Cooper (The Family Simon #6) - Juliana Stone Page 0,59
her I cooked everything myself. We eat down by the dock. The moon is coming out, and I’ve got her on my boat with every intention of seducing her on the water, when she starts complaining that she doesn’t feel good. I think she’s had too much wine. And even though I was pulling a bastard move on my cousin Jack, I’ve never been the guy to take advantage of a girl who’s had too much to drink. We turn around and head back to the dock at about the same time my brother Rick comes strolling up with his girlfriend. I’m tying up the boat while Danielle’s trying to get off the damn thing, and then I hear a scream.”
Morgan rested her chin on her hand, shaking her head. “This is sounding more like a horror story.”
“You have no idea. I hop onto the dock, and Danielle is in hysterics. Once I got over to her, I could see why. Her face was inflated like a goddamn blowfish, and that’s not an exaggeration. I thought she was dying, and all she could say was, ‘You said there were no peanuts in the stir-fry.’”
He tossed his napkin. “So not only did I nearly kill the girl I was trying to steal from my cousin Jack—”
“Bastard move.”
“Agreed. But I had to come clean about the whole thing. About how I’d arranged for Cook to make dinner. About how Cook had obviously put peanuts in the stir-fry. Danielle knew I’d told the rest of our gang not to come because I had every intention of hooking up with her.”
“So what happened?”
“Well.” Cooper sat back in his chair. “She wouldn’t let me take her to the hospital. She called Jack right away and told him everything, and the first thing he did when he got home was this.” He pointed to his face and watched as Morgan tried to stifle a giggle.
“He broke your nose?”
“Sure did.”
Her mouth twitched. “But you totally deserved it.”
“Right again. She wasn’t a trophy I should have gone after.”
A few seconds of silence followed his declaration, and then she moistened her lips. “So what am I, exactly? Another trophy for your shelf?”
He was shaking his head before she’d even finished speaking.
“No,” Cooper said carefully, getting to his feet. He walked around the table and bent low, his mouth a few inches from her ear. “You’re the woman I want to spend the night with. Not because she belongs to someone else and it’s a game. Not because there’s no one else available.” He kissed her behind her earlobe and smiled when he felt her shudder. There was something insanely hot about making a woman react to the merest whisper of a touch.
“I want to spend the night with you because I think you’re sexy as hell and you smell good.” He inhaled deeply. Damn, but her scent drove him crazy.
“I smell good.” Her voice was rough.
“Mmhmm. Every inch of you.”
She shook her head slowly. “I’m not sure you want to see every inch of me.”
The tremble in her voice made his gut ache, and he moved so that he could squat in front of her. “Hey,” he said roughly. “We can go slow. We can go fast. I’ll take you home if that’s what you want.” His chest swelled. “But don’t ever think I don’t want to see you. I already see you here.” He touched her breast, his hand gliding over her heart. “And I see you here.” He slid his palm up, cupping her head as she leaned into him.
“I’m not sure…” She paused as if struggling for the courage to say what it was she needed to get out. “I don’t know if I…” She swore and dropped her gaze before exhaling shakily. “I hope you’re not disappointed if I can’t, well, if I can’t…” She shivered violently, and her voice broke.
Cooper stood. She didn’t look up at him, and when he held out his hand, she hesitated, but after a few moments, she slid her smaller one into it. Cooper pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her, holding her so close he could feel her heart beating rapidly. Hell, no surprise there; his own was banging away like a damn jackhammer. When was the last time a woman had managed to pull that kind of reaction out of him?
He wanted her, yes, but he wanted her to want him just as much—and for all the right reasons. For a guy used