Returning to be near him, I sit on the edge of the bed and open the bottle to take a sip. When I look up at him, sympathy enters his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
I don’t want that to be how he always looks at me. “You don’t have to be sorry, and you don’t have to feel sorry for me, Cooper. You just need to find what makes you happy because isn’t that the best revenge?”
“Happiness?”
“Happiness is something money can never buy.” I tap his chin. “Even if your last name is Haywood. So you might as well seek the good fortunes of every day instead.” I take another sip. “You ready for bed?”
With a nod of his chin, he says, “I’m ready all right.”
Before I get cozy under the covers with him, I go to the bathroom and then find packages of toothbrushes and toothpaste on the counter. “Did you even order the toothbrushes?”
From the bedroom, he replies, “It’s what a concierge does. I told her that when we checked in, you wouldn’t have anything except the clothes on your back. She said she’d take care of it.”
Okay, so he went out of his way to make sure I’d have everything I needed, but one thing doesn’t make sense since he surely brought a bag with him from Haywood. “Why’d you leave your bags in the car?”
“Out of solidarity.”
I stop, toothbrush in one hand, paste in the other, and stare into the mirror. His words . . . no, him. All of Cooper Haywood has me grinning. Happiness not only consumes my face but is bursting into my heart. It’s been so long since I’ve seen the girl reflected back at me. A giddy shiver runs through me, and I mouth, “How’d I get so lucky?”
“It’s not luck.” He startles me, the handsome jerk leaning against the doorframe.
With my hand still pressed to my chest, I ask, “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to correct you.” A wry grin doesn’t stop my heart from beating so fast, but it does cause it to race for other reasons. “It’s your heart that drew me in, babe.”
“And here I thought it was my ‘tits’?” I laugh like I’m funnier than I am.
His chuckle is lighter as he comes into the bathroom. Tough crowd tonight. Looking me square in the eyes, he says, “They’re fucking fantastic, but that heart of yours is hard to beat. Pun intended.”
“Look at you, bringing the funnies.” Bumping my hip into him, I hand him his personal dental care package.
Hugging me from behind, he sweeps my hair to the other shoulder and kisses my neck. “I’ll be bringing funnies tonight.”
I spin in his arms and wrap my arms around him. “Guess Christmas is coming early.”
“Not sure about Christmas, but we will be.”
I gut chuckle because the joke lands just right on this night in particular. “You’re a very naughty boy. Isn’t sex forbidden on Christmas?” Call it my mood, just a stage in life, or that it’s him that has me feeling this way lighter than sunshine and more optimistic than ever, but I soak it in. Reaching behind me, I hold his head just where he is, letting him love on me, and for the first time, I feel deserving of it. I bend my fingers and scrape my nails lightly over his scalp.
His lips press to mine, and then he kisses the corner of my mouth. “It’s just us, babe. We get to make our own rules.” His words are the permission to let all the things go that I’ve held on to so tightly for the past three years.
Being strict with myself and my needs, denying myself pleasure, guilt-free happiness, or even being myself haven’t led to what this man’s managed to give me in the past week. I was getting by, surviving, but I wasn’t thriving or really living at all.
He’s a dream come true, a knight in shining armor who’s come to save me from myself. I kiss him to satisfy the cravings he brings out in me, wanting to feel his fingers digging into my skin, to taste the first drop that leads to him coming, and have him consume my body physically like he does emotionally. Call me selfish, but he’s right.
We make our own rules.
Leaning back far enough to catch my gaze, he asks, “How do you feel about marble?”
I look around at the bathroom with no idea why he’s asking. “I love it.”
A smirk nothing less than one the devil himself would wear crosses his lips. “Good. Get naked and turn around.”
Cocking an eyebrow, I reply, “As long as you drop the reindeer pants and join me.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I plan to join you all right.”
His words are the starter gun we both needed. I skip the buttons and yank the shirt over my head. My pants are down just after his. Standing naked in the warmth of the bathroom with his erection already at attention and my nipples hard, I turn around.