Cooper (The Family Simon 6)

Morgan rested her chin on her hand, shaking her head. “This is sounding more like a horror story.”

“You have no idea. I hop onto the dock, and Danielle is in hysterics. Once I got over to her, I could see why. Her face was inflated like a goddamn blowfish, and that’s not an exaggeration. I thought she was dying, and all she could say was, ‘You said there were no peanuts in the stir-fry.’”

He tossed his napkin. “So not only did I nearly kill the girl I was trying to steal from my cousin Jack—”

“Bastard move.”

“Agreed. But I had to come clean about the whole thing. About how I’d arranged for Cook to make dinner. About how Cook had obviously put peanuts in the stir-fry. Danielle knew I’d told the rest of our gang not to come because I had every intention of hooking up with her.”

“So what happened?”

“Well.” Cooper sat back in his chair. “She wouldn’t let me take her to the hospital. She called Jack right away and told him everything, and the first thing he did when he got home was this.” He pointed to his face and watched as Morgan tried to stifle a giggle.

“He broke your nose?”

“Sure did.”

Her mouth twitched. “But you totally deserved it.”

“Right again. She wasn’t a trophy I should have gone after.”

A few seconds of silence followed his declaration, and then she moistened her lips. “So what am I, exactly? Another trophy for your shelf?”

He was shaking his head before she’d even finished speaking.

“No,” Cooper said carefully, getting to his feet. He walked around the table and

bent low, his mouth a few inches from her ear. “You’re the woman I want to spend the night with. Not because she belongs to someone else and it’s a game. Not because there’s no one else available.” He kissed her behind her earlobe and smiled when he felt her shudder. There was something insanely hot about making a woman react to the merest whisper of a touch.

“I want to spend the night with you because I think you’re sexy as hell and you smell good.” He inhaled deeply. Damn, but her scent drove him crazy.

“I smell good.” Her voice was rough.

“Mmhmm. Every inch of you.”

She shook her head slowly. “I’m not sure you want to see every inch of me.”

The tremble in her voice made his gut ache, and he moved so that he could squat in front of her. “Hey,” he said roughly. “We can go slow. We can go fast. I’ll take you home if that’s what you want.” His chest swelled. “But don’t ever think I don’t want to see you. I already see you here.” He touched her breast, his hand gliding over her heart. “And I see you here.” He slid his palm up, cupping her head as she leaned into him.

“I’m not sure…” She paused as if struggling for the courage to say what it was she needed to get out. “I don’t know if I…” She swore and dropped her gaze before exhaling shakily. “I hope you’re not disappointed if I can’t, well, if I can’t…” She shivered violently, and her voice broke.

Cooper stood. She didn’t look up at him, and when he held out his hand, she hesitated, but after a few moments, she slid her smaller one into it. Cooper pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her, holding her so close he could feel her heart beating rapidly. Hell, no surprise there; his own was banging away like a damn jackhammer. When was the last time a woman had managed to pull that kind of reaction out of him?

He wanted her, yes, but he wanted her to want him just as much—and for all the right reasons. For a guy used to aggressive women, the kind who used sex not only for pleasure but as a means of manipulation, this right here was something different.

He nuzzled the top of her head and then murmured, “I’m not going to lie, Morgan. I want you.” He inhaled her unique scent. “I want you naked in my bed. I want you on your knees and bent over. I want you beneath me, over me. I want to hear you sigh when I touch you and growl like an animal when I slide inside. I want it all.”

Her breathing increased—he felt the warm air against his chest—and he dropped his mouth to her neck. He slid his lips downward, smiling to himself when she let her head fall back, giving him access to the fast-beating pulse that told him just how worked up she was. He trailed a line of kisses along the base of her throat, but stopped when she suddenly froze and dug her fingers into his arms.

Slowly, his eyes swept open. He saw the dappled, damaged skin there and pulled back so that he could see her properly. Her bottom lip was trembling, and that thing inside him twisted when he saw the anxiety and fear on her face. It twisted hard, and Cooper loosened his grip. He had to take a moment and get his shit together.

“I want you. Simple as that. I think you want me. But I get that this is hard for you, so if you want me to take you home, I will. Right now. Just say the word.”

Throat tight, he waited, his lungs aching because he couldn’t breathe.

Morgan looked up at him, those big eyes of hers shimmery and pale and so damn clear, he felt as if he could see into her soul. She exhaled and walked away from him toward the sofa. She hit the lights in the kitchen, leaving only the glow from the fire to light the room. And with her back to him, she reached for her top.

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