CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Stormy should have been furious with Cooper but all she felt at this moment was excitement. The need in his eyes was something she’d never seen before in a man, and she wanted him, but hell would freeze over before she would admit it.
“Do you like games, Stormy?” he asked as he straddled her on the bed, holding her arms above her head.
Her breath was coming out in pants and she almost hated him for making her want him so badly.
“I think you’re the one who likes to play,” she finally replied when he didn’t move.
“That’s right, baby. I do love games,” he said, his lips turning up. “And I win
every
single
time
I play.”
It took a moment for those words to process, and when they did a shiver rushed through her. She wasn’t sure if it was excitement or fright. But Stormy knew beyond a doubt that if they didn’t have sex very soon, she was going to perish for sure.
Suddenly, he leaned across the bed and reached over to his nightstand. She couldn’t see what he was doing, but then she sensed what felt like silk being placed around her wrists, and then she couldn’t move her arms. Next, a cloth was being placed over her eyes, and the already dim room went dark.
“What’s going on, Cooper?”
“We’re playing, Stormy,” he replied.
When Cooper moved, leaving her vulnerable on the bed, she twisted to get out of her binds. This was taking a turn she wasn’t too sure about.
“Are you too afraid to play now?”
The rush of air was against her ear as he whispered the words. Then his hand began trailing down her throat and over the swell of her breasts, making her core heat to molten levels.
Stormy could lie to him, tell him that she didn’t want to do this anymore, but her body would betray her. As his fingers swept across her nipples, they hardened painfully, and her back arched as a low groan ripped from her.
“I think you love this game,” he murmured, and then he was atop her body again, and even if she hated the control he had, she couldn’t deny how much she wanted this man to take her.
Still, she wouldn’t tell him that. Even if she had to continue biting her lip to keep from speaking.
Her erect nipples reached for him as his fingers smoothed down her quivering flesh. And when his tongue suddenly swiped the area he’d been touching, she did cry out, her body nearing an orgasm without him even moving below her waistline.
Then he was lying on top of her, and she felt his thickness pressed against her opening. She pushed her hips up, telling him she was done with foreplay, that she wanted him inside her. But Cooper didn’t give her what she wanted.
She was close to begging him for fulfillment when his lips were upon hers, his tongue thrusting inside her mouth the way she wanted his body to. He took ownership of her mouth, possessing her exactly how she wanted to be possessed.
And while he kissed her, his hand trailed down her hip. He leaned over, and then without warning, thrust two fingers deep inside her while his thumb rubbed against her swollen nub.
“Tell me you want more than my fingers, Stormy,” he demanded before taking her bottom lip between his teeth and nipping it.
She was silent, shaking her head, refusing to give him what he wanted.
“You either tell me you want me to fuck you or this stops. I don’t do forced sex,” he growled into her ear as his fingers pumped in and out of her body.
She was so close . . . If she just held out a moment longer she wouldn’t have to ask him.
As if knowing the moment she was about to peak, he suddenly pulled his fingers from her swollen folds, and then ran his tongue along the sensitive skin of her neck.
“This is your last chance before I’m finished,” he warned.
She was still silent, but then she felt him withdrawing from her. In a panic, Stormy struggled to break free from her binds and reach for him.
“Fine!” she shouted. “I want you, Cooper.”
“Good.”
He said nothing else, but suddenly his welcomed weight was atop her, and he was grabbing her hip as he fit himself between her legs.
In one solid, hard thrust, he buried himself inside her, and Stormy reached for the peak of pleasure that was so close.
Cooper pumped in and out of her, while he bent down and once more captured her lips. It was rough and hot and taking her breath away. She never wanted it to end, but she wanted to feel the satisfying grip as she fell over the edge of pleasure.
Picking up speed, he plunged even deeper inside her, and Stormy was lost as she shattered around his thickness, her moan captured by his mouth as she shook in his arms.
“That’s it, baby,” he groaned, his lips ripping from hers as he threw his head back and yelled, his thickness pulsing against her throbbing walls.
And then he collapsed against her, both of them breathing heavily for several seconds. Stormy tried moving her arms again, only to realize they were still bound. She was about to say something when Cooper shifted and untied her.
He then lifted the makeshift blindfold he’d made out of a silky tie.
“What was that?” she finally asked when he pulled her against him and gave her a look she couldn’t quite interpret.
“I’ve wanted you for a while. I figured out a few days ago who you were and I’ve been pissed you haven’t fessed up,” he admitted, his anger returning.
“I figured you didn’t recognize me so I wasn’t going to say anything,” she snapped.
“Our first kiss I knew it, and that was the perfect opportunity,” he said, moving over and sitting up.
She covered herself as she glared at him.
“Don’t put all the blame on me. I don’t forget who I sleep with,” she countered.
He glared at her, and her after-sex glow was fully over now. She was just as angry as he was. She began getting up and he grabbed her arm.
“This conversation isn’t over,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“I make mistakes, but that shouldn’t allow you to make a fool of me,” he told her.
“I never set out to make a fool of you,” she thundered, yanking her arm until he released her. “I’m not perfect. I make mistakes, too.” She rose and stepped farther away, taking his sheet with her.
“Well then, we’re a perfectly imperfect pair, aren’t we?”
“I guess we are,” she told him.
He didn’t reply and she began moving toward his door.
“Where are you going?” He began to move off the bed. She held up her hand.
“I’m going to my room where I want to be alone.”
Then she rushed out the door, running across the hall and entering her room, locking the door securely behind her. She stood there for a while and listened, but he didn’t follow her.
It was what she wanted, she told herself as she stepped into her bathroom. Having sex with him again had been a huge mistake.
She was telling herself that hours later when she wasn’t able to sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The music was great, the volume loud, and the liquor flowing freely, but still Cooper couldn’t find it in himself to relax and enjoy the night.
“What’s your problem?” Nick asked.
“I don’t have a problem.” Cooper growled. “What’s yours?”
“I’m a free-loving spirit. There’s nothing wrong with me,” Nick told him with a laugh.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before,” Cooper said. Nick was a good guy, inside and out, though he also thought he was a comedian. In reality, he was. Still, Cooper wasn’t feeling too loving toward him at the moment.
“Loosen up. I only get to be home for a couple weeks before I’m shipped off again, and I want to have some fun,” Nick told him.
“I came out with you tonight, didn’t I?” Cooper pointed out.
“Yeah, but you’ve been a downer all evening. How in the world are you going to play my wingman if you keep acting like a pouting puppet?” Nick asked.
“I didn’t plan on playing
any
games with you,” Cooper told him.
“Come on, Coop. I need a girlfriend for the night,” Nick said with a laugh.
“Yeah, and since you’re such an ugly bastard, you need my help,” Cooper said, cracking his first real smile of the evening.
“You’re the ugly one of the family,” Nick quickly replied.
“Okay, enough with the insults,” Cooper told him. “Who do you have your eye on?”
The two brothers looked around the upscale bar, scanning the crowd. Yes, there were a lot of gorgeous women surrounding them, sipping on their drinks and giving certain men the look that said he could be next to buy. But none of them were catching Cooper’s eyes.
How could they when all he seemed able to think about was his new housemate, who happened to be the best lover he’d ever had? Since their night together the week before, she’d been avoiding the hell out of him. Now that he’d reawakened his body to her, he wasn’t too pleased about that.
But it was good he wasn’t seeing her, he tried convincing himself. Even though the woman had only lived in his place for a short time, he was beginning to get used to her presence. In fact, he couldn’t really imagine the house without her in it now. She’d made herself scarce since their fight, but her touch was in every single room. He couldn’t escape it and wasn’t sure he wanted to.
Fresh flowers from his garden adorned the table, Stormy making sure they were cleaned up every day. And her perfumed scent lingered in every room, ensuring it was the first thing he noticed the moment he walked in the door.
Each night he passed her shut bedroom door, he felt himself grow hard. And each time it happened, he ended up in the bathroom with the faucet turned to cold. Never had he been that guy who enjoyed relieving himself.
It was too damn good when he had a woman there to do it for him.
Yes, he knew he could get Stormy back into his bed, but he also knew that was a road filled with complications that he just didn’t want to deal with. Plus, he was pissed at her and the games she was playing. So what in the hell was he supposed to do?
Apparently suffer. At least that’s what he’d been doing.
“The blonde over there is giving you the eye,” Nick whispered. “And her friend looks to be just my style.”
Cooper followed Nick’s gaze and found an attractive, short-haired blonde who was indeed showing interest. Without giving himself a chance to change his mind, he sent a smile her way and crooked his finger.
Like clockwork, the two women slowly made their way across the bar.
“Hi, I’m Julie,” the blonde said. “And this is my friend, Debbie.”
“Nice to meet you two ladies. Care to join us?” Nick quickly said, standing up, ever the gentleman.
Cooper stood up as well, though almost reluctantly as he held out a chair for the blonde. What had her name been again?
“What are you doing out tonight?” Nick asked as he sent a questioning look his brother’s way.
“We work over at the Realtor office across the street. Debbie and I just made a big sale and we’re out celebrating,” the blonde said.
“Yeah, Julie is a shark when it comes to sales,” Debbie told them.
Julie! That was it.
“We will have to help you celebrate, then,” Cooper said, finally finding his voice as he gazed into Julie’s eyes.
He had his swagger back.
Yes!
After a few more rounds, Nick was standing up with Debbie and leading her to the dance floor, leaving Cooper behind with Julie.
“You haven’t been real talkative tonight,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “Rough day?”
“I don’t know,” he told her honestly.
She laughed. “How do you not know?”
She was pleasant to be around, not overly flirty or needy, not bitchy, a nice girl. Maybe he’d introduce her to Wolf.
That thought made him pause. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never tried to pass a woman off who was stimulating, pretty, and obviously interested in him.
“It’s just been one of those days,” he said with a laugh. “Can I get you a refill?”
“No. I think I’ve had enough for the night. I have an early day tomorrow,” she told him.
Dammit. She was his kind of woman. Obviously not an overindulger.
“I was thinking the same,” he said as he signaled the waiter to pay the bill.
She stood up, and he quickly jumped to his feet. “Can I give you a lift home?”
She looked him over for a moment and then smiled. “Maybe next time, Cooper,” she finally said. “Here’s my number. Give me a call.”
She turned to see where her friend was, but Nick and Debbie were quickly approaching.
“We’re going to get out of here,” Nick said with a smile sent Cooper’s way.
“Yeah, me too,” Coop said as he grabbed his coat.
Nick raised a brow at his brother, and Coop gave a slight shake of his head. Nick gave him a taunting smile.
“All right, Captain, get some rest before you take up one of the big ones in the morning,” Nick said.
Coop sent a glare his brother’s way. He didn’t need Nick to tell the ladies he was a big, bad pilot so he could get some tail. It was a game they’d played for years. At least the ass knew better than to tell them he was the damn CEO. He’d had enough wallet chasers to last him a lifetime.
“A big one?” Julie asked, pausing in her exit.
“Yeah, my big brother here is a pilot,” Nick said as the four of them made their way toward the front of the bar.
“Ooh, that’s impressive,” Debbie said as she gave Cooper a look of interest.
“Not as impressive as Nick being a chopper pilot for the Coast Guard,” Coop quickly said, and Debbie’s eyes went right back to Nick.
His brother didn’t care all that much if she was interested or not. He’d either sleep with the woman or he wouldn’t. And then he would disappear in the morning. Nick was even more of a bachelor than Cooper, and that was saying a lot.
They made it out front, said their good-byes, and Cooper eagerly headed home. Maybe he’d see his elusive housemate. It was sad how much that thought perked him up.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Shooting straight up in bed, Stormy frantically wiped the sleep from her eyes as the pounding of her heart thumped in her chest. It took a moment, but finally she was able to brush the panic away and calm herself.
With surprise, she swiped her fingers against her cheek and found tears. Never before had she had such a vivid nightmare, one that woke her with terror.
Now that she was awake, there would be no use going back to sleep. She’d had a hard time falling asleep the night before, tossing and turning. When she’d heard Cooper walking in the hallway, then pausing at her door, it had made her heart race for an entirely different reason than this nightmare.
Living in this place for the past few weeks hadn’t been good for her health, unless she counted it as a cardio workout because her pulse was racing all the time. That could be great for her since she didn’t work out nearly as much as she needed to.
Taking her time in the shower, Stormy washed away her worries and fears, and then got ready for the day. She didn’t have to work this afternoon, which was great. If it was nice out, she’d take a stroll down by the water and then maybe go and play in Cooper’s garden.
She loved all the flowers he’d planted—or to be more realistic, that his gardener had planted. But she’d contributed a lot to the yard’s maintenance since her arrival, so maybe that would save him some money eventually. Today would be a good day to mow if she could figure out how to get the blasted machine started. She’d never done it before. She hadn’t lived in a place that required mowing.
When she began her descent down the stairs, she heard voices, and it made her pause. Maybe Cooper had company over and wanted privacy. She wasn’t sure what to do. After standing there for several moments, ultimately the smell of coffee pushed her forward.
If he had guests, she’d just get her caffeine and then be on her way. When she stepped into the kitchen, Cooper was sitting at the breakfast bar with two of the three men she’d seen in the pictures all over his house.
Damn! Their pictures hadn’t done them justice at all.
“Come and join us for breakfast, Stormy,” Cooper called, not seeming to mind her interruption. She was shocked by how nice he was being all of a sudden.
They hadn’t spoken two decent words to each other since she’d walked from his bedroom. She didn’t trust the smile he sent her way.
“It’s okay. I’m going to grab coffee and go out back and sit on the deck,” she said. He was probably just being polite anyway.
“That sounds like a great idea. The sun is warm already this morning,” one of the men said. “I’m Maverick, by the way, or Mav. Cooper told me he had a sexy housemate, but his description hasn’t done you proper justice.” The man gave her a smile that she was sure had dropped a few women’s panties a time or two.
“Um . . . thanks,” she said, unsure how else to reply. “I’m Stormy.”
“Oooh, beautiful looks and a sexy name,” the other brother said as he stood and came right into her personal bubble. He smelled good, too, as if his looks weren’t enough to make a woman’s heart stutter. “I’m Nick. We’re Coop’s brothers.”
“I’ve seen your photos on the walls so I sort of figured,” she said.
“I’ll join you on the patio,” Nick said, standing there and waiting for her to pour her coffee.
She was trapped into visiting with the sexy brothers now.
“Can you give my roommate some space?” Cooper grumbled as he pushed Nick aside. “How are you doing this morning?”
She was stopped in her tracks as she got the full power of Cooper’s gaze centered right on her.
“I’m . . . uh . . . I’m good,” she finally managed to stutter and she pulled her gaze from his.
“You seem upset. Are you sure?” he pushed.
“I’m fine, really,” she told him. He didn’t budge. “I had a bad dream and it threw me off,” she admitted.
“What was it about?” he asked, his voice too intimate, his brothers sort of fading away as she stood there with Cooper.
“I can’t even remember,” she said, the visions that had terrified her already beginning to fade. “I was trapped . . .”
“I hate those sort of dreams,” Cooper said. He didn’t seem to be mocking her.
“Yeah, really sucks,” she said with an attempt at a chuckle.
Her coffee was ready, so she held her cup as she began walking toward the back door, the three brothers on her heels. It was quite overwhelming.
“Did you make this quiche?” Nick asked as he sat down in the chair next to hers before scooping a big bite in his mouth.
“Yeah. It was just an easy recipe I learned long ago so I wouldn’t starve,” she told him.
“Well, it’s fantastic. You can come to my house and make me some anytime,” he said with a wink that had her cheeks flaming.
“Knock it off, Nick. You’re embarrassing her,” Cooper scolded.
“Just saying that a woman who can cook is always welcome around me,” Nick told his brother, not backing down in the least.
“She’s not available to cook for you,” Cooper snarled.
“Touchy,” Mav said with a laugh as he sent a wink over to Stormy.
“I can’t really cook—not that many things,” she told the men. All this flirting coming her way was really throwing her off her morning routine.
“I might make an exception for you then,” Nick said before he stuffed his mouth again.
This time she laughed at the innocent flirting. Now she could see he was just trying to irritate his brother, but she didn’t understand why. She and Cooper weren’t a couple and neither Nick nor Mav had any idea that she’d slept with Cooper six years ago.
“I’m going to kick you guys out of my house if you don’t lay off Stormy,” Cooper threatened. Both brothers laughed.
“Do you know why Coop’s been in such a bad mood lately?” Mav asked her.
“I, well, I haven’t seen him much since . . .” She stopped when her cheeks went scarlet. “I just haven’t seen him much,” she finished in almost a whisper.
“Have you seen him enough to notice his bad mood?” Mav seemed to be the one who really liked to push buttons.
“No, I can’t say that I have,” she lied, definitely feeling put on the spot.
“That’s it. You’re both a-holes,” Coop said as he stood. “Let’s leave now so I can show my appreciation of you in the ring.”
“Ha. Last time we were there, your ass got whooped,” Mav pointed out.
“My mind was elsewhere,” Coop said with a glare.
“Where was your mind?” Mav asked all too innocently before looking at Stormy and winking.
She began to blush again, though she had no idea why.
“You’re embarrassing Stormy,” Cooper snapped.
“Ah, she’s tougher than that,” Nick said. “I can tell.”
This time when he winked at her, she smiled, and a small chuckle escaped.
“Yes, I’m pretty tough,” she told him.
“See, Coop. You’re all worried for nothing,” Mav said.
“You’re going to be the one to worry,” Coop said, giving his brother a preview of what was to come by slugging him hard on the arm.
“Yeah, you’re tough when we aren’t in the ring,” Mav said as he stood up and began dancing around Coop.
“Okay, we don’t want to get in a match here and accidently run into the pretty lady,” Nick said. She smiled gratefully at him.
“Yeah, yeah, the brother who’s always the voice of reason until he’s being a smart ass,” Mav said before getting in a shot at Nick’s arm. He then went dashing back into the house and presumably out the front door.
“See ya soon,” Coop said with a look that left Stormy’s belly quivering before he dashed off after his brothers.
When she was able to get her legs to quit trembling, she made breakfast and cleaned up. Then Stormy realized she missed the noise. They were full of laughter and taunts and the house seemed more like a home with them in it.
But she had to remind herself this wasn’t her home—not for very long. So it would be best not to get too comfortable. That was easier said than done.