Strictly Lonergan's Business Read online

“Pasta?” she asked, giving him a half smile.

  “With chicken this time.”

  “Ah, innovation.” She smiled a bit, then asked, “What’s this about?”

  He stepped up close and laid both hands on her shoulders. She looked up into his eyes and something inside Cooper clicked. He didn’t know what the hell it was, but it was there and it was…important.

  Don’t think about it now, he told himself.

  “What’re you doing, Cooper?”

  “I’ve been thinking.”

  She gave him a half smile. “I’ll alert the media.”

  “Ha-ha.” He pulled her closer and enjoyed the hell out of the look of surprise that flickered in her eyes. “I think I figured out what the problem is between us—”

  She huffed out a breath. “You mean the problem where I quit and you don’t believe me?”

  “No, the other one.”

  “There’s another one? This should be good.”

  “I think so.”

  “Okay, tell me,” she said, squirming a little in an attempt to either get closer or move away—he wasn’t entirely sure which.

  “It’s unrelieved sexual tension, Kara,” he murmured, his gaze moving over her face before settling briefly on her mouth, her full bottom lip and that top lip that she always chewed on when she was worried about something.

  Like she was doing now.

  He smiled. “Why don’t you let me chew on that lip for you?”

  She went perfectly still and blinked up at him. “Are you serious?”

  He pulled her hips tight against him so she could feel just how serious he really was. Her green eyes went wide and she huffed in a quick breath. His gaze dropped to the swell of her breasts, barely visible over the edge of her tank top.

  A rush of need, much stronger, hotter, deeper than he’d expected, pumped through him and he drew her even closer, dipping his head to hers. She fit perfectly against him and he wondered why he’d never noticed that, either. And wondered why the hell it had taken him so long to come up with this plan.

  She wanted him, he could see it in her eyes. He wanted her too. So what could be simpler than having each other? And once they’d had sex, she’d quit talking about leaving and things could go back to normal.

  Brilliant.

  “Well?” He lifted one hand to smooth her hair back from her face, then trailed his fingertips along the line of her jaw. She shivered and he smiled. “What do you say we get rid of all this tension?”

  “I should warn you, I’m feeling pretty tense,” she said, slowly sliding her hands up his chest until she could hook her arms around his neck. “This could take awhile.”

  He smiled and brushed his mouth against hers, once, twice, experiencing a surprising jolt of something hot and amazing each time. Then he met her gaze and promised, “Work, work, work.”

  Six

  Kara’s head was spinning, the headache behind her eyes was pounding and even her stomach wasn’t very happy.

  But all of that paled into nothingness the minute Cooper’s mouth came down on hers. It was everything she’d been dreaming about…and so much more.

  She sighed into him and gave herself up to the spiraling sensations unwinding inside her. He parted her lips with his tongue and she gasped at the sensual invasion. Their tongues met in an erotic dance that began smoothly, softly and quickly escalated into erupting need.

  His arms came around her waist and he held her tightly to him. So tightly, she felt his erection against her abdomen and her muscles quivered in anticipation. She’d wanted this, needed this for so very long, she could hardly believe it was finally happening.

  Maybe she shouldn’t give into the urges clamoring inside her. Maybe she should back up, step out of his arms, end this moment of fantasy. But the instant that thought raced through her brain, she greedily shut it down.

  He slid one of his hands up her spine to cup the back of her head, fingers spearing through her hair. She moaned and leaned into him, taking more, giving more.

  One corner of her brain screamed at her to be logical. Rational. To think for heaven’s sake.

  But she didn’t want to think.

  Not anymore.

  Now, all she wanted, was to feel.

  It didn’t matter that she was a little woozy, that her headache had already begun slipping back up on her or that her stomach was none too steady.

  If she had bubonic plague, she wouldn’t have been too sick to have sex with Cooper. Not after she’d spent so much time over the last year imagining it, dreaming about it.

  And oh boy, so far, it was way better than her dreams.

  He tore his mouth from hers and dropped his head to the curve of her neck. His teeth and tongue slid over her flesh, sending ripples of something hot and delicious crashing through her.

  His breath hot on her skin, his voice came muffled, strained. “Dinner can wait. Let’s go upstairs.”

  Upstairs.

  To a bed.

  Oh, boy.

  Once he stood back from her and took her hand to lead her from the kitchen, Kara’s brain woke up with a new set of warning signals. You’re planning to leave. You’ve already quit. Is this really the right thing to do? Won’t this only make it even harder for you to live without him?

  Probably, she acknowledged to the voice in her brain she was seriously starting to hate. But loving him, could she really not take the opportunity to have him for herself? If only for one night?

  Not a chance.

  He hit the stairs at a dead run and pulled her along in his wake. Kara stumbled a bit, but kept up, her much shorter legs having to move twice as fast. At the landing, he made a sharp right turn to his bedroom and when he’d pulled her in behind him, he slammed the door, enclosing them both in the big room.

  A soft breeze rippled the curtains over the windows and the spicy scent of geraniums, mingled with the richer scent of summer roses, filled the air. She hardly noticed. All Kara knew was that Cooper was looking at her as she’d always wanted him to and nothing else mattered.

  His dark eyes shone with a fire Kara had never seen before and it was all for her. It didn’t matter that he didn’t feel for her what she did for him. Not at the moment anyway. All that mattered now was this minute. This room. This man.

  Cooper reached for the hem of her pale yellow tank top and in one smooth, practiced move, pulled it up and over her head before tossing it onto the floor.

  “Gorgeous,” he murmured and as Kara swayed unsteadily, he undid the front clasp of her bra and pushed it off her shoulders. His hands cupped her breasts and when his thumbs and forefingers tweaked her nipples, Kara heard a groan and only belatedly realized it had come from her.

  Abruptly, his hands dropped to her waist. He scooped her up, tossed her onto the bed, then stood looking down at her with a smile. “Can’t think why we never did this before, Kara.”

  “Me neither,” she said, lifting both arms in welcome.

  He grinned, reached down and pulled her denim shorts off, then paused a second or two to admire her white lace thong. “Man, if I’d known you were wearing something like that under your sensible clothes, I swear, it wouldn’t have taken me five years to see it.”

  That nagging ache behind her eyes dulled a bit as she enjoyed the rush of his admiration.

  She’d wanted this so long, hoped for it, dreamed about it, that she wanted to remember every second. Every feeling. Every image. She wanted to imprint on her brain the sensation of Cooper’s hands on her skin. She wanted to commit to memory the rough sound of his voice and the hot flash in his eyes.

  Oh, she wanted it all.

  For one night, she wanted it all.

  Delicately, Cooper slid his fingers beneath the fragile elastic band of her thong and slowly, sensually, slid it off, caressing her thighs, her calves, as he went.

  Kara chewed at her top lip and shifted impatiently on the quilt covered mattress. She watched him with hungry eyes as he quickly tore his own clothes off and then lo
omed over her on the bed.

  He was simply amazing.

  Body sculpted by the gods, his skin was bronzed, and her fingers itched to caress him. Reaching up, she smoothed her palms across his chest and over his shoulders and he sucked in a breath through gritted teeth at her touch. Then he dipped his head and took first one of her hardened nipples into his mouth and then the other.

  Dizzying sensations rocked her and she held onto him as if it meant her life. Arching into him, she sighed breathlessly as his mouth worked her flesh into a tingling mass of nerves. His hands kept moving, sweeping up and down the length of her body, exploring, caressing, stroking. Wave after wave of desire crashed inside her, leaving Kara a whimpering mass of need.

  Cooper shifted over her, raising his head just enough to kiss her, to take her mouth with a hunger that matched her own. His left hand dropped to her center and his fingertips slid across her damp folds, sliding back and forth with a sure, tender touch that spiked her desire into a frenzy.

  Rocking her hips into his hand, she sighed into his mouth as he dipped his fingers deep within her. He used first one, then two fingers, to tantalize her, to push her to the very brink of climax—only to pull her back, demanding she stay hungry.

  “Cooper,” she whispered, tearing her mouth from his long enough to snatch at desperately needed air. “Cooper, I need…”

  “So do I, Kara,” he murmured, looking down into her eyes. His breath came in short, sharp gulps as he watched anticipation crest and recede on her features. “Let me watch you go over.”

  “No,” she said, twisting her head from side to side, and smiling, though it cost her. “No, I want you. Inside me. Now. Now, Cooper.”

  “You’re killing me, Kara,” he said, dipping his head long enough to steal a kiss and taste her need.

  She managed a short laugh, then lifted both hands to cup his face, even as his thumb brushed across a most sensitive nub at her center. “Oh, not yet. Definitely, not yet.”

  He swallowed hard and pulled away from her. Kara wanted to drag him back instantly, but she watched him reach over to the bedside table and yank open the drawer. He pulled a box of condoms out, then tore the package apart, grabbed one foil packet and quickly took care of the necessities of sex in the twenty-first century.

  In seconds, he was back, touching her, stroking her, moving to position himself between her thighs. She moved with him, eager now to feel him inside her. To feel him take her deep and fast and hard.

  While his fingers worked that one tender bud, he pushed his body into hers, and Kara gasped as she stretched to accommodate him. Her body awakened in a series of sparkling jolts of awareness. He rocked his hips against hers, pushing deeper with every thrust.

  “Cooper…” She tipped her head back, into the mattress, closed her eyes and concentrated solely on the amazing sensations peaking inside her. She smiled, gasped and smiled again. “So…good. So…good.”

  “Let go, Kara,” he said, pushing himself deeper into her body, shuddering with the force of his own all encompassing need. For the first time in his life, Cooper felt connected to the act of sex. To the wonder of it. To the incredible sense of expectation crowding at the edges of his brain.

  He fought for control—despite knowing he wouldn’t find it. He’d never before so lost himself in the moment. Never experienced this rush of tenderness and passion so completely commingled before.

  And staring down into Kara’s passion glazed green eyes, he knew that nothing would ever be simple between them again. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to care.

  He needed to hold her closer, deeper. To feel himself sliding so deeply within her that they would be locked together. Groaning, he leaned back, sitting on his heels and drawing Kara up with him, until she was on his lap, legs at either side of him, impaled on his body.

  Her head fell back as she held onto his shoulders. His hands at her hips, he lifted her, moving her up and down on his body, drawing her up and down his length until neither of them could breathe. Until the passion was so thick in the room they were strangling on it.

  He felt it when her climax rushed in. Knew the exact instant when she finally released the tension within and rode the first wave of completion.

  Her body arched and she swiveled her hips on him, taking him even deeper. “Cooper! It’s too much!”

  “It’s not,” he told her brokenly. “It’s not too much.”

  The air around them seemed to sigh, echoing softly in a tender whisper.

  Their eyes met and locked and Kara’s fingers dug into his shoulders as she groaned, trembling against him.

  And holding her tightly to him, Cooper at last allowed himself to follow. Then when the tremors eased and the electricity arcing between them shimmered to an end, Cooper rested his forehead on her shoulder and tried to keep his thundering heart in his chest where it belonged.

  Seconds ticked past, with the only sound in the room, their labored breathing. Then long before Cooper was willing to move, Kara shifted in his grasp and murmured, “Uh-oh.”

  “Hmm?” He tightened his grip on her and felt his body stir again. Sucking in air, even he was surprised by just how quickly he needed her again.

  “Cooper,” she whispered, “let me go.”

  “Not yet.” He lifted his head, looked into her eyes and gave her a smile. “I kind of like you just where you are.”

  She shook her head, and inhaled sharply through her nose. “I need to—”

  “Hey, I need something too and—”

  “No.” Eyes suddenly wild, she clambered off his lap, pushed off the bed and staggered hurriedly out of the bedroom to the bathroom off the hall. She slapped the door open and in seconds, Cooper heard her being violently ill.

  Frowning now, Cooper followed her into the bathroom and stood in the open doorway. As the first bout of sickness left her gasping for air, leaning back against the edge of the tub, he said, “You know, if this is a comment on my lovemaking skills, I want you to know I’ve never had this particular complaint before.”

  Clearly miserable, Kara swept her hair back out of her face and muttered thickly, “Go away, Cooper.”

  “Are you okay?” he asked, going down on one knee.

  “No would be the short answer,” she said, then gulped, “oh, no…”

  Kara gripped the edges of the toilet and wished she could just open a hole to the center of the Earth and fall into it. How could her world go from glorious to miserable in the space of a couple minutes? And oh, why did she have to be so sick in front of Cooper?

  “Take it easy,” he whispered from just behind her. He held her hair back and soothed her with muttered nonsense as she turned inside out.

  When she could take a breath, she tried again. “Cooper, if you care anything about me at all, you’ll go away. Leave me to my misery in private.”

  He actually had the nerve to chuckle. Vaguely, she heard water running in the sink and then he was back, holding a cool damp cloth to her forehead while she was sick. And when she was at last finished, wanting only to curl up on the deliciously cold bathroom floor, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom and to his bed.

  Head pounding, mouth feeling like she’d been sipping a sewer and a raceway for goose bumps forming on her spine, Kara wished absently that she were alive enough to enjoy being carried. But at the moment, that was simply beyond her.

  She did try one more time to slink back to her own room. “Cooper, I just need to sleep,” she said, trying to push up from the mattress on arms that suddenly felt too weak to support her.

  “And you’re going to,” he said, helping her into a bathrobe and pulling the quilt out from under her, then draping it across her still form and tucking it tenderly in.

  Damn it, he was being nice. And she was too weak and humiliated to protest. Apparently, the Fates had quite a sense of humor—and the joke was on her. She’d wanted him forever and it wasn’t until now he paid attention. Now when she finally gets him into bed, she has
to end the interlude by worshipping at the porcelain altar.

  God.

  Maybe she was weak enough to die.

  “You’re burning up,” Cooper said, resting his hand on her forehead briefly.

  “No I’m not,” she argued, “I’m freezing.” She burrowed deeper under the quilt and made a conscious effort to keep her teeth from chattering.

  “Right. Okay. Stay put. I’m gonna call Sam.”

  “Sam?” She shook her head and looked up at him. He stood there beside the bed in all his naked glory and Kara couldn’t even bring herself to care. She really was sick.

  “He’s a doctor. He’ll know what to do.”

  “I don’t need a doctor. Mortician, maybe.”

  “Funny.” He grabbed his jeans off the floor and tugged them on, not bothering with the button fly. He scraped one hand through his hair and headed for the door. “I’ll be back.”

  An hour later, Sam and Cooper stood in the kitchen. The candles he’d had burning when Kara came home had long since guttered out in their own wax puddles. The pasta was cold and congealed in a bowl on the table and the lingering scent of garlic still seasoned the air.

  “You’re sure she’s okay?”

  “Trust me,” Sam said, snapping his black leather bag closed. “It’s the flu. Kara will be fine in a couple of days. Just make sure she rests and gets lots of fluids.”

  “That’s it?” Cooper demanded, glaring at his cousin. “You go to medical school for God knows how many years and the best you can do is take a nap?”

  “Hey, you called me for my professional opinion, remember?”

  “Right.” Cooper blew out a breath. He didn’t like this. He liked Kara up and annoying him. Ordering him around. Seeing her so weak and tired and…sick, worried him. “So should she eat anything?”

  “Not till tomorrow at least. Then light stuff. Chicken soup, crackers.” Sam studied him for a minute or two, then shook his head. “I can arrange for a nurse to come in and take care of her if you want.”

  Cooper’s gaze snapped to his. “No. I’ll do it.”

  “You sure?” Sam’s voice was disbelieving and who could blame him?