Final Lap (Fast Track #8)(7)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Suddenly his thought to just flirt with Charity, convince her he wasn’t a lecherous wedding guest, was overshadowed by his lecherous-wedding-guest thoughts. He was still buzzed and it had been a few months since he’d last shared his bed with a woman.

That suddenly felt like a very, very long time. An eternity. The stress of Mary Jane moving in, his disappointing year, his mother, it all had been weighing him down. But now he might have an opportunity to escape his crowded thoughts for the rest of the night.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she said. “Let’s just see how you move first.”

“Is this a test?” When she accepted his hand, he stroked the warm flesh of her palm with his thumb and led her onto the dance floor. “To see how much rhythm I have?”

“I don’t think swaying to R&B requires rhythm.” She gave him a rueful look, but she did let him pull her close against his body, her breasts brushing his chest.

“So you’re staying with your sister?” he asked, then immediately regretted it. He still felt odd about the mind freak of Harley and Charity looking nearly identical. He was attracted to both of them, clearly, and that made him uncomfortable. So he wanted to ignore that fact.

She nodded. “We get along well. So I guess you’re staying here at the inn?”

It was polite conversation, nothing more, and Cooper nodded, distracted by her eyes. She had the kind of eyes that hinted at hidden thoughts, unspoken words, a compassion that belied the sassy tilt of her head. A paradox. It was both appealing and confusing.

“Yes. I have a suite with a Jacuzzi tub and a mountain view.”

“A suite? Fancy.”

“Would you like to see it?” he asked, leaning down to murmur in her ear, his hands low on the small of her back. He found that he didn’t want to talk. He’d done enough of that earlier, boring Harley with his worries. He wanted to move his mouth over Charity’s and explore all the curves of her body until his mind was empty of everything but the feel of her beneath him.

Her hands came up to his chest and she scratched her nails lightly across his shirt. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

“It’s almost midnight. Another couple of hours they’ll be shooing us out of here. I’m just trying to make sure an opportunity doesn’t pass me by.”

The song ended and transitioned into a fast-paced pop song. He hoped she didn’t expect him to dance to that, because he was drunk, but not that drunk. But she just gave him a smile and said, “I want another drink.”

“Your wish is my command.” Cooper took Charity to the bar and ordered her a drink, then took a seat on a stool. He patted his lap. “Sit down.” He wanted to feel her snuggled up against him, but mostly, he wanted to see if she would do it or not. If she did, he would wager that she was in, all in, for going back to his room with him. If she was like she had been earlier on the dance floor, annoyed and offended with his aggressiveness, then he would make sure she got safely back to her room with her sister and he would pass out alone.

Which might be the smarter thing to do.

“You want me to sit on your lap?” she asked, expression doubtful.

“Best seat in the house.” The wedding music was still pumping behind them, the bass low. The lighting was dim, and Cooper put his elbows back on the bar as he waited for her answer, watching her, his legs apart.

He could see the conflict on her face. She wanted to. She wanted him.

For a minute she didn’t move.

Then she stepped forward between his legs.

Oh yeah. Mistake or not, he was looking forward to seeing where this led.

*   *   *

SIT on his lap? He wanted her to sit on his lap.

Oh, Lord. That was both tempting and terrifying.

“Thanks.” Harley stepped between his legs and gingerly rested her ass on his thigh, her feet still on the ground, very aware of every inch of him. That was the most she could handle. She couldn’t just hop up on him in heels. But Cooper grabbed her around the waist and hauled her all the way up onto his lap, her legs suddenly airborne, Charity’s tiny dress sliding up.

Her natural reaction was to squawk, yank the skirt down, and plant her feet back on the ground, but she resisted the urge. Instead, she crossed one leg over the other and slid her fingers through Cooper’s belt loops to steady herself, heart racing in excitement.

“Comfy?” he asked.

“Horny” was a better description. Or stunned with the reality of what was actually happening. But this was her opportunity to let out her inner flirt, who was buried deep beneath a layer of sensible and shy. And he’d never know it was really her, so that took the pressure off entirely.

“Definitely.” She wiggled a little to readjust so she didn’t fall, but it had the added effect of arousing both of them. His nostrils flared. He didn’t sit up, the very picture of casual sexiness, and Harley took a second to be amazed that she was doing this, that she was sitting on Cooper frickin’ Brickman’s lap.

He was so hot Harley couldn’t believe she was actually being allowed to touch him, her hands intriguingly close to his abs. She found herself holding her breath, waiting for the moment to pass, for him to realize she was no Charity and gently remove her from his lap. But he didn’t. And she was going to carpe the goddamn diem out of the opportunity.

The plan had been to flirt, just flirt with Cooper.

She wasn’t supposed to sleep with him.

But really, why not? This was her fantasy. Why not really make it a night to remember?

Harley faked a wobble as an excuse to put her hands on his chest. She wanted to feel those rock-solid muscles she had been admiring from afar for three years in greater depth.

His eyebrows rose in question.

“I lost my balance,” she told him, her voice filled with a sultriness she hadn’t known she had possessed. She was so impressed with herself.

“I’m sure it was my fault,” he said. “Here, let me help.” As he shifted his elbows off the bar, the palm of his hand firmly cupped her ass and lifted her closer to him, so that her top half splayed completely against his chest.

Her mouth was inches from his, her breasts brushing against his chest. Harley’s breath caught and she swallowed hard, tongue suddenly thick with desire. His thigh was hard, warm. She was fairly certain she could feel the cusp of his erection, though the angle was just off enough that it might be her imagination. Or wishful thinking. But nonetheless, it was a whole lot of Cooper up close and personal and it felt as good as she had always imagined. Better, because it was real.