Page 2 of Cooper

Wow.

Had that come out of left field or what?

“Never is a long time, Nat.”

I’ve never wanted anyone to kiss me so much as I wanted Ryan Cooper to, and I unconsciously lick my lips. “I’m, uh, technically not under your command anymore, am I?” I asked quietly. “I mean, my deployment here ended at 11:59 p.m. Right?”

He smiles, his lip quirking up slightly. “Technically, I guess that’s right.”

“So…you wouldn’t court martial me for kissing you?”

His eyes darken again, and the look in them tells me he wants me to. It’s been a long time since anyone has touched me, and this is neither the time nor the place, but it’s also my last chance with Cooper.

“Natalia…are you sure…”

I cut him off by leaning forward and gently pressing my lips to his. I’ve thought about doing this dozens of times over the last few months, but it would have been totally inappropriate. In fact, it probably still is but I’m not going to back off now that I’ve started.

His mouth opens and he slowly coaxes my tongue out with his. I move closer and he slides an arm around my neck. He tilts his head and deepens the kiss, his lips a gentle whisper against mine, despite our tongues dueling like they’re in a race for first place. It’s sweeter than that, though, because it isn’t a contest, and I truly never want it to end.

He slowly pulls away, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I could come see you,” he says softly. “I’m going back to the States next month and then I’ll have time off, so I could come to Limaj first. What do you think?”

“Really? You want to visit me in… Limaj?”

“Well, how else am I going to see you again? I mean, I’d be happy flying you to the U.S. to see me, but you’re probably not getting time off right away, are you?”

“We don’t get time off,” I say with a chuckle. “There aren’t enough of us to begin with, so we work all the time.”

“But they sent you here for six months.”

“I had to, or my training would be incomplete. Becoming a Royal Protector is a huge responsibility. Someone else who’s training will be embedded here when I leave. I don’t know who it is, but Sandor has two people in mind.”

“I won’t be here,” he says. “My next duty assignment is Hawaii.”

“That’s literally the other side of the world.”

“Yeah.”

“You can come to Limaj on holiday, but after that, we’re going to be far away from each other. Probably best not to start anything.”

“That’s very true.”

We look at each other with rueful smiles.

“It was a really nice kiss, though.”

“It was.”

“I don’t suppose… you would do it again?” I’m playing with fire.

A much more dangerous kind than anything else that had gone on during my six months here.

“Natalia…” He reaches out and runs calloused fingers along my cheek. “I’m afraid if I start, I won’t be able to stop.”

“I know, but...” I lean forward. “It feels so good.”

“Someone could see.”

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