Binding Love Read online

  Amazing didn’t even cover the way last night with Liam and Mallory made him feel. He felt as if he were a superhero. Forget dodging bullets and leaping tall buildings. Last night was far better than any of that.

  Cooper smiled as he pulled his shirt over his head. That was also something he’d done more of in the last few hours than he probably had in the last several months. Smile. It sounded like such a simple thing, but he’d found out the hard way that wasn’t always the case.

  Glancing at his watch, Cooper swore and lunged for his shoes. He was going to be late if he didn’t get his ass in gear. Before leaving the hotel early that morning, they had made plans to meet at Raising Cain for lunch. The thought made him very nervous. It was Sunday, so there was a very good chance the rest of the family would be there. Cooper wasn’t sure if he was ready for that or not. Either way it was happening. The least he could do was make sure he arrived on time so Casey didn’t have the opportunity to start interrogating the new people.

  His sister could be a tenacious pest when the mood struck, and although Jared had calmed her down some, no one could change who she was. For that, Cooper was grateful, even if he did want to strangle her half the time.

  Hurrying, Cooper picked up his keys and headed out the door. The drive was brief, and before he knew it, he was pulling into one of the free parking spaces in front of the bar. The rental car Liam and Mallory drove was parked a few spaces down. They’d already arrived.

  It took a minute or so after walking through the front door for his eyes to adjust to the dimly lit interior of Raising Cain. It was the typical country bar, but to Cooper it felt like a second home.

  The scarred surface of the bar ran the full length of one wall with stools lined up in front of it. Behind it were a huge mirror and an assortment of refrigerators where beer was kept ice-cold. Several different types were kept on tap and those were placed in the center with a small stainless steel sink off to the right. The rest of the room was lined with booths and filled centrally with freestanding tables and chairs.

  A short hallway led to the kitchen, bathrooms and his office-cum-storeroom. A couple of pool tables dominated the very back of the room. It was a cozy place where many of the locals frequented. Cash had done a great job of running the place, something Cooper didn’t hesitate to say aloud. He wasn’t as good with people, and so preferred to keep his work in the office, working on the books.

  “Oh! Here he is.” The place was fairly quiet, not too many people. Even so, it was no surprise to him that Casey’s voice could be heard over the top of the others.

  “Hey, brat.” He squeezed and lifted her when she came to him for a hug.

  As usual, Jared offered his hand to shake. The man never had much to say, but like Cooper’s brothers, he was rock solid and trustworthy. Cooper felt he made a very good addition to the family.

  Cash, Connor and Carson were also there. All three of them greeted him in one way or another. Each had a questioning look to their faces, as if trying to figure out who the hell Mallory and Liam were, and even more importantly, why they were there. After all, it wasn’t like Cooper to have company.

  “We met your friends.” This was from Cash’s wife Noelle. She was a firecracker. She pretty much had to be to tame the likes of his oldest brother. Just the thought of her doing so had his lips twitching.

  “Yeah. Mallory said she went to business school with you.” Tara, Connor and Carson’s girlfriend, piped in, her gaze full of mirth as if she already knew there was something between the three of them.

  He looked around the table, not knowing whether to smile or puke. All the people he loved were here in one place. It was a great thing, except he had no clue how he was supposed to act or what to say.

  “Morning.” He finally spoke to Liam and Mallory, leaning in to kiss her cheek before taking the empty seat on her other side.

  “Morning,” they answered in unison.

  Casey and Jared sat directly across from them. His sister was so excited she was sitting on the edge of her seat, leaning forward with her elbows firmly planted on the table.

  “It’s so nice to finally meet you.” Casey grinned widely at Mallory.

  His sister’s innocent little smile might trick Mallory, but Cooper knew she was fishing. Mallory didn’t have time to reply before Casey continued. “I didn’t know you were bringing your brother. I think it’s great to have someone to travel with.”

  At Casey’s comment, Liam choked on the sip of water he’d been taking. Cooper closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Casey was opening her mouth to say something else, and he had absolutely no clue what to do.

  “Mind your own business, sweetheart.” For the first time since he’d sat down, Jared spoke.

  Casey turned her smiling face to him. “I’m just curious about Cooper’s friends is all. He’s never really brought anyone around.”

  “No more, girl.”

  Watching their byplay seemed to interest everyone at the table. A person just never knew exactly what was going to happen where they were concerned. “But, I was just—”

  Tara and Noelle giggled when Jared buried a hand in Casey’s hair and turned her mouth to him for a kiss that was thorough even if fast.

  “Yes Sir,” Casey murmured, a faraway look in her eyes. Her smile had disappeared, but she was no longer commenting on his friends, so Cooper considered the impromptu kiss a success.

  It struck him in that moment there were similarities between some of the things he’d witnessed between his sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law and the few interactions he’d seen take place with Liam and Mallory. He looked to her first and then over to Liam, who was still staring across the table.

  Mallory broke the silence. “Oh, he’s not my brother. We live together.”

  Great, Cooper thought to himself. He could already hear the barrage of questions his brothers would be asking as soon as the pair left town. The only thing he could hope was Jared kept Casey busy at home. He didn’t even want to try to deal with the little troublemaker. His brothers would stop once they were assured he was happy with the situation, whatever that might be. Casey, on the other hand, would poke and prod until she had wrung every possible piece of information from him.

  “Everyone ready to order?”

  Saved by the bell, or the waitress as the case was. He’d be sure and tip her well for her timely interruption. Questions of a personal nature were forgotten as they ordered and food was served. They talked about business, horses, the economy and even the weather, but somehow the three of them managed to get through lunch and leave without any more prying questions from his family.

  Mallory liked Cooper’s family. All of them. They were so different from her staid, prudish parents who thought everyone was beneath them. It was fabulous how his twin brothers were involved with the same woman and didn’t care what others thought of the relationship. She hoped it might help if they decided to have the same sort of setup.

  Casey and Jared had piqued her interest the second they’d come into the room when she had stood on her tiptoes to whisper something in his ear. He’d nodded, she’d blushed and mumbled “Yes Sir” then hugged her family quickly with promises of more before excusing herself to the restroom. Mallory had felt an immediate affinity with Casey and hoped they had the chance to talk another time.

  Cash, on the other hand, was more rough around the edges than anyone she’d ever met. It was obvious he loved his wife and siblings. It was also apparent that due to such feelings, he would insist on talking to Cooper at a later time. He was the type who considered himself the head of the clan, even if said clan was all grown up and living on their own. Mallory wondered briefly how Noelle had ended up with such a rough-and-tumble man and hoped like hell one day she would get to hear the story. She and Liam discussed the afternoon as they followed Cooper to his place.

  Once there, all she said to Cooper was, “I really enjoyed meeting your family.”

  He chuckled, and if she was not mistake
n, actually blushed. “They’re great but nosy. Casey could get a mute to talk if she had long enough to work him.”

  Liam’s laughter joined theirs as he positioned himself on the couch in Cooper’s living room and motioned Mallory to the spot between his feet. She settled in without protest. All the while Cooper watched from where he’d sat in a chair directly across from them. She could nearly smell the smoke, he was thinking so hard.

  “Go ahead and ask or say whatever it is you’re thinking,” Liam offered.

  Cooper seemed on edge, as if he thought they might be uncomfortable talking about their relationship, which was preposterous. It was one of Mallory’s favorite subjects.

  “I’m assuming you’ve noticed a little difference in your sister’s relationship with Jared?” Liam prompted.

  “Well yeah, I’ve just never really felt it was my place to ask questions about it. As long as he takes care of her and keeps her happy, I don’t care what they do.”

  “Without knowing them very well, I would say ours is similar even if maybe a bit more laid-back.” Mallory spoke this time, hoping to alleviate any worries he might have and still get his questions answered. “Think of it like a 1950s household. He’s the boss.” This time she motioned with her thumb over her shoulder.

  “And that’s okay with you?”

  She found it very endearing that he would ask. “It’s very okay with me, even if I don’t always seem grateful for the effort he puts into being bossy.”

  Mallory smiled and laughed when Liam swatted her shoulder. She might be submissive when it came to her relationship with the man, but she loved joking with him even if the joke was partially true. He was a perfect match for her in so many ways. They always seemed to complement one another. It was hard to understand how she’d been lucky enough to find two such partners but felt very blessed due to it once again being a possibility.

  “How about you, Cooper? How are you with it?” Liam’s voice had changed from light to tense. The question had been meant seriously.

  Cooper seemed a little uncomfortable. “If it makes you happy, it shouldn’t matter what I think.”

  “True. I might be getting ahead of myself here, but last night you had no problem with following my orders.”

  Cooper wasn’t sure where Liam was going with his line of questioning but decided answering honestly was the best thing to do—for all of them. “I enjoy not being in the driver’s seat, but only when it comes to sex, and only with men.”

  He watched and waited, trying to gauge their reactions. Mallory broke the silence. “Nothing wrong with that. It’s actually what we did when we first started.”

  Cooper wasn’t sure the news was good or not. He actually wasn’t sure of much of anything beyond the fact he still cared deeply for both of the people now occupying his living room.

  “What if that’s all I can give?” He hated speaking the words out loud, but it was something he needed to ask.

  “It’s not a problem, Cooper. Really. It was just something I was curious about. Domination and submission doesn’t have to be a part of our relationship at all unless you want it to.” Liam rubbed a hand over Mallory’s sleek black hair. “I’m already fulfilled in that area, so I’m perfectly fine just seeing how things work out for us.”

  That was a relief in some sense. Cooper wasn’t sure exactly what the hell was going on. A couple of days ago he didn’t want to talk to either of them much less have a relationship. Now, however, he was more than ready and willing to see what happened. It was confusing. He didn’t know whether they were going to start doing the typical dating thing or if they were just going to hang out every now and then. His head hurt even trying to think about it all.

  Mallory cut into his thoughts. “We were talking last night, and we’d like it if you came to see us next weekend. Or,” she added, “we could meet somewhere halfway.”

  It was more than he had hoped for and would alleviate some of the stress of having them in Chaos. He still didn’t have any idea of how to explain them to his family.

  “I don’t see a problem with it.” He was really trying to sound nonchalant even though jumping up and down, pumping his arm in the air and making obnoxious noises was what he wanted to do.

  “Oh good.” Mallory moved from where she was sitting between Liam’s legs to a kneeling position facing him. “We have to leave pretty soon. Would you come over here and kiss me before we have to go?”

  There was such longing in her voice Cooper wasn’t sure he’d have been able to deny her even if he’d wanted to. He stood up and without a word crossed the small distance to her. Once in front of her, he sank to his knees and took her mouth in a searing kiss.

  Her cheek felt soft when he cradled it in the palm of his hand. She was warm and so fucking alive as she moved her body against him Cooper couldn’t imagine how he’d handled living without her.

  She tasted of coffee and spice. Even when he deepened the kiss, taking what he wanted, teasing her with flicks of his tongue and nips of his teeth, it was still sweet. Cooper lifted his other hand. When he was cradling her face with both, he pulled back from her lips. “I’ve missed you so damn much.”

  The words felt as if they’d been torn from him, but they alleviated some of the hurt he’d harbored for so long. Her chocolate brown eyes widened as if surprised. She didn’t say a word in reply. Instead she leaned in to kiss his forehead. Cooper dropped his hands, allowing her the movement. Then so light he nearly didn’t feel her at all, she kissed each eyelid. By the time she made it down his nose to his chin, Cooper wanted to curl up with her in his arms and fall asleep.

  “I’ve missed you too.” She sounded sad. “I really am sorry how things turned out. I never in a million years meant to hurt you.”

  He knew she meant what she said. He had regrets himself. “I know, Mal. I know.”

  This time his kiss was languid and deep. He plundered her mouth with a thoroughness that left them both breathless. She was so close to him by the time he released her lips it seemed as if she were trying to climb inside. He liked knowing she was in need of his touch as much as he was of hers.

  Something was missing though. Cooper knew what it was, who it was, but had no clue how to go about including Liam into what they had going on. Mallory, on the other hand, had no issues doing so. She moved onto the couch next to Liam, who smiled his pleasure at her.

  Cooper waited, feeling awkward by still being on the floor. Liam didn’t allow him enough time to get to his feet before he reached out and, with a hand at the back of his neck, tugged Cooper in close.

  “I like watching the two of you together,” the other man said. “Almost as much as I like her watching us.”

  Liam’s lips were rough when they captured Cooper’s. There was nothing delicate about the way their mouths meshed. Everything in him caught fire when Liam’s fingers tightened nearly to the point of pain on the back of his neck.

  His cock surged to life, throbbing for attention, and yet their kiss was more than enough at the moment. It made no sense to Cooper that he could be so turned-on and at the same time feel as if kissing Liam, and Mallory’s closeness, was everything he needed.

  “Look at our girl over there, Coop. She has her hand down her pants, rubbing her pussy.” Liam whispered the words against his ear, biting the lobe, holding him in place until Cooper thought he might fight and claw to be able to turn his head and picture what Liam was.

  He groaned deep in his throat when Liam released his now tender earlobe only to bury his face in Cooper’s neck so he still couldn’t see what Mallory was doing. “If I know Mallory, she’s enjoying every minute of watching us kiss but wishing we’d do more. She’s a voyeuristic little slut.” His laughter was deep and rich, spilling over every inch of Cooper body, upping his state of arousal until Cooper felt frenzied.

  “I bet she’s thinking about watching us fuck, wondering if it’ll be my cock in your ass again or if she might get to help guide your cock into me.”

  Fuck
! If Liam didn’t stop painting such an erotic picture with his words, Cooper was going to come right there in his pants. Liam bit the side of his neck at the same time he lowered a hand to rub along the rigid length of Cooper’s denim-covered cock. It was a good thing he was already on the floor because had he not been, there was a good chance his knees would have buckled and taken them both down.

  Cooper bucked against Liam, useless to do anything but experience the sensations. Between the teeth sunk deep into his flesh, the pressure on his groin and the fingers grasping the back of his neck, there was nowhere to go.

  “I need to see her.” He didn’t recognize his own voice. Never before had he felt the way he did in that moment. He was so hot, so hard, the world could have come to a thundering stop around him and Cooper wouldn’t have even noticed.

  “You want to see how she’s pinching a nipple until it aches? Is that it, Cooper? Or do you want to try to imagine how far her fingers are buried in her pussy when all you can see is her hand tucked into the open fly of her jeans?”

  “Yesss!” he hissed, about at the end of what he could handle.

  “Which one?”

  Which one? Which one! Liam had to be insane if he thought Cooper was going to choose. “Both, damn it!”

  Liam squeezed his cock harder. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?” The sarcastic son of a bitch! When the other man moved, Cooper thought he’d lose his mind. She was exactly as Liam had said.

  She moved, intent on the task of getting herself off, but he couldn’t see her pussy or imagine how many fingers she had buried in the tight, wet confines. One breast was free of her bra, the nipple red as if she’d been pinching and pulling it. Her body was fucking amazing, but it wasn’t what garnered his attention most. The sounds she made were driving him crazy.

  Cooper drove his cock against Liam’s palm. She was getting close, he could tell by the look on her face and the way she rocked her hips. When Mallory reached the pinnacle, her eyes fluttered closed. Her mouth opened on a gasp before a long moan of sheer, unadulterated pleasure reached their ears.