"Nice," he replies, kissing my neck. "Fridge is full, and so is the pantry."
"Yeah, your mom called me the other day to find out what I eat," I say, laughing as the girls call his name.
"Daddy," Emma says. "We are chasing the waves."
The girls run through the water. I know their shorts are getting wet, and we will have to change clothes as soon as we get into the house.
"I think this is a private beach," Cooper says, looking around, and I see that it’s just us on the beach.
"I mean, I don’t put anything past your father for renting the beach for two weeks," I say, turning in his arms.
"Daddy," Mia calls him. "Can we go see the house?"
"Come on." I hold out my hand to her as we walk back to the house. Cooper has his hand over my shoulder. One hand holds Emma, and my hand holds Mia, and he is right. We’ve walked like this before. When we get to the steps, he grabs Mia to walk faster, and I walk up with Emma.
"Wash off your feet." I point over at the little faucet on the side of the deck. I turn on the water for the girls and wash off their feet before turning and following Cooper into the house.
The back door leads straight into the kitchen, a white island in the middle of the room with three stools. The girls run to the fridge and open it, asking for a snack. "You need to wash your hands," Cooper states. "And then you need to change."
"You go do that," I say. "I’ll cut some fruit." I take off my jacket, and he points at the stairs.
The girls go, and he lingers, coming over to me and kissing me quickly. "We are going to spend all day outside, so the fresh air can get the girls tired, and I can have my way with you tonight," he says, smacking my ass before going up the stairs.
I’ve cut the watermelon, strawberries, and some grapes by the time they come back downstairs dressed in shorts and Dallas T-shirts. "I made you plates," I tell them, and they climb onto the stools. I run over to make sure Mia doesn’t fall. "Eat this, and I’m going to go change," I tell them, and they nod at me. I walk up the steps, poking my head into the first room and seeing bunk beds. Cooper is unpacking their bags.
"Hey," I say, "which room is mine?" He looks up and just smirks.
"I put your bags in my room," he informs me, and I fold my arms over my chest.
"Cooper," I say to him, and he comes to me and grabs my ass with his hands, bringing me to him. "The girls," I remind him, and he puts his head back, and I laugh.
"Fine," he finally says, letting go of my ass and kissing the ever-loving shit out of me. There is no mistaking that this kiss is needy, and if the girls weren’t downstairs, I would already be naked, and so would he. "You can move your bags," he concedes, letting go of my lips.
"Thank you," I say, turning and walking away.
"But," he says, and I laugh.
"Of course there is a but." I stop and turn to look at him. "Heaven forbid there would be no buts."
"But," he says again. "If your ass isn’t in my bed tonight, I'm going to carry you there over my shoulder." He puts his hands on his hips, and I swear I can feel his touch already. "Are we clear?"
Chapter 23
Cooper
The sun hits my face, and I blink my eyes open as the ocean waves sound in the background. I turn to the side to grab Erika, but the bed is empty. I get up on my elbow and look around the room. The walls are painted gray, and the whole back wall is four doors that face the ocean and open to a balcony. One of the turquoise curtains is pushed aside, and I can see Erika’s hair blowing in the wind. I look over at the bedside table and grab my phone, seeing it’s just a bit after seven.
We kept the girls up later than I wanted to, but they weren’t used to the room and the bunk beds. But the minute the house was quiet, I took her hand and led her to the bedroom, the both of us lunging for the other one. I throw the cover off me and pick up the boxers I took off during the middle of the night when she rubbed her ass against me. I slip on the boxers and smell the coffee.
I walk to the room and see the girls are still sleeping, and the door is closed, something Erika would have done when she woke up. The stairs creak when I get down to the last step. I walk over and see the mug on the counter next to the coffee maker, and I smile when I know she left it out for me instead of me opening and closing the cabinet doors to find it. I pour some coffee and make my way back to the bedroom, grabbing the blue shorts on the way out. Opening the door, I feel the warm breeze and look over at Erika, who looks up at me and smiles. "Morning," she says as she sits on one of the white Adirondack chairs facing the ocean. I leave the door open in case the girls have to call me.