Page 36 of You Can Make Me

Nine

Denny

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. Hehad 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?”