Page 81 of Broken Heart

“I do. And I’m opening today, so I can’t be late. But are you suggesting I won’t be able to get you worked up and taken care of before I have to leave? Am I that unappealing?”

I laughed. “Not at all. I get hard just thinking about you sometimes. If you’re here with me, using your hands on me, there’s not a chance you won’t be able to accomplish what you’re attempting. The problem is, I’m not the kind of guy who can receive without giving, so we’re both going to have to make good use of our hands this morning.”

Skye kissed my chest, her hand moving lower until she curled her fingers around my cock. Then she said, “It sounds like you’ve got our morning all planned out.”

Without hesitating, she stroked me as my hand drifted down between her legs. And as it seemed was easy for both of us to do, we managed to give each other something that would make going to work and getting through the day a little more bearable.

Afterward, we’d gotten ourselves up and had some breakfast together. Since I needed to run home before I went to work, I couldn’t stay around as long as I would have liked. But I didn’t hesitate to solidify more time with Skye.

She was standing with me at her front door, her arms around me. “I hope you have a good day today.”

“I will. And I want you to do the same. Would it help you to have a good day if you knew I intended to come back tonight and bring dinner with me?”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

Nodding, I confirmed, “Yeah, really. I intend to come and spend every night I can with you, because not only do I love spending time with you, but I don’t want you to ever feel like you’re alone.”

Skye bit her lip, her features softening. “You’re a dream come true, Cooper.”

“The feeling is mutual, sweetheart.”

“I love your plan. I love the idea. But instead of you bringing dinner, can I cook for you?”

I hadn’t wanted Skye to have to do any extra work, but if she genuinely wanted to cook, I wasn’t going to stop her. “If that’s what you want to do, I’d love nothing more.”

She was practically bouncing on her toes. “It’s exactly what I want.”

I tightened my arms around her. “This is not going to be good for me. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to deny you anything.”

Skye giggled. “Would it help if I promised not to take advantage of that?”

I grinned back at her and kissed her. Then we said goodbye, and I drove home to get myself ready for work.

And unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before my workload took over and diminished my good mood slightly.

But I wasn’t worried. With the prospect of seeing Skye later, it was difficult to get too upset about anything.

24

SKYE

“Well, it looks like we picked a great one this month.”

My eyes slid through the circle of women sitting around me. They were all smiling and giving me a round of nods. One woman, Cindy, proudly announced, “It really was a wonderful story. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished reading it a week ago.”

I mirrored the smiles and returned, “I don’t think you’re the only one who feels that way.”

“For as long as I’ve been a part of this group, this is the first time this has ever happened,” another woman, Brenda, chimed in. “I’m nervous it’ll never happen again, which would be so disappointing. This was the best book club meeting we’ve ever had.”

Murmurs and nods of agreement came from each of the ladies who was in attendance. Nobody could dispute that this had been our best book club meeting, not even me. I’d hosted them from the start, so I could safely say Brenda wasn’t wrong.

For the first time since I’d started the club, every member enjoyed the book we’d chosen for the past month’s read. That never happened. Generally, there would be a mix of readers who loved or liked it, which often made up the majority. We’d then have a handful who would just think it was okay. And nearly every book club pick had resulted in at least one—sometimes more—reader who hated the story.

Never, not once, had there been a book that every member of the club thoroughly enjoyed. But now that it had happened, it seemed we were all hoping it would happen next month.

“I can’t say I don’t understand, Brenda. Today’s discussion was so much fun. I love that everyone had the opportunity to be excited about the book. Days like today are precisely the reason I started this. There’s nothing better than a group of readers coming together to share their love of books with one another. And while what happened today was rare, I’m holding out hope we can do it again next month,” I declared.

“So, what’s next month’s book?” Teresa asked.