by Margaret Kay
She moaned her approval, gasping at how good it felt. Unable to keep her lips from his, she turned and initiated a kiss that heated them both up quickly. The pizza would wait. He pushed her jacket from her shoulders, dropping it to the floor. Then he slid his hands up under her sweater and ran his fingers over her soft skin.
After Madison had freed him from his coat, she pushed his shirt up, her hands greedy to feel his taut abdominal muscles. He helped her remove it, throwing it to the floor beside both of their jackets. He unbuttoned the first two buttons on her sweater. “Yes, that’s how that sweater should be worn,” he growled at the sight of her cleavage now clearly displayed and then immediately reclaimed her lips.
A sound from the hallway was a slap to both their faces. Like two teenagers caught in the backseat of a car, they both immediately released the other. Unlike two teenagers, they both drew their guns and pointed them towards the opening to the hallway. Cooper took the lead and took two silent steps towards the threat.
“Whoa,” the man who stepped through the opening said, raising his hands into the air.
“What the fuck, Michael?” Cooper blurted, lowering his gun.
Following suit, Madison did as well, but kept it held at the ready.
“Madison meet my brother Michael. Michael, my coworker Madison,” Cooper introduced as he re-holstered his gun.
“Your brother,” Madison repeated breathing out a heavy sigh of relief. “I thought you were out at sea?”
“Me too,” Cooper said. He crossed the living room and squeezed his brother in a bear hug.
“I got a special forty-eight-hour liberty and a hop into Great Lakes just fell into place. I’ll have to take commercial back, but I figured why the hell not,” Michael explained. When he pulled away from his brother, he eyed Madison. His eyes led both hers and Cooper’s to his shirt on the floor as a smile spread over his face. “Coworker, huh?”
Then he flashed that same cocksure smirk that often adorned Cooper’s face. Must be genetic. Madison thought.
“It’s nice to meet you, Madison,” he said.
He crossed the room and gave her a hug as well, a longer than necessary greeting. His face showed Cooper how much he enjoyed it, daring his brother to make him release the beautiful blond who he was sure his brother was doing a lot more to then hugging, just seconds before.
Cooper retrieved his shirt and put it back on. “I could have been out on a case. You should have texted that you were coming,” Cooper said, the irritation in his voice apparent.
“I wanted to surprise you, and I obviously did,” Michael said with a laugh. “To be one-hundred percent honest, I contacted Yvette to be sure you’d be home.”
“Yvette, oh of course. Your presence would have been detected by Ops on the monitoring system. She’d have to know you were here. You are damned lucky I didn’t shoot you!” Cooper groused.
“You’re just pissed I intruded on your evening with Madison, your coworker,” he said laughing. “A work dinner, no doubt.”
Madison flashed Cooper a smile, and then embraced him. No use pretending. “That’s perfectly alright. I think the pizza is big enough for all three of us.”
Cooper pressed a kiss to her cheek as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, like a dog lifting his leg to mark his territory. “No one knows from the unit about us though, so do me a favor and keep it quiet,” Cooper said. He held her possessively in a way that warned Michael that she was his, back-off.
“Absolutely,” Michael said with a smile. “You got any beer, bro?”
Cooper released her and went into his small kitchen, bringing back three bottles with him. He twisted the lid from the first one and handed it to Madison. Then he passed one to Michael before opening his own.
“That pizza sure smells good,” Michael said, eyeing the box.
Cooper motioned to the dining table. “I’ll get the plates.” He flashed an expression at Madison that clearly expressed his sorrow their moment had been interrupted.
As they chatted and ate, Madison watched Michael. He had many of the same mannerisms Cooper did, the same smirk, the same smile over the same jaw, with the same perfectly shaped, masculine lips. His dark hair was cropped a bit longer than Cooper’s, and he wore bangs which fell above his honey-brown eyes.
Madison finished her beer and noticed the guys were empty as well. “Do you have more beer in your fridge, Cooper?” She asked as she stood. Cooper nodded.
Michael chuckled, that same chuckle that Cooper had. “Cooper? You call him Cooper? You really are coworkers, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I work both in the Ops Center with Yvette and in the field with the guys,” Madison answered as she stepped towards the kitchen.
“No shit? Shepherd Security hired a female Operator? Come on bro, talk to Shepherd about hiring me on next year when my enlistment is up.”
Cooper shook his head. “Michael, it’s not that easy. You have spent time on a sub, but never in the field or in the military intelligence community. It’s different.”
“I’m not sure Shepherd Security could handle two Cooper brothers both working there,” Madison joked, trying to lighten the tension that suddenly filled the room.
“Come on, I’ve given this a lot of thought. My callsign could be Little-Bro,”
“It doesn’t work that way, you don’t pick your own callsign. Your team picks it and you’re stuck with it,” Cooper said.
“Don’t I know that,” Madison moaned, flashing her best sarcastic smile at Cooper.
“What, you still don’t like Xena?”
“No, I still hate it.”
“Who named her that? That’s a dumb callsign. Xena is a brunette,” Michael said.
“Thank you,” Madison replied with a smile.
“What do I have to do to qualify to work at Shepherd Security?” Michael pressed.
Cooper pinned him with a determined look. “Michael, you’re not qualified to be an Operator and I’m not sure if you have the experience to work in our Ops Center. Quite frankly, I’m not sure if there is a place for you there. I thought you were going to stay in the Navy, retire after twenty.”
Michael shot an angry glare at his brother. “No, you said you thought I should stay in the Navy and put in twenty or thirty years. I never said I wanted that. I’m a hell of a shot, can defend myself, and know electrical and nuclear engineering for fuck’s sake. The fact that I didn’t put myself out as human target practice in the Middle East only means I’m smarter than the average ground-pounder. I want to make a difference bro. I want to work with the best and from what I’ve seen, Shepherd Security is the best.”
Cooper’s smirk set deep on his face. “Charlie Team does most of our regular security and protection jobs. I might be able to get you a test run. Your engineering background could be valuable when installing our security systems if, and I say if, because I cannot guarantee you anything, but if we have an opening in staffing when you get out, maybe.”
Michael smiled wide. “I’ll take any opportunity I can get. I don’t care if you want me to play receptionist, to get in the door I’ll do it, and make it my bitch.”
Madison laughed out loud. She was sure Angel would have a problem with that! Though she wasn’t completely sure if Angel planned to continue to work after she became a mother. She would be off at least twelve weeks when the baby came, so who knows, it could work out for Michael.
The three of them sat around the dining table long after the pizza was eaten. The tension eased with laughter at tales from the Cooper boys’ upbringing. They’d had as idyllic of a childhood as Madison had, until their parents died. Their mother had been an elementary school teacher, their father an electrician. They took summer vacations, had wonderful family-filled holidays, and a family dog.
“How old were you when they died?” Madison asked.
“I was sixteen and Michael was twelve,” Cooper replied. “Our grandparents on my mother’s side came and lived at our house, so we wouldn’t have to change s
chools.”
“How’d they die?” Madison asked.
“A car accident,” Michael said. “When a dump truck meets a passenger car, you always know which is going to win, and my folks weren’t driving the dump truck.”
“That sucks. I’m really sorry,” Madison said.
“It was a long time ago,” Cooper said, “and unless you were driving that dump truck, there is nothing you should apologize for.”
Madison agreed. No wonder Cooper had insisted she go to Arizona when her dad had the heart attack. “It’s late. I think I’ll go to bed and give you two some time alone.” She flashed a smile at Michael. “You came to town to see him. I’m sorry I intruded.”
“No intrusion at all,” Michael guaranteed her. “It was nice getting to know you. If you can put up with my big-bro, you must be special.”
Madison chuckled and came to her feet. She grabbed her bags.
“Let me show you where the bedroom is,” Cooper said to her. He turned back to Michael as he was already leading Madison into the hallway. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
This was not the way Cooper intended to spend this evening, but it was nice that Madison and Michael had met. Madison was important to him and if he couldn’t share this relationship with his family at work, he was glad he could at least share it with his little brother.
“Guest room, spare bath.” He pointed the rooms out as they passed them. He flipped the bedside light on as they entered his bedroom. It was very masculine, beige and black like the remainder of the condo. “Master bath is through there,” he pointed to one of the closed doors against the far wall inside the large bedroom. She assumed the other door led to his closet. “There are towels in there on a shelf. Make yourself at home. I won’t be long.”
“Take your time.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “For the record, I like your brother and I’m glad I got to meet him. I was once given words of wisdom that I was Megan’s sister, not her mom. Might not hurt for you to remember that too.”
His trademark smirk set on his lips.
“Enjoy your visit. I’ll be here all night.” She flashed him a smile.
Cooper gently brushed his lips over hers. “I’m sorry tonight didn’t go like we planned. I won’t be long. I’d rather snuggle up with you than spend more time talking with him. I’ll probably go in late tomorrow, so I can have some time with him in the morning.”
“I think that’s a good idea.” She shot him an approving smile and then stepped towards the bathroom.
Michael handed a new, opened beer Cooper’s way as he walked back into the living room. Michael was seated on the black leather sofa. Cooper sat in his recliner, facing him.
“She didn’t know where the bedroom was,” Michael said.
Cooper shook his head no.
“So, this is a new relationship?” Michael watched him closely while taking a pull from his beer.
“Yeah.” He couldn’t contain the smile that spread over his face.
“Then why the fuck are you out here with me, and not in bed with her? If it were me, I’d have taken her to bed hours ago.”
“Watch it,” Cooper warned.
Michael laughed obnoxiously. “Wow, you really do like her.”
“I do,” Cooper admitted. “I’m glad you two got to meet. Shepherd’s the only one at the office that knows, the only one who can.”
“Why is that?”
“There is a no fraternization rule that we’re breaking.”
Michael barked out an intense laugh. “You, big bro, are breaking a rule?” He feigned disbelief.
“Yeah, I’m not proud of it.”
“I’d say she’s worth it. And if Shepherd knows, what more does it matter?”
“It matters,” Cooper growled. “Neither of us lost our jobs, which could have happened, but if anyone else knew it could severely mess up the dynamics of the team.”
Michael considered that while he sucked down another gulp of his beer. “So, keeping it quiet won’t mess up the dynamics? And if any of the others find out, then what, the dynamics are suddenly off just because of that knowledge? That sounds fucked up.”
“Look, Michael,” Cooper began.
Michael interrupted him. “No, listen, what I mean is, aren’t the dynamics already changed because the two of you are in a relationship? And seriously, will anyone even care? From what you’ve said, you’re a tight team. You care about all of them. Does having a relationship with her really make you care about her more than the rest of the team, enough to matter?”
Cooper finished the rest of his beer in one gulp. He rolled that around in his head. Phrased that way, he almost had to agree with Michael. But he knew it went way beyond messing with the dynamics of the team. It had to do with trust and integrity, with following regs, and not letting your team down. He remembered how pissed he was with Jackson when Jackson broke this rule with Angel. Had it been up to him, rather than Shepherd, he would have fired Jackson. Doc felt the same way at the time.
Cooper came to his feet. “I’m going to turn in. I plan on taking the morning off work. We can go for a run and then go get some breakfast, whatever else you’d like to do.”
“Sounds good, bro,” Michael said. “Go be with your woman. I’m just going to watch some TV before turning in.”
Cooper smiled as he approached his closed bedroom door. His brother’s words referring to her as his woman echoed in his head. He wasn’t sure exactly what this relationship was, yet, but he liked the sound of it. His woman was in his bed, yeah, that was an idea he could get used to. He opened the door slowly. The light was still on and she laid under the covers looking at her phone.
She smiled as she glanced at him. “That was fast.”
He closed the door behind himself, pressed in the lock, and then he crossed the room. He stretched out beside her and took her into his arms in one motion. Without a word, his lips took hers in a lengthy kiss that said everything he felt.
“Wow,” she whispered when their lips separated.
She pushed the covers off. Her whole body was set afire by that one kiss. Cooper rolled atop her, his eyes gazing deeply into hers. She was stunned by the affection and desire she saw in them. Shepherd’s words regarding the gravity of Cooper engaging in this relationship came back to her. Her heart swelled, knowing this wasn’t just a sexual attraction for him. John Cooper would never have let something physical take place between them merely for the sake of the conquest or for a physical release. She looked deeper, focusing on the affection and was awestruck by what she saw.
“I’m glad I got to spend time with your brother. And thank you for allowing me to see behind the private curtain of John Cooper,” she said. “I’m honored to be let in as I have the distinct feeling not many are.”
Cooper’s trademark smirk spread over his face. “You sound like Lassiter. You know, he gave me a lecture today on why I need to trust you enough to be open with my emotions.”
Madison laughed. “I’d say you do every time you kiss me. There is no way that kisses like ours can happen without emotions coming through loud and clear.”
Cooper pressed another kiss to her lips. He pulled away barely an inch. “I meant to ask you earlier. How did your meeting with him go?”
“He went overboard asking me about my feelings for you, wanted to be sure I didn’t feel pressured into our relationship.” She laughed again. “Guess he’s covering Shepherd Security’s ass and assets against a potential sexual harassment claim.”
“Nah, he doesn’t give a shit about that. He cares about you and needed to be sure we were on the same page. It hasn’t escaped me that this could have been misconstrued as a gross abuse of power by me.”
Madison shook her head. “God, anyone who knows you would never think that. John, the level of integrity you possess should never be questioned by anyone. You are the last person I’d ever think capable of abusing power.”
He kissed her softly, slowly. His raw emotions were openly conveyed with eac
h brush of his tongue against hers, with each caress of his hand over her silky skin. His body reacted quickly, and the intentionally deliberate gentleness was replaced by a need that was lit by his intense passion to become one with her, to feel her flesh against his flesh, to feel her flesh around his most sensitive parts with nothing between them. He couldn’t get their clothes off fast enough.
The intensity of their coupling left them both breathless. They clung to each other, a need to remain physically linked in the aftermath of such a powerful and expressive joining. The emotions silently communicated through their love making enhanced the bodily pleasure they coaxed from each other, tenfold.