“No worries,” Cooper added.
Melinda watched as the men hiked away from them until they were out of sight. “What the fuck just happened?”
“I was hoping you were going to tell me.”
“I’ve never been so confused in my life.” She shivered. “Where did they come from? How did they sneak up on us? Why didn’t we scent them?” She twisted around to face her brother. “Were those the same men you saw early Saturday morning?”
Cooper nodded. “Yep. The very same ones.”
“So two guys are wandering around in the woods day and night spying on the same fracking site as us with no particular agenda, no scent, and a stealth I’ve never known to exist.”
Cooper stuffed his camera back in his pack and took the binoculars from her to do the same. “What are you thinking?”
She stared at nothing, her gaze still nailed to the spot where the men had disappeared between the trees. “You think they were human?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Talk to me,” Sharon said as she set her chin on Cooper’s chest and flattened her palm on his firm pecs.
Jackson had left ten minutes ago to go for a run, grumbling about having to do so on human legs and far more frequently than his mates just to keep up half the stamina they seemed to have an unlimited supply of.
Cooper was distracted. The sun was peeking over the horizon. He’d only been home a few hours, and she knew he’d slept fitfully at best.
He tipped his face down to meet hers. “Sorry. My mind won’t stop running.” He tucked his arm around her waist and smoothed his palm down to her ass.
She lifted her top leg and wiggled it between his, forcing them open and nestling her thigh against his cock. “Perhaps I can distract you for a few minutes before you return to the real world.”
“Mmm.” His eyes slowly closed as he squeezed her butt cheek. And then, without warning, he twisted toward her, grabbed her by the waist, and flipped her onto her back. Seconds later he positioned himself between her legs, his cock lodged at her entrance.
She sucked in a deep breath, her body coming to life.
Cooper grabbed both her hands and pulled them over her head. “Grab the headboard, baby.”
She wrapped her fingers around two slats and held on.
“Don’t let go.” His words added fuel to the fire. How did he always manage to send her to the edge of the universe with just a few syllables of command?
She nodded, aware of two things—her breasts were now high and tight on her chest, and her thighs shook with need.
When Cooper wrapped his lips around one nipple and sucked, she bucked her chest into his mouth. His tongue flicked over the tip rapidly, making it stiffer. He cupped her other breast, slid his fingers toward the nipple, and pinched it, pulling the offended tip away from her body as he continued to suckle her.
As he switched sides, dividing his attention equally between her nipples, she lost the ability to breathe. That was how fast he made her soar.
She wrapped her ankles around his thighs and held him tighter, willing his cock to reach into her. But he would need to climb farther up her body to get inside where she craved him the most.
“Cooper…” She rolled her head from side to side as her mouth grew dry. Her pussy clenched at nothing. A normal woman would never get so close to orgasm in such a short time, but she wasn’t normal. She was a shifter, and this was one of her mates. His presence alone made her body tighten with desire. Waking up next to him sent a flood of wetness to her channel.
Everywhere he touched her, she burned. Every inhale drew his scent into her lungs. Every blink of her eyes graced her with the visual of his perfect features—the deep brown of his eyes, his long lashes, the way the corners of his eyes narrowed when he smiled.
“Cooper…” she repeated, squirming beneath him but not getting any purchase. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She released the headboard to grab his shoulders in order to dislodge him from her nipples. They ached deliciously, but she needed to come, and it wasn’t going to happen from stimulation to them alone.
He released her nipple with a pop and lifted his gaze. Before she knew it, her hands were back above her head and Cooper was on his knees straddling her thighs while he tugged the sheet out of the tucked end of the bed and drew it up toward her hands.
She gasped when the soft material grazed her wrists. As he wrapped one end of the sheet around her wrists, her eyes went wide. He’s going to tie me up?
“That’s right.” He chuckled. “I told you to keep your hands around the slats.”
“But…” Her voice trailed off as he tugged the other end of the sheet and secured it to the headboard. When he was finished, she pulled on her hands only to find them nearly completely immobile. “Cooper…”