Page 8 of Cooper's Salvation
Forever had come sooner than she or Tom had expected, and it had been hard on her. But losing Cooper had been a far worse pain. While their relationship had been built on friendship and trust, she’d harbored a secret love for her husband’s friend. Sure she’d loved her husband, but Kara suspected he’d known he hadn’t been herone. Didn’t mean his death hadn’t left a hole she knew couldn’t be filled.
When she could finally take no more, she spoke. “I understand, Coop. Really. I do.” Giving him a smile, she let his hand go and walked back around the counter. “We best get on with making dinner. It certainly isn’t going to make itself.”
For a moment, it looked as if he wanted to say something, but all he said in the end was, “How do you want these vegetables chopped?”
She quickly showed him what she wanted and, for a long while, they worked in awkward silence, the sounds of dinner prep and the dogs playing in the yard the only things breaking the silence.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore. “Coop, honey, I’m sor—”
“Don’t.” He shook his head. “Don’t apologize. You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who should be asking your forgiveness. It took me a year to rebuild not just my body, but my spirit too.” Cooper walked around to the kitchen side of the counter. “That day, in the middle some godforsaken desert, it broke me in ways that can’t be seen. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean I’m any less broken for it. But there was never a day – not one single day, that I didn’t think of you.”
He reached out a hand to tenderly cup her cheek, rubbing his thumb softly over her the silky, smooth skin. Kara’s breath stalled in her lungs. She could do little more than stare up at him. “Breathe, beautiful.”
She exhaled in a rush, unaware she’d been holding it. Unbidden, tears welled in her eyes. One trembled on her lash before slowly rolling down the very cheek he held. Another followed. A sob escaped, and she closed her eyes as tears fell uncontrollably. She felt Cooper take the knife from her hand and then his arms came around her, pulling her tightly against his warm, solid body.
As he rubbed a soothing hand up and down her back, Kara melted into him. Her ear resting over his heart, she allowed the steady beat to soothe her. When the tears eventually slowed, then dried, she rested quietly in his arms. Taking a deep breath, she drew the scent of him in.
A scent unique to Cooper that embodied the man – his warmth, his strength, his beautiful spirit. Kara’s heart beat a little faster. She lifted her head, looking up into the face that could, without a doubt, grace billboards.
His gaze traced her lips before returning to hers, and she watched in fascination as his pupils dilated. Suddenly dry from his scorching look, she ran the tip of her tongue over those lips to wet them. Hesitantly, he lowered his head a couple of inches and stopped.
Dropping his head, his own lips a whisper from hers, he stopped again. Cooper reached up a hand to cup her cheek tenderly. “K, I’m about to kiss you. If it’s not something you want, now’s the time to speak up.”
Kara stood stock still, mute, barely daring to breathe. There was no way she was turning him down, not when it was something she’d wanted for the longest time. Cooper dropped his head the scant space. The touch of his mouth on hers ripped through her like an electric shock. She couldn’t prevent the tiny moan that escaped her lips. If felt like she’d waited a lifetime for this moment.
At her moan, Cooper cupped the back of her head in his large hands and deepened the kiss. He explored her mouth slowly, tasting her, his tongue caressing her own. Savoring her like a favorite treat. Kara gave herself up to the kiss, pouring years of longing into it. He broke from her, dropping tiny butterfly kisses along her jaw and down her neck.
The sound of happy barking reached her ears just before she heard the dogs come running into the kitchen. Cooper rested his forehead against hers.
“Saved by the proverbial bell, I guess,” he murmured.
“Oh no. You don’t get off so easily, Mister.”
Kara closed and locked the back door before turning to the dogs. “Tammy, bedtime.”
The young dog trotted off. Daisy sat looking at Cooper as if awaiting his instructions. Kara took his hand in hers. “You might want to settle Daisy too. We’ll be busy a while.”
His eyebrow quirked; a smile spread across his lips. “Yes, ma’am. You heard K, Daisy. Bed.”
With that said, the dog dashed over to where her puppy lay, settling down happily as Kara led Cooper to her bedroom. She closed the door and leaned back against it, her heart racing. Was this really going to happen? With a deep breath, she straightened away from the wooden panel at her back and moved to stand in front of Cooper.
Cupping a hand around her cheek, he asked, “Are you sure about this, K?”
She nodded. She may be unsure of her next move but knew she wanted this more than anything.
He reached for the hem of her T-shirt, taking his time to pull it up, as if he were unwrapping a gift. Once it cleared her head, he threw it onto a chair close by. Hooking his fingers into the waistband of her yoga pants, he drew those down with equal care, dropping little kisses on the skin he exposed as he went.
The pants followed the T-shirt onto the chair. In just her underwear, she shifted from foot to foot. As she lifted her arms to cover herself, Cooper took her hand in his bigger one. “Don’t.” Before she could ask what he meant, he continued. “I see it in your eyes. Don’t cover yourself. Don’t hide from me. You’re simply exquisite.”
Kara’s breath caught at the desire that burned in his eyes as he looked down at her, igniting an answering burn deep inside her. She lowered her arms to her sides, trying her best not to fidget.
Cooper ran a tender finger down her cheek, over her collarbone, tracing a line over the swell of her breast to roll the pebbled bud beneath its lace covering between thumb and forefinger. He smiled as it beaded tighter.
He stepped back and yanked his own T-shirt off, flinging it to land on the chair. Kara went to her knees before him, lifting first one leg of his jeans, then the other as she undid his boot laces. Once he’d toed the boots off, she removed his socks.
Tilting her head back, her blue eyes locked with his gray ones as she glided her hands up his jean-clad thighs, finally coming to rest over his belt buckle. She fumbled a moment in her haste to get the buckle undone, but then it gave. Never breaking eye contact, Kara saw his breath hitch as her nails lightly scraped the skin of his stomach as she undid the button.
Before she could start on the zipper, he laid a hand over hers, stopping her.
