Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

Between his calm tone and gentle touch, I settled down a little. Did I even have a choice? Could I tell Cooper goodbye and he’d move on? I wasn’t even sure I wanted to tell him goodbye. I’d spent all of Sunday and most of Monday thinking about how he might be mine. Now, I was confused.

“Let me drive you home,” he said, trying to hug me, but I jerked away. “People are still around and I embarrassed you earlier. Let’s talk in private.”

“You’re trying to manipulate me.”

Staring up at the sky, Cooper sighed. “When I saw you with that douche, I lost track of what I wanted. I got so focused on keeping him away from you that I forgot to make sure you were happy.” Returning his gaze to my face, he sighed again. “I’m floundering here, but I need you to give me another chance. I let my temper get away from me. I know that and I’m not someone who freaks out a lot. It won’t happen again.”

“Ever?”

Cooper grinned. “I’ll be a perfect angel from this moment on.”

“I feel like I should stay mad at you. Like I’d be encouraging bad behavior by forgiving you.”

“You’re thinking about this all wrong,” Cooper said, turning me around to face the parking lot. We walked to his Harley then he smiled. “You did nothing wrong today. You were perfect. Why should you miss out on a ride home? Why not let the asshole get you a decent meal? Why not have the piece of shit kiss your neck when we both know you love that? Why not even have him help you study because he deserves to be really bored?”

Smiling despite my better judgment, I hitched up my backpack. “It’s true I would benefit from forgiving you. I still think you should suffer for being such an asshole. You acted like Tucker back there.”

“Hey, now that’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” he muttered, faking like he was angry, but I saw through his bullshit. “I’ve never been jealous like that before. Apparently, I need to build up a little resistance so I don’t lose my shit every time a guy enters my territory.”

“I’m not territory.”

“But you’re mine,” Cooper said, leaning down to kiss me.

I kept the kiss brief. My hands were still shaking from earlier and I knew my makeup had likely smeared from crying. I wasn’t letting Cooper’s psycho behavior in class fade away just because he wasn’t pissed anymore.

“I guess a ride home would only be fair, but I want you to know I’m using you when I agree to this.”

Cooper grinned then leaned down to kiss me again. I kept this kiss brief too, making him sigh.

“Wanna go for a ride first?” he asked, nuzzling my hair.

“I need to study.”

“A short ride,” he said, finally giving me a hug.

Like an idiot, I shuddered at the feel of him. Giving him all of the power again, I couldn’t stay angry. At least, not when he was gentle, but now I knew he wouldn’t always be gentle. Sometimes, he would scare the shit out of me, embarrass me, and treat me like a possession.

Looking up at him, I found his gaze soft like from the weekend. “I should go home.”

“A short ride to relax you. Just imagine the wind in your hair on this hot damn day,” he said, his fingers teasing my scalp. “We could stop and have a quick dinner. You’ve had a tough day. Why not enjoy a free dinner from the one who fucked things up?”

“I know what you’re doing.”

Cooper’s dark eyes studied my face then he smiled. “I really am crazy about you. Let me make it up to you.”

“What about Nick?” I asked, daring him to freak out again.

His jaw twitching, Cooper shrugged. “He’s a guy. He gets it. In fact, I think he’s hot for one of those giggly blondes in class. Shar, I think is the one. No need for me or anyone else to care about old Nick.”

“So I can study with him?”

Cooper narrowed his eyes and exhaled hard. “Why him?”

“He’s in a bunch of my classes and he takes great notes.”

“Great notes? Is that code?”

“I waited all day to see you, Coop,” I said, placing my hand on his chest where I knew the cross was hiding under his white tee. “I missed you then you ruined everything by focusing on him. Will you keep doing that? I need you to focus on me.”

“You want me, right? Not him.”

“I want you so much, but I think it’s a mistake. You obviously don’t trust me.”

“Don’t make it about trust. It’s not even about you.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked, removing my hand.

Cooper looked ready to grab my hand and return it to his chest. I saw him fight the urge then he forced a smile. A really fake smile that never reached his eyes.

“It’s about me. It’s about my feeling like someone is trying to take away what I need. You aren’t doing anything. I just can’t have a man sniffing around my girl.”

“He’s not sniffing around me.”

“Don’t be na?ve.”

“You said he liked Shar.”

“Why do you care who he likes?”

Backing away, I sighed. “I’m taking the bus home.”

“No, wait,” he said, wrapping his arms around me as I retreated. “Look, I’m jealous. That’s not a bad thing, is it? If you saw me with some chick, wouldn’t you be jealous?”