“Or told me to fuck off and die,” Cooper said with a self-deprecating smile.
“That’s always possible.” She grinned and pressed her lips to his. She liked this side of him, a little uncertain, a little vulnerable, and a lot sexy and sweet. Sweet had been a word she’d never thought she could use for Cooper. “You know, I was going to come home tonight and lecture your ass about how you’re treating Riley, but maybe a lecture isn’t necessary.”
“God, I hope not.” He pretended to shudder.
“Yet.” She grinned at him and backed him up against the wall. Those intense blue eyes of his burned with need and desire for her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she threaded her fingers in his hair. His mouth came down on hers and she clung to him as they kissed long and hard.
God, she was crazy for this man, even with all his faults. Maybe his faults made him more attractive. He wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for her. True perfection would be boring.
Drawing back, she slid down his long, muscled frame until she knelt before him on her knees. He smiled down at her, his fingers massaging her scalp. “Hungry?”
“Absolutely. I’ve been hungry for you all night.”
“So have I, honey. So have I.” His gravelly growl reverberated through his body right down to the object of her attention, a rather large object and quickly becoming one of her favorite objects. Okay, maybe already her all-time favorite object.
He leaned against the wall, as she unzipped his faded jeans and lowered both jeans and underwear down past his hungry cock. Her mouth watered at the sight of it.
“You’re so beautiful,” she whispered, worshipping his gorgeous athlete’s body with her eyes, loving the muscles on muscles, even loving the scars because each of them told a story from his life. Someday she’d know all those stories.
“Hey, that’s my line.”
She glanced up at him, a slow smile crossing her face. Lowering her head, she sent him to paradise.
Cooper didn’t have a game that next evening. Izzy cuddled on the couch with him, watching The Sound of Music. Cooper had admitted to liking classical musicals. They both had the night off. A hazy rain blanketed the landscape visible out the windows, making Izzy feel lazy and content.
Neither of them had gotten much sleep in the past twenty-four hours. It was Friday night, and Riley pouted in his room because Cooper insisted he stay home, which surprised Izzy. Usually Cooper jumped at any chance to pawn his nephew off on someone else.
Cooper stretched and yawned. “I suppose we should get off our lazy asses and do something about dinner. The kid has to eat, even if we can skip a meal.”
“He is a growing boy,” Izzy agreed.
Cooper arched his eyebrows. “Uh, yeah, he sure is. A horse eats less than he does.”
“Do you have any chicken?” Izzy asked.
“I’m sure I do.” Cooper kissed the tip of her nose and gazed down at her with a lopsided smile.
Izzy stood quickly, knowing if she didn’t, they’d be doing it on the couch in seconds with Riley able to walk in on them at any time. “I’ll make my signature fried chicken.”
“Sounds great. I’ll help.”
Much to Izzy’s surprise, Cooper was pretty handy in the kitchen. He chopped veggies for a salad and put potatoes in the steamer.
As Izzy manned the frying pan, Cooper moved behind her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. His erection pressed against her butt, and she giggled. Cooper nuzzled her cheek and nipped at the skin on her neck. She tried to shoo him away, but he wasn’t having any part of that.
“Cooper, I’m trying to cook.” She elbowed him in his hard stomach. He didn’t even flinch.
“You’re doing a damn good job because I think I’m already way past well done.” He bit her earlobe, and she couldn’t stifle the groan.
“Oh, God, we can’t do this right now.”
“Who says?” He slid his hands under her sweatshirt and cupped her breasts through the thin material of her bra. He drew circles around her nipples until they were hard and aching for him.
Izzy arched her neck to look into his eyes and his mouth caught hers in a searing kiss that just about blew her Dearfoam slippers off her feet.
“Oh, God, get a room, would ya?”
Cooper jumped back at the sound of Riley’s voice, while Izzy straightened her sweater. Her face burned with embarrassment as she wondered how long Riley had been standing there.
While Izzy gathered her composure, Cooper put on a good show for Riley, as if he hadn’t just been caught coping a feel, leaving Izzy light-headed and weak in the knees.
Riley looked from one to the other, his eyes narrowing and a frown dominating his face. “I don’t see why I couldn’t go to the Mars’ house; then you guys could mess around all you wanted.”
“Because,” Cooper said, sounding so much like a stern father that Izzy hid her smile, “we are going to eat dinner tonight as a family.”
“Why? We aren’t a fucking family.” Riley’s frown deepened and his chin jutted out in a display of stubbornness so much like Cooper’s.
Cooper jerked as if Riley had physically hit him. “Watch your language,” he growled.
Izzy bit her lip and watched the two. This confrontation had been brewing for a long time, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Maybe it’d be better if they both aired their differences.
“Whatever.” Riley rolled his eyes, which incensed Cooper all the more.
“Wash your hands and sit down at the table. It’s time to eat.” Izzy gave Cooper points for not nailing Riley on his attitude.
“I’m not some little kid you can order around. Legally, you don’t have any control over me.” Riley, behaving as a typical teenager, didn’t seem to know when to shut his mouth.
“I have legal temporary custody until we find your mother and sort out this mess.” Cooper’s own jaw jutted out, and Izzy covered her mouth with her hand to stop the laughter from bubbling out.