by Kaylea Cross
“Bay, too.”
“Oh man, he’s gonna fuck up the motion sensors. That won’t work, Cooper.”
“What if you set them above waist height?” Kyle said.
Malcolm piped up. “You mean to say your dog never jumps up on stuff?”
“Coop, we’re gonna have to figure something out. I say we all go over to the house and check it out first,” Fredo volunteered.
“One thing Malcolm can do. We need to find out about this tat. You think Daisy did it, Coop?”
“Seems possible. Perhaps someone put something over on her?” Cooper answered. “I’d like a better look at the picture the detective has.”
“What about Brownlee?” asked Fredo.
“Turned everything over to the cops. Evidence.” Cooper looked out the window and had an idea. “I’m going to ask Timmons. Maybe he could get a copy, professional courtesy and all. Then I’ll send Malcolm on his first assignment.” He winked at the handsome officer.
“Sounds like a plan, Cooper,” Malcolm said. “You get that picture and I’ll go ask Daisy. I’m assuming all you guys got the tat already. I’d be the one looking to have my flesh painted.”
“She’d know you were joining the Team. She’s probably more than a little sore at me. It wouldn’t be right if I went,” answered Coop.
Fredo leaned against Malcolm and whispered, “She thought she was going to be Mrs. Cooper. I’m kinda glad she’s still single so I can have her work on me again. Her partner’s a little rough, you ask me.”
* * *
Cooper went over to Timmons’s office on base and gave him an update on what he was doing.
“Not fond of you getting the new guy entangled in this, Coop. Kyle and Fredo better keep their mouths shut, too.” Timmons was in a foul mood again, like he’d been for the past year, since before their last deployment.
“Didn’t want to. He kind of forced himself on me. What’s his story?”
“I think you could be looking at another Joint Chiefs member in the making, Coop. Graduated first in his class, can you believe that? His liaison officer told me he didn’t even read until he was in second grade.”
Coop whistled. “I know some guys who still don’t read. Seems like a smart squid. Built like a tank. An okay guy, too.”
“More than that. Turned down a football contract to join the Teams. He’s so athletic, I’ll bet he could still have a career there after he’s done here.”
“Well let’s hope the Navy gives him every bit of his below-poverty pay and hazard pay, so he doesn’t get tempted,” Coop tossed back to his liaison.
“Right.”
Several guys on Team 3 came from professional football. They’d had a senator’s son and an astronaut’s son in their BUD/S class, but both washed out. He knew better than anyone that only guys who could focus on one thing at a time made it. Was hard for a guy to make the training if he had too many choices. Often the most successful SEALs were damaged goods when they arrived, or kids intent on making something of themselves.
“Well, if he turned down a life of the rich and famous to work on my Team, I guess I can give him a little respect. Thanks for telling me.”
“So, how can I help you?”
“I was just trying to keep you informed.” Coop was hoping Timmons didn’t catch on.
Not a chance. He should have known.
“Bullshit. You could have said all that over the phone. You want something. Now you going to tell me, or are you going to make me play with my dick all afternoon until you do?”
Cooper tensed at the slight thrown his way. But he had to show Timmons his skin was thick. “I want a picture of the tats the police got.”
“What tats?”
“These.” Cooper rolled up his sleeve and showed Timmons.
“Shit, Cooper, the guy has a set of these? Riverton didn’t tell me that.”
“Well, he’s a detective. That’s why I’m one of his suspects. You know what the guy did, don’t you?”
“Yes. Killed the daughter’s cat. He said a picture was sent to the doctor. I just figured it was your dumb luck to have called on these people right about the time some psycho decided to—”
“That’s why I want to study them, carefully. Might tell me who did it. You know I would recognize Daisy’s work anywhere.”
“Why don’t you just ask her?”
Cooper had left out the part about him seeing Libby Brownlee. And he certainly wasn’t going to tell him he was in a get-nekkid type of relationship with her. Even though her dad seemed to be cool with it, he didn’t want to tell Timmons.
But what made Timmons such a good Team liaison was he could tell when there was a good story. In fact, he usually expected it.
As if Timmons could read Cooper’s mind, he shot up to his feet and threw a file down on the desk. The top of the manila file was folded and wrinkled where it had been crushed by Timmons’s death grip. “God damn it, Coop. You guys have about as much sense as—” he whirled around and spotted the frog statue.
Oh shit. Here he goes again. Need to take up another collection.
But Cooper saw him sit down without destroying the Team 3 mascot, in a rare display of control.
“I’ll get your fucking picture,” Timmons said to his desktop. “Now get the hell out of my office.”
Chapter Thirty-three
Cooper stopped by the Babemobile and retrieved Bay, who wasn’t used to riding in Fredo’s truck, and he had to help the dog up and into the second seat. As planned, Cooper stopped by the Hotel Del and picked up Libby, who needed some things at the house. Carla had also given her a list of things to bring back for her and her dad.
Libby was dressed in mid-calf capris and a stretchy peach top that showed off all the parts Coop liked the best. But he preferred to not have to feel or look through stretchy cotton and lace, even though it was enticing as hell. He was hoping somehow they’d be able to get lucky over at the house, but he didn’t want to push Libby into anything about which she felt uncomfortable.
“Dad told me you guys really had bonded last night in the bar,” she ventured. “Must have been pretty important. Neither my mother nor I could get him to say two words about it.”
Cooper made a note that this was a good sign, and he trusted the Doc a little more. He preferred the story about his failed beach rescue attempt be kept secret too.
“Um hum,” he said. He was smiling inside, because he could see how completely irritated Libby was that he was going to share in her father’s conspiracy of silence. He loved it when she got that way. She was absolutely hot when she got frustrated.
I can take care of that, Libby, sweetheart. Give all that energy over to me where it will do some good.
His dick was hard as marble. He knew he’d better not let her know he was toying with her, or he’d not get a thing. And, boy, did he need her today. More than twenty-four hours and no sex made him an animal.
“Cooper. Are you paying attention to me?” She said as she began to raise her voice.
Oh yeah, I’m paying full attention. If he wasn’t mistaken, her nipples had knotted under her little flimsy peach thingy. He could see the top of her thong underwear against the tanned flesh of her hips as it made that soft beautiful bulge over the tops of her capris.
He loved it that she wore her tee shirts small and her pants low. Every time he walked behind her he was hoping for a clothing malfunction. Anywhere.
Bay decided something was wrong, and pushed his nose between them, drooling over the back of the seat covered in a Mexican serape.
Libby pointed to the dog. “Even he wants an answer.”
“No. All he wants is food.” Cooper was having difficulty keeping his eyes on the road. He didn’t want to get caught sneaking a peek at her delicious midriff.
“I gotta tell you something, Coop.”
His stomach clenched and he squeezed the steering wheel. Oh no.
“Since everyone is baring their soul, I have a secret, something I’ve n
ot told my parents, Coop. And I’m going to.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. I don’t want any secrets from you. Not anymore.”
Coop tried that on for a while. He wasn’t sure he was going to like it, but he decided he was all in at this point. “Okay, shoot.”
“At Santa Clara, my mentor, my advisor came on to me.”
“No shit.” Coop swallowed, waiting for the next part. He held his breath until she continued.
“He cornered me in the office and I—”
“Did that fucker rape you?”
“No. I was able to stop him.” Libby was looking at her hands folded in her lap. She was chewing on her lower lip.
“How the hell’d you do that?” He felt like a dick talking to her like that, so softened his tone. “I mean, how did you manage to get away?”
Libby paused, then looked out the dirty windshield. “I broke his middle finger.”
Cooper was splitting a gut inside but didn’t want to show it. Damn straight. He knew she had it in her to fight, and she did.
“You got him good?” He allowed a small smile to form on his lips. She was beautiful. Deadly and beautiful.
She returned his gaze, and, looking at Coop’s lips, answered, “Well let’s put it this way. I doubt he’ll have a future playing a guitar, a piano or certainly not a flute.”
“Serves the bastard right.” Coop encircled her shoulders with his right arm. “You are a wicked lady, Libby Brownlee.”
“And there’s something else,” she said softly. They were stopped at a stoplight and Cooper was nervous.
Oh shit.
“I got him fired.”
Cooper burst out laughing, and squeezed her shoulders into his side. “Good for you. I’m damned proud. I’ll show you some moves so next time you can castrate him.”
Libby laughed. God, how he loved that little carefree laugh. Bay started to whine.
“Just a little bit longer, Bay, then we’ll get your food,” he said.
“How could he be hungry?” she asked.
“Because he’s a dog,” he said as he leaned over and kissed her mouth before she could pull away. They were at another stoplight. “And so am I.”
“You’re hungry?” she said softly.
“Extremely. Famished. I can hardly concentrate.” He kissed her again several times and got honked at from behind as the light had changed. If Libby had let him, he’d have done her right then and there, traffic be damned. She pushed him back to his side of the truck behind the steering wheel. He proceeded into the intersection right after the guy behind laid into the horn again.
She crossed her arms across her chest and tried a loud “humph,” but he could tell she was faking it.
“You really mad at me? For wanting you? Or for making the guy behind me have to honk his horn?” he said, looking at her without fully turning his head. He saw her break a smile and he knew he had her. “Uncross your arms. You’re wrecking the view.”
Her eyes got wide in mock outrage.
“I just need a little taste to tide me over a bit. Look, we’re almost home now.”
She pointed her chin to the cab ceiling, snuggled even closer to him, and slipped out of one arm of her shirt. Her left hand squeezed his package and Coop was in heaven. “What about my needs?” her voice was husky.
“Honey, I’m going to give you everything you could possibly want, and more, if you’ll let me.”
“Promises. Promises,” she said as she massaged his length. Her delicate fingers found the button fly on his jeans and made fast work of the first two. They were cool and probing as they found him. She leaned over and put her tongue in his ear and he almost ran off the road.
Not a promise, Libby. It’s a fact.
* * *
Now that she had her fingers on his cock, her tongue exploring around his velvety earlobe just before she gave him a little nip, she knew it was going to be near impossible to live without the feel of this strong man at her side. The sex was great, but what she loved most was that he matched her newly-awakened appetite. She’d never felt this way before with any of her previous boyfriends. She didn’t have to pretend with him. He knocked her socks off each time he touched her.
And she suspected that he felt the same way. She would find him just looking at her. Most of the time they made love their eyes were open to each other, as if he wanted to see how she felt. She didn’t hold back. She could show him anything.
Well, anything except her true feelings. It was that glorious glow that consumed her, made it difficult to sleep next to him, made it difficult to think or feel anything else in the whole blasted world but Cooper. He was becoming her first thought in the morning, and the last thing she thought about at night. She wished she could remember the vivid dreams she was surely having, too.
They pulled up to the driveway of her parents’ house, and she slipped her hand from his pants. He stilled the movement with his right hand, holding her in place. With the engine still running, he slid his palm under her shirt and into her bra and gave her left side a squeeze. He kept his foot on the brake and the clutch, but as he moved to ease himself, the engine died and lurched forward.
He sighed. “Sorry.”
“I’m not,” she said as she continued to rub the length of him up and down, holding her fingers in a ring. He ducked to kiss the flesh of her left breast that had been freed. He sucked on her nipple and bit her, then kissed the bite. She threw her head back and groaned.
“You want to fuck me here, in my parents’ driveway, in front of all the neighbors?” She whispered.
“Hmmm,” He said between kisses. “Would that turn you on?”
“Not as much as fucking you in my parents’ swimming pool, where I can have you all to myself.”
“That’s nice. Now, why didn’t I think of that?” He looked around toward the street. “Are we alone today?”
“Does it matter? You remember? You asked me that on the beach that night?”
“I have no recollection what I said, but I sure do know how it felt.”
He claimed her mouth, and electricity shot down her spine to explode between her legs. Now she was hungry. “I think we are alone, yes.”
Bay moaned his objection to being ignored. Libby chuckled and, with a pout, removed her hand from Cooper’s pants and turned to get out of the truck.
“Bad dog,” Cooper said. Libby looked over at her grinning SEAL hunk with his hair all mussed up. Bay barked. Cooper grabbed an empty gym bag from the second seat after Bay dove over the seat back and onto the driveway.
Libby slammed the door and dug in her purse for the front door keys. Bay was taking a long pee on her mother’s flowers in the front yard. Cooper stood watch, searching up and down the street, his duty bag slung over one shoulder, hands in his front pockets.
“All clear?” Libby yelled out to him.
Cooper put his finger to his mouth, but nodded. Bay followed him as the three of them entered the foyer. Cooper spotted an open sliding glass door to the patio from the kitchen.
“I don’t like that at all,” he said to her. “Stick with me. We’d better check things out first.”
Libby came up behind him and embraced him from the rear. “I have no intention of going anywhere.”
They looked through the kitchen windows to the back yard and, other than the sprinklers running, nothing appeared out of place. They locked the slider and then tried all the windows downstairs. Cooper made sure the plywood covering the broken window in her dad’s study was secure. The office still smelled of damp upholstery and charred paperwork, so they closed the double doors behind them as they exited.
Bay wouldn’t let Cooper out of his sight. They let him run up the stairs first.
Cooper took Libby’s hand and followed behind the dog. His expression was grim and she noticed he was on high alert. They climbed the steps without a sound. He kept putting his finger in front of his lips to keep her from talking so he could listen. Other than Bay
’s nails clicking on the plank flooring upstairs, there was no sound.
They searched her bedroom first, checking the windows overlooking the street, which had remained locked. Nothing in the room appeared out of place, from what she could see. Morgan lay alone on the silk cushions, and a stab of pain hit her as she recalled seeing Noodles curled up beside her childhood stuffed animal. Cooper dropped his bag and laid a warm hand on her shoulder, and she realized she’d been holding her breath.
Bay was surveying her parents’ master bathroom. The Spanish tiled floor and colorful and intricately tiled trim design was spotless and shiny, unused since the last cleaning. Her father’s closet door was ajar, and Cooper sent Bay in first before he turned on the light and went in himself. Nothing.
Nothing was out of place in the first guest bedroom, either. There was an opened window in the second guest room.
“Mom often keeps this window ajar,” Libby whispered to Cooper.
Bay was totally distracted with all the new smells, but didn’t appear to react to anything in particular. “I think everything’s okay.” He pulled Libby into his arms. “Why don’t you get your parents’ things first, and I’ll meet you in your room, okay?”
“What about our swim?”
“We can still do that. After.” He kissed her neck, and cupped her rear in his two massive palms, pulling her against his erection. He released her and, with a pat on her butt, said, “Go. Hurry. I’m hungry.”
Libby filled a suitcase with underwear and clothes her mother had specified, as well as her favorite shampoo. Her father’s things were more difficult to choose, so she picked two pairs of slacks and three dress shirts on hangars as well as some white tee shirts and some underwear and socks. It seemed odd to be packing for her parents, as if they were somehow missing from her life. She suddenly felt protective of them.
She wheeled the suitcase to her own room and found Cooper stretched out on her bed, her silk pillows behind his head, Morgan resting on his chest. What a sight, his long legs sticking out from under the waterfalls of white dotted Swiss that draped from the canopy on her bed—that bed where she’d spent so many nights dreaming of a life of some day. All he wore were his boxers, but Libby focused on the tent in his groin, and blushed.
