“Yes, we are.” His glare moved from my eyes to my chest and back to my face all in one breath. “They are too happy to be around us right now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m trying to get over Tina, and you have this sad look in your eyes when you stare at them.”
I flinched at the hard truth to his words. As soon as they took root, my skin flamed with embarrassment. “I love Juliet, and I’m so glad she’s marrying Sam.”
“I believe you. I think she’s great for him too, but it doesn’t discount that it’s not just to two of you anymore.”
“That’s not why I had that look,” I fired back, wanting to defend myself. Luckily, the shots arrived first. I picked up the salt and poured some on my hand. I was about to down it when Cooper stopped me. “What?”
“You need the lime.” He picked up the lime and put the damn thing in his mouth. What the fuck was he playing at?
“Then give it to me.”
He kept the fruit in his mouth so I’d have to nearly kiss him to get it. Humor danced in his eyes. The sick bastard loved taunting me, teasing me, and making me feel stupid, but this plan would backfire.
I wet my bottom lip, and he trailed the movement with his gaze. I took the shot, licked the salt, and stood on my tiptoes to suck the lime right from his mouth. It wasn’t a quick transfer though. He was so tall I had to place my hand on his shoulder to hold myself up, and I made sure to have my mouth touch his when I bit down on the lime. The explosive citrus hit my tongue as our lips grazed together. I gripped his shoulder tighter as my legs shook from the aggressive urge to kiss him without the lime.
The tequila burned all the way down, but it had nothing on the lust amplifying in my gut. His eyes darkened, and he flared his nostrils, twice.
“Mm, that tasted good.” I smacked my lips and felt smug as hell. The buzz from the margaritas earlier gave me a tingly, almost naughty feeling, and I reached over the bar for another slice, finding one in a glass cup. “Guess that means it’s your turn, huh?”
“Yup.” He waited for me to put the lime in my mouth and then he went through the motions, but instead of touching my shoulder, he gripped my waist, hard. He poured the salt, licked it, and took the shot. Cooper’s eyes flashed with heat before he yanked me toward him. Time seemed to slow as he bent down and covered my mouth with his.
His skin was salty and hot from being outside all day, and his calloused fingers rubbed against my stomach as a slight growl escaped his throat…shit. I gulped, took a step back, and refused to look at him. We pretty much kissed, something I had thought about a million times before. I’d never imagined it would be like this though… hot and unexpected. It made me want more, to see how far I could push him. That was off limits.
Sam might deal with the pair of us fighting, but sleeping together? That was an absolute no. It would be too weird for him. We were his closet confidants, and neither Coop nor I would risk our relationship with Sam. I was sure of it.
Plus, Cooper’s endless string of different women didn’t appeal to me in the slightest.
“I want to get in the water,” I said, grabbing my unfinished margarita and leaving Cooper at the bar. The first pool was only a few strides away, so I undid my cover up, set it on an empty chair, and walked in. My body needed to cool off, like right the hell now.
“Running away from me?” Cooper said, joining me not a minute later with a knowing smirk that I hated. “Never thought you’d do that.”
I rolled my eyes and pretended to not stare at his chest. “The water sounded great. I was getting hot in the sun.”
“Right. It had nothing to do with that little stunt you pulled.”
“Stunt? Oh no, don’t you dare Cooper Swanson,” I fired at him. My breathing came out in huffs, and he wasn’t shy at all about dropping his gaze to my chest. “You started it with the lime bullshit, and I followed through.”
“Your chest gets a little red when you’re all hot and bothered.”
“Thank you, I had no idea,” I deadpanned, already counting down the days until the cruise was over. “Also, stop staring at my chest.”
“I wish I could.” His voice was all throaty, and despite the fact there were fifty people in the pool, it felt too personal. Like he was standing too close, teasing me with that dangerous tone.
“What are you insinuating?” I asked, tensing as I waited for his answer. He licked his lips and jutted his chin toward my breasts.
“Your suit isverythin, and it’s not cold outside, so I’m going out on a limb here and guessing it’s your reaction to me.”
“How egotistical of you to assume my pointed nipples are because of you. They aren’t, for the record. Some women have perky boobs, and I can never get mine to go down.”
He tightened his jaw and sucked in a breath. “You are attracted to me though.”
“What’s your goal here? To get me all hot and bothered? To get me riled up? To get me to admit it so you can use it against me?” I moved closer to him. The water went to our waists, and while I hated letting him get the upper hand, his plan was working.
“My goal is to hear you explicitly say you think I’m hot.”
