Deliciously Damaged (Reckless Bastards MC 3)

As if sensing my discomfort, Cooper excused himself to the en suite bathroom. Once alone, I frantically dressed myself, shoving my soaking wet panties into my purse. I heard the water turn on in the attached bathroom and wondered if I should leave before he came back out. Wondering if maybe he was taking his time on purpose, in hopes that I wouldn’t be here when he got back.

I gave myself one last pat down to make sure I was as put together as I could possibly get, all things considered, and then reached for the door handle. As soon as my fingers wrapped around it, the bathroom door opened and Cooper stepped out.

“Leaving so soon?” he asked.

I pressed my eyelids closed, wishing I had been just a little faster in my escape. This was so beyond awkward. I mean, the sex had been incredible. I could barely stand without my legs feeling like Jello, but that wasn’t the point.

The point was…I had originally come over to his office to un-complicate things, to make sure that everyone knew nothing untoward was going on. And then….this happened. Ugh.

What the hell is wrong with me? I wondered silently.

My only defense seemed to be to put my guard back up and hide behind my normal mask, sarcasm, sass, and feistiness.

“Is there normally a gift basket? Or some other type of parting gift for your special visitors?” I asked, turning back to him, doing my best to make my expression as blank as possible.

He looked at me like I had just slapped him across the face. “Wow…so that’s how you want to play this?”

“Play what?” I asked, not knowing if I wanted an answer.

“Nothing, Allison. You just said—”

“—I need to get back to work,” I said, my voice breaking slightly. I squared my shoulders and pursed my lips to try and make up for the falter.

He shook his head. “All right.”

For a moment, I wanted to stop myself, to tell myself that I was being a bitch and that I should give him a chance, but I couldn’t. All I could do was run.

So I pushed out of the office, sped past his uppity secretary and hurried to the elevators, not daring to look back to see if he was watching me leave.

Chapter Eight

In the course of a week, I had turned into the very person I had sworn I would never be again.

“What is the matter with me, Sam?” I rolled over in my bed and questioned the squished feline face that was staring at me from the pile of pillows on the floor. After fleeing Cooper’s office, I had taken a cab back to the pastry shop to get in my car and go home. I spent the rest of the day nursing a bottle of wine and ended the night with a shot of cold medicine. I woke up tangled in the sheets, makeup smeared all over my pillows, and I got pissed all over again and threw them all over the floor and went back to sleep. When I woke up again, Sam had nested down and was watching me intently. At my question, he offered a slow blink and then flopped back, signaling he would like his belly rubbed.

I rolled my eyes but smiled as I scooted over to the edge of the bed and extended a hand to pet him. “Thanks for taking my problems so seriously. You’re a real lifesaver.”

My internal disappointment wasn’t with the act itself. Even in the midst of my self-loathing, I had to admit it was the hottest sex of my life. Not that I had been with a million guys, but nothing had ever come close to the heat and power of the interlude with Cooper.

Cooper.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. His dark eyes were waiting for me behind my closed lids. There was no escaping him. He was in my thoughts, my deepest fantasies, and now in my most passionate memories.

His hands on my bare skin, tracing the outlines of my tattoos. Kissing my face, not missing one single freckle. His teeth nipping at my lower lip. The way he filled me and the power behind each thrust.

I groaned and dug my fingers into the sheets as my body heated up all over again.

“Fuck!”

I shoved up out of bed and stalked off to my bathroom to take a—very cold—shower, desperate to scrub away the tingles all over my skin.

Two hours later, I was back in my cubicle, doing my best to keep Cooper as far from my mind as possible. This proved to be quite the challenge since my entire job currently revolved around him. Luckily, Bryce was in meetings all morning and no one else in the office would dare talk to me. About me seemed fine—but not directly to me.

I spent most of the morning on the internet, poking around and not really doing anything productive. My inbox was empty and around lunch time, I started to wonder what the point was. I was literally being paid to sit and play Sudoku on my phone. I know a lot of people who would love that gig. However, I found it really boring. When I worked at the coffee shop, I was always busy. There was always cleaning to do, restocking to take care of, product displays to fix. Never an idle moment. The days flew by and I went home tired from an honest day’s work.

This was just pathetic.

I checked my email again.