The KISS Principle (Erotic Romance) (13 page)

Ian picked up after several rings. “I take it you got
my email.” He yawned loudly.

“I did.” She smiled, relishing the chance to gloat. “I
don’t know about you, but I’m psyched.”
I’d say I’m almost giddy.

“I’m very happy for you.”

“Yeah, well, I won’t hold my breath for roses.” She
took a sip of her Earl Grey. “I’m guessing you didn’t want to talk so you could
congratulate me.”

 “That’s not the entire reason, no. I wanted to
tell you that we’re dropping the lawsuit. It’ll look like David and Goliath
after your nominations come out. People will already be rooting for you. Everyone
loves an underdog.”

Allie wasn’t even sure she’d heard him correctly, but
she didn’t dare seem surprised. Ian would capitalize on that for sure. “I’m
glad you found a way to come to your senses.”

“Of course, I’d like you to keep all of that to
yourself. Professional courtesy.”

Professional courtesy, my ass.
“Of
course.”

“And I still want one more thing from you.”

There’s always a catch with you.
“I’m listening.”

“We want to hire you as a consultant.”

Hire me?
“Still listening.”

“We’ll bring you in a few times a year to give us
feedback on campaign ideas before we start to flesh them out. You can help us
weed out the weaker concepts.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“A retainer and a per-project fee. I think you’ll find
our offer is very generous. We’ll want to be able to say we’re partnering with
The Flynn Agency on those particular projects, but it will just be your
services. Hands off your company.”

I can finally start earning a salary.
“I’ll have to think about it.”

“Start thinking. I’ll have the legal department email
you the details as soon as I can get someone on the phone.”

“Even on a Saturday?”

“Even on a Saturday. We need you, Allie.”

Relief washed over her when she hung up the phone. The
biggest headache in her life had evaporated in an instant, replaced by a
windfall of all things. But as quickly as it had come, the good news faded and
the emptiness inside her returned.
All I want to do is tell him. All I want
to do is walk upstairs and knock on his door and have him ask me where I was
all this time. All I want is his arms around me all night long. All I want is
Cooper.

Goose bumps dotted her skin.
Why couldn’t I see
this before?
The good things in her life meant nothing without someone to
share them and that someone was Cooper. Her sister was her family, but there
was something missing. She wanted more. She needed more.

Above her head, the floor creaked with footfalls. She
stared at the ceiling, her neck stretched taut, making the rapid-fire beat of
her heart that much more pronounced. There were more footsteps.
What is he
doing up?
She stopped herself.
What are you doing? Who cares? He’s up.
She shut her laptop and picked up her phone knowing one thing. It was time to
do something.

Chapter Thirteen

For someone who’s so tired, I don’t sleep much.
Cooper yawned before he opened the fridge and leaned forward, resting his hand
on his thigh. His eyes settled on the slim offerings. Bacon. Orange juice.
Beer.
I have such a guy fridge.
He closed the door and decided that a
pot of coffee was his best option, followed by a shower and yet another trip
into the office.
This whole entrepreneurial thing is starting to be a real
pain in the ass.

He held his mug directly under the drip from the
coffeemaker until it was half full and took it into the living room. His new
furniture didn’t have the net effect he’d hoped for when he’d ordered it. It
certainly wasn’t helping him feel any more accomplished or adult. It only
served as a reminder of how much he missed Allie.

He slumped down and closed his eyes, his head resting
against the back of the pristine gray wool sofa, exactly the fabric Allie had
suggested. More than work kept him up every night. She was all he could think
about in the dark. He felt her absence when he rolled over and remembered he
wasn’t in her bed. His chest ached just thinking about it.

His phone beeped with the arrival of a text message.
“Jeez, Bri. Nothing like a five a.m. wake-up call on a Saturday,” he muttered
as he got up to fetch his phone from the kitchen counter. To his surprise, he
had a text. From Allie.

Are you awake? I can hear you up there.

For an instant, he had to remind himself how his
thumbs worked.
I’m up. Sorry if I’m being noisy.
Her response didn’t
come right away and it caused his heart to hammer.

You’re not noisy. I was already awake.

Before he could reply, there was more.

 Want some company?

His head began to spin.
Of course. I have coffee.

I’ll be right up.

He sprinted back to his bedroom for a clean t-shirt
and wondered if he was supposed to change out of his pajama pants for company.
Panic flickered through him. The knock at the door came and there was no time
for anything other than another quick jog back into the kitchen to answer.

Allie knocked the wind out of him when he opened the
door. She wore a white t-shirt and slouchy pink pajama pants that only hinted
at her curves. Her hair was in a ponytail, no makeup to hide the natural blush
of her cheeks. He couldn’t remember a time the woman who’d broken his heart had
looked more beautiful.

“You brought your own mug?” he asked, looking down at
her slender fingers clutching the white ceramic.

She shrugged as she stepped across the threshold. “I
didn’t want to presume.”

“What? That I’d be willing to wash a second cup?”

“No. That you actually owned a second cup.”

“Funny.” He twisted his lips, but her hesitant smile prompted
a few strains of happiness. It had been a week since anything so pleasant had
taken hold in his body. “May I?” he asked, taking the mug and filling it with
coffee. He added a splash of cream and one sugar, just the way she liked it.

Allie stared into the steaming cup after he handed it
to her. “You remembered.”

“The way you like your coffee? It’s been a week.”

She avoided eye contact, setting him on edge. “Can we
talk?” she muttered.

He blew out a breath. It was torture to stand there
and see her, feel the attraction between them that was powerful but fractured.
“I would love to talk, Allie. You know that.”

She nodded and peered up at him. “I know. I’m sorry.”
A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye.

His heart crumbled at the sight of her crying. “It’s
okay.” He reached for her arm and she shuddered beneath his touch. “Come on.
We’ll go in the living room. My new furniture came.”

She followed him to the other room, but didn’t sit right
away. “It looks great.” Despite the vote of approval, she froze as if she
simply didn’t know what to say or do.

“Thanks.” He sat and patted the spot next to him on
the couch. “That Melanie chick came over yesterday because the delivery guys
scratched up one of the legs on the sofa. She’s ordering a replacement.”

 Allie’s eyes doubled in size. “Oh. I see. Did
she help you set everything up?” She inched toward the couch and gingerly
accepted the invitation to sit with him.

He shook his head. “Nope. I had it ready to go. She
was only here for a minute. I did okay, huh?” He watched as she surveyed the
room.

“Perfect.” She trembled, seeming so unsure of herself.

It was everything he could do to keep from pulling her
into his arms, but whatever she wanted from him was painfully unclear. “Was
there something you wanted to say?”

She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Yes. I
wrote a speech.”

“A speech?”

“Yes. But I forgot it.” She straightened as if trying
to bolster her own confidence, but her lower lip quivered. Their eyes
connected, showing him every subtle shade of her vulnerability. “I forgot it as
soon as I saw you. I had the perfect thing to say to you and I can’t remember
it. At all.”

Please don’t let it be the “this will never work”
speech.
“Okay. Well, why don’t you tell me what it was about?
Maybe it’ll come to you.”

Her head bobbed several times. “I can do that.” She
took another deep breath, this time through her nose. “I’m an idiot and I’m so
sorry. I was wrong. You were right. I wish I could take back every stupid thing
I said.” Each word seemed to steel her confidence, even when her voice wavered.
“I feel like I threw away something totally amazing. I hate being apart from
you. I miss you. I need you.”

Cooper’s breath caught in his throat. “Wow. Okay.”
She
needs me.
“Not much of a speech, but I liked what you had to say.” He
allowed himself a corner of a grin and bridged the gap by setting his hand on
the cushion between them.

“My speech was a lot better than that, I swear. There
was this one part where I thought up this metaphor for how perfect we are for
each other. It was quite beautiful.” More tears rolled down her face and her cheeks
flushed when she hiccupped.

He laughed and reached for her arm. “Are you okay?” This
time, he didn’t let go.

Allie edged closer and wiped her cheek with the back
of her hand. “I don’t know. It depends on whether you accept my apology.”

Cooper pressed his lips together. To Allie, it felt as
though time was moving at quarter pace. Her brain was upended by the
combination of his presence and the words she’d been so scared to say. She wondered
whether he would see his way clear to take her back. It would be so easy for
him to tell her she’d hurt him too much, the damage had been done.

She allowed herself another moment of weakness, studying
his tempting mouth as his face became stiff with concentration. A small gasp
escaped her lips when his eyes softened and he took a lock of her hair,
twisting it between his fingers.

“Of course I accept your apology, but I need you to
accept mine. I never should have pulled that stunt at the restaurant. I’m sorry
if it seemed like I didn’t trust you.”

“I know that you were being protective. Your heart was
in the right place.” Allie focused on him, the shadow of stubble along his
strong jaw, the way his eyes became buttery and sweet when he looked at her.
She pressed her hand to the center of his chest. His heart beat evenly against
her palm. It sent electricity coursing through her.

Cooper smiled, looking down at her hand on his chest before
he clasped his fingers around hers. “But now what, Al? The age thing is never
going to go away. And I don’t know how I can convince you that I don’t care.”

“I know you don’t care. I believe you. And I’m going
to try to be better about it.”

“You better do more than try, Allie. Forty is nothing
and if we’re going to be together, I want to be together. For real.”

For real?
“What are you saying?”

“Are we making up?” He stroked her hand with his thumb
and the current arcing between them became even stronger.

“I want to.”

“Good, because I want to too.” He curled his fingers
around her arm and tugged her closer. “I think we should move in together.”

“You do?”

“I love you, Allie. I’m not letting you go.”

Her heart felt as though it could pound its way out of
her chest and do a dozen cartwheels across the floor. His desire to take things
to a new level showed her just how much the age difference truly didn’t matter.
“I love you too.” Allie felt drawn to him in a way that made every nerve ending
in her body prickle with excitement.

When he lowered his head, she tilted her chin and her
eyes drifted shut as anticipation caused her lips to tingle. His breath was
warm against her cheek, his smell musky and manly. “Do you have any idea how
awful this week has been without you?” He nuzzled her neck with soft kisses.

She fought a smile as he finally put her out of her
misery with a gentle brush of his mouth. “I have a pretty good idea.”

“Good. Remember that the next time I do something
stupid.” His kiss became commanding as he wrapped his arms around her. He
tugged her closer and their tongues swirled in heady spirals.

He slid his hands beneath Allie’s t-shirt and found
her breasts. She bowed her back, dropping her head as he teased her nipples
with a brush of his thumbs. It was if her entire body suddenly remembered what
it was like to have his touch, and she wished he could find a way to cover all
of her at once with his exquisite caresses.

She reached for the hem of her t-shirt and swooped it
over her head. His shirt was next and as soon as it was gone, she pressed her
breasts against his firm chest. An eager growl came from the depths of his
throat and she responded by lying back and pulling him down on top of her.

She wrapped her legs around him as he raked his hands
into her hair. It felt so impossibly good to have him kiss her, touch her, hold
her down with every inch of his heavenly body. Her hips tilted as the hard
ridge of his erection rode against her pelvic bone. She wriggled beneath him,
not fully comprehending that the presence of their pajama bottoms was the
source of her physical frustration.

Cooper laughed, breathlessly. “Come on, you.” He stood
and held out his hand. His hair was a delicious mess, the sly smile on his face
worthy of a million surrenders. “I need to get you into bed.”

That was all the prompting she needed. “We wouldn’t
want to wreck your new furniture.” She slid her hand into his and they hurried
to his bedroom.

“I’m not worried about ruining upholstery.” Cooper pulled
the tie on Allie’s pajama pants as she did the same to his. “I just want to
have plenty of room for proper make-up sex.” He scooped her up and plopped her
down on the bed. “Although I assure you there will be nothing proper about it.”

He climbed onto the bed and towered over her,
bracketing her hips with his knees. He dropped his head, huffing hot breath on
her breast before sucking her nipple. Every flick of his tongue sent heat
sizzling to her core. All she wanted at that moment was for him to melt into
her and vice versa, two bodies as one.

Allie reached down to wrap her fingers around his thick
cock, stroking gently until a guttural groan escaped his lips. He blazed a hot
trail of kisses up her chest, to her collarbone, along her throat, until he
finally met her mouth. One wet, steamy kiss and he reached for a condom from
the bedside table. He rolled it on and Allie had to bite her lower lip when his
abs twitched when he was ready.

He moved back between her legs, grazing her center
with his hands, taking his time with languid passes. His thumb found her clit
and he rolled circles, each rotation taking her higher.

“Cooper, honey, make love to me. I need you. Now.” She
arched her back to underscore just how badly she ached for him.

He slid his hands beneath her butt and tugged her
closer. He teased her fevered folds before thrusting and filling her exactly as
she remembered. They rocked together like a wildfire destined to torch
everything in its path. Her breath quickened as the pressure built, he moaned
in her ear. She tilted her hips, coaxing him to drive deeper as his motions voiced
his approval.

His thrusts became longer, his full length riding in
and out of her. The energy gathered in her belly, tightening and binding until
the tension broke through in a cascade of unrelenting waves. Cooper froze for
an instant before resuming his movements, now slowing. Eventually he relaxed
and left his full weight on her. His thundering heartbeat flickered against her
chest, reminding her how alive she felt when she was with him.

Cooper rolled to his back and grasped her hand,
raising it to his lips and kissing her knuckles before he scooted off the bed
and traipsed off to the bathroom. She reached down and pulled the covers over
herself, cozy, content and relieved.