Intercepting Love

15. Cooper

15

COOPER

Three Days Later

So far, taking one less pill a day hasn’t bothered me too much; or at least that was what I told Kate. Yes, I’ve been a little short-tempered and irritable, but how the hell could I not be when it was so f*****g hot and I had to deal with some of the cocksuckers on my team?

The i***t who asked me if Kate was good in bed shouldn’t have been so goddamned stupid to think I wasn’t going to lay into his a*s. I mean, who in their right mind would ask something like that and not expect to get their a*s kicked? Even Evan had a hard time keeping his restraint.

Kate wasn’t stupid, though; she knew I was keeping my true feelings and concerns to myself, but didn’t seem to think it was an issue. So for the time being I kept my weaknesses to myself. However, by the end of the day, the exercises she did with my shoulder really seemed to work. By the time she was done with me it was only my c**k that was in pain. I respected her and kept my hands to myself even though it took a f*****g miracle. That was another thing that had changed; my whole body had a new craving, and it wasn’t for those damn white pills … it was for her. Each time we were alone and her body would brush up against mine, it took all I had not to rip her clothes off and f**k her. Needless to say, my right arm got a good workout each night in the shower.

Much to my dismay, I was sure it was going to be like that again now that we were on our way to her house. Waiting for her to ask me to kiss her and touch her was outright t*****e. I could see it in her eyes that she wanted me, but she held back. I had no idea how to get her to let me in. I knew it wasn’t Luke because she’d told me she let him go, and I witnessed that the other day when he left her house pissed off. Unfortunately, the game still wasn’t over.

With Kate’s arms crossed at the chest, I couldn’t help but notice the mounds of her breasts pushing up through her pink tank top. She even had on short shorts for the first time since I’d met her. Usually she wore yoga pants or capris, but now she showed off those gorgeous, tanned legs of hers and all I wanted to do was feel how smooth they were wrapped around my waist. Maybe one day she’d give in, but until then I had to be patient. Unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly a patient man.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked, glancing over at Kate who kept her gaze directed out the window. “Are you thinking about how good it’s going to feel to get your hands all over me this afternoon?”

Kate perked up and laughed. “No, but I’m sure you are. Actually, I was thinking about a lot of things: you, the game, and—”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence because my cell phone started ringing nonstop in my bag. I wasn’t going to answer it, but Kate fetched it and handed it to me. It was Mason. s**t, I need to answer it. I didn’t want to do it in front of her, but I had to know what he found.

Taking a deep breath, I answered it, “Hey, what’s up?”

“Cooper, it’s Mason. Do you have a minute?”

Hesitantly, I peered over at Kate. Thankfully, she was too busy fiddling with her phone to pay attention. “Yeah, go ahead,” I told him.

“All right, I’ve looked into everything and let me tell you it’s pretty f****d up. You already know that Kate found Scott after he overdosed on pills. Apparently, Scott’s mother, Marianne Easton, had gone a little crazy after that. She vandalized Kate’s car and spray painted the word murderer on it. She also had friends and family follow her around, and even show up at the hospital where she was doing her rotations at. It took a toll on Kate and she ended up having a nervous breakdown that landed her in the hospital. After that, she completely dropped out of school and moved back home to Charlotte.”

What the hell? I had no clue she went through all of that s**t. No wonder she was screwed up over it. If Scott’s family tried to mess with her like that again I was going to step in and do something about it.

“And that’s all? Nothing else as far as recent or the past year?” I asked.

“Nope, nothing at all. If your friend feels like she’s in danger, we can get a restraining order. Until then, that’s all I can do. I hope this helps.”

“It does. Thank you for calling me back. If something happens do I need to call you or is there someone local that I should speak to?”

“Yeah, I’ll text you his number. His name is Sam Lennox. He used to be my partner, and is one hell of a good detective. I gave him the heads up already, so if you have issues he’ll be there to help you.”

“Thank you,” I added again.

“You’re welcome, and good luck with the game tomorrow. I have a lot of money riding on it so you better make sure you win.”

“Don’t worry, we will.”

After we hung up, Kate turned in her seat to face me, furrowing her brows. “Is everything okay? You looked a little worried there for a moment.”

“No, everything’s fine,” I replied, turning my gaze to the road. “So back to my question earlier … you said you were thinking about me. What exactly were you thinking about? My good looks? My charm? What?”

Chuckling, she smacked me on the arm. “All of it, actually. I just wanted you to know that I really admire what you’ve done over the past couple of days. I know it hasn’t been easy cutting back on the pain meds, but I can see you’re working through it as hard as you can. I really admire you for that.”

She reached over and grabbed my hand, clasping it with hers. “You’re going to be great at the game tomorrow. I can’t wait to watch you play.”

With my other hand, I traced along her fingers with my own. “You’ll be there, so I know I’ll do fine.” Lifting her hand, I gently kissed her palm and watched her shudder.

She kept her body turned to me, watching me with her sensual gray eyes and biting her lip. If she kept doing that I was going to have to pull the car over and bite those lips myself.

“Cooper,” she whispered.

Finally pulling into her driveway, I turned to her and lifted a curious brow. “Yes, love.”

She licked her lips and averted her gaze for a moment, taking deep breaths in and out … almost nervously. “Kate? What’s on your mind?” I asked. “You can tell me.”

When her gaze lifted to mine, I knew without a doubt that things were about to change. All I wanted was to hear her ask me the one question that would change everything. It just so happened that what came out of her mouth wasn’t a question, it was a demand.

“I want you to kiss me,” she murmured softly. “And don’t hold back.”

It’s about f*****g time! She’s mine.