“Two perfect margaritas.”
Dangerous, she thought biting down on her lower lip. “I bet he can kiss.”
“Excuse me?”
Jane whipped around and faced the bartender whose inquiring tone and rap of knuckles on the wood bar pulled her from her reverie. He grinned at her as he slid two margaritas across the mahogany.
“Did you say something?” His smile widened.
Afraid to speak, Jane shook her head. He knew exactly what she had murmured aloud. Heat suffused her cheeks and damn, she hated the fact that she embarrassed so easily.
“You want me to start a tab or pay as you go?”
“A tab, thank you.” Jane picked up the drinks and spun around.
“Whoa,” said a deep male voice when her nose met solid chest as someone deftly lifted the two glasses from her hands.
“I hadn’t exactly been looking to take a shower just yet.”
Someone to the left chuckled. Jane did not have to look up to see the blue eyes to know who she almost ran into. Mr. Dangerous. Jane swallowed and tilted her head. The man was beautiful. Can a guy be beautiful? She gave a mental shrug, took a small step back only to have her backside meet another solid wall. She gasped and froze. Her eyes widened as the man who held her margaritas winked at the human barrier behind her.
“Jack, I think we frightened the lady.”
Jack. The man behind her was Jack. Jane straightened and sidestepped the two men. Thank goodness no one else had blocked her way.
“How’d we do that? All you did was save her drinks?” Jack answered his friend while nodding in Jane’s direction. “Give— I’m sorry, what was your name?”
Jane stared at the wide-shouldered man whose sapphire eyes twinkled with humor. His smile disarmed her. “Jane.”
“Cooper, give Jane her drinks back.”
Jane shifted and turned with her hands held out to take the margaritas.
“Jane. That’s a nice name. Old-fashioned and pretty, just like the lady herself.”
She felt the flush rise on her neck. “Uh, can I have my drinks please?”
Her body quivered as Cooper stepped to her, invaded her space. “Where would you like me to deliver these?”
Jane blinked in surprise. “I-I can take them.”
“Nonsense. We wouldn’t want some other unsuspecting person to get a cold margarita shower. If I deliver them, there is no chance that will happen. Besides, then I’ll know where you’re sitting when I want to buy you the next round.”
He was kidding, right? She jumped when a warm breath tickled her ear. “He won’t bite. I promise.”
Jane glanced over her shoulder to see Jack nod and give a little wave with his hand in a shooing gesture. She turned back to Cooper and spoke. “I haven’t located a table yet.”
“Ah, well, allow me to get one for you.”
Without thinking, she followed the man as he weaved his way through the throng of people. He strode through the cheering, shouting crowd with the confidence of a gunslinger that never missed his mark. And his butt looked real good in a pair of jeans. Jane caught her wandering eye and mind. She gave her head a shake and returned her attention to trailing after Cooper. He set the glasses down on a tall pub table then pulled out a chair and held it for her.
Jane was not used to this. Men threw themselves at Amy’s feet, not hers. Not that he exactly threw himself at her, but he was very solicitous. She had never met a man with such nice manners, especially one so obviously masculine. She doubted he had ever gotten in touch with his feminine side. No, that was not right. She doubted he had a feminine side. Not that she would complain.
“For you.” He swept his arm across the seat of the chair and patted it.
Jane hooked her bag over the back of the chair then hiked up her dress. She lifted one hip, and slid onto the wooden seat. “Thank you.”
He moved to the side the table so Jane could see his face. In the pale glow of the bar’s lights and all the televisions, she noticed he had dark hair, almost inky black. Add in the ice blue eyes, a chiseled face with a strong jawline and Jane guessed Cooper had American Indian somewhere in his bloodline. Again, the word beautiful popped into her head. He smiled a brilliant grin that made her squirm. She glanced down at the table. His hands were big with long fingers, and… Her brow furrowed when she saw bright pink at the tip of one of his fingers. Is that a fingernail? A pink fingernail?
Before she could discern the truth the hand was gone, shoved into the front pocket of his jeans. A low chuckle had her looking up.
“Not what it seems. A joke with a couple of buddies.” His large shoulders lifted and fell. “I lost a bet.”
“I see.” She arched a brow not really understanding.
“No you don’t, but that’s okay. I’ll tell you about it sometime, maybe after a couple of drinks. In the meantime, I better get back to Jack. Holler when you’re ready for your second margarita.” Cooper tipped an invisible hat, pivoted on booted heel, and left her to watch him in his wake as he once again parted the crowd as if he were Moses parting the Red Sea.
“Intriguing.”
“Who?” Amy asked as she popped into the chair across from Jane.
* * * *
“What’ll you have?”
“Guinness,” Cooper told the beefy bartender with the barbed wire tattoo on his bicep.
“Coming right up.”
While the bartender built the Guinness, Cooper leaned against the bar, his elbows resting on the smooth mahogany, eyed the patrons through the large mirror hanging on the wall behind the bar. He popped a few peanuts in his mouth as he scanned the room until his gaze hooked on and stopped at a pair of legs. Long, lean legs with shapely calves led up to where a dress bunched around solid, sexy thighs before reaching a sweet ass bent over a pool table. Cooper shifted to relieve the pressure against the zipper of his pants and let his gaze travel up the leggy woman.
It was her. Jane. For some reason before he saw her face, he knew the face attached to the gorgeous, slender body would be Jane. The dress hugged the shapely and purely feminine curves of her tight ass. His eyes continued up past a slender waist, perky breasts that were more than a mouthful, but not more than a handful—at least not too much for his hands to handle.
“One Guinness coming up.”
Cooper glanced over at the bartender who slid the frosty mug down the smooth wood and caught the glass in his hand. “Thanks.”
As he lifted the mug to his lips, his gaze returned to the mirror. With the glass a breath away from his lips, his hand paused. Her brown eyes met his in the reflection of the mirror. He knew she had brown eyes because when she had looked up at him after stumbling into his chest, the first thought that ran through his mind was of Kahlua, warm and inviting.
From across the room she smiled at him in a way that made his breath catch and told him that she was fully aware of him. All sensuality and come-hither. Cooper swallowed, his mouth suddenly reminding him of a desert. His gaze locked on hers, Cooper finished bringing the beer to his lips and drank long and deep.
Her tongue slipped out from between full lips and slid across them in a suggestive, make no mistakes about it, I give good head motion. Cooper almost choked. Instead, beer sloshed down his chin. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his blue eyes watched her very brown eyes spark and light in flirtation.
Tugging his gaze from hers, he set his mug and what was left of his beer on the bar, pulled two twenties out of his pocket, and tossed them next to the glass. “Two margaritas for the ladies.” Cooper aimed a finger in the direction of one of the pool tables.
The bartender nodded. “Great taste.”
Cooper waited without comment, leaning his elbows on the bar, his back resting against the rail as he watched Jane and her redheaded friend play eight ball. He noticed Jane liked football. Whenever the Patriots were on the offense, she stalled her shot until a play ended. When the Patriots scored a touchdown, he grinned as Jane did some kind of happy danc
e. The movement reminded him of the chicken dance where she shook her fanny, gave a shout and then high-fived her friend. He liked the camaraderie between the two women.
When a giant of a man wearing a plaid flannel shirt and shit-kicker boots strode into the picture Cooper went on alert. He could not hear what the man said to Jane, but he read body language. The big man blocked her view of the television and invaded her space. When she sidestepped him, he reached out with an arm and like a shepherd’s crook, hooked Jane around her waist then reeled her in and against his side.
“Enough is enough.” Cooper shoved away from the bar, ignoring the bartender and anyone else in the room. He headed straight for the woman. Before he reached the big man, Cooper took in the man’s size, his attire, and assessed the situation. The man wore a black leather belt around his healthy midsection with a knife scabbard attached to it on his right hip. The casing was empty, but Cooper doubted very much the redneck left the knife in his truck. Dollars to donuts the big guy had the six-inch blade sheathed inside his boot. His best approach would be to play it cool. Finesse.
Cooper shortened his stride and slowed his movement. He loosened his fists, and instead of charging into the mix, he sauntered up to Jane as if she belonged to him and draped an arm over her shoulders just as she extricated herself from the man’s grip by stomping his instep with her three-inch boot heels. “Did you miss me, sweetheart?” he asked in a low growl and kissed her.
Jane stiffened beneath his arm and glanced up at him. Cooper winked, bent his head, and whispered in her ear. “Follow my lead.”
As he pressed his lips to hers again, Cooper tugged her shoulders and maneuvered Jane against him chest to chest. He deepened the kiss, his tongue gliding across her lower lip. Her lips were soft and pliant, warm, and tasted of peaches. Jane’s mouth opened for him and his tongue parried with hers. When her fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him even closer to her, he gave a low moan, dug his fingers into her hip, and urged her nearer. He wanted her inside his skin. He wanted inside her. The shock of his own reaction, of his own erection pressed against her lower belly made him jump back and release Jane.
From beneath hooded eyelids, Cooper saw Jane’s chest lift and fall in rapid succession just as his did. She wanted him too. The knowledge of that fact made him grin and step to her. “I—”
“Hey man, the lady was playing with me,” the tall ox complained. He grasped Jane’s wrist and gave it a firm tug. She pitched sideways and stumbled, but Cooper snaked an arm around her waist, eased her back and placed himself in between the jackass and Jane, acting as human shield.
“I really don’t think you want to do that.” He kept his tone low but the warning was clear. “The lady is fragile and she’s mine.” Cooper offered the flannel-clad Neanderthal a slanted grin as he shoved Jane and her pool cue behind him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to the man. “Have a couple of drinks on me as a consolation prize.”
The man looked at the money, sized him up. His big shoulders lifted and dropped. “Okay, thanks. You’re a lucky guy. She’s beautiful.”
Cooper’s lips lifted into a full-blown smile. “Yes, she is.” He half-turned and sliding an arm around her waist, he held Jane to his side. “Yes, she is.”
“That was amazing,” Jane murmured in his ear. “How’d you do that?”
Cooper shrugged and smiled. “I ordered another margarita for you. Let me go get it.”
“You—”
“No need.” Jack strolled up carrying two margaritas. “The bartender gave these to me. I take it one is for Jane and the other for her friend…” Jack lifted an eyebrow as he eyed Jane’s pool playing partner.
“Oh.” Jane jumped. “Amy. This is my friend Amy.”
“Jack,” he said and handed Amy a glass. “This is Cooper.” Jack gestured to him.
Cooper nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
“Should we sit?” Jack asked.
“Yes, sure,” Amy answered then spun on spiky heels and swayed her hips as she wound her way to the table that Cooper had escorted Jane to not more than an hour ago. After doing an eyebrow dance Jack trailed after her.
Jane moved to follow but Cooper held on. “Are you okay?” Setting aside her pool cue, he lifted the wrist the manhandling moron had grabbed and checked it for bruising. A slight pink ring circled her wrist. “What a brute.” Cooper brought the offended limb to his lips. As he pressed a gentle kiss to the injury, he heard Jane gasp, felt her pulse trip beneath his fingertips. When he peered up at her and into those brown eyes, he saw heat and desire.
Taking her hand, he laced her fingers with his. “Better?”
“Huh?”
Cooper chuckled. “Feel better?”
She bobbed her head.
“Good. Shall we go get that margarita before Jack drinks it?”
“Uh, yes, please.”
He grinned and not releasing her hand, led the way to the table.
Cooper pulled out her chair and once again helped her into it. Across the table, her gaze met Amy’s. She lifted a brow and jerked her head in Cooper’s direction who sat next to her, his arm draped over the back of her chair. Amy winked and Jane felt her cheeks flush.
Afraid Cooper might have seen Amy’s mouth the words “Go for it,” Jane glanced over her shoulder at him. He appeared to be too enthralled in his conversation with Jack. Whew. Go for it? Was she crazy? She just met the man. Great that he saved her from some overzealous prick. So what if he was the first man to kiss her and make her toes curl instead of feel as if she needed a towel. Unbelievable! Her toes actually curled. Just thinking about that kiss her toes reacted, tightening, and hiding inside her boots. Jane fidgeted, shifted in her stool, crossing one leg over the other and bumped Cooper’s leg.
“I’m so sorry.” She instinctively reached for the spot she hit. Her hand swept Cooper’s muscular thigh and for a moment, she fantasized about stroking that muscle while he held himself above her naked. Heat streaked low in her belly and below. Jane tugged her hand back.
What the heck was wrong with her? The man kissed her and now she couldn’t think. Get it right, Jane, he kissed you silly. Oh my gosh! She slapped a hand over her mouth. There really is such a thing.
“Are you alright?” he leaned in and whispered in her ear.
Jane whirled, her head smacking into his. “Oh. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
“That was my question to you,” Cooper answered pressing two fingers to his nose.
“Uh, yes, I’m fine.” I think. “Would you excuse me?” She slid off the chair in a less than graceful move and her dress rode up. With a wiggle, an embarrassing grin, and a shrug, she whirled and rushed to the ladies’ room.
Once the door clicked shut behind her, Jane leaned against it, her eyes closed in utter mortification. Why was she so skittish? A nervous Nellie? It wasn’t as if she had never been with a man before. No, she had just never been with a man that made her quiver all the way to her toes. “Damn! Imagine what having sex with him would be like.”
A squeak alerted her to someone else’s presence before the voice. “Why don’t you find out?”
Jane’s eyelids popped open. “What?”
“Don’t just imagine it, honey, go for it,” the woman dressed in tight jeans and an off-the-shoulder sweater suggested. “Always try before you buy.”
Jane choked on a laugh and pushed away from the door. Two people recommended going for it. “Go for it,” she mumbled walking toward the sink and checked her reflection in the mirror. Jane ran her fingers across her swollen lips. Yes, she had been thoroughly kissed.
“Yeah, honey, what have you got to lose?”
What did she have to lose? Amy was right. This stranger was right. Jane nodded. “You’re right. I’ve got nothing to lose.” She touched up her lip-gloss, smacked her lips, and marched to the door.
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Jane tugged the heavy door open. She rounded the corner and ran s
traight into Cooper. She gasped.
Cooper chuckled. “I wanted to be certain you were okay.”
Oh, yes, she was okay. Steeling herself, Jane stiffened her spine, lifted her chin, and went for it. “Go along with this,” she whispered in his ear. Then she kissed him.
It was no tentative kiss. It was a heart-stopping, body-crushing, earth-shattering kiss that sent liquid heat straight to her core. When she felt the wall against her back and Cooper’s arms around her waist, Jane wound her arms around his neck. Pinned between his rock hard chest and the wall, she felt Cooper’s erection rub against her middle. She wanted him even more and indicated it by running her fingers through his silky dark hair and tugging him closer—if that was possible.
Cooper broke the kiss and Jane felt bereft at the loss of his lips on hers. Her chest heaving, she managed to put words together in a coherent sentence. “Is something wrong?”
One of his dark brows lifted. “Don’t move,” he ordered between breaths. With a brief peck on the mouth, he strode away.
“Don’t move,” she repeated trying to catch her breath.
“Nice going.” The woman from the bathroom strolled by and winked.
Jane blushed and grinned as if she had just been caught playing doctor with the boy next door behind the shed. “Thank you,” she murmured and dropped her head, hiding her smile from any other passerby.
When a hand stroked her cheek, she glanced up to see blue-gray eyes smiling back at her.
“I really need to go home and get out of these clothes.”
“Don’t you want to help me out of mine first?” Jane slapped a hand over her runaway mouth. What was she saying? Who was this brazen woman speaking and doing what she would never in a million years think of saying or doing? Was she drunk?
Cooper grabbed her hand, hauled her against him, and whispered against her lips, “I’ve never heard that line before but it works. Let’s go get out of some clothes.”
Phish NET Stalkings Page 4
