Apparently Peter was beginning to feel something, too, because in the next instant, he cameright up off the pillow and captured my mouth with his.I had no chance at all to protest; one minute he was lying flat on the bed looking vulnerable enough to kiss, the next he was doing it.
Not that I would have protested.I’d enjoyed his last kiss too much, and the instant his lips covered mine, I felt an explosion of the same intense pleasure.Actually the pleasure was even greater this time.I wasn’t sure how that could be, but this new kiss seemed to have an army of feelers that were spreading joy through my body, finding and scratching niches I hadn’t known I possessed.
Peter was right about one thing; something felt very right about this kiss, which was why I let it go on, let it go on just a little longer.It was a big mistake for two reasons.The first was that the longer he kissed me, the more hungry he grew, and the more hungry he grew, the more of himself he put into the kiss and the more excited I became.The second was that somewhere between a tongue thrust and a lip suck, a loud cough came from the door.
As one, and in alarm, Peter and I followed the direction of that sound to find Cooper’s tall, dark frame filling the doorway.
5
The only comparable experience I had to being found by Cooper in a compromising position with Peter was being caught with Jason Abercrombie in the Abercrombie’s Newport boat house showing him “mine” in exchange for a look at “his.”We were five at the time, and I handled it well.I giggled.
I didn’t know what in the hell to do now.Giggling sure wouldn’t do it.Nor would jumping up and straightening an imaginary frock like a mortified maiden.I couldn’t begin to think of the ramifications of Cooper’s having caught us this way.
Bewildered, I looked at Peter, and in that instant several things struck me.The first was that, even sitting, he was taller than I; my eyes just reached his nose.The second was that, somewhere in the mindless course of his kiss, my hands had slipped around him; my fingers were clutching him dangerously low on his hard, bare hips.The third was that that kiss had stirred up a storm in my belly that was in no way diminished by Cooper’s arrival.
Given my choice, I’d have sent Cooper awayand gone back into Peter’s arms.
Of course, I could think that precisely because Cooperwasthere.He was my safety net.If he hadn’t appeared, I’d be terrified by the train of my thoughts.As it was, all I had to worry about was Cooper’s respect for me, Cooper’s respect for Peter, Cooper’s willingness to work with Peter after what he’d just seen—just seen?Continuedto see.
With slow, measured movements, I withdrew my hands from Peter’s skin, but my eyes didn’t leave his.Silently they told him of my inner fear and begged him to say something, do something to salvage the situation.
For a minute there, I could have sworn Peter was as bewildered as I was.It was very subtle, but I’d spent so much time looking into his eyes that I could recognize something different when I saw it.I knew that he was thinking about the very same things I was.
To my relief, he took in an uneven breath, straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat, but it was to me he spoke, and in a quiet, intimate tone that suggested a new bond between us.“I could use some of that breakfast you mentioned before—eggs, bacon and whatever muffins smell so good.Why don’t you go on downstairs?I want to talk with Cooper for a minute, then I’ll shower and be down.”
His voice wasn’t so low that Cooper couldn’t hear what he said, and since there was no immediate objection coming from the door, I guessedthat Cooper was in favor of the talk.I swallowed, took a breath of my own and slipped from the bed.Though Cooper moved aside to let me pass, I stopped when I reached him and looked up into his face.I wanted to apologize, or explain, but to do either would be an insult to Peter.
So, mustering a shred of humor, I said, “Watch what you say to him.He’s got nothing on.A man can get very defensive when he’s naked.”Without allowing him time for a rejoinder, I left the room and went directly downstairs.
Several minutes later, I was working off my worry beating eggs when I heard the shower go on upstairs.Within a handful of seconds, Cooper entered the kitchen.Determined to be nonchalant, I said, “Will you have breakfast?I made fresh muffins.”
“It’s a little late for breakfast.”
The stove clock read noon.“Brunch, then.”I frowned.“You’re early.You weren’t due until one.”
“I was sitting home, wondering what he was doing to earn the hefty fee you’re paying him.”He paused and added dryly, “Interesting what I found.”
I would have felt awful had not I caught sight of the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.“You think this is funny,” I accused.
Cooper gave a tiny move of his head that I knew for a shrug.“What I think,” he specified,“is that I’ll never forget the look on your face when you turned around and saw me there.”
I was embarrassed.“You should have called from downstairs.”
“I did.”
“Oh.”Again I caught that twitch, and while I didn’t begrudge Cooper a moment of lightness what with all else he was going through, I wished it weren’t at my expense.“What did he say to you?”
“That his intentions are honorable.”
I snorted.“Sounds like he thinks you’re my father.”
“Not exactly.He asked if I minded the competition.”
“What did you say?”
“I said that I wasn’t competition for him, but that if he ever did the slightest thing to hurt you, I’d tear him apart.”
It was the kind of Cooper statement, offered without the slightest show of emotion, that made me love the man.Unable to resist, I threw my arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug.I stepped back before he could protest.He wasn’t one for grand demonstrations of affection.I never liked to push the issue.
