17. Cooper

Cooper

He wants to date me. Sebastian and Axel weren’t wrong.

I spent most of today assuming they had to be. Then I got myself all riled up about Maverick thinking I was too weak to decide for myself what I can handle and just drove here to tell him off.

All fired up and crazy with no plan.

But he wants to date me.

And now, I don’t know what the hell to do. Thankfully, Maverick seems to be able to function because he takes my hand and leads me over to the couch. “You want to date me.”

He doesn’t repeat it again though. His expression is full of sorrow, which twists me up inside. “Dating me wouldn’t be normal dating, Cooper.”

Okay, that’s not a no.

“But you want to?” I have to ask again. I do not want any pity dating.

“Cooper, I’d date the living hell out of you if it wouldn’t sacrifice your privacy and well-being.”

Okay, I can work with that. “But what about coming out?”

He doesn’t look as grim . . . “I always said I’d come out when I had a reason to. Like falling in love with a guy.”

I wince at that, not even really sure why. Of course, he doesn’t love me. He just sort of admitted to wanting to date me. But he notices. “Not that I . . .”

I hold up a hand to stop him. Pity dating is bad. Pity love? Really bad. “I understand that. You’d want to be really serious about a guy before coming out to the world. That makes sense.”

“Yeah well, it’s kind of a catch-22, isn’t it? I’d have to date a guy to get serious about them, and I can’t date them without coming out to the world.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” I say, my mind whirling. He cocks his head to the side, studying me. “We could date . . . secretly.”

His eyes widen and then quickly darken. “No.”

“Wait,” I say, but he suddenly stands up from the couch and shakes his head.

“No. I won’t hide you away. I wouldn’t be ashamed to date you. It would be a goddamn honor to be able to.”

I can’t help smiling and can’t deny that’s really good for my ego. “We could date in secret.”

He shakes his head again, but it’s much slower now. Like maybe he’s not certain. “I won’t hide you.”

“There you go making decisions for me again.”

“I . . .” For the first time, he’s the one stumbling over his words. “No. That’s not what I’m doing.”

I stand up and slowly walk over to him, my hands resting against the soft cotton of his t-shirt and over his rock-hard abs, which are just so damn insane, I can’t think for a whole minute. “I can handle this.”

“You know what that would mean?” His voice sounds strangled. “That would mean we wouldn’t be able to go out in public. No dinners. No movies. No walks on the beach.”

I snort a laugh. “Kansas doesn’t have any beaches.”

He doesn’t falter. “It means I can’t take you somewhere where we could walk on the beach together, all hand in hand, mushy and shit.”

I smile, but my heart stutters a little, thinking about how nice that would be. To be able to walk hand in hand with Maverick and not just the Maverick Adair. But the real man underneath. “I don’t care.”

He huffs, his shoulders drooping, and I marvel at the way his ab muscles flex under my hands. “Cooper, of course you care. You deserve to be treasured, not hidden away.”

It’s my turn to huff. Dropping my hands from his marvelous stomach and looking at him square in the eyes. “Treasured, but just not by you?”

“That’s not what I⁠—”

I hold up my hand to stop him from talking. “If you don’t want to date me. Or kiss me again. Or anything else, that’s fine. But tell me now and to my face. Loud and sure. If you might want to try this . . .” I take a deep breath and bite my bottom lip.

But it all fades away when his hands grab my hips, pulling me into him, and his lips crash against mine. My lips part in a gasp, and he takes every advantage, sweeping his tongue inside and over my own.

I suck on his tongue and moan into his mouth. My hands grasp his hair and drag through the soft locks, holding him against me as his strong hands grip my hips. He kisses me for dear life, telling me everything I need to know.

We move toward the couch, and he sits down while I instantly straddle his lap, both of our cocks hard as I drag against him, looking for relief for my aching balls.

I need to come already. I feel it everywhere, but I can’t stop kissing him to remove any clothes. I can’t stop tasting him. Can’t stop licking into his mouth as my hands tug at his short hair.

I’ve never been kissed like this. All my fantasies over the years . . . and believe me, I have an active imagination and always have—none of them compare.

It’s too much and not enough. And Mav must feel it too because his strong hands slide up my back over my t-shirt, sending shivers down my spine until he reaches the hem and then pulls it up and over my head.

I nearly weep when our mouths part long enough for him to remove it. I’m already trying to dive back in when his hands move to my biceps. He holds me back, his eyes sweeping over my torso.

I squirm a little, not wanting to hide from him, but I’ve seen him shirtless many times. The man works out. I’m lean and kind of scrawny, a little pale with it being winter.

But I fight the urge to hide, and then when his eyes meet mine with so much shock, I’m dumbfounded. “You’re so damn beautiful, Coop.”

I’ve been called cute, and I’ve definitely been flirted with a lot. Hell, some of my boyfriends and hookups have called me hot—probably just to get me into bed. But no one has ever called me beautiful before, and when he says it, I believe it.

I move forward, seeking his mouth, and when our lips meet, it’s just as explosive as the first two kisses. His hands are on my hips as we grind against each other. It’s so much, I feel it everywhere.

I want everything with him, and I know I’m lost in the moment. I know we have a lot to work out, but I can’t seem to care enough to stop. I don’t want to stop. “I need you.”

He nods against my mouth, kissing down over my jaw to my neck, sucking on my throat and making me moan, my cock jerking and leaking like crazy. I can’t think. I don’t want to think.

I rip his shirt over his head and let my hands drag over every muscle of his torso. His strong, tattooed biceps. His pecs. His stomach. “No. You’re beautiful,” I breathe, but before he can argue with me, I stand up and grab my wallet out of my back pocket.

I find a packet of lube and a condom, tossing them on the couch next to him before I strip out of my pants and briefs in a hurry so I don’t overthink it.

He’s watching me with hunger shrouding his gray eyes, breathing heavy as he undoes his jeans and pushes them down. His eyes are directly on my dick, widened and maybe a little curious. I know my dick is a little larger than average, especially compared to my smaller stature. I can see the head of his cock sticking up through the top of his black boxer briefs. I lick my lips, starving for a taste.

Again, before I can think too much, I kneel before him, pushing his jeans all the way down and helping him kick them away. I stay between his parted legs, my fingers digging into his hairy thighs.

“Coop,” he breathes, and I smile just before I lean forward and lick a stripe over his leaking slit, tasting his bitter, salty, beyond-delicious flavor and moaning deeply. My own dick is leaking like crazy.

“Oh God, you taste so good. I knew you would.” We both scramble to push his briefs down, and he kicks them away as I take him into my mouth, gagging a little when his cockhead hits the back of my throat.

I moan around him, swallowing and pulling off to tease the head again. “Fuck, Cooper. I’m close.”

I lick down over his impressive length, wrapping my hand around his thick shaft and then licking down to his balls, which are drawn up tight against his body. I know he’s close.

I reach over for the condom, sitting up and taking the time to open the package, a feral need deep inside me as I sheath him and then grab the lube. His hands sweep through my hair as I quickly prep myself, not bothering with too much because I’m too desperate to feel him inside me. I slather his dick with the lube, making sure he’s nice and slick.

I straddle his lap, holding onto his cock and lining it up at my waiting lubed hole. And then I slide down on him, inch by inch, his fingers digging into my hip as I watch him struggling with self-control as he stretches me with his cock.

“Oh fuck,” I gasp when he’s fully seated inside me, my ass against his thighs as my fingernails dig into his strong shoulders. “You feel so damn good. You’re so big. So long. I can feel you pressing against my prostate. Oh fuck, that feels good,” I say as I start to move, unable to shut my mouth until his lips find mine in a heated kiss.

His hands guide my hips as I ride him, the head of his cock pegging my prostate over and over, my dick leaking and going down my shaft.

The sticky fluid makes it easy for his hand to glide over my cock. “Fuck, Cooper. Talk about huge. How the hell were you hiding this monster from me for so long?”

I grin against his mouth. “You didn’t really give me an opportunity to show you before.”

I move until his cock nearly leaves me and then slam down, my cock jolting when his cockhead hits my prostate, and more pre-cum trickles out.

“Oh God, it’s too good. So damn good,” I babble, bouncing on his dick until I can’t take it anymore. My balls draw up, and I groan loudly against his lips. “I’m coming,” I moan, and his hand moves faster and faster, jerking me through my release. My cum hits both his chest and mine and lands on my chin as I clench around him.

He licks my chin clean before kissing me hard, letting me taste my own release, his cock jerking inside me and filling the condom, while his entire body goes rigid as we try to continue the kiss.

When I’m too sensitive, he must notice it because he removes his hand from my cock and then brings it to his mouth, his tongue darting out to taste my cum and lick his fingers clean.

My cock jerks, trying to harden again as I lean in and kiss him hard, wishing I had more of a taste of him. But later.

There will be more time for that.

There has to be.

Right?

That familiar panic sets in after the orgasm as I wait to see what happens now.

Will he still want to date me?

Or was this a one and done?

I’ve been in this position so many damn times, but never have I cared so much about the outcome.

If Maverick is finished with me now, I’m not sure I’ll ever be the same.