Page 109 of Collateral Damage
“I’m… I don’t know… confused, I guess,” I confess.
He squeezes my fingers and steps closer. “Are you… confused about me?”
I shake my head. “Not exactly.”
“You know what you want?”
“Yes.”
“And… are you sad about it?”
I shrug, but the closer he gets, the more my heart hopes. Every nerve ending in my body is alive, firing off brighter than all the fireworks.
“I’m sad, too,” he says.
I blink. “Why?”
Cooper doesn’t talk about his feelings, especially the hard ones, but this moment feels open with me in a way he’s never been before.
“I screwed up. I never should’ve… done things with you. I’m so sorry.”
My gaze drops as I try to hide my frown.
“Don’t be sorry.” I step closer. “Ilikedit, Cooper. Don’t you get that? I liked it, and I like you.” He tilts my chin up with his tender hand, and our gazes lock. This is the time to be brave. “I wanted you to do it, and I wish you’d do it again.”
He shakes his head slowly, confusion clearing for something much more heated, as his hand travels to the back of my neck and holds tight. “What do you want?”
A breath hitches in my chest, and I search for the right words but come up short. All I can do is hope he can read the longing in my expression.
Wrapping an arm around my lower back, he draws me to him so fast and so hard our bodies crash into each other. His hard cock is an unmistakable confession, even before he parts his lips. “It’s pretty fucking clear what I want, and I’ll take anything you’ll give me.”
I should tell him I want to be exclusive, but I go with the safer option. “Maybe we could try the friends with benefits thing? We’ve both been successful with that, and I think we could be successful together.”
God help me… I rub against him, and he groans with molten heat. I tremble under his touch, expecting him to kiss me, but he hesitates, those hooded eyes searching mine. The crashing waves in the background seem to go silent as I wait for his answer on bated breath. The moment stretches out as if on a tight wire, both of us waiting for the other to make the first move.
Do we steady ourselves?
Do we fall?
Or do we jump?
“Fuck it,” he growls, lips crashing to mine.
Forty-Six
Cooper
Past - Age 26
Waking up hungover is no surprise, considering most of last night is still a blur. Ethan and I went out, but then Arden texted him. I left them to do their own thing and headed to the bar, but not before Arden told us Sybil had gone home with Reed Havish.
Reed Havish? Really?
I’vealwayshated that guy. He’s the kind of self-serving holier-than-thou prick who doesn’t deserve a girl like Sybil.
Reed will do anything in his power to be seen with the right people and then leach onto those people and suck them dry. I swear he’s a future politician.
We met him in college, and last I’ve heard, he’s still the same brand of asshole, so I had no problem not thinking of him anymore.
