Retribution (16 page)

He turned his head to look at me. “You’re perfect. I hope you know that.”

I smiled at him. “You’re not too bad yourself. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

“That’s because you’ve never been with me before. I’m kind of the king of orgasms,” he said with a straight face.

I grinned, unable to stop myself. “And you’re so modest, too.”

“Modesty is for nuns and virgins. I am neither.”

“Clearly.”

He chuckled before rolling over and opening his nightstand drawer. He pulled out a condom and ripped open the packet. I looked away as he started to roll it on.

“Now isn’t the time to act shy, Claire, not after that,” Cooper said, amusement clear in his voice.

I shot him a look that was meant to scare him for teasing me, but he just grinned. Being with Cooper like this felt…different from how I’d expected. I’d only been with Robert, and there had been no room for conversation or joking. Cooper seemed happy and at ease, something that surprised me since he was always so intense.

He moved until his body was positioned over mine. “There’s no forgetting this now, Claire. I hope you know that.”

“Like I could forget,” I told him.

He leaned down and kissed me deeply as his hips thrust forward. He was inside me before he broke the kiss. I tensed for a moment, shocked at his sudden entry, but then I forced myself to relax. Cooper stared down at me, his eyes showing some kind of emotion I couldn’t pinpoint. Maybe it was happiness or even excitement. I wasn’t sure.

“I want to take this slow, Claire. Is that okay with you?”

I nodded, suddenly unable to find my voice. He grinned down at me as he pulled back and then thrust into me again. I grabbed his arms and held on as he found a leisurely pace and stuck to it. This didn’t feel the same as it had only a moment before. He’d attacked my body, giving me no chance to prepare myself. Now, he was taking his time, allowing me to experience every second of him inside me. It felt amazing, but I knew it wouldn’t get me to where I wanted to go.

“I need it faster, Coop. Please,” I said when I couldn’t stand it any longer.

He didn’t respond, but his hips started moving faster. I dug my nails into his arms as I felt my need deepen. Cooper grabbed one of my legs and wrapped it around his waist. Out of instinct, I wrapped the other one around him and crossed my ankles, holding him in place.

“Hold on. I’m about to get rough,” he said, his voice deeper than usual.

I did as he’d said as he started pounding into me with enough force to push me back a few inches. I clung to him, praying that this moment would never end. I felt my body arch off the bed as an orgasm rocked through me. I tightly held on to Cooper, my grip probably leaving bruises on his arms. His body tensed above me before he thrust into me one final time.

He dropped down so that his weight rested against mine. Both of us fought for breath as we slowly came back down to earth. He kissed my neck before resting his face there. Neither of us spoke for a while. Finally, he pulled out and sat on the edge of the bed. My body instantly started craving him again. I felt hollow without him inside me.

I watched as he stood and pulled the condom off before tossing it into the garbage can next to his computer desk. He pulled the covers down so that we could slip under them, and he climbed back into bed.

“Everything changes now,” he whispered before he pulled me into his arms.

“Everything changes,” I repeated, hearing the truth in my words.

Cooper was mine now, and I was his. We both knew it was true.

Sadly, there was still so much unsaid between the two of us. Fate was not on our side, something that we were both very much aware of. I had no idea what would happen between us.

As I lay in his arms, I wished I could openly stake my claim on Cooper. He was mine for as long as he allowed it, and I was his. That was all that should matter, but things were too complicated for that. No one else could know how we felt—not yet, not until we brought Robert to his knees. I prayed that we would do just that—soon. I wanted to watch my husband rot in prison while I fell in love with his son.

I was that twisted.

I traced the bottom of Cooper’s tattoo with my finger. My head rested against his chest, and I breathed deeply, memorizing his scent, imprinting this moment in my brain for all eternity. I never wanted to forget what we’d shared. Outside this room, I knew doubt would begin to creep back in. I didn’t want to feel that way ever again. I didn’t want my doubt and guilt to take this moment from me.

What Cooper and I had done meant a lot to me. I just wanted to savor the emotions I was feeling now. The guilt over my infidelity—even though I no longer cared for Robert, and I knew he never truly cared about me—would soon take over. Something that felt so right was still so wrong in many ways. Sleeping with Cooper, no matter how much I cared, was wrong as long as I was married to Robert.

“This is nice,” I said after a while.

Cooper gently squeezed my arm. “Yeah, it is.”

“I wish we could just stay like this forever. I don’t want to leave this room.”

“We don’t have to—at least, not for a while.”

“I suppose, but reality will come creeping along soon.”

He sighed and pulled me tighter against him. “I know.”

I let the warmth from his body spread through mine, warming me to my bones. Neither of us spoke for what seemed like hours. Maybe it was only minutes. I was too entranced with the man lying next to me to pay attention to the passing of time.

“Cooper?” I asked.

“What?”

“You said you needed to tell me something important earlier. That was why I came home. We, uh…got a bit distracted. What was it that you wanted to tell me?”

Just like that, reality came barreling back to us. Cooper’s entire body tensed, and I instantly regretted asking him the question. I slowly sat up, and then instead of speaking, he stood and reached for his pants. I watched as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sat down next to me on the bed.

“When I saw your note, telling me that my father had left, I had him followed.” He unlocked his phone and pulled up his texts. “My guy sent me this. I’m sorry, Claire.”

My hands were shaking as I took the phone from him. I looked at the screen, trying to understand what I was seeing.

Robert.

He was locked in an embrace with a brunette, his mouth planted firmly on hers. I scanned the image and noticed how his hands rested on her backside, pulling her tight against him.

“This was taken today?” I asked. I was surprised by how calm my voice had sounded.

“Yeah, he sent it to me a few minutes before I texted you.”

I handed his phone back to him. “It doesn’t matter if he’s cheating. We know that he doesn’t love me. This just proves it a little bit more.”

I kept my face expressionless, but inside, I was raging. Robert was sleeping around while still married to me. He was making me look like an even bigger fool than I already was in his eyes.

And I’m doing the same thing.

At least I truly cared about Cooper though. I doubted if Robert felt the same about the brunette in the photo.

“And here I was, worried that I’d feel guilty over being with you,” I said softly. “At least he gave me a reason not to.”

Cooper didn’t say anything. Instead, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer to him.

“I didn’t want to feel guilty. I’m kind of glad I saw this because, now, I don’t have to.”

I looked up at him. His eyes were full of pity. I hated that. I wanted Cooper to see me as his equal. I didn’t need his pity.

“You should never feel guilty over what you feel for me, Claire.” He kissed the top of my head. “You’re the first person to care about me in so long. I don’t want you to feel guilty over that.”

I straightened. “I don’t feel guilty over my feelings. My guilt comes from not waiting until I left him
.
I don’t want him to bring me down to his level, Coop, and I feel like that was what I did. I’m better than going behind his back to sleep with his son.”

Cooper’s expression went from soft to menacing in an instant. “So, you think I’ve sunk to his level as well then.”

“What? No! You’ve done nothing wrong.”

He laughed humorlessly. “It takes two, doesn’t it? I mean, after all, I kept pushing you until you finally caved. Maybe all your guilt should rest on my shoulders.”

I grabbed his hands in mine and squeezed. “Stop, please. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

He looked away. “I’m sorry, too. I just…I don’t want him to taint this, too. Whatever doubt you have about us, push it aside, okay?”

“You’re right,” I said, “I won’t feel guilty over us. I can’t. You’re one of the few things I care about in this life. I won’t ruin it, not for him.”

He leaned down and softly kissed me. “Good.”

“We’ll figure it all out—together.”

We would. We had to.

That night, I tossed and turned in my bed, my mind too filled to even contemplate sleep. My body was taut as I fought with myself over Cooper. He was just across the hall, his door mere feet from mine. I didn’t want to be here in my room, alone. I wanted to be in his.

That was a dangerous thought, a stupid one. We couldn’t get caught together. What had happened today was dumb, and we both knew it. Robert might be out of town, sleeping with his whores, but Ellie was still at the house every day. If she had walked in on us, things could have gone bad fast. I didn’t think she would have told Robert, but I didn’t want to take a chance either.

I’d decided not to tell Cooper about what I’d found inside the storage unit. I wasn’t sure that what I’d discovered would help us at all. Cooper would be surprised to learn that his father had planned on leaving him everything, but that had nothing to do with Marie.

The divorce papers kept flashing through my mind. I’d read them earlier, trying to understand why Robert would hide them the way he had. I’d found nothing suspicious in them. Marie’s reason for filing had been irreconcilable differences. That wasn’t exactly calling Robert out on his bullshit. The only reason we even knew that she had filed was because of her letter to Cooper. If she’d never sent that, then he never would’ve learned of her fears or even of the divorce papers themselves.

I sat straight up in bed.
That
was what had been bugging me. Marie had died before she filed for divorce. There was no way that Robert should have known about those papers, but he obviously had known.
How
was the question. He’d hidden them because he assumed no one else knew about them, and he didn’t want anyone to find them.

“Now, it makes sense,” I said to no one.

The only way he could have known about them was if he’d somehow found out about Marie’s lawyer. That was the
only
way. I needed to see that lawyer and find out how and why Robert had those papers.

As soon as the firm opened the next morning, I called Becky’s direct extension.

“Law Office of Robert Evans. How may I help you?” Becky answered.

I almost laughed out loud at how professional her voice sounded.

“Becky, it’s Claire. I need a favor.”

Her professional voice disappeared. “Oh, hey, Claire. What do you need?”