The Risks We Take Duet Box Set

75. Carys

CARYS

A s my heart finally slows down, Elodie’s cry registers in my brain. Flaming heat climbs up my face as I hide it against Cooper’s chest and snicker. “I guess I wasn’t exactly quiet.”

He kisses the top of my head like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and I melt into him. “No, babe. You weren’t quiet.”

I pop my head up and smile at the cocky grin plastered on his face, dragging the tip of my finger over his lips. “Thank you for not giving up on me, Cooper. I was a fool, and I was so scared it was too late to fix it.”

One rough hand dances down my spine, while the other is tucked behind his head, stretching the tape over his healing wound tight against his skin.

Jesus . We didn’t even think about his injury.

“Just promise me you’ll talk to me next time, Carys. I need to know you trust me enough to believe I can handle anything thrown our way.” He gently presses his palm against my back, pulling me closer. “The good and the bad, baby.”

I rest my arms over his chest and press my lips to his. “There’s going to be a lot of bad days, Coop. It’s a lot to ask of you.” My voice trembles with the honesty in my words. “I’m doing okay managing my lupus now, but I don’t know what next week or next year looks like.”

“Then we’ll handle it together. I will always be right next to you. And don’t, for one minute, think you’re the only one with baggage. You might have been the one a little unsure of your life last year, but I have to come up with a whole new game plan for my life this year.” His fingers dance up my spine, sending shivers down my skin.

“I’ve got no fucking clue what I’m doing or where I’ll end up. And with this shit with Axel still hanging over our heads, I haven’t even had time to think about it.” His tired eyes close, and stress lines pull tight around them.

I swing a leg over his hips, being careful of the bandage further up his ribs, and rub myself over his impressive cock. “If you’re this stressed-out right now, I must have done something very wrong,” I tease.

Coop’s hands grasp my waist, and he adjusts me so the head of his dick nudges against my entrance. “Ready for round two, Miss Murphy?” His voice is raspy with desire, and those baby-blue eyes I love are drowning with need.

I steady my hands on his chest as I slide down his shaft, amazed at how hard he is for me already. “I’m always ready for you, Cooper,” I whisper as I feel him filling me. “I was made for you.”

“You’re fucking right you are.” He jackknifes up and wraps his arms around my back, bringing us chest-to-chest as I rock against him. Clinging to each other. “You’re the other half of my soul, baby. The air I breathe.”

With a hand holding the back of my neck in a tight grip, he brings my lips to his. Soft but powerful and achingly intoxicating.

When we breathe each other in, I’m flooded with tantalizing sensations, heightened by every hungry stroke of his tongue.

Hyperaware of every long drag of my body against his.

Luxuriating in each roll of my hips and drag of his tongue.

We take our time, teasing and tasting.

Taking my breath away while he breathes life back into me.

Cooper’s hand skims up my body and around the back of my neck, while his thumb presses down on my pulse as it thrums wildly against my skin.

I move my body slowly, dragging out each movement as he slides his hand around the front of my throat. The tips of his fingers tightening slightly. Pressing in just enough...

Restricting my breathing.

Controlling my movement.

Heightening every sensation.

“Tighter,” I whisper, my eyes locked on his.

His possessive look is holding me captive as he tightens his grip the slightest bit, and my pussy pulses in response around his cock.

The intensity of this moment becomes more charged than anything I’ve ever felt before.

We move agonizingly slowly. Our bodies dragging against each other. Every shallow breath I take lights me on fire, bringing me closer to orgasm as a boom of thunder outside my window shakes the room, just before a crack of lightning spotlights the night’s sky.

Coop steals my soul when he takes my lips, and my vision closes in.

My body tightens around him as he growls against my mouth.

Rain dances against the glass doors. “I love you,” I whisper breathlessly as a moan slips past my lips. Cooper lets go of my throat, and I shatter around him as fireworks burst behind my eyes.

Cooper gathers my face in his hands and holds my half-lidded gaze with his as he surges up once more and then comes with my name on his lips like a silent prayer.

I don’t know how I ever thought I could live without this man.

W hen I wake up the next morning, I’m not surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. Judging by the sun trying to fight its way through the clouds, it’s got to be mid-morning, and after the incredible night we had, I don’t feel remotely guilty for sleeping away half the day.

I stand and stretch, enjoying the way my body aches, reminding me of all the ways I used it last night. I should really go for a run since I haven’t done that in the last week but decide instead to take a long, hot shower, wishing Coop was up here to join me.

Twenty minutes later, I’ve got a little extra pep in my step when I open my door and Elodie’s fussing carries down the hall. Emerson’s door is open when I step into her room, and I find Elodie tucked inside the bassinet, while her momma stares inside her closet. “Hey, you okay, Em?”

Em turns toward me in a daze. “Yeah... I was just thinking I’m not supposed to be here.” She looks around her room, like it’s the first time she’s seeing it. “We rented a place. We lived somewhere else, but when Linc—” She covers her mouth and closes her eyes. “When it happened, I came home with Jack and Theo and never left. Jack moved some of my stuff here. But most of it’s still at my place.”

Elodie lets out a shriek, and I pick her up. “Okay, sweetheart. What can Auntie Carys do for you?” I nuzzle my nose against her face as I hold her to my chest and sit on the bed to change her diaper.

“I have a nursery set up at home.” Em watches the two of us with sad eyes. “Pale pinks and greens, and this gorgeous chiffon bunting hanging from the ceiling over a white sleigh crib. Dad’s girlfriend hooked me up with an interior designer friend of hers, and she took care of it all. I never told Linc about it because he’d have been upset that I was spending money like that. He wanted to provide everything for us.”

She sits down next to me and hands me a wipe. “I’m going to have to go home soon, aren’t I?”

“No. There’s no timetable for what feels right. You’ll know when you’re ready to go back there. And I’ll be here to help you every step of the way.” I finish changing Elodie’s diaper, then snap the buttons on her onesie and pick her back up.

“You can’t put your life on hold indefinitely, Carys. As much as I know you’d do it in a heartbeat, it’s not fair to you.” She trails a finger down Elodie’s back.

I stand and sway back and forth with the baby, trying to keep her content while her momma has a few minutes to melt down. “It’s not indefinitely. It’s just the first few weeks when you have to have help, Em. Now, why don’t you get a shower while Elodie and I go downstairs and hunt for the boys.”

“Is that your way of saying I smell?” She stands and cocks a hip, then checks for herself and smells her armpit. “Okay. Yes, I need a shower. But first, I need to know how last night went?”

My cheeks flush, thinking about the way Coop and I reached for each other all night.

“Oh, come on,” Emerson groans. “I know how that part of your night went. Everyone within a five-mile radius has no doubt about just how well it went. Girl, I don’t remember you being that loud before.”

I have to stop myself from commenting back about how loud she and Linc used to be. “Sorry about that.” I blush harder.

“No, you’re not. And I don’t blame you one bit. Honestly, you could cut the freaking sexual tension around here with a chainsaw yesterday, it was so damn thick. But I was talking about your brother.” She walks into her bathroom, leaving the door open. “How was Aiden last night?”

The water turns on, and Elodie and I walk to the door of the bathroom. “It went well. Why don’t you take a shower, then try to get some sleep. I’ll bring her back up when she needs to eat again. Does two hours-ish sound about right?”

Em peeks out and kisses her daughter’s head. “You’re a lifesaver, Carys. But I’m not letting you save my life at the cost of your own. Remember that.” She steps back into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Elodie’s big violet eyes look up at me, and I swear she smiles. “Come on, baby girl. Auntie Carys needs to find Uncle Coop.” A smile spreads across my face when I realize I can’t remember the last time I was this happy.