by Tawny Weber
“I opened the center about nine years ago. My father left Nicole and I a little money, and with Jacob Anderson’s help, I was able to finance the rest with my portion. Nicole was only sixteen then, but I thought eventually we could run it together.”
“But she didn’t agree?”
“Oh no, she loved it. She’s great with kids.”
“So what happened?”
“She married Robert.” She laughed lightly. “Now she’s attending balls and black-tie dinners. Can you imagine giving up several dozen messy preschoolers for that?” She laughed again, but this time it sounded forced.
“No.” Cooper stopped walking. “I can’t.”
She stopped, too, but didn’t look at him. Instead she focused on the silvery horizon. “Do you know what Nicole wanted to be when she grew up?”
Cooper shook his head.
“A nun. Can you imagine?” She glanced at him for a moment, and he could see the amazement on her face. “She never told anyone . . . no, that’s not exactly true,” she corrected. “She told our father once. His reaction was a bit over the edge. Nicole was his beauty, his doll baby. Just like her mother. So Nicole made a joke of it and never mentioned it again. Except to me.”
She started walking again. “I guess we’ve each chosen our own path. When this is all over, I’ll go back to my finger paints and dirty diapers. Nicole will go back to her parties.”
Cooper grabbed her arm and spun her around. “What makes you sure that’s what she’ll want?”
“Didn’t you hear what all those people told us today?” Even in the darkness he could see the pain in her dark, luminous eyes. “My sister’s turned into a party girl.” She pulled her arm from his grasp and took a step back. “Not that I mind, or that it makes any difference to me what she does with her life. It’s just that she hid it from me.” There was a spark of anger now in her eyes.
“Jessie—” he began, but she cut him off.
“She hid it. As if it would make any difference how I felt about her.” Jessie’s voice broke, and Cooper lost the struggle to maintain his distance.
“Don’t, Jess.” He reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding on when she resisted, until she gripped his shirt in her fists and buried her head against his chest. She didn’t cry, not this time, but let him hold her as she stood rigidly in his arms.
Then she softened, slowly, subtly. She sank against him, warming to his touch, to the stroke of his fingers against her back. Shifting slightly, he moved his hands up to cradle her face, tilting it up to his. He saw it in her eyes: she’d left Nicole far behind. There was only the two of them.
God help them both, he thought, as he lowered his mouth to claim hers. They were going to need it.
Chapter 9
No one had ever kissed Jessie like this before.
Everything that had come before, every touch, every intimacy paled compared to the desire Cooper stirred in her. The taste of his mouth intoxicated. His lips coaxed, his tongue demanded, until she thought she’d melt from the pleasure he offered. The feel of his large, masculine hands holding her face exposed his need and left her reeling. And the smells, of sand and sea and man, drowned her in their potency. The sensations all rolled together, pooled within her, making her ache for more.
She had to get closer.
Working her hands up his chest, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Cooper growled deep in his throat and grabbed her waist, drawing her tighter against his long hard body. Still it wasn’t enough. And when he found her bottom, lifting and pressing the apex of her thighs against his arousal, she let out a frustrated moan.
He released her mouth, watching her face as he rubbed his hardened body against her, teasing them both. He nipped at her lips. But when she would have deepened the kiss, he shifted his mouth to her ear.
A sharp whistle split the air. “Hey, man, go for it!”
Jessie started at the rowdy male voice and tried to pull away from Cooper’s embrace. He held her tightly, moving one hand to her waist and the other to her head, pressing it against his chest before she could turn to see who’d been watching them.
“Yeah, man,” called a second voice. “Let’s see ya do her right there in the sand!” A chorus of crude male laughter followed.
“Easy,” Cooper whispered in her ear. “It’s just some kids getting their kicks.” Aloud he said, “Why don’t you boys take a walk?” The command in his voice spoke more than any words.
“Hey, we’re just having a little fun, man. No need to get hostile.” More laughter rippled through the air, though there was a nervous edge to it now.
“Take your fun somewhere else.” Again there was no doubt Cooper meant what he said.
Jessie wanted to tell them off herself, but Cooper held her too tightly. It was an oddly comforting feeling, however, letting someone else take care of things for a change.
“Hey, man. We’re going. You all have a good time.” There was more laughter, but the sounds grew dimmer.
“They’re gone,” Cooper said after a couple of minutes. “Are you okay?”
She let out a short laugh and rested her forehead against his broad shoulders. “Just embarrassed, that’s all.”
Cooper chuckled, a low masculine sound of satisfaction. “It could have been worse.” She lifted her head to look up at him. “A few minutes more,” he explained, “and they’d have gotten their wish.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks.
They’d been that close. If he’d drawn her down to the sand, she would have gone willingly. She would still go, if not for a group of rowdy young men roaming the beach somewhere.
“I thought we decided this wasn’t a good idea,” she teased.
“It’s not.” He stroked her back, his touch strong and still hungry. “You’re a bad influence on me.”
Smiling to herself, she tightened her hold on his neck and laid her head against his chest. She could hear his heart, feel it pounding against her cheek. They stood that way for what seemed an eternity, the lapping waves the only sound breaking the silence.
“Well,” she said, wondering when she’d become so bold, “there’s always the condo.”
“Jessie.” She looked up at him again, aware of a new wariness in his voice. “We can’t go on with this.”
Confused, she tried to back away, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“Listen to me,” he said. “You’re my client—”
“No, I’m not,” she interrupted. “I can’t afford you. Remember?”
He smiled softly and touched her lips with his fingers. “I’m working a case for you.” He took a step back, though he still held firmly to her shoulders—as if he were afraid she’d bolt. “Neither one of us can afford this now. It’s a distraction. We need to concentrate on finding Nicole.”
For several heartbeats, she couldn’t speak. Then she asked, “And what about after this is all over? After we find Nicole?”
“I don’t know, Jess.” He released her and shoved his hands in his pockets. “You tell me what happens. You own a day care center in Chicago. And me”—he let out a short laugh—“I live on a boat.”
Jessie couldn’t sleep.
She tossed and turned, the memory of Cooper’s kiss burrowing into her heart, stirring her senses. She remembered his words, his declaration that they needed to concentrate on Nicole. As always, everything he said made sense. Yet it didn’t seem to make a difference. Every time she closed her eyes she saw him, felt him, could still taste his lips.
His touch had claimed her soul, his kiss her heart.
She supposed she should be grateful that he hadn’t pushed his advantage, but she wasn’t. She wanted him. And for once in her life, she didn’t care about consequences or what tomorrow would bring. For once, she wanted something just for herself.
Finally, she threw back the covers. Without bothering to put on a robe, she crossed the room to the sliding glass doors. As quietly as possible, she opened them and stepped out onto the balcony, which exten
ded the length of the apartment. She moved to the edge and leaned against the railing.
From this high up, with the moon lost behind the building, she couldn’t see much. On either side of her a line of similar high-rises lined the coast. Each structure threw off a small amount of light that puddled near its base. But due east, out where she knew the ocean waited, she saw only darkness.
Still, the ocean soothed her. She could smell it, sense its vastness even though she couldn’t see it. Funny, she would never have guessed that it would have this effect on her. This pull. Like Cooper.
Suddenly, she realized she wasn’t alone.
Turning, she saw him standing at the other end of the balcony, a shadow within a shadow. In the darkness she couldn’t make out his features, but she knew he watched her. For several minutes, neither of them spoke or moved. Yet she felt the connection as strongly as if he still touched her.
Then he walked toward her, a dark looming figure that took form and shape as the dim light from her room pooled about him. He stopped just short of touching distance.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.
He remained silent for several more heartbeats. Finally, he said, “You should go inside.”
“Why?” She forced herself to look away from him, to gaze out into the featureless night. “It’s beautiful out here. The weather’s perfect—”
“I’m not talking about the weather.”
She turned back to look at him. She had no choice. The darkness in his voice drew her. “I’m not afraid of you,” she said.
“You should be.”
She took a step toward him. One small step, but it was enough. Enough to touch him. Enough to let him know he’d have to be the one to walk away. She wasn’t about to make it easy on him. “What could one night hurt?”
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Yes. I do.” She wanted to hold him, to absorb the danger and excitement that was Sam Cooper. For once in her life she wanted to do the unexpected. She wanted the forbidden. “I’m asking for one night. A few hours.”
Reaching out, she lay a hand on his chest and heard his sharp intake of breath. It gave her courage.
She moved a little closer and brought her other hand up to join the first. He didn’t budge as she touched him, running her palms over the solid planes of his chest, tracing each firm muscle through the fabric of his shirt. She raised her gaze to his face and saw raw hunger in his eyes.
He wanted this as much as she did.
Suddenly there was too much material in the way. She wanted to feel his skin, to know its texture and experience its tautness. She grasped the fabric near his waistband to pull it free, but he stopped her. He grabbed her hands, and again her gaze snapped to his.
His eyes warned her to stop.
She ignored the warning and eased the shirt from his jeans, slipping her hands under the thin cotton. Beneath her fingers, his flesh warmed. She let her hands travel the ridges of his chest until she found his hard male nipples. She caught them between her fingertips and plucked them gently.
This time he grabbed both her arms and pulled them from under his shirt. Then he backed her against the wall. “My turn,” he said. He cupped one breast, squeezing it, molding it in his large hand. Then his fingers worked her nipple through her nightgown, rubbing it and rolling it into a hard bud.
Need spiraled within her. A soft moan escaped her lips, and Jessie let her head fall forward against his chest. Suddenly, he released her and took a step back.
Bereft of his support, Jessie staggered and grabbed the wall to steady herself. For several moments they faced each other—again just shy of touching distance.
Finally, Jessie turned and stepped through the bedroom doorway, then swung back around. He remained stoically still. She wondered if she had the nerve to go through with this, and what she’d do if he turned away again.
Cooper wished he could move.
He should walk away. Now. Before it was too late and he followed her into that room. Before he totally lost himself to her. But then, maybe it was already too late. Maybe it had been too late when he’d kissed her tonight on the beach, or last night when he’d wanted nothing more than to comfort her. Possibly it had been too late the first time her voice had curled around his insides, when she’d shown up at his boat.
He watched as her hands dropped to the bottom of her nightgown, paused for the space of a heartbeat and then pulled it over her head. Tossing it aside, she stood in nothing but a wisp of white lace panties.
She was beautiful.
Her small body was perfectly formed, flawlessly proportioned, with long slender legs, a narrow waist and breasts begging to be kissed. Her nipples hardened even as he thought it, and he saw her slight intake of breath.
He brought his gaze back to her face, to the bright flush of her cheeks and the question in her dark eyes. She looked ready to bolt. Yet she stood there, offering herself to him.
It shattered the last of his defenses.
Before realizing it, he’d stepped into the room and lifted her into his arms. She clung to him, burying her face against his chest as he carried her to the bed. Laying her down, he sat beside her, drinking in the sight of her.
“Just one night,” she said.
In answer, he reached out and touched her cheek, then let his hand drift downward, to the soft swell of her breast. Gently, he brushed the backs of his fingers against one taut nipple and then the other. She closed her eyes, and a soft sigh escaped her lips.
“So perfect,” he whispered.
He filled his hands with her, with the creamy skin of her breasts and the dark dusky pink of her nipples. Then he needed to taste her. Leaning forward, he took one tight bud in his mouth, flicking it with his tongue, sucking the tip until she arched against him.
Releasing her, he sat back and moved his hand lower, letting it rest on the flat of her stomach at the top of her lace panties.
She caressed his thigh. “Cooper?”
“Not yet.” He stilled her hand. “If you touch me, it’ll be over before we’ve started.” He took hold of her other wrist as well, and with one hand pinned them both above her head. “And I want this to last a long time.”
Shifting, he stretched out on his side beside her. For a moment he just looked, admiring the proud upthrust of her breasts and her slightly elevated hips. She was a woman waiting to be loved.
He again sought her breasts, first one and then the other, teasing each until she gasped aloud. Then he slid his hand down her body and cupped her mound. Slipping his middle finger into the crease between her thighs, he pushed the silky fabric of her panties against her tender flesh. She groaned and moved against his hand, her legs parting to give him better access. Even through the silk, he could feel the moisture that told him of her readiness.
He lifted his gaze to hers, wanting to see her face as he made her climax. He pressed harder, sliding his finger back and forth, watching as her eyelids fluttered closed, her breath coming in little pants. He covered her mouth with his, absorbing her low throaty moans, his own need straining against the stiff denim of his jeans. Her hips moved harder, and he shifted his hand, this time slipping beneath the lace to touch her directly for the first time.
That’s all it took. Convulsing against his fingertips, she pulled her arms free and wrapped them around his shoulders. Digging her nails into his back, she cried aloud, taking a piece of his soul with her.
Jessie returned to herself slowly.
Little things crept into her awareness. The ocean breeze drifting through the open balcony doors, brushing the sheer curtains against the foot of the bed.
The overhead fan, swishing in its slow, easy cycle. And the feel of Cooper’s strong arms, holding her as the last rippling waves of pleasure faded. When she opened her eyes, she saw him watching her, a stark hunger on his features.
“Take off your clothes,” she whispered.
He kissed her, one long, hard, searing kiss, and rolled off the
bed. Jessie propped herself up on her arms, watching him as he’d watched her, while he undressed.
Stripping off his shirt, he tossed it aside. Seeing his broad chest, she remembered the feel of it beneath her fingers and ached to touch him again. His hands stilled at the top of his jeans, his gaze finding hers before he unfastened the button, followed by the zipper, and then stepped out of his jeans and briefs.
For a moment, the sight of him frightened her.
She realized with blinding clarity that she was about to give herself to a man steeped in danger. In another time, he would have been a warrior. Proud. Fierce. Intensely male. And as much as she wanted this, it terrified her as well. Making love to him would change her, and she’d never be the same again.
Then she looked into his eyes, and her fear evaporated. She wanted him. For now, nothing else mattered.
He understood her unspoken invitation, because he came to her and, reaching down, slipped his hands under the lace of her panties and drew them off. Jessie fell back against the pillows, a fresh swirl of desire stirring within her. Kneeling between her legs, he lowered himself to her, teasing her with his arousal. She touched his chest with her palms and fingers, reacquainting herself with his hard muscles and crisp hair. Then she shifted her hands to his muscular bottom and urged him toward her. He resisted for a moment, his gaze never leaving hers, and then entered her with a hard thrust.
She watched his face, his eyes as he drove them both over the edge. She’d been right, she thought as pleasure coursed once again through her body. Nothing would ever be the same for her again.
Robert paced the sparsely furnished office.
He’d overstepped his bounds coming here unannounced, unsummoned. But things were getting out of hand, and he wouldn’t be treated like an underling any longer. Not even by the Colonel.
After all, what could the man do? Kill him?
Yes. The answer whispered through his thoughts, sending an icy chill down his spine.
“Sloppy work today.”
Robert spun around.