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“Damn straight,” Axe adds with a fist bump.
“OK. It’s settled then, boys. Our flight leaves at zero-five-hundred. Get your shit in order.” Ford gives us our marching orders, and we all exit the war room, then grab our phones that have to be left outside the door.
I turn it on and quickly look at the screen. There’s one message from Carys.
Carys:Please be safe.
I have a choice to make.
Coop:You still awake?
Carys:Yes.
Coop:Can I stop by?
Carys:I’m already waiting.
The need to see her before I leave is so strong that it’s the only thing I think about as I drive to her house and park my car on the street directly behind Linc’s. I figured this was where he was going too, but we didn’t stop to talk on our way out. This is the first time either one of us has had someone to say goodbye to before a mission.
Before I make it to the front door, it opens, and all I see is Carys. Standing in an oversized Kroydon Hills Prep football t-shirt that hangs off one bare shoulder. Her legs are bare, and her hair hangs damp around her shoulders. As soon as I’m close enough, she throws her arms around my shoulders, and I lift her off her feet, walking inside.
She slides her legs around my waist. “How long before you leave?” She holds my cheeks in her hands as a tear tracks down her face, wrecking me.
“I have to be back on base by five a.m., but I’ve got to stop at my house before I go. So maybe five hours.”
Her thumb runs along my jaw. “Come to bed with me, Coop. You need to sleep.”
I grab the back of her head and press a kiss to her forehead, then lock the door behind me.
Is it possible to be in love with a woman you’ve only kissed once?
Cooper carriesme up the stairs to my bedroom and, with more gentleness than he looks capable of, places me down on the bed. I reach over and grab my phone from the nightstand and turn on my new nighttime playlist.
He reaches behind his neck and drags his t-shirt over his head, and I momentarily stop thinking altogether and stare. His body is a work of art, cut like a marble statue, and my heart speeds up at the sight. He kicks off his sneakers and steps toward my open balcony doors.
“You sleep with these open?”
I tuck my knees up inside my shirt, resting my arms around them, and then tilt my head, fascinated by the movement of the muscles in his back. “Not usually. But Linc and Em aren’t exactly quiet.” I shrug. “The music helps, but the sound of the ocean works even better.”
When he turns and unbuttons the top button of his jeans, my brain explodes.
“Do you care if I take my jeans off?” He says it so casually that I have to bite down hard on my bottom lip to keep in the hysterical laughter threatening to bubble up and burst free.
“If you’re trying to seduce me, Cooper, you’re doing a freaking phenomenal job.”
His eyes go dark with lust, and a swarm of butterflies suddenly take flight in my stomach. “If I was trying to seduce you, Carys, you wouldn’t be talking right now.” He shucks his jeans and sits down on the bed with his back against the headboard before reaching for me. The chunky black watch he wears is a stark contrast to his tanned skin and looks sexy as hell on his wrist. I don’t think I’ve seen him without it since the first time I saw him at the bar.
I lean over the nightstand and switch off the light, bathing us in darkness. There isn’t even moonlight filtering in through the storm clouds gathering over the ocean. And as Coop holds me in his arms, a loud boom in the distance is followed by a bright bolt of lightning over the churning waves. The first fat drops of rain start to fall, playing a staccato beat against the wrought-iron railing of the balcony.
I tentatively trace my fingers over his chest, trying to shake my wracked nerves. The cocooning darkness of the night emboldens me.
“Do you ever get scared?” I whisper, wanting to know but terrified of his answer.
“Yeah,” he answers just as quietly. “Fear is healthy. It reminds you you’re alive.” He absently plays with my hair, running his hand through the length of it, then twirling a lock around his finger before tucking it behind my ear. “But then the adrenaline kicks in, and your body does what it’s trained to do. It’s when the adrenaline rush is over that your mind starts to wander. Starts to remember...”
His body is warm and relaxed, and I’m finding it hard to believe he’s here, next to me right now, but who knows where he’ll be tomorrow.
“Coop... what changed?” I can’t believe I’m asking, but I need to know. “Why now? What made you look at me now?” My words stay soft. Unsure.
