I stop, my outraged gaze swinging toward Evan, whose lips are twitching wildly.
“You asshole!” I snarl. “Seriously?”
Evan crosses his arms over his chest. “Mackenzie. Sweetheart. I’m not gonna apologize for you being gullible. This one’s on you.”
On the couch, Alana and Steph are in hysterics. Steph has tears running down her cheeks as she wheezes out little dead girl between giggles.
In front of me, Cooper is clearly trying not to laugh too.
“Don’t you dare,” I warn, jabbing a finger in the air between us.
“I mean,” Cooper trembles as he battles his laughter, “he’s not wrong. That one’s on you.”
I glare at him. “He’s a sadist! And you’re a jerk.”
“I’m a jerk? Remind me, who went out on the roof and almost got struck by lightning?”
“Oh my God, I did not almost get struck by lightning. You’re being ridiculous right now.” Indignant, I plant my hands on my hips, forgetting about the blanket wrapped around me.
It falls to the wet carpet, leaving me in nothing but a black sports bra and neon-pink bikini panties.
Evan licks his bottom lip. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
Despite the flicker of heat in his expression, Cooper’s tone remains cool. “Get your clothes, Mac. We’re leaving.”
“No,” I say stubbornly.
His eyes narrow. “Let’s go.”
“No. I live here now.”
Alana snickers.
“Mackenzie.” He takes a menacing step forward. “Let’s go.”
“No.” My throat is suddenly dry. Tension thickens the air. I don’t know if Cooper is angry or turned on, but his blazing eyes are sucking up all the oxygen in the room.
Cooper glances at his brother. “Evan, gimme your keys. You can take my truck home.”
With a knowing grin, Evan reaches into his pocket then tosses a set of keys at his twin.
I jut my chin. “I don’t know what you think is happening right now, but I am not going—”
Before I can blink, I’m being flung over Cooper’s shoulder. Staring at his wet boots as he marches us to the door.
“Put me down!” I yell, but the downpour that hits us the moment we leave the house drowns out my furious request.
Cooper unceremoniously shoves me into the passenger seat of Evan’s Jeep before running to the driver’s side. When he starts the engine and turns to look at me, I have the answer to the angry versus turned on question.
His gaze has turned molten. “I’m going to be inside you the moment we get home.” A threat. A promise.
Turned on.
Most definitely turned on.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MACKENZIE
“Shower. Now.”
Cooper’s growly order sends a shiver skittering through me. We’d just run from the Jeep to his house, getting soaked in the process. I’m still in nothing but my underwear, and my teeth are chattering again. Luckily, I’m not cold for much longer. In his bathroom, Cooper cranks the hot water, and soon there’s steam rolling out of the tiled shower stall.
I strip out of the sports bra and panties and step into the shower, moaning happily as the heat suffuses my body. A moment later the temperature spikes another hundred degrees, because a naked Cooper is coming up behind me.
Strong arms encircle me, holding me against him. My back is flush against his broad chest. I can feel the long ridge of his erection pressing against my ass.
“You make me crazy.” His hoarse words are muffled in the spray of the shower.
“Really? Seems to me like you’re the one making me crazy.” I shiver in pleasure when his big palms slide up my ribcage to cup my breasts. My nipples pucker.
“You could’ve gotten hurt up on that roof.”
“But I didn’t.”
“Were you really scared here alone?” He sounds guilty.
“Kind of? I was hearing this shrieking from outside and the lights kept flickering.”
He chuckles. “The wind gets pretty loud here. And we need to rewire most of the house. The electrical sucks.”
“Stupid Evan,” I mutter, pissed that he’d managed to make me question my former disbelief in the existence of ghosts.
“How about we don’t talk about my brother when we’re both naked?” Cooper suggests.
“Good point.” I turn, reaching between us and taking him in my hand.
He shudders. “Yeah. Keep doing that.”
“What? This?” I curl my fingers around his shaft and give it a teasing stroke.
“Mmmm.”
“Or …” I give another pump, another slow glide, before sinking to my knees. “I could do this?”
Before he can respond, I wrap my lips around him and suck gently.
Cooper groans, and his hips thrust forward.
A rush of pure power surges through my blood. I could get used to this feeling. The satisfaction of knowing I’m the one who put that needy, desperate look on his rugged face. That right now, in this moment, I have him in the palm of my hand. Or rather, on the tip of my tongue. I give a little lick, and he makes a husky noise that brings a smile to my lips.
“You’re teasing,” he mutters.
“Uh-huh.” I lick him again, a long, wet swipe along the length of him. “It’s fun.”