Chapter thirty

Cooper

The bed has always been a place for two things—sleeping and fucking. If I wasn’t actively doing one or the other, I saw no purpose in wasting time lying around. Yet waking with Kate’s head nestled into my shoulder, listening to the sound of her rhythmic, peaceful breathing leaves me content to stay put the entire day.

She stirs for a while in her sleep before her eyes eventually flutter open. “Morning,” she says with a lopsided smile when she finds me already awake.

“Morning.” I smile and kiss her forehead. “Blanket hog.”

Her sleepy eyes go wide. “I am not a …” She begins to defend herself and then looks down. Both the sheet and duvet are wrapped around her body like she just lost a battle with a white boa constrictor. I, on the other hand, am completely exposed. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.” I pull her body on top of mine. “I’ll use you as a blanket.”

She giggles and the sound makes me smile. Shit. I’ve gone soft.

“What do you want to do today?” Kate props her head up in her hands.

“You.”

“You’ve already done that a half dozen times. Don’t you want to do something else? I don’t want you to get bored.”

“Bored of being inside of you? Never.”

She smiles. “Okay. Well how should we fill the hours between you inside of me this morning and you inside of me later tonight?”

I brush my fingers along her cheek. Something about hearing her say you inside of me, already has my morning semi erection swelling to a full-blown hard on. “However you want.”

She rests her head over my heart. “You said you came here all the time growing up, right?”

“Twice a year.”

“Well what was your favorite thing to do back then?”

I think for a moment. “An afternoon trip on the Jolly Roger. It was a big party boat done up like a pirate’s ship. It sailed out into clear water and Miles and I would swing on a rope and jump off. We’d make each other walk the plank, and snorkel with turtles. It was owned by Marguerite’s family. My Dad would sit on the top dock drinking beer with her uncle while we played for hours.”

“That sounds like fun. Is it still operating?”

“Not sure. I can call Marguerite.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“You woke up filled with questions this morning, didn’t you? Maybe I should fill you with something else to give your mouth a rest.”

She playfully smacks at my abs. “Seriously.” Gripping her lower lip between her teeth, she studies me for a moment. “What happened between you and Miles?”

It’s a question I’m not expecting. And, in all honesty, I’m not even sure it’s a question I know the answer to. “I don’t know. As we got older, he sort of just pulled away. Some people see the glass as half full, he sees the glass as half empty. And thinks it’s half empty because I drank it all on him.”

“When did you stop getting along?” She pushes up onto one elbow.

“When Miles was in middle school.” I still remember the first time he lashed out at me as clear as day. “There was a boy that was picking on him. Miles was smaller than the kid, but that didn’t stop him from running his mouth. The kid challenged him to a fight after school. By the time I got there, Miles already had a bloody nose and black eye. I stepped in front of Miles, caught the kid’s punch, twisted his arm, and brought him to the ground. The kid was out of shape and I was five years older … it didn’t take much.”

“And Miles got upset with you for stepping in?”

“He thought I did it to make him look bad to our dad. He actually accused me of arranging the whole thing with the kid who was kicking his ass when I showed up.”

“Why would he think that? It sounds like a perfectly normal event. A brother stepping in for another brother in a fight. At least it was in my school.”

“I have no idea. But that was when it started.”

“Do you think …”

I cut her off. “I think you’ve had your fill of questions. Time to fill you with something else.” I pull her naked body up mine, lifting her until her neck is within reach. I nuzzle her, cupping her breasts as I tighten my hold.

She moans. “That’s not fair. I have more questions.”

“There’ll be more question and answer time later if you’re good. I want my cock filling you now.” I suck my way up to her ear and nibble on her lobe, something I’ve come to learn makes the sexiest tremble run though her. I grin when I feel it seconds later and then spend the next hour not answering any more questions.

The pool, the beach, the dining room table … hell, the bathroom yesterday on the Jolly Rogers. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was leaving no room for her not to think of us when she comes back to Barbados with the show. Today is the guesthouse. It’s where the four remaining contestants will be staying. I’ve already warned Miles that the main house is off limits for anything intimate, feigning respect for our father’s home. The same home I’ve spent four days claiming Kate in as many places as humanly possible.

“It’s beautiful. It’s so cozy in here. Not that the main house isn’t magnificent, but this house …” She looks around. “It just feels homey for some reason.”

I smile, remembering Dad telling me the story of the first time he brought my mother here. He’d bought the place as a surprise and had it completely gutted and remodeled, putting only the best of everything into the main house. When he told her to pick which room she wanted to furnish as the master bedroom, she picked the yellow room in the guesthouse, instead of one of the grand rooms he’d spent a small fortune having redone in the main house.