One More Night (11 page)
A growl of pleasure rumbled in his chest, she was already soaked with her desire and greedily he lap up the addictive nectar. The more she moaned and sobbed only made him want to give her more, his tongue twirled around the tight little bud and he sucked it into his mouth. He kept it up until she cried out and her body tightened and shuddered, before leaving her he lapped up the sweet heady juices.
Cooper was boneless, she could only lie there with her eyes closed as the intensity of her climax swept through her. Only when Nate moved away did she lift her lashes, and smiled as he tore at his clothing. When he was finally naked and he stood before her, did she let her ravenous gaze slide over him. He was so powerfully built, with not an inch of lose skin on his magnificent torso.
Muscles bulged in all the right places and that wasn't the only thing that bulged.
As he stepped forward she scooted back on the bed, and she sighed in pleasure as his damp heated skin slid over hers. When he kissed her it was with such tenderness it almost made her cry. She tore her mouth free and cried out as he slowly slipped inside her. His mouth and hands touched and caressed her in all the right places, their hips rocked together and it wasn't long before she could feel the torturous need building to be released.
Her climax, when it came, hit her with a force of a hurricane,
it lashed, battered and swept her away.
Her nails dug into his tight buttocks as she rode the powerful storm. They hadn't anywhere near subsides when she was picked up and tossed on another climatic tempest.
Nate held his own release back until he drew the ultimate climax from Cooper. Only then did he let himself give into his own. When it came it shook him to the very core. It exploded from him with such vibrancy that he thought the top of his head would come off. Still breathing heavy, he found her swollen mouth and brushed it with a gentle kiss before he rolled off her and gathered her up in his arms.
He laid there completely stunned, something significant just happened to him and he could no longer deny it.
He was undeniably in love with Cooper.
It scared the hell out of him.
Not only because he'd never felt this way before but he didn't know if this intense emotion was one sided.
He wanted to ask her, but didn't want to hear her answer
.
What if she didn't, what then?
Hell, this was crazy and he decided for now he wouldn't say anything. He needed time to work through this and decide what he was going to do about it. Besides, the next few days were going to be traumatic enough. The best thing to do now was just leave things as they were for the time being, soon though they were going have to discuss their future.
No way was he going to repeat the last six months of his life
. It had been pure torture not seeing her, touching her, tasting her and unable to make love to her. He definitely wasn't going to put himself through that hell a second time. Somehow, someway they would work something out that would satisfy both of them. Frowning thoughtfully, he wondered now that she had no family left that she might consider moving to Dallas. It would be the ideal solution.
He would even be willing to sacrifice sharing his home with her and grunting, thought that was certainly saying just how much he cared for her. He liked the idea though,
liked it a hell of a lot.
Grinning, he rubbed his cheek against the top of her head, yep it would be the perfect solution. Now all he had to do was convince her, and that brought a frown to his brow. She could be damn right stubborn at times, however, all he could hope for was that she loved him and wanted to be with him.
His chest tightened in fear, he clenched his jaw trying to stop it from growing.
Damn it, she had to love him
. He would damn well make sure she did. His confusion and anxiety fled when she whimpered in her sleep, his hand slid up and down her arm soothing her.
SEVENTEEN
Alone in the big bed, Cooper stretched and a ghost of a smile whispered over her lips. Her body was deliciously sated from Nate's lovemaking. He'd never made love to with such exquisite tenderness before. It touched her soul and she couldn't deny it any longer, she was deeply in love with him. And even though she didn't want to admit it, she knew though that nothing would ever come of it. Nate even stated he wasn't looking for a permanent relationship.
No, he was the love'm and leave'm kind
, and there was no use hiding or trying to deny the fact, she told herself. Even if it was breaking her heart, she knew she could only expect a few more nights or days as the case maybe, in his bed. The only sensible thing for her to do was after she buried the last of her family was to put an end this crazy connection between them.
Tears blurred her eyes and she squeezed them shut, it wasn't going to be easy ending things between them. And she knew he wouldn't agree and would probably argue, but it wouldn't do him any good. She also knew that she would never be satisfied with a few snatched weekends, she wanted more and he definitely wasn't the type to give more. It had taken losing Sandie to make her realize that life was too short not to grasp at happiness while you had the chance.
It also made her realize she wanted the impossible
, Nate as her husband and the father of her children. However, realistically she knew it wasn't probable. So the only sensible thing to do before it become far too late was to sever all ties with him and start and new life for herself. It would be nearly impossible to forget what they shared together, but she would survive. Letting out a trembling sigh, she ignored the heavy feeling in her chest and raised her lashes.
Her mind made up, she tossed the covers of and slipped of the bed. Spotting her overnight bag by the dresser, she went over, picked it and placed on the chair. Extracting the clothes she would wear headed for the bathroom. Under the spray of water, the tears trickled down her face. There would be a lot to do in the next few days and they were going to be emotionally draining.
She knew though with Nate at her side she would get through them and whether she liked to admit it or not, she needed him to be there for her.
It was going to be heaven and hell being with him,
in the end though she was going to have to say goodbye and hoped that the last piece of her heart wasn't destroyed along with it.
~*~
Nate quietly opened the bedroom door, he noticed the empty bed at the same time the bathroom door opened and Cooper stepped into the room. The second he saw she was wrapped only in a towel he grew aroused, no matter how much he wanted to take her in his arms there wasn't time. “Coffee will be ready by the time you're dressed and then we'll go to the morgue.”
Cooper hitched a breath and gave a jerk of her head. “I won't be long.”
He could see how much of an effort it was taking to her hold back the tears. Just as he made up his mind to go to her, and comfort her, his phone rang, he hissed out a breath, reached in his pocket and pulling it out, checked the id and answered it. Glancing once more at Cooper, he left the room as he spoke to his brother. The conversation was brief, he wandered into the kitchen and poured coffee for Cooper.
The next few hours were going to be horrendous and he definitely wasn't looking forward to them. Dragging his fingers through his hair, he gazed unseeing out the window. Thanks to Trent though, he was at least spared the task of informing relatives and friends. It was bad enough having to tell Cooper. He was also going have to put of telling how he felt about her, he knew now wasn't the time.
She already had too much to deal with and it wasn't fair of him to put more pressure on her.
No, he would have to wait
, he could only hope it wouldn't be too late or too long. Drawing in a deep breath, he shoved his hands in his suite pockets and rocket on his heels. He hated to admit it, but he was an emotional wreck. It wasn't just because of the death of his cousin, Sandie and the unborn baby.
No, it was the startling knowledge that he was in love.
Such a weak word for all the turmoil going on inside him, he shook his head in confusion.
How could you feel ecstatic and at the same time scared to death?
You wanted to shout it to the world, but keep it locked inside you. Hell, no wonder he never did relationships.
Well it was too late now for regrets
, he told himself. He was in love with Cooper and now he was going to find away so that they could spend more time together.
It wasn't going to be easy, but he'd find a solution that would work for both of them. Once again, he wondered if she would be agreeable to moving to Dallas, and live here with him. His gaze whipped around the chrome and tiled kitchen. Cooper was the very first woman he'd bought home and it felt right that she was here now. He didn't feel as if she was invading his space,
but would it feel that way say after a month or two?
He frowned, and grew even more confused.
Hell, he was losing his sanity,
he blew out a breath of aggravation and a growl rumbled in his chest.
Leave it,
he told himself, he would have plenty of time to come up with the ideal solution that would work perfectly well for both of them. In the meantime, there were other matters that needed to be taken care of and dealt with.
Cooper and his relationship would have to placed on the back burner for now.
~*~
In the darkness, Cooper let the silent tears trickle down her cheeks as she lay in Nate's sleeping arms. Tomorrow, they would return home and the day after that she would put Sandie and her family to rest, and she would also be saying goodbye to the man she loved.
Which meant she would have only one more night with Nate
.
It was breaking her heart and she was emotionally torn, but she knew it was the only sensible thing to do. A soft sob broke passed her lips and she squeezed her hers shut praying she hadn't woken Nate. However, when she felt his hand caress down her arm, she knew that she had.
Nate was only dozing when he heard the little cry, his heart broke knowing that Cooper was crying. “We'll get through this sweetheart. I know how much this is hurting you.” He whispered against the side of her head and tightened his arms around her.
“I know and thank you for being there for me.”
“There's no need to thank me sweetheart.” Nate frowned, something in the tone of her voice had him concerned, but when she spoke next his worry evaporated.
“Nate make love to me.” Cooper wanted to lose herself in his arms, for at least a little while she wanted to forget everything. She sighed gratefully, when he rolled her over and his body covered hers.
His heart banged in his chest, Nate tenderly brushed the lock of hair of her face before his mouth slowly lowered to hers.
Cooper was swept away by Nate's dexterous mouth, tongue, hands and fingers playing over her body in exquisite ecstasy. When he finally slipped into her body, he sent her into a world of blissful rapture.
Unable to sleep after making love to Cooper, Nate spooned her sleeping body.
Something was off, he knew it was, but what?
It wasn't as if their lovemaking hadn't been phenomenal, there was just something odd about it and he couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe he was just imagining it, perhaps it was all the stress they were both under. Yet he couldn't stop the niggling feeling that something was wrong.
Did he only imagine Cooper's desperation when they were making love or was it real, and if it was, what did it mean? His gut knotted as his concern increased. Actually now that he thought about it, the moment she entered the kitchen earlier today she'd been acting weird, and it wasn't because they were going to the morgue. No it was definitely something else, but what?
His heart started sinking and he shook his head in denial.
No, he wouldn't believe it, surely not.
But the longer he thought about it, he realized it was a possibility. Could Cooper be trying to put some distance between them and if she was, why? Surely, after all that has happened, she's come to realize that there is more than sex between them.
However, the longer he thought, the surer he was that she was trying to separate herself from him. He had to do something and fast, he wasn't prepared to lose her now that he was in love with her.
But what?
How could he fix this before she had the chance to end things between them? Desperation clawed at him as he tried to come up with a way to convince her that they belonged together.
Oh God, he couldn't lose her, not yet, not now, not ever.
He had the next few days he told himself, surely he could talk her around. Yet his anxiety and fear amped up because deep down in his gut he knew there was a very good chance that he could lose her. He didn't have any idea how to stop it from happening, but he was going to do everything he could to make sure it never did.
No way, no way in hell was he going to give her up without a fight
.
He couldn't.
EIGHTEEN
With mounting concern, Nate watched Cooper from across the crowded room. It seemed that everyone in town was filling the house, and had come to pay their condolences. It broke his heart to see the sad little smile on Cooper's mouth, and it tore at his gut when he had to stand beside her at the graves while she silently wept.
He was worried though, desperately worried that she was pushing him away.
Oh not physically but she was erecting barriers around herself that he just couldn't scale, no matter how hard he tried.
Tonight though, when they were alone, he was going to talk to her. He wanted to put it off a little longer, but he was afraid that if he didn't do it now it would be too late. Out the corner of his eyes, he noticed people starting to leave and sighed in relief. Putting down his drink, he strode towards Cooper and when he reached her, wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. His chest ached when she stiffened and tried to move away. He wasn't about to let her go and held her more firmly.