Brazen and Breathless (Untouchable #6) - Heather Long Page 0,79

out of the game.”

“Wait, how is that a sudden challenge if you’re playing a video game while I get you off?” Not that I was wholly opposed to the idea.

“Babe, if you’re on my dick, I guarantee you, my mind is not going to be on the game.”

“Good to know,” I said with a laugh. At his suggestive look and grin, I flicked his ear. “I’ll think about it, drive the car.”

“I’m driving…”

At least I wasn’t thinking about Maddy. Not even a little bit. No, I was too busy fighting back the giggles every time Archie shifted gears and shot me a playful look.

Coop rode with me to do deliveries that night after we discussed our meeting with Wittaker and worked out a schedule for not only homework, but chores. The guys were getting messier week by week, and even Archie was willing to tackle some of the chores, though he’d rather just have Jeremy swing by or hire a maid service.

Thankfully, the guys helped me shoot it down. As I headed for my first pickup, I glanced over to find Coop staring out into the darkness. At least it wasn’t raining.

“You’re quiet,” I told him. The restaurant for my first pick-up was fifteen minutes away, and there was a second order there, too.

“Just thinking,” he murmured with a wry grin.

“Well spit it out before those thoughts die of loneliness.”

His snort echoed through the car’s interior. “If I ask you some personal questions, would you answer?”

“Probably,” I said after considering his question for a moment. “I think it would depend on the type of personal questions. If it’s about me, sure. But…I don’t want to betray any confidences from anyone.”

“Fair,” he said with a sigh and leaned back in the seat, tapping his knuckles against his lower lip. “The dad thing.”

“You mean my sperm donor?”

“Fair,” he said slowly. “If we find out who it is, do you want to meet them?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know anything about having a dad. The closest were Maddy’s boyfriends over the years, and the ones she let get close enough to meet me weren’t that many. And after Kenny…” I sighed and shrugged again. “I just didn’t want to get attached. Now she’s attached to the one I wish she wasn’t.”

“Yeah, I guess I didn’t think about it that way.” Coop raked a hand through his hair. “I just…I just wonder if your dad—your sperm donor,” he self-corrected without me saying anything, and I loved him for it. “I gotta wonder if he even knows whether you exist or not. Because if he does know you exist and he’s ignored you this whole time? Well, fuck him. But if he didn’t…you deserve a good parent in your life.”

“One,” I said. “It’s way too late for me to even want a parent rolling in to try and take over my life. I pretty much know how to take care of myself.”

He scoffed. “You overdo everything, and yes, you have been looking after yourself for years. That is why you deserve to have someone care and look after you.”

“Two,” I continued, reaching over to rub his thigh lightly. “I have you guys. You care about me enough to fight for me and to work together while we figured all of this out. I have you, Coop. I don’t need a ‘dad’ mucking it up.”

He chuckled. “Worried we’d have to declare our intentions to him?”

I cut him a look. “First, that’s a little on the patriarchal bullshit line. He’s a sperm donor, and whether he knew or not, he hasn’t been a part of my life. Why would you have to explain shit to him?”

“Woah,” Coop said, raising his hands then covering mine on his thigh. “Not looking to put down your feminism or your independence, just thought trying to explain four boyfriends might be fun.”

I snorted. “You’d send Archie and Jake in first.”

“Damn straight,” Coop said with a grin. “That’s how this boyfriend thing works—we all rely on our strengths. Archie can talk his way out of damn near anything, and Jake’s just got that this is what’s happening so suck it thing going on.”

“But all of that aside…it’s still my life. Not his, whoever he might be.” I shook my head. “Where is this coming from? You having issues with your dad again?”

“Yes and no. Mom and Sis have been going round for round on the subject, and I’m just not—I don’t want to be in the middle of it. Sis is just fighting this