The Rebel (The Millionaire Malones Book 3) by Victoria Purman Page A
Authors: Victoria Purman
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would settle her jangling nerves. ‘You’ve got to get out of bed,’ Maggie gestured. ‘Evan’s coming back.’
Cooper didn’t move. ‘Even if I could move, I’m not going anywhere for a few minutes.’
‘You think this is a joke?’
He let out a frustrated sigh. ‘That biology thing I was talking about? It ain’t going anywhere with you standing there dressed like that.’
‘Mommy?’ Evan banged on her door. ‘I’ve got the dinosaur book.’
‘Coming, sweetie,’ Maggie answered, but it was a long moment before Maggiemoved. Her breath was fast and tight in her chest and the way Cooper was looking at her right now, it was the least friendly thing they’d ever shared.
She closed the door behind her with a loud bang.
*
Holy shit.
Cooper flopped back down on Maggie’s soft and girly pillows and covered his eyes with a forearm, trying not only to blockout the light but to erase the image of her standing there all-but naked. He’d seen her in a bikini a million times and that had been hard enough to bear, but this was different. He’d never been naked with a hard-on that could crack rocks when she was across the room barely dressed. Sleepy-eyed. Hair messy. Drowsy looking. And if he thought that seeing his friend dressed like that and looking likethat would see his erection deflating like a pricked balloon, he’d clearly been wrong.
You can’t think this way.
He blinked his eyes closed, trying to erase the memory of how it had felt to have her tight up against him. It was an exquisite pressure that had made him harder and it had felt so good that for a minute there he’d forgotten who she was. Grabbing her and pulling her that close hadbeen a purely defensive move, seeing her son was about to leap onto the bed in a single bound like a little Superman. He had no choice. And he’d liked it. Or at least his dick had, judging by the insistent throb he was still feeling right down into his balls.
He couldn’t feel that way about Maggie Mac. They were friends and he’d liked it that way for a good long time. What they had was uncomplicatedand easy. Sure, she was beautiful. Sure, he’d wanted her from the first time he’d seen her across that crowded Bali bar. But Vance had moved in first and changed everything. Cooper had been determined to be a father to Evan and a friend to Maggie, and he’d done that. It had half killed him to keep that distance, but he’d done it. He’d made a vow when Evan was still safely inside Maggie, andhe wouldn’t break it.
She’d created something real and solid here with Evan, something that he’d never had but had always wanted in his life. But it was impossible. His life was out on the waves and on the road. It was in a million places: planes, cabs and mini-buses and remote beaches and crowds and the media. And sometimes, not enough times, it was out in the water with the breeze on his backand the sun in his eyes. He could be a visitor to their life, but he couldn’t be a part of it. And that realisation hurt.
Despite their history, her softness, the fit of her curves against him, the way her nipples had pebbled when she was guarding the door, that was a place they could never go.
*
Once Maggie had read the dinosaur bookto Evan three times, he settled. She managed to convince him that Cooper needed to rest and that she would decide when Evan could go in and play with Cooper. She made her son some breakfast and then left him in his room, playing happily with his toy dinosaurs, while she took a shower.
Standing under the warm and soothing spray of the water, she finally had time to process what had just happened.It wasn’t as if she was unfamiliar with Cooper’s body. She’d been up close and personal with Cooper Malone. Loads of times. They’d hugged over the years, in the way friends do, quick and tight, with collegiate pats on the back. He may have held her longer on a few occasions, on those days when everything about her single-parent life had
Cooper didn’t move. ‘Even if I could move, I’m not going anywhere for a few minutes.’
‘You think this is a joke?’
He let out a frustrated sigh. ‘That biology thing I was talking about? It ain’t going anywhere with you standing there dressed like that.’
‘Mommy?’ Evan banged on her door. ‘I’ve got the dinosaur book.’
‘Coming, sweetie,’ Maggie answered, but it was a long moment before Maggiemoved. Her breath was fast and tight in her chest and the way Cooper was looking at her right now, it was the least friendly thing they’d ever shared.
She closed the door behind her with a loud bang.
*
Holy shit.
Cooper flopped back down on Maggie’s soft and girly pillows and covered his eyes with a forearm, trying not only to blockout the light but to erase the image of her standing there all-but naked. He’d seen her in a bikini a million times and that had been hard enough to bear, but this was different. He’d never been naked with a hard-on that could crack rocks when she was across the room barely dressed. Sleepy-eyed. Hair messy. Drowsy looking. And if he thought that seeing his friend dressed like that and looking likethat would see his erection deflating like a pricked balloon, he’d clearly been wrong.
You can’t think this way.
He blinked his eyes closed, trying to erase the memory of how it had felt to have her tight up against him. It was an exquisite pressure that had made him harder and it had felt so good that for a minute there he’d forgotten who she was. Grabbing her and pulling her that close hadbeen a purely defensive move, seeing her son was about to leap onto the bed in a single bound like a little Superman. He had no choice. And he’d liked it. Or at least his dick had, judging by the insistent throb he was still feeling right down into his balls.
He couldn’t feel that way about Maggie Mac. They were friends and he’d liked it that way for a good long time. What they had was uncomplicatedand easy. Sure, she was beautiful. Sure, he’d wanted her from the first time he’d seen her across that crowded Bali bar. But Vance had moved in first and changed everything. Cooper had been determined to be a father to Evan and a friend to Maggie, and he’d done that. It had half killed him to keep that distance, but he’d done it. He’d made a vow when Evan was still safely inside Maggie, andhe wouldn’t break it.
She’d created something real and solid here with Evan, something that he’d never had but had always wanted in his life. But it was impossible. His life was out on the waves and on the road. It was in a million places: planes, cabs and mini-buses and remote beaches and crowds and the media. And sometimes, not enough times, it was out in the water with the breeze on his backand the sun in his eyes. He could be a visitor to their life, but he couldn’t be a part of it. And that realisation hurt.
Despite their history, her softness, the fit of her curves against him, the way her nipples had pebbled when she was guarding the door, that was a place they could never go.
*
Once Maggie had read the dinosaur bookto Evan three times, he settled. She managed to convince him that Cooper needed to rest and that she would decide when Evan could go in and play with Cooper. She made her son some breakfast and then left him in his room, playing happily with his toy dinosaurs, while she took a shower.
Standing under the warm and soothing spray of the water, she finally had time to process what had just happened.It wasn’t as if she was unfamiliar with Cooper’s body. She’d been up close and personal with Cooper Malone. Loads of times. They’d hugged over the years, in the way friends do, quick and tight, with collegiate pats on the back. He may have held her longer on a few occasions, on those days when everything about her single-parent life had
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