Текст книги "Throb"

Автор книги: Vi Keeland

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chapter twenty-four

Cooper

I’ve never understood why people slow and stare at a bad car accident. They know they’re going to witness something horrible, something the mind won’t be able to rewind and unsee. Yet the more gore, the bigger the traffic backup. I’ve always been the guy to curse the idiots in front of me riding their brake lights as they passed the mangled pile of steel. I refuse to let unbridled curiosity get the best of me, never allowing my head to turn despite the powerful pull of the wreckage.

Yet here I am, sitting in my car, staring at the front door, knowing there’s an accident waiting to happen right on the other side. But there’s not a goddamn thing I can do to stop myself from going in. She made me promise not to watch the taped show tomorrow. Technically I’m not breaking the promise—I never said I wouldn’t come to watch the live filming tonight. Each morning I have to restrain myself from hurling the laptop across the room. I can’t imagine it won’t be a million times harder to stop myself from walking through the door and knocking Dickhead on his ass. A string of curses litters the air as I stomp from my car to the house.

“Coop! I didn’t know you were coming.” Miles actually looks happy to see me. Unfortunately, the sentiment isn’t returned, although my scowl actually has nothing to do with my little brother for a change.

“Miles.” I nod.

“You came at a good time. The ladies are sufficiently loose. We plied them with liquor, now it’s time to unleash the bachelor and watch the horns start to rise from their pretty little heads.” He rubs his hands together like a child unable to contain his excitement. “I’m going to go check in on Flynn. Have a drink—we just brought out one of the two rolling bars from the shoot.” He slaps me on the shoulder. “Your favorite scotch is in there, although it’s half gone. You and Flynn have similar tastes.”

I stroll straight to the bar, ignoring the cameraman who starts speaking to me, and pull out the Macallan single malt. The bottle is less than half full. Dickhead. Gulping back two fingers worth, I slam the tumbler down.

“Bad day?” Joel Blick, the director, reaches over the bar and grabs a glass. He pours himself a double and tips the bottle to me asking if I want a refill. I slide my glass in his direction.

“You could say that.” I nod my glass to him before drinking.

“Well, maybe a little girl-on-girl catfight will cheer you up. There’s a storm brewing amongst the contestants tonight.”

“What’s it about?”

“The bachelor.” He finishes his drink. “What else?”

“Which girls?”

“All the camera’s favorites. Jessica, Mercedes and Kate. They were going at it pretty good. Got heated. But now, after the alcohol and bringing Flynn into the game … I wouldn’t be surprised if the early rumbling leads to a big explosion.”

“You have the argument in the can?”

“I do.” I stare at him and wait. “You want a replay?”

Who can resist watching a car accident waiting to happen?

“You think you’re better than everyone here?” Jessica seethes, her normally pretty face contorted.

“I don’t even know you. You’ve had something against me since the first night and I have no idea why,” Kate replies in a dismissive tone. It only serves to anger Jessica more that she doesn’t get a sufficient rile out of her.

“You walk around thinking Flynn is wrapped around your little pinky finger.”

I know it’s irrational. But just hearing Kate in an argument that has anything to do with Dickhead brings my already heated blood to a boil.

“I think you’ve had too much to drink,” Kate says, then pivots to walk away.

But Jessica grabs her shoulder. “I know the game you’re playing,” she warns.

Kate turns and glares at her. For a long moment, the two stare off—neither of them backing down. Then a familiar look on Kate’s face appears, and she calls her opponent’s bluff. “We’re all playing a game, aren’t we?” She dusts Jessica’s hand off her shoulder and walks away.

The camera fades out. “What was that all about?” I ask.

“Got me. But something’s up and Miles is busy trying to stoke the fire.”

The live feed monitor captures everything happening on the other side of the wall, even though they’re not filming at the moment. Kate looks beautiful in a curve-hugging dark blue cocktail dress. The expansive living room is filled with women who are unquestionably knockouts. Yet Kate stands out, even though her assets aren’t on full display. The crew is setting up lighting and she laughs and smiles with them. A short young intern is struggling to set up a high camera boom and Kate, in her five-inch heels, walks over and helps her. They spend five minutes talking afterward. The other women don’t even notice the crew, they’re too busy waiting for someone more important to walk in the room.

For a few minutes, I stand and watch her, the mounting stress that had been building all day slowly beginning to ebb.

The green live-filming light flashes, then he walks in the room.

Dickhead.

He makes a beeline for Kate, not even seeing the other women who are right in front of him. Tunnel vision. He wants her bad. Where have I seen the look on his face before? Oh, yeah. In the mirror.

He kisses her on the cheek. There’s a cocky smile on his face as his eyes roam all over her body. My fucking body. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that I can’t rewind. I’m desperate to know what he just whispered to her, but if I knew, I’m not sure I’d be able to keep myself from marching in and punching him square in the face.

Eventually Jessica pulls him away, a phony plastic smile shining at Kate as she hooks her arm into Flynn and leads him outside onto the deck.

“Do you like my dress?” Jessica asks coyly, looking down. Her eyes lead his to follow hers down to the tits overflowing from her scarlet red gown.

Any thought of Kate seems to disappear quickly as Dickhead licks his lips and leans in to whisper something in her ear. Jessica takes his hands and wraps them around her waist, pushing what he’s salivating over against his chest. Kate should see this. Know just how loyal Dickhead is to her.

“Make Kate walk out on the balcony while those two are locked together,” I bark at Joel.

He ponders my suggestion for a second. “That’s not a bad idea. Might finally get the claws to come out on Kate.” Joel picks up his walkie-talkie and orders a stagehand to direct Kate to walk outside.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Arms wrapped around each other, Dickhead’s head is buried at Jessica’s ear, when Kate steps out onto the balcony. She stops, catching sight of them locked in an intimate embrace. Dickhead’s back is to her, but Jessica tags Kate the minute she walks out. And it only fuels her performance. The hands around his neck jump to his head and she ravels her fingers in his hair in what comes off as a familiar sexual touch.

The camera pans in close, catching Jessica smile at Kate smugly before planting her lips on Flynn’s neck. Kate bows her head and walks away gracefully. She doesn’t see Flynn pull out of Jessica’s claws and rebuff her attempt at a kiss a minute later.

“Great eye. Maybe you’ll find a career in reality TV with your brother after all,” Joel says as I stand, ready for a refill.

“Don’t count on it.”

chapter twenty-five

Kate

“You never asked me if I made it to the final four last night,” I say as Cooper presses his lips to the curve of my neck. He’d ravaged me the minute I walked in the door at midnight. Barely uttering more than four words before my back was pushed up against the wall, there was urgency to his need. I knew my being anywhere in the vicinity of Flynn was hard for him, so I didn’t question what prompted his appetite. Instead I yielded immediately, letting him feed off how quickly I’d come to submit to him.

“I didn’t have to ask.” Grabbing a fistful of my hair, he tugs, giving him better access to lick and nip his way up to my ear.

“Why is that?”

Cooper stops abruptly and draws his head back. His light green eyes are the same darkened green they were last night—there’s a wildness to them that is more than arousal. “I told you, I see the way he looks at you. Now can we not talk about him in my bed.”

I hadn’t thought about it that way. Bringing up another woman as I kissed him would most definitely have upset me. “Sorry.” I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his mouth to mine for a kiss. He obliges, kissing me with the same fierceness that I’d felt between us last night. An urgency that makes me feel like he needs to be reminded that I’m only his.

Our kiss breaks and I slip out from underneath him. “Where are you going?” he growls.

I lift to my feet and stand on the plush area rug next to the bed, waiting until our gaze locks. Then I sink to my knees.

“Christ, Kate,” he exhales deeply. “I won’t last. You have no idea what seeing that does to me.” He rakes his hands through his hair as he comes to stand before me.

With painstaking slowness and deliberation to his movement, he winds the full length of my hair tightly around his hand until his fist is against my scalp. “Look up at me while you take it.”

My lips slide over his thick crown and I suck gently, fluttering my tongue in a circle. I wrap my hand around the thick base of him and slide up and down the full length a few times as I increase the suction.

“More,” he groans. “Take more of it.” The strain in his voice heightens my own arousal and my body swells in response. Jesus. I might be able to come without him even touching me.

I swallow more of him, falling short of taking him in fully, but enough so that the tip of him hits my throat. I flatten my tongue and run it along the underside, tracing his pulse on the thick vein that throbs as he grows even more hard and swollen.

“All of it. Take my cock down your throat,” he rasps, our gaze intense and locked. My eyes flutter closed as I open my throat as wide as I can and swallow the length of him down. My jaw strains wide and my breathing shallows as I struggle to catch my breath through my nose.

“Ah. Kate.” He swallows and makes a sound that borders on pain. “You on your knees … my cock down your throat …” his voice trails off.

Fueled by the effect I have on him, I can’t get enough. I feel greedy, my head furiously bobbing up and down as I suck hard, until I feel the change in him.

“Fuck … your mouth.” His hands fisting my hair still my head and then Cooper takes over. Ferociously thrusting into my mouth. Pumping hard and deep, each time hitting the back of my throat as I struggle to keep up with his primal need.

With a groan that roars, he wrenches from my mouth as his grip on my head loosens. “I’m going to come.” He attempts to dislodge and pull out, but I sink my nails into his ass and tug him back.

The words he mumbles as he releases into my mouth are inaudible. His body trembles as he empties into me and I struggle to swallow. It’s amazing how he can still remain semi hard even after such a powerful orgasm.

He stills, his breath finally slowing and then he reaches down and gently lifts me, cradling me in his arms as he returns to bed. There’s something so tender about the way he holds me only minutes after his actions were rough. Yet oddly, they both warm me the same.

The sight of Cooper Montgomery dressed in a crisp white shirt tucked into navy trousers that hang delectably from his narrow waist makes my mouth water.

“Stop looking at me like that.” He lifts the starched white collar and slides the tie around his neck, fastening a perfect knot with dexterous fingers.

“Like what?”

“Like you want to eat me?”

“I thought I already did.”

His eyebrows raise and he walks around the kitchen counter. I’m still only wearing his shirt from yesterday, even though he’s fully dressed. Grabbing my ass, he hauls me to the edge of my seat as he stands between my legs.

“This is a good height.” He pushes his bulge further between my legs. “Helen is going to call paramedics if I don’t show up to the office soon. It’s not like me to cancel a meeting.”

“Are you saying I’m a bad influence?” I pout.

“I’m saying you’re impossible to walk away from.” He tugs at my shirt, exposing my shoulder, and plants a wet kiss. “What are your plans for today?”

“I have to go to wardrobe to try on things. They want everything done before we get our filming break.”

His jaw flexes, but he nods.

He’s still never asked for confirmation that Flynn picked me to advance to the final four. We’re not in bed anymore, so I broach the subject again. “You don’t seem surprised I need clothes for the show.” I catch his gaze.

He looks away for a second, but it’s enough to tell me he already knew for sure I was picked. “How did you know? And don’t tell me from the way Flynn looks at me.”

His face hardens. “Can you not say his name?”

I’m not letting him change the subject this time. He promised he wouldn’t watch the DVDs and I’m curious how he already knew. “How did you know Dickhead picked me for the final four?” I say.

He sighs and then wraps his hands around my waist. He thinks I’ll storm off once he tells me. I brace myself for his response.

“I went to the taping last night.”

My eyes bulge. “You promised you wouldn’t watch it.”

“I promised I wouldn’t watch the dailies. I never said I wouldn’t watch the live taping.”

“That’s splitting hairs.” I squint. “And you know it.”

He exhales a frustrated breath. “Can we pretend the show doesn’t exist for the next week? You’re off for a week and I want you all to myself. No talk of the show, Dickhead or my brother. I just want you and me.”

I swallow hard. “Okay. I’ll go to wardrobe and then no talking about the show for the entire week-long hiatus.”

“Thank you.” He plants a chaste kiss on my lips, fishes into his pocket and hands me a set of keys. “Black Mercedes parked next to the Porsche. Don’t worry about anyone recognizing it at the studio. It’s never made it there yet. Keys to the apartment are on there too. I’ll meet you back here at five.”

“Bossy,” I mutter, taking the key ring.

He shakes his head and grins, kissing me one last time before taking off. “I tell you what, I’ll let you pick what we do tonight to show you how amicable I can be.”

chapter twenty-six

Cooper

Even two hours late to the office, I get more accomplished in a half day than I have in weeks. Helen delivers lunch along with the jewel case I’m usually tapping my finger waiting for.

“Throw the DVD in the shredder.”

“Pardon?” Helen is confused at my sudden change of heart.

“I’m swearing off reality TV for a week. I want that thing out of my sight.”

“Whatever you say.”

I sit through three meetings, have two telephone conferences and sign a half dozen contracts that have been sitting on my desk waiting for my attention for more than a week.

Mid afternoon my phone chimes, indicating a new text. A rarity for me. I prefer in-person conversations. Yet another thing I learned from my father. I use my phone to read the news and make calls. But seeing Kate’s name on the screen makes me smile.

What’s your favorite color?

Blue.

I expect more to come, but it doesn’t.

Why?

Just asking.

Just randomly decided to ask my favorite color in the middle of the day?

Maybe.

Where are you?

Lingerie store

Then can I change my answer?

LOL. Sure.

Black. Lace. Thong. Garters.

That’s more than a color.

Buy it or now I’ll have to stop on the way home.

Bossy.

Maybe texting isn’t so bad after all.

I clear as much of my calendar as I can, rescheduling the meetings that can’t be changed from in-person to telephone conferences. The corporate travel department has everything I need on my desk by four thirty and I’m out the door ready, even though I still haven’t asked her yet.

I’m anxious to get home. Women never frequented my apartment, and I certainly never offered anyone a key. Yet strangely, it didn’t seem like a monumental occasion to hand over the keys to everything I owned. It seemed … normal.

Kate’s in a floor-length silk robe when I enter. I head straight for her, my fingers going straight for the dangling belt tie. She stops my hands. “What are you doing?”

“I want to see what’s underneath here.”

“No ‘Honey, how was your day even?’”

“How was your day?” I say, uninterested, as I tug crudely at the belt, ignoring her hands trying to stop mine. Her robe opens, revealing a sight I haven’t been able to stop thinking about all day. Only, the actual vision is even better than the one I’d conjured up in my mind.

“Take off the robe.”

She looks up, sees my face, and lets it slip gently from her shoulders. It pools at her stiletto-clad feet. She’s wearing a black lace corset, tied together snuggly by a half dozen black silk bows. A present I can’t wait to unwrap.

“Turn around.” I want to see how well she followed my directions.

Slowly, she pivots on the ball of her foot and turns. Pale flesh, soft skin covering round hard globes, only a sliver of fabric runs up her sexy ass. Garters hold up sheer stockings. My request, followed to a tee.

I’m instantly hard, my hands groping her breasts as I push up against her ass from behind. “I’m going to fuck you leaning over the footboard. None of it comes off. Not even the shoes.” I growl into her ear, allowing my warm breath to linger before I kiss down her neck.

“You like it?” she whispers.

“What do you think?” I grind my erection further into her ass.

“I’m glad.” She turns in my arms. “But hold that thought. You told me I could decide what we do tonight. I want to take you somewhere first.”

chapter twenty-seven

Kate

He’s still scowling ten minutes into our drive. “Are you going to pout all night?” I ask.

“No. But I’m going to make you pay for that little stunt later when we get back home.” He flashes me a sinful grin and I cross my legs to quell the ache his threat incites.

“I did exactly as you instructed.”

“You gave me a present, but didn’t let me unwrap it.”

“Good things come to those who wait.” I smile. “Get off at the next exit.”

“I’m going to get off at the next exit and pull you over my knee, you keep playing with me like that.”

“I might like that.”

“Kate …” he warns.

“What? I promise I’ll make it up to you later.”

“I promise you won’t be able to walk when I’m done with you tonight.”

Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to poke a lion and then take him where we’re headed.

“Left on Alan Street.”

“Where are we going?”

“Umm …” Suddenly I question my choice of destinations for the evening. “To my mother’s house.” He glances to me, then back at the road, then back to me.

“You’re not kidding, are you?”

“Nope.”

I watch his face, curious at the reaction I’ll get. Especially considering I just left him sexually frustrated. At first, his brows knit together and he’s not sure what to make of it. Then he reaches over and takes my hand. And for the first time since the accident and my Dad’s death, I feel like I’m not in this alone anymore.

My grip on our laced fingers tightens as we walk up the driveway at my mom’s house. She has no idea we’re coming, which only seems fair since Cooper had no notice either. That he never complained or asked me why we’re going makes me fall a little deeper for this man.

“Mom?” I let myself in with a key.

“Kate, is that you?”

“Yes, Mom.”

She’s walking to greet me before I can tell her to stay put. “What a nice surprise. And you brought company.” She smiles.

“Why don’t you have your oxygen on, Mom?” I rush to the living room and grab her portable tank. The one she’s supposed to have on at all times.

“It was only off for a few minutes.” Mom rolls her eyes as I wrap the flexible plastic tubing that delivers her air back around her face.

“Well, aren’t you handsome,” she says to Cooper.

He smiles amused and walks to her. “Thank you, Mrs. Monroe. It’s nice to meet you.”

Typical Mom. No filter between her thoughts and her mouth. Although she can sometimes embarrass the hell out of me, it’s one of the things that I love about her most. “Mom, this is Cooper Montgomery. This is my mother, Lena Monroe.”

“Call me Lena,” she smiles at Cooper and he nods. “Are you a friend of Kate’s, Cooper?”

“I am.” Cooper looks at me, squints slightly, then adds. “Boyfriend.”

“Well, I’m glad Kate brought you around then. You must be pretty special. Kate doesn’t bring many men around.” My plan was to show Cooper why I’m doing what I’m doing, so it would be easier for him to understand as I head into the last few weeks of the show. I forgot Mom would alternate between interrogating Cooper and sharing embarrassing stories.

“What do you do for a living, Cooper?”

“Mom,” I politely warn. “We just got here. Why don’t you give Cooper at least ten minutes before you interrogate him? And where’s Kyle?”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind at all. I make movies. I own a production company.”

“He’s in his room taking a nap. He gets tired after his therapy.” She turns to Cooper. “Are they adult films?”

Cooper chuckles. “No, ma’am. Regular mainstream movies. No adult films.”

“Do you have any children?”

“No children yet.”

“Do you play cards?”

“Once in while with some old friends.”

“Well, don’t play with my daughter. She’s a shark. Just like her father.”

“I could have used that advice a few weeks ago.” Cooper smiles.

“Are you superstitious?”

“No. I don’t think I am.”

“Mom,” I warn because I know what’s coming next. “I’m not superstitious either.”

“Hmm … mmm,” she responds patronizingly to me, but leans in to whisper to Cooper, though I can hear every word. “If I was a betting woman, I’d bet there was a four-leaf clover still tucked behind her license in her wallet. And a lucky penny hidden somewhere too.”

I shake my head and roll my eyes, but never deny my mother’s accusation. She peppers Cooper with questions for another fifteen minutes until Kyle yells from his room. I excuse myself and go to help my brother into his chair.

Kyle is a quadriplegic. Five years ago I picked him up from a soccer game on a sunny Friday afternoon in May. His team had won, Dad was on a winning streak, and I was about to move into my first apartment with Sadie. Life was good, the future was looking even better. Driving down the highway that connects Malibu to Santa Monica, the radio was blaring and Kyle laughed at my attempt to sing along in tune with Gwen Stefani. His smile is the last thing I remember from the thirteenth of May.

Later that night, a policeman explained to me what happened. A surfboard dislodged from the top of a Volkswagen Rabbit and went sailing into the windshield of the car behind it. The driver swerved, lost control of the car, and veered into oncoming traffic. And head on into us. Somehow I walked away with only a broken arm and a few cuts and bruises. My brother wasn’t so lucky—he never walked again—paralyzed from the neck down.

The first few years were really rough. Kyle was a 14 year old trapped inside a cage of a body that would never set him free. I, on the other hand, was free to move about, while my mind was caged with guilt over being the one who got to walk away. I was the driver, what if I had swerved faster? Did the blaring music distract me? No matter what the witnesses said, I needed to replay that night over and over in my mind in order to know for sure it wasn’t my fault. But I couldn’t remember a thing. Every time I tried, I saw my smiling face singing. Then I woke up in the hospital. Being told the news of Kyle’s condition replayed over and over in my head, taking the place of what I couldn’t remember.

Until recently there was no prospect of recovery … but a new drug running in a clinical trial has given him a modicum of hope. Some early studies have shown that certain rehabilitation programs increase the effectiveness of the drug. I spend a few minutes with Kyle before helping him into his chair and we both return to the living room.

“My sister either thinks you’re superman or she doesn’t like you very much … leaving you alone with Mom,” my brother says as Cooper walks over to meet him.

“My cape’s in the car.” Cooper smiles. “Nice to meet you, Kyle.”

“You too.”

“Check this out.” Kyle’s eyes point toward his feet. Two toes wiggle. It’s not much, but we’re able to see it.

“Oh my god, Kyle! That’s amazing! What did the doctor say?”

“They said not to get my hopes up. I can see their advice is lost on deaf ears with you too.” He grins.

“Do it again.” I say and he does. He moves his toes again on command. My brother tries hard to act like it’s not that big of a deal, but we both know it’s huge.

“What do you think?”

“I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since the day your fat head came into this world.” Bending down, I plant a kiss on my brother’s forehead.

“Dude.” My brother looks to Cooper for help. “You gotta make her stop kissing me.”

Cooper smiles. “Not sure I’m much help there. I like when she kisses me.”

“Gross.”

We all sit around and talk for an hour. Cooper talks sports with Kyle, and Mom and I catch up on her updates from Kyle’s doctors. The conversation between the two men grows a bit heated when Cooper mentions he’s a Raiders fan, rather than a Chargers enthusiast. Sitting back in my chair, I silently watch as the two argue over statistics and players. Most people are uncomfortable around Kyle. They don’t want to upset him—pity stops them from disagreeing with anything he is saying, even if he’s dead wrong.

But not Cooper, he treats Kyle like a regular nineteen-year-old kid. I didn’t bring him here with the intent of observing his interaction with my brother, yet the simplicity of what I see speaks volumes about the complexity of this amazing man.

I lose track of time, spending hours more than I’d planned. Cooper’s quiet in the car on the way back. “My brother liked you.”

“Don’t think he liked my taste in sports teams.”

“Well, your taste sort of does suck.”

“I’ve been reconsidering my loyalties anyway.”

“Why is that?”

“Didn’t really see the appeal of the Chargers before you.”

“And now you do?” I eye him suspiciously.

“First time I met you, you were wearing a Chargers t-shirt.”

“I was?”

“Pink, with a gold lightning bolt. Jeans with a tear at the left knee and right thigh. Black flip-flops.”

Inwardly, my peacock feathers fan that he remembers so many details, but I don’t let him know it. “Not sure we want such an easy-to-flip fan on our side of the bleachers.”

“That didn’t take long.” I hear the smile in his voice, but his eyes stay on the road. “You’re back to being difficult I see.”

I ignore his comment. “My mom liked you too.”

“Mothers love me.”

“You’re so full of yourself.”

“I’d much rather be filling you.” He winks at me and shifts the gear into fourth as he merges onto the highway. Even the way the man handles the gear shifter hints at how good he is in bed. He controls the car like he does everything else in his life. With unwavering authority.

“You have a one-track mind.”

“All Kate, all the time,” he says and it warms me. Although it’s a different warm than I get watching the man exert his power over simple things. I’m starting to realize there’s more than one way he causes a rise in my body temperature.

I put my hand over his on the shifter. “Thank you for coming with me.”

He nods. “Thank you for taking me.”

I sit atop the long marble double sink countertop in the bathroom swinging my legs, watching him get ready. “Did you play sports in high school? Seeing him with my brother made me imagine what he was like in high school.

“Yes. You?”

“Soccer.”

“Football.”

“Was your girlfriend a cheerleader?”

He smiles. “Cliché, huh?”

“I might’ve tried out to be a cheerleader instead of playing soccer if you were at my school.”

“I wouldn’t have went out with the cheerleaders if you were at my school.”

“Ssss,” I make a hissing sound and he furrows his brow. “You said cheerleaders, not cheerleader … as in, you went out with more than one.”

He finishes brushing his teeth and kisses me chastely on the lips. “Let’s not have this conversation.”

“Why not? It’s harmless. We’re talking about high school.”

“Yes, but I’d rather not talk about either one of us dating anyone else right now.” He lifts me from the sink and I oblige him, wrapping my legs around his waist. I flip off the light switch as we pass through to his bedroom.

“Cooper,” I whisper as he rests me gently on the bed and buries his face in my neck. He pulls his head back to look at me. “Make love to me.”

His eyes roam my face and he kisses me softly. Then he slowly makes love to me with the same domineering possessiveness that he always has. Only, this time it’s sweet and filled with heartfelt emotion.

It’s almost one in the morning by the time we’ve both quenched our desire. “Do you know why I wanted to bring you there tonight? To meet Mom and Kyle?” I say as I snuggle into the crook of his arm, fully sated.

“To show me why you’re doing the show?”

I should have known Cooper would see right through my thinly veiled plan to remind him why he needs to have patience with me when things get harder during the taping of the final four. “Did it work?”

“I already knew why you were doing the show.”

“I thought maybe it would make it easier to see the reason. Telling you what I’m working for doesn’t have the same effect. Making it to the end will go a long way for them. I would be able to almost fully pay off my mother’s mortgage and cover Kyle’s therapy while I finish school.”

“I can certainly appreciate your determination more. But if we’re being honest, nothing is going to make it easier to see you going out on romantic dates with another man.” He kisses the top of my head. “Although it means a lot that you tried.”

There’s a long silence and I start to think he’s fallen asleep. “Go away with me while you’re on hiatus?”

The question is unexpected. “Where?”

“My house in Barbados.”

“The house we’re going to stay at when we film?”

“I want you all to myself until then. Plus, I need to have you all over the island so there isn’t one place that you could sit with him and not remember me coaxing an orgasm from your body.”

I certainly don’t object to a marathon of orgasms on a tropical island. “I have to work tonight. But then I’m all yours.”

“Good. We leave tomorrow morning.”

I laugh. “You’ve already made the plans before asking me, haven’t you?”