He led me around the corner of my building and I saw a sleek, black limo parked along the curb. I had been expecting his car—he didn’t seem the type to be chauffeured around town. He had always been the one driving anytime I’d been with him.
“I have a little surprise for you,” he growled into my ear.
My eyes darted to his and noted the sparkling gleam in them. He was up to something and I was fairly certain I was going to like it.
That was the problem.
His driver had come around at the sight of us and he rushed forward to open the door. Cooper held my hand as I lowered into the car, careful to keep my skirt down and avoid showing too much. Once I was inside, he released me and climbed in after me. The driver shut the door and it was dead silent for a moment. I could have sworn I heard my own heart beating frantically inside my chest. The nearness of Cooper was overwhelming—his eyes on me, his hand on my skin, and his intoxicating smell surrounding me.
I scooted along the bench seat, slowly trying to inch away to the other side of the car without him noticing. He placed a hand on my bare thigh and stopped my progress.
“Where are you going, Allison?” he purred.
His hand on my leg was sending my senses into overdrive and clouding my mind.
“No—” I stopped, sucking in a sharp breath as his hand slid higher, nearly to the hem of my skirt. “Nowhere.” I answered.
“Good.” His hand left me just long enough to reach down and produce an opened bottle of champagne. He poured a generous amount into a delicate-looking flute and handed it to me. I gingerly accepted it, his fingers brushing across mine in the exchange. He poured himself an identical amount.
“To tonight,” he said, lifting his glass up.
“I’m not sure it will be a toast-worthy night,” I added. I clinked my glass against his and was about to drink, but he stopped me, his fingers enclosing my wrist.
“What do you mean?” he asked, his face shifted and a flicker of anger shot through his dark eyes.
I rolled my eyes, preparing myself for his theatrics. “I know what you think is going to happen tonight. It’s not. I just thought you should know.”
I pulled my wrist away from his grasp and took a sip of the zingy bubbles
that had accumulated in the top of my glass. To further add to his frustration, I licked my lips slowly.
His eyes were trained on me, not missing a fraction of a second.
“Allison, why must you make things so difficult?”
I laughed. “I make things difficult? You cannot be serious.”
His eyes told me that he was.
“Cooper, all you do is use me. Over and over. And yes, I know, none of it was forced upon me. I was a willing participant. But it stops now. I’m tired of feeling like yesterday’s trash every time we do this!”
“This?” He cocked an eyebrow at me, as if he didn’t understand my insinuation.
“Yes, this. Hook up, fuck, whatever you want to call it. It’s demeaning and I’m done with it. I don’t care how good-looking you are or how much money you have, it’s not worth it.”
I finished my tirade and sucked back the glass of champagne, taking it down like a shot. I desperately needed the alcohol to hit my system so my insides would stop freaking, the fuck, out.
Cooper stared at me, his face unchanging. A shiver of fear went slinking down my spine.
“Is that all you think this is? Hooking up? Fucking?” he finally asked.
Something about the tone of his voice suddenly had me spinning, questioning myself.
“Yes?” I said—my voice unsteady as I reconsidered my argument.
“It isn’t. Not for me.”
Fuck.