Quinn chuckled. “I dated, but I didn’t have a revolving bedroom door the way you do.”
Cobra grinned. “Sounds like you’ve been listening to Cortez.”
“Not just Cortez. Over the years, I’ve heard your mama complain about your love life as well. Your reputation is legendary. But sooner or later, that lifestyle starts to get old. Has it?”
“Let’s just say I had a wake-up call when that woman tried to trap me.”
“I heard about that, and no, Cortez didn’t tell me. He didn’t have to. He works for my firm, and I know about all my attorneys’ cases.”
Cobra nodded. “You know about the bet, too?”
“I heard about it. Winning will be a test of your willpower and control. But I’m sure you know that.”
“Yeah, and it’s hard because I’ve met someone.”
“Recently?”
“At Colton’s wedding.”
Quinn nodded. “That was two months ago. So you’ve got three months of abstinence left, right?”
“Yes.”
“I take it you don’t want a steady relationship with this woman, just another short affair. One night or one week.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because it sounds like you’re chomping at the bit to take her to bed, instead of using the time to establish an emotional relationship rather than a mere physical one.”
Cobra thought about that. He didn’t want to treat Desiree like the other women who had passed through his life. He honestly enjoyed spending time with her. “She’s different, and I want to get to know her better, and I want her to get to know me.”
He decided not to mention that a few weeks ago, Cortez had suggested he consider entering into a steady relationship with a woman. Considering the close call that he’d had with Bernice Whey and the fact that he’d been gun-shy ever since, maybe that was something he should consider.
“Usually, when two people take the time to get to know each other, sex is off the table in the beginning. For how long is up to the couple,” Quinn said. “It’s about the type of relationship you want to build, the emotional connection you want to make. But if sex is the only thing you can think about, you need to ask yourself if that’s your only interest in her.”
Cobra was still thinking about what Quinn had told him when he walked into his Savannah home a few hours later. He and Desiree were intensely attracted to each other; that was acertainty. In the past, that would have translated into something sexual and nothing more. So maybe there was a reason she had come into his life at a time when sex was not the main factor in the relationship.
What he told Quinn was true. He wanted to get to know her better by spending time with her. That was why he still intended to read the report from Landon that he’d received the day before he had left New York. He hadn’t had the time to look at it before leaving for Savannah, but he’d make it a priority when he returned. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to find. He didn’t think he’d discover anything nefarious about her, but hopefully the report would help him understand her better. As much as he enjoyed being with her, there were a number of things about Allison Desiree Sharpe that didn’t add up.
When Quinn was talking about Hayes and the adjustments he was making after losing both his parents, Cobra thought about Desiree. She had been placed in a similar predicament. At twelve, she had left behind friends, an aunt she had been close to, and the country where she had been born to come to live with a grandfather she barely knew. A grandfather who was going through his own grief.
Unlike Hayes, who no doubt had Quinn and Alexia, and even their kids—their daughter, Idella, and their twin sons, Blake and Bennett—to help ease Hayes into their family structure, Desiree had been shipped off to a boarding school. Not because Richard hadn’t loved her or wanted her, but because emotionally, he hadn’t been capable of giving her what she had needed.
But like he told Richard, the relationship between him and his granddaughter was theirs to fix, and he sincerely hoped they would.
What Cobra had to decide, however, was what type of relationship he wanted with Desiree and why. She was pulling all kinds of emotions out of him; emotions he had never felt beforefor a woman. Emotions he had honestly thought he was immune to. Desiree was proving him wrong.
Even now, he was missing her and couldn’t wait to see her again. He wanted to show her once again that Aimery LeBlanc’s claims weren’t worth thinking about. Suddenly, he realized he was doing more than just priming Desiree for what was to come; he was branding her, something he had never done. He was branding her as his.
After taking a shower and slipping into bed, he decided to call Desiree. He again thought about what they had done in the Belgium Room the day before he left town. Memories of having her in his arms, of tasting and exploring her breasts with his mouth, had dominated his thoughts and made him anxious to taste other parts of her.
He punched in her phone number and waited. He felt a stirring in his stomach when she answered.
“Hello, Cobra. It’s nice to hear from you. How is your family reunion going? Is everything alright?”
He settled into a comfortable position in bed. “Everything is fine. I was just thinking about you. The family reunion was a success. How did your weekend go?”
“I helped out with that reading class as usual yesterday. However, I did attend a dinner party last night that Saul and his wife gave, and I went to church with them today.”
