Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 113923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
And while we still haven’t had The Talk about our dating situation, we can’t keep our hands off each other. I’m addicted. Utterly addicted to him. Bonnie calls me dick crazed. I’d argue with her if she hadn’t been right about absolutely everything since the moment we met.
On Saturday night, I meet Cooper at one of our usual spots down the beach from his house. This end of the Bay was the hardest hit from the last couple hurricanes and has been pretty much abandoned for years. It’s nothing but empty houses and decaying water-front restaurants. An old fishing pier broken and mostly overtaken by the ocean. We let Daisy off her leash to run around a bit, and she wastes no time terrorizing the tiny sand crabs and chasing birds.
After stopping to sit on a piece of driftwood, Cooper pulls me to straddle his lap, facing him. Both hands cradle my ass as I scratch my fingertips lightly up and down the back of his neck, in the way I know gets him a little hard.
“You keep doing that,” he warns, “I’m gonna bang you right here in front of the seagulls.”
“Animal,” I say, biting his lip.
“Tease.” He kisses me. Strong hands slide up my ribs to give my breasts a teasing squeeze before settling around my waist. He eases his mouth away, his gaze finding mine. “I was thinking. There’s a party tonight. Come with me.”
I lift a brow. “I don’t know. We’d be going public. Sure you’re ready for that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Our sneaking around hasn’t been an explicit topic of conversation, but more an unspoken agreement. Altering that agreement, while inevitable, comes with a whole new net of consequences. That isn’t to say I’m unhappy at making this official. Surprised, maybe.
“So …” I run my palms down his chest, feeling every hard muscle until my hands meet his waistband. “Like a date.”
“Like a date, sure.” Cooper does this thing where he licks his lips when he thinks he’s being charming. It’s annoyingly hot.
“Which would mean we’re like dating.”
“Let’s put it this way.” Cooper brushes my hair off my shoulder. He wraps the length around his fist and tugs. Only a little. It’s a subtle, evocative gesture that has become our shorthand for I want to rip your clothes off. Like when I bite his lip or tug the front of his jeans, or look at him or breathe. “I’m not fucking anyone else. I don’t want you fucking anyone else. If anyone looks at you funny, I’m breaking their face. How’s that work?”
It isn’t exactly poetry, but that might be the most romantic thing a guy’s ever said to me. Cooper might be a bit uncouth and rough around the edges, but I’m kind of into it.
“Works for me.”
Grinning, he nudges me off his lap. “Come on, let’s take the little monster home. And I want to take a quick shower before we head out. I swear there’s always a layer of sawdust on me.”
“I like it. It’s manly.”
He rolls his eyes.
We walk to his house, entering through the back deck. I fill Daisy’s water bowl while Cooper goes to his room to shower. I’d join him, but I blow-dried my hair before coming over and I don’t want to mess it up, especially now that we’re going to a party.
“Hey,” grunts Evan, his tall, broad frame appearing in the kitchen doorway. He’s barefoot, wearing threadbare jeans and a red T-shirt. “Didn’t know you were over.”
I slide onto a stool at the counter and watch as Daisy laps noisily at her water. “Yup. Here I am. Cooper’s in the shower.”
Evan opens a cupboard and grabs a bag of potato chips. He tears it open and shoves some chips in his mouth. As he chews, he watches me suspiciously. “What’re you two up to tonight?”
“Cooper says there’s a party? I guess we’re going to that.”
He raises his eyebrows. “He’s bringing you to Chase’s?”
“Yeah.” I pause. “Got a problem with that?”
“Not at all, princess.”
“Oh, really.”
“It’s about time you came out with us,” Evan adds, shrugging. “If you’re with my brother, you’ll need to meet the gang sooner or later. Win ’em over.”
Well, hell. Now I’m nervous. Why’d he have to phrase it that way?
What if Cooper’s friends hate me?
My distress is momentarily forgotten at the sound of Daisy’s urgent barking. I glance over at the puppy, only to find she’s standing there barking at the wall.
“Daisy,” I chide.
“Don’t worry,” Evan says. “It’s probably just the ghost.”
I roll my eyes at him.
“Coop didn’t tell you about our ghost?” He tips his head. “For real? That’s usually the first thing I tell guests. It’s like a badge of honor, living in a haunted house.”
“Your house is haunted,” I say skeptically. Because, come on. I’m not that gullible.
“Sort of? She doesn’t really bother us,” Evan explains. “So it’s not exactly a haunting. But she definitely hangs around.”