17. Monroe

CHAPTER 17

MONROE

C obb looked like someone had punched him in the stomach. He took a step back as if I'd slapped him and his face flushed in what I thought was anger.

I should've kept my mouth shut.

He closed his eyes and hadn't opened them back up yet. Clearly, he hadn't intended for me to find out at all.

"You should just go, Cobb. I'll talk to you tomorrow." My plan was to get over this before then. Why had I let what Urban had said bother me so much?

Would I have been angry if Asher or Reana had a baby daddy? I mean, yeah. If they didn't tell me about it, I would have been.

As I sat there lying to myself that this was exactly the same thing, Cobb shook his head. "How did you even find out about that?"

Sure. That was what he'd want to know. "It doesn't matter. Like I said, there's no reason for me to be upset about this. You're not my boyfriend. We're not together. We're not a couple. What you do is your business and you're not required to tell me anything."

With his hands on his hips, he sighed. "You're right. We're not any of those things because neither of us can be. We both said friends only, Monroe."

"I know," I snapped, then I swallowed hard. "I did say it wasn't rational, right? I'll get over it. It was just a surprise."

"I didn't tell you because of how it would sound. You'd have run the other direction and I really didn't want that."

I held up my hand to stop him. "It's fine, Cobb. I said it's fine. Just take that and go. I'll be much friendlier tomorrow."

"Wait," he said, as if he something had just snapped in his head. "Are you upset that I didn't tell you or that you think I have a baby mama?"

My stomach sank. This was why I wanted him to leave so he wouldn't ask questions. "Both. OK? It doesn't make sense to me, either, but here we are." I stomped past him into the kitchen to pull a bottle of water out of the fridge then took the longest drink of my life. My hands vibrated against the cold. "Can we be done? I'm not proud of myself today. I'd like to sulk in peace."

"Do you want to be together?" he asked, making me stumble two steps back as if his words had a physical weight that pushed me.

"What? No. We said friends only."

He shook his head as he closed the distance between us, causing me to take yet another step away.

"Monroe," he said quietly. "Are you sure about that? Are you sure you don't want to be with me?"

My stomach felt suddenly empty as my mouth dried right up. "Fine. I guess I can't deny it because I let my feelings get the best of me today. After last night… it felt different. I've felt different and it hasn't mattered how much I've been trying to deny it even to myself. I think I've been developing more than friend feelings for a while."

The corners of his mouth tipped up like he was about to smile.

"Don't worry," I told him. "I'll get vaccinated against feelings tomorrow. I'll be fine tomorrow."

Cobb took the two steps toward me and placed a hand on each side of my neck, a thumb stroking each cheek.

"If you want more than friends, Monroe, I'm happy to give that to you. I wanted you the moment I heard you give that guy hell in the coffee shop. There are some things in my life—one thing—that I wanted to get cleared up beforehand, but I wouldn't have been able to deny you. You said you only wanted to be friends and I wasn't going to fuck that up."

Leaning into his touch, I snorted. "I wanted the ex-dickhead to go away. I didn't want anyone else—you—getting caught up in that. I didn't want anyone to fight my battles for me."

He leaned down so that we were at the same height. "I'll fight every one of your battles for you, Monroe. But only if you want me to."

"I didn't want to lose you in my life," I said quietly. "But if you have a baby coming—"

"I don't," he told me. When I was about to protest, he added, "I don't and I'll explain it all, but right now, I really need to kiss you."

My entire body liquified at his words and he didn't wait for me to say yes . I didn't need to. He probably saw everything plainly on my face.

Cobb's lips met mine, gently at first as he wrapped an arm around my waist to pull me to him. The other hand pushed into my hair, tightening at the base. I slid my hands up to his shoulders and dug my fingernails in.

The shockwave of his groan against my mouth reached my toes. He pushed his tongue into my mouth. His hands slid down my legs and lifted so that I could wrap them around his waist. Then he moved us through my apartment. I didn't care where we went right now. All I cared about was him.

It wasn't until he'd dropped me on my bed that I knew he'd taken us into my bedroom. I was so focused on Cobb surrounding me, soaking him up with all of my senses, that it wouldn't have mattered.

He reached back and pulled his shirt over his head, exposing all of that beautiful, golden skin. Looking up at him through my lashes, I found his heated gaze on me.

With trembling hands, I slowly undid his jeans and pushed them down his legs. He kicked them away once I couldn't reach anymore. Then I hooked my thumbs in his boxer briefs and slid those down, releasing his erection. His cock bounced out, but he caught it in his hand and pumped it once as it glistened at the tip.

I licked my lips before replacing his hand with my own. The muscles in his stomach tightened and he groaned at my touch. Gently, I stroked him up and then down three times before pushing his cock past my lips. A move that caused him to fist my hair tightly, though he didn't try to control my movements.

Instead, I got to enjoy the taste of him, the way that I was making him lose control. And I couldn't believe that I'd been insisting to myself that I didn't want this. Didn't want him.

So fucked up.

At least we were here now.

I continued to bob my head over him, taking him deeper with each pass until he hit the back of my throat. Then he stepped back, sounding out of breath.

I looked up and ran my thumb over my bottom lip, making his jaw tense and causing him to shake his head slowly.

"It's not ending there," he said.

He smoothly yanked my shirt over my head. My nipples pebbled in the air conditioning. I'd been in my pajamas and no sane woman wore a bra to bed if they didn't have to and I didn't. Then he did the same to my shorts, taking my panties with it and tossing them both behind him.

Cobb wrapped a large hand around each thigh and pulled as he dropped to his knees. He pushed my legs apart and buried his head between them. The first touch of his tongue nearly sent me to the moon. Everything Cobb did was perfect, like he already knew exactly what I wanted. Sure, we'd been together last night, but that had been a means to an end for both of us. An itch that had needed to be scratched.

This felt… different.

His magic fingers teased me as his hot mouth sucked the skin on my thigh before sealing over my clit. It didn't take long for the pressure to build. I threaded my fingers into his hair and pulled him against me. That pressure burst into a million stars as I floated on a cloud.

I'd had orgasms before, but this… I couldn't put into words.

Once the initial waves had subsided, Cobb pulled back and wiped a hand over his mouth.

"Please tell me you have—"

"Condoms. Drawer." I pointed at the nightstand drawer. I hadn't needed them in about a year, but I'd bought some when I'd first been going to go out with the ex-asshole in case I'd needed them. Clearly, I never had, but the date was still good on them.

He tore the drawer open like a crazy man, ripping the box apart instead of opening it on the end. He tore open the condom and slid it over him. I watched as my legs trembled.

Then he was hovering over me, kissing me and stroking me before leaning back and watching himself sink inside me. I groaned and he rested his forehead against mine.

"One second." His eyes were squeezed shut.

He was about to lose it right then and there. Because of me. My chest swelled. This man was wanted by many, could've had anyone he wanted, probably—there were groupies for everything—but he was here with me, almost cumming after one stroke.

I didn't have a confidence deficiency, but knowing that I could do this to him… had my ego swelling.

Finally, he started to move.

Everything he did set me on fire. Making him lose control might've boosted my ego, but the way he played me like a violin should've boosted his. It'd never been like this for me. Not once.

I even pouted when he pulled out. At least until he told me to roll over. I thought I'd get on all fours, but that wasn't what Cobb wanted. Instead, I lay down on my stomach with my hands beside my head. He pulled my hips up to push into me then flattened them to the mattress, spreading my legs as far apart as they would go. His chest was against my back and his arms created a cage around my head.

Cobb was everywhere, pushing me toward another orgasm. Then he lifted one of my legs out beside me, creating yet another angle, and that was all it took. I fell off that cliff again, not caring if I ever hit the ground.

But at least he was right there with me.

Slowly, he pulled out of me and set my leg right again. When I didn't move at first, he said, "You all right?"

"Perfect," I mumbled into the mattress as I gave him a thumbs-up.

He snickered then said he'd be right back. Had to take care of the condom. I lay there, basking in the best sex of my entire life, until he came back. Then I knew I had to go clean myself up before I could cuddle into him and stretch all the muscles he'd just used that I'd forgotten I had.

Once I finished, we were lying in my bed, silent, me with my head against his bare chest and him lightly trailing his fingertips up and down my arm. We still had a bunch to talk about, I supposed, but right here with him like this was absolute perfection.

"Did you say you were going to get vaccinated against me?" he asked, that low voice slicing through the quiet afterglow.

I snickered and buried my face into his chest. "No," I said once I'd lifted my face again. "I said I was going to get vaccinated against feelings."

He chuckled quietly in his chest. "I guess that makes it better."

I reached up, using one hand to hold him in place, and kissed the spot right below his jawbone. It was the farthest up I could reach, then I snuggled down beside him again.

"It does make it better," I explained. "It wasn't you I was trying to guard against. It was all feelings."

"And now?"

"I'm not sure a vaccine would work. I was guarding myself because you didn't want a relationship. You couldn't be mine. It was to protect myself."

"I was yours the minute you stepped up to the table in the coffee shop."

Biting my lips together was the only way to keep the squeal I wanted to release from embarrassing me.

"Well, I know that now…"

Cobb squeezed me to him and kissed the top of my head. "Do you want to talk about the other stuff now? Or tomorrow?"

I sighed. It was only a matter of time before we had to extricate ourselves from this cozy bed we'd created for ourselves. I pushed off him and swung my legs over the side of the bed, got my panties over my feet so that I could put them on as I stood up, then grabbed his T-shirt and dropped that over me.

"If we're going to do that, I want to be eating ice cream." Then I hurried out of the room.

Moments later, I had a pint of Mackinac Island Fudge on the counter with two spoons and Cobb came out of the bedroom in just his boxer briefs. I could see the outline of everything and this time, I looked without shame.

The man had been built by the gods. Or maybe he'd been built by baseball because every inch of him was hard muscle. Not large, but lean, almost like a swimmer. He was so damn tall.

"You're sharing?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I thought it only fair."

I'd taken a seat on one of the white barstools at the kitchen island. Luckily, I could fold my legs beneath me. There were some benefits to being short. Cobb definitely couldn't. He was too big. I used to think my apartment was perfect and for me, it was. But I could see how it could be a problem if there was a second person living here. Not that I was thinking Cobb would live here. That'd be ridiculous.

Aside from the fact that we hadn't known each other long, I wouldn't bring a guy to live basically in my dads' house.

We each took a couple of bites in silence, but I knew it wouldn't last.

"Do you just want me to tell you or do you want to ask questions first?" he asked, leaving it up to me.

Right now… I honestly didn't want to think about it.

"Would you mind if we waited until tomorrow?" I asked. "I know I was so upset earlier, but this clearly isn't your first time with a woman. We change our minds sometimes."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Earlier, you telling me was all I wanted because I was so pissed that you hadn't. I still maintain that I had no right to be upset. But I think it was just compounded because…" I blew out a breath. "This morning, I didn't hear from you. At the game, you gave me the head nod but didn't even look that happy to see me. I don't know." I shrugged, trying to work up the courage to say what needed to be said. "It felt like you went back to just friends so easily. That I was crazy for thinking there could be more."

"But now you know that you aren't crazy, right?"

I snickered. "I know I'm not crazy for that reason, anyway. The reason I want to wait until tomorrow is because if we're starting something here, I don't want it to be marred with anything else. I just want it to be us." My gaze met his hard-to-read dark eyes. " If we're starting something here."

"Oh, we're starting something. Actually, we're continuing something since I think this whole time has been foreplay, anyway."

"What?" I asked with humor in my voice.

"It has been. Since the moment I met you. We're definitely doing something here. I already told you that I'm yours."

I blew out a slow breath. "Then tomorrow. All of our skeletons can come out of the closet tomorrow."

He agreed and we went back to eating our ice cream. Until he said, "You've got some on your chin." Then he leaned over and licked it off my chin quicker than I could raise my hand.

That lick turned into a kiss, which turned into our spoons being dropped on the counter and Cobb pushing the ice cream away. He lifted me then set me down roughly on the counter, cupped my cheeks, and kept his soft lips on mine. That kiss didn't end until he was lifting his T-shirt over my head. Then he leaned back to look.

Cobb ran his tongue over his bottom lip then grabbed one of the spoons we'd dropped. The ice cream was melty and he held it over me, letting the creamy goodness drip onto my chest, down between my breasts to my stomach. It probably would've kept going, but he leaned down and licked it off my stomach, then trailed his tongue up between my breasts then to my chest.

A cold, thrilling chill crawled over my body.

Then Cobb took a bite of the ice cream, smiled, and took a nipple into his mouth. The cold of the ice cream turned his normally warm mouth into an iceberg, causing me to yelp in surprise. My nipple hardened before he scraped his teeth over it.

"Cobb." I gasped and pulled at him, but there was nothing to hold on to. His golden skin was on display, which meant no shirt to pull. "Cobb." I sounded needy, even to my ears.

"I'm working on it," he told me, then he took the other nipple into his mouth.

"I need you," I said, hoping that he'd get what I meant so I wouldn't have to say it.

I needed him inside me. The yearning was too much for me to wait. He swiftly tore my panties down my legs then pushed all the way into me in one movement, making me catch my breath and come undone all at the same time.

He hit exactly the right spot. The waves crashed over me as he didn't hesitate to pump himself in and out of me at a pace that I could never keep up with.

Soon after, he made a sound in his throat, his movements less precise and he slowed himself to a stop, dropping his head to my shoulder.

The sound of us each catching our breaths filled the air of my kitchen.

"Sorry that was a quick one," he said, sounding as out of breath as I felt.

My eyes were closed as I clung to his shoulders. "It was perfect," I told him. "I came as soon as you pushed into me." Then I opened my eyes to find him watching me. "You make me needy."

He chuckled then watched as he pulled himself out of me. "I've been accused of worse things." As if he'd said something horrible, he winced. It had to do with baby mama drama. I somehow knew it.

"Let's get some sleep." I lightly tapped his shoulder. "But I'm not sure I can walk." My legs were still slightly vibrating from the orgasm he'd just given me. Or maybe it was the number in the last twenty-four hours.

Cobb chuckled, then swept me up into his arms and took me to bed. I still had to use the bathroom, but I enjoyed the ride anyway.

After we'd each cleaned up again, I was tucked under his arm, half-asleep when he said, "I got carried away."

"Me too," I said because I knew exactly what he was talking about. Lightly tapping his chest, I continued. "It'll be fine. I'm on birth control if that's what you're worried about."

He didn't respond one way or another to that subject. "I always use a condom, Monroe. I wouldn't put you at risk."

The biggest, most tired smile I could muster curved my lips. "I know, baby. I know."

Did I know? Not really, but he was sincere and right now, all I wanted was the beautiful exhaustion that came from what we'd been doing tonight.

It was the best way to block out the reality of what was coming tomorrow.