Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

“Don’t cry. It kills me when you cry,” he whispered, giving a deep sigh.

I opened my mouth to say something really profound that would keep him interested in me. The next thing I knew, I woke up alone in my bed. The room was dark and I felt too weak to get up. Falling back to sleep, I wondered if Cooper would remember my name in the morning.





Chapter Fifteen


Waking up to a sick stomach and dull headache, I figured it could be worse. My hand touched between my legs and found the area slightly tender. Closing my eyes, I fell asleep for a short time before knocking at my window got me up. Cooper stood outside with a cup in each hand. Hurrying around to the front room, I opened the door and inhaled the wonderful smell of coffee.

“How are you feeling?” he asked with a sweetly concerned look on his beautiful face.

“Okay,” I said, taking the cup of coffee.

“Did you get sick last night?”

“No, I just crashed and woke up feeling kinda crappy.”

Sitting on the couch, Cooper frowned. “You’re not pissed at me, are you?”

“Why would I be?”

“You were drunk and we… You do know what we did, right?”

“I wanted to. I told you that.”

“Yeah, but I thought you might wake up and figure it was a mistake and I’m an ass.”

“I’m not mad at you. I am a little shocked you remember my name, but otherwise we’re good.”

Sighing, Cooper leaned back and draped his arm across the back of the couch. “I keep saying you’re special and not like the other girls and you keep waiting for me to forget your name.”

“I was teasing you.”

“No, you weren’t.”

Easing into a chair, I sipped the coffee. “I’m sorry.”

“Come to my house today.”

Lifting my gaze to his face, I saw Cooper waiting for me to say no.

“I’m not feeling that great.”

“I know and sitting in this tiny apartment won’t make you feel better. When my mom gets hung over, she likes to sit in the sun. We’ve got the hot tub too. It’s relaxing.”

“That sounds nice,” I said, standing up. “I’ll get dressed.”

“Don’t worry about a swimsuit. You can borrow one of Bailey’s again.”

I started for my room then stopped next to the couch. “I’m sorry I cried last night. I know that’s lame.”

Cooper glanced at me and his gaze darkened. “We both know why you were crying and you should never apologize for that.”

Nodding, I left to get dressed in shorts and a loose lavender shirt. Returning to the living room, I found Cooper looking out of the window.

“How did you get the coffees here?” I asked, making stupid chitchat.

“Brought my truck. Figured you might not feel up to riding the bike.”

“Thanks.”

As soon as I had my backpack on, Cooper reached for my hand. We walked quietly through the hot morning to his truck and I slid inside. Cooper joined me and reached for the air conditioning. I touched his hand while setting my coffee in the cup holder.

“Can we have the windows open? The fresh air will probably help.”

Cooper nodded. “Sure, baby. Just rest.”

The smell of late summer had an intoxicating effect on me and I dozed off. When the truck stopped, I figured we were at the Johansson place. Instead, I turned my head to find us parked on the side of the road and Cooper staring out the front window with an angry frown. I was just about to ask if he was okay when he pounded on the steering wheel. As the truck shook, I squirmed closer to the door, ready to run.

Cooper stopped pounding and stared out of the window again. “Last night was a mistake,” he said in a rough voice.

“Why?”

“I keep saying you’re special, but last night wasn’t special. You were drunk and we were on some guy’s bed and I should have stopped.”

“I had to be drunk or else I’d have been too nervous, but I wanted to be with you.”

Cooper glanced at me and I felt uneasy under his gaze. “You have this effect on my heart. When I think I’m losing you, my chest hurts like I’ll die. It makes me crazy and I thought I’d lost you because of last night. Then, you were all cool with it, but you should be angry. Last night was shit. You were drunk and scared and I don’t think you liked any of it. I should have stopped myself, but I felt weak and I wanted you so bad that I fucked up.”

“Cooper, if you really think I’m special and want to be with me, we’ll have other chances. The first time was probably going to be weird anyway, just because I’m weird about sex.”

Glancing at me, he frowned. “Why did you tell me you weren’t a virgin?”

“I’m not.”

Cooper eyed me angrily. “How many guys have you said yes to?”

Shrugging, I looked out the window. “Who cares?”