Page 18 of You Can Make Me (Carnival of Mysteries #28)

Nine

D enny

I woke with a start the next morning feeling tremendous pressure in my chest. I opened my eyes, panting, and tried to figure out where I was and why it was hard to breathe. Was it my stupid heart? I’d been dreaming about the hospital and the procedure and?—

I reached up to my chest to keep my heart from beating its way out—and found Cooper.

He’d sprawled across me sometime in the night. His thigh rested on my stomach, and his chest and head lay across my chest. I was well and truly trapped, and there was no place I’d rather be.

Except Cooper’s mom was expecting to feed everyone.

They could wait. I’d been given a second chance to love this man, and I was going to take a moment to be grateful.

The few times I’d been in bed with Cooper, I’d longed to touch him everywhere, but there never seemed to be enough time, or maybe it was just impossible for me to get my fill.

He had the most extraordinary skin, and the sensation of dragging my fingers over his taut muscles excited me more than I’d ever experienced.

I’d always enjoyed sex, but before Cooper, it had kind of been equivalent to how you might enjoy a hot drink on a cold day or a cool breeze on a balmy afternoon. Comforting. Refreshing.

Sex with Cooper—even the mere act of touching him—was like hearing a powerhouse singer belt out the national anthem, or being slammed back in the seat of a sports car or jet plane or roller coaster, or someone scratching that spot on your back that makes everything all better.

It was pleasure to the hundredth power, exponentially more fulfilling than any experiences I’d had prior.

But it was also more than that. I’d loved my wives, but I’d made mistakes when choosing them.

Emma had been the most unattainable girl in school, and I’d thought the key to a good life was having the hottest girl waiting for me when I returned from deployment.

With Renee, she was beautiful, and I liked that she was taken with me.

She treated me like I was a prize. I’d appreciated that when so much of my job was thankless…

but she didn’t want anything to do with the job, nor my stories, nor my friends.

Cooper understood me, challenged me, kept me engaged, even when I wasn’t myself.

I’d wanted to please him, take care of him, and be a better man for him.

He’d made me want to keep growing and evolving, though I knew he’d always be two steps ahead of me; he was so damned smart and way more self-actualized.

He wasn’t the end result, like a trophy.

No, Cooper was the ultimate journey, the path of enrichment and fulfillment. He was the fuel I wanted to run on for the rest of my days.

And touching him like this only drove those desires higher, further, deeper. My need for him was stronger than anything I’d experienced in my life to date.

“They’re still here, huh?”

Cooper spoke against my skin without moving.

“No one’s in the house yet, but Gene will likely knock soon. If we’re not careful, he’ll end up sprawled on top of us with morning breath.”

He heaved a big sigh.”All right. I suppose we should start moving.” He carefully pushed himself up, sucking in a breath when our skin peeled apart. “Sorry for taking your space.”

“Never be sorry for that.”

Cooper rolled onto his back and shot me a grin over his shoulder. “Okay. I won’t.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

After a long moment, we both broke into laughter.

“Good morning, beautiful,” I whispered.”

His hand came up to cover his mouth, a tic I tried not to get frustrated about, and his smile faded a bit.

“Hi. Want to use the bathroom first? I take forever.”

“Is it wrong I wish we could shower together?”

“Mmm,” he said, and his eyes flared. “And then climb right back in here and make a mess?”

“And be naked all day?”

“And sleep together every night?”

I smiled so wide, he laughed at me.

“Every night sounds good to me. I’ll be right back.”

I left a chuckling Cooper doing stretches on the bed. That was a good sign. He hadn’t been moving nearly enough. I thought perhaps he was ready to be pushed a little more, but I suspected he’d push himself now.

And damn, he made my mouth water, the sight of the sheet sliding down to uncover the space between his navel and the top of his lounge pants, which was filling in nicely with reddish-blond hairs, so goddamned tantalizing.

I wanted to taste him so bad, I nearly covered him with my body. To hell with our visitors.

I took the briefest shower possible, just so I could see him again. I shaved and dressed in jeans and my last clean t-shirt. I’d have to go into town sooner than I’d wanted. Maybe Cooper would feel settled enough for me to leave him with his folks for a little while?

I got coffee started and set out Cooper’s medicine before opening the front door. The sky was gray, which usually meant the morning would be cool, so breakfast in the backyard probably wouldn’t be a good idea. A few minutes later, there was a light tapping on the door.

“Dennis? May we come in?”

“Come on in. Cooper’s getting ready.”

Sam, Deb, and Frank entered, looking uncertain.

“What’s up?”

“Gene didn’t want to wake you,” Sam said. “He had to head back early. There’s been a development in the case. I’m going to stay with the Harrises and ride out with them when they’re ready. I don’t have anything scheduled that I can’t take care of from my computer.”

I frowned. It felt so wrong to not be mounting up with Gene and riding off to chase down leads or to conduct other sheriff’s business. Then again, leaving Cooper would feel even more wrong. I was where I was supposed to be.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“He said he’d call you when he’s back in the office.” Her tone was loaded. It was odd not being in the know, but Cooper was my priority.

“Copy that.”

The bathroom opened and Cooper came out looking the most Cooperesque I’d seen him since the day of his attack. He’d put on a pair of what he called his casual slacks and a long-sleeved UNLV polo. His family and best friends were obviously the medicine he’d needed.

Maybe I should have invited them sooner?

We all stood in the doorway to the kitchen, Cooper hugging his parents and Sam.

“I’m sorry there’s not much space in here for breakfast,” I said.

“Actually,” Deb said. “We thought we could host in our RV. There’s a nice big booth we can all fit in, if you don’t mind.” She looked around and wrinkled her nose just the slightest bit. “And it’s a little brighter than this place.”

Frank bumped her and frowned, but I chuckled.

“Believe me, I didn’t choose this cabin for its quaint country charm.”

Deb blushed. “I didn’t mean to criticize.”

“By all means,” I said with a grin. “It was the best option for us at the time: easily defendable and unlikely to be discovered by uninvited guests.”

Her face paled, and she looked between Cooper and me. “He’s still in danger, isn’t he? Gene said that Virgil Evans could be connected to what happened.”

“I won’t let anything happen to him. That’s why we came out here. That’s why I’ve been careful, going into different towns each time to pick up supplies and do laundry, which I need to do?—”

“Oh, we have a washer in our RV. I can do laundry for you. Let me help.”

I recognized her need to be productive. Doing something always made me feel less edgy.

“Thanks, Mom,” Cooper said.

“I’ll go start setting things out,” Frank said, while Deb and Cooper headed into the bedroom to grab laundry, coming out with a bundle of clothes wrapped in the sheets from the bed.

“I’ll have to do small loads, but I can get these done today.”

“Thank you so much. Here, let me carry that.” I took the bundle from her, and we made our way to the Harris family RV.

“This is a nice rig,” I said, as I followed them up the steps and inside.

“Thanks,” Frank said. “We bought our first one the summer before Cooper was a senior in high school, so we could go as a family to visit colleges.”

“That was a pretty epic road trip,” Cooper said. “We covered a lot of territory. Dad wanted me to check out Ivy League schools, so we went out East, and Mom thought Tulane was the best choice. After all that, I ended up staying in Vegas.”

“And you had a great time,” Deb said with a laugh. “You were king of the city even then.”

I turned and raised an eyebrow at Cooper.

I knew he was thinking the same thing I was.

He’d promised me a tour. Would we get to it eventually?

There were so many things I wanted us to do.

Vegas was just one of the destinations I had in mind.

I’d never traveled abroad other than my deployments.

Would he want to go with me? Would he humor my quirky bucket list of trips?

Cemeteries, funky art installations, historical sites…

“I remember you saying once you thought about doing the RV life,” Cooper said with mischief in his voice. He smiled at me as he took a seat next to Sam in the banquette.

I’d told him that buying an RV was a better option than losing another house I’d fixed up to an ex-wife, but I didn’t need to remind Coop’s parents that their son was involved with a two-time divorcee.

I had a decent savings and pension, but no tangible assets.

I wondered if that bothered Cooper? He grew up with money, and he’d done well for himself.

I could hold my own, but what did I bring to this potential partnership besides my caretaking and protection skills?

“Well, you two are welcome to take this baby out anytime. We upgraded to this one a few years ago, but we haven’t traveled in it much. Maybe three or four times now. It’s a little bigger than we need,” Frank said, glancing around deep in thought. “Might downsize.”

“That’s not a bad idea, Frank. Coop, you think you might want this one?”

“I just might. Talk to me before you do anything. Maybe I’ll just become a roving reporter.”

“As long as you come visit me,” Sam said. “You can’t disappear again.”