Page 49 of Temptation and Tyranny

“Cooper, calm yourself. It wasn’t all him, but he did make it worse. I…I have a medical condition where I tense up inside whenever I’ve attempted…intercourse.” The last sentence nearly did me in, and I felt a tear start in the corner of my eye.

Cooper was there in a second. He crawled back on the couch and pulled me onto his lap again. He was still naked, and I could feel his erection straining against me. At least I knew he still wanted me, was still aching to be in me, despite my…shortcomings.

“Hush, sweetheart. I wondered…you were so…tight…but trust me, it was still the best sex of my life.”

“Don’t humor me, Cooper. I’m a big girl. You don’t have to pretend—”

“I’m not pretending.” His gruff tone was back, but he quickly dropped it. “I find you…you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever been with.” His face angled down to my body, touching me everywhere, carefully, as if to prove he wanted every single bare bit of me. His fingers pressed into my waist, his large hands reaching down and rubbing my backside lightly.

My mouth dropped slightly. I searched his face, finding nothing but sincerity in his gaze. He was telling the truth. That single admission was more shocking to me than finding out that he was a criminal mastermind.

“I…I don’t know what to say. I’d worked through it, but then Tomas came along—”

“There’s nothing to say, Allegra. I want you. I want any part of you I can have. I’m not going to pretend that I’m good for you, or that what we have is healthy. But I promise, you’ll always be safe with me in bed. It might make me a pig to say it, but I’ll be the best you’ve ever been with. I’m not the type of guy that has girlfriends, and I’m not going to get married or leavemy work. That’s the bottom line. But…I can’t stay away from you. Maybe…maybe we should just let this run its course. Enjoy what we have for as long as it lasts.”

I wasn’t looking for a commitment, but his brutal honesty hurt me for a split second. But there was no way I was going to marry someone like Cooper, and it would be a lie to pretend I didn’t want him.

“You’re right…let’s just enjoy this while we can.”

Cooper grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He leaned in and kissed me on the forehead, and then grabbed the tee-shirt I was borrowing from where it had fallen on the floor. He helped me back into it, and then replaced his sweatpants.

I was instantly confused. “Did I ruin the moment…?”

“Absolutely not, angel. But now that I know what you need, we’re going to take things slow. You need to trust me fully before we jump back into bed together.”

I frowned. I wasn’t sure if I could ever trust someone from the underworld. But I didn’t admit that, and instead followed him back to bed. “What are you doing?”

He pulled back the covers. “You need cherishing tonight. Not sex.”

I hesitated, then crawled into his bed. Cooper went to the other side and lifted the sheets to join me. A sharp hiss sounded, and Bianca instantly arched her back, tail thick and quivering.

“Bianca!” I scolded. She looked at me, then back at Cooper, and jumped down from the bed, most likely heading off to sulk somewhere. “Sorry,” I mumbled towards Cooper.

He said nothing, but moved closer to the centerof the bed. His arms instantly went around my middle, and he pulled me into his hard chest. The scent of scotch hit my nose, along with his cologne.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. I’m just not an animal person myself.”

I let my head fall back towards his chest, and I exhaled deeply. I felt calm again, but one single thought kept running through my mind.

“Cooper…until this…runs its course, can you…will I be the only one in your bed?”

He was quiet for a long moment. “I’m surprised you thought you’d have to ask.”

“I just—I can only imagine how many women you’ve had in this bed, and I can’t be with you if I knew you were still with them, and—”

“You can rest assured,ma belle. No woman has been in this bed but you—and I doubt that will change, no matter what happens in the future.”

Chapter Seventeen

Cooper

As the sun began to rise, the rays landed on Allegra’s head, picking up all of the beautiful colors in her hair. I’d never had a preference for hair color, but watching the light as it brought forth browns of every shade to life against her scalp, I decided right then and there that brown was absolutely the best.

Allegra shifted slightly next to me, but I just pulled her tighter against my chest. It broke my heart to see her embarrassment over her confession last night, and I hated the fact that she felt like it was something she couldn’t share with me. Now that I thought about it, the revelation made sense. I had just thought that she was small or inexperienced, but then I recalled how tense she had been, almost as if she stopped breathing. When she had told me that Tomas had made it worse, I found myself wanting to abandon her in my bed just so I could go murder him. I’d make it painful, something slow and agonizing…

But then she had murmured in her sleep, and I knew I didn’t want to leave her side. Especially after she’d been so vulnerable last night. It was a side of her I’d never seen before. During my physical therapy appointments, she was confident and in charge, strongand determined. But last night—she looked like a broken doll.

I hated that look on her beautiful face. I never wanted to see it again.

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