Cooper was nowhere to be seen.

I let out the breath I’d been holding. “See? Not lying. I was just masturbating.”

A laugh bubbled out of Lily. “I love you. Sorry to interrupt. Let me just grab some stuff and I’ll leave you to it.”

I smiled, but it was half-assed as I scanned the room for any sign of him. There was nothing, just my rumpled, fluffy bedding and my clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed. I was all of a sudden very glad he’d kept his clothes on.

And then I saw the closet door. It was only open a crack, but we rarely went in there — it just wasn’t big enough to use for anything useful. I knew for a fact that it was closed before I’d left the room.

My heart went nuts again as I took a seat on my bed as far as I could get from the closet in the hopes it would divert Lily. “How was work?”

She set her bag on her neatly made bed and turned for her dresser. “Long and difficult and amazing, as usual.” She dug through her drawer. “What’d you do today?”

Cooper. I threaded my fingers in my lap and squeezed to help me focus. “I made some headway on jobs, have a few leads. I decided my vacation is over. I’ve been in New York for three weeks and haven’t done anything but sightsee and sleep.”

“And Mr. M. You’ve been doing a lot of him.” She snickered.

I blushed, thinking about him hiding in the closet. “Yes, and him.”

“I’m happy for you, though. After everything that happened with Jimmy, I’m sure this is a welcome change of pace. No commitment, and all that.” She tossed some clothes into her open bag.

The last thing I needed was commitment after breaking up with my fiancé. On our wedding day. After I caught him porking my maid of honor. “Definitely,” I said with a smile and swiftly changed the subject. “What are you guys up to tonight?”

“Dinner, then Habits. You should meet up with us.”

“Maybe I will.”

She held up some lingerie and waggled her eyebrows at me before stuffing it in her bag.

I wrinkled my nose and laughed. “He’s still my brother, you know.”

“Which is why I won’t tell you what I’m going to do to him when I put these on.”

“Thanks for sparing me the visual,” I added flatly.

She laughed as she zipped up her bag and slung it on. “Well, I’m off. Hope you’re next. You know where the batteries are.”

I blushed again. “I’m good, thanks.”

Lily waved as she passed by. “Bye, Mags. I’ll text you when we get to Habits.”

“All right. Have fun.” I called after her, not moving until I heard the door close. I let out a thousand-pound breath and hopped off the bed.

When I pulled open the closet door, I busted out laughing. Cooper was almost sideways in the closet, his long body bent like the saddest version of Tetris I’d ever seen around a stack of shoeboxes, a pair of snow boots, a small suitcase, and a few dresses that hung mostly in his face.

Somehow, he didn’t look affected, just smiled crookedly at me, his dark hair mussed and hanging a little in his face. “You found me.”

“You look ridiculous,” I said with a laugh. “Come here.”

He hauled himself out of the closet and stepped into me in almost a single motion, slipping his hand around my waist. “I wasn’t through with you.”

My body was pressed against his once more, and I smiled up at him. “That was too close.”

“I know. But I can’t say I didn’t enjoy listening to you and Lily talk about me like I wasn’t hiding in your closet.”

My hands slipped up his chest and around his neck. “I bet.”

“So,” he pulled me a little closer, “you call me Mr. M?”

“Well, it was Mystery Man, but that ended up shortened to Mr. M, which I think is funnier anyway, given that’s your actual initial.”

“Maybe I should come up with one for you so I can talk to your brother about us.”

“Ew.” I laughed and batted at his chest.

“Mystery Woman. Miss W. Works both ways.” He backed me up, smiling when I hit the bed. I hung onto his neck as he lowered me onto the mattress. “So what else have you told Lily about me?” His fingers found the tie of my bathrobe and tugged.

My heart fluttered as I watched his hand slip under the fabric and up to my breast. “Oh, just that you’re a rocket in the sack.”

He smirked and opened my robe slowly, deliberately, exposing my naked torso. “Is that so?”

Our legs tangled together, and I smiled at him innocently, even though I was already aching for him. “Mmhmm. I like to make everyone jealous with tales of your prowess. Well, except Lily. I’ve gotta be careful or she’ll start talking about her sex life, which involves my brother.”

He laughed and trailed his fingers down my stomach.

“We can’t do this here again,” I said, needing to make the point before I lost my ability to form coherent thoughts.

His hand skimmed lower, sending a riot of goosebumps across my skin. “Agreed. But in my defense, I only came over to give you back the panties you left over at my place. Although I can’t say I wasn’t enjoying the thought of you walking around Manhattan with no panties on.”

I giggled, breathless. “I’m sure that’s the only reason why you came over.”

Cooper chuckled, eyes on my lips. “You think you’ve got me figured out, don’t you?”

The butterflies in my chest took off, and I waved them away. “Isn’t it that simple, though? No strings. And anyway, we’ve only got two more weeks before time’s up.”

His eyes were still fixed on my mouth, and I tried to read his reaction, but he gave away nothing. “You and your rules.”

The rules were everything — they were the only way I could guarantee I wouldn’t get hurt again. I smiled to cover the reminder. “Two weeks. So show me what you’ve got while you can.”

His blue eyes met mine. “Oh, I plan to.”

Something about his words, about the way he was looking at me held me still. He was like a snake charmer — when he looked at me like that, like he could see me, I swear I’d do whatever he asked. I was sort of helpless in that way. And as his eyes burned a shade darker, he pressed his lips to mine and showed me plenty indeed.

STRINGS

Cooper

AN HOUR AND CHANGE LATER, I trotted down the stairs of Maggie’s building with my hands in my pockets and my heart skipping. I hadn’t wanted to leave, but I’d kissed her goodbye anyway, appreciating the feeling of her body against mine. I shot her The Smile — the one that made her cheeks flush, the one that got me what I wanted and served as a mask, when I needed one — and then I snuck out of the apartment in the hopes I wouldn’t run into any more of our friends, since the majority of them lived in that building.

I smiled to myself as I stepped out into the crisp Manhattan night, thinking about her, picturing her stretched out on her bed with her eyes closed, curly hair a mess, imagining the feeling of her fingers in my hair and her hot skin against mine. Making her feel good had become my new favorite hobby.

No one could say I wasn’t successful when I put my mind to something.

The affair had been going on happily for two weeks, though only under a myriad of ground rules, all set by Maggie. No commitment, no expectations. No dates or gifts. Four weeks, and we’d go our separate ways. The biggest rule — we had to keep it a secret. Because of West, she’d said, and she was right. If he ever found out, he might never speak to me again. That is, if he let me live. And he was the best friend I’d ever had.