Page 41 of Every Single Vow
She screams, her gloved hands pounding on my ass as Ari busts out laughing.
“Hold down the fort, Ari,” I call over my shoulder before charging to my bedroom.
If there’s one thing my girl can stir up out of nothing, it’s chaos. And hers has always been my favorite kind.
Chapter twenty-five
Dakota
“Cooper Ryon Mayson. Put me down,” I command, my voice as stern as I can muster.
Except it’s not stern. It’s breathy and confused because myfakehusband just nonchalantly called mebabythen just proceeded to spank my ass after he slammed our bedroom door shut.
“Oh, full naming me now.” He stops to ease me down. “I’m in trouble.”
“Big trouble,” I mumble when he stands to his full height just to peer down at me.
“I’m going to need you to reel in the panic for me, yeah?” He twirls his thick fingers in the air above my head and all I can think about is what those fingers would feel like…
I blink, shaking my head.Nope. Not going there.
“Ok.” I take a deep breath. “I’m calm.”
He snorts. “Right.” He reaches out, removing the rubber gloves from my hands. “How about this. You take Arizona into town and do some school shopping. If she’s going to be starting this week, she needs some supplies. A backpack. Those glitter pens or whatever the hell you used to draw on all of my notebooks in middle school.”
“Gel pens,” I correct as he places the gloves on the dresser.
“I’m sure she could use some more clothes too. A good pair of tennis shoes. Pair of boots.”
“I think we might need to ease her into the boots.” I drop down on the edge of the bed. “She’s terrified of the horses.”
Cooper sits down beside me, his legs spread wide. His thigh presses against mine, and my stomach flips. I’ve managed to keep this under control the last few years. I’ve gotten good at avoiding theCooper Effect. But since the day he said those vows. The day hekissedme like I was really his, I’ve been struggling.
“Hey,” he says, his palm settling on my knee. “You’re not in this alone. I’m right here. So is a whole truck load of people who support you.”
I close my eyes. “I know that.”
“Then why the spiral?” He asks.
“There is no spiral,” I scoff.
“Kota. You’re wearing my clothes,” he whispers, his hand squeezing my knee.
I clamp my mouth shut. Growing up, whenever I’d have a bad day, or a night when my dad was drunk and disorderly, I would always slip into one of Cooper’s hoodies or shirts that I’d stolen from his room when he wasn’t looking. I had stolen a bottle ofhis cologne too. Call me a criminal, but it made me feel safe.Hemade me feel safe in a household where love and security were nonexistent. I’m pretty sure he knew, but he never called me out on it. So anytime I’m stressed or just need to feel him when I know he can’t be there to ease the pain, I revert back to fourteen year old Dakota. The one that desperately wished she was a part of a family like his.
“Yeah,” is all I say, letting the silence hang.
“You know…” his voice lowers. “Have I ever told you that you look beautiful in my clothes?”
My breath hitches. My lungs burning as our eyes lock.
The look he’s giving me right now tells me that what he just said…he means it.
The air thickens, his eyes dipping to my mouth.Is he going to kiss me?The hand on my leg slides up my exposed thigh, and right when I’m about to sayscrew the list of rules,a knock sounds at the door.
I clear my throat, jumping a few inches away from Cooper.
“Yes?” I call out.
