Lost Chances (6 page)

"Thanks again." Cooper waited until Ryan was gone before removing his clothes, except for his underwear. The bed called to him and he was just too damn e
xhausted to resist. His feet nearly hung off the end, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that he could still smell Sophia in the bed. Damn asshole probably knew that.

Sophia's honeysuckle scent lingered on the pillow case. Just that and the thought of her caused his dick to harden. He wasn't going to give in.—not in Ryan's house, and it just felt disrespectful to her.

He had some shitty issues, that was for sure. It wasn't long before he drifted off and the dreams of her that came just added to his problems.

Chapter Six

Pitch black, Sophia managed to get the key in the hole and walked in.
Thanks bunches for making my life so simple.

Not that Ryan knew she was coming over. After ditc
hing them all, she figured it best just to stay the night in his spare room. It wouldn't be the first time she showed up unannounced just to get away from the others.

She grabbed a water from his fridge and then walked down to the spare room. It was dark, but she didn't waste time trying the light, since it was always burned out. He never changed it and she always just used the bedside lamp. She removed her bra by unsnapping and pulling it through her shirt sleeves, then removed her boots and pants. T-shirt and panties was the most comfortable get up to sleep in.

Sleeping in the buff just wasn't for her. It seemed risky. Not that Ryan was going to take advantage of her, but if the house caught on fire, she didn't want to be caught completely naked. All the firefighters knew her, along with everyone else in town.

"OW!" She kept her voice as low as she could after stubbing her toe on whatever he'd left in the middle of the floor. After bending over and running her hands over the object, she realized it was his guitar. Maybe she should've turned the lamp on sooner, but it didn't matter since it stood beside the bed she was about to get into.

She lifted the cover and crawled in. Well, as best as she could with a huge body already taking up the whole bed. On a scream, she jumped back out just as quick. If not for falling backwards on her ass over the damn guitar, she'd have been out of the room already.

"Shit!" A male voice cursed, then the lamp flicked on and she covered her eyes from the attack of the bright ass light. He shot up and stood above her.

If things weren't bad enough, they just got a lot worse. "Cooper?"

He didn't speak but kept his eyes glued on her chest.

"Oh crap! Don't look!" Her yelling must've snapped him out of his daze, because he slapped his hands over his face as she stood to pull her clothes back on. It was pointless to try and put the bra back on so she just threw it out of sight. "What are you doing here?"

Why had she not been warned by Ryan? If she found out he did it on purpose, then he was most definitely a dead man.

He pulled one hand away slowly and then the other once he saw her clothes were back on. It wasn't hard to see his disappointment. "What am I doing here? What the hell are
you
doing? Ryan invited me to stay here tonight, instead of going to the hotel. He said you stayed sometimes, but he didn't mention you just showing up to sleep over. Surely he wouldn't have let me stay if he knew you were coming."

It wasn't like she could blame either one. Next time she'd just text him to make sure it was okay for her to stay. "He didn't know I was coming. I have a key and he's okay with me staying some nights. I never thought you'd be here."

She didn't mean for the 'you' to come out as hateful as it did, but he got out of the bed and scanned her up and down. Being that close to him felt damn near impossible, with him in only his boxer briefs. She'd only gotten a glimpse of them when he hurried to her. Too much to handle. Fire spread fast through her body.

The warmth from his naked flesh made its way past her thin shirt and her nipples tightened against his chest. She ignored it and just attempted to breathe normally and not peek down between them. He pulled her closer. As tight as he held her, she couldn't do much more than lift her hands to his waist.

"I'm so sorry for everything, Sophia. I know you don't want to hear it and I sure as hell don't deserve your forgiveness. Please just understand how much I care about you." His voice broke at the end.

She moved her hands slowly around him until they rested at the bottom of his spine and too close to his butt.

"I'm really going to have to apologize if you move your hands anymore."

"What?" As soon as she asked, she wanted to slap he
rself. "Never mind."

He laughed and his whole chest bounced against hers. It didn’t take long before he quit and jerked away from her with his gaze glued to her chest. "Damn it, Sophia! You don't have a bra on?"

There was no way she’d answer that question. "I need to go."

She ran out the door and stopped in the kitchen, so glad that waking Ryan was almost as bad as waking the dead. At least she didn't have to listen to him laugh at her.

"Sophia? I'll sleep on the couch and you can have the bed. You don't need to go home this late."

She expected him to touch her, but he didn't. Warmth against her back told her he wasn't far behind her. She couldn't look at him. "I'll be okay to drive home. It's not that late and I didn't get to tell my brothers where I was anyways. I don't think I could sleep right now."

"I don't want you to leave."

The words forced her to close her eyes and then open them up as she turned to glimpse up at his face. She wasn't sure if he didn't want her driving late, or if he really didn't want her to leave. "I don't get you, Cooper."

"I'm a complicated man." That smile popped up and she couldn't stop her own.

"I'll stay, but you keep the bed. I'm too wound up to go to sleep now; I'll watch some TV until I can." She walked over to the couch, sat down, and grabbed the remote. Before the television flicked on, Cooper was sitting beside her. She just watched him.

"I don't think I can sleep yet either and I don't remember seeing a TV in the spare room." She didn't believe his innocent look one bit.

Fine. Two can play that game. She flipped the channels and grinned when she found the sappiest movie on. Then she pulled both bare feet up on the couch, only a mere inch away from his thigh. She swallowed when she realized that not only was he still shirtless, but he only wore his boxer-briefs. Short, dark hairs dusted his heavily muscled legs. Even relaxed, she could see the definition.

She shook her head and went back to teasing him instead of the other way around. Not that he seemed to even notice what he was doing to her. She squeezed her thighs together and focused back on her task. It wasn't hard when she still didn't have a bra on. She stretched her arms high above her head, jutting her breast out to give him a nice long view.

A curse spat from his lips and he grabbed one of the sofa pillows to cover his lap.

Sophia turned her attention back to the movie on the screen. Teasing him seemed fun at first, until she thought about Seth. It shouldn't have turned her on so much that Cooper was attracted to her. She decided to quit the game she started. Seth sure as hell wouldn't find it hilarious that Cooper had already seen more of her than him.

Damn Cooper for coming back home.

****

Damn him for choosing to stay at Ryan's. He sure di
dn't mind getting the eyeful he did of Sophia, but that was something he could never forget. If he thought he wouldn't get over her before, it became even harder with the image of her perfect little nipples poking through her shirt.

His dick strained against the soft cotton of his unde
rwear and he regretted not pulling his pants back on. The pillow hid him well, but he saw her smirk when he pulled it over his lap. She knew what she did and that confused him. No matter if he wanted to see where their relationship could go, he wouldn't do anything until she was single. He'd messed up by kissing her already and he couldn't do it again.

He was royally screwed if her relationship turned up to be serious. There might not even be a chance in hell of getting another shot at being with her. He'd lost that chance the first time he left.

He watched her eyelids close slowly before popping back open. He wasn't about to let her sleep on the uncomfortable couch. It wasn't even good enough to sit on. Ryan needed better taste than that. "I really want you to take the bed. Sleeping on the couch isn't a problem."

It took her a moment before she nodded, too tired to deny him. "Thank you. Goodnight."

He followed to grab his bag and guitar. The puzzled look on her face tugged at his heartstrings.

One brow lifted and her lips pursed. "That's not Ryan's?"

"No. This is my baby." He walked out before she could question him anymore. It was a hell of a long story and he felt way too exhausted to explain what his life was like now.

Chapter Seven

Sophia opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling in Ryan's spare room. It wasn't a dream, or a nightmare. And he really looked irresistible in his boxers. Sebastian Cooper. Damn him. She felt like she'd been cursing him since he showed up at her door the day before.

Had it really only been a day? One day just didn't seem enough for the feelings he'd already revived inside of her. And the doubts he caused about her relationship with Seth.

She rolled out of the bed and dressed, but not too quickly. Facing him again already had her face warming and her palms sweating. Once she finger-combed her hair and felt somewhat presentable, she stepped out into the hall and wasn't really surprised to see Ryan coming out of his room with a big smile on his face and that mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Well, good morning!" He had already showered and dressed in his tight, faded designer jeans and dark green button up shirt, ironed to perfection. If only she could manage that with her clothes.

"Did you plan that?" There was no need to ask, but he better have a good explanation.

"First, I need to know what happened and if som
eone else is about to walk out of that room." He leaned to the side to peer around her as if waiting to see.

"It was just me in there. I would've appreciated a heads up last night." She walked past him to the kitchen where a fresh pot of coffee sat ready.

"Don't leave me hanging. What happened?"

"Ha! I don't think you deserve the juicy details."

"Juicy? Maybe more happened than I thought. Fantastic." He kissed her cheek and grabbed two mugs from the cabinet.

"You suck." He knew nothing had happened, but also that she wouldn't keep the truth if he acted as if something more really did happen. "I came in, undressed to just my t-shirt and panties."

"You didn't take your bra off too, did you?"

She could feel her face turn the color of the apples on his countertop.

His burst of laughter just made her smile. It was kind of funny now that it was over with.

"I climbed in the bed and felt someone there. I know you're a deep sleeper, but I can't believe you didn't hear me scream and fall onto the floor." Her butt still hurt from the hardwood flooring.

"I really wish I had."

"Funny. Anyways, he flipped the light on and got an eyeful, before covering his face." She didn't plan on telling him anything else. Not about how she teased him afte
rwards.

"And did you get an eyeful of him?" His brows wi
ggled.

"Oh yea. Only a pair of boxer-briefs."

"I really wished I'd have walked in on that. From the looks of him with clothes, the man has to be rippling with muscles."

He had no idea. "I've never seen anyone that d
efined or so dang perfect in my life."

That made him smile. "Not even Seth."

A change of subject was always best if you didn't want to answer. "So, you have work today?"

"I got called out of town next week, so I'm going to relax until then. They want me to head out to Georgia, Tennessee, and then Florida." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, like that is so awful. I know exactly what you'll be doing this weekend in whatever state you're in, so don't try to play like you won't at least have a little fun." He always liked to travel for the company. It gave him time to be himself with people who didn't know him or his father. Which was crappy that he had to leave the state just to meet someone of the same sex, without being sneered at. "I know you don't really care to be cooped up here doing your work either."

"Nope. I guess I can make the best of the trip." He smiled and finished off his coffee. "You don't have to go in today, so what are you going to do?"

"I've got some errands to run, and maybe a little shopping. It's Seth's birthday in a couple days and I've got some big plans for us." She avoided looking at him. It didn't matter, because she could feel his gaze burning into her.