9781618853073LyricsandLustLabelleNC (10 page)

Chapter Seven

“So how
is the plan of seduction working out for you?” Ashley asked, with a wiggle to
her brow.

Meagan
grimaced, making
Zoey
and Heidi chuckle. “That well,
huh?”

“Oh yeah,
so well in fact I’m beginning to wonder why I even bothered asking the three of
you to help me out.” Meagan pouted. “I’ve tried flirting, and touching him as
much as possible. A brief touch on the arm as we’re talking, cuddling on the
couch, or even sliding my body against his as he’s walked by on occasion. Hell,
I’ve even wore that sexy silk teddy you sent me the other night, and nothing,
not one spark of desire.”

“Oh, I
doubt that.” Heidi smiled and wrapped an arm around her in comfort. “There’s a
spark every time that man looks your way. It’s only been a couple of days, Meagan,
and already your looking better. He’ll be putty in your hands in no time.
You’ll see.”

“I give
up.” Meagan threw her hands in the air. “I know he cares for me, but I’m done
chasing him. I’ve done it, I’ve told him I want to be with him, and I’ve given
him all the signals to proceed. So now I’m going to give in and wait for him to
come to me this time, even if it takes his stubborn sexy ass way too long to
figure it out. I’m way out of my league here.” She sighed heavily and leaned
back in defeat.

“Nonsense.”
Zoey
moved from the chair she was sitting on and
joined them, sitting on Meagan’s opposite side on the couch. “I thought the
same thing when I first got with
Rafe
, and then again
with Heidi and Nathan but they each showed me how wrong I was with the more
time I spent with him, and I’ve never felt so loved in my entire life. Give it
some time, you and Coop will get there.”

Meagan
nodded, and Heidi leaned in to hug her. “I am curious though—why do you think
you’re out of your league, Meagan?”

“Because
it’s been so long since I’ve felt this way about someone, because it’s been
that long since I’ve been intimate with anyone, and because when it comes down
to it, I don’t have very much experience. Coop has a ton of beautiful women
throwing themselves at him on a daily basis. What if I’m a disappointment?”

There she
said it. She voiced her fear, she’d been going through a rough time the last
couple of days, and tempting Coop had been a good distraction from it. He held
her at night, and was there for her when she cried or had a nightmare, but she
also began to doubt her appeal. She wanted Coop to make love to her to wash
away Greg’s filth, and the insecurities David had given her. To make her feel
desirable again, like a woman should, but he brushed off her advances like he
hadn’t noticed her intent and continued to make her feel like nothing more than
a friend.
Has he changed his mind?
She was afraid to find out.

“Oh,
Meagan,” Heidi,
Zoey
, and Ashley enveloped her in a
group hug before Ashley spoke up, “Those other women don’t know the real him.
All they see is the gorgeous guy who owns the bar and sings for them. They’re
regular groupies, who see the lead singer in the band and want nothing more
than a few nights of entertainment between the sheets. I’ve known Coop for a
couple of years, and know that he’s past all that. Yes, he could have his pick
of any one of them, but he doesn’t. You’ve seen it for yourself. What he needs
is someone stable to settle down with, and I’m pretty sure he wants that
someone to be you. Will you be a disappointment? I doubt it. Anyone can see the
chemistry the two of you share when you’re together.”

“Thanks,
Ashley.”

“You’ll
see, just keep an open mind, love him with all of your heart and you’ll be
fine. It worked for me,”
Zoey
remarked.

 
“And,” Heidi spoke up, “trust me when I say,
you don’t need a ton of experience to make it good between the two of you. If
you ask me it just makes you even more appealing. Just think of it as a
learning experience, and imagine all of the things Coop will get to teach you.
He’ll love it.”

“Thank you as well, Heidi and
Zoey
.” Meagan laughed. “I love all three of you. You know
that right? Nathan,
Rafe
, and Cory are three very
lucky men, and I’m blessed to have the three of you as a part of my extended
family. You always know how to make me feel better, and I’m grateful to have so
many special people to turn to when I need it. Now what do you say we go down
to the bar to see our special men, and grab a drink to celebrate wonderful
relationships, new beginnings, and survival? I’m tired of feeling like the
victim, and want to take my life back again.”

Coop had insisted she take some
time off out of concern, and although she appreciated it, she knew she’d be
okay as long as she stayed clear of the area she’d been attacked.

“You got it.” And, as the three
of them went ahead of her, Meagan made sure to fix her turtleneck to hide the
yellowing bruises that reminded her, life was precious. With a deep breath, she
was on her way.

* * * *

Her long dark hair reached the
bottom of her back when she wore it down, and he loved the sexy length.
Straight, it draped around her shoulders, and framed her exotic heart shaped
face. Her dark eyes glowed as she smiled at something Heidi said.

She looked beautiful.

He noted the way her red
turtleneck draped her lush curves perfectly outlining her hips and bosom to
perfection. It rode a little high on her midsection showing off her flat abs,
and smooth olive skin. His focus landed on her skinny jeans then, and his mouth
watered as she leaned against the bar to order a drink. Her ass stuck out a
little when she did that, and he noticed then how well they fit her there,
perfectly as if they were made just for her body, and he wanted to take a big
bite.

Coop gulped, and all of his blood
flew south inside his own jeans to his rock hard cock. Damn, he wanted her,
couldn’t remember the last time he wanted someone so bad. It was almost
painful. Hell, it was downright painful, especially when she wore that sexy
silk teddy to bed, when he held her so close in bed to comfort her, or when
their bodies would touch in passing. It was torturous.
Thank God, she’s beginning to heal,
he thought knowing she wanted
him just as bad, had given him all the right signals. The only thing keeping him
in check was the thought of hurting her.

When she kissed him the day after
the attack, it broke his heart to see her discomfort when he touched her,
nearly killed him she’d got hurt a few feet away from him, and he couldn’t go
any further. But he noticed as the days passed she seemed more at ease, and he
swore if he saw her in that sexy silk teddy again he wouldn’t be able to hold
himself back. He’d show her nothing but bliss when he took her too. With Meagan
Morales, he’d take his time loving every inch of that amazing body until he
erased every bad memory from her mind, and gave her a ton of good ones to replace
them with. She was special.

“You’re drooling.”

Coop looked to his side where
Nathan stood with a smirk. “I can’t help it.” He smiled, and then shrugged
before
Rafe
spoke up.

“Hey, why is it that whenever I
look at your lovely cousin with interest all I get is your anger, yet when he
does it you’re okay with it?”

“Because I’m not in love with
him, so I have no need to worry that he’ll try anything stupid. Plus, I like
him, and I think he’d be good for Meagan. Besides, I think you like getting a
reaction out of me, so I play along.” Nathan winked, then put a leisurely arm
around
Rafe
. “Now I see four of the most beautiful
women in the world over there I’d love to give attention to and two of them
belong to us,
Rafe
. What do you say we go join them
at the bar and keep them company?”

“Thanks, I think.” Coop laughed.
“Cory looks like he has his hands full anyway. Let’s go.”

“Hell yeah!”
Rafe
smiled wide, and the three of them sauntered over with a cocky sway. Nathan and
Rafe
with natural confidence, and Coop with his own
like he owned the place. Oh wait,
he did
,
literally.

* * * *

“Now that
is some beautiful scenery.”
Zoey
jerked her head
forward and they all turned to see what she was talking about.

Coop,
Nathan, and
Rafe
headed towards them and Meagan
couldn’t agree more.
Rafe
was a Greek Adonis, Nathan
had the natural family good looks, she’d inherited some of those herself, and
Coop was angelic and sinful at the same time, he was a work of art carved into
perfection. From the ground up she admired the way his blue jeans hugged in all
the right places, lingering on the bulge in front a moment before moving on to
admire his slim fitting Pink Floyd T-shirt, hiding muscular pecks, and a flat
stomach underneath. His blond messy hair itched to be tamed and she wanted to
feel the soft locks against her fingers again when he approached. He smirked as
she met his sparkling blue eyes as if he knew her thoughts, and she challenged
him with one of her own.

“Oh, I
don’t know, I’m kind of liking the view in front of me,” Ashley teased, as Cory
leaned over to give her a kiss.

“Thanks,
babe.”

“They’re
perfection,” Heidi cheered, wasting no time in wrapping her arms around Nathan
when she could.

“I
agree,”
Zoey
said doing the same with
Rafe
, and Meagan felt seriously out of place, not sure what
to do with Coop. Everyone was a couple, but what where they? She didn’t have to
wonder very long when Coop wrapped his arms around her, giving her a quick peck
on the lips.

“Good
news, Brett said he’d cover the bar tonight so I could spend some more time
with you. How are you feeling?” He looked concerned. “You haven’t been down
here since...”

“I know.”
She interrupted, “But I’m okay, honestly.” She reached up to massage the nape
of his neck threading her fingers through the ends of his hair as she did so.
“I’ll have to come back to work eventually so why not take baby steps, and
enjoy a drink with some great company?”

“Aw, look
at the two of you.” Ashley cooed, “Love is in the air.”

“It
definitely is.” Coop winked at her, and then gave her a smile that left her
breathless.

“Yeah,
and we missed all of you,” Heidi said standing on her tippy toes to steal a
kiss from Nathan.

“And, how
about you, Meagan, did you miss me?”

“I did,”
she admitted with a wink. “That’s why I suggested we come down here in the
first place.”

“Yeah well I’m guessing this is
only going to be a one drink night.”
Rafe
chuckled.
“The two of you are looking at each other like you’re each dessert and everyone
else in the room has vanished.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,
thank you.” Meagan turned to
Rafe
and smiled. “I
guess it would be the same way you look at
Zoey
,
Heidi, and Nathan, or the way Cory and Ashley look at each other.”

“Oh, yeah, now wouldn’t it be
tempting for all of us to take this party upstairs?”
Rafe’s
grin turned wicked, and he winked as Nathan growled.
Zoey
and Heidi both giggled as they watched the show, and Meagan shook her head with
a grin of her own.
Good old
Rafe
.

“Sorry, I’m not in a sharing type
of mood.”

“And neither am I.” Nathan, Coop,
and Cory chorused at the same time.

“I know.”
Rafe
laughed. “I’ve got a good thing right where I am, with three people I love
dearly. So let’s raise our drinks with cheers, to family, good friends, a
little friendly teasing, and some good times.”

“And don’t forget great advice.
The three words that created all of our wonderful relationships—” Heidi
cheered.

“To spicing it up.” Nathan
finished his wife’s thought, and raised his beer bottle to finish the toast.

Rafe
was right, after the drinks were
finished the foursome gave everyone a hug, with a promise to do it again
sometime, Ashley decided to get to work, and Coop insisted on giving Meagan a
little TLC in the privacy of his apartment.

* * * *

She stood naked in front of the
bathroom mirror, fingers stroking the now yellowish marks of her bruises, and
felt relieved for the first time since her attack. It turns out Greg had a
prior for domestic violence, and had a warrant out for his arrest in another
state. He was going to do some jail time, and she no longer had to fear him.

 
    
She
received a phone call from the investigating detective that morning with the
news and wanted to celebrate. Also part of the reason Heidi,
Zoey
, and Ashley had come over earlier. Only when they got
there it was the last thing she wanted to talk about, instead confessing her
one fear when it came to Coop, her fear he’d be disappointed due to her lack of
experience. Smiling to herself, she really did feel better after talking to
them about it and couldn’t wait to see him.