When I’d first returned from New York, I’d have said his room.Just as I’d chosen the Park Lane over his Central Park South apartment.Both involved less of a commitment.But in the course of the past three days, I’d done a turnaround.I couldn’t tell Peter I loved him, but I could tell him how much he’d come to mean to me.
“My room,” I whispered, and he took me straight there.Laying me down on the bed, he came down on top of me.After kissing me senseless, he rolled away long enough to tug off my jeans and release himself from his pants.Then he slid into me with all the ease and excitement of a cherished lover.
He drove everything else from my mind.Not once did I think of Adam, of the fact that this had been our bed or that I’d sworn I’d never share it with another man.There was a certain rightness in what Peter and I were doing.Between that rightness and the mind-blowing rapture that burst upon and between us, there was no room for doubt.
Nor did I doubt myself when, much later, having properly undressed and made love a second, more leisurely time, we lay quietly in each other’s arms.Peter’s presence had settled into my bedroom, taking it over, leaving no room for anyone else.I was feeling too content for second thoughts.
I had second thoughts about Cooper, though.I discussed them in greater detail with Peter, and when we stopped in to see Swansy later that afternoon, we raised them with her.
“Cooper wants Benjie left alone,” I said, “and he’s rigid enough about it that I know something’s up.What is it, Swansy?Do you know?”
Swansy shook her head.
Peter tried his hand.“I’ve spent a lot of time on this case.Things are looking pretty good, since the government can’t offer either a motive or a connection between Cooper and any known smugglers—or crooks of any kind, for that matter.Customs officials were tipped off by an anonymous phone call, but they have no idea who made it and who, if not Cooper, it was aimed to catch.So the only evidence against Cooper is the diamonds themselves.With the right approach, I can probably sway the jury.Probably.Not definitely.And if things go against us, Cooper winds up in jail.Anything, Swansy, anything you know would be a help.”
“I don’t know anythin’ about diamond smugglers,” Swansy protested, almost as though we’d accused her of being one.
“Then about Cooper and Benjie,” I prompted.“Why is Benjie so difficult?And why is Cooper so determined to shield him?”
“B’cause Cooper Drake is a loyal man.You know that, girl.”
“I sure do.But blind loyalty’s no good.”
“Tell that to a man in love.”
Peter murmured in my ear, “She has a point.I can personally vouch for that.”When I shot him a don’t-confuse-the-issues look, he added a quick, “That’s why spouses can’t be called to testify against each other in court.”
I rubbed my head against his cheek.“But Cooper’s not in love, and he doesn’t have a spouse.He loved a girl a long time ago—”
“Still loves,” Swansy corrected.“Name’s Cyrill.”
“Cyrill?Was she from here?”
“Nope.Worked here, though.She was a waitress at Sam’s when it was run by Sam’s daddy.”
“And Cooper loved her.”
“Dearly.”
Over my shoulder, Peter seemed deep in thought.So I turned back to Swansy.“Blind loyalty?Between Cooper and Cyrill, or Cooper and Benjie?”
Swansy shrugged.
I had the distinct feeling that there was a message in something she’d said, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.“So Cooper’s protecting Benjie the way he would have protected Cyrill if she’d still been around?”
Swansy shrugged.
Peter was more on the ball than I.“Cooper’s protecting Cyrill now?”
Swansy began to rock in her chair.
I turned to Peter.“Cooper’s never mentioned her.Neither has anyone else in town.I had no idea she existed.”
“Like Cooper, the people in this town protect their own.”
“But Cyrill isn’t one of their own.”
“Cooper is.So’s Benjie.”
