really didn’t want to go back to it right now. There was no doubt in her mind he would bring it back up again.
However, there was something that had been on her mind since last night that she did want to discuss. “I’m fine, Coop, but there is something I’ve been wondering about.”
“What?”
“Your friends. Those four guys I met who were with you in Paris. Mac, Bane, Viper and Flipper. Are they okay?”
A smile touched his lips. “Yes, they’re okay. I’m surprised you remembered them.”
“They were nice and—” she said, chuckling “—unforgettable. I liked them. I often wondered if they had gotten captured with you and if they’d lost their lives.”
“No, in fact they were part of the team that rescued me. If you recall, Mac was married when you met him. He and his wife are doing fine. Bane and his estranged wife renewed their vows and Viper is married now.”
“He is?”
“Yes, and happily so. Reminds us of that every chance he gets. Flipper is still Flipper. Happy-go-lucky and cheerfully single. Bane and his wife had triplets this year, almost six months ago.”
“Triplets?”
“Yes. Two boys and a girl. They want a huge family so I guess you can say they’re off to a good start.”
“I’m glad they’re all okay. When I got word that you’d been killed, I wondered about them. I take it the five of you are still close friends.”
“Yes, and we’re closer than ever. Even while I was being held hostage a part of me believed they would find me and get me out. And they did. We stay in contact even when we’re not on a mission. I talked to them just last night and told them I had seen you.”
“You did?”
“Yes. They remembered you, as well. I also told them I had a son. They’re happy for me.”
“Even though fatherhood wasn’t anything you asked for?”
“Doesn’t matter. I used a condom. Close to a dozen if you recall. Evidently one was defective. I regret that.” He paused and then said, “But under no circumstances do I regret Laramie.”
She nodded. “Neither do I.”
He inclined his head and looked at her. Under his close scrutiny she was tempted to cross her arms over her chest. She could feel her nipples hardening. “I keep thinking that things could have been different. You could have made another decision and not had him,” he said.
She knew what he was hinting at. “Not having him wasn’t an option for me. I admit becoming a mother was the last thing on my mind, but when I found out I was pregnant I knew I would keep my baby. When I mailed that letter to you, I had no idea how you would respond. It really didn’t matter. I was doing what I thought was the right thing by letting you know. I was prepared to go solo regardless.”
“And now you don’t have to because I’m here.”
For how long? she wondered. He was still a navy SEAL and could get called away on a mission at any time. A mission he might not return from. She’d already had to deal with news of him dying once; there was no way she could go through it again. That meant she had to fall out of love with him. But how could she do that?
He had made it pretty clear that he wanted to see Laramie as often as he could. So she’d be seeing him often, too. In that case, how could she begin the process of removing him from her heart? There had to be a way and she was determined to find it. She had lost her mother, her father and her aunt. The three most important people in her life were gone. Now she had Laramie. She lived for her son and that would be enough.
“I’ll leave now so you can get some things done while Laramie is taking his nap. I’ll be back around four-thirty.”
“All right.”
She moved to walk him to the door, but he just stood there. Staring at her. More specifically, his gaze was fixated on her mouth. She saw it. Felt it. Her lips suddenly felt warm. Sensitive.
She knew she should turn away so her mouth wouldn’t be the object of his focus. But the truth was, she couldn’t. His assessing gaze was getting to her, and she couldn’t do a single thing about it.
Bristol knew what he planned the moment he took a step in her direction but she didn’t back up. She couldn’t. It was as if she was rooted in place. Then he was standing directly in front of her. His eyes penetrating hers. His features fierce.
“I thought about you a lot, Bristol. During those eleven months while being held hostage.”
His words made her heart flip several times. He had thought about her? “You did?”
“Yes. Thinking of you kept me sane...especially during those times I was being tortured,” he told her quietly.
Oh, God! Tortured? There was an intense searing in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t imagine what he’d endured.
“I would close my eyes and remember each and every time I made love to you. Every single time I kissed you. We shared a lot of kisses over those three days.”
Yes, they had. They’d shared a lot of things, including their bodies. He hadn’t been the only one who’d remembered, although her situation hadn’t been as difficult as his by any stretch of the imagination. Every time her child, their child, had kicked or moved within her womb, she would think of him. Mourn him. Grieve for him. She would also thank him for giving her his child.
“I need to kiss you,” he said in a husky tone, reclaiming her attention. “I need to kiss you as much as I need to breathe.”
And she needed to kiss him, as well. That was the shocking truth. No matter how independent she wanted to be, she needed to kiss him. Her eyes were focused on his lips with the same intensity that his had been on hers. She needed to feel the heat of her body against his.
She was succumbing to everything male that he represented.
“As you wish,” Bristol whispered. She was the one who made the first move, standing on tiptoe, leaning in close and placing her mouth against his.
Coop wrapped his arms around her and took over the kiss. The moment their tongues touched, getting reacquainted in the most passionate way, liquid heat seemed to spread through, burning him from the inside out.
His body leaped to life. He was now a man very much aware and filled with a yearning so deep it ached. Yet at the same time the yearning calmed the beast within him. Made him accept that Bristol could affect him in ways no other woman could.
He hadn’t counted on her kiss being as greedy as his, her need just as insurmountable. Their tongues were mating in ways that sent a crackle of energy escalating between them. From the very first, he’d known she was different. He just hadn’t known what role she would eventually play in his life. He had no idea that one day she would become the mother of his child.
