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“Coop. Are you all right?”
His lips tug into a crooked smile, his blue eyes fill with regret. “I killed a man, Kelsey.”
I swallow down that information and nod. “Are you going to jail?”
His smile shifts but the regret in his eyes lingers. “Not if I don’t get caught. What I’m trying to tell you is that I’m a killer, Kels. I’m a killer and a criminal, and I’m no good for an innocent girl like you.”
My heart thumps hard in my chest. He’s pushing me away. I nod. “I’m not all that innocent. And if I was a girl who let men decide what’s good and bad for me, I’d listen to my Daddy. But I’m fully grown and completely capable of making my own decisions.”
And my heart and mind are both telling me to choose this man.
Coop takes a step back with a shake of his head, raking two worried hands through his thick hair. “I’m no good for you, Kelsey. I don’t feel bad about killing that motherfucker. He had it coming. But I still killed him, and I didn’t think twice about it.”
I laugh. “And you think that makes you a bad man?”
He shrugs. “It doesn’t make me a good man.”
I let out a harsh bark of laughter. “And let me guess. I should be with one of those good men with a trust fund, a bright future as a CEO of some company that makes zillions of dollars?” I didn’t need an answer because it’s written all over his face that it’s exactly what he thinks.
“They’d be better than me.”
“Yeah? Those guys move numbers on a spreadsheet, and whole companies evaporate, leaving hundreds or thousands out of work. And unlike you, who did what you had to do to protect your family, they do it to add more zeroes to their bank accounts. I’ll take a man like you any day over those guys.”
My heart races as the words tumble out of my mouth, each syllable cementing my certainty that this is the man I want. The man I’m not sure I can live without.
“You shouldn’t. I’m a bad idea. I can bring trouble to your doorstep.”
I understand what he’s telling me, but I also know if Coop feels half of what I feel for him, he’ll go to the ends of the earth to protect me. “My dad set me up on a date tonight.”
Coop freezes. “What?”
“Yeah,” I rush forward. “The son of one of his acquaintances. Just the kind of guy you also think I should be with, but he has this terrible habit of drugging girls and fucking them while they’re unconscious.”
He lets out a low, angry moan. “And yet both of you think he’s better than you because his dad has a successful professional life.”
Coop’s grip tightens on my arm. “Dammit, Kelsey, I’m trying to protect you.”
I let my hands slide up his chest to cup his jaw. “I want you, Coop. Nobody but you. I don’t need your money, and I don’t need you to protect me.”
“So, what do you need, Kelsey? What do you want from me?”
“You,” I sigh. “I just want you.”
“Ah, don’t tell me that, sweetheart.” Coop presses his forehead against mine, his hands holding me possessively. Like I’m his. Like he’s claiming me.
“Why not? You don’t want me to want you?”
He shakes his head, a small smile forming on his lips. “I want you to want me so bad that you crave me when I’m not around.”
“I do.” The word comes out on a moan.
“I want you more than I’ve wanted anything or anyone in a long damn time. I want you, and I’m a selfish bastard, so selfish that I know I’m no good for you, that one day soon you’ll regret me, but I want you too bad to care. You’re mine, babe.”
My body sags against his in relief. “Coop, that’s what I want too. You. Only you.”
“You shouldn’t, though.”
His words put a smile on my face. “A bad man wouldn’t work so hard to convince me he’s bad. He would push me up against the wall and use me, fuck me however he wanted without thinking, not even once if he was gonna hurt me.”
Heat flares in his eyes, his nostrils widen at my words. “Kelsey.”
I take a step back and untie the strings of my maxi dress, and it pools at my feet, leaving me standing there in sexy lingerie.
“Coop. Stop talking. Stop trying to convince me that you’re no good for me. If it’s true, time will tell. For now, just kiss me.” My heart thuds in my chest as I wait for Coop to decide.
Me or his honor.
“Fuck,” he growls and rushes at me until my back is against the wall and my front is against him. “Be sure, Kelsey.”
“Shut up and kiss me, Coop.” He does, and at that moment, everything is right. It’s perfect.
