he does. His hands move manic over my body, his hips grind into mine with bone-crushing intensity. I can feel every nuance—I can feel him.
He rocks us steady over to the bed, and I fall back all too willingly.
Cooper lands on top of me, our fingers still interlaced. He locks my legs with his knees as he nuzzles into my neck.
Coop lets out a defeated sigh. His warm breath washes over me with all of the love and affection he can afford.
This is it. A real do or die moment. Things could swing either way. I take in a ragged breath and close my eyes. If he kisses me I won’t stop him. If he pushes the limits I won’t resist. I’ve worn myself out trying to hold back my affection for Coop. Trying to pull Wes in from the riptide, the Counts created, has only blown us an ocean apart and ground me down to nothing in the process.
His body relaxes over mine. Coop buries his face in my neck and takes in my scent one more time.
He pulls back and gives the hint of a smile before descending toward my lips. Coop cautiously inches his way to my mouth, closer, then nothing but a breath away. My heart detonates with a horrific charge, beating Wesley’s name with every thump as if it were urging me to stop and consider—to bury the last relationship before starting another.
I can feel the warmth of his mouth just over mine, as I part my lips, ready—so ready.
A loud knock booms from the other side of the door.
“Good night you two!” Dr. Flanders calls out.
“Good night!” Coop and I shout in unison, a little overeager. Cooper rolls off and lets out a quiet sigh.
“That scared me,” I whisper as the footsteps dissipate back downstairs.
Coop takes up my hand again, his face still wearing that eternal look of sorrow—that stolen smile.
“What scared you? My dad or me?”
“Both of you.” I sink into the mattress. “I’m so sorry, Coop. Never in my wildest dreams would I want to lead you on.”
“You want Wes, I get it.” His gaze drops down to the narrow space between us. The stale light of the moon seeps in over the bed and lights a line over our bodies as if sealing us together.
“I don’t know what I want. In my heart I don’t think I can reach him again. He’s gone, Coop, but a part of me can’t accept that.” I swallow hard. “He says he has something special planned for me on Halloween. I thought maybe it was,” I pause motioning with my fingers, “you know.” I shake my head. “He said it isn’t, but it got me thinking. How far am I willing to go? Am I going to sleep with him?” It’s a rhetorical question but one I’d really like Coop’s thoughts on.
“I vote for no,” he deadpans.
“Coop.” I let out a little laugh and swat him over the shoulder. “I mean—I could. If he thinks we’re close then maybe he’d take me to the tunnels. I need my sister, Coop. Our families are suffering.” I can’t bring myself to extrapolate any further on the subject. It’s like I’m gearing up for a life of sexual espionage. Trading secrets for sex sounds dirty even if the recipient is Wes.
Coop pinches his lower lip as if he’s physically trying to restrain himself from saying anything.
“Sorry about that.” I’m pretty sure sexually strategizing with Cooper Flanders is a rotten idea. If anything, Cooper is a part of the problem, not the solution. Really, I wouldn’t be having this conversation if it weren’t for him. In fact, I would have long since given myself to Wes—to hell with his self-imposed rule on waiting to get my memory back.
“Laken,” he whispers, carefully stroking the hair away from my face. “I would never in my wildest dreams ask you to touch another person to further this endeavor. I swear to you, if you want to sit back and watch from the sidelines, I’ll find a way into those tunnels. I can do this on my own.”
“Wes is the door.”
“So are the Tobias sisters.” He’s quick with the reply. “Please Laken…” Coop shakes his head. His eyes plead with me more than words could ever do. “Don’t give something away that’s so sacred. Don’t erode the landscape of your heart like this. One day you’re going to really want to be with someone,” he pauses, and I reflect on the fact he