Champion (Studs in Spurs) (14 page)

But truth be told, if he could see himself married to any woman, it would be to Hannah.

Glen smiled. “You like her. I can tell.”

“Yeah, I do. But let me get through a few of the important firsts with her before you put a ring on my finger. Like a real date. A’ight?”

Glen smiled. “I remember you saying way back when that you fucked women, you didn’t date them.”

“I know, and shut up if you’re only going to say I told you so. I don’t need to hear it. I was an idiot when it came to Hannah.”

“You’re admitting that? Now I know this is serious. I’ll be hearing wedding bells before you know it. Though I guess there’s enough acres you two could take the house and I could build myself a little place off to the side. Maybe a trailer for the time being.”

“Yes, you could if you want, but only if you stop talking about me and marriage. A’ight? Quit, or I’m taking back the offer.”

Still, Cooper had to admit that Glen painted a nice picture. A thriving ranch. His partner and best friend steps away in his own place. Hannah playing house with him as a real couple. Everyone happy.

Damn. Now that he thought of it, he wanted it, which made him even more scared that it was all beyond his grasp.

“I’ve been avoiding her for two days because I’m so afraid I’m going to fuck things up. I needed to get my head on straight before I see her again. I want it to be serious with her, and that scares the shit out of me.”

Glen laughed. “Oh, I believe it. I think you’re off to a good start.”

“How’s that?”

“Because you’re taking the time you need to actually think rather than just barreling in headfirst like you used to. Because being with her made you want to clean up a mess that you never bothered with for near five years.”

It was all true. Because of Hannah he’d cleaned up the messes both at the ranch and in his life. “I missed having you around to talk to.”

The corner of Glen’s mouth lifted. “Me too.”

“You’ll consider my offer?” As much as he wanted everything to be right with Hannah, Cooper wanted things with Glen to work out too. All of it. The partnership and the friendship.

Glen tipped his head in a nod. “I will.”

Coop glanced out the back door where Glen’s main squeeze—his man-friend, which was as good a term as any—was manning the grill while shooting possessive, jealous-looking glances at the house. “I don’t know what the living situation is here, but know you’re welcome at my place. If he’s not the right one for you, ditch him. You deserve someone who makes you happy.”

Glen nodded. “Thanks. But remember, so do you.”

“Yeah. I think I finally get that.”

“About damn time.” Glen smiled.

“Yeah, I know. I guess I’m a slow learner. A’ight. I’m gonna go. Hannah should be home from work by now.” He turned to the door but glanced back, his hand on the knob. “You’ll have to bring your television with you if you move back. I never got around to buying myself one.”

Glen laughed. “Okay.”

Things were far from back to normal, but this was a good start.

Chapter Fourteen

Hannah pulled into the driveway after hanging up with Skeeter and slammed on the brakes as her heart began to pound. Cooper’s truck was in the drive.

The truck’s door swung open and Cooper stepped out. It was all she could do to function enough to pull the car up to the curb. Even then, she almost forgot to put the transmission in park. She only noticed when she tried to pull the key out of the ignition and the mechanism wouldn’t let her.

Jeez, she had it bad. She’d been driving for twenty-five years but couldn’t manage the simple task now because Cooper was there. There to see her. And he was smiling.

She managed to get both her keys and herself out of the car as he walked toward her. She’d just slammed the door when she found herself pressed up against it, pinned between Cooper’s body and the vehicle. He grabbed the back of her neck with one hand and crashed his mouth into hers.

Right out in the open, in view of the street and all her neighbors, Cooper kissed her, thrusting his tongue between her lips. A public claiming of her as his. He kissed her hard and held her with a possessive grip that left no doubt in her mind. He wanted and needed her as much as she did him.

He stopped kissing her to say, “Let’s go inside.”

Cooper might have said inside, but his eyes said something else. In them, she saw an invitation. If she wasn’t mistaken it was to join him in bed. Her bed.

Stupid woman that she was, she didn’t just accept it. She should have grabbed his hand and dragged him inside, but instead she had to know. “I wasn’t sure I’d be seeing you again. When I didn’t hear from you—”

“I know. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

“What’s changed?”

“Nothing. Everything. All I know is I’m done fighting this thing between us, Hannah. I want you in my life, and not just because I can’t seem to keep my hands off you.” Looking down at her from beneath heavy lids, he ran his palms down her sides and let out a low groan. “Though that part is pretty nice too. You good with that?”

A smile she couldn’t control and didn’t want to bowed her lips. “Yeah, I’m good.”

She tugged him toward the house, but he held her back. “Hang on.” He paused only long enough to open his truck door, reach inside and emerge with a paper bag. Slamming the door, he said, “A’ight. We’re good.”

She eyed the bag. “What’s that?”

“Provisions.” He looked at her with a strange expression.

“Food?” She was ready to rip his clothes off and he was thinking about eating? It was a sweet idea of him to pick something up, but…

Grinning and somehow managing to look shy, which he never had before, Cooper shook his head. “No. Definitely not food.”

Her brain worked and latched on to what could possibly be in a bag that size and shape, something that would embarrass Cooper in front of her, and she came up with only one option.

Condoms.

The culmination of a decade’s worth of fantasies had finally become reality. She swallowed hard. “Good thinking. Come on inside and we can break into that bag.”

He followed but surprised her by saying, “I’m thinking maybe we should talk first.”

“Talk? Um, sure.” Her brain swirled. Would she be able to have a conversation before sex?

This was Cooper Holbrook. The one she dreamed about. The man she’d gotten one taste of and hadn’t stopped craving since, but he was also the man who hadn’t called her afterward, or answered her call.

She shook as she tried to get the key in the lock. She cursed her nerves and her trembling hands both until she finally got the door open. Inside, she flipped on a light and turned to Cooper. “Okay. We can talk.”

He closed the door and stood just inside. Cussing low under his breath, he grabbed her hand. “Hannah.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

She accepted the apology with a nod. “Can I ask why you didn’t?”

“I had some shit to work out first.”

Like another woman in his life? She hated that her mind went there, but she couldn’t help it. She hugged her arms around herself, mainly to hide the shaking. “Did you get it worked out?”

“I did.” He dipped his head and then drew in a breath. “I went to see Glen and talked to him about possibly starting up the stock business again.”

Glen. The one piece from Cooper’s life that had gone missing without explanation.

“Oh.” She blew out a breath. Her suspicions had been for nothing. “Wow. That’s great, Cooper.”

“Yeah. It’s not a done deal yet. He’s thinking about it, but I think there’s a good chance.”

“I’m really happy for you.” She still didn’t know what had happened. Why Glen had left, or why he was coming back now, but it was at least a reason why Cooper had gone missing for two days. One that didn’t have to do with another woman or him going on a bender. Since those had been Hannah’s two main fears, anything else was good.

He smiled. “I know you are. You always were happier to see other folks happy than yourself.” He took a step closer. “So you forgive me? I realize I should have called the next day. Hell, that night even. I just needed to handle this first.”

Hannah had a feeling she’d forgive Cooper for a lot of things. This transgression didn’t require much forgiveness. He needed to get his life together, and this was one huge step toward doing that. It didn’t mean she couldn’t tease him a little.

“I don’t know. That depends.” She angled her head to the side. “I have to make sure of a few things first.”

“A’ight.”

“Are you going to get me all hot and bothered and then walk away from me like you did ten years ago?”

His lips tipped up in a smile. “Oh, darlin’, you don’t have to worry about that.”

She might be teasing, but she remembered well lying in bed alone the night before, not sleeping. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking of him, obsessing over why he hadn’t called and what he could be doing instead of being with her. “Are you going to keep in better touch? And answer the phone when I call you?”

“I promise. I’ll answer whenever you call, no matter what.”

His promise was good enough for her. She glanced toward the brown paper bag he’d dropped onto the table by the front door. “Then you better grab that. I’ll grab a couple of bottles of water from the kitchen. This could take all night.”

His eyes widened. She ignored his surprise and headed for the fridge.

As Hannah pulled him down the hallway, Cooper decided he could definitely get used to her aggressive side.

Inside her bedroom, he found himself surrounded by things from her everyday life. It was like he’d reached some inner sanctum, and him being there made things began to feel really real. But unlike in the past, he didn’t have the urge to bolt. Where in the old days he would have wished he could turn the personal photos toward the wall, with Hannah he found he wanted to look at the pictures of Skeeter as a baby. Take a closer look at the photos of the older man who must be Hannah’s late father and at the picture of a younger Hannah wearing a smile and a baby on her hip.

He didn’t have all that much time to look as she pulled him to the bed. It was neat and perfectly made, exactly as he’d imagined it to be. The woman worked two jobs, lived basically alone in the house and still she made her bed. Every morning, he was sure. She was the exact opposite of him. That should scare him. Hell, it used to. Not anymore. He’d have to investigate why that was later.

Too much thinking was bad for a man. Cooper tossed the bag on the end of the bed and pulled her toward him. “Come here.”

She came willingly, and he saw a need in her eyes reflecting his own.

He’d done things he wasn’t proud of in his past. He had regrets, just like any man. Taking too long to get to Hannah was one of those regrets.

Maybe he’d been wrong avoiding this with her all those years ago. Then again, maybe his actions had been right for the man he’d been then. He hoped to God what he was doing now was right. Frightening as it was, he wanted Hannah in his life. Not for a night. Not for a few tumbles in his bed. But forever.

That word—forever—made his chest clench, but he couldn’t deny it anymore. He was definitely done fighting this. It was inevitable, them being together. He only wished he’d been capable of accepting that years ago. It would have saved them all a heap of pain, Glen included.

But he’d accepted it now, and when he pushed the doubts to the side, it left only the raw need dominating him. If he was going to sideline the fear that had ridden him most of his life, he needed to concentrate on something else for a little bit. Making love to Hannah was the perfect solution. She was right, it might take all night, but he wasn’t leaving there until he’d given them both what they’d sampled too briefly the other night. What they’d been denied for too long.

Cooper ran his hands over her curves. All soft and warm. All woman. All his. His body tightened at the thought.

Her clothes were in the way. He could make them both feel so much better with more freedom to move and there was this nice bed just waiting for them. “Sit down.”

She complied without question and the many things he wanted to ask her to do spun in his head. She was so sweet, but damn, he had a feeling she could be bad too, given the right motivation.

Kneeling at her feet, he pulled off her shoes and tossed them to the side. From the same position, he released the drawstring on her scrubs and grasped the waist. She braced her weight on her hands and lifted her hips so he could tug the pants down.

Anxious now to get her out of all remnants of the job that consumed so many of her waking hours, he stood and yanked her top off.

She was tempting on a normal day. Hannah in nothing but matching lace panties and a bra took his breath away.

With both hands, he grasped the sides of her underwear and slid them over her hips. She opened her eyes, still narrowed, and watched his face as he stripped her panties from her. The soft lace seemed to weigh nothing in his hand.

What was it about women’s undergarments that could twist a man’s gut in knots? Just holding these made him want to plunge inside her.

It had probably been a bad idea taking them off so soon, but it was way too late to worry about it now. He steeled his resolve and dropped the scrap of lace to the carpet. They’d definitely play a part in his fantasies later when he was home alone in bed thinking of her, because every second with Hannah made him crave a million more.

“Lie back.” He pushed her shoulder and she went willingly, lying flat on the bed. He leaned low and brushed his lips over the pale skin of her thigh.

Using his thumbs to spread her, he flicked his tongue over a spot that had her jumping beneath him. He slid two fingers inside Hannah and she sucked in a breath of air between her teeth in response.

Lifting his head a bit, he saw the pleasure on her face. He watched her eyes roll back and grinned. “Don’t pass out, darlin’. You’re gonna want to be awake for this.”

Smiling, he went back to work, his sole goal to please her. It was quite the change for him. Back in the day, once he’d warmed up the woman just enough to get her to do what he wanted with her, his main concern had been getting himself off.

Cooper didn’t know if it was Hannah’s responsiveness to his every touch, or just Hannah herself, but he was enjoying pleasing her. It was more fun than he’d ever had with his pants on.

It seemed forever since he’d had his mouth on a woman. It had been a long time since he’d wanted to be this close, this intimate.

With Hannah, he couldn’t seem to stop himself and didn’t want to. He knew one taste wouldn’t be enough, but he did it anyway. He dipped his head, spread her wide and drove his tongue deep between the folds of her flesh. She gasped as he connected with the spot he sought. He drew her clit between his lips and sucked hard enough to elicit a moan from her.

Not opening his jeans and plunging into her was killing him, but he held strong somehow. He’d get to his end goal eventually, but a need this deep, so long in coming, warranted taking his time to satisfy them both.

Hannah writhed beneath him. He realized he’d be happy to do this with her every day and every night. No fear of boredom. No fear of commitment. Just a warmth inside him that chased away the darkness and the cold.

She settled her hands on his head and held him close. She needn’t have worried. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Cooper doubled his efforts and felt her slip over the edge of orgasm as her cries filled the room.

She didn’t stop trembling throughout the time it took him to stand up, tear off his clothes and slide on a condom. Then he was back, sliding inside the woman he couldn’t get enough of. Her body welcomed his like it was made for him.

He forced his eyes open and watched her face as he loved her. Her emotions showed clearly and echoed his own. Wonder. Relief. Need.

He’d long ago lost count of how many women he had taken over the course of his lifetime. Some just like this, many with far more creativity, and yet the act had never consumed him so completely as it did with Hannah. Maybe that was the difference that caring about her made.

He tried to last but couldn’t. Much too soon, he came with an intensity he’d never felt with any other woman. The climax seemed to fill him with emotion as much as it drained him of energy. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he collapsed over Hannah.

Still breathless, he realized he must be crushing her. With his arms locked around her, he rolled to the side and brought her with him. This time, when the orgasm high began to fade, Cooper didn’t have the urge to flee. It was a nice change.

Equally as strange to him was that he wanted to talk. “This isn’t just about sex.”

“No?” That one word from Hannah felt loaded with so much. Questions. Doubt. Hope.

“No. I…” Cooper braced himself and started again. “You deserve someone so much better than me, but I’m working on being a better man, and I’d like it if you were around for it.”

“I’d like that too.” Hannah’s cheek rested against his chest. He felt her smile.

He blew out a breath in relief. “Good.” Now that the hard stuff was out of the way, he realized he’d never told her about seeing her son. “So I went to the competition and saw Skeeter.”