Page 5 of Cooper's Command

Whiskey raised her head, jumping off the bed then trotting behind Nova as she made her way onto the lanai. The same spot Cooper had found her two weeks ago. The start of her descent into madness because despite all the reasons to return to Columbia — her desire to take Tate’s place as a senior agent in the office — her heart wasn’t really in it.

It wanted to stay here. See if she and Cooper might be able to make a life together. It wasn’t as if she’d stopped calling him because she wasn’t attracted to him. In fact, she’d known from the start he was the kind of guy she could really fall for. But she’d also known she’d never be able to keep lying to him if they jumped into bed together. That sooner or later, she’d break and confess that Octavia was alive. And that singular thought had scared her soul deep.

That Cooper had the potential to mean more to her than her job. More than Tate’s expectations.

So, she’d let their string of dates slide. Fade into the past until Tate’s death had brought it all full circle.

What was beginning to look like an act of providence.

The thought bounced around inside her head as the light breeze lifted her hair — cooling her skin as she stood staring out at the moon. Enjoying the way it silhouetted the hills in the background as shadows danced across the lawn. Whiskey sniffed around the yard then settled at Nova’s feet. Nova gave the dog a scratch behind the ears, loving the way her fur tickled her palm when hands cupped her waist and yanked her backwards.

She inhaled, reacting on instinct before she had time to think. A drop of her weight then a twist and she was free. Was able to put some distance between her and her attacker. She rose, shifting to balance on the balls of her feet. Hands up and ready to defend. She was already working through her series of strikes, when the guy laughed.

“Easy, Nova. I was trying to be romantic, not send you into a full-blown panic.”

She blinked, chest heaving, all those moves still reeling inside her head before she cursed then lowered her hands. Doing her best to shake out some of the tension as she stared at Cooper, torn between admiring how damn hot he looked in nothing but a pair of boxers, his muscular frame outlined in the pale moonlight, and wanting to punch the guy in his ridiculously handsome face. The one she already wanted to kiss.

Nova rolled her eyes, batting at his hand when he reached for her. “Seriously, Coop? I’m still wired from the takedown and you’re sneaking up behind me? You know how hyper vigilant I can get. I damn near decked you.”

Cooper grinned, the ass, then shrugged, brushing some of his dark hair back from his face. “I don’t mind a bit of physical foreplay if you don’t.”

She swallowed. Hard. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

“Not a bad way to go.” He motioned her closer. “Another dream?”

She shrugged, closing the distance as he took her in his arms.

He sighed. “You could have woken me.”

“I just needed some air. Besides, I knew if I woke you, we wouldn’t just sleep.”

“Is that your way of telling me you don’t want me to ravage you?”

She scoffed. “Were you even listening in the truck? Because I would have brought you to your knees in that cab if I hadn’t fallen asleep. But after you’d been a complete gentleman, it seemed wrong to wake your ass up just because I’d had a nightmare.”

Cooper smiled. “In that case, I have a promise to keep.”

Nova grinned, staring into his eyes and inhaling at the desire reflected back at her. The pupils so large there was only a thin ring of deep blue around the black.

She snagged her bottom lip, running her palms down his chest and along his ribs. Tracing the sculpted muscles across his abdomen. How the thick bands created dark shadows on his skin. The man was rugged and strong and so damn gorgeous it made her chest hurt. Right there in the center.

Coop closed his eyes, clenching his jaw as if her touch tore at his defenses. As if simply looking at her would push him over some internal tipping point. Make him lose control.

Good. She wanted him to lose control. Wanted the warrior side of him to take over. The one she’d been privileged enough to see in action these past two weeks. And she had to admit, the man was incredible. Strong. Fearless. With an easy rhythm to hismovements that made it almost hypnotic in nature. And the way he handled Whiskey… She’d never seen a team of dog handlers so in sync with their partners as Cooper and his mates.

All of which had only made her want him more.

Nova inched closer, drawing her finger along the waistband of his shorts. “Something wrong, Coop? Because you look as if I’m torturing you.”

He squeezed his eyes tighter before prying them open — meeting her gaze. Stealing the breath she’d just taken because the way he was looking at her was nothing short of lethal.

Cooper wrapped his hand around her wrist, stopping her just shy of squeezing him through his shorts. “Sweetheart… Nothing’s changed since the truck other than me wanting you even more. Which means if you touch me like that, I’m liable to come in my damn shorts. So, let’s mix this up…”

He moved, lifting her and spinning — backing her against the wall like he had that first night. That promise he’d talked about. How he wanted to pick up from that moment, with her pinned to the wall. So damn needy for him the only survivable answer was yes.

She opened when he crushed his mouth to hers, tangling her tongue with his until black dots flitted across her vision, and he finally eased back. His breath mixing with hers. The sheer size of him holding her captive. He brushed his thumb across her lips, inhaling when she sucked it into her mouth. A visual of how she hoped their encounter might start.

Had he growled? Or had it been Whiskey? Maybe a car engine somewhere out front? Because she’d definitely heard a raspy sound fill the air as the vibration of it had rattled through her chest.

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