27. Cope

27

COPE

I wanted to kill him. And I didn’t want to make it an easy death either. The urge to rip his limbs from his body was so strong it stole the damn air from my lungs.

But murder was wrong. And I didn’t especially want to do twenty to life for beating a man to death with his own arms. But when I’d seen his hand dip lower on Sutton’s back, I thought it might be worth it.

She blinked up at me, shock evident in those hypnotic, turquoise eyes—eyes I could lose myself in for eternity and never get bored. “W-what are you doing here?” she stammered.

The man who still had his damn hands on her looked between us. “You know him?”

Sutton nodded quickly. “He’s my, um, friend.”

Jesus. Her friend? Sutton saying it out loud made me realize just how wrong that was. I wanted to be so much more than that. Tonight, all the reasons I’d been holding myself back seemed to evaporate in a single breath. Sutton had been slowly chipping away at my defenses, but seeing her in this dress? It had sent my remaining walls crumbling to dust .

“You want to talk to him?” the man asked.

My temper flared, but it was mixed with a grudging respect for his ensuring Sutton was comfortable. The dude had no idea who I was with my ballcap hiding half my face. And even if he had, checking with her was the right thing to do.

She nodded quickly. “I’m good. Thank you for the, um, dance.”

The man tipped his cowboy hat to her. “Thank you . Enjoy your night, ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” I scoffed the second he was out of earshot.

Sutton’s confused expression morphed into one of anger. “It was polite. Which is saying something since you rudely interrupted.”

Heat crept up my neck. “You wanted to keep dancing with him?” I hated the jealousy that flared hot and bright, making my pulse thrum in my neck.

“It was nice,” Sutton bit out.

“Nice?” I growled, pulling her into my arms as the band shifted into another song. It wasn’t fast or slow, somewhere in the middle.

“Yes,” she clipped. “And this was supposed to be a girls’ night. No boys allowed.”

“Good thing I’m not a boy, then.” I moved her closer to me, my thigh shifting to between her legs. Sutton’s eyes sparked with blue heat, the kind that scalded. But I’d wear her burn scars with pride.

“You know what I mean.” Sutton’s words had a breathy quality that had my dick stiffening in my goddamned jeans.

“We thought you might need a ride home.” It was a complete lie. When I texted Shep, he’d told me that he and Anson had already planned to ride out to pick up the girls and their vehicle, but not until closer to midnight. I’d changed that real quick. And it was a damn good thing I had.

Anger flashed through me, that green-eyed monster jealousy curling in my gut. I didn’t want Sutton dancing with some strange asshole. I wanted to be the only one who held her. And that was fucked. Because I didn’t deserve her. Not even close.

I didn’t deserve to touch her silky skin, tangle my fingers in those soft locks, or take that mouth like a man possessed. She deserved so much better than me, but it didn’t change the fact that I wanted her anyway. And would do anything to have her, whatever she’d give.

The shade of Sutton’s eyes shifted, turning a darker teal like the Caribbean Sea before a storm. “Cope…”

“I don’t deserve you,” I rasped.

Her eyes widened, shock filling them.

“You should have everything. Someone who isn’t broken or fucked up, whose head isn’t a nightmare on a good day. You need someone good. Someone who will do everything to take care of you and Luca. Someone so much better than me.”

Sutton ripped herself out of my arms and gave my chest a shove. “Don’t you think I should have a say in what and who I deserve? What I need ?”

“Sutton—”

“No,” she snapped, cutting me off. “I’ve worked so damn hard to stand on my own two feet. I’m in charge of my life, Cope. And if you would’ve stopped long enough to ask me what I wanted, you might’ve found out it was you.”

Before I could say a word, she stalked off.

Fuck.

My legs were already moving. I should’ve trusted my body more than my brain, anyway. My mind always twisted things, changing how the world looked. And not being able to trust what you saw was a hell of a thing.

I moved through the crowd, trying to catch up with Sutton, but she was tinier, slipping easily around people as she darted for the back hallway. It was less crowded there. A handful of folks waited for the restrooms, but Sutton kept moving past them.

The red Exit sign loomed at the end of the hall, and I knew where she was headed. I picked up to a jog, reaching her just before she got to the door.

“Cope—”

I cut her off by grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the office. Relief swept through me when the knob turned. I’d have to thank Rob for keeping it unlocked tonight .

“What are you doing?” Sutton demanded, her temper still hot. “You can’t just break into someone’s office.”

“It’s not breaking in if the door’s unlocked. And I know the owner,” I clipped, locking the door behind me. I wasn’t about to let an interruption derail this conversation.

Sutton crossed her arms under her breasts. I knew she’d done it out of irritation, but it only thrust those swells higher, short-circuiting my brain.

“What?” she demanded. “What is so important that you had to interrupt a perfectly nice evening just to tell me how much you don’t want me? You don’t think we should be together? Fine. Now, can we be done with whatever this is?”

I prowled toward her, eating up the distance in long strides. “I never once said I didn’t want you. Fuck, Warrior. I think about you with every other breath. I dream about you. And when I wake up, I swear I can still taste you on my tongue.”

Sutton’s eyes went wide. “You dream about me?”

“Haven’t had dreams like these since I was thirteen and going through puberty,” I growled. “But it’s so much worse. Because your smell is everywhere. That cinnamon, sugar, and a hint of vanilla. I swear it’s burned into the walls. I haven’t changed my sheets since you slept in my bed because I don’t want to smell anything else. It’s hell. But I’ll gladly go down in those flames.”

“Cope,” she whispered.

“It’s torture. Being so close to you and not having everything. All of you. Knowing what your skin feels like and wanting to know what it feels like everywhere . Wondering if you taste as good as you smell.”

“Cope.”

“And the way you say my goddamned name. I want to know how your tongue curves around it when I sink into you. When you’re pulsing around my cock and sucking me deep.”

Sutton shifted, adjusting her stance, and my gaze dropped to her legs.

“Killing me. The way you press those pretty little thighs together… But it’s a death I’ll take every time. ”

Sutton’s mouth dropped open, forming a perfect little O.

“Tell me what you need, Warrior. You want to be in charge? Take it.”

Sparks flashed in those turquoise eyes, lighting them from within. “I want you, Cope. I want you to take me. I want to know what it’s like to lose myself in you and forget my own name. I want it all.”

“About fucking time,” I muttered. And then I was on her.