Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Sessions 28 - Closer



Millwood: North Lake Drive - 7:30 pm



Millwood was quiet, the road around the lake dark, fog dropping down from the mountains to shroud the homes around the lakefront. He knew the deep mountain lake as well as he knew his own road home - his parents lived on the eastern shore - but it looked unfamiliar.  Cooper spun out once and recovered only to wonder if he had already passed the turn, and when he finally pulled up and got off his bike he staggered. Where was he, whose house was this, what the hell was he doing here...then he remembered with a surge of anger.  He straightened and moved toward the front door, one long stride after another then stumbled over a stray flagstone.

No doubt the front door would be unlocked; no one locked their doors here. He reached for the handle and had to grab for it again.  He was seeing double. Once he was able to hold it the latch gave way easily; he shoved the door open and entered.



"Gemma!" Cooper's rough voice shouted as he quickly walked from room to room sidestepping the annoying interference of a cat as it wove in and out of his path as if to waylay him and looked for her. "Gemma where in hell are you damn it?" Cooper massaged the back of his neck, bruised and aching; he'd tear the place up if he had to. Turning he saw her slender legs as Gemma moved fluidly down the staircase.



"Cooper, this is a surprise, what are you doing here?"

She moved toward him, every step just like his dead wife, smooth and delicate, her voice had that same lilt. It only served to further incense him, then for a couple of seconds he tried to shake himself free, caught between a memory and the woman before him. What was the answer, what was he doing here? That moment passed. "I warned you to stay away from my family." The deep timbre of his voice was a barely contained threat as he moved toward her. "You wanted my attention, well now you've got it!" She seemed to shift, in one place and then another.  He reached out, more to find something to steady himself than to grab her.



Gemma's expression turned from surprise to alarm as she tentatively stepped backward. "Don't flatter yourself into thinking anything I do is for your attention. I came to you looking for an opportunity and you slammed the door in my face. I told you I would approach Wyatt. He was free to turn me down but he didn't. It's just business." She tried to move away from him slowly as she spoke.



Cooper blinked at her, incensed, angry, in turmoil over the range of emotions that shook him and almost confused. With his vision blurred she looked more like Julia than ever. The woman who was his light, his touchstone, had betrayed him, had chosen another man and that pain was infinitely worse than any physical pain McDermott could have dealt. He started to grab her roughly, realized he was easily bruising her pale arms and softened his grip only to stagger when he lost even that frail support. Cooper saw the growing alarm in her eyes as she tried to push him away and then hold him up at the same time.

"What is the matter with you! What happened to your neck! You can hardly stand up!  Quit grabbing at me!"



She was at the heart of everything that threatened to destroy what he had left of his family. The spectral form of his dead wife, Julia incarnate, and he had to exorcise her ghost once and for all. "Damn you! Why can't you stay dead?"




Gripping her hair roughly in his fist he lowered his head and crushed her mouth against his in a violent kiss. Gemma struggled at the ferocity of his passion, if it could even be called that, until he stopped the assault on her mouth briefly and ripped her top off.

Cooper could see her pulse beating wildly in the curve of her neck. His body roiled in pain, fury, and arousal. He remembered her.  He was going to take her. He was not going to be gentle. He was going to fuck her until they were both spent. And then he would walk away, forget them all.  Then once again, he staggered.

She suddenly and unexpectedly returned that kiss then closed her own hands around his arms. Even in the rush of his own arousal he leaned into her and she probably saved him from falling.




Lifting her easily Cooper carried down a short hallway, kicked open a door left ajar on what he saw was a bedroom and roughly laid her on the bed.  With silky grace she slid down her remaining clothing as he pulled his own shirt off and moved toward her. Her eyes provoked him, the damned bitch. He dragged her body toward him as he loosened his belt. When he spoke again his voice was hoarse, rough. "Why can't you just stay buried?"



She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down toward her.  He could feel her warm breath against his mouth.  "Because I'm not Julia, Cooper, and you know it."

---------------------

NEXT CHAPTER: Sessions Chapter 29

28 comments:

Qui. said...

what a mistake!!!!
now, how is he going to feel when he finds out that nothing happened with Beth and Ryan? with everything that happened before, he probably would have a hard time believing that but... damn!

perfect shots! without words they'd tell this part of the story.

Van said...

Woah, that was intense! I never thought Cooper would go there, no matter how he was hurting, but I do think this was in character for him. Not that he's a cheater by nature, but he is just so passionate and has such a store of emotions that he needed an outlet for all that rage, and Gemma fit that role like a glove.

But yeah, he's going to feel like an idiot when he finds out that nothing actually happened with Beth and Ryan there O_o

AtomicSpaceKitty said...

O_O Cooper! No! I was pretty speechless for awhile after I finished reading this chapter. I think I've mostly recovered, but... Wow! Coop's made some epic mistakes before but this one is so far above and beyond epic. I just really don't know what to say without wanting to tear him a new one.

Anyway, you two keep surprising me by the direction you're taking this story. The writing in this arc has been really strong. You're definitely shacking things up and not afraid to take any chances. I'm along for the ride for as long as you keeping driving down the long and windy road.

thewynd said...

Qui: It is a mistake but a conclusion that was easy for Cooper to draw.

Thanks about the shots!

thewynd said...

Van: Yeah. You really do understand Cooper given your comment. What he did was the logical next step given who he is. Everything has thrown him, a lookalike of his dead ex, his children, his wife...it made sense. Not saying it was right but it was logical.

Yeah feeling like an idiot is probably going to be the least of his problems.

thewynd said...

Kara: Without defending his actions I think what Cooper did came strictly from a his passion and emotions. He has seemingly lost his soul-mate, feels deceived and off balance. I doubt he went to Gemma's to have sex but he is in pain physically and mentally, probably has a concussion, and his passion guides him. I done condone it, but it was completely true to character for him.

Thanks! I am glad that the writing has come across as strong. That was our goal here and coming from you that means a lot.

Christi said...

WHOA!! This was so intense and passionate and raw, just like Coop. The shots were just spectacular (I am SO jealous of the one where he is leaning her back on the bed... do you have any idea how long I tried to get one like that?! I am not adverse to your tutelage.. :) :hinthint: )

Great job... tremendous detail and amazing writing. I can't wait to see how he handles everything when he finds out that nothing actually happened between Beth and Ryan!!

Muzegoddess said...

OH NOOOOOOOOO!!!! I knew it, I knew this was coming. I was literally afraid to scroll down while reading this. I shut my eyes before the next picture came up LOL! Oh Cooper...this really, really bad. He's going to have one hell of a morning after when he finds out the truth about Beth and Ryan. Wow!

Every last ounce of this was on fire. Spectacular!!!

Qui. said...

I can see how! You're welcome :)

Whymustallthegoodonesbetaken said...

Holy farmers market! That was... 0_o
I'm completely speechless right now! Cooper is soo going to regret that decision I'm sure..

thewynd said...

Christi: Thanks so much! We were definitely working up to this and there is much more to come.

As for the pose, I downloaded a posebox for that very shot. Pathetic I know. I have a link. I'll either post it or send it to you...

thewynd said...

Muzegoddess: He is going to feel horrible when he finds out the truth. Cooper never intended to sleep with Gemma, he just took things too far and I understand why although he was wrong to do it.

Thanks so much!

thewynd said...

WhyMust: Yeah, it was pretty intense. Regret will not begin to describe what he will feel...

Thanks!!

The Lunar Fox said...

Oh this is really bad. Worse than cheating on his wife. Way worse. She now has something she can hold over him. She never really said yes, even if she didn't say no. Murky waters here.

But as always, those shots- wow!

S@n said...

holly shit... intense is not even the word to describe this chapter.
I can't say I'm surprised that he went to her... it was a matter of time... and what happened with Ryan and Beth in last chapter was like the perfect excuse for him to do it...

Gemma did say "Stop it, you are hurting me" or something among those words..... so my dear dear Cooper, you are in big trouble...
I do understand how he feels... (kind of) but what he did was plain stupid, and tomorrow the consequences will be humongous...

Awesome shots ladies... the look on Coopers face, from shot 1 to the end, is just fantastic...

Wow...

thelook said...

I think I died inside a little bit. Cooper has made the WORST mistake possible and over nothing too! This is really not going to end nice for him in the end is it? But I did have sympathy for the line about getting every girl apart from the one he wants - but still no excuses! Your shots were perfect though! And the writing - it was like I was Cooper.

S.B. said...

Lunar, S@ndy and Look, we thought about the ambivalence, how close this was coming to something truly horrible. It is definitely an act of aggression and anger, and Gemma's reaction is confusion and alarm. Decided to go with it.

He has given her a weapon. She's a smart, ambitious woman; she'll figure out how to use it.

There are other pieces still in play, and we're going to try to pull them all together.

I want to thank everyone for the support you have given both of us. Thank you!!!

Ning said...

*stunned* Why must Cooper do this?!?! Why must he go and spoil everything all at one go? Now they'll probably never go back to mending things again. I've read some of the comments and omgawd, Gemma's gonna use this as a weapon? No wonder she decided to go along with this in the end! o_o

Stop thinking of Julia, Coop!

S.B. said...

ning, thank you!

Coop is impulsive and passionate, passion that display as anger as well as love. And he is definitely not used to losing what he wants to keep. There's a lot of ego in play.

He hadn't thought about Julia in years until Gemma showed up. Rayne defied him. Wyatt defied him. And there's his wife with Ryan McDermott. He couldn't hold it together. He didn't even try.

and yeah, of course Gemma will use the situation to her advantage, if she can. Why not?

Valpre said...

Oh my...Oh no...He did not! And now Gemma has him exactly where she wanted.

I can't wait to see how this will pan out. I bet Gemma feels like she's got the upper hand now. She bagged the son, now she has the daddy too.

I know Cooper's just emotional over the lack of control in his life right now and I can't say I agree with what he did. But Gemma has no excuse. And I bet she enjoys the fact that she looks so much like Julia, who by the looks of things, still has Cooper's heart.

This was intense and provocative and too beautiful for words. Why must all your final shots always be so compelling?

More ladies :)

Rad said...

Noooo! I can only echo everyone else's comments.

The music was a perfect choice though.

S.B. said...

Val...yes she does. Cooper is used to taking what he wants, and although Gemma is not really what he wants at all, he was hurt and frustrated and angry, and she was there.

I'm not sure if Julia still has Cooper's heart, but her death left him without a way to completely close that relationship.

Gayl's shots are incredible! and thank you!!

S.B. said...

Rad. No! Yes!!! Unfortunately.

And I've been waiting for an excuse to use that song....

Rachel said...

I'm totally spamming your blog, but I couldn't help but react to this!

I knew as soon as I saw the song choice and that it was Cooper that he was going to find someone and cheat. It's the way he is...but I didn't expect it to be her, and I didn't expect it to happen that way. I'm off to read some of the aftermath!

S.B. said...

Rachel, you can spam our blog anytime!!!! We are thrilled!! Thank you!!

Cooper was angry, and got the worst of it from Ryan (of course), and, since he was already on his way to have it out with Gemma...well....

Laura said...

Ages late, but I wanted to say, wow, this was a powerful one! Anger is dangerous like this - anger that turns into actions like these could ruin his entire life. And not just losing Beth for good, if she finds out, but Gemma did kind of say no. That's trouble!

Ditto the love for the song choice! Perfect!

S.B. said...

Laura, I'd been waiting for a chance to use that song! Gayl indulged me.

Not sure Beth would think that sex with Gemma was a deal breaker (sort of life with Cooper). Anger is very dangerous, unrestrained and impulsive anger is corrosive.

Gemma was forced. At least when Cooper started, she definitely was.

And from both of us, thrilled that you read it! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!

thewynd said...

The song was perfect. No indulging needed. You are on fire with song choices.

Thanks Laura! So glad you liked this piece. It was difficult for so many reasons.