Page 78 of Craving Cooper

“Not like what?” I ask, holding still inside her.

“Nothing.”

It’s clearly not nothing, but there’s only one thing it can be, and even though I’d rather she wasn’t thinking about him, I have to know exactly what’s on her mind. I can’t bear there being any secrets between us.

“Tell me, Mallory. Are you talking about when you were with Jonah?” I ask, surprised by how jealous that thought makes me feel.

“No,” she says, like that’s the dumbest suggestion she’s ever heard. “I’m talking about when you were with Meredith.”

“Excuse me?”

I pull out of her as gently as I can and sit on the bed, then lie beside her, waiting until she falls forward and turns to face me.

“I—I could hear you, when you were together,” she says, the regret in her voice more than obvious. It borders on pain, and I can’t say I’m surprised. I think I’d rather she told me intimate details about her ex than that she’d had to live through intimate moments between me and mine.

“You could hear us?”

“Yes.”

I reach out, cupping her face with my hand and she leans in to my touch. “I’m sorry, Mallory. I never thought… I mean, if I’d known…”

“It’s okay,” she says, surprising me. How can it possibly be ‘okay’?

“Seriously? You didn’t mind?”

“Of course I did. If I’m being honest, I hated every second of it.”

I lean in and kiss her lips, brushing mine against them before I pull back and gaze into her eyes. “I can understand that.”

“You can?”

“Of course. I felt the same.” She looks confused and I have to smile. “I heard you, too, baby.”

“You did?” she asks, her eyes sparkling, despite the slight blush on her cheeks.

“Yeah. The first time was the weekend we helped Laurel and Brady move house. I assumed you must have a man with you, and I remember thinking how lucky he was… and what a good time he must be showing you, because you were clearly enjoying it.”

“Is that why you asked if I had a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, it was. Of course, when I realized you didn’t…” I let my voice fade and she smiles, her fingers wandering down my chest, and playing over the contours of my abs, which captures my breath for a moment.

“You worked out there was no-one in the room, other than me… and my trusty vibrator.”

Vibrator? Shit…

“I—I didn’t realize there was a vibrator involved. Hell… I’d have paid serious money to see that.”

She giggles. “You don’t have to.”

Before I can stop her, she pulls herself free of my grip, and leaps off of the bed, running for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Upstairs.”

“Without any clothes on?”

“Naturally.” She tips her head, in the cutest way, and says, “There’s no-one here to see me.”

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