Chapter Fourteen
By the time Cooper came back from his shower, Kayla was a nervous wreck. He’d seemed…done. As if he wanted to leave her. And then…he had.
He’d walked away without a word.
The bathroom door opened, and he came out. He didn’t have a towel on, but he was scrubbing his head with the one he’d used to dry off with. He was gloriously naked and the black tribal tattoos on his chest danced with every movement he made.
He came to his side of the bed, then lay down beside her.
“Hey,” she said softly.
He turned his head toward her. His green eyes sucked her in, like usual. “Hey yourself.”
“You okay?”
“Yep.” He looked at her with a wrinkled brow. “After what we just did, why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I don’t know. I just got a feeling—”
He rolled his eyes and laughed, but it sounded a little forced. “This isn’t a real relationship. You don’t have to worry about my mood swings. I’m fine.”
“But we should talk about whatever you’re thinking. I know there’s something on your mind, so don’t pretend otherwise.”
“You’re right. There is. But that’s where it’s staying—in the privacy of my own mind.” He turned over and cupped her cheek. “But if you want to talk about feelings, let’s do this. Tell me. Why do you feel the need to lie to your parents?”
She blinked at him, totally confused. “What do you mean?”
“They love you. Even I can see that. I think if you just explained that you’re perfectly happy single, or that you just haven’t met the right guy, they’d back off. Have you ever considered just talking it out with them?”
She pulled away from him. Was he trying to lecture her about her parents? Please. She knew them much better than he did, thank you very much.
She cleared her throat. “You know what? You’re right. Let’s not do this.”
“Oh, so now you’re on board with the not talking thing?” He rolled to his back, folded his arms behind his head and smirked. “Typical fake girlfriend behavior.”
Anger surged through her, red hot. “This relationship might not be real, but I will kick my fake boyfriend’s ass. Consider yourself warned.”
His smirk widened, which only pissed her off even more. “Consider me scared, if it makes you happy.”
“Cooper.” She curled her hands into fists. Where the heck had this fight even come from? Oh. Right. She’d asked him about his feelings. How stupid of her. “This conversation is over.”
“Fine.” He turned his head toward her. “But have you ever considered it’s in your mind—all these troubles you think exist with your family?”
She tilted her chin up. “Are they in yours?”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe your advice applies to your own dad. Maybe if you talked it out with him, you’d see he loves you and isn’t trying to hand you something on a platter. That he isn’t trying to offer you a consolation prize for disappointing him. Maybe he just wants to give his life’s work to his son, crazy as it might sound.”
“That advice does not apply to me,” he said through clenched teeth. “I simply want an even playing field. I’m not lying or making up a fake life to make him happy. I’m not the one being close-minded about reality.”
She flinched. He wanted to attack her where she was weak? Bullshit. “Why does the ground always have to be even? What’s so wrong with using something to your advantage if it’s presented to you?”
“It’s just not how I roll.”
“Yeah.” She studied him, taking in the stubborn cut of his jaw. “I got that loud and clear.”
His nostrils flared. “Let me guess. You think it’s stupid and that I should just ‘talk it out’ with him? As if that will fix the problem of me not taking something I didn’t earn out of principle?”
“Who says you didn’t earn it?”
He tugged the blankets up over his body. “Being my father’s son isn’t a f*cking job qualification, Kayla. And I have other debts to pay. Now drop it.”
“Maybe he’s offering the position to you because he feels you’re the right man for it. Maybe he admires your work and dedication. Did you ever think of that?”
He glared at her and rolled over, giving her his back. “My father is not your father. Now go the f*ck to sleep, sweetheart.”
She punched her pillow, fidgeting to get comfortable. “Sleep tight and secure in your ignorance, darling.”
He stiffened even more but didn’t rise to the bait. When she realized he wasn’t going to fight back, she rolled over and glared at the dark room. She’d been right to avoid love and commitment like the plague.
Even fake relationships sucked ass.
…
The next morning, Kayla lay in the bed, staring at the sunlight forming shapes and shadows on the hotel ceiling. Last night had been…weird. The fight had been way too intense and…well, real.
Since when did fake relationships start having real fights?
Maybe they were getting too caught up in the charade and just needed to laugh it off this morning. Do a reset or something. She rolled over and rested her hands under her cheek, watching him as he slept. He looked so peaceful.
She knew he wasn’t.
He was haunted by his memories, and there was nothing she or anyone could do to help him. He had to let go of those nightmares all by himself. And he had to forgive himself. She only wished she could make it easier. They’d come together because he’d been trying to save her.
But he needed saving, too.
His lids fluttered open, and his bright green gaze met hers. His light brown hair was sloppy and standing up on ends, and he had a major five o’clock shadow going on. His tattoos stood out against the white sheets on the bed. He was even super-hot first thing in the morning.
Not. Fair.
“Good morning,” she said, smiling at him. “So, that fight was…interesting, huh?”
His lips twitched. “To say the least.”
“Why were we arguing when this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing is fake, anyway?”
“I have no clue.” He curled his arm around her waist and rolled her underneath him, his eyes back to being warm and carefree. Thank God. “But you know the best part about fake fighting?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “What would that be?”
“The real make-up sex you have afterwards.” He grabbed her leg and bent it at the knee, his cock brushing against her with deadly precision. “You ready to make up, sweetheart?”
“God, yes.”
She tugged him down and kissed him, her tongue finding his. His hands roamed everywhere, exploring her body as if he was memorizing every single curve. She wrapped her legs around his waist and gripped his muscled back. Man, she loved how hard he felt.
How invincible he seemed.
She had a feeling he liked showing that image to the world…even if it wasn’t entirely accurate.
He nibbled his way down her neck, her chest, and then clamped on to her nipple. He sucked with the perfect amount of pressure, as he ran his fingers down her stomach and over her hip.
Her insides quivered. Begged for more of it—lots more. And he gave it to her. He rolled her over onto her stomach, then slid lower, his hard body moving down hers with teasing slowness. She curled her fingers into the mattress and held her breath. He kissed down her spine, and then over the curve of her butt.
And then, oh God, then he slipped between her legs and lifted her hips so he could go down on her from behind. She cried out and buried her face in the pillow, loving the way he made her feel. It was such a vulnerable position, but with Cooper?
There were no words.
His fingers flexed on her hips, and then dug in just enough to hurt a little bit. She whimpered and pressed back against him, so close. And then she soared over the edge, her whole body going tense.
She felt him pull away from her and she heard the sound of a condom wrapper ripping. And when he positioned himself behind her, lifting her on to her knees, she held her breath and waited. Waited for him to rock her world all over again.
He didn’t disappoint.
He surged inside of her, burying himself completely. She pressed even closer to him, loving how much he filled her. And then all hell broke loose, because he was moving inside of her and need took over, not allowing for anything besides him.
And this.
Her entire body tightened and grew intensely sensitive, and he moved inside her smooth and hard. She came again. Explosively. Unexpectedly. No one else had ever given her multiple orgasms like this. After a few moments, she crashed back down to earth in time to feel him come inside of her. He gripped her ass so tight it hurt, but then he collapsed on top of her with a shudder.
And it was then…right then…that she realized something crazy. This wasn’t strictly fun, carefree sex anymore. He made her feel better, in the bed and out of it. He made her happy. Like, long-term-share-my-hopes-and-dreams kind of happy.
What the heck was she supposed to do with that?
They both rolled to their sides so that they faced one another. He had a smile on those lips she loved so much—full dimples and all. “That was the best fake-make up sex ever.”
“Agreed,” she said, keeping her tone light even though she was panicking inside.
He reached out and toyed with her hair. “If that’s what I get for fake-fighting with you, then I just might love fighting with you from now on. Want to go again?”
There was that word again. Love. That word on his lips did strange things to her heart. Like making her want to hear it for real.
Oh, God. Had she really just thought that? Please, no.
“Kayla? You okay?” he asked, his brow furrowed.
“Uh, yeah.” She forced a laugh. It sounded maniacal. “Why would you ask?”
“Because you’ve been quiet for three minutes.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “Just…staring at me.”
Her cheeks went red hot, but she forced a smile. He wouldn’t know. He could never know. “Well, in my defense you’re quite fun to look at.”
“Yeah?” His lips twitched. “Back ‘atcha, sweetheart.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“So, what’s on the agenda today?” He lightly ran his hands up and down her sides, making chills dance over her body. “Are we busy?”
“Um, let’s see…the family dinner is tonight, but the rest of the morning and afternoon are wide open. Susan wanted to be able to sleep in and relax the day before the wedding, instead of all that rehearsal dinner crap the night before. That’s why we did it last night instead of tonight.”
“So we have a few hours before we report for duty?”
“Yep.” She rolled to her feet and headed for the bathroom. “Why? What do you want to do?”
He followed her, then leaned against the doorjamb, right next to the spot where she’d watched him take her in front of the mirror. Had that been only yesterday?
“How about if you show me the town? Your old haunts, or maybe your old school?”
She cringed. She’d hated high school…falling perfectly into the majority statistic. About seventy-three percent of kids hated high school. The only ones that didn’t were the cool kids. “Hmmm… That sounds awfully real. Why would you want to see my old school?”
“Because you went there,” he said, his voice soft. “Please?”
“Cooper…” she said, drifting off. And when he looked at her, all warm eyes and hard abs and sexy lips…who was she to say no? “All right. We’ll do it.”
“F*ck yeah. Let’s do this,” he quipped.
She closed her eyes for a second at the onslaught of feelings those words brought about. And then she sucked it the hell up and got in the shower.
Wondering how she was going to get him out of her life now that she’d already let him in.