Temporarily Yours (Shillings Agency #1)(25)
Author: Diane Alberts

As he pinched her ni**les between his fingers, she flung her head back. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back as she rocked against him.

“Jesus,” he groaned, lifting his hips again. “Come for me, Kayla.”

She leaned forward until their chests touched and nipped at his lower lip. He cupped her ass and repositioned her so her clit rubbed against him with each thrust. Her inner muscles tightened around him even more, her breath coming hard.

She was close. So f**king close.

Rolling her onto her back, he slid her legs onto his shoulders and plunged inside her hard. Fast. His pulse raced and his c**k begged for release, but he wouldn’t allow himself to finish until she came one more time.

Just…one…more…time.

Her fingers fisted into the sheets and her back bowed, her whole body going tight. The walls of her pu**y squeezed down on him as she came. Groaning, he pulled almost completely out then slammed back inside, his fingers flexing on her as he did so.

The room around him faded away, and the pleasure of his orgasm took over. Everything ceased to exist but this woman. This room. This moment.

Kayla.

He smoothed her hair off her face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she gripped his biceps. The way she looked up at him, her eyes soft and her lips swollen from his kisses, sent a pang of something unfamiliar to his heart.

If he didn’t know better, he would swear it was something dangerously close to…feeling. Something more than attraction and lust. But that would be completely foolish under the circumstances. Whatever this warmth in his heart was, he had best terminate it with a kill shot. He was leaving soon.

He withdrew from her and pushed off of the bed in one motion. As he rolled off the condom, he headed toward the bathroom, needing a few moments of privacy before he faced her again. After brushing his teeth, he took a quick shower, hoping that would make him feel like himself again.

The Cooper from a few days ago.

But it didn’t work. She was on his mind the whole time.

The most he could hope for was that she hadn’t seen the vulnerability he was feeling, or sensed the tenderness in his heart that snuck up on him like a ninja. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by any doubts as to his goals, nor could he afford to want more than a few days with Kayla.

He had a lot of mistakes to make up for, and his first step to that end had been getting the job with Frankie Holt. The second would be going overseas and protecting his men. With this job, he would be protecting the same team he had let down before. The men he’d failed. He would keep them safe, even though he hadn’t kept Josh safe.

He owed it to them. Hell, to himself, too.

As he dried off, he studied himself in the mirror. Same dark circles. Same haunted eyes. Same guilty conscience. Nothing had changed in the last day, despite the short-term happiness he’d found in Kayla’s arms. Good. The guilt was his constant companion, and he needed it with him.

Keeping him focused.

Chapter Fourteen

By the time Cooper came back from his shower, Kayla was a nervous wreck. He’d seemed…done. As if he wanted to leave her. And then…he had.

He’d walked away without a word.

The bathroom door opened, and he came out. He didn’t have a towel on, but he was scrubbing his head with the one he’d used to dry off with. He was gloriously naked and the black tribal tattoos on his chest danced with every movement he made.

He came to his side of the bed, then lay down beside her.

“Hey,” she said softly.

He turned his head toward her. His green eyes sucked her in, like usual. “Hey yourself.”

“You okay?”

“Yep.” He looked at her with a wrinkled brow. “After what we just did, why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“I don’t know. I just got a feeling—”

He rolled his eyes and laughed, but it sounded a little forced. “This isn’t a real relationship. You don’t have to worry about my mood swings. I’m fine.”

“But we should talk about whatever you’re thinking. I know there’s something on your mind, so don’t pretend otherwise.”

“You’re right. There is. But that’s where it’s staying—in the privacy of my own mind.” He turned over and cupped her cheek. “But if you want to talk about feelings, let’s do this. Tell me. Why do you feel the need to lie to your parents?”

She blinked at him, totally confused. “What do you mean?”

“They love you. Even I can see that. I think if you just explained that you’re perfectly happy single, or that you just haven’t met the right guy, they’d back off. Have you ever considered just talking it out with them?”

She pulled away from him. Was he trying to lecture her about her parents? Please. She knew them much better than he did, thank you very much.

She cleared her throat. “You know what? You’re right. Let’s not do this.”

“Oh, so now you’re on board with the not talking thing?” He rolled to his back, folded his arms behind his head and smirked. “Typical fake girlfriend behavior.”

Anger surged through her, red hot. “This relationship might not be real, but I will kick my fake boyfriend’s ass. Consider yourself warned.”

His smirk widened, which only pissed her off even more. “Consider me scared, if it makes you happy.”

“Cooper.” She curled her hands into fists. Where the heck had this fight even come from? Oh. Right. She’d asked him about his feelings. How stupid of her. “This conversation is over.”

“Fine.” He turned his head toward her. “But have you ever considered it’s in your mind—all these troubles you think exist with your family?”

She tilted her chin up. “Are they in yours?”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe your advice applies to your own dad. Maybe if you talked it out with him, you’d see he loves you and isn’t trying to hand you something on a platter. That he isn’t trying to offer you a consolation prize for disappointing him. Maybe he just wants to give his life’s work to his son, crazy as it might sound.”

“That advice does not apply to me,” he said through clenched teeth. “I simply want an even playing field. I’m not lying or making up a fake life to make him happy. I’m not the one being close-minded about reality.”

She flinched. He wanted to attack her where she was weak? Bullshit. “Why does the ground always have to be even? What’s so wrong with using something to your advantage if it’s presented to you?”