Once they were gone he gripped the backs of my knees in his hands and wrapped my legs around him so his jeans-covered erection pushed between the folds of my sex, brushing my clit in a way that made me lose my mind. I tried to press harder against his erection, my fingers digging into the muscles of his back.

Cooper groaned against my mouth and I was vaguely aware of the sound of him yanking his zipper down. And then he pulled me to the edge of the sideboard. I immediately put my hands at either side of my hips to brace myself.

I recognized the harsh passion on Cooper’s face and I knew—

I cried out as he slammed inside me.

“You’ve always been mine, Jess,” Cooper said, his voice guttural with desire and emotion. “Remember that.”

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but I wouldn’t stop this for anything. He was right. Always his. And I’d always want him. I arched into his deep strokes, the orgasm building in me, my arousal only increasing at the way he was watching me as he thrust inside me.

His grip on my legs became almost biting as his thrusts came faster. “Come for me, Jess. Come hard on me, beautiful.”

And just like that the tension he’d built in me cracked. I tensed, frozen for a second, and then it all shattered apart. My cries filled the room as I shuddered against him. He continued to pump into me, my inner muscles squeezing around him, until finally he stiffened. Cooper was staring deep into my eyes as he gritted his teeth. “Jess.” His hips jerked against me, and I felt his release inside me.

I was holding on to his forearms as the heat slowly died and the lust gave way to reality.

We stared at each other for what seemed like forever, until finally Cooper pulled out of me and away from me.

I watched, frozen, as he zipped his jeans up and bent to pick up his clothes. Without looking at me he pulled on his T-shirt and shrugged into his jacket.

The tears that had pricked my eyes earlier began to cloud my vision as he strode to the door and yanked it open. But before he moved to leave he stopped, his back still to me, and said, voice hoarse, “One last time will never be enough. For either of us.”

And then he left me.

Sometime around three o’clock I eventually cried myself to sleep.

The next day I had no choice but to make the grocery run I’d been dreading, since I was out of essentials like toilet paper and food. I put a ball cap on to hide my face, hoping to disappear among the tourists after parking on the west end of Main Street. Inside the grocery store I kept my head down as I walked through the aisles, hoping and praying with each step that I wasn’t going to bump into anyone I knew. Like Cooper Lawson.

The cashier, Annie, recognized me because I’d been in the store a lot with Cooper over the past few weeks, and anyone with Cooper seemed to become famous in Hartwell.

“Thought you left.” She had her eyebrows raised at me.

“Soon,” I muttered, hurrying to pay for my stuff.

I was practically fleeing for my car, my heart pounding as I loaded the last shopping bag into my trunk. Hurrying, I pushed the cart back under the awning outside the store and as I turned to head back to my car I smacked straight into Catriona Lawson.

“Cat.” I’m pretty sure I went a pale, ghostly color at the sight of her.

Those blue eyes, just like Cooper’s, narrowed on me. “You had the better idea when you were hiding out at Tremaine’s place.”

“I needed food,” I said dumbly, looking away.

“Oh, my God, look at you,” she snapped, drawing my startled gaze back to her. “You’ve lost weight, you look like shit, and you’re acting like a victim. Lots to be proud of there, Jessica, considering you’re the one that broke my brother’s heart.” She gestured behind her.

Panic had me looking over her shoulder, my gaze zeroing in on Cooper. He was parked a few spots up from me, leaning against his truck, talking to Sadie Thomas. Sadie was leaning into him, laughing up into his face. He wasn’t pushing her away like the last time.

My heart twisted in my chest as though the bitch had shoved her fist in there and squeezed.

Cooper stared down at Sadie, expressionless. He was so handsome. I remembered the anguish in his eyes, the anguish he couldn’t hide behind his desire the previous night. I should have pushed him away, instead of giving in to what we both wanted. I’d only hurt and confused him more.

“What?” Cat brought my gaze back to her. “You don’t want him but you don’t want anyone else to have him?”

“It’s not like that,” I muttered, moving to go around her.

Cat blocked my path. “I started to trust you. That you weren’t going to hurt him. You know, I don’t even think Dana was the one who hurt him last time. That marriage was ending. Nah. It was Jack who hurt my brother.”

I had to agree. I was also confused about where she was going with this.

“But you . . .” She laughed bitterly. “Oh, you’ve shredded him.”

Pull out my heart, why don’t you, and stomp on it.

I didn’t need to hear this!

“It’s for his own good,” I said, my voice stern in the hopes his sister would get out of my face. “Believe me.”

She shook her head, looking so disappointed in me I could add it to the ever-growing list of things to self-flagellate about. “How dare you decide that for him.”

“Cat—”

“No.” She shoved a hand up between us to shut me up. “He told me you’re hiding something, something you’re obviously ashamed of. But you know what you should really be ashamed of? How much of a coward you are right now. And how little you’ve actually gotten to know my brother . . . because if you knew him, you’d have a lot more faith in him than you do.”