Page 14 of Protected By my Brothers Best Friend

Given the fact that I’m dying to see this massive man hold this small baby, I hand her over, all while hoping I can keep my ovaries from screaming.

God, why does he look so good holding her in his arms? He’s so big and rough, and she’s so soft and gentle. It’s sweet. He’s sweet. He wanted to hold this baby. He wanted to feed her. He tips the bottle up and sits on the couch. “How’s the copy? Still sleeping?”

“Yeah. Apparently, she sleeps through the night now. It’s her sister that’s a pain in the butt.”

Cooper laughs and glances toward me. “I’m glad she woke up. I like seeing you with her. You’ll make a good mom.”

My heart does the crunchy, crushy thing, and my neck breaks out into a warm prickle. “Thanks. You, too. You’re really good with her.”

Sienna sucks down eight ounces in a matter of minutes and Cooper lifts her onto his shoulder to burp. His big hand rubs over her back and he taps over and over again until finally she releases the air she’s been holding. Spit up rolls onto his back and soaks through his t-shirt. He laughs and hands her back to me.

“I guess that’s why I should have a towel.” He strips off his shirt and sits back onto the couch.

I try not to look, though I’m not sure why. His fingers have been inside of me and it’s clear that we both know what we want, but not looking makes me feel in control, and feeling in control makes me feel like there’s an actual decision to be made.

Turns out, there’s not, and the control I’m speaking of doesn’t actually exist.

I hold Sienna in my arms, bouncing her gently as I stare toward my brother’s best friend, wishing I could run my fingers through the hair on his solid chest.

He’s gorgeous, big, covered in ink, and he smells like the forest after a gentle rain.

My thighs ache and my ovaries tempt me again.

“I heard you talking up there. Are Bryan and Shanna awake?”

“Oh, no,” I whisper. “That was Collette.”

“More advice?”

I bite back a smile. “Maybe.”

“How’d it go?”

“Well, she thinks we are hormone crazy and maybe we should…” I tip my head to the side. “Ya know… do it. Get it out of our system.”

He grins. “I hate this advice less than the last round, but that still doesn’t get me what I want.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you for more than tonight, Iris. I want this. Middle of the night feedings and late-night conversations. Fucking you isn’t a cure for that. It’s only going to make the yearning worse.”

“Couldn’t hurt anything to try, though. Right?”

“Your virginity. You really want to lose that to me?”

I step toward him, Sienna between us. God, I want this. I want this so bad. I want my own child, a little cabin, late nights, and I want the two of us standing in the warmth of a fireplace with desperation under our skin forever.

“I told you my virginity is for you, Cooper. I love you, and no matter what happens between us, that doesn’t change.”

He leans down and kisses my lips gently, then the top of my head. “I don’t have protection.”

“We don’t need it.”

“Well… we don’t know what we’re doing yet. So technically, we do.”

There are a million things rolling through my mind. Ruining my relationship with Bryan, my mom hating me, Cooper losing his second family, and possibly his work here on the mountain. But still, all I want is to be as close to Cooper as possible.

“I’m okay with no condom if you are. I need to lay Sienna down. Meet me upstairs in like five minutes.”

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