Then he dropped to his knees. I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of him. His light-brown hair just a little wild, and his dark-blue eyes alight with fire. He reached up, his fingers tucking into the band of my sweats and boy shorts. Slowly, he began tugging them down.
His leisurely pace was the sort of thing that could make you combust. Cope’s knuckles grazed my hips and ran down my thighs, but his gaze never left mine. Finally, my sweats dropped to the floor, and Cope gripped one leg gently. “Lift,” he ordered.
What was it about those rough commands? My body instantly obeyed, my right foot lifting.
Cope slid the fabric off my leg. “Again,” he ordered.
My left foot was up before he could finish the word.
Cope tossed my sweats and underwear to the side and then leaned back on his heels. He took me in like he was studying some work of art in a museum. Something about the look in his eyes made me feel powerful beyond measure.
“Could stare at you forever,” he whispered, but there was a roughness to Cope’s barely audible tone. Much like the man himself.
My heart hammered against my ribs as it tried to break free. I did everything I could to keep it in place.
“You in this with me?” Cope asked. “Wherever the road takes us?”
“Cope,” I croaked.
“Still not there. Let’s see if I can change that.” He pushed to his knees, his hand skimming from my calf to my thigh. “Like golden silk.”
I shuddered from his words and his touch, determined not to break. It was then that I realized I’d been determined not to let him in fully. I’d let him into the friendship, and I’d let him into my body, but I hadn’t let myself hope for more. Because it was thatmorethat would leave me in shambles when he left.
Cope’s knuckles grazed the apex of my thighs. “Heaven. Been dreaming of your taste since that night at the bar.”
My face flamed, and my skin heated at the memory. The feeling of Cope moving inside me, of how reckless we’d been. Because Cope made me want to take chances. To trulyliveagain.
Cope’s fingers parted me, and I gasped at the feel of him. He wasn’t even inside me, and I was ready to beg for mercy. My hands pulled harder against the chains. The rattling sound was just more proof of how weak I was for Cope.
“Are you with me?” Cope asked, his voice low and coated in grit.
“Cope,” I begged.
His thumb circled my clit. “Come on, Warrior. Shatter with me. Let go.”
But I knew it was so much more than letting go with my body. Cope had said he wanted everything.
Two fingers slid inside me as Cope kept circling that bundle ofnerves with his thumb. I couldn’t hold back the moan that left my lips as I arched into the intrusion.
“Fuck, Warrior. Want to drown in those moans. Want to hear nothing else for the rest of my days.”
And I wanted to give that to him. Even if I knew it was beyond reckless. I wanted us to drown in those moans together. To lose myself in Cope and never come up for air.
He added a third finger and made an arc as he dragged them down my inner walls. I couldn’t hold in my cry and thanked the building gods that the basement was soundproof.
“Not yet, Warrior. Not until you give me everything.”
My inner walls trembled as I battled with myself.
Cope leaned in, his tongue replacing his thumb on my clit. He teased the hood, coaxing that bundle of nerves free. My knees nearly gave out.
“Cope, please,” I begged.
He pulled back a fraction and looked up at me. “All I’m asking is that we try. No half measures. All in. It may not work, but if we’re going to play with fire, let’s not settle for matches. We deserve fireworks and infernos.”
I stared down at him, realizing just how safe I’d played it since Roman. Just how careful I’d been. Some of it had been necessary. But other pieces? They’d been selfish self-protection. Me living a life in fear. How was it fair for me to ask Cope to give me everything when I was still holding so much back?
“Okay,” I whispered. The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it. But once it was free, I found I didn’t want to snatch it back.
