Page 347 of Hell Hath No Fury
“Incredibly. Just remember,” he said, retying his hair at his nape. “Desire always tastes more addictive when it’s forbidden. Always. You control it. You decide how much power to give it, when to give in to it, and when to walk away.”
Taurin’s words sank inside me like a much-needed painkiller while I stared at Cooper. He stared back at me, his expression unreadable but his crystal blue eyes simmering with uncertainty.
Cooper waited until I’d slipped my panties back on and righted my school skirt before opening the door. He was already gone when I turned back, but I hesitated on the threshold, leaning back to say, “Thank you.” For even if he hadn’t helped us fix each other, he’d still helped when he didn’t have to.
And now, it was up to us.
Taurin didn’t look up from his laptop as he lit a cigarette, and said, “The pleasure was all mine, Pretty Rose. Now be a good girl and close the door.”
CHAPTER SIX
Cooper
“What are you doing?” Mom asked. “Your phone has been ringing nonstop inside.”
“Rose?” I asked even though it wasn’t necessary.
“You know damn well it is.” She sounded exasperated. “Where has she been?”
I withheld a curse because, full-fledged Nightingale member or not, I would still get clipped around the ear if I set it loose. “I’ve been an idiot, but I’m fixing it.”
“With weeds?” she said, digging through the wheelbarrow of dandelions and sunflowers.
“Something like that.” I walked back over to it with one last load in hand, tossing them atop the heap and pushing them down. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a bit of a walk ahead of me.”
“Walk?” she squawked behind me. “It’s dinnertime, Coop.”
“Not hungry,” I yelled. Not for food anyway.
No, I was desperate for something else. To fix something I should’ve fixed days ago. So along the road I trudged, the headlights of passing cars blinding me as the moon filled its position in the sky.
Her dad’s car wasn’t in the drive, but that was no surprise. I hit the buzzer for the gates, and they opened a few moments later. In pink pajama pants and a black band T-shirt, Rose was already standing in the doorway, watching me approach with her arms crossed and her dark eyes twinkling with curiosity.
“Sorry I missed your call,” I said, brushing my hand over my sweat-sticky forehead when I reached the porch steps. “Been a little busy.”
Rose blinked at the wheelbarrow, her brows shooting high as a rush of laughter accompanied her words. “I’ll say.”
“Well, aren’t you going to invite me in and put them in some water?”
She laughed louder then, the sound like rain after a drought. Sobering, she came forward and leaned against the column, three short steps above me. “What am I going to do with you?”
I swallowed, glancing at the ground briefly before looking back up at her. “Well, I’m hoping you’ll forgive me.”
“You haven’t apologized.”
I gaped at her. She raised a brow, waiting.
Erasing the space between us, I caught her around the waist and took a seat on the top step with her in my lap. “I’m sorry,” I said, gripping her cheek and kissing her nose. “I really am. It’s all just been—”
“A little shocking? I mean, to see your girlfriend suck another dude off while you’re…”
I groaned, hard in an instant, and giggling, she bit her lip.
I held her tight to me, inhaling her crisp jasmine scent, and she rested her forehead upon my head. Fingers ghosted up and down my back, and she whispered, “I’ve missed you, Pest.”
“I’ve missed you,” I said, squeezing her tighter. “So damn much.”
“I don’t want to miss you again. It’s not worth it. You need to know I only want you, and I don’t want to lose you just because I sometimes like to be a freak.”
