Cooper (19 page)

Coop didn't ask her any questions when he picked her up, seeming to understand that this was something that needed saying only once and in a suitable environment. When they headed for the conference room sometime later, Cooper striding along at her side, her hand wrapped in his much larger, stronger one, he looked both dangerous and sexy.

Would he want to spend time with her once she dropped her bombshell? Right now, all she wanted to do was push him against a wall and wrap her legs around him so her core pressed against his cock. It was just a daydream. It couldn't happen. But oh, how she wished it could.

The look he sent her when he caught her eyes on him, made her core weep. Oh, yeah, she wasn't the only one who wanted to get down and dirty right now. How could just a look have her close to orgasm like this?

But the door to the conference room beckoned, and so she allowed Coop to direct her in through it. All thoughts of sex vanished as she saw just how crowded the room was. Colt and Alyssa, Chase and Caleb, not to mention the three motorbike Sons she'd met that first night where sitting waiting for her.

She almost wanted to step back out the door again, and Cooper growled in annoyance. "This isn't the inquisition. Chase, you didn't have to bring half the Sons with you."

But Chase had eyes only for her, and the look pinned her in place. He knew she had important news; he was just waiting to hear it.

She took her seat hurriedly and waited until Cooper was sitting at her side.

"I assume you know what Hays told me just before the trial?" she started.

There was a silent nod from everyone. Where was Connor and Alice? Shouldn't they be here too?

Swallowing deeply, she nodded and prepared to speak. "Do you know who Cameron Havesham Smythe is?"

The room erupted. Cats jumped out and stared at her from every human face in the room. Even Alyssa had gone cat.

"He's one of the Sons. He's part of our Unit," Cooper answered her, while the others started throwing questions at her like bullets from a machine-gun.

She frowned and took in this piece of information. In a way it made things easier. But the thought that Ackerman suspected this Son of being involved in the disappearance of Guild was worrying.

Very quickly, she caught them all up on the phone call she received from the Alpha. When she'd finished there was thoughtful silence. The cats had quietened too.

"How does the Brit get all the mates?" Caleb said in an effort to lighten the mood. "First he gets Alice as his mistress, now he gets Amy as his wife. I must have been at the end of the line. It could have been me living it up big in England all these years, if I'd been further up the line."

Chase shook his head, cautioning Caleb with a glance. Cooper's cat was out again and his deep growl had everyone easing back from the table.

"Joke, bro. Just a joke. You know Connor wouldn't let that limey bastard anywhere near Alice, and I doubt you'll let him close to Amy. Just a joke, for Chrissakes."

"Let me see if I have this straight," Chase said into the tense impasse. "Your supposed grandfather wants to make you, Amy, the hereditary Alpha we didn't even know existed until you told us about him? He's willing to mentor you, which amounts to giving you all the dirt on all the players, so you can take his place?"

She nodded at his succinct outline.

"Deciding to go with you over his daughter is a strategic move, given you're youth, beauty and resourcefulness. Clay he can mould, which is not the case with his daughter. Marrying you off to the
rotten apple
? Well that would be both clever and devious. He could groom Cameron, and also rein in what he probably sees as Cam's excesses, as the Son climbs over bodies to get to the top. If Cameron plays ball, then he'll get the keys to the castle; if he doesn't, Ackerman will have the evidence he needs to bury him."

"Yes, that's how it seems to me," Amy said.

"This requires a great deal of thought. There's no question this is an opportunity, which could bring the Guild to its knees in years, not decades. But for it to work it will require a lot of planning. And there's the question of the bond between you and Cooper. The cats are always more difficult to cage at first. It takes years to gain real control over them. Cooper's has just been activated and barely house-trained yet. If he loses control, or you do, Amy, we'll all be exposed."

"Meredith won't go down without a fight. I've seen her when her feathers were just ruffled. What she'd do if she lost what she already considers hers… Well it could get bloody," Alyssa said softly.

"That risk is already there for Alice. After she and Connor have had their little vacation in the sun, they'll be going back into the thick of it. Hall is supposed to keep Meredith from finding out about Cameron's new mistress and Guild informant, but he may not succeed," Chase answered.

"Amy isn't a chess piece you can move around wherever it suits you. She's my mate. My cat won't let her be placed in danger, whatever the endgame is." Cooper spoke softy, his cat once more under control. But his words seethed with fury, even so.

"I think some paperwork will need to appear that makes Cooper Guild, too. Some low-ranking Guild that no one has ever heard of before," Colt said slowly, thinking out loud. "He’ll need some physical alterations, too, so he looks even less like Cameron. Some lifts in his shoes to add some height, thicker eyebrows, contacts, the usual drill. There have been a few too many of us rubbing shoulders in front of the Guild to avoid notice indefinitely...

“What if they were long-lost cousins on Cameron’s mother’s side? That might explain the likeness. He and Amy have been lovers behind her father's back for some time and now Hays is gone she can bring Coop out of hiding. And of course nobody will ever connect the wheelchair geek who works for Scanlan Industries with this new guy." He looked over a little apologetically at Cooper who shrugged at the insult.

Amy knew that Colt was trying to help. If anyone in this room understood what having a mate meant, it was him. He knew how far Cooper could be asked to go before breaking. So she wanted to hear him out. It might mean everything.

"Now if this Alpha can be convinced that Coop is just as ambitious as Amy, and willing to let his girl sleep her way to the top, then he might be happy to let Coop stay on the scene. A bit like a certain Irish mercenary we all know, who is happy to have his girlfriend become Cameron's mistress for a cut in the profits."

"So I'm supposed to just leave my work and go play politics with the Guild? We haven't even started to explore the significance of the mate's healing ability yet," Cooper snarled.

"If Amy pulls this off it won't matter about the mate's healing ability. The Guild will be in ruins, and the planet will be safe. Your mate is the lynch-pin. Nobody's job is as important as hers right now. And she can't do this without you, Coop."

"I can vouch for that," Alyssa spoke up more confidently this time. "I couldn't have mixed with those monsters, done my part in bringing down Akabar and Rothmen, if Colt wasn't by my side every step of the way. He's my rock. No job is more important than that."

Cooper looked down at Amy, his expression conflicted. She knew how much value he placed on his work. It was how he'd defined himself for so many years. It made him useful, essential to the Sons, when his legs would otherwise have kept him side-lined. Now Colt was suggesting he become what amounted to her baby-sitter, or bodyguard, basically reducing his value to nothing more than being her mate.

"Cooper's work is too important for him to leave for any length of time," she argued, even though her heart cried out at the idea of being left to go it alone, while he stayed here doing his job.

"Not more important than you," Colt answered firmly, and then looked the challenge at Cooper.

For a moment, Coop appeared angry at the ultimatum presented to him. Bemusement then replaced that expression. Finally he nodded, and leaned in to kiss Amy's forehead.

"Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of my mate. If she decides to go into this, then I've got her back. But you fellas are going to have to fast-track my self-defence training, because I can't defend her as I am now. Unless I use a sharp edged petri-dish as a throwing star." His lips quirked into a lopsided smile.

In that moment the love she felt for this gentle, truly
nice
man knew no bounds. Knowing what he would be leaving behind; knowing the constant battle he'd be fighting to keep his cat under control; knowing the new skills he'd have to acquire so he felt capable of defending her; he was still choosing to stand with her. For her.

"Feckin' hell, Q, who's gonna come up with our vomiting lipsticks and bladder stimulants if you're prancin' ‘round Europe with the rich and famous?" Connor's unique brand of humour had Coop smiling despite his unease.

Only a few of them had still remained in the conference room when Connor’s call had come in, checking to see how the trial went. He and Alice were enjoying a relaxing few days in Mexico before returning to London. Connor had listened attentively as Chase explained what had been happening and his only comment so far was directed at Cooper. Typical bloody Irishman.

"I'm not leaving tomorrow, like you. I still have plenty of time to work on that vanishing cream Alice asked me for. Seems she has an annoying infestation she can't get rid of."

"Infestation? I'll have yer know I've never had crabs in me life."

"
You're
the infestation, Dick-Wad," they heard a laughing Alice say from somewhere nearby.

"Break me heart a wee bit more, will yer lass, yer know how much I'm into pain."

"Go back to the pool, Connor, and let us get back to work," Chase said with an exasperated sigh.

"I'm
in
the pool as we speak. It's one of those bars in the middle of the pool. Real fancy."

"We'll keep you informed, and I'll leave it to Alice to make Cameron aware of what's going down when you get back to London."

"Does that mean Allie gets to retire as his mistress when he marries Amy?"

"There's a hell of a lot of water that's going to have to flow under that bridge before then, so don't start packing your bags for S F quite yet."

Chase ended the call with a grunt of amused disgust.

"I'm glad he's back to his old self again, but he can certainly be annoying at times." He grinned at Colt who nodded in agreement.

"So, Caleb is starting on your new identity, Coop. He'll likely leave you as an Aussie, so you don’t have to disguise your accent. Australia's so far off the Guild's usual stomping grounds that it'll make the fact no one knows you easier to sell.

"All we have to do then is wait for Amy to hear from granddaddy and adjust out plans accordingly. Until then, Coop, you can continue to work on the mate's healing abilities."

"But not today…" Amy looked up at Coop with longing.

His cock jumped to life in his pants. Bloody hell, it was going to take a while to get used to having such a responsive third leg. This must be what it felt like to be a pubescent kid. Every thought circled back to sex and gave him a hard-on. And every hard-on had only one objective: Amy. Burying himself so deep inside her that they truly did become one being.

"Not today. Tomorrow Hays’ body will turn up and the press will circle you like vultures again. Until then, you're mine." Coop saw her eyes light up and he smiled. "’Scuse us fellas, we have pressing matters to attend to."

As the Sons laughed and Amy blushed, he hustled her out the door. At super-speed they raced down the corridor towards his quarters.

Once the door was closed, they removed clothes at cat-speed. Once they were both naked, Coop started kissing her mouth like it had been months since he'd last tasted her. This insistent, ever-present need he felt for Amy was becoming part of him now.

As lips hungrily meshed, they each worked at the other's clothing until they'd stripped away everything that separated their flesh. Amy jumped up and wound her legs around his hips, pressing her damp core against his straining cock. He wanted to take it slowly this time. He wanted to savour her like the delicious meal she was, but somehow he didn't think that was going to happen. Maybe he'd have to learn to control his cat a lot better before he got the opportunity to be tender. Or maybe if he made love to her until his cat gave up in exhaustion, he'd get his chance then. Whichever way it went he was happy. As long as Amy was in his arms he was happy.

As they fell onto the bed, Amy broke from the passionate kiss, breathless. She drew him back and met his gaze, her eyes metallic green.

"You don’t have to give up your work for me. I know how valuable it is. How much it means to you," she gasped out.

He cupped her face in his hands and met her intense gaze with all the love and certainty he now felt. "I admit at first all I could see was what I was being asked to give up, but then Colt made me realise how my priorities have realigned in the last week. My work
is
valuable, but not as valuable as you. My work
does
mean a lot to me, but you mean far more. If I have to spend every day of the rest of my life at your side doing nothing more than protecting you, then I'll consider it well spent."

Cooper kissed her lips tenderly, while his cat took a back seat for a while. When he again looked up into her eyes, he saw tears glistening in their very human, green depths.

"I never thought a man would ever value me this way, certainly not one as handsome and wonderful as you. Because of
you
, I think I might just be able to pull this mission off.
You
make me believe that I'm strong enough, bright enough and even beautiful enough to do it."

He smiled and kissed her nose. "Just call me the miraculous Cooper Adams, healer to the stars."

And then there was no more time for talk. Lips joined, hands stroked flesh, heartbeats raced as air became harder to find. When kissing her mouth was no longer enough, Cooper began kissing and licking his way down to her breasts. He kneaded one while he suckled the nipple on the other. The purr that vibrated in her chest drove his passions higher.

Amy arched her back and he took the opportunity to slide his hands around her hips so he could lift her up off the bed. While she writhed in pleasure, he kissed his way lower. What he was planning was challenging, but he'd been doing his homework during the long days they'd been apart. Now he thought he had the theory down, if not the practical.

When he let his tongue slip between her slick folds, she nearly jumped out of his arms. Looking up, he checked to see if he was doing it right. Her expression of embarrassed pleasure and need had him growing more confident. This time when he licked her, breathing in her arousal like a fragrance, he did it with more pressure, experimenting just as he did in the lab. But this was no lab experiment; this was pleasure, sexual excitement and mating of the most primitive and powerful kind.

Her first orgasm took them both by surprise, and he buried his fingers inside her to feel her tight channel clench as she rode out the release. Then he went back to working her, hungry now for more of her delicious taste. His research said a woman could orgasm multiple times, and to stop at one was to short-change them both, because after the first, the others would come, fast and furious, one after the other.

Theory proved accurate as Amy climaxed over and over again, while he laved her hard, little nub that was fast becoming his favourite toy. Then she was yanking at his hair, pulling him up the bed so she could thrust her tongue into his mouth, her excitement instantly driving him to the edge of breaking point.

Suddenly the cat took over and he let him loose, knowing the pleasure that awaited both of them when he bit her. The sensation of his elongated canines sinking into her soft flesh was the most erotic thing he'd ever experienced. Not that he had a lot of experience. But still, it was like nothing else. It was the power he craved. Holding her like that, while she was totally vulnerable to him, her pleasure expressed in every frantic heartbeat, in every soft, mewling sound and gasp and shudder, was all potent, heady power.

His own need for release became overwhelming and, as he left off her neck and sealed the wound, he buried himself deep inside her where he belonged. Her moan told him that the feeling of having him there was as good for her as it was for him. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, to get even more of him, it was too much.

Grabbing her thighs, he held her in place so he could plunge into her, over and over again, working and shifting his pelvis so he could touch every crevice of her hot, wet cavern.

"Oooohh," she cried, her internal muscles grabbing his cock as she shattered around him. That was all it took for his cat to explode onto the scene once more. With a roar, he began thrusting faster, harder, into her shuddering body, knowing his own release was only moments away and yet wanting to make it last, wanting this climb to go on forever.

"Amy," he growled out her name, as the last of his humanity faded and he became all beast; claiming his mate; taking what was his. The seed that shot out of him into her was volcanic, and seemed to rip something loose inside him. The orgasm went on and on, until the pleasure became pain. Only then did it ease and allow him to collapse on top of her, every muscle giving way from exhaustion.

As their sweating bodies cooled, he found the energy to drag himself off his mate and collapse on the bed beside her.

"I'm not sure I can watch you marry him," Coop gasped out his greatest fear as his heartbeat slowed.

"Then you won't. You'll be waiting in the honeymoon suite for me, so we can do the consummating."

"And Cameron?" he smiled despite himself.

"Can relax somewhere out of hearing, and appreciate that a real Guild member doesn’t have to share his bed."

"Well out of hearing," he said on a growl, licking the salt off the cool skin of her belly.

"Way, way out of hearing," Amy agreed with a laugh.

"Okay then, when you put it that way, I guess I can agree. He gets to put up with churches, tuxedos and interminable speeches, and I get the honeymoon. Hmm, yeah, works for me."

Laughingly, she hit his shoulder. "Weddings can be wonderful, so I've read. You make it sound like torture."

"Testing out the wedding cake would be about the best of it. Who the fuck cares what colour the serviettes are? Or those stupid things in the middle of the tables."

"Centrepieces," she supplied primly.

"Yeah, them. Cameron will love picking those out with you." He kept the sarcasm light and joking, even though he could tell she was getting a little upset with him.

"I love, you Amy Hays," he said, getting serious again.

Her face relaxed and she smiled a little sadly. "I love you too, Cooper Adams. And maybe ours isn't the romantic, happy-ever-after everyone wants, but I still get the gorgeous guy and the chance to save the world, so who needs neatly tied off endings."

"One day you'll get your happy ending, with the biggest, neatest bow I can find tying off all those loose ends. But until then we have each other. That's enough."

"Yes, more than enough."