His heart dropped to his knees then sprang back up to pound hard in his chest at the image her words created in his head.
“It’s okay, Abs. We’re all friends here,” Stef said, sweetly. “Your items all make sense.”
“Absolutely,” Mel chimed in. “I think it’s meant to be, too.”
He frowned, wondering where the redhead was going with this.
“Cooper and me?” Abby’s voice held the incredulity he was feeling.
“You and Cooper kissing,” Mel replied, grin in her tone. “You didn’t know he was going to move here, did you?”
“No,” Abby said.
Neither had he. When Mac had first announced to the guys he was leaving Delta to open his own security and investigation business and all were welcome to join, Cooper hadn’t known what he was going to do. Stay in the Navy? Travel? Work for the spooks that had sought him out? All were possible, but none had felt right.
With his head messed up and his mind not focused enough for SEAL standards, Cooper eventually decided it was best for him and his team if he left the military. Admitting it to himself had been tough. Leaving his brothers, even tougher. But he knew in his gut it was the right decision. And for some reason he couldn’t explain, he’d felt compelled, almost guided to pick up the phone and call Mac.
Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was such a thing as help from beyond the grave, if that guidance had come from Mindy…
“And Mindy made you promise to cross everything off your list, right?” Rylee asked, although she’d obviously known all this for a while.
At the mention of the woman’s name, a shiver had raced through Cooper’s body, as if to confirm his musings.
“Yes,” Abby replied, sounding sad, like she was letting her friend down.
An invisible band squeezed his chest.
Well, hell…he could help her with that. Like she said, it was just a kiss.
He knew how much Mindy had meant to Abby, so a promise to her friend held a lot of weight. One she’d always carry around until she fulfilled that promise.
Cooper continued to tell himself that, refusing to think of anything else—like consequences—as he turned around and quietly retraced his steps back to the storage room, coffee and Doritos all but forgotten. Once inside, he flicked on the light and leaned his back against the closed door.
He needed to think. To process.
It was just a kiss. And it was to help fulfill a promise. Surely Carter wouldn’t have a bird over that.
Plus, today was the perfect day. It was supposed to rain later…
Determination set in. He folded his arms across his chest and smiled as a plan for Operation Kiss Abby in the Rain began to form in his head.
***
That afternoon, Abby sat at her desk in the back office of the salon and stared at the piece of paper in her hand, listening to the rain falling gently on the pavement through her cracked open door. Her brother would have a conniption that she wasn’t locked soundly in her castle. She didn’t care. It was unusually warm today and she wanted to hear the rain. The sound was calming. It matched her mood—sort of melancholy after having talked to her friends about Mindy that morning.
Their reactions to her bucket list had been kind of sweet. Not judgmental at all, and one hundred percent encouraging. They were good friends. She was lucky to have them, and happy to be where she was right now.
Her sigh ruffled the paper she still held. She refocused on the list. Two items were crossed off. A wry smile tugged her lips. Not much chance of making it a trifecta.
Sorry, Mindy.
Cooper had told her he wouldn’t touch her again, and she had no reason not to believe the former SEAL. What she had done since Tuesday, though, was fantasize otherwise.
Especially at night.
Heat rushed through her body, including her face. But she didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing her blush. Her workers had left twenty minutes ago. She was alone at the salon with only her thoughts to keep her company…and hot.
She snickered at her joke.
“Hey, Abby.” Cooper appeared in the doorway out of nowhere.
She jumped to her feet and set a hand over her thumping heart in an attempt to keep it inside her chest. “Cooper! Geeze…you scared me,” she muttered.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to.” He smiled.
Droplets of rain dripped from his hair and face onto the charcoal Henley stretched across his broad shoulders.
Dang. It was as if he’d materialized out of her daydream…
He stepped close and bent to pick up something by her foot. “You dropped this,” he said, glancing from the paper to her face, his gaze warm and—heaven help her—a little mischievous.
Her pulse leapt, and it had just started to level off.
She glanced at what he was handing her and quickly shoved it in her pocket while heat filled her cheeks.
Crap.
Had he seen what was on it?
She chanced a peek at his face. A smile twitched his lips, and that mischievous gleam remained in his eyes.
“Come outside with me, Abby.” He grasped her hand and tugged her toward the door.
Holy crap…
Her heart rocked in her chest. “W-why?” she somehow managed to ask.
He stopped just inside the door and turned to face her. “Because I’m going to kiss you in the rain.”
She sucked in a breath. “You saw my list…”
Smile still on his face, he nodded. “Yeah, but I already knew about it.”
“You did?” She blinked. “How?”
No way did she think any of the girls would’ve told him. But how else could he know?
“I overheard it this morning when I was heading to the breakroom for coffee,” he said, his gaze contrite. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
More than a little mortified, she tried to tug her hand free as heat flushed her body. She was no doubt red from her roots to her toes. “You don’t have to do this. It wasn’t meant to happen out of pity.” She exhaled. “Man, I’m so embarrassed.”
How could she ever look him in the eyes again?
His grip tightened on her hand and he used his free one to cup her face. “Abby, look at me.”
“Abby’s not here right now,” she said, staring at his Adam’s apple.
He chuckled. “Abby, look at me.” Then he got cunning and dipped down so they were eye to eye. “This will have absolutely nothing to do with pity.”
She blinked. “It won’t?”
“No.” He slowly shook his head. “Do you feel pity toward me?”
She frowned. “No. Not at all.”
“And I don’t feel pity toward you, either,” he said, a smile returning to his lips. “I’m going to kiss you because I want to. We both want to. And I’m going to do it in the rain, so you can also cross it off your list. Okay?”
He raised a brow and stared at her, his light eyes, a cross between blue and gray, were clear and honest, and regarded her with patience and a little bit of heat that sent her pulse back into orbit. The hot, sweet man was waiting for her to give him the go-ahead to kiss her.
In the rain.
Like she’d always wanted.
“Okay,” she said.
Of course, she was going to take him up on it.
His smile broadened and he released her face but not her hand, as he tugged her all the way outside. The rain had slowed down by now. It was just a drizzle, but it made the moment even hotter than she’d ever imagined. Standing there watching it soak the rest of his hair and his shirt, causing the material to cling to every single muscle and ridge in his magnificent body had her body humming with need.
Her hair was wet now, too, and her shirt. The cotton stuck to her like a second skin, and appreciation darkened his gaze as he stared at the droplets running down her neck and chest before disappearing below the v of her white T-shirt.
Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult as she watched him wat
ching her, his throat working a few times with the upsurge in the rise and fall of his chest.
Her nipples were pebbled now, and her body trembled, needing him to do what he’d promised just a few days ago he’d never do again.
Touch her.
She opened her mouth to ask him about that, but his gaze chose that moment to meet hers.
“God, Abby, you’re so damn beautiful,” he said, and the heat in his eyes told her he meant every word.
The fact this tough, virile, sexy man found skinny Abby beautiful went a long way to stroking her ego. It gave her the gumption to touch him first. She set her free hand on his abs, and her throat dried when he sucked in a breath. She felt him quiver through his wet shirt.
He released her hand and trailed his fingers up both her arms, all while holding her gaze. It was the most erotic thing she’d ever felt in her life. Her entire body came alive under his touch.
What was really amazing was how the whole world seemed to disappear. It was just her and Cooper, and his warm touch grazing her shoulders then neck before he cupped her face in his hands. They were big and rough, and the contact sent a delicious shiver to all her highly-aware good parts.
She slid her hands up his chest, anticipation ruling her heartbeat as he slowly lowered his head. His gaze was dark and hungry, and although the urge to close her eyes was strong, she kept them open.
Abby had waited forever for this moment. Dreamt of this moment. Fantasized about it for so long now, she was not going to miss a second of it.
Besides, she needed to make sure it was real. The whole thing felt like a dream.
Cooper’s mouth hovered over hers, his breath warm on her face, and she stopped breathing the instant his lips lightly brushed hers.
Chapter Six
Awareness shot down to her toes in a warm, tingling heat. She made a strange noise in her throat, but he didn’t seem to notice. Again and again, he brushed his lips to hers, each time a little firmer and longer, until she thought she’d go crazy from the tender sweetness.
Need slammed into her and she nipped and sipped at his mouth, unable to stop her tongue from brushing his lower lip. Cooper muttered something unintelligible, stepped into her, and finally covered her mouth fully with his.
Abby closed her eyes, and slid her hands up into his hair, kissing him back, spurred on by his hunger and need, which matched hers perfectly.
Cooper kissed her long and deep, slipping his tongue inside her mouth, as if he craved her taste more than air. She could relate. Her pulse was pounding loudly in her ears.
Probably from lack of oxygen.
To heck with it. Breathing was overrated anyway.
Brushing her tongue to his ripped a rough, sexy sound from deep in his chest that she felt all the way to her pink, polished toenails. They curled in her sodden sneakers.
She would’ve done it again, but they had to break for air. Her ears were starting to ring.
That was so much better than any of her fantasies.
Cooper slid his arms around her and cradled her close, while she set her forehead to his chin and brushed back and forth, loving the way the bristles on his jaw felt rough against her skin.
How would it feel on the rest of her?
“Damn, Abby…” His warm breath hit her head in puffs as he worked to catch it.
“Freight train…plow you over…too?” she asked between breaths.
He chuckled and kissed her head. “Something like that.”
They stood that way for a few moments, wrapped in each other arms, dragging in air, with rain continuing to soak their bodies. It felt good on her heated skin.
She shivered.
He drew back. “Why don’t you lock up and I’ll walk you home?”
When she nodded, he followed her inside and waited for her to secure the front of the salon. She grabbed two towels on her way to the back, wiped her face with one and tossed the other to him. Just a temporary fix, since they were going back out in it. But she didn’t mind. A smile tugged her lips as she spread both damp towels over the back of her chair.
Actually, she didn’t think she’d ever look at the rain the same ever again.
Grabbing her purse, she tried to ignore the uptick in her pulse but failed. She failed. Her fingers shook slightly as she set the alarm and shut out the lights. She needed to get a grip. Dang…she was acting like a virgin, which she was not. When Cooper headed outside, Abby hesitated a second to inhale and blow out the breath. Feeling better, she stepped outside and laughed.
Cooper stood by her door with an umbrella.
“Where did you have that?” she asked, joining him underneath.
“Propped against the building,” he replied with a grin. “I couldn’t allow you to walk home in the rain.”
Warmth spread through her chest. He’d planned to kiss her and walk her home. That thought made her feel good.
She smiled. “You think of everything.”
“I try.” He chuckled, and together they fell into a friendly silence as they walked around the building, down the block, and crossed the street to the Pub parking lot.
Cooper didn’t touch Abby or make any more moves on her, and she told herself it was okay. After all, the kiss was just something to cross off her list.
No way would she read anything more into it…even if it had been so much better than any of her fantasies. And they’d both gotten carried away. The craving she’d felt inside and from him had been real. She’d seen it in his eyes. Felt it in his touch. His kiss. His very hard body.
Still, he was her brother’s friend. His military brother. That was a huge obstacle. One she hoped Cooper would be willing to overcome, but Abby refused to push him into something he’d regret.
That would only end in disaster.
By the time they entered the building, he set the now folded umbrella on the bottom step and they headed upstairs, she was resigned to the fact they were back to being just friends.
Abby unlocked her door, punched in the deactivation code on the wall panel, and stood aside, but when he made no move to check her apartment, she raised a brow. “You’re not going inside?”
“No.” He shook his head. “That’s overkill. This place is more than secure. I checked the security program at ESI. Your brother has this wired so that if someone had picked your lock, an alarm would alert my phone.”
She leaned against the wall and raised her brow. “Really? Wow.” Her brother was a freakin’ genius. Then a thought hit her. “So…then why did you come in? You could’ve left me at the stair door.”
“You’re right. I could have,” he said. “But I always walk women I kiss to their door.”
And he’d certainly kissed her…but good.
“Oh.” She blinked. “I see.” It was sweet, but she got the impression he wasn’t aiming for sweet. “Thanks. And thank you for kissing me. And helping me cross it off my list. And fulfill a promise, too.” Darn…she was babbling.
He moved to stand in front of her, setting a palm on the wall near her head while he lifted his other hand to trace her jaw with his thumb. “It was my pleasure.”
Her pulse leapt and beat out of rhythm. “Mine, too.” She smiled.
His gaze dropped to her mouth and his thumb moved over to lightly skim her lower lip.
Breathing was becoming a chore now, and her whole body was heating and tingling again. This wasn’t friend-mode at all. This was…amazing.
“That kiss was something else,” he said, his voice sounding rough to her ears. “I can’t help but wonder if it was because of the rain.”
She swallowed. “Perhaps.” But she didn’t think so.
“Care to try again?” His gaze lifted, and it was dark and smoldering with need. “To test that theory?”
Yes, please.
It took all Abby had not to lunge forward and wrap herself around his hot, hard body. Instead, she placed her palms on his chest and nodded. “Okay.”
His gaze darkened further as he cupped her fac
e with both hands, just as he had in the rain, and slowly lowered his mouth to hers.
This time, he only brushed her lips once before covering her mouth completely with his, kissing her slow and thorough. Heat rushed through her body, chasing away the chill created by her wet clothes.
Abby sighed and melted against that hard body she already missed. Cooper made that rough, sexy sound again and the kiss intensified to delicious heights. He had one hand on her hip now and the other fisted in her hair as he held her head at an angle he must’ve liked because he explored and tasted and teased until she shook in his arms. That need she’d held at bay took over then, and she slid a hand under his shirt, caressing his abs and stroking those ridges she’d always wanted to touch.
Rock-hard. He was rock-hard and hot…so very hot.
All too soon he broke the kiss, his hand still in her hair as he set his forehead to hers. “Every time…” His voice trailed off.
She smiled, liking the disbelief and hunger in his tone. “I-I don’t think it was the rain, Cooper,” she muttered when she caught enough breath.
He chuckled. “Agreed.” His hold on her hair slackened and he drew back a few inches to catch her gaze. “I can’t seem get enough of you.”
“Agreed,” she repeated his word with a grin, but when his smiled started to fade she sighed. “But…?”
“But we can’t do this again,” he said, releasing her before he stepped back.
“Because my brother is your military buddy.”
“That, too. But mostly because you deserve better.”
Abby blinked. “Deserve better?” Surely she’d heard him wrong.
“Yes, Abby,” he replied, running a hand through his damp hair. “You deserve much better than me.”
She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head. “You know that’s bullshit, right?”
He went brows up, no doubt shocked to hear her curse. He was right, she didn’t often do it, but there were times it was warranted and now was one of them.
“See?” He sighed. “You never curse, but you spent a little time with me and look how that changed. I’m a bad influence, Abby.”
Cooper (HC Heroes Series Book 5) Page 7
