him and wrap my arms around his waist, burying my face in his chest.
He doesn’t speak, and neither do I. We stand here in the middle of my kitchen, holding onto one another as if it’s our last time. “Thank you,” I finally whisper.
“For what?”
“Taking care of me.”
He pulls back, places his index finger under my chin, and gently tilts so we’re looking at one another. “Never thank me for taking care of you, Reese. You’re the love of my life. I’m always going to be here. Good days, bad days, and all the days in between.”
“I—” I start, then stop myself. I almost let those three little words slip. “I need to go change. I’ll be right back.”
“Wine?” he asks.
“Beer,” I call over my shoulder, heading to my room. I hear him chuckle and say, “That’s my girl,” or something similar before I disappear into my room.
Opting for comfort, I put on one of his old T-shirts from college that I stole years ago. I throw my hair up and wash all the makeup off my face. I don’t plan on going out for the rest of the night.
“Let’s eat,” I say, walking into the kitchen.
Cooper, who has his back to me, turns and his eyes scan my body. “Babe, you should go put some clothes on.”
“Why? It’s just us, and it’s not like you haven’t seen it all before.”
“That’s why.” He swallows hard. “I promised I would keep my hands to myself.”
“It’s just an old T-shirt.” I look down. “It comes to my knees. Nothing remotely sexy about this.”
“Turn around,” he says gruffly. I do as he asks. “Fuck,” he mutters.
“What?”
“I was making sure I remembered the shirt, and I was right. It has my name on it.”
“Yeah, this is the CU shirt you got freshman year.” I still don’t see what the big deal is. “I stole it, but you knew that already,” I remind him.
“I don’t know if I can explain it without it making me sound like a possessive jackass.”
“Try me.” Part of me wants him to be a possessive jackass. I’ve waited my entire life to evoke these kinds of feelings in him.
He sets both plates that he fixed for us on the counter and stalks toward me. He doesn’t stop until he reaches me and lifts me from my feet, setting me on the opposite side of the counter in my small kitchen. I brace my hands on his shoulders to steady myself as he steps between my legs.
His hands are braced on either side of me, gripping the counter. “I don’t know that I have the words, but it’s sexy as fuck. To see you in nothing but my shirt, my last name scrawled across your back.” His eyes are heated as he stares at me.
“You’ve seen me like this before.” I squirm on the counter to quell the ache that’s burning inside me for him.
“I know,” he says, his voice gruff with need. “Every fucking time I had to stalk off and take a cold shower. This is the first time since you’ve been mine that I’ve seen you in it.”
“I’m not yours,” I whisper the words but with zero sincerity.
“You are mine.” He leans in closer, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. His lips trail across my cheek and down my neck.
My body has a mind of its own, and my neck tilts to the left, giving him better access. I should be ashamed, but the feel of his lips and his hot breath against my skin is more than I can resist.
His hands grip my hips as he pulls me to the edge of the counter. His hard length hitting right where I want him. “Coop.” I moan his name as the memories of what it felt like to have him inside me flash in my mind. My legs wrap around his waist as I try to get him closer. His cock is nestled between my thighs with nothing but his shorts and my panties separating us. I’m ready to throw caution to the wind and beg him to take me to bed when the shrill ringing of his cell phone interrupts us.
“Let it ring,” he mumbles, his lips trailing back up my neck. “Nothing is more important than this,” he whispers, his hot breath ghosting across my ear.
His phone stops ringing, and mine starts from where I left it in the entryway. “Coop,” I say, dropping my legs from his waist. “It might be important.”
“You’re