The Final Temptation (11 page)

“Yes.”

Rising up, he begins thrusting inside of me with slow, deliberate strokes. It’s tight, a little painful, and absolutely beautiful. “Jesus, you feel fucking incredible.”

I reach up and frame his face between both of my hands, and pull him closer until his lips are only a breath from mine. As I stare into his warm, green eyes, I let it sink in that I am finally having the only man I’ve ever wanted. And now that I have him I know that everything I have gone through, up until this point, was meant to lead me here—to this one person.

“What are you thinking?” he asks softly, as if sensing my thoughts.

I debate on how much to tell him then decide on the truth. “I’m pretty sure I’ve waited my whole life for this moment with you.”

He falters and my heart thrums at a fast pace, scared that I just ruined the moment, but my fear vanishes when he gives me a small, genuine smile. “I have no doubt, Kayla, that you were made just for me.” I feel the biggest, silliest smile take over my own face. “You and your sassy mouth that drives me fucking crazy.”

“Mmm, you love my mouth.” I throw back.

He grunts. “Now that I can do something with it I do.”

A giggle escapes me and we both groan when I clench around him. I feel his body begin to shake with restraint from holding back. Linking my arms around his neck I hitch a leg up on his lower back, bringing him deeper. “Kiss me, McKay, then fuck me like you mean it.”

With a growl he claims my mouth then unwraps my arms from around his neck and pins them above my head. He pulls out so only the tip of him is inside of me then he slams back in. I gasp and arch up into him as tingles explode through my body.

“That okay?”

“God yes, keep going.”

“My fucking pleasure.” He pulls back again until he’s almost out then slams back into me. He does this over and over, rocking my body with the best sensations. Our fingers link above my head and our bodies begin to stick from sweat. I finally find rhythm with him and thrust up into his beautiful, relentless assault. “That-a-girl, take me, Kayla, all of me.” I feel my tummy pull tight with my impending orgasm and I begin to flutter around him. He feels it and groans. “Yes, give it to me. Let me feel it, baby.”

“Cooper?” I barely get his name out—I’m so enraptured in the moment—I’m not even certain of what I’m asking for. My fingers dig into his back as I feel my body teeter on the edge. I’m so close but can’t grasp it.

“I got you.” He changes the angle of his thrusts, hitting that spot deep inside of me at a hard, fast pace.

I can do nothing else but take it, and it feels incredible. “Oh god, oh god.”

Unlinking one of his hands from mine he moves it down to cup my breast and pinches my sensitive nipple with a force that has me detonating. “Fuck yes!” Cooper increases his pace, faster than I thought possible, and fucks me through the intensity of my pleasure. I’m barely coming back down from my high when he stills deep inside of me and groans out his own pleasure.

We lay together in a sweat-tangled mess as we try to catch our breaths, our hearts beating together as one. I hold him as close as humanly possible, never wanting him to leave this spot inside of me. I feel his lips press gently against the corner of my forehead. “You okay?” he asks, sounding a little concerned.

“Mmmhmmm,” I hum, having a hard time forming words.

With a chuckle he pulls out of me, and we both groan at the disconnection. “I’ll be right back.”

Once he stands I pull the blanket up to keep warm, since I no longer have his body heat, then enjoy the view as he walks to the bathroom. He comes back in his underwear a few minutes later, and begins to clean me with a warm washcloth. I tense at the awkwardness of it, but he puts me at ease when he presses a kiss to the inside of my thigh.

After he finishes he throws it in his laundry hamper, then crawls back in beside me and pulls me against him so we’re face to face. We stare at each other for a long, silent moment and I can’t help but smile. “Happy birthday to me.”

He chuckles and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Yeah, baby. Happy birthday to you, and it’s about fucking time.”

I giggle and wrap my arms around his neck to bring him closer. “Mmm, agreed, and this was by far my favorite birthday gift ever.”

His lips tilt with a mischievous smile. “That wasn’t your birthday gift.”

I quirk a brow. “No? You got something more for me, McKay?”

“Maybe,” he replies secretively.

“It’s handcuffs, isn’t it? Let’s put that shit to use right now.”

He belts out a laugh and cups my ass in his big hands. “I don’t need to buy you handcuffs. I get that shit for free.”

I wait for him to say more but he doesn’t. He only stares at me with a sly smile. “Well, come on, give it to me already.”

“Oh I’ll give it to you.” With lightning speed he flips me to my back and comes over top of me, then kisses the living daylights out of me.

I sigh and decide I will never tire of kissing him. Not ever. I distantly feel him reach over and hear the sound of a drawer being opened. Then before we can get caught up in our passion he rolls off of me and leaves a small wrapped present on my chest.

I stare at it, wondering what it could be. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know, I wanted to. I’ve had it for a while.”

I look over at him in surprise, my heart warming at that small tidbit of information. With giddy excitement I sit up, making sure the sheet is wrapped around me, and start opening it. My curiosity peeks at the small, velvet jewelry box. “You asking me to marry you already? I love it, Coop, but maybe we should wait until after graduation.”

“Ha ha,” he replies, deadpanned. “Just open it, smart ass.”

I open the box with a smile and falter when I get a look at the authentic, platinum Pandora charm bracelet. “Whoa,” I whisper, not really knowing what else to say. I don’t think there are any words to describe the beauty of this bracelet.

Cooper pulls it out of the box then takes my hand and puts it on my wrist. I start fingering the charms. The first one is a light pink heart. Next to it is the number three. “For three years.” I glance over at him for confirmation, which he confirms with a nod. I touch the simple, deep blue charm beside it, trying to think of what it could mean, and he ends up answering my silent thought.

“For the color of your eyes.”

I smile, my heart melting into a serious gigantic puddle. When I finger the next charm I burst into a fit of laughter at the small set of handcuffs. I look over at him to see a sly smile on his face. “Hmm, and you said you didn’t get me handcuffs, you liar.”

He gives me a sexy wink that has my heart flipping over in my chest. The sexy bastard. I glance down at the last charm and my head tilts in confusion as I study the ice cream cone, wondering what it could mean. I look over at him for the answer.

“There’s actually a story behind that one,” he says quietly then clears his throat, suddenly seeming nervous. “It’s from the first time I saw you.”

I frown at the charm, and remember the first time we ever met was when he moved in next door to me. “I didn’t have an ice cream that day.”

He watches me for a moment and I wait for him to explain, but what he says next is something I could have never expected. “I was pissed when my parents said we were moving back to my dad’s hometown. I had it good where I lived before—star quarterback of the football team, lots of friends. I didn’t want to come here and start all over. A few days before we moved we were driving through town, my dad was taking us to see the house. It was a really hot day and I had my window down. We came to a stop at a red light when I suddenly heard some girl, yelling up a storm. I looked over to see what the ruckus was about and saw this beautiful blonde firecracker, who didn’t look much younger than me, giving some guy shit for picking on another kid. They were in the parking lot of the ice cream shop and she was waving her pink ice cream cone all over the place. I actually thought she was going to throw it at the guy. When the asshole left and she turned around to help the kid up, the full view I got of her was like a punch to the chest. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. I hated it when that light turned green. I was tempted to jump out of my parent’s car and run to meet this fiercely pissed off girl who looked like an angel but had the mouth of a sailor. Three days later we moved into the house. As I was carrying boxes I felt someone’s eyes on me. I looked up at the house next door and low and behold, the one girl I couldn’t stop thinking about was staring down at me from her bedroom window. That day I realized that moving to this town wasn’t going to be so bad after all, and it actually turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”

I gape at him in complete and utter shock, my vision blurry with unshed tears. I don’t move, I can’t. I am completely frozen in place and I swear my heart literally stopped beating the moment he started his story. I remember that day at the ice cream parlor when Jacob Larson was picking on Timmy Dickerhoff. He was even more mean than usual, and pushed him down to look cool in front of his friend. Little did I know that the guy I would become infatuated with saw me that day, waving my ice cream around like a lunatic.

When I don’t say anything and continue to stare at him, Cooper reaches up and wipes my wet cheek before cupping it in his large hand. “That’s why it killed me to think I made you feel like a bad person after our fight. Like you weren’t good enough for me. That day I saw a girl who could have minded her own business but instead stopped to help someone, and didn’t care what anyone thought.” Without taking his hand from my cheek, he sits up and moves in close, then drops his forehead on mine, his warm gaze penetrating. “The truth is you’re the best person I’ve ever known, Kayla, better than me. And I promise to make sure you always know it.”

My breath hitches with emotion, and since I can’t form any words at the moment I crush my lips to his and kiss him for all I’m worth. My arms wrap tightly around his neck and he lies down, bringing me on top of him. Our mouths create a beautiful passion, my tears mixing in with the sweet taste we make together. I pull back a long moment later when my lungs desperately crave air but only slightly, making sure to keep our lips only a breath away from one another. I stare back into his warm, green eyes and try to think of the right thing to say, but there are no words to describe what I’m feeling. So with a small smile I decide to let him in on my future plans. “I’m going to marry you one day, Cooper McKay, so you better be ready for me.”

He gives me his trademark sexy smile. “I’m never prepared when it comes to you, baby, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

With a giggle I attack his mouth again, but this time he flips me over and takes control. Just the way I like.

What started off being a terrible day turned out to be one of the best nights of my life…

*

I come back to the present and look around at all the girls who are sitting around me, hoping my face isn’t as red as it feels when I think about what Coop did to me later that night. Obviously, I kept this story PG for Ruthie’s sake.

“That is the most beautiful real-life love story I’ve ever heard,” Grace says with a hand over her heart.

I look down and finger the bracelet that is now loaded with charms; including the baseball bat to signify when I beat his truck after thinking he was cheating on me. I still feel like crap over it, but like Grams says desperate times calls for desperate measures. “Well I don’t know about that, but it’s mine and Cooper’s story so it’s perfect to me.”

Just thinking about it has me craving to see him. We didn’t sleep together last night since all of us girls stayed together. It’s the first night we’ve been away from each other in, well, ever. I missed him like crazy, missed the safety of his arms and the feel of his hard, warm body wrapped protectively around me. Oh hell, I just missed every damn thing about him.

“God I’m so jealous,” Katelyn says, almost sounding wistful. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you all, but jealous as hell. You are all lucky to have found such amazing men who worship the ground you walk on.”

“You will find your guy one day, Katelyn. I know it.” Julia assures her with a soft smile.

“Not unless his name is Nick Stone.” All of our eyes snap to Faith at her mumbled comment.

“Nick Stone? Who’s Nick Stone and why have I never heard of this guy?” I ask, my curiosity peaking at full intensity.

Katelyn glares over at Faith. “No one important. Just someone I used to know. He was one of Kolan’s friends back in Montana.”

I can tell he’s a lot more than that but there’s no denying the flash of pain in her eyes as she talks about him, so I don’t press. I don’t know much about her past before coming here but I do know it wasn’t pretty. Her brother, Kolan, is extremely protective over her. I’ve only met him a few times and he’s really not all that friendly. I’ve also witnessed what he can do in the ring, and there is no denying the guy is lethal. Faith once told me he’s very complicated. She said other than her and Katelyn he likes to keep to himself, and ensures his life stays private. It surprised me considering he’s in the media often for all of his fights. He’s one of the best in the industry right now and is rising to the top fast.