No longer feeling like joining the guys, Cooper took the elevator to his room and lay on the bed in the dark, staring at the ceiling and waiting for Izzy to call.
He needed to talk to her in the worst way, needed her sympathy and understanding and her sound advice. With her mama-bear attitude toward Riley, she’d be even more pissed than Cooper was.
He’d be home soon and in her arms once again.
He missed her, he needed her, and he loved her.
Jesus, he loved her. He did. He really did. And it changed everything. Maybe he’d made bad choices in the past when it came to women, but he’d protected his heart too long. Life was pretty boring without risk, and Cooper had always been the ultimate risk-taker.
Loving her was a risk he’d take, and he couldn’t wait to tell her.
That was the last thought he had before he fell asleep.
Chapter 17—Out of the Game
Izzy woke up to warm lips on hers. She curled into Cooper and sighed happily. He held her close, drugging her with his urgent kisses.
“You’re home,” she said sleepily.
“Damn, I missed you,” he said against her mouth.
“Me, too.”
He cut her muffled response short as his mouth toyed with hers, while his big strong hands cupped her butt, pulling her tight against his erection.
“You feel so good,” she whimpered and laid little kisses along his shoulder and collarbone.
“So do you, baby, so do you.” He nipped and bit his way down her body, making short work of the oversized Sockeyes T-shirt she’d worn to bed. His hands slid up her body to her breasts, and she closed her eyes, enjoying his hard body pressed against her softer one.
In a matter of seconds, she was flat on her back, and he was moving inside her. She arched her back and took him deeper, her fingernails digging into his bare back. He set a strong rhythm. Despite the obvious difficulty he was having holding back, he slid in and out of her, refusing to let her hurry him along.
It didn’t take them long to climax and collapse in a sweaty heap of tangled limbs and spent bodies.
Izzy lay in contented silence with her head resting on his broad chest. Cooper held her loosely to him, his now steady breathing causing his chest to rise and fall under her cheek. She wanted to talk to him about Riley, but somehow she didn’t think this was a good time.
“Izzy?” His voice vibrated in her ear.
“Yes?”
A long pause. She could tell he was holding his breath. She waited, forcing herself to be patient. A girl couldn’t hurry a man like Cooper.
“I’m in love with you,” he said simply.
Izzy raised up and looked him in the eyes. “You are?” Her heart soared with joy, and a small smile sneaked onto her face. Even a few weeks ago, his declaration would’ve frightened the hell out of her, but not now because she’d fallen in love with him.
“Yeah. That doesn’t surprise you, does it?” He watched her intently, as if her answers were as crucial to him as his breathing.
Izzy thought about his question for a split second, but she already knew the answer. “No, not really.”
“I love you, Izzy,” he said again, as if savoring the taste of the words on his tongue. She savored them, too, embraced them, and oddly enough they didn’t scare her like she thought they would.
“I love you, too, Cooper.” She said the words without thinking, without taking the time to protect her heart. She said them because she felt them from the tips of her raspberry plum toenails to the roots of her brunette hair. He’d been special from the moment she hooked her arm in his and pretended to be his girlfriend, despite his shock and annoyance at a total stranger accosting him at a party. Yes, she’d known, and now he knew.
“I know you do.” His slow sexy smile warmed every empty place inside her. He kissed her forehead and laced his fingers behind her back.
“Conceited much?” She winked at him, feeling her own smile spread across her face.
He chuckled. “Confident. There’s a difference.” He studied her face, and his smile faltered a bit. “I sense a but.”
“What kind of future could we possibly have? You want out of Seattle, and I won’t leave.”
“We’ll work it out. We’re in love.” He planted little kisses on her checks.
“Sometimes love isn’t enough,” she said. “This isn’t just about location. There’s more to it than that.”
“What is enough, Izzy? If location isn’t a deal breaker, tell me what is, and I’ll fix it.”
“How about trust? Mutual respect. Letting go and not trying to control the outcome of every aspect of your life and the lives of the people around you.”
“It’s hard to trust when the people who are supposed to care about you let you down,” he said.
“Hello. This is me you’re talking to.” Izzy managed a smile.
“True, but we don’t have to solve the world’s problems tonight. We have lots of time to figure this out. In the meantime, I have news.”
“News?” She couldn’t imagine news any bigger than the news he’d just given her.
“Russ found my sister.”
Izzy sat up, wrapping the sheets around her and flipped on the nightstand light. “He found her? Is she okay?”
“I almost wish she wasn’t. At least then I’d be able to understand why she deserted Riley.”
“Where is she?” Izzy hugged herself, feeling cold after feeling so warm.
“She’s in Tacoma shacking up with some guy. I’d like to make her pay for what she did to Riley.” Cooper’s gaze so full of love a moment before, turned hard and uncompromising.
“So would I.”
“Will you go with me tomorrow night to talk to her? It’d mean a lot to me if you came along.”
“Absolutely. We’ll ask Coach Mars to take Riley for the night.” Izzy ran a finger over the wrinkles in his brow. “You’re worried, aren’t you?”
“I haven’t seen her in years. I know she blames me.” Cooper stared at a point over her shoulder and clenched his jaw.
“That’s not fair. She messed up her life, not you.”