Needed reassurance that she’d survived her first bombing alive and well. Needed to get close to another human, to share the horror and the recovery from the shock. Wanted more than to be held. Wanted to feel alive in his arms.
‘Sophie?’ Cooper growled.
She stepped closer, so near her breasts brushed his chest. Her nipples pebbled, throbbing with longing, echoing the sensations moistening her at the apex of her legs. She had never wanted a man so badly. Never. The afternoon’s attack definitely had a lot to answer for. ‘Cooper,’ she whispered in reply. ‘Please take me.’
‘Are you sure?’ he asked, the softness of his voice surprising her.
‘Absolutely,’ she told him fiercely. ‘Absolutely.’ Now. Not in five minutes. Now. She leaned closer, spreading the length of her body up the length of his. She immediately felt his hardness, knew his reciprocating need in an instant. Winding her arms around his neck, she raised her mouth to capture his.
Cooper took over. His hands spanned her waist, pulling her firmly against his body, so close they’d become one. His tongue pushed through to taste her, delving deep, taking charge.
Sophie lost herself in his kiss, his scent, his strength. Her hands grappled with tugging his shirt free. The need to touch his skin, to feel his heat against her palms was urgent. So urgent she slid her hands beneath the waistband of his fatigues, her fingers seeking that throbbing heat pressing into her belly. Wrapping her hands around him, she heard his groan by her ear.
‘Sophie, you are driving me over the edge too fast.’
‘I want fast.’ Huh? Who was this wanton woman in her skin?
Cooper obliged, shoving at her trousers until they slid to her thighs, and then he cupped her.
All the air in her lungs whooshed across her lips as his finger found her hot, moist pulse. One slide of that finger and she was clinging to him, losing all sense of reality. Or was this reality? Another slide and her legs were trembling, losing the ability to hold her upright.
So she wrapped them around Cooper, holding herself over that wondrous finger, ready for his next muscle-tightening touch. But instead Cooper slid two fingers inside her and a scream flew up her throat, caught by his mouth. Since when had she become a screamer?
And then for the second time in twenty-four hours her world exploded. Shock waves hit her. Her body was racked with spasms, her head tipped backwards, and she was only vaguely aware of where she was. Again Cooper’s strong body was plastered to hers, only this time it was her weight on him, her legs around his body. Then he moved to lift her higher and she was feeling him enter her, inch by excruciating inch until he filled her.
Then he withdrew to plunge in deep again. And again. And again.
Sophie completely lost her mind as her body responded to Cooper’s. All she knew was she’d died and gone to some wondrous place she’d never experienced. All energy drained from her as her response overtook her.
And afterwards somehow she made it back to her bunk and slept the sleep of the completely sated.
Seven and a half months later...
COOPER SWIPED AT his forehead. The Aussie heat was relentless. Darwin did not come cold. Not even cool. And this was winter. Two hours since the troop carrier had touched down and he’d already had enough, felt in need of a cold shower despite showering and changing into clean clothes less than thirty minutes ago.
He entered the Australian Army’s busy medical unit and looked around for her. Sophie Ingram. No doubt she’d be another reason for a cold shower as soon as he set eyes on her. He’d never been able to exorcise the woman completely from his brain. One night, one hot act, and she now ruled his thought processes far too often. Face it, once was one time too many. But the times that really bugged him were those in the middle of the night when he was tossing and turning in desperate need of sleep. She’d sneak in, reminding him of her amazing body and that off-the-scale sex they’d shared. Only once, and yet it had been the best he’d experienced in a life of experience.
There. Leaning over a table in the far corner, reading a file, seemingly oblivious to the hustle going on around her. The breath stalled in his lungs as he drank in the sight of that tall, slight figure with perfect butt curves that even fatigues did nothing to hide. Or was that his memory filling in the details? Her coppery brown hair hung in a long ponytail down her spine. He hadn’t had a chance to run his hands through that silk, hadn’t kissed her as often as he’d have liked. Both things he’d regretted even when the opportunity hadn’t been there. If he had, would he still be feeling there was so much more to be enjoyed? It wasn’t as if he wanted anything other than a rerun of that one act. If it didn’t happen it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but there was no harm in finding out if she was willing while he was here.
Sophie looked as cool as an iced beer as she straightened to turn side on to place the file in a tray.
Cooper gasped, the air exploding out of his lungs. His head spun so fast he closed his eyes tight in an attempt to stop it, to remain upright. Opening them again, the picture was exactly the same. He went hot, then cold, hot again. Thud, thud, thud slammed his heart. He swallowed—hard—but the sourness remained in his mouth. His hands clenched at his sides as he stared at the sexy woman he’d come to see with the idea of having a meal somewhere off base, hopefully followed by an evening in the sack. He had not come to be delivered a hand grenade that the pin had been pulled from.
‘Cooper?’ She was coming towards him, colour spilling into her cheeks. No longer cool. Shocked. Surprised. No. Make that uneasy. Which made perfect sense given the situation. She said, ‘I heard you were stopping off for a couple of days on your way home.’
He fought the urge to back away. A coward he was not, but this was...enormous. Wrong word. He could even be wrong about what he saw. No, not about that, but about his role in the situation.
‘I’ve just flown in from the east, landed a couple of hours ago.’
Her eyes widened. So she’d picked up on the fact he hadn’t wasted any time dropping in on her.
‘I heard you were still here and thought I’d say hello.’
Getting yourself in deeper, bud.
She’d reached him and stood staring, hands on hips, caution darkening those emerald eyes that had haunted him in the deep of the night. Her voice wavered as she said, ‘This is my last week here before I’m shipped back home to finish my contract in Auckland.’
She was going to Auckland? So was he. The day after tomorrow. Auckland was big. They’d never cross paths. Coward. That’s what phones were for. Contacting people. ‘I guess you’re looking forward to that. The heat must be playing havoc with you.’ He nodded abruptly at her very pregnant belly.
She’s carrying a baby. He bit down on the expletives spewing across his tongue. Dread was cranking up from deep within. He had an awful feeling about this. A dreadful sensation that his world was rolling sideways and would never be the same again.
Sophie rubbed her lower back while her gaze was fixed on some spot behind him. ‘Yes, the heat’s exhausting, but it’s more that I want to be home before this baby makes her entrance.’ Now both her
