Welcome to Paradise: Welcome to Paradise, Book 1 (9 page)

“Cooper Grady. I live about half a mile from here.”

“Oh.”

She wasn’t sure what to say after that—small talk wasn’t her forte—and he seemed amused by her silence. One large hand reached into the back pocket of his black jeans and pulled out a pack of Camels. He tapped the pack against his palm, extracted a cigarette and used a silver Zippo to light up.

“So you’re Nate’s neighbor,” she finally said.

“And his best customer,” a dry voice came from behind.

Charlotte spun around to see Nate emerge from the path behind her. His shirt was still unbuttoned and his shoelaces weren’t tied, as if he’d simply thrust his feet into his sneakers and rushed out here.

“I heard you scream,” he said in explanation, coming up beside her. “I figured you might have encountered one of the animals that like to roam the property.” Nate gave a rueful smile. “And I see you did run into a wolf.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say,” Cooper drawled before lifting his cigarette to his sensual lips and taking a deep drag. “I’m just a regular old pussycat.”

Charlotte eyed Cooper dubiously. Yeah right. There was definitely something feral about this man. She wondered when he’d moved to town—he definitely hadn’t been living here when she was.

“He wasn’t rude to you, was he, Charlie?” Nate asked, his posture suggesting that if Cooper had indeed been discourteous, Nate wouldn’t hesitate to clock him.

“No, but he did scare me,” she answered, scowling at the sexy man by the trees.

Cooper blew out a plume of smoke and gave a mocking smile. “I do have that effect on women.”

She found herself grinning. “I’ll bet.”

Nate’s hand was suddenly on her arm. “Why don’t we leave Coop to his morning stroll,” he suggested. “We should go get that breakfast.”

It was funny—although Cooper Grady was practically radiating heat and masculinity, her temperature didn’t spike until the moment Nate touched her bare skin. Would he always get that response from her? Was he the only one who could? So far, she hadn’t found a man who could evoke such primal desire inside of her, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to go looking.

Nate was the only man she wanted.

“Let’s go,” she said, slipping her hand into his. She glanced at Cooper and added, “It was nice meeting you.”

“Pleasure was all mine.”

She and Nate turned and retreated down the path. She noticed his grip on her hand had tightened possessively. “Coop is an incorrigible flirt,” he grumbled.

Charlotte gave him a sidelong look. “Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?”

“No.”

“Liar.” She laughed. “You don’t like him, do you?”

“I don’t mind him.” Nate shrugged. “I just mind when he hits on my woman.”

“Who’s your woman?” she asked innocently.

Before she could blink, he’d thrust her against him, the hard ridge of his arousal pressing into her belly. “Who do you think?” he muttered.

And then he kissed her, leaving no doubt as to whom he meant.

An hour later, they were seated in the same diner booth Charlotte had occupied yesterday and leaning back to let their stomachs recover from Betty’s famous breakfast. As Nate ordered another refill for their coffees, Charlotte was reminded of yesterday morning when Lexie had confronted her here and filled her head with nonsense. Now, she couldn’t help but purse her lips and glance at Nate warily.

Amusement creased his features. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Are you involved with Lexie Price?”

The question popped out like a candy bar from a vending machine, instantly bringing heat to her cheeks. Nate looked just as surprised by the sudden inquiry, but then he chuckled. “No, I’m not involved with Lexie.”

“Does she know that?” Charlotte said coldly.

Nate’s chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh. “Who’s jealous now?”

“I’m not jealous. Just confused. She verbally assaulted me yesterday, you know. Came in here and told me to stay away from you. Oh, and she accused me of leaving you with a broken heart. What the hell is that about?”

To her bewilderment, Nate’s expression went cloudy with…guilt? She suddenly remembered her earlier suspicions, that he’d blamed the breakup on her to look good in front of the townspeople. But that couldn’t be true. Right?

“What exactly did you tell people about our breakup, Nate?” she asked in a careful tone.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“I didn’t tell them anything.” He sighed. “Which was probably a mistake since everyone assumes you dumped me and left town.”

Charlotte glared at him. “You let them think that?”

He looked defensive. “You know I don’t talk about my personal life with others. If they wanted to believe you left me, then big deal. The two of us knew the truth.”

“You put another black mark on my name!” She quickly lowered her voice. “So everyone thinks I was just some slut who dumped her boyfriend so she could move on to bigger and better things?”

“Why do you care what they think?” Nate grumbled in frustration. “These people mean nothing to you. Hell, most of them mean nothing to
me
.”

“Lexie means something to you,” she couldn’t help but snap.

“She’s a friend. Nothing more.”

A frown puckered her brow. “I can’t believe you’re even friends with her. She was terrible to me.” Nate didn’t answer, prompting Charlotte to scowl at him. “What, are you going to deny that?”

“No.” He spoke guardedly. “But…are you sure it was one-sided, Charlotte?”

She gasped. “Are you kidding me?”

He reached across the checkered tablecloth and took her hand, squeezing it gently. “All I’m saying is that you didn’t go out of your way to make friends.”

“Because everyone in this town was a jerk to me. Especially Lexie Price.”

Before Nate could respond, the cell phone she’d left on the table began to vibrate, causing the little milk containers to shake in their saucers. Clenching her teeth, Charlotte picked up the phone and glanced at the screen. When she spotted Georgia’s number, she banished the pang of guilt it evoked and swiftly pressed the
ignore
button. Damn it, she couldn’t deal with this now. Georgia had called her five times since last night, and each time Charlotte had ignored the call. Just seeing her assistant’s name on that screen reminded her of why she’d come to Paradise, and with the memory came a rush of remorse.

She felt that same rush now, and it was strong enough that she promptly dropped the subject of Lexie Price. So what if Nate’s
friend
believed Charlotte had broken Nate’s heart. That surely couldn’t be as bad as what Charlotte had set out to do.

She gulped some coffee. Damn it. She needed to tell Nate the truth. They actually had the opportunity to make things work this time. To be happy. Maybe her original intention hadn’t been to get back together with him, but now that she knew why he’d broken up with her all those years ago, she wanted nothing more than to be with Nate Bishop.

Only that couldn’t happen, not unless she was totally honest with him.

Tomorrow
, she assured herself.

She was going to tell him everything tomorrow.

Cooper Grady grinned when he spotted the surprise visitor on his porch. She looked poised and sophisticated as usual, wearing a sky-blue silk blouse tucked into a pair of sleek black pants, with her polished red toes poking out of black wedge-looking shoes. Her blonde hair was tied up in a neat twist and her flawless features were free of makeup, which he’d always appreciated. He didn’t like fake rosy blushes on a woman’s cheeks—he preferred putting the flush there after a round of hot, sweaty sex.

“Hey, darling,” he drawled. “What brings you here so early in the morning?”

Lexie stood up at his approach. “I’m having a bad day.”

He chuckled. “It’s not even nine o’clock yet. How can your day be bad already?”

She followed him into his cabin and dropped her leather purse on the shabby couch in the main room. “Nate’s not picking up his phone,” she huffed. “I think he’s avoiding me.”

“Nah.” Cooper lifted one eyebrow. “I think he’s just busy getting it on with a smoking-hot redhead.”

Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”

“I ran into them on the path twenty minutes ago. They looked…close.” He shot her a mocking look. “Bet that gets your panties into a knot, huh, princess?”

“Not for the reason you think,” she grumbled.

“The reason is you’re in love with him.”

“I’m not in love with Nate,” she said with the roll of her eyes.

He sneered. “Sorry, I forgot. That honor goes to Gabe Lockhart.”

Lexie’s blue eyes flashed. “Shut up, Cooper. You don’t know a thing about it.”

The fury burning in his gut was seriously annoying. He’d brought up Lockhart in order to mock her, yet the barb affected him more than it seemed to affect her. Why the hell should he care, though? Lexie Price was just another fuck. Another silly female who thought a roll in the hay with big, bad Cooper Grady would make her feel alive or some shit.

Still, he couldn’t stop the embittered words that slipped from his mouth.

“I know more than you think, princess.” He cocked a brow. “I know you fuck him whenever he waltzes back into town. I know you drive to Denver twice a year to see him.”

She looked surprised for a moment then shook her head and gave him a smile that lacked any ounce of amusement. “Why are we even talking? We both know that’s not what this is about. That’s not what I came here for.”

“No, of course you don’t want to talk.” He laughed harshly. “You came to fuck your boy toy, didn’t you, darling?”

She met his gaze head on. “Yes.”

Despite the anger still bubbling in his stomach, Cooper found himself getting aroused. Who would have thought that this prim little ice princess could get him so fucking hard? When they’d first hooked up, after a tipsy Lexie had bumped into him in the parking lot of Bishop’s Corner, Cooper couldn’t believe how fantastic the sex was. Underneath that proper, icy exterior, Lexie Price was a wildcat. A solid ten in bed. Or
in car,
as their first encounter went. After that, she’d started visiting him here, at the cabin he’d bought from old man Mallory when Cooper first moved to town. The trysts had been going on for three months now.

He wondered how long she’d been screwing Lockhart, and another burst of rage ignited his body.

Unbuckling his belt, he moved toward her, ignoring the way the morning sunlight streaming in from the curtainless window made her blonde hair seem to sparkle. “Then let’s get to it,” he muttered as he yanked down his zipper.

Lexie’s eyes smoldered the moment he pulled out his cock, which was already hard and thick. He didn’t bother taking off his jeans, just edged them down a little so his balls weren’t constricted. Then he licked his lips and said, “Come on, princess. Take what you came here for.” He cupped his sac and smirked at her. “It’s all ready for you.”

A streak of anger moved across her face then faded into desire when he circled his erection with his fist and beckoned at her with it. Eyes glazed with arousal, Lexie sank down on her knees in front of him and took him into her mouth. Cooper’s head lolled to the side, a low groan leaving his mouth. He shifted so his ass was against the arm of the couch, closed his eyes and let her do her thing, amazed by the immediate vise of pleasure that tightened over his groin. The first blowjob she’d given him had been clumsy, amateur, but now she was a pro at it.

Lexie dragged her tongue up and down his shaft then tickled his balls with it, drawing another groan from his lips. A throb gathered between his legs, growing stronger when Lexie sucked him deep and started bobbing her head up and down. A few more long sucks and he exploded, pouring into her mouth and holding the back of her head as he shuddered with release.

His chest heaved as Lexie rose to her feet, demurely wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her blouse. When she moved her hands to the top button of her shirt, he smirked again. “Don’t bother with that, princess. I’ve got to go to work.”

He almost felt bad, what with the arousal darkening her gaze and the anticipatory flush on her cheeks, but then the image of Lexie and Gabe Lockhart flashed across his mind and the guilt disappeared. He pulled up his pants and zipped them, laughing at the disappointment and outrage on her face.

“Are you serious?” she demanded.

Cooper could see her nipples poking against one of those paper-thin bras she liked to wear. “You can get yourself off in the car,” he said graciously. “Like I said, I’ve got to go.”

Lexie just stared at him for a moment then let out a string of curses that had him raising his eyebrows. Oh yeah, he’d really pissed her off this time.

“Screw you, Cooper,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically shaky. “As of right now, we’re through. We’re goddamn
through
.”

He barked out another laugh. “Sure we are.”

With a final expletive, Lexie glared at him one last time then grabbed her purse and marched out the door, slamming it behind her.

Cooper heard a car engine start, the squeal of rubber as she sped away. Then he stood there and listened to the silence, a sliver of guilt slicing into his skin. Fuck. Why had he done that? Despite what everyone else thought, he wasn’t a cruel person. Definitely didn’t get his kicks from humiliating women.

Why was it that Lexie Price seemed to bring out the absolute worst in him?

She’s fucking Lockhart
.

Those three words grounded him, brought him back to painful reality. In spite of the Romeo and Juliet thing Lexie and Gabe had going on, what with their families despising each other, the two of them were far more suited together than he and Lexie would ever be.

So yeah, every now and then, he had to remind himself of that. Sure, it might take something asshole-ish, like making her give him a blowjob and then kicking her out the door, but sometimes you needed to take extraordinary measures to get the point across.

In this case, he was making the point to himself. Because no matter how explosive the two of them were in bed, Lexie Price would never belong to him, and that was something he couldn’t let himself forget.