Page 54 of You Can Make Me
“Denny…”
I recognized his tone and the hitch in his breathing. I pulled off in time to witness the most erotic and surreal sight.
Every time we had sex, Cooper regained a little more of himself, of that confidence that had pushed him to seduce me, despite my initial insistence that I was straight.It also drove him to tackle the most important stories. As he regained control over his body and grew stronger, I fell more and more in love with him until I thought my heart would explode out of my chest.
That day I’d witnessed him receiving a commendation for his journalistic work, I’d felt proud of him, and I’d wondered if that was even appropriate. Being proud of someone, I thought, meant you took a little ownership of their success.
Now, I realized that my pride came from watching someone in their darkest place, clawing their way out and persevering. I’d been here to see it all, and my reward was watching this incredible man find pleasure after so much pain. Seeing him glow with happiness when I’d feared he’d never smile again.
He sat on the counter, his tan skin flushed and damp, his chest heaving as he came down from an orgasmic high, and he smiled at me.
“Come here and hold me.”
I stood and pulled him close, tangling my fingers in the back of his long, wavy blond hair. “I love you, baby,” I whispered, kissing his ear. “Thank you for letting me make you feel good.”
He dropped his head back and let out one of his trademark loud laughs, and then he pressed his forehead to mine.
“Thankyou. We’ve come a long way from that first time, huh? You don’t need to ask me questions anymore, do you? You’re an expert on my body now.”
I chuckled. “Hardly. You’ve been an excellent teacher. I’m here for your pleasure anytime.”
Cooper pulled back and cocked his head to the side, his ice-blue eyes containing a renewed joy and sparkle. “How long did you rent this place for?”
I ran my thumbs over his hip bones and shrugged. “It’s month to month, why? You want to go home?”
I knew he would sooner or later, especially now that he was stronger. In the past week, he’d been talking more with Sam about next steps in his story.
He’d written a draft of a brilliant piece about recovering from trauma and what responsibility the state has to victims. He hadn’t gone too into detail about his own story, but he’d gone hard on the lack of assistance for families after-the-fact, tracking down stories of medical bankruptcy because the survivors—he preferred that term—required long-term care that the state wouldn’t cover. Or those who were so impacted emotionally by what had happened to them that they were no longer able to function to work.
It was time to start doing interviews, and I’d been wondering whether he was ready to step out of our protective bubble. I wanted it to be completely on his terms.
Cooper’s arms rested on my shoulders, and he twirled my scraggly hair around a finger. This was the longest I’d ever gone without a haircut, and it had become an experiment to see how long it might actually get. I might have turned fully silver, but I still had a thick head of hair. We didn’t have mirrors in the place, so I had no idea what I even looked like. We were both shaggy, but where I probably resembled a middle-aged guy on a bender, Cooper looked even more glamorous than before.Ass.
I couldn’t be mad, though. Not at all.
“Only if you come with me. Move in with me, Den.”
I swallowed hard. “In LA?” I hadn’t allowed myself to hope for cohabitation as a next step. I cleared my throat. “You sure that’s what you want?”
Cooper leaned over and grabbed my goofy Magic 8 Ball. I chuckled as he shook it in both hands.
I couldn’t breathe as we waited for the little triangle to settle.
“Most Likely.”
We both laughed, but it was heavy with uncertainty. We’d gotten some of our comfort with each other back, but this was a big moment.
“Damn plastic menace,” I said, taking it from him gently and placing it back on the shelf. “You don’t need to?—”
“Please, Denny. I’ve thought a lot about this, and I really don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
I barked out a laugh. “That’s not creepy at all.”
He gave me a little shake, his gaze intense. “I’m not kidding. I let you go before?—”
“You left before.”
He gave a frustrated groan. “I was stupid, okay? I thought we’d already established that.”
