Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

“You make me happy,” I said and his cocky grin faded into the softness I preferred. “Do I make you happy?”


“When you give me exactly what I want and don’t piss me off, you make life perfect.”

Glaring at him, I shook my head. “So never then, huh?”

Cooper leaned down and whispered so quietly I almost couldn’t hear him. “I want you naked right now in my bed and I’d make your life perfect. I’m that good, baby.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Cooper sighed. “I want you to want it so bad that I’ll have to pry you off me. We’re just not there yet.”

“I really can’t see that ever happening. I’m not a girl who glues myself to people.”

“You will with me. How can you not?”

“No comment.”

Cooper gave me a very serious expression. “I’m going to do something. Do not freak out. Be casual. Can you do that?”

“No,” I said in a panic.

Cooper reached behind me and I felt his fingers on my ass. Forcing myself to stay very still, I felt him fiddling around then he pulled his hand away.

“That suit is old and it’s riding up,” he explained, taking a beer from his brother who walked by. “I didn’t want anyone seeing my girl’s ass cheeks.”

“I didn’t notice,” I said, reaching behind me awkwardly.

“It’s too hot out to notice. You’re fine now.”

“You could have just told me,” I said then rolled my eyes. “But why would you when you could touch my ass instead?”

“My girl is pretty fucking smart,” he said, giving me a big bright smile.

“Did you have braces?” I asked, basking the imperfection of his teeth.

“Yeah.”

“I have pictures!” Bailey screamed, suddenly in front of us.

As she ran into the house, Cooper sighed and frowned down at me.

“I’m dating this guy right here,” I said, touching his chest and ending his brain power for a moment. “I don’t care about the old dorky Cooper.”

“Can I see pictures of you as a kid?” he asked with a genuine smile.

“No. Never. I’ll burn them first.”

A laughing Cooper sighed again when Bailey returned with a picture in her hand.

“Here’s the loser with his braces.”

“You had braces too, shit for brains.”

Bailey ignored him and thrusted a picture at me. Looking it over, I frowned. Basically, the picture was of a slightly shorter, slightly less muscular, still as tanned and gorgeous Cooper. Oh, and he had braces. Clear fucking braces. He didn’t even look like a dork. I couldn’t catch a break.

“Disappointed?” Cooper asked, grinning.

“He was so ugly back then,” Bailey said. “Like a mutant.” When Cooper squinted at his sister, she backed away. “He wet his bed too.”

Bailey ran away screaming even though Cooper merely walked slowly behind her, taking his time to exact revenge. I stared at the picture of a teenage Cooper with his tattooless chest. I wished that chest still existed. The tattoos were his only physical flaw. Otherwise, he looked like absolute perfection to me. Even as he threw a tater tot at his sister, he was gorgeous. So busy staring at him in wonder, I didn’t notice Sawyer grab the picture from me.

“Don’t mock him!” she screamed then ran into the house.

Startled, I froze and remained very still as everything sped up around me. Cooper stopped hounding Bailey so he could wrestle with Tucker who must have whispered something to his brother. Now, they were shoving each other around on the deck while Maddy watched on. Bailey walked to the grill and whined to her father about something, but Kirk just shrugged.

With all of the fighting, the dogs got riled up below the deck. Sawyer ran back outside and pushed Bailey away from their father. Quickly, the sisters were screaming at each other while the brothers continued their sweaty battle.

Standing on the deck overlooking the amazing view, I ignored the chaos around me. Cooper and Tucker were beating on each other while Sawyer threw a pickle at Bailey who then made a lewd comment about pickles and dicks. Kirk laughed at her comment as he turned over the meat. Oh, and maybe a hundred dogs were attacking each other below the deck as if reenacting the siege at Helm's Deep in the Two Towers.

Soon, Jodi joined me and lit a cigarette. I glanced at her and smiled as she watched me with those bright blue eyes.

“You’re eighteen, right?” she asked, exhaling a ring of smoke.

Nodding, I felt small under her gaze. Even knowing I had mother issues didn’t prepare me for the stress of having a mom dissect me with her eyes.

“I was sixteen when I met Kirk. He was forty two. People told me it wouldn’t last. People told me when I got pregnant with Cooper how I’d end up dumped in a trailer park and never see Kirk again. People don’t know shit though. You’d be best to ignore them when they give you advice.”