Page 72 of Craving Cooper

“Are you?” he says, with just the slightest of smiles twitching at the corners of his lips.

“Yes. You can’t abide women who ask for more… and here I am complaining that all you’ve done is behave exactly as you do every other day.”

I try to pull away, despite having a door behind me, but he won’t let me, and moves even closer, his feet either side of mine, his body pressed against me.

“Can I tell you something?” he says, moving his hand up slightly to cup my cheek.

“If you want.”

He dips his head, his lips almost touching mine, and I can feel the tension between us. I want him to break it with a kiss, but I want to hear what he’s going to say, too, and I gaze up at him… waiting.

“The reason I didn’t come out here all afternoon was because I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know my limitations. Staying away from you might have been torture, but I knew if I came out here and saw you, I’d have to rip your clothes off and fuck you over your desk.”

I gasp, and he traces a line around my lips with his forefinger, then dips it inside my mouth, far enough that I have to suck. His eyes widen as he watches, and he flexes his hips into me, letting me feel his arousal, before he pulls out his finger and shakes his head.

“I—I didn’t realize,” I murmur.

“Why would you?” He smiles. “I didn’t explain, and I should have done. But please don’t worry about asking for more, or demanding anything of me. I’ll give you whatever you need.”

“You will?”

“Yes. So, what do you need?”

“You.”

He chuckles, flexing his hips once more. “The feeling’s mutual, in case you haven’t noticed.”

I giggle and he steps back, taking my hand and leading me toward the rear of the building. I deposit the keys on my desk as he turns out the lights.

“I still need to feed Saffron,” I say as we get to the top of the stairs and he turns to me, nodding his head.

“Okay. I’ll give you five minutes. If you’re not back by then, I’m coming to find you.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Absolutely.”

He gazes down at me, but rather than waste time talking, I pull away, giving him a smile as I run for the stairs. I hear him chuckle, the smile not leaving my lips as I let myself into my apartment.

“Saffron?” I call out, and her head peeps up over the arm of the couch. It’s like she’s surprised to see me, and rather than jump down to greet me, she takes her time, stretching her legs and flexing her paws, letting me know everything is done on her terms, not mine. I shake my head at her, and dash to the kitchen, aware of the passing time… because while I quite like the idea of Cooper coming to find me, I think I’d prefer our first time to be in his apartment, rather than mine. I’ve never been through his front door before, but I’m sure it’s more comfortable down there than it is up here.

I grab some cat food and a clean bowl, and waste no time at all putting it out for Saffron, who’s joined me in the kitchen.

“I hope I won’t be back until breakfast,” I say, setting her bowl on the floor. “But you’ll be fine without me.”

She looks at me like she doesn’t doubt that for a second and then sniffs at her food and starts eating. I’m dismissed, and that’s just as well, because I’ve got somewhere else to be.

I don’t need my keys, so I leave them on the kitchen countertop and just pull the door closed behind me, running back down the stairs to Cooper’s apartment. He’s left the door ajar, but I knock anyway, and although I half expect him to call out, ‘Come in’, he doesn’t. Instead, he yanks open the door, grabs my hand and pulls me inside, straight into his arms, our lips meeting in a brutal kiss. His tongue is in my mouth, his hands on my ass, and a low growl leaves his throat as he kicks the door closed and walks me backward until I hit the wall just beside it.

I’m being consumed, and I’m loving every second of it… although I need some air. I can’t breathe…

I pull back and look up at him, noting that he’s filling his lungs, too… so I guess I wasn’t alone in that, which is gratifying.

“I—I thought we were gonna talk,” I whisper, and he smiles.

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