Touch Me - Complete Collection (2 page)

“
Yeah, I thought a shirt might help you concentrate on what you’re saying.”

Her lips parted in a horrified chuckle and he snickered, turning to leave.
“The pizza’s getting cold,” he called out like a mom, and she slipped into the bathroom.

Splashing cold water on her face, she
surveyed the bathroom in the large mirror. It was as big as her bedroom back at the place she had shared with Jason. There was a concealed shower, and a white marble bathtub sunken into the floor. The sight of it made her want to strip and plunge into it.

S
he patted her face dry with a fluffy white towel and stepped out. In the living room, Cooper had laid out the pizza box and two plates, along with two chilled beers.

After
two slices, she sat back. He was busy annihilating his pizza slice so she used the distraction to survey his appearance. The lamp placed on a nearby table illuminated his face with its golden light, accentuating his features. His nose was strong, his chin square, and his eyebrows thick yet neat. His eyelashes cast shadows on his cheekbones and she smiled as she recalled how his brothers had always made fun of his girly lashes.

“How are your brothers?” she asked, and he
wiped his lips with a tissue.

“They’re good. Dexter is the only one in the states. The rest are in Australia.”

“That’s nice.”

“What is?”

“You know, that you all found your place. Made something of yourself.”

He chewed his bite slowly. “You’ll find a job sooner than you think.”

“And how do you know?” she asked playfully.

His expression was
almost stern as he swallowed the remnants of his bite. “Because I’m going to make it happen.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Like what
…you’re going to storm in with me during interviews and scare them into hiring me?”

“
Something like that,” he smiled and her breath caught. She had always been a sucker for nice teeth on men. He had perfect teeth, and his lips stretched over them, giving her a glimpse of the perfect mouth. She swiftly looked away. It was 7 p.m. and she was alone in an apartment with a hunk. It was messing with her brain. She had never been in such a situation. She gritted her teeth and he raised his eyebrows questioningly, sliding closer to her.

They were seated
on the carpet, their backs against the couch, their arms touching, and their beers in their hands. He knew she was stressed out and nervous. When he had heard her voice over the phone, he had been ecstatic to finally hear from her, but then the voice had broken down.
God!
The moment he heard her sobbing and muttering something unintelligible about job, fired, and boyfriend, he had wanted to snatch her away from every damn thing that was hurting her. He had had the indescribably furious urge to protect her from everything. Jenny had been his friend, his best buddy since he was three and she was two. They had spent ten years together, and then parted after her grandmother died and she moved to live with an aunt.

He had missed her terribly for years
. When she was leaving, he had begged his parents to adopt Jenny so they could stay together. With five boys to raise, his parents hadn’t even entertained the childish idea.

As he sat next to her silently, a
ll he wanted to do was assure her that everything was going to be fine. That he would sort everything out. That she didn’t have to worry. But he didn’t want to trample on her pride anymore. He had offered her a place to stay, and she had been embarrassed over that. He wasn’t going to add to her discomfort.

Jen
ny savored the hushed support he was offering. The arm pressing onto hers was no longer arousing or uncomfortable. She felt like the twelve year old Jenny again, the one who had no one but Cooper. Tears welled in her eyes. She was exactly where she had been fifteen years ago. She was a pathetic mess. He was a successful man, evident from the lavish way he lived, and she had landed on his doorstep with seventy bucks to her name. She felt useless and worthless, and the fact that he was there meant more than he could have guessed.

Wordlessly, he shifted and rais
ed his arm. Jenny’s eyes widened and she gaped at him but he persevered, sliding it securely around her shoulders. She relaxed instantly, no longer feeling even the slightest bit of uneasiness. Snuggling closer, she rested her head on his chest while he held her. It felt like the most natural, tranquil spot. He took her beer bottle away and the silence, the gentle gestures, made her close her eyes and surrender. She surrendered to the strength of him, to the protective solace he was providing.

Cooper place
d her hand on his stomach and clasped her firmer, inhaling the fruity scent of her shampoo. She felt nice.
Too nice
. He shoved the thought away.
She needs me.
The realization made his fingers tighten over her arm and to his delight, she nuzzled nearer, no longer the rigid, uncooperative girl he had first hugged.

“Jen
?” he whispered on her hair, his lips pressing to the top of her head. “I'm glad you called me.”

Jen
ny pursed her lips and fought the tears threatening to form a torrential fall down her cheeks.
God, why am I so emotional?
She felt broken. She felt safe. “Are you?”

She
knew how to spoil a perfectly good moment. “Shut up, Jenny.”

She chuckled and tilted her h
ead up. Her face ended up closer to his than she had projected, but he didn’t even glance anywhere but into her eyes.

At le
ast one of us isn’t a pervert.
“Thank you, Coop.”

“
If you say that one more time…” he threatened ominously and she bit back a smile.

“You’ll
throw me out?”

He narrowed hi
s eyes. “I’ll make you do the dishes for a month.”

She laughed. “A month! Let
’s hope I get out of your hair before that.”

She
lay her head on his shoulder again and he stroked her arm. “Even if you land a job tomorrow, you’re not going anywhere for a while. I’ve missed you.” He inhaled her scent deeply and his eyes opened in shock. His body responded in a way that he didn’t want it to respond. His cock tightened, and his navel was alive with need. He felt her nearness differently. It was no longer familial warmth. It was more…

He pursed his lips and fought to think of
something else, but the throb in his cock kept growing.
No, stop.
He almost groaned in utter helplessness when she stroked his stomach from over his shirt. His abs flexed.
Jeez, Jenny! Don’t touch me!
Her fingers were so close to his dick. Just five inches lower and she would find it rock hard in his jeans.

He wanted to distance himself
from her lest he did something utterly, mindlessly stupid, but he couldn’t find the strength. Luckily, Jenny pulled away. “What time do you go to work?”

He gaped at
her, his face strained as he combated the ache in his dick. “Around eight or nine in the morning. Why?”

“
When I got here, it was nearly five o’clock and you were in your PJs. What time did you get back?”

“
I usually come back around seven, but when I got your call in the morning I came home.”

“Why?”

He sighed.
Because I was worried sick about you. Because the sound of you crying was trapped in my brain and repeating itself until I couldn’t stay in my office anymore. Because I was pissed off at the people surrounding you and aching for you to make your way to my place, so you never had to think that you had nowhere to go
. “I had to meet someone.”

A li
ght bulb went off in Jenny’s brain. She considered Cooper almost accusingly and looked away. He was an incredibly hot, apparently very successful man. She had invaded his bachelor pad and hadn’t even thought twice about it.
What if he has a girlfriend? What if he has women over and I’m here?

“A girlfriend?”

He laughed. “No, Jenny.”

“Do you have a girlfriend
?” She wanted to know in case a woman dropped by and misunderstood the situation between her and Cooper.

“Umm…”
He thought for a while.

“You have to think if you have a girlfriend?”

“No, not really.”

“
No you don’t have a girlfriend or no you don’t have to think?”

“
Both!” he said forcefully and she nodded.

“I feel
so bad imposing on you.”

“Will you shut up already? You're not imposing
. I don’t feel like you’ve crowded the space and I sure as hell won’t have you staying anywhere but here. I don’t have a girlfriend, and I don’t usually have…people up here.”

A giggle burst past her lips. “People?”

He knew she had deliberately misunderstood. “No. A person, one at a time. I never had a woman up here,” he finally explained laughingly and she joined in. The sweet sound of her mirth sounded through his apartment and seeped through his flesh to warm him. “But I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“I just wanted
to know beforehand if there was going to be a girlfriend coming over… and we were going to have a bad situation on our hands.”

He shook his head vehemently
no
. “No one’s coming here.”

She nodded. It felt like she was with the old
Cooper now, the one she could share anything with. She was transported to another time, when there were no work troubles, no relationships falling apart with deceit, and no heartbreak. It was just her and Coop, playing on their own and having a blast.

She
casually placed her hand on his knee. Cooper instantly looked away as if he was thinking and she took another sip of her beer.

Coop
er was not only thinking, he was planning on bolting out of his own apartment and never coming back. Never in his life had he had to hold back while he had the urge to kiss a girl. Hell, he had never felt so desperate. This girl with the long, wavy brown hair and brown eyes was making him nervous and jittery and he didn’t enjoy feeling like a teenager again at all.

“What about you?” he b
lurted out, unable to quench his curiosity.

“
What about me?”

“
Do you have a boyfriend?” His eyes roved wistfully over her face. It had gotten leaner, her cheekbones more pronounced. He was glad she wasn’t looking at him, and he used the opportunity to study her pink soft mouth to his fill. She had had round lips as a child, which made her look like she was always pouting. As a twenty-seven year old woman, the lips had flattened out and become fuller, and he had to swallow to suppress the need to taste them.

Darkness clouded her face and she glanced away. “Not anymore.”

Good!
“Okay. So fresh start!” he said stupidly, insensitively, and a horrified smile spread across her face.

“
Yeah! Woohoo! Broke up with my boyfriend! Let’s celebrate!” she mocked and he laughed out loud, doubling over.

“
I didn’t mean it like that!”

“
I know.” She fell against his shoulder again as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and his arm automatically claimed her slim shoulders. They fit together perfectly, and he was wholly content with just holding her.
Have I ever done this before? No
. He had never just sat there talking and clutching a woman like he was scared she was going to disappear. Especially while they were alone in a place, which had a bed nearby.

“You hav
e an interview at noon tomorrow,” he announced to subdue his erratic thoughts.

“What?” S
he gaped at his face in confusion.

The nearness did not help
his purpose at all.
Maybe I should’ve waited until we were slightly further apart.
“I called an old friend and asked if he had a vacancy at his bank. Luckily, they do, and it’s just your thing. Finance, money, accounts.”

“Are you kidding
me?”

“What?”

“How did you find me an interview so soon?”

“I told you, I called a friend and he had a friend and so it happened.”

“At noon, is it?”

“Mhmm.”

“I’ll need a map of the city. Do you have one?”

“Not really
, but I could get you one in the morning…or I could drive you there myself.”

Her lips parted. “But you have work in the morning.”

“No, I’m not going in tomorrow.”

“
Why?”

“Because you just got here, and I want to spend some time with you.”

Her heart melted. The gorgeous, incredibly sensitive man before her had taken a leave from his job to devote time to her. She was flattered. “You don’t have to do that.”