Playing Dirty

She reached for the button, but a familiar twinge shot through her right wrist as she grasped the denim.

Not now, she thought, even as the strength in her thumb waned. Not right now.

Lainey squeezed her eyes shut, focusing past the pins and needles. She just needed to undo her pants. She didn’t want to think about hockey right now. Didn’t want the memories to swamp her. She needed to feel whole, to feel okay, just for this moment.

Cooper’s breath against her ear soothed the panic that was blooming through the lust.

“I got it.”

And then his right hand covered hers, and the button popped open before he tugged down the zipper. She was ready for him before his hand slid under her thong and then, finally, came the slow, sweet friction she craved. She might have gasped, she wasn’t sure, because she couldn’t think through the pleasure that swamped her.

All she knew was that his touch was as hot as he was. She could feel his arousal against the small of her back, his breath on her cheek, and his fingers...oh, God, his fingers.

“Yes.” The word came out in a weird half moan, half whisper that would have mortified her if her brain were functioning on more than the most basic level. Cooper slipped one broad finger inside her and his groan of pleasure, along with that exploratory thrust, made her knees give out. His arm tightened on her waist, kept her steady even as his words stole her balance.

“I can’t wait to be inside you.”

He proved he meant it, pressing two fingers into her now, and she was so worked up that the increased pressure had her close, so damn close. She rocked her hips in a slow, sensual rhythm that increased the pressure on her G-spot. Cooper picked up the hint, changing the angle and mimicking her pace.

She reached back, needing to cling to something—raking her nails against his denim-clad thighs as she fisted her hands, desperate to anchor herself in a world spinning out of control.

Cooper ducked his head and pressed his lips against her neck. “I got you. Just let me drive for a while.” He twisted his wrist and just when she thought she might die of lust, he pressed the heel of his hand against her clit.

“Oh God, oh fuck!” Lainey couldn’t stop the curse words. Unlike most guys, who changed things up when the going got good, Cooper doubled down, and when the sweet shock of orgasm radiated through her, Lainey leaned back against him and, taking his advice, she let go while he drove.

* * *

JESUS.

Cooper was desperate for her. Turned on and rock-hard and so fucking desperate.

He’d told her he couldn’t wait to be inside her, and he’d thought he meant it—he had meant it—but now that he’d watched her come apart in his arms? The words he’d used weren’t basic enough; they were too polite for what he needed. He was ravenous for her. He wanted to fuck her until she screamed.

He dragged his mouth up her neck, seduced by the slide of her hair on his chest, the feel of her taut skin under his palms, so soft and smooth. He tugged her jeans down her thighs, doing his best not to be too rough, but she was so damn responsive, and he couldn’t breathe through the all-consuming lust she ignited when she leaned forward, placing her hands on the counter in preparation for what was to come.

Then he got his first glimpse of the smooth globes of her ass, bisected by a sexy swath of black lace thong, and he was done for. His cock surged in response, and he freed himself from his boxer briefs and rolled on the condom, shoving the wrapper into his jeans pocket.

He didn’t wait. He couldn’t.

He slid inside her, and the sweet, hot friction of their bodies wrung a groan from him. Cooper tried to go slow, he did, but even as he told himself to hold on, his hips pumped faster. The slap of their bodies, her whispered curse words and the roar of his blood were the soundtrack to an encounter that was spinning wildly out of control. He dug his fingers into her hips as she used the counter for leverage and pushed back against him, meeting him thrust for thrust.

He ran his hand up her spine, past the clasp of her bra and up the column of her neck. He’d come here expecting a beer, a hard time and temporary respite from his solitude. And now, behind the counter of a run-down sports bar, he’d found heaven.

Cooper caught sight of her in the mirror, and couldn’t look away. She was so fucking gorgeous, so wet, so wild for him. He wanted to make it good for her. At least as good as it was for him. Even as his hips bucked, driving deep, he forced himself to breathe deeply, an attempt to keep from blacking out with pleasure as he tried to focus, to learn her expressions as she told him without words how to please her.

When she bit her lip again and reached between her legs, it took everything Cooper had not to come. Not yet. He grasped her hips even tighter, thrusting high and deep, determined to get her there, gritting his teeth against the exquisite sensation when her fingers brushed his cock as she drove herself to the peak and then she opened her eyes and looked right at him, and finally, finally, he felt her fall over the edge, her muscles pulsing against his cock, legs trembling as he pumped again, and then one more time, his climax hitting hard and fast, wringing everything from him.

He’d never...it had never been like this before. And it wasn’t just the fact that she might be the first woman he’d been with who didn’t porn-moan. The mirror had allowed him watch her expression change, shifting from anticipation to determination to pleasure. He knew, could tell, she’d never meant him to see all that. That she’d forgotten her reflection was selling her out, the way people forgot you could see them singing in their car, that the glass couldn’t hide their love of disco.

And he wanted more.

She straightened, hair sexy and tousled, and Cooper reached for her, because he couldn’t help himself, but she sidestepped his embrace, adjusting her thong and tugging her jeans up her thighs with a series of cute little hops. She struggled for a moment with the button of her jeans, and he let her. She’d made it plenty clear she only needed him for one thing, but as her movements grew less sure, more panicky, he couldn’t just stand by.

“Can I—”

“It’s fine,” she bit out, buckling her belt over her still-unbuttoned jeans. Lainey pulled the zipper up awkwardly with her left hand before she turned to grab her tank off the counter.

Cooper frowned at the dismissal, discreetly taking care of the condom. “Okay, sure. Then maybe we could grab something to eat?” He tugged his jeans into place. If sleep had been elusive before the adrenaline surge he’d just experienced, well... Besides, dinner had been hours ago. “Is there an all-night diner around here? I’ll buy you some eggs.”

He didn’t think he’d ever invited a woman to breakfast after a one-night-stand, but he didn’t stop to analyze his motives.

“I have to close up the bar.” Lainey pulled her tank top over her head and tugged down the hem.

“I can help,” Coop offered, fastening his jeans and pulling his belt back into place.

“You’ve done enough. It’s not a two-person job,” she told him, and though he wasn’t wild about the idea of her in this place alone in the middle of the night with a bunch of cash, he reminded himself that she’d probably locked up a thousand nights before.

“Look, Slick. Tonight was great. The sex was great. But that’s all it was—a night of great sex. So stop trying to turn it into something more.”

She busied herself by grabbing a rag from the sink and wiping the counter down, but Cooper got the impression it was more about avoiding eye contact with him than any actual need for cleanliness.

“Lainey, c’mon. I didn’t propose marriage.” He pulled his T-shirt on, then ran a hand back and forth across his hair. “It’s just breakfast.”

She looked at him then, but there was no coyness in her eyes. Nothing flirty. “I don’t date hockey players.”

“Yeah. Okay. Right.” Cooper shrugged, trying to let her rejection roll off his back. No big deal. He’d eat alone. He preferred it that way. It wasn’t like he was looking for a relationship or anything. He’d just thought...hell, he didn’t know what he’d thought. “Just sex. That’s the best kind, right? Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Lainey Sillinger.”

“Harper. I took my mother’s maiden name.”

“Harper. Got it,” he relented with tip of his head, grabbing her phone off the counter as he walked by. He was relieved to see it didn’t require a passcode.

“Hey, give that back!”

“Just in case you change your mind and get hungry later,” Coop explained, texting himself a quick message as he stepped out from behind the bar. “And word to the wise? You should lock this. Anyone could pick it up and check out whatever naughty videos you’ve got stored on here.”

He came to a stop beside the stool where he’d left his jacket before relinquishing her phone. She practically lunged at the counter in her haste to snatch it. With a grin designed to rankle, he picked up his coat and he headed for the door.

“Cooper?”

He stopped. There it was. Something vaguely like relief flooded through him as he turned to face her.

“That door is locked. You mind going out the staff entrance in the back?”

“No problem.” He shook his head, hoping it didn’t look as robotic as it felt, even as he followed in the direction she was pointing, past the storage room she’d been coming out of when he’d first laid eyes on her. It felt like a lifetime ago, though it had only been hours. A short hallway with doors on either side brought him to a beat-up metal exit door, and he pushed through it to find himself standing in the parking lot, next to a Dumpster, about ten feet away from his car.

It had been a hell of a day.

4 (#u4ed741de-de81-5135-aea4-36347f24b72b)