Lifting my legs gently, he caressed my knees and then leaned down and kissed where his fingers had been. The soft lingering kisses making me squirm, his lips moved upward, and I panicked a little. Trying to close my legs, I noticed Cooper stop and frown as his lips found my right inner thigh. I avoided his confused gaze, instead staring up at the clear sky.
Cooper took the hint and moved his affection to my stomach, giving my belly button a lick. "An outie," he said, grinning.
Smiling too, I was relieved he wasn't forcing the issue. Relaxing my legs around him, I watched Cooper explore. At first, I thought he was just amazingly thorough and then I realized he was testing me. So he was amazing and perceptive.
Cooper soon learned what I had discovered an hour earlier. I had very sensitive nipples. They and Cooper shared a long make out session. By the end, they were his slaves. Grinning as if knowing he'd won them over, Cooper kissed me tenderly.
I wrapped my legs around his hips and waited for the pressure of him filling my body. Once he was inside, I smiled. "I can't believe I'm running around naked like this," I nearly whispered, so relaxed as the upper part of my body floated and the lower part rested in the confident hands of a man in no hurry.
"I can't believe how calm you are," he said tenderly, his tone matching mine. "When we met, you were a ball of nerves. Now look at how relaxed you are."
"It's all because of you."
Cooper smiled, but I knew he was thinking of how he messed up in the past. I wasn't thinking of anything besides the delicious pressure of Cooper moving in and out of me. As he held me in position with one hand, his free hand explored. Teasing my nipples and then touching me between my legs, they tried to coax an orgasm out of me.
As I stared up into the cloudless day, a hawk flew high over the massive trees. I watched the bird as my body inched closer and closer to an orgasm. My breathing sped up, and I felt every nerve on fire. It was ready to happen when something just clicked and my eyes burned. As the moment passed, I refused to look at Cooper.
"I'm paying attention," he whispered. "My girl is relaxed and doesn't look afraid. Even with the tears, you look calm."
Finally, I met his gaze. "I was so close."
"It'll happen," he said, thrusting a little faster now, yet without any real intensity. "It's my mission in life to make it happen, and I never fail."
I watched him return to exploring. His fingers grazed my lips and then slid down my chin, just learning every groove of my body. By the time Cooper held my hips with both hands and worked towards an orgasm, I had my legs wrapped tightly around him. Loving to watch his face when he came, I found it extremely gratifying to see him so unguarded.
I floated for a while longer with him inside me as his hands again explored. We were so calm with each other that I couldn't believe we'd slept together for the first time only the night before. While that time hadn't been amazing, this day was perfect in too many ways to count.
Eventually, Cooper slid out of me and then pulled me into his arms. "You look tired."
"So do you," I mumbled.
"We could take a nap in a guest room and then grill our dinner. Maybe even swim again. The house is pretty much ours for the evening."
"A nap?" I asked, grinning. "Who takes a nap?"
"I do all the time. I'm up at night, and you don't want to know how grumpy I get without enough sleep."
"You, grumpy? I don't believe it."
"That there," he said, gesturing towards a small stall, "has a shower. We could wash off the chlorine and then head inside. My girl needs more rest than she's getting with her crap job."
Even thinking to defend my crap job, I was actually really tired. A nap sounded nice. Though I doubted I would sleep. We left the warm water of the pool and hurried to wash off before the slight breeze clung to our wet bodies.
After the shower, Cooper wrapped me in a towel while he remained nude. Taking my hand, he led me to a guest room where he lowered the shades and found an extra blanket.
"I always get cold during naps," Cooper explained. "Plus, we're naked."
"We are so naked," I said, licking my bottom lip.
"Stop making me hard."
I undid the towel and then dropped it on a chair before sliding under the covers.
"I'm cold. Do you think you could warm me up?"
Cooper grinned. "You had me at the lip lick."
Overheated quickly from his tongue's affections at my stomach and chest, I still wouldn't let him lick lower. When Cooper pressed open my legs, he didn't struggle with me like the night before. I really felt in the moment until the pleasure grew too intense and I shut down. Cooper watched my face as he moved slowly in and out of me. If he thought it would make any difference, I think he might have held on for another hour.
When I ran my nails along his chest, Cooper gave up and just let go. Those last few thrusts were so deep that the sensations sent me somewhere between abject terror and intense pleasure. I was always so close to coming, but couldn't get past the wall.
Cooper said nothing after we finished. Cuddled with me, he made sure we were snug under the blankets. I didn't think I could sleep in a strange bed with a man wrapped against the back of me especially with the slightly painful tingles between my legs. While certain that I'd stare at the wall until Cooper woke up, I was instead asleep within minutes.
Waking to a murky room, I wondered how much time passed while I napped. I turned to find Cooper lying on his side watching me. He smiled when our gazes met.
"Have you been up long?" I asked.
"Twenty minutes top."
I reached for his face and let my fingers slide across the stubble on his cheek. Lifting my head to kiss him, I felt him press something against my lips.
Cooper grinned. "A mint so you won't have to worry about your breath."
Opening my mouth, I took the mint before smiling so widely my face hurt. "You're too perfect."
"Yeah, I know," he said, leaning down to kiss me. "Man, you're hot when you sleep."
I had no time for a response because his lips were on mine and the kiss stretched into us wrapped together. Our bodies were so warm under the blankets, and I knew what Cooper wanted. Well, more like needed. I felt a little sore, but when he touched me just right, I opened my legs for him.
There was something extremely comforting about being in that room with Cooper. The house smelled like peaches from a nearby air freshener. It was quiet and warm, and I felt safe with Cooper as if he alone could hold back all of the ugliness in my life.
Chapter Sixteen
Tawny answered on the first ring like her hand was hovering over the phone. While I thought maybe she sensed I would call, her voice sounded panicked for her to be expecting me.
"Tawny, what's wrong?" I asked.
"We're somewhere else now."
"Is Dad around?" I asked, sitting in the guest room while Cooper readied our dinner.
"He's got a con going and thinks he could have the money to pay off those people. I still don't know what he'll do about the cops, but he says he's close to fixing one problem. Then maybe we can move somewhere else, and I can get a job."
Tawny sounded like she was reciting Dad. I hated when she did that because it meant she was on autopilot. I remembered how when things were really bad my little sister would pull deep within herself and go through the motions. Sometimes, it was difficult to reassure Tawny enough for her to come out of hiding and I feared she'd lock herself away forever.
"Are you okay?" I asked gently, feeling guilty to have spent such a wonderful day while Tawny was trapped somewhere.
"Yes, I'm glad you called. Did you sleep with that rich guy?"
"Last night."
"Was it good?" she asked, sounding more like Tawny now and I could see the little grin on her face.
"It was okay."
"Was he mean?" she asked, the humor gone.
"It was just weird and … " I glanced around like someone might be listening even though I knew I was alone. "I cried last night and again today at Cooper's house."
"Why? You said he wasn't mean."
"He wasn't. He's really hot too, and I want him, but then I started crying. It's weird."
Tawny said nothing for nearly a minute. "You need practice. It's like when I would get nervous at new schools. Every time I had a new class, I would cry. Then I got practice, and it wasn't scary. Yeah, you just need more practice."
Smiling, I felt like Tawny was in the room with me. I wished she was, and my eyes burned at how much I missed her.
"He's been so great today. Like taking care of me and saying nice things. He makes me feel like I'm important."
"You are important."
"I guess, but most people don't think that. Cooper has all his money, and he's really hot, and I know other girls don't cry and act weird. I know he can do better, so I'm excited by how he likes me so much."
"You have a calming thing," Tawny said, again sounding confident as if she just knew stuff. "You make people feel relaxed and people like that. I always felt better when you were around even if everything was shitty. You did that, and maybe he needs that calming thing too. Maybe that's what you have that those other girls don't have? You're beautiful, smart, and funny too, but a lot of people have those things. A lot of people aren't calming, though."