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In what was meant to be a smooth gesture, I pushed her up against the wall just inside the doorway. She struggled against my every movement, however, and I ungracefully fell against her, my weight pinning her to the wall and my teeth gritting against each other with the exertion I was forcing my injured arm to endure.
Samantha’s wide eyes glared back at me over my hand, still pressed against her mouth, but she’d stopped wriggling, and she wasn’t trying to bite my hand off, so I was making progress.
“I’m sorry,” I said in a low voice. “The hallway was no place for this conversation, and I knew you wouldn’t invite me in.”
Muffled sounds came from behind my hand, and even though I didn’t know for sure what she was trying to say, I guessed it was likely a colorful string of curse words coming from her mouth.
I didn’t care. “Listen to me, Samantha. I know what you think you saw, but I need you to let me explain. Are you going to at least hear me out?”
Her angry eyes blazed, but she nodded slowly. I removed my hand.
“Get off me,” she blurted out immediately.
“Not a chance. And, if my memory serves me correctly, you kind of like it when I’m on you.” I leaned forward, whispering, “I kind of like it, too.”
“You’re an asshole.” But her cheeks were just as fiery as her eyes.
“Sometimes, yeah, I can be. I’ll give you that one.” I paused. “But I can tell you three things right now, Samantha. Listen closely, because you’ll never hear the first thing from me again. Ready? I don’t like to talk ill of other people, but from what you’ve told me, your ex-fiancé is a complete asshole. Me? I’m just an asshole sometimes. There’s a difference. So, believe me when I tell you, I don’t ever want to hear you tell me that I’m just like him again. You and I both know there’s nothing further from the truth.”
Samantha stayed silent, but a sheepishness crept into her eyes. The comment had hurt me, and she regretted it.
“Second, I can guarantee that while you might see me as an asshole sometimes, right now my own ex is out there cursing my name, telling everyone who’ll listen that I’m a complete asshole, and quite possibly planning to use my son as a pawn to exact revenge against me. And why? Because she came here, thought she could bat her eyelashes and I’d take her back in a heartbeat. When that didn’t work, she threw herself at me. I promptly pushed her away, Samantha. Then, I told her about you.” My throat was thick with emotion, consumed by the need for her to know I was telling the truth. “So, yeah, Zoey didn’t get what she wanted, and I’m the bad guy because of it. And you know what? I don’t care what Zoey thinks. It’s you I care about, Samantha. You, Levi, and my little boy are the only ones I give a damn about what you might think of me. You’re the ones I love.”
Samantha stayed quiet long enough that I didn’t think she was going to respond. I could feel the rigidity of her body had lessened, though, so she was calming down a bit. Finally, when she spoke, her voice was quiet, a question meant only for me. “And what’s the third thing, Cooper?”
“The third thing is the most important thing,” I promised her, matching the softness in my voice with hers. “The third thing is that I intend to stay by your side as long as you’ll let me—not in front of you, and not behind you—and I’ll spend every waking moment proving to you that the fact that I’ve fallen in love with you is enough for us to take on this crazy world together. I just need you to trust me.”
Silence stretched between us, and neither of us blinked. I couldn’t read her expression.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered finally.
“It’s okay, I know why—”
“Not for that,” she said, her voice stronger now. “For this.” She craned her neck forward and kissed me, hard enough that I didn’t remember releasing her from against the wall. When I finally pulled away, though, she was in my arms, and I held her to me as though she was a lifeline.
“We really need to talk about what kind of things require apologies,” I chuckled in her ear. “Kissing me is definitely not one of them.”
I saw the hint of a smile on her lips before she tucked her head under my chin, leaning against my chest. “I shouldn’t have accused you of those things and then turned around and kissed you like that. It’s not fair.”
“Define fair,” I smirked. “Because I kind of like how it ended.”
“I’m still sorry.” Samantha raised her head, her arms locked securely around me. “And who says that’s the end?”
I arched a brow. “Hmm, the kiss isn’t the end? If kissing equates to requiring an apology, then I might have to take up going to confession if you’re thinking what I’m thinking.”
Samantha was already pulling me toward the hallway, a devilish glint in her eye.
I let her. If this was how she wanted to make up, only a foolish man would begrudge her such a desire.
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned...” I muttered playfully, just before I slammed the bedroom door behind us.
A moan slipped out of her mouth as I lowered my head and nibbled on the soft flesh of her neck and shoulder. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, stifling another groan of pleasure.
The simple gesture caused my cock to stiffen and press against the seam of my jeans. Gripping her sides, I let my fingers tease their way up her shirt. Within seconds, I couldn’t contain the beast that clawed at the cage inside me, and I ripped her shirt over her head, my eyes fixated on her breasts covered in a black lace bra. She pulled away and ran from me, an attempt to tease me as though we played a game of cat and mouse. Her eyes burned brightly with desire, and the gaze she pinned me with singed the surface of my body, even from the other side of the room.
Tearing my own shirt over my head, I tossed it to the side, not breaking eye contact with her. I could tell by the hunger in her eyes that emulated mine, she was doing everything in her power to restrain herself from running back over to me.
I slowly crossed the room, stalking her, and she backed herself against the wall. The magnetic pull between our bodies brought us closer, the flame igniting between us in an instant.
