Page 90 of Craving Cooper

I sigh and wonder if we should talk about it, or whether this is one of those times when words aren’t necessary… not because actions speak louder, but because sometimes things don’t need to be said to be understood.

And I think we understand each other.

I make it to my desk, still thinking that through, and check the time as I switch on my computer. There are still a couple of minutes to spare and I note that the keys are in the door already, wandering over to unlock it and pull up the blind. I can hear Cooper in his surgery, and Greta, too, which means he must have let her in before I got down here, and as I sit behind my desk, getting ready for my day, I can’t help wondering why everything feels so normal.

It shouldn’t.

It should feel extraordinary, and I wish he’d come out here and say something… anything, to make me feel like last night wasn’t a dream.

Because it’s starting to feel like I imagined the whole thing and that words aren’t just necessary. They’re essential.

Chapter Eighteen

Cooper

I was down here less than five minutes after Mallory left my apartment. Admittedly, I didn’t clear away the breakfast things, or tidy the apartment, or even make the bed. I just put on a set of clean scrubs, checked my hair didn’t look too messy, found my shoes, and ran out the door.

That gave me a few moments to finish tidying the surgery… a job I’d left undone last night, for the simple reason I had better things to do. A few moments was all it took to make it look as though I hadn’t abandoned my duties, thank goodness, because I’d only just finished when Greta arrived. I let her in, trying to pretend it was just a normal morning, even though it felt like the exact opposite… especially as Mallory wasn’t at her desk, and I missed her already. I get how feeble that sounds, but I honestly don’t care. I love her, and when she’s not with me, I miss her… so much that I have to go see her. Right now.

“Can you finish getting everything ready, please, Greta?”

“Sure.” She doesn’t even look up, and I guess she thinks I need the bathroom, or something… when in reality, I just need to see Mallory, even if it’s only for a few seconds.

I wander out into the reception, pausing when I see she’s sitting at her desk, rummaging through her top drawer. She looks incredible, her hair braided loosely behind her head, and I wonder how she can look so together when I feel as though I’m falling apart without her. How can she treat today like it’s no different from any other, when in reality, nothing will ever be the same again?

I wander over, and even though she hasn’t noticed me yet, I lean across her desk and whisper, “I’ve missed you.”

She glances up, a smile lighting her face, and she says, “I was hoping you’d come out here and say something like that.”

“You were?”

“Yes. I’ve been feeling kinda lost.”

I go around to her side of the desk and crouch beside her. “Me too.” Although in the strangest way, I think I’ve finally found myself.

I rest my hand on her thigh, and she gasps, parting her legs slightly. “We can’t start something now,” she whispers.

“I can’t stop.”

She stares at me with such longing in her eyes, and I squeeze her leg, leaning in to kiss her, just as the door opens and my patient arrives.

I stand, stepping away, although Mallory looks up at me with a smile, and I give her a wink before I welcome Mrs. Brennan.

“I’m sorry I’ve had to come in so early,” she says, having clearly not noticed anything amiss between me and Mallory. “It’s just that Greg and I are supposed to be going away this afternoon, and I won’t survive the journey, let alone the vacation, if I don’t get this tooth looked at.”

“It’s fine, Mrs. Brennan. Come with me and we’ll soon have you feeling better.”

“Oh, thank you, Doctor White.”

She’s simpering slightly and as she enters the surgery, I turn to Mallory, who rolls her eyes at me, a smile touching at her lips. I blow her a kiss, which seems to surprise her, and I hear her sigh, even from here.

“I want you,” I mouth silently. She nods her head, licking her lips, which does crazy things to my cock, and I realize the stupidity of that move, even though I can’t help myself, and I take a breath before going inside the surgery and closing the door.

I need a little time to recover from that and while I pretend to check a few things on the computer, I think about Mallory. Why wouldn’t I?

Neither of us has said a word, but it feels like we’re on the same page. It feels like we both want more than a physical relationship, and although that thought ought to scare someone like me, it doesn’t, because the thought of anything less with Mallory is terrifying.

“Where are the keys?” I say as the door closes on Greta.

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