Tease by Missy Johnson

She gazed up at me with a satisfied grin. “You are one hell of a fuck.”
    I chuckled as I dressed. “So are you, honey.”
    “Can I see you again next month? I have a pretty hectic few weeks ahead and I think I’m going to need you for the whole night.”
    “Anything for you, Delaney,” I smirked as I buttoned up my shirt. She bit her lip, then shook her head, a big smile on her face. “Something funny?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
    “No, just admiring what I paid for,” she said with a snigger. I walked around her side of the bed. Leaning down, I grabbed her neck, bringing her lips up to meet mine in a rough kiss.
    “Anytime you want to admire me, let me know,” I replied.

Chapter Ten
    “Well, that’s all of it.” Mia brushed her hands together and stood up, pushing the loose curls from her face. “Thanks for this, Coop. I know Nic can get quite pushy when she wants something.”
    “My sister? No!” I said in mock horror as Mia laughed. “Seriously, though, it’s fine. Stay as long as you like. It will be nice having someone around the house,” I said, surprised that a small part of me actually meant it.
    As much as I liked Mia, I loved my privacy more. At least I thought I did. If it were anyone else, there was no question I’d be feeling annoyed at having my space invaded. I was confused as hell by my feelings. This whole thing was a fucking mess.
    Thank Christ she didn’t have kids, because that would have driven me mad. Kids were great when you could give them back. I couldn’t see myself ever having kids—but then again, I couldn’t even see myself in a long-term relationship.
    Part of the reason Kara and I had married so young was that she had found out she was pregnant at eighteen. It wasn’t the only reason we married and if anything, it strengthened our resolve to make it work. Until she delivered a stillborn baby girl in her thirty-third week.
    We dealt with our grief differently, and we began to drift apart. Our goal and values changed, and suddenly we were no longer the same people we’d been before. That was the beginning of the end of our relationship. I’d moved on from Kara, but I hadn’t moved on from the level of hurt that relationship had left me with.
    It took a long time for me to work through not only the grief of losing a child, especially so late in the pregnancy, but I was also grieving the loss of my marriage, my wife, and the guy I thought was my best friend. Max and I had known each other since middle school. I was kind of a loner when I was young, and he was the only person who ever really got me.
    After what happened, I lost faith in people in general. If my own wife and best friend could do that to me, then what hope did I have against the rest of the world? It became easier to just depend on myself and my family .
    Add onto all of that the fact that Mom’s treatment relied on the money I brought in from work, and romantically, I was fucked. Even if I wanted a girlfriend, there was no way in hell it could ever work.

    “Coffee?” I asked Mia.
    She nodded, getting up and wandering over to the kitchen. She sat down at the table.
    “I should warn you that Thursday nights I don’t leave the TV between the hours of eight and ten.”
    “Oh? And what is so important?”
    “ Law and Order triple night,” I said as a matter of fact.
    She snorted. “Of course. Why doesn’t it surprise me that you’re into Law and Order ?” she giggled.
    I pretended to look wounded. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. “You’re killing me here.”
    “Come on, Liam. You’re not the most…well, you can be a little nerdy…at least you used to be.” She chuckled, her green eyes sparkling.
    “Give a guy a break, I was fourteen! What fourteen-year-old boy isn’t nerdy?” I groaned, throwing my arms up. This girl knew exactly how to break a guys confidence, and it made me want her even more .
    “Well, Steve Guinness wasn’t.” She grinned.
    Steve