Temporarily Yours(34)

He pushed up off of her and stood, crossing the room to grab a condom. She started to roll over, but he stopped her. “Stay where you are. I’m not done tasting you yet.”

Her eyes went wide and she fell back again, watching him as he walked. “Keep that up and I might want to keep you around even after the wedding,” she teased, a seductive smile on her face.

Ha! As if she’d want to. Sex was one thing. But once she got to know him better, she’d see that he wasn’t worth keeping around.

So he didn’t bother to reply.

Instead, he grabbed a condom and rolled it onto his cock. Once properly sheathed, he came back and lowered himself on top of her, biting back a groan at how intoxicating her skin felt against his. Would he ever get enough of her? Of this?

He captured her lips and, without breaking contact, rolled over, bringing her with him so she was on top, straddling him.

Grabbing her hips, he guided her in a position guaranteed to make her come fast, and folded her legs around him. He pumped his hips up and cupped her breasts, going so deep inside her he wanted to shout.

The feel of her tight pussy around him and the vision of taking all of him in, her breasts bare and her eyes closed in ecstasy, almost pushed him over the edge.

As he pinched her nipples between his fingers, she flung her head back. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back as she rocked against him.

“Jesus,” he groaned, lifting his hips again. “Come for me, Kayla.”

She leaned forward until their chests touched and nipped at his lower lip. He cupped her ass and repositioned her so her clit rubbed against him with each thrust. Her inner muscles tightened around him even more, her breath coming hard.

She was close. So fucking close.

Rolling her onto her back, he slid her legs onto his shoulders and plunged inside her hard. Fast. His pulse raced and his cock begged for release, but he wouldn’t allow himself to finish until she came one more time.

Just…one…more…time.

Her fingers fisted into the sheets and her back bowed, her whole body going tight. The walls of her pussy squeezed down on him as she came. Groaning, he pulled almost completely out then slammed back inside, his fingers flexing on her as he did so.

The room around him faded away, and the pleasure of his orgasm took over. Everything ceased to exist but this woman. This room. This moment.

Kayla.

He smoothed her hair off her face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she gripped his biceps. The way she looked up at him, her eyes soft and her lips swollen from his kisses, sent a pang of something unfamiliar to his heart.

If he didn’t know better, he would swear it was something dangerously close to…feeling. Something more than attraction and lust. But that would be completely foolish under the circumstances. Whatever this warmth in his heart was, he had best terminate it with a kill shot. He was leaving soon.

He withdrew from her and pushed off of the bed in one motion. As he rolled off the condom, he headed toward the bathroom, needing a few moments of privacy before he faced her again. After brushing his teeth, he took a quick shower, hoping that would make him feel like himself again.

The Cooper from a few days ago.

But it didn’t work. She was on his mind the whole time.

The most he could hope for was that she hadn’t seen the vulnerability he was feeling, or sensed the tenderness in his heart that snuck up on him like a ninja. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by any doubts as to his goals, nor could he afford to want more than a few days with Kayla.

He had a lot of mistakes to make up for, and his first step to that end had been getting the job with Frankie Holt. The second would be going overseas and protecting his men. With this job, he would be protecting the same team he had let down before. The men he’d failed. He would keep them safe, even though he hadn’t kept Josh safe.

He owed it to them. Hell, to himself, too.

As he dried off, he studied himself in the mirror. Same dark circles. Same haunted eyes. Same guilty conscience. Nothing had changed in the last day, despite the short-term happiness he’d found in Kayla’s arms. Good. The guilt was his constant companion, and he needed it with him.



Keeping him focused.





Chapter Fourteen

By the time Cooper came back from his shower, Kayla was a nervous wreck. He’d seemed…done. As if he wanted to leave her. And then…he had.

He’d walked away without a word.

The bathroom door opened, and he came out. He didn’t have a towel on, but he was scrubbing his head with the one he’d used to dry off with. He was gloriously naked and the black tribal tattoos on his chest danced with every movement he made.

He came to his side of the bed, then lay down beside her.