Rebels and Roses (Winslow Heights #2)

Chapter 6

6

C ooper didn’t have a clue what was loosening his tongue tonight. It wasn’t the wine. He hadn’t had that much. Perhaps it was the fact that he felt so comfortable with Jane. She wasn’t going to blab what he told her around town. She knew how to keep information to herself, and while she might enjoy listening to a bit of gossip at the hairdresser, she wasn’t going to take part by spilling his life story to others for fun.

He was probably talking because he was trying to make heads-or-tails out of his own behavior these last few days. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t kicked Tom out of his apartment. The man needed to go back home and deal with his shit. Nothing was solved by staying here.

But for some reason, Cooper hadn’t pushed Tom to leave. He’d been around the Kemp family long enough to know that it would only trigger a massive meltdown and tantrum. Tom, Fiona, and their parents didn’t like being told what to do. Everything had to be their own idea, or they’d dig in their heels and resist.

If Cooper pushed too hard, Tom might buy a house and never leave, becoming a thorn in his side for years to come. That’s how crazy that family could be. They’d fuck someone over - even themselves - just to make a point.

And what was that point? That they couldn’t be controlled. That they’d do whatever the hell they wanted, when they wanted to do it. Not a moment before.

He’d forgotten this feeling of walking on eggshells. He’d done it while married to Fiona, but over the last few years the memories of worrying about the next huge explosion had faded. Tom’s appearance had brought it all back.

He just wanted the Kemp family out of his life. For good. If it meant dealing with Tom for a day or two more, then he could do it. Anything more than that, though, and he would forcibly put Tom in the car and drop him at the airport.

Frankly, the Kemp family was trouble. And Cooper didn’t want any more of their brand of chaos in his life. He’d happily left that behind, and now his life was quiet and uneventful. Just the way he liked it.

“What was the moment? Shit, that was too personal a question. Forget I asked it.”

For almost anyone else, Cooper would have told them to shove off. He wasn’t answering it. But for Jane he didn’t mind. She’d been through the mill with her ex as well. She’d…get it.

“I don’t even remember exactly what it was,” Cooper confessed, his mind back to that day in their London flat. “I just remember knowing deep inside of me that this wasn’t going to work. We weren’t going to get any sort of happily ever after. Things were only going to get worse.”

“Yes, I know that feeling.”

“To be fair, it wasn’t all Fiona,” he replied quickly. There was blame enough to go around. “I’m not an easy man to live with. I always said that she liked her way with things, but hell, I’m probably the same. We were both a little spoiled and stubborn. Neither one of us knew shit about compromise or healthy relationships. We didn’t have anyone to look up to when it came to being married and what that took to make it successful. Looking back, it’s a miracle that we lasted as long as we did. I put it down to both of us being too damned stubborn to admit that we made a mistake.”

“Was the divorce ugly?”

That had been the surprising thing. He’d expected it to be nasty, but it had been far from it.

“Actually, no. I suggested that we go to therapy, like a marriage counselor. Fiona laughed at the idea, but she could see that I was serious. The next morning, she said that she didn’t think it was going to work out. That we needed to separate. I didn’t argue because I was going to say the same thing. She just beat me to it. I think once the writing was on the wall, and she saw that I wasn’t going to change, she tapped out. Like I said, I don’t blame her. I wasn’t what she truly wanted. I hope she’s happier now. I don’t wish anything ill to happen to her. We decided that we’d stay out of each other’s lives after the divorce. That’s why I was so shocked to get a text from her.”

“Is she remarried?”

“Not that I know of. We have some mutual friends that I still talk to from time to time, and they said that she’s been in some relationships. I don’t ask, they just volunteer the information. I try not to make it my business. It’s the past.”

He’d thought more about the past in the last two days than he had in the last five years combined.

“What about your ex?” Cooper asked. “Is he remarried?”

“Yes, and I pity her. She’s young and naive like I was. I think he likes them that way.”

“Get ‘em young, train ‘em right,” Cooper said. “My uncle used to say dumb shit like that.”

“I think Peter agrees with your uncle.”

Cooper would love just fifteen minutes alone with Jane’s ex-husband. The guy needed a lesson on how to treat a woman. She’d deserved better. Much better.

Better than Cooper, too. He didn’t have any delusions about what kind of partner he’d make in a real relationship. He’d already screwed up once. It was better to keep it all casual. Then no one would get hurt.

He wasn’t a man that liked to dwell on the past. He couldn’t change it, for better or worse. He wanted to concentrate on the present - the here and now.

Right at this moment, he wanted to do that with this particular woman. He was done with this stroll down memory lane. Her bastard of an ex didn’t deserve even five minutes of her time. Cooper could take that melancholy expression off of her face and remind her that she was too good for that asshole.

Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against hers. Softly at first, but then more urgently as the passion quickly flared between them. It had always been like this since their very first intimate encounter. They’d almost set fire to the room as they’d pawed at each other like rabid animals. She’d even popped a few buttons from his shirt in her haste to get him naked. He hadn’t minded in the least. He’d been in the same hurry to shed their clothes and be pressed together as quickly as possible.

He was fascinated at her beauty - the silkiness of her long hair, the satin glide to her golden skin. He loved hearing the catch of her breath when he nibbled at an earlobe or a sensitive shoulder, or when his fingertips grazed the pebble-hard tips of her full breasts. She was so naturally gorgeous that he could have simply gazed at her for hours, drinking in all her lush womanhood.

But such inaction would be a waste. Action was what was called for tonight. The kind that could get sweaty and sticky. The sex between them was never the polite and tidy type.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Her hands had crept around his neck, pulling him closer so that not a whisper of air could get between their bodies. It still wasn’t close enough, and they tugged at each other’s clothing while giggling like two teenagers trying to make love in the back seat of a compact car.

At his age, he far preferred the comfort of a firm mattress and crisp, freshly washed sheets, but in their haste, they might not get any farther than the living room floor. He was nothing if not flexible, though, grabbing a couple of large pillows from the couch to cushion their lustful activities.

By the time they were both naked, he hovered above her simply taking in all the beauty that was before him. His body pushed him to hurry, but his brain told him to take his time. Savor the moment.

“Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?” Jane taunted, her fingernails sliding down his bare chest, sending a frisson of pleasure through his entire body. The room was beginning to get uncomfortably hot, the temperature rising with each passing minute. “Fuck me, Cooper. I need you now.”

Well…when a lady asks so nicely? What’s a guy supposed to do? Savoring was going to have to wait for another time. He was already feeling that familiar pressure in his lower back, pushing him to bury himself balls deep inside of her.

Still, a woman deserved some foreplay. Dipping his head down, he captured an already hard, rosy-tipped breast in his mouth, laving the hard bud while his teeth lightly scraped the sides. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, and a soft moan escaped her full lips, telling him in no uncertain terms that he was on the right track.

He lavished attention on first one, and then the other until she was writhing on the pillows, her eyes half-closed as she whispered his name a few times. There was nothing sexier than when Jane said his name so softly. If he hadn’t already been hard and ready, he would have been after that.

He kissed a damp trail of kisses down her torso and over her hip, nipping softly at the skin before soothing it with his tongue. Her fingers were tangled in his hair as he placed kisses on her inner thigh while his thumb ran circles around her clit.

Her body arched, and her hands reached out to clutch at the bedding, the sheets crumpled in her tight fists. He never stopped his movements, drawing out her orgasm as long as he could.

“Now,” she urged, her palm cupping his unshaven jaw. “Cooper.”

There was no way he could deny her plea. Positioning himself between her silky thighs, he pressed forward, deep and hot. His head spun at the pure pleasure of her tight channel clamping down on him as he began to piston in and out.

As always, this was no pretty and polite coupling. Their bodies, slick with sweat, slapped together with every thrust. Their throaty moans and gasps only encouraged them to fuck faster, harder until they were both spiraling together into the stars. At one point, Jane almost screamed his name, and he was sure that a few expletives from his own lips as his own climax ripped through him, turning him inside out.

When it was over, they collapsed together. He pulled down a throw from the sofa to cover their rapidly cooling bodies. She rested her head on his shoulder, pressing close to him as their breathing and heart rate returned to normal.

Yet, nothing felt normal when they were together. Jane Taylor was a dangerous woman. He just might like her too much.

And it just might be too late to do a damn thing about it.

The next morning, Jane had the early shift at the bookstore. There would be no lolling around in bed until mid-morning, reliving the torrid night of lovemaking she’d experienced with Cooper. She had to get up, shower, and get to work, acting like a responsible adult.

I hate adulting sometimes.

Cooper hadn’t left her apartment until the wee hours of the morning which had meant that she hadn’t slept much. Neither of them had, but he had the absolute nerve to look fresh as a daisy when he walked into the store around lunchtime. She was barely awake, chugging coffee as if her life depended on it, and he was bright and fresh as if he hadn’t spent half the night wrestling in the sheets with her.

“How’s my book selling?”

His question was soft, for her ears only. After all, no one else knew his secret identity.

“Quite well. Everyone has been raving about it. Are you worried?”

He didn’t need to worry. The book was on the bestseller lists and getting excellent reviews. Some people - including herself - thought it the best he’d written. She couldn’t wait to get a few hours of time to read what he’d given her last night. Getting an early view into his work was exciting. And humbling. She was shocked that he trusted her opinion that much.

“I want people to like it.”

“Well, they do. Piper brought over some angel food cake. Are you hungry?”

“For angel food cake? Hell, yes.”

Jane had to deal with a customer, so Cooper wandered over to the coffee bar area alone, chatting animatedly with Amy the college girl who helped them out on a part-time basis. Amy was beautiful, with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She also had the type of figure that easily turned men’s heads. Right now, Amy was flirting outrageously with Cooper. Jane could hear the laughter from the other side of the store.

She wasn’t jealous. Cooper wouldn’t be interested in someone Amy’s age. At least, Jane didn’t think he would be. He wasn’t catting around town looking for tail.

She didn’t think so anyway. If he had been, he’d been incredibly secretive. There wasn’t a peep in the town gossip about him in the last few months. People were beginning to wonder if he’d lost his mojo with the ladies. From Amy’s behavior today, that didn’t appear to be the case.

Women loved Cooper. All of them. He was a charming bastard that even had Old Lady Henry smiling and laughing. And that old battleaxe hadn’t smiled at anyone in thirty years. But she loved Cooper Winslow. She’d blush like a schoolgirl whenever he was around.

The bell over the door rang and Finn walked in, his gaze going straight to Cooper.

“Hey, Sheriff. Can I help you?”

“I’ve been looking for Cooper. I hoped he’d be here. I need to talk to him.”

“Bad news?”

Finn’s expression was neutral, but he had a decent poker face.

“No, just some information about his house guest that he had me look into. How are you, Jane? Almost done with school, right?”

“Just finishing up my last class. It won’t be long now. I’ll be glad to finally be finished. It’s been a long haul. Can I get you a cup of coffee? Or a soda?”

“I wouldn’t say no to something cool to drink. It’s warm out there today.”

Finn followed her to the coffeeshop area, and she slipped behind the counter to pour his drink. He accepted it gratefully, drinking down half the glass right away.

“Let me refill that for you.”

“Nah, I’m good. Cooper, do you have a few minutes?”

Can you drag yourself away from Amy?

“Sure,” Cooper replied easily, sitting down at one of the tables with his cake and coffee. “What’s going on?”

“I did that check into your former brother-in-law.”

“Cooper?” Amy called. “Do you want another piece of cake? I can get that for you.”

Amy looked a bit put out from Cooper’s immediate dismissal of her now that Finn had showed up.

“This is good, thanks,” Cooper said. “I definitely want to hear what you’ve found out.”

This was none of her business. Jane began to step away from the two men, but Cooper shook his head.

“You don’t have to go. You can hear this, if you want to.”

She did want to. Just what was the skinny on Tom Kemp?

“First of all,” Finn began. “I just talked to your brother Tate before I got here. I was looking for you at the tavern. He said that Tom was there all last evening until closing time flirting with a young female student and getting drunk as hell. They left together. I wasn’t sure if you knew that.”

“Christ on a bicycle, that kid has no sense of self-preservation,” Cooper muttered. “He has an almost-fiancée, a girlfriend, and now he’s picking up college girls in bars. Fantastic. I will say he never brought her back to the apartment, so I guess that’s something. Maybe his judgment isn’t complete shit.”

Cooper had left her apartment about three-thirty in the morning. The bars closed at two. Tom could have brought the girl back and then got rid of her before Cooper arrived home. It wasn’t a sure thing, but it was a possibility. However, he probably didn’t want Finn to know that he’d been out almost all night. That would raise questions. And she was the answer. An answer that they were keeping quiet.

“I had a friend probe into Tom Kemp’s background these last few years,” Finn went on. “I’m afraid it’s not pretty. He’s been in and out of rehab several times. Cocaine and booze, from what I was able to find. He’s also in debt to his eyeballs. He’s living the high life and putting it all on cards.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Cooper replied. “His family is loaded with money.”

“His family has put him on a strict budget with his trust fund,” Finn said with a shake of his head. “They know about his problems, and they’re not going to feed them anymore. That’s when he got a job.”

“That explains his paranoia.”

Shit, Jane needed a filter on her mouth. She should have just sat here and kept her mouth shut.

“It could definitely be the reason he thinks people are following and watching him,” Cooper agreed. “He’s convinced himself that he has a stalker.”

Finn levered up from the table, draining the last of his drink.

“I need to get back on the job. I just wanted to let you know what I’d found out. I’m not sure it really helps much.”

“It does,” Cooper replied. “If only so that I understand where he’s coming from. Thanks for digging that up. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. I’m meeting with the private investigator in a few hours. Are you going to be there?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

“See you then.”

Finn exited the bookstore, leaving Jane with Cooper at the table.

“What happens now?”

Heaving a loud sigh, Cooper shook his head.

“Shit, I don’t know. I could try talking to him, but I doubt I would make any difference. If he doesn’t care about what his family or friends think, he’s not going to care about me. We’re practically strangers.”

“He seems to have a lot of respect for you. He came to you when he thought he was being followed,” Jane pointed out.

“He did, but now I’m thinking he did that because everyone else probably knows that he’s not sober. He needed someone who didn’t know his secret. Me. I wouldn’t ask too many questions.”

“Are you going to kick him out?”

“I’m not going to call it kicking him out,” Cooper replied. “I’m going to let him know that I know what’s going on. I’m going to tell him that I don’t condone drug use of any kind in my home, and that he needs to leave now. No nastiness, just that it’s time. He doesn’t have any real reason to be here. Now if he says that he wants to get help, go back into rehab? That’s a different story all together. I would absolutely help with that. But if he wants to keep putting white powder up his nose? Nope, not going to be party to that.”

Jane couldn’t help but wonder how Tom would react to that conversation. Would he deny everything? Tom didn’t seem to have a worry or care in the world. Was he ready to admit that he had a big problem?

“I won’t have a chance to talk to him until later,” Cooper said. “I’ll meet with the PI, and then talk to Tom. He was sleeping off whatever he did last night when I left the apartment. I’d like him alert and awake when I talk to him.”

“I don’t envy you.”

“I don’t envy me either. I shouldn’t even have to deal with this. I’ve been divorced for years.”

“At least your ex-wife really didn’t show up. It was only Tom.”

“Thank goodness for small favors. That would have been a disaster.”

What could have happened if Fiona Kemp had shown up in Winslow Heights?

Luckily, the world would never know.