Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,49
then that was what he’d get. Time was ticking, and my cock couldn’t take another “fantasy” when the real deal was willing and within reach.
“I’m on my way,” he finally said, and in the process unleashed every ounce of pent-up desire I had carried for him for far too long.
I barely had time to shower and unpack my suitcase before my intercom sounded.
“Yes, Roger?”
“I have a Mr. Stanton here to see you,” my doorman said, announcing what I already knew.
“Thank you. Please send him up.”
A few minutes later, I stood in my doorway, waiting for the elevator to arrive. The chime echoed around the quiet hall as the doors slid open, and there stood Cooper, seeming confident—until he stepped toward me while nervously running a hand through his already messy hair.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” I repeated before we stood inches apart, neither of us taking the reins. “Come in.”
The scent of his bodywash, or shampoo, or whatever it was assaulted my senses. The tight-fitting green T-shirt and equally tight jeans assaulted my libido. He shoved his hands in his pockets before turning to face me.
“Welcome home. I guess I should have said that to you earlier.”
“It’s good to be back. Is Becks driving you crazy?”
“Just a tad. She’s miserable. That kid doesn’t seem to want to come out.”
“She’s only two days late,” I reminded him, as I’d reminded his sister that morning.
“I guess even being two hours late while carrying a bowling ball around in this heat is too much.”
“True.” I mirrored his stance and asked, “Does she know you’re here?” The way his gaze shifted gave him away. “Where does she think you are?”
“A movie.”
“And she bought that?” I asked, amused. “I’m back in town and you suddenly decide to go to a movie? Rebecca isn’t that stupid.”
“Probably not,” he said with a shrug, not seeming at all concerned. “I’m not ready to out us.”
Even though there really wasn’t an us yet, and even though there still seemed to be an awkwardness on how to begin creating an us, his admission that there was an us pulled on something deep within me.
“So…” I closed the distance, coming toe to toe but not touching him otherwise. “What would you like us to do now?”
His eyes slid down to my lips and back up again. “I’d like us to eat. I’m starving.”
“It’s only five. What are you, sixty?”
“No.” He placed one hand on my chest before adding, “But the sooner we have dinner, the sooner we can relax.”
“Good idea,” I replied, wanting to mess with him a bit. “The Reds are on tonight.”
“The Reds? As in baseball?”
“Yep. Watching baseball is one of my favorite ways to relax.” I covered his hand with mine and leaned closer. “Who knows? Maybe someone will get lucky and make it to third base.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cooper
A crack of thunder rattled the glass panels of the patio doors behind us and plans of having dinner out on the balcony came to a crashing halt when the skies opened.
“Fuck,” he hollered above the roar of torrential rain. We grabbed our meals and darted inside but not before becoming drenched.
“Well, damn,” I said, looking down at my sodden sushi and placing the plate on his coffee table. “That came out of nowhere.”
“Common here,” Ricky said, running his hand over his face to wipe away the moisture covering it. Usually very put together, from his hair to his clean-shaven face, the disheveled look he had going stirred something within me. Strands of wet, golden hair ran diagonally across his forehead, and a sexy scruff suited him. “To watch,” he went on to say.
“To watch what?” Zoning out as I had meant I’d probably missed the beginning of that sentence.
“I said the storms over the ocean are spectacular to watch.” He motioned toward the glass wall just as a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and into the ocean. “See?” Another bolt followed, contrasting against the charcoal horizon, along with a deafening clap of thunder.
“Oh, right.”
He glanced down at the puddle beneath my feet. “Don’t move.”
I watched as he removed his shoes and slipped down the hall barefoot, leaving a trail of water behind him. He reappeared a minute later with two large, fluffy towels.
“Here.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking one to rub away the moisture covering my body as he used the other to sop up the water on his wood floors. Between being wet and the chilled air, an involuntary shiver traveled through me, and he caught it.