Revelry (Taint #1) (47 page)

O
kay, so maybe my birthday didn’t suck after all. Tim took me to The Smoking Panda, which had the most amazing pot stickers, and the cocktails even had fairy floss. His friends had shown up sometime near nine, and by then I was well and truly shitfaced.

My pity fuck, Braden, is cute, a pasty Irish lad with cropped blond hair and an accent so thick I had trouble understanding whether he was asking for a shag or … no, I’m pretty sure he was just asking for a shag, now that I think on it. And for all of ten seconds I might have entertained the idea, before my heart squeezed painfully at the thought of another man moving inside me.

I don’t know whether Tim had told him about me, or whether he’d just opened Google a time or two and knew my story, because these days it was as if that were all it took to bring up those horrible pictures and that video. I could do without the pictures, but I still watched that video on the daily, because it let me know it’d been real—or at least, part of it had been real.

Regardless, Braden was a gentleman. Sure, he flirted, and as the night wore on he’d moved closer to me, so close I could feel the warmth of his thigh against mine through the fabric of our clothes. And when Tim and I had said we were leaving, Braden leaned in, his hand at my waist, lips at my ear, and asked if he could see me again.

I thought about that, what it would be like to date one man while my heart belonged to another, but in the end, I shook my head and told him the truth: that I was in love with someone else and I didn’t see those feelings disappearing anytime soon.

Tim and I left the bar, and grabbed a bottle of Bundy Rum and a six-pack of beer and headed back to my apartment, because it was closest, and my feet hurt, and he was my friend, who loved me despite what a pathetic slob I was.

“Here, hold this,” I say thrusting the bottle of rum that we’d been swigging from toward him while I slide my key in the lock. The door swings open, and I come face to face with a dream. A real-life walking, talking, sexy-as-all-fuck fantasy.
My fantasy
.

“Tim,” I whisper in an aside, “Have I finally gone completely fucking nuts, or is Cooper Ryan standing in my apartment?”

Tim stumbles in behind me, accidently pushing me forward. I totter on my stupid heels and slam into Cooper. “Oh shit, that’s not good.”

The door closes behind Tim with a loud
thunk
. It echoes the sound of my heart, heavy and thumping against my ribcage. Coop waits until I’ve found my feet again, before he lets me go. I step back, as if the touch of his skin burns mine.

“I didn’t realise you’d have company,” he says, his voice cold.
And god, how I’ve missed that voice
—well, not that voice exactly, but a much less pissed off version.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to give you your birthday present.” He glances behind me at Tim, his eyes glazing over with anger. “Seems I’m not the only one wanting to give you something today. I’m sorry I showed up unannounced.”

I frown, wondering what he means by that, when I see a fluffy ginger head pop out from around the couch. “Is that my grandmother’s cat?” “Yeah. I had the woman at the shelter look after her until we got back. I know you hate cats, but I thought this one meant something special to you.”

“Hey, I’m Tim,” Tim says, stepping forward and thrusting his free hand out in front of Cooper.

“Coop.” He shakes, though he doesn’t look as if he wants to.

“I know who you are. I’m a big fan,” Tim says, and I frown, because he sounds like a fucking fangirl.

Since when?
I mouth to Tim, and he has the decency to look embarrassed about it. He’s not Team Coop. He hates Team Coop. He hates Team Rock Star because they turned me into a pathetic, snivelling shell of a woman who doesn’t shower for days and who eats Peppermint Patties off the floor.

“So, Jones, I’m just … gonna go,” Tim says.

“You don’t have to leave,” Coop says, jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I have a plane to catch anyway.”

“You’re leaving?” I ask, and my throat is tight, my voice thick with emotion.

“Got that European tour, remember?”

“Right,” I say, stunned, because Coop is standing in my apartment. On my birthday. He tracked down my grandmother’s cat and had someone take care of her, and he showed up here unannounced, and he smells so damn good … and he’s leaving.

Tim kisses the top of my head, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jones. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks,” I mutter, but I can’t take my eyes off of Coop for fear that he might vanish, as though he were never here. The door snicks softly closed behind Tim and I exhale loudly. I don’t know how to process this, and the buzz I had going before from those cocktails is almost gone.

“I’m sorry I interrupted your plans.”

“There wasn’t really much of a plan, come home, get drunker and … How did you get in here? How do you know where I live?”

“Vanessa gave me your forwarding address, and your property manager let me in.”

The cat jumps up on my bed and begins kneading my duvet with its paws. “I can’t have a cat in this building, Cooper.”

“Actually, she said it was okay.”

I shake my head. “Everyone still does exactly what you want, huh? You just throw a smirk their way and everyone falls to their knees in submission.”

“Not everyone.” He rakes a hand through thick black curls and gives me a sad smile. “Apparently.”

“Why did you come here, Coop?”

“I came … for your birthday.”

“You flew across the world to tell me happy birthday?”

“Kind of, yeah.” His eyes dart away from my face and study my apartment. I suddenly wish I hadn’t chosen to hide out in my blanket fort all day eating Mint Patties and crying over google, and had instead gotten my fat arse up off the bed and cleaned up a little. He smiles awkwardly. “So, how have you been?”

I arch a brow at him. “How do you think I’ve been?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” He shakes his head and looks away. “Tim seems nice.”

“He is nice.”

“Good.” He grabs his jacket and throws it on. “Well, I set up the cat’s litter box in the bathroom, and there’s food on the bench behind you.”

“Okay,” I say dazedly. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He takes a step towards me and cups my face in his hands, and then he kisses my forehead. I close my eyes and melt into his touch. “Happy birthday, Ali-Cat.”

He moves around me, his hand brushing mine as he passes. I close my eyes, and take a deep breath. It’s as though I haven’t been able to breathe since I left him. And it feels so good to breathe again.

“Coop,” I whisper. He turns to face me, and I eliminate the distance between us, sliding my hand behind his head and pulling him down to kiss me. He stills. A beat passes. My heart squeezes painfully because I worry he doesn’t want this, and then he opens to me, his tongue probing, seeking. His mouth hot against mine, and just as needy.

I grab the lapels of his jacket and tug it down his arms, and then I walk us backwards until his hard body is shoved against the door. He lets out a grunt and slides his fingers into my hair, equally as rough, and kisses along my jaw. His stubble grazes my neck, and his mouth devours my flesh with hot, wet kisses.

Cooper licks his way along my collarbone, shoving the thin strap off my shoulder and yanking down the bodice of my dress. The other strap snaps, and I gasp as it stings my skin. He pushes the fabric down, exposing my breasts, then he bends and takes one nipple in his mouth, licking and sucking a brutal trail from one breast to the other. My pussy aches, my skin and senses electric. Too much time apart has made us both desperate for the feel of one another.

Neither one of us can get close enough. Coop palms my arse. He kisses his way up my breasts, threading his fingers through my hair and pulling it hard. I throw my head back as a wordless cry escapes my mouth.

Reaching behind me, I unzip the dress and wiggle it and my panties down over my hips, letting it fall to the floor. I’m completely naked, and he’s wearing far too many clothes. I slide my hands up underneath his shirt and rake my nails down his chest, over soft nipples and tensed muscle. He growls, driving his tongue into my mouth, consuming every breath I have left. I claw at his T-shirt, moaning impatiently when our mouths break apart to pull the material over his head. My greedy hands reach out and stroke him through his jeans.
Hard.
He’s so very, very deliciously hard. My fingers scrabble for purchase on his fly, but our movements are too hurried and I wind up fumbling. Coop pushes me out of the way. He unzips and shoves his jeans down over his hips.

He takes his cock in his hand and strokes it. A bead of pre-come glistens on the tip and he collects it with his thumb, sliding it over the engorged head. I bite my bottom lip as I watch. When his eyes meet mine, there’s hesitation in his gaze. He opens his mouth to speak, but I press my finger against his lips and say, “No.”

He parts his lips and sucks my finger into his mouth, biting down on my soft flesh. I moan, because even his teeth in my flesh feels more erotic than anything I’ve experienced after weeks of playing with my We-Vibe to take the edge off.

Unable to help myself, and unwilling to prolong my pleasure any longer, I scramble up his body. Coop’s fingers dig into my arse, holding me steady, and then he spins us and slams my back into the door. He braces one hand against the frame—the other moves between us to take hold of his cock. He slides the tip through my juices, and I gasp when he massages my clit with the head of his cock.

“Fuck me, please,” I beg, rocking my hips against him. Coop leans back, spitting on his hand and rubbing it over his cock, and then he pushes inside, hard, until he’s seated balls’ deep.

“Fuck, I missed your tight cunt squeezing my cock, Ali.” He pulls out, almost the entire way, and then slams back inside. My fingers claw at his back, my heels digging into his arse, edging him closer. I need his body, his mouth and his cock to consume me. “Wrap your legs around me, baby.”

I do as he asks, and he returns his hands to my arse. Carrying me over to the bed, he slides out of me and drops me onto the mattress. I grunt in protest, but Coop is clearly done playing nice. He grabs my waist and flips me over so I’m lying on my stomach.

Snaking his arm under my hips, he lifts my arse in the air. I suck in a breath and plant my knees, but he spreads them wider, and then he buries his face in my pussy. His tongue licks from front to back, and when he moves lower and sucks my clit into his mouth, my legs start to shake.

Cooper spreads my cheeks apart and buries his face in my wetness, his tongue sliding into my entrance, the stubble on his cheeks grazing my sensitised flesh. I shudder against him, simultaneously trying to push myself closer and pull away from him. The pads of his long fingers push against my clit as his tongue fucks me. My breathing becomes laboured, my head swims with pleasure, and just as my muscles clamp down with the first wave of orgasm he pushes his thick cock inside me, right to the hilt. I scream and buck against him, but he shows me no mercy—he just pumps in and out of my body. His hips piston and his fingers dig into my waist, holding me up, and if they weren’t I’d most likely collapse beneath the weight of the pleasure running through my body.

He grabs my hair, yanking my head back, but I want more. I need to be closer so I come up on my knees, leaning back into his chest while his hips thrust and his cock pumps in and out of me from behind. The position brings new friction, new heat to an already blazing inferno. He pounds into me, and I rock my hips back to meet his.

“Oh fuck, Cooper.” I wrap one arm behind his neck and sink my fingers into his hair, loving the way he nips at the soft flesh of my bicep.

“I missed you so fucking much, Ali-Cat,” he whispers in my ear, his breathing ragged, and his words tempered with lust or love. It’s hard to tell which, but then again, it always was with him. “So. Fucking. Good.”

Pleasure builds inside me, and when he wraps his arm around my waist and strokes my clit with deft fingers that know all too well what I like, I come. Cooper sinks his teeth into my shoulder, sucking my flesh into his mouth, and his cock jerks inside me. Hot come spurts from his body into mine, and I relish the feel of him softening inside me as we stay like that, both afraid to move, afraid to break the spell.

He places one large hand on my back and pushes me down on the mattress. I’m aching, satiated, and overcome with more emotion than I know what to do with. Tears start to leak out of the corners of my eyes because he won’t lie down with me. He won’t take me in his arms and hold me. Instead, he shifts to the end of the bed, completely naked, his forearms resting on his knees and his hard gaze directed down at the floor.

“What’s the matter?”

“Coming here was a mistake.”

Ice spreads through my veins, and I swallow hard.
Did I hallucinate that amazing sex
? Was it bad? Have I been so long without that I forgot what was good and what was average? “Cooper—”

“I have to go.”

“That’s it? You’re gonna fly halfway across the world, fuck me and then leave?”

“I shouldn’t have taken it that far.”

“Why not?”