The Risks We Take Duet Box Set

44. Carys

CARYS

I picked a seat at the long table set up in the stunning dining room as far away from Cooper as possible. Sabrina’s parents spared no expense for this event. It really is a shame that she and Aiden refused to let it be photographed for a magazine. They all asked, but my brother and soon to be sister-in-law wanted it kept small, intimate, and completely private.

Once dinner is over and dessert has been served, everyone gets up to mingle, and controlled chaos ensues. Chloe sits down next to me with an evil glint in her eye. She’s having way too much fun torturing me today. When she came back from grabbing the special lingerie she and I created for Sabrina earlier, she couldn’t wait to tell me that Cooper was here and that he looked hot as hell. Lickable was the word she used.

Brat.

She wasn’t wrong though. He looks devastatingly handsome in his khaki pants and white linen shirt, but the understated clothes barely contain the raw power Cooper wears like a second skin.

And that smell… Clean, citrusy, and earthy. My stomach somersaults as memories assault me, and the familiar flare crackles to life at the thought of when his skin touched mine... God, I ache for him.

I feel like that kid at the table, longing to be a part of the cool kids again as I watch my brother and him laughing with their friends. He tucks Sabrina against him and whispers something in her ear before they both look at Aiden and burst into hysterics over whatever he just said.

I miss that easygoing laugh.

But I did this to myself.

I chose this.

“You’re drooling, Carys.” Chloe hands me my napkin, and I snap it out of her hands. “Why are you doing this to yourself?”

Twisting the napkin in my hands, I look around the room, full of the people I love... The people who have no idea that I’m in love with him... That I’ll always love him, and I cringe. “Lower your voice.”

Aiden comes over and drops his hands on the backs of both our seats. “You ladies having fun?”

“Murph, who’s single? I mean... somebody here has to be down for some fun?” Leave it to Chloe to be blunt.

The wedding is small, just the way Aiden and Sabrina wanted it. But with some extended family from both of our sides and the few people Sabrina’s father had to invite. Small is a relative thing. There’s still probably about ninety people who have flown in over the course of the week.

Aiden leans down between us and starts giving Chloe the lowdown on a few cousins from both sides of the family, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to lose her for the rest of the night.

I stand, and then he and I are engulfed by our mother. “I love when all my babies are under one roof.” Callen’s on her hip, wrapping his arms around me. “You’ll understand when you’re a parent one day. We take this for granted. All those years of running you guys from one thing to another. All the late-night dinners. All those family movie nights...”

She fights back tears.

“Don’t cry, Momma.” Callen looks at Mom with big, concerned eyes, and Aiden mimics him.

He tugs Mom and me into a big hug as his eyes water. “Don’t cry, Momma. We love you.”

“Oh my God. If you cry, I’m going to cry.” I laugh at them, but in reality, I’m on the verge too. It was the three of us for so long.

“Life goes by fast.” Mom’s green eyes scan over the three of us. “Enjoy every minute.” She kisses us each on the cheek, and then exaggeratedly kisses both of Callen’s cheeks as Coach joins us and takes Cal from her. He rests an arm on her shoulder, and she leans her head against him.

“And love hard, my babies. Love hard and don’t let go.”

My eyes find Cooper, who’s watching me with brooding intensity from across the room, and my heart fractures a little more. Loving hard is easy. Not letting go is a whole other thing.

T he party is still going late into the night, but one of the things I’ve learned over the past few months since I’ve been diagnosed is to watch out for my triggers and to know my limits. Too much sun is definitely a trigger for me, so I use an abundance of sunscreen and never walk out of the house without it on now. Another trigger is lack of sleep. I’m much more likely to feel run-down now than I’ve ever been. So, knowing that tomorrow is the big event and it will probably be a long day and longer night, I decide to call it a night a little earlier than everyone else.

I hug my brother and say goodnight to everyone, then make my way down the stone path from the main hotel winding through the garden. A thousand stars light up the humid night’s sky. The sweet scent of tropical flowers surrounds me as I walk toward my hut. I’m paying more attention to them than to what’s around me when a hand clamps down over my lips, blocking the scream that tries to escape.

Cooper comes into view, and I relax as he takes his hand away. “What are you doing out here?”

“We need to talk, Carys. We’ve needed to talk for months, and you’re avoiding me. That ends tonight.” He takes my hand and tugs me behind him. “Come with me.”

“Where are you taking me?” I don’t put up a fight. I probably should, but I’m tired of fighting. “Cooper...”

He doesn’t answer and instead, just guides me down the path away from the huts to a stone grotto surrounding one of the pools. When he finally stops, he spins me so my back is against the stones and his hands are caging me in on either side of my head.

“Are you done yet?” His baby-blue eyes beg me to give him the answer he wants, but I can’t.

“Done with what, Cooper?” My blood starts to warm at his insinuation. “Do you think this is a game for me?”

He crowds me with his big body, but I don’t back down. “We were making plans for our life together. I went back to Virginia Beach after New Year’s and talked to my commanding officer about switching teams when their sniper retires.” His jaw clenches, and I fight an internal battle.

Do I want to soothe him or scream at him?

Anger wins because it’s an easier emotion to deal with right now.

“My whole life has changed since then.” My voice raises as my muscles shake. “What my future looks like and how I live my life are completely different now than they were six goddamned months ago, Coop.”

“And what, Carys? You got sick, so you don’t love me anymore?”

He could have slapped me and it would have hurt less.

Everyone has tiptoed around my diagnosis. My mom, my friends, our family... all of them have treated me like glass, but none of them have come out and admitted that I’m sick. But not this man. He never treated me like I was someone who needed to be protected. He treated me like an equal who needed to be cherished.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I whisper, allowing my anger to build from deep inside me. I know it’s not fair, but anger is easier to deal with than pain, so I embrace it.

“What’s wrong with me?” He slams his palm against the rock next to my face, and I jerk away. “I love you. I want to spend my life with you. I want to tell everyone here this weekend that you’re mine and they can get on board or get over it because you’re worth everything. And you threw me away.”

He drops his hands and takes a step back. “You threw us away like we were nothing. I was ready to give up everything for you.” Then Cooper turns away from me, his broad shoulders tight with rigid muscles.

“I never asked you to.” I take two steps toward him and shove his back with both hands. “I never asked you to give up anything. Anything,” I scream, shaking.

“No. You liked us being a dirty fucking secret, didn’t you, Carys? Was I just a fun fuck?”

I swing my hand to slap him across the face, but he grabs my wrist mid-air and stops me.

“Tell me, baby.” Venom drips from his lips as he snarls the word baby . It used to envelop me like a caress. Now, it stings my skin in a brutal punishment. Calm now, but his eyes are boiling with fire... with hurt and anger mixed with want and need. “Was that all you wanted? To be fucked by a man?”

My pussy clenches at his harsh words as my nipples tighten to hard peaks.

He backs us up a step, bringing his body closer to mine. “Did you just want my cock, Carys? Do you miss the way I fill your cunt? The way your body hums for me?”

I take a step away from him but bump into the cool rock against my bare back. He closes the gap between us, his hard body pressing against mine. And there’s no hiding how much he wants me, even if he wishes he didn’t.

I squirm as my pussy drips for him, and Cooper’s eyes flare in recognition.

“Is that what you want, Carys? Do you want my cock?” He drops my hand and runs his up under my skirt, along the inside of my thighs, lighting my skin on fire.

I tremble at his touch, knowing he’s going to destroy me, but I don’t care.

I need him.

“Your cock was never the problem, Coop.” Brave words spill from my lips. I’m desperate. I don’t have the strength to stop him.

Not when every molecule in my body lights up with insatiable need.

His finger runs over the lace covering my pussy. “Is your pussy wet for me, Carys?”

I whimper when his finger slides under my panties, then traces the seam of my sex. “Fucking drenched.”

I pant. Trembling. Not able to form words.

He slaps my pussy, and I cry out, “Oh my God.” Then two fingers slide inside me.

“Tell me to stop, Carys.” Cooper’s tongue licks up the length of my neck. “Tell me to stop now, and I’ll walk away.”

My hands go to the belt on his pants. “Don’t stop, Coop.”

He hoists me up in his arms, both of his hands grabbing the cheeks of my ass. “I’m not going to be gentle, and you need to be silent.”

I shove his pants down, and in one swift move, Cooper pushes my panties aside and impales me. He spins us, so his back is against the stone. Protecting me. Always protecting me.

His grip on my ass tightens as he slams his lips against mine while violently pounding into me.

When I cry out again, he stills. “You need to be quiet or this ends.”

I close my eyes and nod my head.

“Good girl.” He lifts me, dragging his dick along every sensitive inch of my pussy, and fireworks explode behind the lids of my eyes before he impales me again and again.

I claw at his back, needing to be closer. Wanting to feel his skin but being denied by the layers of clothes between us.

“Coop,” I plead.

His tongue lashes against my lips until I open for him.

He takes my mouth in a brutal rhythm. His hips piston, and my toes curl.

That familiar fire ignites inside me.

My heels dig into Cooper’s ass, and he groans. The sound spurs me on, and I bring my lips to his neck. Sucking. Scraping my teeth against his skin. Pleasure ripples through my veins, warming me.

One of Cooper’s hands slides down my ass until his fingers bite into my skin.

“Jesus, I’m close,” I breathe.

“Come on my cock,” he orders with one final thrust.

I detonate on a whisper while Coop works me through my orgasm silently, then sets me carefully on my feet.

Come drips down my leg as Cooper tucks himself back inside his pants.

When he looks up, it’s with a mixture of apprehension and regret on his face. “Did I hurt you?” He doesn’t reach for me. Doesn’t touch me. He never once called me baby when he was fucking me, and that realization steals my breath from my lungs.

“Carys . . .”

Oh . I didn’t answer him. “No. I’m fine. I just...”

“Let me walk you to your room.” Worried blue eyes meet mine.

“There’s Secret Service all over the resort, Coop. I’m okay. I don’t need you to walk me back.”

“We need to talk.” An unreadable mask slides over Cooper’s face. “I leave the day after the wedding, Carys.” His words are a warning as he turns and walks away, and I’m left watching him go.

Wondering if I made a mistake tonight, or if the mistake was made two months ago.