Happily Ever Afton (16 page)

‘Katherine!’

Cooper called out the name suddenly, ratcheting things up a notch by flagging down Afton’s nemesis with a wave, feeling her back stiffen beneath his hand.

‘Good to see you on such a festive day!’

He saw Afton glance with dread at Katherine who was dressed in a flowing long white skirt worn with a flattering pale green sleeveless top, who immediately separated from the tony group she had been chatting with at his effusive greeting and rushed over to Cooper’s side.

She wore a wide-brimmed white hat on her shiny dark hair with a green band around it matching her shirt perfectly, appearing as cool and fresh as a cucumber – or an ad for any number of feminine products.

‘Cooper, how wonderful you could make it to –’ her voice literally cut off mid-word when she caught sight of Afton standing slightly behind him, trying her best to conceal herself behind the hard solid bulk of his body.

‘You remember Afton don’t you, Katherine?’ Cooper nudged her forward into the other woman’s line of vision, thereby lighting the fuse. He then stepped carefully back out of the way to watch the detonation.

‘Oh. My.
Gawd
! Katherine drawled with distaste ringing in every note of her condemnation. She took in Afton’s questionable ensemble with revolted eyes, her cosmetically altered nose twitching at the reek of stale perfume. ‘I suppose one must never underestimate what the lack of good breeding will cause.’

Cooper counted silently.
One, two, three…boom!
  Afton exploded right on schedule.

‘Yes, and one often wonders why those claiming to be the
most
well bred are often those who turn out to be the most ill-mannered
bitches
with the biggest sticks up their bums!’

‘How
dare
you speak to me in such a coarse manner?’

‘Oh I
dare,
Princess,’ Afton moved closer until the brim of the other woman’s floppy hat was practically touching her forehead. ‘You’d be
amazed
at just how much I dare!’

Cooper hastily stepped forward. He recognized too well the pushed-too-far look in sizzling hazel eyes and decided it was probably best to save the fireworks for later that night.

‘Er…sorry, Katherine,’ he placated while taking Afton’s arm back under his in a restraining manner, ‘you’ll have to excuse us. Afton and I were just going to get some drinks in the clubhouse. Perhaps we’ll see you at dinner later,’ he said politely as the two warring women exchanged a last frigid look before each turned on their respective high heels and retired to their separate corners of the club.

Cooper was just about to steer a still fuming Afton back in the direction of the clubhouse where refreshments were being served, thinking she really did need something to help her cool off, when he heard his name called out from a distance and spotted more trouble headed their way on the horizon.

‘There’s our family pastor,’ Cooper murmured tracking the progress of the dignified grey-haired man approaching through the crowd. ‘Would you please behave yourself for this one?’

When she didn’t respond, Cooper’s eyes darted to his side where Afton stood smiling innocently – but he didn’t trust the impish hint of mischief he could see lurking in her eyes.

‘Afton,’ he muttered beneath his breath as the pastor neared, ‘I’m
warning
you!’

‘I’m sorry, Cooper – but it is so much
fun
pretending to be someone else. Oh, but then just
look
who I’m telling!’ Afton purred.

‘Pastor Smith,’ Cooper moved quickly in front of her to issue the polite greeting when the pastor reached them a moment later, ‘so good to see you.

‘Cooper, good to see you as well, son,’ he smiled warmly, shaking Cooper’s hand. ‘I prayed you would return from the mountain safely after your mother told me about your trip at Sunday service.’

‘Thank you…and…er…are you here to attend the military ceremony later?’ Cooper desperately kept up a rapid conversation as Afton brushed past to stand close beside him hugging his arm tight against her over-exposed chest.

‘Yes, I’m here today to deliver the invocation at the dinner.’ The pastor’s kind brown eyes moved politely over to Afton and grew round behind his wire frame glasses, his smile slowly fading away.

Afton’s sharp fluorescent painted nails bit into Cooper’s forearm, prodding him for his reluctantly delivered introduction. ‘Er… Pastor Smith, please let me introduce you to my guest today, Afton Lanford.’

Cooper worked hard to keep the smile on his face as Afton stepped forward, spitting on her fingers patting a dark spike of hair in place. She then extended that same moist hand to the befuddled, slightly germ-phobic, Cooper recalled, piously religious man who took it gingerly and politely in his.

‘The name is Lanford now, your holiness sir, but Cooper here promises to make an
honest
woman of me before too long,’ she simpered with an exaggerated southern accent, waggling her finger wearing the dazzling diamond beneath the pastor’s nose.

‘I don’t know many people here in town – Coop and me met at the bus station about a month ago just
hours
after I got here from Alabama –’ she dug his grave even deeper, ‘so I don’t even have a church yet…hey…maybe you could perform the ceremony, Rev?’

Her trembling voice was hopeful, a hand resting protectively now over her board-flat stomach. She looked up at the dazed spiritual man with wistful eyes, ‘we really will need to get it done as quickly as possible though – in the next eight months or so I reckon!’

The disappointed reproving look he shot over to Cooper caused him to turn a bright shade of red. ‘Er…yes…we can certainly fit you into the schedule I’m sure,’ the shaken pastor murmured distractedly. ‘Cooper, have your mother call the church office and we’ll see where we have our first opening. Well, I really must check in at the reception hall. Bless you both on your upcoming union, children,’ he said easing his hand out of Afton’s tight, desperate grasp and hurrying off through the crowd in the opposite direction.

Cooper felt his temperature rise and then shoot through the top of his head, his eyes blazing with fiery, wrath-filled rage. His hand clamped down painfully on to Afton’s shoulder eliciting a wince from her before he practically frog-marched her to a small, quiet, most importantly –
empty
coat check room nearby. He glared her down as Afton looked back up at him defiantly; small chin thrust forward, fists balled tight on the gentle curve of her hips beneath the clingy red miniskirt.

‘You
vicious
little witch!’ he snarled, ‘I
warned
you to keep my family out of this! Do you have
any
idea how hard it’s going to be to clear up a salacious rumor like that? He is probably on the phone with my appalled mother right now!’

‘What’s wrong, Mr. Carrington –
the third
– doesn’t a
millionaire
like you get women knocked up by accident – or does all your
big
money take care of pesky little problems like that?’ she taunted. ‘I guess only poor
schmucks
like Cooper Stewart get stuck pushing a baby carriage right?’

Cooper reached out a hand and slammed the door shut behind her. He hauled her into his arms, bruising lips grinding furiously down over hers meting out long overdue punishment. Afton tore her lips free and fought him wildly, slapping at his lean cheek, a hoop earring flying off in her frantic struggle to escape his tight grip. She tried to raise a silver platformed heel to kick at his hard shin, but he used his much greater strength to his advantage, plucking her off her feet and plopping her down on to a counter in the middle of the room bringing her livid face level to his that was just as dark and angry.

‘You’re about to find out
exactly
how a millionaire handles problems like you, Afton!’

Cooper kissed her again, long and hard, and their battle now moved to a different playing field as they each fought to bring the other to their knees. It was an even match as they both knew
exactly
where to stroke, what to whisper softly in an ear to destroy defenses, how to caress, and soon they were panting not with temper – but with the heat of an overwhelming, unbridled desire.

Their lips melded together as Cooper’s hands began to rove sensuously over her, pushing up her skimpy top impatiently to stroke her swelling breasts then sliding down to her satiny thighs wrenching them apart, shoving the short skirt up to her waist. His seeking fingers delved under the scrap of red lace she wore beneath, measuring her desire for his possession.

‘God, Afton!’ Cooper’s ragged rasp emerged from deep within, feeling the last thread of control snap inside of him upon discovering the slickened extent of her readiness. ‘I need to be inside of you –
now!
’

‘Yes, Cooper,
yes!
’

Afton’s fingers tangled in his hair bringing his head to her breast as one of Cooper’s slightly unsteady hands caressed over her stomach, lingering there, her husky pleas all the while in his ear begging him to – ‘
please – hurry!
’

‘I’ve missed this
so
much…missed
you
…I can’t wait much longer for you, Afton…’ Cooper muttered rawly against the hollow of her throat feeling half crazed with need. He tore with urgent haste at his zipper, positioning himself between the welcoming vee of her thighs, shuddering as her legs wound themselves around his lean waist…

‘Hello! Is someone in there? This room is for staff only!’

They both froze when a loud knocking started at the door, staring appalled into each other’s eyes. Stunned back to the cold, clear reality of exactly where they were and of what they had been about to do – with no thought given to
any
of the consequences.

‘
Yes!
  I…I’m on a private cell phone call. I’ll be out in a minute!’ he called out in a voice sounding rusty and impeded.

He jerked his zipper back up while Afton hurriedly pushed her skirt back down; wriggling the halter-top back in place to cover exposed breasts marked with the scarlet letter of his teeth marks. Reaching in her purse with trembling fingers, she held out a tissue to him, silently indicating he needed to tend to his mouth smeared with her garish pink lipstick.

He wiped all traces of her from his lips then smoothed his riotously rifled dark hair back in place with unsteady fingers. Cooper bent to retrieve her lost earring, waiting stoically silent while she replaced it shakily in her ear before his hands went to her slender waist. He lifted her down off the counter, placing her gently back on to the floor.

‘Are you ready to go back out?’ he asked quietly.

Afton nodded her head keeping it averted. As she reached out for the doorknob, his hand grasped her upper arm swinging her back to face him with a soft jangle of her bracelets.

‘Afton – if you really
are
pregnant – I want to know…before you make any decisions…’

Afton flushed darkly at his low strained statement actively avoiding his gaze.

‘It was just a
joke
…’ she whispered harshly, twisting her arm free and pulling open the door.

She slipped back unnoticed into the crowd with Cooper trailing a few discreet steps behind. They were both noticeably subdued – neither in any mood to continue on with their charade. After a few moments, Cooper told her in a restrained rough voice that he had had enough and was ready to go.

Chapter Ten

AFTER THEY LEFT
the club, they drove in a taut unbroken silence in Cooper’s Range Rover. A frozen Afton stared unseeingly out the window painfully replaying the red-hot moments in the coatroom in her mind until she realized suddenly she did not recognize the landscape and he was apparently not taking her directly home. She looked curiously around at the stately, luxurious homes suddenly popping up on both sides of the heavily wooded street in the apricot-glazed sun beginning to set outside the front windshield.

‘Where are we?’

‘Medina,’ Cooper replied, naming one of the most exclusive, heavily moneyed areas of the city. He turned the car down a long winding driveway leading to a
spectacular
glass-walled cedar and stone mansion.

‘And whose house is this?’ Afton gazed out, finding herself impressed against her will, also wondering what kind of crowd she would now have to contend with inside.

‘Mine.’

Her head jerked over to Cooper who kept his eyes on the driveway carefully pulling in to an empty slot in a multi-car garage almost filled to overflowing with other expensive cars including a Mercedes convertible and a couple of speedy looking shiny Porsches. As they got out of the car, Afton could hear the far-off din of laughter and conversation drifting down from the house hunkered into a hill overlooking Lake Washington where many of Washington State’s richest residents lived, including a multi-billionaire computer company founder with the distinction of being one of the wealthiest people in the entire world.

‘Let’s go inside.’

Afton held back, her eyes searching his seeking reassurance.

‘It will be okay, Afton, I promise,’ Cooper said quietly as their gazes clung. ‘Afton, I want to say that I’m…’ he started the sentence urgently before they both looked up as they heard shrieks of delight then spotted two small speeding bodies galloping down the steps hurtling into the bottom of Cooper’s legs, hugging them tightly.

‘Uncle Cooper!’ One of a pair of identical twins shouted in delight. ‘We’ve been waiting all
day
for you to get here!’

‘Yes, Uncle Cooper,’ her twin added importantly, ‘we were on the dock with Daddy, making rocks skip in the lake and looking for submarines and whales, and Mommy said we could sleep in the tree house you built us tonight if you said it was okay. Can we, Uncle Cooper – oh
please
say yes!’

‘Of course, munchkin!’

Cooper picked up a red-headed girl in each strong arm, and gave them each a peck on the cheek, ‘but haven’t you forgotten to say hello to our visitor – girls this is Miss Afton,’ he rotated them her way, ‘Afton, this is Trina and Tessa – you won’t be able to tell them apart so don’t even try.’