lust we share percolating into something out of control, something I might never want to stop.
“Who the hell cares if Flynn gets eaten alive by an entire coven of Spectators?” His heated breath rakes against my cheek, and a choking sound emits from my throat. “It’s bound to happen eventually.”
For a moment I’m not sure if he’s talking about Flynn’s untimely demise or the two of us exploding from this powder keg of wanting.
“Flynn’s a smart boy.” Not really, but it was say that or kiss Coop.
He gives my hand a squeeze, and his cheek cinches up the side.
Crap.
Everything in me relaxes as I give a little laugh.
Coop and I have no secrets, and I like it this way.
It’s magic like this with Coop. He takes the evil, the wickedness of these woods and transforms them into something good. That’s the best part about you, Coop. You’re always protecting, always looking out for me no matter what. And you wash away all the fear in the process.
He pulls me in and looks lovingly into my eyes before the smile dissipates from his face. “You didn’t hear me.”
“No, I guess not. I heard your voice, but the words sounded like murmurs.” It sounded like a waterfall of erotic moans, and now I’m dying to know what he said.
He gives a sly grin. “Were you able to hear me at the game tonight?”
“Barely. It’s cutting out—although, I heard plenty from Wesley. Toward the end of the night it just sort of fizzled.”
“Anything happen that you think I should know about?” His features glow a pale shade of silver under the anemic stream of moonlight. “Stuff that had to do with Celestra…”
Coop lets the words hang in the air as if they were a mere suggestion, as if I could tell him anything I wanted about my time with Wes.
“He talked about these mysterious woods,” I whisper. “Some strange place where he’d like to take me. He confessed to having a secret, and I think he’s ready to share that final step with me.”
“Tenebrous Woods,” Coop whispers it low, under his breath. “It’s what the Counts call the Celestra tunnels. I’ve heard of it. Thought it was a myth up until I met you.” He brings my hand to his lips and presses in a scorching kiss. A part of me burns for his lips to land in other places, every place.
Coop glances up, the whites of his eyes shining like glints of a broken mirror.
“He’s says he’s going to take me there.” I’m quick to lead us back to the topic at hand. Although, somehow mentioning Wes right now feels like a pox has landed over a special moment.
“Do you know when?” Coop shakes his head and drinks me in as if there were a different conversation going on entirely.
“I’m guessing soon.” I hold his stare for a moment before dusting the ground with my gaze. “I sweetened the pot for him.”
“Got it.” He’s says it low, filled with disappointment. “Is that what you want? Wait—don’t answer. It’s none of my business.”
“I sort of feel like it is your business.” I look up at him. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what I want. As much as I tell him it’s the only way to pull me back into his world—I wonder if it’s the only way to bring him back to mine. Maybe if he loved me deeply, intimately, he would wake up and realize who he really is.”
“The one that you love.”
I tighten my grip over Coop’s hand as if we were about to drift apart in an angry sea. I can feel his heart getting crushed under the weight of Cider Plains, and I hate it.
“I’m sorry,” I rasp. “I never set out to hurt you. I swear it.”
“I know.” He steps in until we’re just a breath away. I feel faint, dizzy being this close to him, wanting him in a way that I thought was reserved exclusively for Wesley. He touches his cheek to mine, and my soul, my body swims with an erotic elation.
Off in the distance, the murmur of voices catapult into the night.
“Let’s do this,” he whispers. Coop leads us out in the direction of the voices until we come up on Flynn and that thing parading around as Hattie. Another girl pops up alongside them, deformed and bedraggled, and I gasp.
“Shit!” I bury my face into Coop’s chest at the sight of the decomposing girl. I steal a quick glance before slowly taking