Page 67 of Bound by Family
I kick the door shut then toss my woman on the bed and lay on top of her, my weight pressing her into the mattress.
“Cooper, you did not just do that.”
“Beautiful, I did. Get used to it.”
She begins to sputter words, but I put my finger over her lips. She glares, but stays quiet.
“Told you I wanted this. One thing you gotta know about me is, once I make a decision, I stick with it. You’re mine, and there’s no going back from that.” Only then, do I remove my hand.
“Do I get a say in any of this?”
A chuckle escapes my lips. “As long as you say what I want.”
She tries to wiggle, but I have her captured. “You weren’t an arrogant jerk on the phone or when we met.”
“Never had a reason to be, but this is me.”
“I don’t like it.” The twinkle in her eye tells me she’s not being truthful.
“Yeah, you do.”
She shifts again. “What do you mean, I do?”
My thigh is rubbing the heat between her legs, and she lets out a sexy as hell moan.
“Your body tells me so. It’s your brain we need to get on board.”
“Cooper, I didn’t come up here for you to take care of me. This is exactly what your mother accused me of doing. That’s not the intention. If we do this—reallydo this because I want to—then we’re equals. We talk about things before decisions are made. We go fifty-fifty on everything that comes our way.”
“I get where you’re comin’ from, but beautiful, gotta tell ya, certain things, I’m not budgin’. I pay for the rent on the house we get.” She starts to argue again, and I shake my head. “I mean it. This is not negotiable. I take care of you. Now, you can pick out whatever the fuck you want in the place, and I’ll live with it. I leave grocery money on the table, you get the food. That’s my idea of fifty-fifty.”
“What, so you’re going to let me actually talk now?”
Smiling, I answer, “Sure, beautiful, just know some things a man won’t let his woman do for him.”
She lets out a very heavy breath like the weight on her shoulders is too tough to bear. This makes my gut twist. She doesn’t need to stress about this. I got it, and she needs to know that, but I let her say her peace.
“Cooper, this is going way too fast for me. Yes, I care about you very much. Yes, I want to be with you. But just jumping into a place together and you taking over paying the bills … That’s just not how it works.”
“Says who? You got some instructional manual?”’Cause I sure as shit don’t.They don’t exist.
“No.”
“Didn’t think so. We do this the way we want. I want to take care of you. That’s the man I am inside. I don’t want to run your life, or tell you where to get a job, or no, you can’t. Hell, I couldn’t give a shit if you paint our place pink, though it would suck. We’re doing this, and we’re gonna make it right.”
“Don’t you think this is warp speed?” she whispers.
I roll off her and pull her body up to mine, our chests inches apart and feet tangled. “This is an eternity compared to my parents.”
“Oh, come on. An eternity? Exaggerate much?”
I chuckle at her quick tongue then peck her on the lips. “My father held a gun on my mother the first time they met.”
She sucks in a deep breath. “No way!”
“Yep. They exchanged some words, and it got a bit heated. He claimed her right then and there, on the spot, and didn’t look back.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “You’re shitting me.”
