nothing but her underwear. If they were short of time, a lengthy seduction wasn't appropriate.
OMG, her father. Hays was about to be kidnapped. While she was making love to Coop, he would be falling into the hands of the Sons, before facing a trial for his crimes.
That called for a celebration, didn't it? Then why did she feel a niggle of pain? Loyalty to a man she had thought of as her father all these years was hard to let go of, even after all she now knew. Maybe celebrating was going too far. Maybe it was enough to just appreciate her freedom.
After a quick shower, she heard the door opening and peered around the bathroom door to see Cooper wheeling himself into the room. She rushed towards him, wrapped only in a towel and was thrilled when he stood up and took a step towards her. His warm arms hugged her to him, as if he hadn't expected to ever see her again.
"I missed you. How can you miss someone after less than a day? I'm being silly and girlie."
"That makes two of us. I wanted to ring you a dozen times since you left after dinner last night. I wanted to make sure you got in without running afoul of Hays; I wanted to ring to tell you I couldn't sleep thinking about you; I wanted to ring to tell you I had another erotic dream about you when I finally
did
fall asleep. Although I didn't come this time. I wanted to do
that
while listening to your voice on the phone. Then, when I finally gave myself permission to ring, with a legitimate reason, you weren't answering."
She reached for the bottom of his jumper and started pulling it up, trying to get it over his head. Laughing, Cooper helped her, taking with it the shirt underneath. Then he dropped his jeans and kicked off his Nikes. All the while Amy watched him with building sexual need.
This was it. This time they were going to do it. If she was going to survive the next days or weeks without him, she needed the consummation of their love to bind them.
With tender, exploring fingers, she worked her way along his shoulders and down the bulging biceps on either arm. Cooper undid her fluffy, white towel and let it fall to the floor. She was totally naked, standing there before him, no sexy lingerie covering her imperfections.
Stop, that wasn't what she needed to think. Remember how she hated hearing Cooper put himself down. He'd be the same way with her if she allowed these thoughts to undermine her. So she lifted her chin and let him gaze at her body as she continued to run her fingers over his hot flesh.
"You're so beautiful," he murmured, reaching up to claim each of her small breasts with his palms. The feel of him touching her that way brought a wet ache to her core.
"So are you," she whispered, letting her hands run down his chest, across his six-pack and down to the thick column of flesh hidden by his underwear. This time she wasn't going to be a coward. This time she was going to do what she'd wanted to do last night: touch him.
His hoarse in-breath, as her hands closed around him through the stretch fabric, drove her on. Shaking hands left off her breasts and began running up and down her arms, as if instructing her what to do. Bravely, she took the hint, removing him from his trapped position, so his cock could spring free. Then she wrapped her hand around his thick girth and very tentatively began stroking him, up and down.
"Ohhh, Amy. Bloody hell, that feels too good," he said shakily, removing her hand after a moment and putting it around his neck so he could kiss her mouth.
Their lips met in need, teeth clashing as they tried to get closer, get more from one simple kiss. Laughing shakily, Cooper drew back. "Ouch. I think we need to do a lot more practising to get this right."
"Stop talking, Cooper. I want you. We might not see each other for days or weeks. Just stop talking and fuck me. Okay?"
"Did you just say
fuck
, Amy Hays?" His eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Are you trying to make this harder than it already is?" she cried in exasperation.
"I don't think it could be harder than it already is, my gorgeous girl. As you just discovered."
While she groaned at his terrible pun, he laughed again, light-heartedly. With lips still arched into a smile, he finally claimed her mouth once more, and tipped them both onto the bed. When he had her under him, he began raining kisses down her neck and across her breasts until he reached one nipple. Cooper took it into his mouth and suckled it, using his thigh to ease Amy's legs apart. Nervously, even as the pleasure from his mouth pushed her higher, she allowed him to open her legs.
She felt so … exposed.
But then he was pressing his hard, pulsing cock against her opening, rubbing against the little bud hidden in the folds of her sex. The sensation was electric and she felt her cat rising. On a strangled croak, Amy let her go.
Cooper's shoulder was too far away so she wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled him gently but forcefully up to her. Then, when she had him where she needed him, she bit down hard.
She felt a sharp pain at her core and realised that Cooper had entered her body at the very moment she bit down. As she held him in place, purring and panting as the sensual overload hit her like a blow, his cock eased deeper inside her body.
There was no time for thoughts, no time for anything but sensations. So many sensations she didn't know which to focus on. She felt a climax rush up to meet her, and it was so powerful she let go of her hold on his shoulder so she could arch her back, feeling the incredible release rock every cell in her body.
"Bloody hell!" Coop cried as he surged into her, taking her higher, impossibly higher.
Then, as she started to come down, he buried his teeth in the base of her neck. The pleasure spiralling out from the bite had her dizzy with renewed pleasure, while darkness pressed in on the periphery of her vision. Was this normal? Surely sex wasn't supposed to be this wild, this violent?
He held her by the throat as he pumped lazily into her body. All she could do was try to ride the waves of ecstasy without giving in to the oblivion that awaited her. His purrs had her wrapping her legs around his hips, trying to get even more of him inside her. The lazy strokes became faster and more frantic as he broke his hold on her neck and began pumping in earnest. She dug her short nails into his back and moaned, chasing what she knew would be yet another form of orgasm.
When it came, she heard Cooper cry her name, and she finally, inevitably, succumbed to blissful oblivion.
Sometime later, when she returned to consciousness, she found him still laying on top of her, his weight welcome, but suffocating. She didn't think she could speak, so she tried to push him off. His body was hot and sticky with sweat. It reminded her just what had caused that sweat, and her core clamped around his cock, still buried deep inside her.
Reluctantly, he withdrew and flopped onto the bed next to her. "That was…worth waiting for."
She giggled. She wasn't a giggly sort of girl, and yet she giggled.
"I wonder what sex is like without cats getting into the act."
He shifted to face her, and stroked her arm tenderly. "I guess we'll never know. But from what Colt said, I think it's way different to normal sex. This thing between us. It makes everything so intense and primal. I feel like…"
She smiled as he sought for words. "Like you got hit by a bus?"
"Something like that. Are you okay? I forced my way into you pretty aggressively when you bit me. That must have hurt. I wanted the first time to be… gentle, slow."
She giggled again. "It hurt, but not for long. And the orgasms racing through my system, at the time, kind of made up for it. They were way better than the DIY sort."
"Haven't had many of those to compare, so I'll take your word for it," he mumbled as he leaned down to seal the wound at her neck. It did hurt, now that he drew attention to it. When she looked at his shoulder, she saw no such wound. So that was the healing they all talked about.
Coop's phone vibrated on the floor and he left her to grab it up. She could hear Colt's tell-tale Canadian accent on the other end of the line as clearly as Cooper could.
"Coop, it's done. We have him. All without incident."
"Thanks. I'll tell Amy."
"She with you?"
"Yep."
"She might need to get home. The shit's gonna hit the fan any time now, and you don't want to draw attention to yourself."
"Copy that," Cooper said resolutely. For the first time he sounded less like a lab geek and more like one of the warriors.
"You hear that?" he asked as he threw the phone back on the floor.
"Yes. So… what happens now?" Her heart was bleeding, knowing what he was about to say.
"You go home. I go back to HQ, and we keep our distance until the dust settles. Do you want to attend his trial?"
Amy thought about that. Though a big part of her never wanted to set eyes on the monster again, another part knew she needed closure. She gave in to the latter part.
"I think I need to. Confront him, you know, without fear of retribution."