“Go ahead.” Cooper was more than ready to get all of this talking out of the way so their mouths could be used for more productive things like kissing.
Victoria closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she spoke.
“If for some reason you’re expecting this to be more than just sex I should tell you up front that that’s probably not possible.”
Cooper moved his face away.
“What do you mean?” Cooper asked, but he had a feeling he already knew.
“Just what I said.” Victoria shrugged, and sounded almost robotic as she explained. “There’s a reason I’m thirty-one and single and it has very little to do with the guys I’ve dated. I’m just not sure I’m capable of more than a casual relationship and thought you should know that up front so that there’s no surprises later on.”
Cooper’s jaw dropped.
Being discreet? Fine. Keeping business and pleasure separate? Definitely. Having a relationship knowing it could never be something more? She had to be out of her mind. He already wanted more with Victoria, and even though that fact should scare the hell out of him after the whole Jenna mess, it didn’t.
“I’ll understand if you’ve changed your mind.” Victoria said after he had remained quiet for a long time.
Cooper started to tell her that he in fact had changed his mind, but when he saw the look in her eyes the words died on his tongue.
Vulnerability, sadness, loneliness and a little bit of fear were all wrapped together in one look aimed right at Cooper’s heart. Asking him without words to not walk away. To take what she was offering because it’s all she was capable of giving, and damn if Cooper didn’t want to do just that.
Whatever strength allowed him to walk away from Victoria the night before was gone and Cooper felt his resolve weaken and then crumble completely.
Wrapping his arms around Victoria’s back, Cooper rolled her beneath him on the couch and positioned himself between her thighs. Staring into those crystal blue eyes that tried to hide so much, but never really succeeded where he was concerned.
Cooper decided to try and fight fire with fire. Rolling his hips against hers until Victoria’s eyes closed and a small plea escaped. Cooper could hear the desperation in her voice, but he ignored it. If sex was all she thought they would have he would give it to her, but nothing was going to stop him from using every trick in the book to get her to see that they could have the more part too.
Lowering his mouth to her ear, Cooper ran his tongue around the outer shell and when she gasped and tried to roll her hips up to meet his he stilled her. Victoria groaned in frustration and Cooper raised his body into a half push-up and locked eyes with hers.
“Damn it, stop teasing me.” She clutched his hips and tried to bring him back to her body. Cooper should have known the little control freak would want to be in charge in bed too, but he had other ideas.
Ignoring the protest from his body, Cooper untangled his legs from Victoria’s and stood up. Taking a few steps back as he did.
“Get back over here.” Victoria demanded, but Cooper shook his head and kept walking until he could lean against the far wall. Watching as Victoria squirmed under his stare.
Oh yes. This is definitely going to be fun.
“Strip.”
One word and Victoria was on her feet.
“What?”
Her voice rose so high Cooper had to fight back a laugh, but he kept his face serious.
“You heard me.” Cooper said in a dominant voice.
Victoria needed to learn how to let go and he wanted to be the one to get her to do just that. Cooper had never been particularly into games in bed, but if it got her to give up control for just a little while he could give being dominant a try this once.
When she still sat there, Cooper raised his eyebrow.
“I’m waiting.”
That got her attention.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Victoria’s tone was harsh and Cooper started to open his mouth and apologize, but then he saw the tremble in her body and the flush on her skin and closed it. Victoria was turned on.
Pushing away from the wall, Cooper stalked towards her and wasn’t at all surprised when she stayed right where she was.
“Who do I think I am?”
Cooper tapped a finger to his lips like he was giving it serious thought before lowering his voice and walking around her in a slow circle like a cat on the prowl.
“I’m the person you want so badly right now you’re shaking with need.”
Victoria huffed, but the flush on her neck intensified and Cooper brought his finger up to trace the vein pounding rapidly under her skin.
“Try all you want to deny it, but your body is giving you away. Your pulse is racing and your skin is a very sexy shade of red. You like the idea of me telling you what to do, don’t you?”
“You’re the doctor, remember?” Victoria gave the illusion of nonchalance, but the pulse under his finger kicked up another notch, giving her away. “Shouldn’t you know that anger has the same effect on the body as desire?”
“Maybe.” He said as he placed his free hand at the top of her skirt zipper and began to lower it.
When it was nothing more than a puddle around her feet, Cooper slipped his hand into the front of her panties and rested his hand on top of her sex. Grinning behind her when he felt how wet and ready she was from nothing more than his words.
“Then again, maybe I was right all along.”
To further make his point, Cooper guided his middle finger into her wet folds and pressed lightly against her clit.
Victoria’s eyes closed, her lips parted and her breathing was shallow as Cooper pressed harder and she was so damn sexy he almost forgot about the game they were playing. That was until she started grinding against his finger and he was reminded of why they were playing it in the first place.
Swirling his finger around her clit one more time, Cooper withdrew his hand from her panties and stepped back.
“N-no, don’t stop.”
Every word was a pant, but Cooper didn’t give in to her demands. Instead increased the distance and started for the hallway leaving Victoria standing in nothing but her shirt and panties.
Pausing in the entrance to the hall, Cooper lifted his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor near her skirt. Cooper continued to undress until he was standing completely naked in front of Victoria. His erection hard and thick bobbing in front of him.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
Victoria started to walk toward him, but Cooper held up his hand.
“Alone.”
Cooper put the finger covered in her juices to his lips to tease her and sucked it clean before disappearing down the hall and into the bathroom.
After getting the shower started, Cooper took one last long look at the closed door and got in. He wanted this to happen so badly, but if she couldn’t give up control just once his plan to win her over would never work. A minute passed and then another, but the door still remained closed.
Shaking his head, Cooper stepped into the shower and pressed his forehead against the smooth marble tile. His throbbing cock all but forgotten.
****
Chapter 11
Cooper’s naked body moved further and further away until finally he disappeared from view and Victoria heard the bathroom door click closed.
What the hell just happened?
Victoria tried to get her erratic breathing under control, but it was useless. Her skirt was flared out on the floor near her feet, her underwear were off-kilter and damp, every part of her body was pulsing with need, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
Yes there is the voice in her head taunted, but Victoria shook it off.
She was never one to take orders. No, Victoria was used to giving them on a daily basis and being in control of every aspect of her life. That included in the bedroom. So why hadn’t she told Cooper where to shove it instead of trying to follow him like a
lost puppy to the bathroom? And why did she still want to?
“No.”
She would not, no, could not allow someone that kind of power over her. It was bad enough she had whimpered and practically begged him to keep touching her minutes ago, but if she went to him now everything would change.
Cooper would no longer see her as his equal, but a weak desperate woman that could be bent to a man’s will with a few expertly placed caresses.
Well if he thought she could be manipulated that easily he wasn’t as smart as she gave him credit for.
With that thought playing over and over again in her mind, Victoria bent down to pick up her skirt. Her eyes were still glued to the darkened hallway as her hand made contact with something soft instead of silky.
In her attempt to grab her skirt Victoria picked up Cooper’s shirt instead. Bringing the blue polo to her face, Victoria got lost in the smell of his cologne.
God she was weak and desperate if the smell of his cologne alone could affect her the way it was.
Images of his naked body flashed through Victoria’s mind and her feet began moving, as if on their own, propelling her forward until she was standing in front of the bathroom door. Her hand resting on the handle.
Victoria’s imagination kicked into overdrive and she began to image Cooper surrounded by steam, skin slick and soapy, and all those muscles bunching and moving in an erotic motion.
Walk away she told herself. Turn around and walk back to your room and forget about how perfect Cooper’s touch felt on your skin. Forget about how much his words turned you on and made you want to obey his every command. Just turn around and forget tonight ever happened.
Unfortunately, Victoria’s mind and body weren’t on the same page because the handle turned and she slipped as quietly as she could into the bathroom.
Cooper’s back was to her and steam had fogged up the lower half of the glass door, but she could still see his upper body. Victoria stood there watching water stream down every ripped muscle in his back, and she had to grab the edge of the sink to keep from melting into a puddle on the floor.
What she wouldn’t give to follow a few of those drops of water with her tongue. Licking and sucking as much of his tanned skin as she could before moving to his cock and giving it the same attention.
Damn it, why is this so hard?
They were both adults, both attracted to each other, and if their previous kisses were anything to go by the sex was going to be out of this world. This should be no big deal. So why was Victoria still on this side of the shower door instead of falling apart in his arms?
You know why. That annoying voice was back and Victoria tried to block it out, but it managed to creep back in. Cooper’s different than all the others before him. He’s in your head and under your skin. You’re afraid that if you let him see you with your guard down again it will make walking away that much harder when the time comes.
That thought alone should have made Victoria go back to her room and lose herself in work for the next four or five hours, but her body wouldn’t obey and she began taking off the rest of her clothes.
Not wanting to give herself too much time to over think what she was about to do, Victoria approached the shower door and with one final deep breath slipped in behind Cooper.
A cloud of steam blasted her as she entered the stall, but once it cleared she got a good look at the man in front of her. He was still facing the wall, so Victoria took this as an opportunity to admire his strong body up close for the first time.
Stunning defined muscles stretch over every inch of Cooper’s body. His thick brown hair was slicked back and in need of a trim, but Victoria ignored that for the time being and instead focused on lightly haired legs, lean tapered hips, and a wide back with muscles that were so tense she was surprised they hadn’t snapped under the strain.
Bringing her hands up to rest on his shoulders, Victoria felt Cooper tense up more before she began gently massaging his back. She got two or three deep rubs in before a strong hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her around to the wall. Pinning her arm above her head. With her spine pressed into the wall, Cooper reached for her other wrist and trapped it next to its twin.
Desire darkened his usually dark green eyes to almost black, and Victoria’s heart rate kicked up a few notches. Being held in this position should have scared the hell out of her. She had never allowed anyone to hold her down since that night so long ago. Always afraid the bad memories would come back, but for some reason with Cooper the demons stayed away. She didn’t know why, but deep down she knew he wouldn’t hurt her and that’s why she only gave a half-hearted tug against his hold.
Cooper’s grip tightened ever so slightly and Victoria stopped fighting him. Cooper was very clear about what he wanted from her earlier, and even though it went against every fiber of her being Victoria was going to allow him to take charge this one time.
Much like he had in the living room, Cooper’s gaze ran up and down her body slowly. Victoria had never been shy about her body, but when Cooper looked at her the way he was now ––like he was committing every inch of bare skin to memory–– Victoria had to resist the urge to hide.
When his gaze made a second pass over her chest, her nipples harden and Victoria saw Cooper’s nostrils flare. There was no hiding her reaction to this man, and right now she didn’t want to. Eventually, Cooper tore his eyes from her body and settled his intense gaze on her face once again.
Eyes locked with hers, Cooper stared and appeared to be searching for something, what she wasn’t sure, but Victoria wasn’t going to look away until he found it. Seconds then minutes ticked by and Victoria’s arms were starting to lose feeling, but she refused to move.
Finally, and much to the relief of her shoulders, Cooper slowly lowered her arms but didn’t let go right away. Instead he placed them at her sides before loosening his hold. Victoria lifted a hand to her arm to try and get the blood flowing again, but he stilled the massage and placed it back at her side.
Victoria narrowed her eyes and thought about moving her arm again, but Cooper raised an eyebrow and she stopped. This was more than a game he started. It was a challenge. One she fully intended on winning.
Ignoring the pinpricks stinging her arms from the blood rushing back, Victoria stood the way Cooper had placed her and cocked an eyebrow back at him. Daring him, in a way, to make the next move.
“Are you challenging me, Miss Howe?”
“Whatever do you mean?” Victoria said in a somewhat Southern Belle accent before batting her eyelashes dramatically.
Cooper’s not quite there smile tugged at his lips, but fled just as quickly as he positioned his pointer finger at the hollow of her neck tracing up to her collarbone.
“You won’t win.” He said huskily when his finger started moving south.
Everywhere he touched Victoria’s skin begged for more, but he didn’t linger in one spot for long. That was until he reached her right nipple.
Taking his time, Cooper began rolling it between his thumb and forefinger until it was excruciatingly hard.
The jolt of pleasure brought a gasp forth from Victoria. That one move almost enough to make her come, but Victoria wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of winning so easily.
Closing her eyes, Victoria tried to think of anything to distract her from the way Cooper was working her body like a well-rehearsed instrument that he had been playing for years. He relentlessly tormented her nipple until she was sure her release was coming whether she wanted it to or not.
“Open your eyes, Victoria.” Cooper’s raspy voice commanded, and when she didn’t comply right away the fingers on her nipple went away and she was left panting and unfulfilled…again.
No, no, no.
Opening her eyes quickly, Victoria expected Cooper to still be standing in front of her and resume the delicious touch, but he was on the other side of the shower stall watching her.
Victoria started to apologize, for what she wasn’
t sure, but she needed him back in front of her. Needed his hands on her more than she needed her next breath, but this was about control and she had to give it to him or she would be going to bed alone.
“Something you want to say?” Cooper asked in a mocking tone.
Touch me, take me, fuck me.
There were a lot of things she wanted to say, but to him she smiled sweetly and shook her head. That got a small chuckle from him.
“Liar.”
He came toward her once again, lifting his hand to push a lock of hair behind her ear, and rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. Humor fading fast as his eyes once again filled with hunger and need. The same hunger and need coursing through Victoria.
“But I’m glad you’re starting to understand.” He practically growled, and then her lips were being taken in what could only be described as a kiss of possession and want.
Victoria started to lift her hands to bury them in his thick brown hair, but stopped herself and slammed them against the wall in frustration. She didn’t want to do anything that would make him stop, but the need to touch him, to run her hands over every inch of his amazing body, was almost too strong to control.
When he finally pulled away, Cooper’s eyes were glazed and unfocused, much like Victoria thought hers probably looked to him. His chest heaved and she saw him swallow hard as he pressed his forehead to hers.
“Tell me you want this as much as I do.” All the power and bravado from earlier were stripped from his command, and Cooper sounded unsure.
It took her brain a second to catch up with his words, and when it did Victoria’s heart warmed. In his own way Cooper was asking for permission. Making sure this was what she wanted. This was the real man behind the act. The one with morals that wouldn’t allow him to take advantage of a woman. This was Cooper.
With his forehead pressed to hers Victoria had a hard time seeing the look on his face, but if the way his jaw was clenched was anything to go by she imagined it was a mix of apprehension and desire.
Lifting her hand, Victoria cupped his jaw and stroked across the sharp plane of his cheek a few times. Victoria felt him shudder and knew she was making the right decision.