Page 9 of What the Cowboy Wants
He put his fingers on her lips.“Molly wants to stay with you, she knows you still need her.Keep her until I find you another dog.”
Rose pulled his hand from her mouth.“I don’t need another dog, I’ll be fine.Please take Molly back with you.”
“Let’s ask Molly what she wants to do.”Without waiting for Rose, he walked into the house.Cooper crouched down in front of Molly, aware of Rose closing the door behind them.“Molly, you wanna go back to Laura?”
Not yet, her eyes told him before she barked and hopped onto the sofa.
“See?She still wants to stay with you,” Cooper said as he got up.
Arms crossed, Rose was chewing her lip.“I should’ve given her back to Laura by now, I’m sorry.”
He hated seeing her upset.“Let’s find you another dog.That’s the only way to get Molly to leave.”
“Please don’t worry about me.I’ll return Molly as soon as possible.How do you talk to them, anyway?”
It’s a question he often got.Usually, he shrugged it away, but he didn’t mind sharing what he did with Rose.“We all communicate with animals, it’s unfortunately an ability most people lose as they grow up.It’s no great secret.Telepathic communication is a natural way to connect with others.Telepathy is a Greek word.Telemeans distance andpathymeans feeling.We feel impressions of other people and animals, even over a distance.It’s simple, really.You just need to let the focus drop from you head to your heart.”
By the time he’d finished speaking, he was standing right in front of her.“For instance,” he said softly.“I can sense you’ve been badly hurt, you feel responsible for it, and at this very moment”—his eyes roamed over her face—“you’re rattled because of this connection between us.So am I.”
Groaning, she rolled her eyes before she opened the door.“Is that your usual pickup line?Sorry, it doesn’t work on me.”
She was trying her best to look cool and uninterested but the hammering pulse in her neck gave her away.He should turn around and leave, but growing up with three other brothers, he’d never been able to resist a challenge.He slipped his hand around her neck so that his thumb rested on the pulse.“You’re sure about that, Red?”he chuckled as he bent down.“Did you know you have exactly”—as the soft scent of roses muddled his brain, he counted softly—“twelve freckles on each cheek?”Startled green eyes locked with his.With a groan, he kissed her.
He’d only wanted to tease her, but the moment their lips met, the leash he’d had such a tight hold on, broke and he was lost.Like her name, she was petals and satin, all sexy lines and soft curves.His blood heated from zero to boiling point within a millisecond and rushed through his veins.Each beat of his heart egged him on to give her as much pleasure as he possibly could.
Chapter Three
With her handson Cooper’s warm chest, Rose was drowning in sensations.How was it possible that in the twenty-eight years she’d been on this earth, she’d never been kissed like this?
Somewhere a little voice was hoarsely screaming, urging her to stop immediately, but it was far away, and she was way too busy enjoying all the different sensations to pay it any heed—Cooper’s stubble beard against her face, his warm hands all over her, his muscled body plastered against hers, his musky scent seeping through every pore.
Angling his head, he deepened the kiss, while urgent, warm hands slipped beneath her top.Skin on skin.Rose struggled to breathe.The little voice finally penetrated her lust-filled mind.What was she doing?
With superhuman effort, she pulled back, her hand on her galloping heart.“That,” she got out panting, “can never happen again.”
Cooper’s eyes were molten blue ink, his breath falling in gasps over his lips.“Why?”
“Because…” she threw her hand in the air.“My life’s a mess, I’m a mess, and you… you… I don’t know what to make of you.You talk to animals, you’ve somehow healed my wound, and you know what I feel.I’m not comfortable with that!”
“Well, damn it, Red, I haven’t beencomfortablesince you’ve arrived in Marietta.I don’t sleep, I don’t eat, all I can think about is you.”Rubbing his face, he sighed.“I’ve never felt this way about anyone.And that is not a line, damn you,” he growled, stepping back.“I’m not apologizing for what happened, but if it’s not what you want, fine.I’m not interested in relationships or marriage and what I feel when I’m with you, is just too intense, too out of control.As it is, I have a hard time dealing with picking up on the emotions of my closest family and this craziness is just way too much.”
Well, now she knew.Rose quickly opened the door.“You don’t have to explain anything to me.I don’t go around kissing men I don’t know.This was a momentary madness, most probably because of the bump on my head.Good night.”
Cooper raised an eyebrow.“Really?You keep telling yourself that, Red, but what just happened was no damn momentary madness.If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll acknowledge both of us wanted this, both of us have been dreaming about this.We’re both single—at least I am.What we can try is to spend time together until this craziness disappears.”
A sharp sword pierced her heart, but she snorted.“Great offer coming from the most sough-after bachelor in Marietta, I’m sure, but no, thank you.I’ve been someone’stemporaryalready, although I didn’t know at the time.At least you’re honest.If I ever decide to try love again, it will be with someone who wants to be with me always, someone who doesn’t see anyone else when he’s with me, someone who loves me, warts and all, someone who gets me.”
Cooper opened his mouth, then closed it again, and without another word, he walked out of the house.
Rose locked the door behind him but stayed where she was until she heard his truck driving away.
So that was that.She’d kissed Cooper Weston and if she wasn’t mistaken, he’d taken a piece of her heart with him when he’d left.A fling?Really?Should she accept the fact that men saw her only as a temporary distraction but didn’t consider her for a long-term relationship?
Sighing she dropped her head against the door for a moment.Somehow, she’d have to stop thinking and dreaming about the sexy cowboy.
As she turned, she saw Molly watching her with awhat-have-you-done-Roselook in her eyes.
Chuckling, she bent down and picked up the dog.“Don’t give me that look, I’m not the problem, Cooper has been very clear about what he didn’t want.I’ll take you back to Laura tomorrow, okay?Thank you for looking after me, but I’m fine now.I’ll miss you, but it’s time I get back to living my life.”
