Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

“Whatever you say, but I’m mostly interested in the view. A hundred bucks is shit to me.”


“Must be nice,” I said, caressing the stick as if it might be my buddy and help me win.

“Money makes life all kinds of nice. Oh, and the way you’re fondling the stick is making me super horny here. I also suspect you’re doing that on purpose. Now, who’s cheating?”

Glancing back at him, I grinned. “You’re in a constant state of heat. I’m not taking the blame for that.”

Throwing his head back, Cooper laughed. “Fair enough.”

For the next few minutes, I made great shots until a creepy biker guy stood too close and I missed. Cooper took the stick and studied the remaining balls.

“Don’t cry when I beat your ass.”

“Hell yeah,” the biker said, laughing. “Some girls just love it rough.”

Giving me a quick glance, Cooper glared at the guy. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I know your pop.”

“Good for you, but if you don’t back off and stop skeeving out my girl, my pop and I will be attending your funeral.”

The biker opened his mouth to speak before changing his mind. Walking away, he cursed under his breath and I grinned at Cooper.

“I like when you call me your girl,” I said, caressing his arm. “It makes me feel warm all over, but mainly in certain places.”

“Fuck no,” Cooper grumbled even while grinning big. “I’m not getting distracted.”

“Big baby,” I said, sitting down and crossing my arms over the prize. “Fine. I’ll let you lose the old fashioned way. By sucking more than me.”

Cooper made the next two shots perfectly like he was trained from birth to con idiots like me into playing against him.

“Tell ya what,” he said, having missed the next shot. “Why don’t we call it even and I’ll give you the hundred and you give me second base?”

“So like you’re paying me for sex?”

“Man, you’re negative. No, Farah, it’s a tie. We both get what we want.”

“I want to win.”

Cooper leaned down and glared at me eye-to-eye. “You just don’t want me getting what I want. I think you only agreed because you figured it was a done deal that you’d win.”

Standing up, I pushed past him, grabbed the pool stick, and aimed. If I missed this shot, I would likely lose and Cooper would win. I really didn’t want him to win now. I didn’t want him anywhere near me either. With him glaring at me, I wished I’d eaten before the game so I could ask to leave once I beat his ass.

“I want a burger,” Cooper said loudly at the exact moment I hit the ball, startling me and throwing off my aim.

The final ball rolled towards the hole then stopped at the edge, having too little momentum to go inside. I’d lost! I’d fucking lost because he cheated and I never wanted him touching me. Anger rising up in my gut, I glared hard at the ball. I didn’t care about the money. I just never wanted the asshole putting his hands on me.

Standing, Cooper hissed through his teeth. “So close.”

Staring at the ball, I fought the tears and wiped angrily at my eyes when they fell anyway. Cooper stood next to the table and stared down at me.

“You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some hot chicks before,” he said, crossing his arms before bumping the table with his hip. “There’s just something about you that’s special.”

The bump was enough to knock the ball into the hole. I watched it fall then forced my wet gaze to him.

Grinning, Cooper gave me a defeated sigh. “I guess I’ll have to find another way under your shirt.”

“You’re a jerk.”

Uncrossing his arms, Cooper leaned down to kiss me. “I’m hungry. Let’s order food.”

As he turned towards where his siblings were seated, I grabbed his tee and pulled him to a stop.

“Thank you,” I said, wishing Cooper knew how awful it would have been if he expected to touch me after he cheated. “I don’t want the money.”

“Screw that. You won fair and square. Besides, I don’t want my girl going hungry.”

Studying his face, I felt confused by how he bounced back and forth from asshole to gentle jerk. When he was sweet, I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything. When he was an asshole, he represented everything I hated in the world. Cooper was a complicated guy, but my feelings for him were a million times more complex.

Watching his brother and sister bicker, Cooper noticed my gaze on him. He focused his dark eyes on my face and stared hard like we were having a contest. I wasn’t sure what he saw on my face this time, but he blinked and let me win.

“Are you hungry?” he asked softly. “We can go somewhere else if you don’t like the food.”

Breathing too fast, I wasn’t sure what to do or say. He was being too sweet and I started wishing he truly wanted me to be his girl. I wanted to be close to someone so badly, but Cooper was scary. Even looking at me like he was, I saw the tension in his jaw as if waiting for someone to piss him off.