Page 100 of Wrecked

I transfer my mouth to his jaw, and he groans as I kiss my way down the side of his neck to the spot where I once gave him a hickey. The bruise is long gone, his skin pristine again and begging for my mark.

I turn him to face the door so I can grind my erection between his ass cheeks. “You think I don’t want you?” I hiss in his ear. “Do you feel that, you little prick?” I shove myself against him. “That’s me, wanting you. I want you so badly I can barely fucking breathe! I love you, and you left me!” Those last three words are ripped right out of me. “You little shit!”

I press myself against him, hard, a mimic of the thrusting I want to be doing.

Sam groans loudly as he starts to push back against me. He sags against the door. “Cooper,please.”

Pleasewhat?I don’t know what he wants.Please stop? Please fuck me?

He’s breathing hard now, sucking air into his lungs.

When his left leg buckles, I catch him around the waist. “Do you feel this?” I ask as I grind my cock against his ass. “Do you?”

“Yes!”

“Does this feel like I don’t want you?”

“No!” His one-word answer comes out like a raw scream.

I grab the back of his neck and march him toward the bedroom. The apartment is dark, and he stumbles. I use my other hand to steady him.

When we reach our destination, I push him face down on the mattress. I realize I’m furious with him, still, for leaving me without so much as a fucking word. “You are fuckingmine, do you hear me?”

“Yes!” He’s shaking. “Cooper,please.”

“Please what?” I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. “Tell me what you want, Sam.”

“I can’t do this right now.” He means it.

Immediately, I release him and step back. He sits up at the foot of the bed and stares down at the floor.

“Do you want me to go?” I realize I might have pushed him too hard. He’s pulling away from me. My gut twists into a painful knot.

Finally, he looks up at me. “No!” He sounds panicked now. “I don’t want you to go.”

“You don’t want me, but you don’t want me to leave either? What the hell do you want?”

He surprises me when he reaches for my hand. Then he stands and faces me. “Stay with me tonight. No sex, just sleep with me. I’ve spent the past three months alone in my bed, missing you. Needing you. Stay with me tonight. Please.”

“You’re the one who left.” I can’t help the tinge of resentment in my voice.

“I know, and I’m sorry.” He cups my face and brushes his thumbs along my cheeks. “I love you, Cooper. It killed me to leave, but when you refused to dance with me at Beth’s wedding… it was the last straw.”

He goes on about that day and how what I did made him feel. I can barely follow what he’s saying because there’s a rushing sound in my head. All I can focus on are four little words he said:“I love you, Cooper.” I release a pent-up breath, because if he loves me, there’s a chance we can save this.

“I need you to stand up with me, claim me, claim us,” he says. “I need you to be myboyfriend, not just my fuck-buddy.”

What he’s asking seems so simple on the surface, but for me it’s anything but. It means risking everything. It means dredging up old trauma and trying to make it right.

I start pacing. When I finally stop and face him, I cup his beautiful face in my hands. “All right, I’ll stay.” I tuck some loose strands of hair behind his ear. “You need to eat. Let’s order in, and we’ll watch a movie or see if there’s a game on tonight. How does that sound?”

Instantly, he relaxes and smiles. “That sounds great.”

I let out a breath. Crisis averted, at least for now. But I know time is running out. I have to fix this between us, and that means going home to Sweetwater and facing my past. It means getting justice for Cody. But more importantly, it means facing my fears and embracing a future with Sam.

I pull him into my arms and kiss him gently. “Welcome home, Sam.”

He relaxes against me. “It’s good to be home.”