LITMIR.BIZ

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belts as they left the reserve, Sophie so wanted to take heart in Cooper’s confidence. But that annoying part of her which wasn’t affected by raging hormones niggled and whispered all the way home.

      Whether or not she’d been a party to it, ultimately Cooper had got his own way. As of tonight, his bed was her bed.

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      ‘DROP the bathrobe—but only if you’re naked underneath.’

      Freshly emerged from a steamy shower after their big day at the zoo, Sophie enjoyed a delicious shiver at the authoritative tone evident in that deep, masculine voice. Sexual awareness climbed as, poised in the en suite bathroom’s doorway, she allowed time for her eyes to adjust from the brighter light to the bedroom’s corner lamp glow.

      The commanding silhouette towering before her gradually acquired features. As Cooper’s hooded gaze became clearer, so too did his hungry smile.

      The plateau of his chest was dusted with the wiry hair she adored driving her fingers through; the toned ridges of his stomach looked as hard as her whispered memories said they would be. Hair began again below his concave navel, arrowing down in a silky trail that left her heart beating so fiercely she could barely catch her breath.

      He pushed out a put-upon sigh and rushed a hand through his damp, dark hair. ‘Guess I have to do my own dirty work and come over there.’

      Cooper moved towards her with the athletic grace of a predator savouring the thought of its next, highly anticipated meal. His rolling muscles were a masterpiece in polished steel motion. His Levi’s were her favourites—well-worn, low-slung and unzipped. With each languid step the soft blue denim shifted on his hips, drawing her attention to what Sophie knew full well lay beneath.

      Light-headedness tingled across her brain as the distance separating them narrowed and his scent reached out to fill her lungs. Finally anchoring his weight mere inches away, Cooper cuffed strong fingers into the collar of her heavy towelling robe and urged her up onto tiptoe at the same instant his mouth came crashing down.

      Impatient, greedy … she happily submitted to the drugging magic of his kiss. The force was greater than any current catching her ankles and sweeping her out to sea. She was drawn in by the urgency, set free by the heady heights of passion. Some good reason had stopped her pursuing this intense longing these past weeks, but for the life of her now she couldn’t think what.

      Stretching, she moved to embrace him, but found her robe’s shoulders had been dragged down, effectively confining her arms to her sides. Smiling against his lips, she burrowed close as his large hands continued to pull the towelling till her heavy breasts spilled out.

      As his thumbs kneaded her arms, her nipples rubbed against his chest, releasing a scorching blast of want that struck and then consumed her feminine core. Legs turned to rubber, she clung to his forearms, willing this night to last at least until eternity.

      As their kiss evolved into starved snatches, he urged her to follow as he backed up. His tongue was tickling a responsive patch on her neck when she imagined his legs hit the mattress, and something resembling conscious thought clawed its way up from the depths of wild abandon.

      Still, it took the hot shell of his hand slipping under the robe for her to remember the all-important questions she’d decided, while showering, she needed to ask.

      ‘Cooper,’ she murmured, eyes closed, neck arced back, ‘we need to stop for a moment.’

      He manoeuvred her around till she sat on the bed’s edge, then pressed her back against the dusky pink coverlet. His gaze trained on her swollen tender breasts, he released the tie at her waist. The hot plates of his palms ironed across her abdomen as he spread the robe apart.

      In shadow, she saw a pulse jump at the side of his throat and one dark brow lift in shameless appreciation. ‘Yep. You’re naked under there, all right.’

      His knees nudged hers apart, widening her thighs to a vee before a two-fingered touch slid a lazy path between her centre. As a powerful tremor gripped her, her hips automatically arched to meet his stroke.

      Cooper’s smile changed.

      The side of his hand breezed down then up one quivering inner thigh. ‘I’ve missed you.’

      A knee on the bed, he lowered over her.

      A flash went off in her mind. She remembered her preparation plan and rolled away.

      Chuckling, he effortlessly rolled her back. ‘Sophie, all the fun’s happening here.’

      She swallowed hard and gathered her thoughts. ‘I need to ask you something. And I’m sure you’ll say yes, because that’s the answer any man would give, and that’s what a woman would expect. But be warned. I’ll see in your eyes whether or not you’re telling the truth.’

      He froze, before finally falling onto his side. ‘This sounds more complicated than trigonometry.’ He eased up onto an elbow and, cheek in hand, nodded. ‘Go ahead.’

      ‘It’s really very simple,’ she said, assembling her thoughts and tamping down, as best she could, the sizzling physical overload. ‘Do you believe in monogamous relationships?’

      One of Cooper’s brows took on a curious slant. ‘Sophie, have you developed your own list?’

      She thought about it, and had to admit it. ‘I guess I have.’

      His lined expression eased considerably. ‘In that case …’ He twirled a fingertip around her closest nipple and she stifled a groan of pure pleasure. ‘Yes, Sophie, I believe in one partner only.’

      Predictable answer. Still, she took heart seeing the easy conviction shining from his eyes.

      He grinned. ‘Did I pass?’

      She shook her head. ‘Not yet.’ Not needing any distraction, she pulled her robe closed.

      ‘But I didn’t fail.’ He reopened the robe. ‘So don’t mete out the punishment just yet.’

      Feeling exposed, but secretly revelling in his attention, she tried to ignore the allure of his devilish smile. ‘I would never cheat on an exam, and I would only steal if a loved one’s well-being was at stake and I had no other choice.’

      He tipped his head, impressed. ‘I not only like it, I agree.’

      He angled across and oh-so-gently traced the tip of his tongue around that beaded, screaming peak.

      Fighting down the urge to draw up her knees and haul him close, she pushed his head back. ‘One more.’ Her blood was on fire; she needed to hurry. ‘If someone was drowning, and there was a danger I might drown too, I’d have to jump in regardless.’

      ‘The courage versus stupidity conundrum?’ He truly looked at her this time. ‘We’re on the same page there too. I’d do the same.’ His eyes stayed with hers and he brought his arm over and kissed one corner of her mouth. ‘Am I free to go, miss?’

      Smiling, she framed his firm, square jaw in her hands. ‘You are most certainly not free to go. You need to stay here and clean the boards …’ he kissed the other corner of her mouth ‘… and put up the chairs …’ he nipped her lower lip. She sighed. ‘Then, and only then, can you make love to me till dawn.’

      Grinning, he pushed away to stand at the foot of the bed, where the bathroom light set a hazy aura around his sublime Adonis shape. Sophie watched, entranced and shaking a little inside, as the jeans slid down the long firm trunks of his legs.

      Cooper filled his lungs with softly scented air, kicked aside his jeans, and again joined the woman he was dying to enjoy.

      All-consuming desire pumped through his veins as he threaded an arm around her waist and tipped her so they lay front to front. Every nerve-ending leading to his groin ignited as she curled into him, offering herself up to a pleasure they both knew would only increase as the hours fled by.

      Funny.

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