Page 53 of Hooking the Captain
His eyes closed, and he bent down, capturing my lips with his again. His tongue explored every part of my mouth, and I returned the action. How I’d survived two months without this was a mystery to me.
Before I was ready, he broke the kiss and reached for the lube. I watched as he poured a generous amount onto his fingers and then reached behind himself to begin prepping his body. The combination of pleasure and concentration showed on his face, and my cock stiffened even more in anticipation of sinking into him.
“Grab the condom,” Coop ordered.
Without taking my eyes off him, I reached over and snatched up the rubber, unwrapped it, and rolled it down my length. I quickly squirted some lube into my hand and stroked myself until he withdrew his fingers and positioned himself over me. With slow, deliberate movements, he lowered onto me inch by inch.
A groan escaped my mouth as he began to move, and time seemed to stand still. With Coop was where I belonged—lost in his touch, where nothing else mattered.
As we moved faster, I could sense Coop was on the edge of release, so I wrapped my hand around his shaft and began to jack him in rhythm with his movements. His breath grew ragged, matching mine, and we both picked up the pace. I thrust up into him one final time, and he arched his back while moaning. The feel of him clenching around me caused my own orgasm to rip through me, my body jerking as I spilled into the latex.
He rolled off of me, and we both took a minute to catch our breath before I climbed off the bed to deal with the condom.
When I returned, I slid behind him, wrapped my arm around his waist, and began trailing my hand up and down his abs. “That was incredible. I’ve spent the last two months dreaming of us getting back together, but I wasn’t sure it would ever happen.”
Coop rolled over to face me, and I stiffened when I saw the hint of sadness in his eyes. “We can’t get back together, Ford.”
“But—”
He reached for my hand. “I’ve missed you so much, and when I saw you tonight, a lot of feelings came rushing back. Feelings I didn’t want to ignore, but nothing has changed.”
“Yes, it has,” I implored. “I know what I did to Professor Foster was wrong, and I’m so sorry. If I could take it back, I would.”
He sat up. “Although I appreciate the apology, it doesn’t change the fact you lied to me. It would be difficult for me to trust you again, and I don’t know how we would be able to work on that while you live in another country. And while you may regret your actions now that it all blew up in your face, I’m not sure I can be in a relationship with someone who hurt someone I care deeply about.”
“But I love you.” Those words were all I had left to offer him.
Coop shook his head. “I love you too, but sometimes love isn’t enough.”
Tears welled in my eyes as his words settled over me. While I was determined to fix things between us, he was equally determined to protect his heart. Knowing there wasn’t anything I could do to change his mind, I sat up and whispered, “I never meant to hurt you or anyone else, but I understand.” I took a deep breath, then slid out of the bed and tried to steady myself as I gathered my clothes from the floor and started to get dressed. “I guess this is goodbye.”
Once I had my clothes on, I walked out of the bedroom.
“Ford,” he called out, but I didn’t stop.
I walked out of his apartment and out of his life.
15
FORD
I arrived backin London much the same way as I had two months ago. I was a complete wreck and my heart was in shambles. The minute Coop had pulled me into his apartment and kissed me, I had assumed we’d work through our issues and get back together. Instead, I was waking up in my flat alone and wondering if I would ever be in a relationship where I didn’t completely fuck things up.
It wasn’t as though I disagreed with what he’d said. I knew we had a ton of shit to deal with if we ever wanted to be a couple again, but it didn’t make it any less painful to hear him say it wasn’t going to happen.
After trudging up the three flights of stairs to my apartment, I fumbled with my keys and unlocked the door. Once inside, I closed it behind me and slumped against the cool wood with my suitcase beside me. The long day of travel and the emotional strain of my trip had left me exhausted. But as tired as I was, my mind wouldn’t stop replaying every moment with Coop. From how gorgeous he looked while riding me and then the sadness etched on his face as he explained the two of us didn’t have a future.
I needed an escape, but I was too drained to consider going to one of the local pubs. Instead, I stood and walked further into my apartment, desperately looking for something to dull the pain. Lucky for me, a half-empty bottle of vodka sat on the kitchen counter. Grabbing a glass, I poured at least two shots worth of alcohol and quickly tossed it back. The liquid burned as it slid down my throat, providing a temporary distraction from my heartache. I refilled my glass and headed for my bathroom so I could wash away the airplane grime.
After turning on the shower, I finished my drink while I waited for it to warm up. Once the water felt hot enough to ease the tension in my body, I stepped under the spray and closed my eyes, hoping to find relief. No matter how heartbroken I was, it was time for me to accept I’d lost Coop for good. I would give myself this one last night to feel sorry for myself, and then I would go on and live my life, hoping I could one day find happiness.
A loud ringingpierced through the haze of my alcohol-induced sleep, and I covered my head with my pillow to drown out the noise.
“Ford, turn off the damn phone,” Kaylee grumbled next to me.
Having my coworker in my bed wasn’t all that uncommon. It had been almost two months since I had come back to London, and most of my days started at work and ended at a pub. Kaylee would often join me, and we would hook up, but we both understood it was a casual thing. In fact, she told me whenever she would go out with other guys, and I’d had a few one-night stands in the past few weeks as well.
Fumbling around on the nightstand, I knocked over an empty beer can before grabbing my phone. It took a second for my eyes to focus on the screen to see it was a little after noon, and it was my mother calling.
