She liked him. More than she’d expected to, if she were being honest. Yes, he was young, but he was what people sometimes referred to as an old soul. He was wise beyond his years and seemed genuine in his feelings for her. But how could anyone know for sure what another person felt? Was she supposed to stake her own happiness and future on the assurances of a man she’d known for such a short time?
The situation they were in lent itself to urgency. She would finish filming soon and was due to head home to LA. He was here for a short time before he went back to his life in New York. That was why everything felt so immediate and intense.
“Why are you staring at me?”
The low rumble of his voice startled her. “How can you tell I’m staring at you if your eyes are closed?”
“I can feel it.”
“You can’t feel someone looking at you.”
“In this case, I can. It’s like hot pokers burning into my skin.”
Gigi didn’t want to laugh, but how could she not? “You’re so dramatic.”
“Not really.” He pulled her in closer to him so her breasts were pressed to his chest. And where exactly had her T-shirt gone? His hand curved around her breast, his thumb teasing her nipple. “What were you thinking about when you were staring at me?”
“The Grand Canyon.”
“Huh. If you’d asked me to guess, I never would’ve said that.”
“What would you have said?”
“That you were trying to figure out how to get me out of your bed and out of your life without hurting my feelings.”
“That’s not what I was thinking!”
“Liar,” he said on a low chuckle. “It’s okay. You can tell me the truth.”
“I dream about my eighth-grade trip to the Grand Canyon once in a while, usually when I’m about to do something risky.”
“What does the Grand Canyon have to do with risk?”
“I dream I’ve fallen into the canyon. I always wake up right before I hit the bottom.”
“What do you think that means?”
“That I need to prevent the fall in the first place so I don’t have to hit the bottom.”
He kissed her and held her even tighter. “I’d jump in front of you so you could land on me.”
“What if you were the reason I was about to crash?”
“I won’t be.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
“Because I already know I’d put myself between you and anything that could hurt you.”
She sighed deeply. “Cooper, you can’t be saying this stuff.”
“Why?”
“I already told you why. It’s preposterous.”
“What’s preposterous is you thinking there’s no way someone could have real, genuine feelings for you.”
“I don’t think that.”
“Yes, you do.”
She poked him in the gut before she remembered he was injured. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that because of your ribs, but otherwise, you deserved it.”
“My ribs are fine. I’m aching in different places now.”
“I told you I’d return the favor earlier.”
“That’s not where I’m aching, although he’s always interested in you.”
“What hurts now?”
“My heart feels a little achy because there’s this beautiful woman I like so much, but I’m having trouble convincing her to give me a real chance to make her happy.”
“Maybe you should be snuggling up to her rather than me, then. Won’t she be mad that you’re nekkid in a bed with another woman and doing unspeakable things to her?”
He rocked with silent laughter that made her smile. One thing she would say for him was he was fun to be with. “I did unspeakable things to you?”
“You know you did!”
“Was that untouched territory?”
“I’m not telling you.”
Cooper pinched her nipple, tightly enough to get her attention. “Tell me.”
“I don’t want to.”
He pinched a little tighter.
“Cooper! Stop!”
“Tell me.”
“Fine. Yes. It’s untouched. Or it was before you took liberties no one gave you permission to take.”
“You loved it.”
“How do you know that?”
“You nearly broke my finger when you came.”
“Oh my God! I cannot believe you said that!”
“Why not? It’s true.” He held out his hand so they could both see it. “I probably have a bruise. Is there a bruise?”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“No, you’re not. You like me too much to kill me.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.” Her low growl made him laugh again. “You’re funny, Gigi.”
“And you’re a pain in my butt, Cooper.”
“Literally.”
Laughter burst from every part of her. She laughed so hard, she couldn’t breathe, before she remembered she didn’t want to be encouraging him.
And then he was on top of her, gazing down at her with those eyes that seemed to see through to the very heart of her. How’d he do that? “Don’t you see how good this is, Gigi? How good we are together?”
She saw it, and it scared the shit out of her.
“I want you to do something for me.”
“I already let you be mostly nekkid in my bed, among other things.”
“And I appreciate those things, but I want more than that. I want you to give me a real chance to show you I can make you happy if you let me. Can you do that, Gigi?”
Her heart was in her throat, because God, she wanted to. She wanted to take that chance so badly. Licking lips that had gone dry, she looked up at him and found that all signs of humor were gone, and he was dead serious. “I’m afraid we’re getting carried away, that we’re making this into something it isn’t.”
“I’m not doing that. I swear to you. I’ve had flings and girlfriends. A lot of girlfriends, in fact. This is different.”
“How is it different?”
“I’ve never in my life asked anyone to give me a chance to make them happy. I’ve never once tried to picture how my life and hers might come together to make our life. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.” He pressed his hard cock against her core. “And not just in bed. I want to hear all your funny commentary and hold you when you’re sad about your best friend moving on to something that doesn’t include you. I want to hear about your clients, and I want to be your plus-one at everything. It’s different, Gigi.”
She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. “I don’t want this.”
“I know. You’ve said as much.”
“But…”
“What?”
“You… You’re…”
Cooper tilted his head, seeming to hold his breath, waiting to hear what she had to say.
If she said what she wanted to say to him, the words couldn’t be taken back. She licked her lips again. “It’s different for me, too. With you…”