pore. How could she get under his skin this way? To the point where he confessed to thinking of her while being held captive. Remembering her while being in pain. He’d never shared that much about one of his missions with anyone. There had been no one to tell. His parents hadn’t wanted to hear the gory details. And he hadn’t been able to open up to the psychiatrist the military had ordered him to see. Only his SEAL teammates had known the hell he’d gone through. And now Bristol knew. Not everything but enough.
They needed to come up for air, so he slowly ended the kiss, pulling his mouth away on a guttural moan. Still needing a connection, he used the tip of his tongue to lick her lips from corner to corner, before grazing his jaw against her ear.
He dropped his hands and couldn’t recall at what point his fingers had become buried in her hair. Now it looked unruly. Sexy as hell. The sight of her kiss-swollen lips made him even more aware of how much he wanted her. Desire pulsed through him and he felt hard as a rock.
He took a step back, because otherwise he would be tempted to sweep her off her feet and carry her upstairs to that bedroom he’d refused to enter earlier. “I’ll be back to get you and Laramie around four thirty.”
And then he headed for the door. He came close to making it out without looking back. But temptation was too much. Overpowering. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Bristol was standing there looking more beautiful than any woman he’d ever seen. There was heat in her eyes.
A hungry throb stirred inside him and he drew in a wobbly breath before forcing himself out the door and closing it behind him.
* * *
Bristol released a breath before burying her face in her hands. What on earth had she done? What on earth had she started? That kiss had made her come unglued. No, she’d lost her composure long before that kiss. The intensity of her sexual need had begun to affect her the moment Coop had walked into her house that morning.
She could no more deny the carnal attraction between them than she could refrain from breathing. And today, just a few moments ago in her living room, they’d both unleashed pent-up, held-back desires. Her body knew him, desired him, ached for him. Closing her eyes, she felt a surge of yearning trying to take over her senses again.
Opening her eyes, she refused to let it. At that moment she heard her cell phone ring and wondered who was calling. Coop had her number. Would he be calling her? There was no way he’d made it to the corner already. Maybe he’d decided dinner wasn’t a good idea after all and was canceling. If that was true then she agreed with him. Sitting in a restaurant across from him might push temptation to a new level. She wasn’t certain if their son would be enough of a buffer.
Pulling her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans, Bristol saw the caller wasn’t Coop but Margie. She quickly clicked it on. “Yes, Margie?”
“You okay? You sound kind of breathless.”
She swallowed. Did she? “I’m fine.”
“I called to see how things turned out with your soon-to-be ex.”
Bristol frowned, confused. “My soon-to-be ex?”
“Yes. You can divorce him on the grounds of desertion, you know. I can refer a good attorney you can use.”
“Desertion?”
“Yes. At least that’s what I call it. You thought he was dead. Granted I understand the military made a mistake, but if he had cared anything about you—even if he didn’t know about your son—you were his wife. He should have moved heaven and earth to find you. Showing up now after all this time won’t cut it.”
Bristol didn’t like what Margie was saying. But then her manager didn’t know the whole story. “Laramie and I have things to work out.”
“What’s there to work out? I talked to Steven and he’s concerned about a dead husband reappearing. But I explained things to calm him down. I told him it was all a mistake and you would send your ex packing in no time. I assured him that there was no way you would hook up with Laramie again.”
Frissons of anger ignited in Bristol’s spine. Margie was believing just what Coop said people would believe about him. And it was all her fault. Furthermore, who gave Margie the right to tell Steven anything?
“Look, Margie, I have to go.” It was either end the call or end their relationship, Bristol was just that mad.
Her manager didn’t say anything for a moment, then added, “You sound upset, Bristol, and I hope it’s not with me but with him. I’m aware you loved your husband. And I can understand you having feelings for him now. But I hope you’re not thinking about tossing aside a chance with Steven for a man who didn’t come looking for you.”
Bristol lost it. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I’m not interested in Steven. Now goodbye.”
She then hung up the phone.
* * *
Coop released a deep sigh the moment his hotel room door closed behind him. What a day. It had started out with him enjoying breakfast with his son and then it had ended after lunch with him kissing Bristol like he couldn’t get enough of tasting her mouth.
He licked his lips. He still hadn’t.
He never knew a woman’s taste could mess with your taste buds and block out your other senses. But he had found out today. He just didn’t understand it. Once he’d returned to his team to hang out for New Year’s, after spending those three days with her, he’d been fine. She hadn’t totally consumed his mind.
But he had thought about her...
And he had thought about her even more while being held hostage, because when your thoughts were filled with orgasmic pleasure it could erase the pain. The more those bastards tried to break him, the more he’d thought about Bristol.
Was that why he was so consumed with her now? He had thought about her so much that the memories of the time they’d shared in Paris were now a part of him? He rubbed his hand down his face. Maybe he was thinking way too hard.
He was removing his jacket when his cell phone rang. He recognized the ring tone. It was Bane. He pulled his phone from his pocket, chuckled and said, “With triplets, don’t you have more to do with your time these days?”
Bane laughed. “No. That’s where the benefits of belonging to a large family kick in. Everyone wants to help out. There haven’t been triplets in the family since Quade’s babies and everyone’s excited. I couldn’t tell you the number of visitors we’ve had. And more of them are planning to visit for the holidays. I told the family about your son. They’re ecstatic and want pictures, so I need you to text me a few. You know the routine so get with the program.”
Yes, he knew the routine. He had pictures on his phone of Mac’s four kids. His phone was also filled with pictures of Bane’s triplets. In the beginning, it seemed like Bane would text him a new picture every other day. Now it had decreased to only one a week. “No problem. I’m taking them to dinner and will take a photo then.”
“I take it things are going well. I assume you had that talk you said you were going to have with her.”
“Yes, I had it. She wasn’t keen on the idea of sharing support for our son. I had to
