Page 10 of Cooper’s Promise

“I can’t.” He couldn’t. He just couldn’t. He pulled her closer, until she was in his arms.

“Don’t, please don’t do this Cooper.” At last she was calling him Cooper. He spun her around so that she was breast to chest. But she kept her head down. He brought his knuckles under her chin, gently tilting her head so he could see her beautiful dark eyes.

“I don’t want you to move. I want you to stay.” He watched as tears formed.

“People in hell want ice water,” she choked out.

“I was wrong. We need to explore what’s between us.” She jerked out of his hold. Suddenly he was looking at one pissed-off woman.

“You want me to put my whole life on hold so you can take me for a test drive?” Her voice was low and deadly.

God, he was a dumbass. “That’s not what I meant at all. Yeah, it sounded like it, but, Brenna, I meant that we needed time to really get to know one another. I think we have a real hope for a future. But until we spend time together as a couple, we don’t know for sure.”

“Jesus, Coop, are you out of your tiny little mind? We’ve known each other for six years. We’ve spent countless hours together, on that fucking couch.” She pointed to the sofa with a trembling finger. “You’re thirty-one years old. If you don’t know your own mind right now, you’re too big of a dumbass to even consider. Get the fuck out of my apartment.” Now she pointed towards her door.

He moved two steps forward, and wrapped her into his arms. “I know my own mind. I know my own body. I’ve known what I’ve felt for you since your sister’s wedding. But once the genie is let out of the bottle, you can’t put him back in. You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for. I’ve been trying to save you.”

“Fuck you, Coop. I’m a big girl.”

“Cooper. My name is Cooper.”

Her eyes spit fire. “You have to earn it.”

Fuck this shit. His body was about to burst into flames as he held her in his arms. The more she spit bile at him, the more he was turned on. It seemed Brenna wasn’t a little girl anymore. Nope, she was a woman who wasn’t afraid to confront and challenge him. Well let’s see if she could handle his inner beast.

“I’m going to kiss you, can you handle that?” He needed to make sure she understood what she would be getting into.

“Are you? I’ve only wanted it for two years, and you’ve wimped out every time.” She’d waved the red flag. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling, and her lips were lush and shiny.

Cooper dipped his head, and did what he’d dreamed about for years. So soft and welcoming, her silky plush lips surrendered to his as he feasted. For so long he had needed to taste, and she was better than all of his hopes. Her lips parted, and he licked, savored and gently bit her plump lower lip. She moaned, as his tongue soothed the slight hurt.

Finally he couldn’t help himself. His tongue swept into the warm cavern of her mouth, and as she sucked him in deeper, he thought he would come. Her tongue slid against his. They danced in a carnal display, his fingers dug into the silky strands of her hair at her scalp, so that he could hold her in place. He heard her whimper and the little sound went straight to his cock.

He stroked his fingers down her cheek, and slowly brought their kiss under control, despite the ache thrumming through his body. He kissed the side of her mouth, her cheek, the tip of her nose, then finally rested his forehead against hers.

“God, you pack a punch.”

She tried to pull out of his arms.

“No, baby, please let me hold you. I need to hold you.”

“You don’t. This is an aberration. You just want what you can’t have.” He couldn’t tell if it was passion or tears that made her voice hard to understand.

Cooper was done with this shit. He needed to make her comprehend what he was saying. What he was feeling. He’d had enough. He swept her up into his arms, and carried her to the couch.

“What are you doing?” Her voice sounded weak. Brenna never sounded weak.

“We’re going to have a talk.”

He sat down and settled her on his lap, satisfied when she didn’t struggle. She looked up at him, her hazel eyes appearing dazed.

“Cooper, you don’t mean this, and I’m not going to let myself start believing in you.”

“You’ve got to. After that kiss, how can you not?”

“Fine, we have chemistry, but that doesn’t mean anything. You’ve ignored me. You’ve put me into a box, and determined I wasn’t what you wanted. I’ve accepted it and moved on.”

He felt bands around his chest begin to tighten. “You can’t.”