He wondered what she was doing later.
He had a big house. If they were in the den with the double doors shut, Riley wouldn’t hear a thing. And the master suite was downstairs while Riley slept upstairs.
“Cooper,” Cedric almost yelled at him.
“Huh?”
“You didn’t hear a fucking thing I said. Jesus. You are a pathetic idiot. Get your head out of that pussy and back to hockey.” Cedric shook his head, clearly disgusted. Usually Cooper did the chastising of teammates when it came to women versus hockey. Everyone on the team understood hockey came first during the season. Always. No exceptions.
Now Cooper’s head wasn’t in the game. It was buried tongue-deep in Izzy’s tight, moist pussy. His dick hardened instantly, straining against his zipper.
Cedric glanced at his crotch and rolled his eyes. “Shit, I never thought this would happen to you, and I’m not talking about the hard-on, I’m talking about your obsession with Izzy.”
“I’m not obsessed with her.”
The rookies picked that moment to burst in with steaming boxes of pizza. Grateful for the reprieve, Cooper grabbed the first piece and sat between Brick and Rush, effectively blocking Cedric out.
Only Cedric wasn’t easily discouraged, not when it came to the game he loved.
Worst of all, Cooper knew his buddy was right.
Izzy was a distraction he couldn’t afford.
Izzy itched to wrap her hands around a certain thickheaded, selfish bastard’s neck.
Riley put on a brave show, but he didn’t fool her one damn bit. The poor kid was devastated that Cooper hadn’t bothered to show up for his game.
She sent Riley to bed and waited up for Cooper, pacing the floor as her temper soared. She was going to ream his ass and rip into him like he’d never been ripped into. She’d pound some compassion into that thick skull of his if it was the last thing she did.
She heard his SUV pull in the garage after ten PM. Izzy waited at the door for him. He walked in and tossed his jacket on the small table in the entryway. Stress and fatigue drew lines on his handsome face but didn’t detract from his rugged good looks.
Her body immediately reacted to him, and she fought the attraction. Dammit, this was about Riley, and Cooper’s indifferent treatment of the kid. It was not about her body’s attraction to him.
He must have caught movement out of the corner his eye. He turned his head and a slow smile replaced the preoccupied frown on his face. Of course, he was smiling at her. He probably assumed she’d returned for an encore after their hot sex in a warm pool two early mornings ago. And her double-crossing body wanted that encore.
“Baby,” he said quietly in his deep, sexy voice. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. He appeared to be so wrapped up in her body, he didn’t seem to notice at first how stiff she was or how she wasn’t kissing him back.
Izzy put her hands on his chest and shoved him away. He staggered back a few steps, caught off guard by her anger.
“I texted you. You never responded.”
“I was with Tanner,” she baited him.
“Oh.”
She had to give him points for not going all possessive He-Man on her when she mentioned Tanner.
“Is something wrong?” The idiot didn’t seem to have a frigging clue.
“You’re what’s wrong,” she hissed, her claws unsheathed as she prepared to pounce on him like a tigress guarding her cub.
Cooper’s eyes opened wide. He took on the look of a man looking for an escape route from a crazy woman. “I’m sorry. Could you at least explain what I did?”
“You really don’t remember?” Somehow that set her off more than if he’d been apologetic for not making it or come up with a lame excuse.
He shook his head and pushed his hair off his forehead.
“Tanner and I went to Riley’s game this evening. You didn’t show.” She shot each word at him like sharp arrows meant to pierce through his self-absorbed armor.
Cooper pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. “I forgot.”
“You forgot? You forgot?” Her voice rose to a screech, making her sound like the wicked witch. “What was so important that you couldn’t remember your nephew’s first football game?” She glared up at him, anger shaking her body, along with pity for the boy who didn’t have one family member who gave a damn about him.
Cooper scrubbed his hands over his face, looking distressed and out of his comfort zone. “I—I couldn’t stop thinking about us in the pool so I stayed late to help some rookies and get my head back in the game.”
Whatever answer she’d been expecting, this wasn’t it. Thoughts of her distracted him to the point where he’d forgotten Riley’s game? Flattering, but no excuse. Not in her book and definitely not in Riley’s.
“Tanner remembered, and Riley isn’t his nephew.” She squared her shoulders and drew up herself up straighter, toe to toe with Cooper.
“Tanner should’ve been watching game film. He’s had a crappy season so far,” Cooper countered. By the expression on his face, he realized he’d stepped in it too late.
Izzy almost smiled. “And still, Tanner made Riley his priority, while you, the man who should’ve done the same, didn’t even bother. You’re a selfish ass.”
“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry. Tell Riley. Your callous disregard for him broke his heart.”
Cooper had the audacity to roll his eyes. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. Riley doesn’t like me. He’s using me just like his mother always did. He wants something out of me and once he gets it, he’ll be gone and won’t look back.”
The truth hit Izzy right between the eyes. The mighty Cooper Black was scared shitless he’d get attached, and Riley would reject him and walk away. Cooper was afraid of getting hurt. Imagine that.
It made total sense to her considering how Cooper dealt with the personal relationships in his life. Or in fact, didn’t deal with them. Ignored them, skirted around them, ran from them, attempted to control them, but didn’t face them head on.