In Bed with the Enemy (7 page)

“Does that feel good, sweetheart?” he whispered.

She nodded. “You shouldn't be doing this.”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Yes,” she said, even as a betraying sigh of pure pleasure passed her lips.

He gently rolled the tight nubs between his thumbs and forefingers. “Are you sure?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, yes.” Why was it suddenly so hard to think?

Sitting between his legs as she was, her bottom rested against his groin and she knew immediately
when his body began to change, to harden with the same tension building inside her. She felt light-headed at the intensity of her own body's answering need.

Lost in the sensations Cole was creating, it surprised her when he suddenly pulled his hands from beneath her blouse and turned her in his arms. Arranging her legs over one of his, he cradled her to him, then gazed down at her a moment before he lowered his head and placed his mouth on hers.

At first he nibbled and caressed, but when his tongue traced the fullness of her lower lip, she raised up to meet his kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she parted for him and completely surrendered herself to his exploration. Had she been able to think, her eager response would have shocked her. But at the moment, rational thought was beyond her capabilities. All she wanted to do was feel Cole tasting her, tantalizing her senses with his gentle coaxing.

Elise's passionate response to his kiss sent blood surging through Cole's veins and his arousal was so intense that he felt dizzy. He wanted her with a hunger that shocked him, and he knew for certain he was treading in an area he'd never been before. He wanted to join their bodies, but more than that, he felt a deep need to join their souls—to once and for all make her his.

That should have scared the hell out of him. But the feel of her soft body in his arms, the taste of her sweet lips beneath his, had him feeling as if he could move mountains with his bare hands.

Raising his head to gaze down at her, he smiled. “Damn, sweetheart, I want you so bad I can't think straight.”

As he stared down at her a starburst lit the night sky and illuminated her pretty face. The desire coloring her porcelain cheeks, the urgent need in her green eyes, had his heart beating against his ribs like an out-of-control jackhammer.

“Let's go back to the inn,” he said suddenly.

She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity before she slowly nodded her head and untangled her legs from his.

Cole rose to his feet and held his hand out to help her up from the quilt they'd been sitting on. When she started to fold the coverlet, he took it from her, wadded it up and tucked it under one arm. Taking her hand in his, he led her through the maze of people sitting in lawn chairs and on blankets.

Once they reached her car, he drew her close for a quick kiss. “I'll follow you to the inn.”

Waiting until she closed the door and locked it, he jogged over to where he'd parked the SUV and got in. He'd done a lot of thinking after she'd left him this afternoon and decided he had one of two choices. He could try ignoring the magnetic pull between them, and quickly lose his mind. Or he could give in to the chemistry, enjoy the time they had together here in Mission Creek, and worry about his sanity once he returned to Vegas.

And who knew what might happen? There was always the possibility that after they returned to their respective offices, they might make arrangements to spend an occasional weekend together when they both had time off.

When he steered the SUV into the inn parking lot, he parked beside Elise's rental car, got out and
walked over to help her from the sedan. As soon as he opened the driver's door, he knew that she was having second thoughts.

“Cole, I don't think our sleeping together would be wise,” she said without preamble.

He took a deep breath, then another as he reconciled himself to a cold shower and an empty bed. Nodding, he placed his hand at her back to guide her through the front doors of the inn. “You're probably right.”

They both remained silent as they rode the elevator to the second floor.

When they walked down the hall and stopped in front of Elise's door, she smiled sadly. “We'd only be complicating things that until now have been relatively simple.”

He wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, him or herself. Stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets to keep from reaching for her, he nodded. “I couldn't agree more.”

She gazed up at him for a moment before turning to open her door. “I…um, good night.”

“Night,” he said, walking the few feet that separated his door from hers.

He'd wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless, to make her want him again the way he still wanted her. But he knew that would be a mistake. She'd only end up regretting in the morning what they shared tonight.

Opening his door, he walked into the room and stood for several long seconds, staring at the door between their rooms. Even though Elise's body was telling her it was ready to take that step with him, her
mind hadn't yet come to grips with what he recognized as the inevitable.

It wasn't a question of if they made love. It was just a matter of when.

 

Elise closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her golden rule.
Thou shalt not get cozy with a co-worker.

Maybe if she repeated it enough, she'd be able to remember why she'd adopted that rule, and why it was so important. But at the moment, she couldn't think of a single reason why she'd embraced that philosophy.

Cole wanted her and she wanted him with a fierceness that stole her breath. All she'd have to do is open the door between their two rooms and—

Elise opened her eyes and frantically glanced around the room. Why was she even thinking along those lines?

Moaning, she threw back the sheet, sat up on the edge of the bed and took several deep breaths to calm herself. This was Caveman Cole causing her to lose sleep. They couldn't be in the same room for more than five minutes before they were engaged in a battle of wits.

But as she sat there trying to decipher her puzzling emotions, she remembered the warmth of his kiss, the feel of his hands caressing her body. Her breath caught and she felt as if she might be drowning as realization dawned. Had the sizzling attraction between them been there all along, hidden behind a veil of verbal sparring?

Lost in her disturbing thoughts, she jumped when the door between her room and Cole's opened.

“You can't sleep, either?” Cole asked, walking over to stand in front of her.

The sight of him standing there in nothing but his briefs made her feel warm all over and had her feminine places tingling as they'd never tingled before. “I…I—” She had to pause to get her scrambled thoughts off his magnificent body and onto what he'd asked her. “No. I can't seem to get comfortable.”

He shook his head. “Me, neither. I can't seem to forget how sweet your kisses are, or how you feel when I hold you.” Rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, he gazed down at her. “It's crazy, but I want you more now than I've ever wanted any woman in my life.”

His admission made her heart skip several beats. “I couldn't agree more. It's completely insane.”

“Then tell me to leave you alone and get the hell out of here.”

Was that what she really wanted? To tell him to go back to his room? Alone?

Rising to her feet, she took a deep breath. “I can't do that, Cole.”

She heard his sharp intake of breath, saw his hazel eyes darken. “Why, Elise? Why can't you tell me to leave?”

Her pulse pounded in her ears and she felt as if she was about to jump off a cliff without knowing what awaited her below. But she couldn't think about that now. All she knew was that she'd never wanted any
thing more in her life than to have Cole holding her, loving her.

“I can't tell you to go because I don't have the strength,” she said softly. “And I can't fight it any longer. Please make love to me, Cole.”

“A
re you sure?” Cole asked, not at all certain he wanted her to answer his question. If she said she wasn't, he didn't think Mission Creek had enough water in their reservoir for the cold shower he'd need to take.

The smile she gave him nearly knocked him to his knees. “That's the only thing I'm sure of.”

He reached out and pulled her to him. Covering her mouth with his, he kissed her until they both gasped for air. “Let's go into my room, sweetheart,” he said, swinging her up into his arms.

She put her arms around his shoulders to steady herself, then gave him a puzzled look. “Why on earth are you carrying me?”

“Because that's what a caveman does when he drags a woman off to his cave,” he said, grinning as he walked through the door into his room.

“I thought they dragged a woman by her hair,” she said, smiling. He loved the tiny dimples that appeared at the sides of her mouth when she smiled.

“Your hair is too short.” Setting her on her feet beside his bed, he reached out to tangle his fingers in the soft auburn curls. “And it's too soft and pretty to do that.” He smiled. “Besides, the last thing I'd ever do is hurt you in any way, Elise.”

He kissed her forehead, her eyes and the tip of her nose before lowering his mouth to hers. Her lips were soft, moist and sweeter than anything he'd ever tasted.

“I want to kiss you all over, sweetheart,” he said hoarsely. As he nipped his way down her throat to her delicate collarbone, he worked the buttons of her nightshirt through the buttonholes.

When he parted the satin lapels, his breath lodged in his lungs. “You're perfect.”

Taking the weight of her breasts in his palms, he chafed the tight tips with his thumbs as he watched her eyes close and her head fall back. “Does that feel good, sweetheart?”

She raised her head and opened her eyes to look at him. The desire he detected in her clear gaze caused his mouth to go dry. “I love the feel of you caressing me.” Smiling, she brought her hands up to glide over his shoulders and pectoral muscles. “I've wanted to do this since we were at the pool this morning.”

Her delicate touch caused the muscles in his lower abdomen and groin to tighten. “You have no idea how good that feels.”

“I think I do,” she said, glancing down at the bulge straining against his cotton briefs.

He chuckled. “You're making it kind of hard to
hide, sweetheart.” He slipped the nightshirt from her creamy shoulders, then stepped back to look at her. When he lifted his gaze to hers, he thought she looked a bit uncertain. Her vulnerability touched him in ways he'd never have believed possible. “You're beautiful, Elise.”

“So are you,” she said, placing her soft hand on his cheek.

Taking her into his arms, he pulled her to him and the feel of her breasts pressed to his chest sent a tremor of need coursing through him. Her hands skimming over his back and down his flanks was heaven and hell rolled into one. But when she traced the waistband of his briefs with her slender fingers, Cole's heart thudded so hard that he wouldn't have been surprised if it cracked a couple of ribs.

“I think we'd better lie down before my knees give out,” he said, lowering her to the mattress. He leaned down to give her a quick kiss. “I'll be right back.”

When he returned from the bathroom with their protection, he slipped the foil packet beneath his pillow, then stretched out beside her. Propping himself up on one elbow, he leaned over her to kiss her with every emotion he had but couldn't put a name to.

Elise wrapped her arms around Cole's neck and gave herself up to his masterful kiss. Tonight she'd forget that she was an FBI agent and Cole was an ATF operative. Tonight they were simply a woman and man coming together to explore the magnetic pull between them that could no longer be denied.

When she parted her lips, he slipped his tongue inside to mimic a more intimate coupling, and ribbons of desire quickly spiraled throughout her being to
twine into a tight coil of need deep in her belly. He brought his hand up to cup her breast and his gentle caress sent a shiver of longing straight through her. But when he moved his hand along her side to the indentation of her waist and beyond, Elise moaned and moved restlessly beneath his tender touch.

He slowly slid his hand down to her knee, then back up along the inside of her thigh. A ripple of excitement coursed through her when his fingers slipped inside the leg of her panties to tease her with a featherlight touch.

Wanting to explore his body as he was hers, she brought her hands down to trace the cords of his strong neck, to measure his wide shoulders. His hard, male body felt absolutely wonderful beneath her fingers and she found it just as arousing to touch him as it was to have him touch her.

He shuddered against her as she glided her palms over his back to the elastic band of his briefs. When she dipped her fingers inside to test the tight muscles of his buttocks, his groan of pleasure vibrated against her lips.

“I think you're killing me,” he said, sounding short of breath. His own fingers slid beneath the lace band of her panties. “Lift your hips, sweetheart.”

When she did as he commanded, he whisked the scrap of silk away in one smooth motion, then rose up to allow her to do the same with his briefs. The feel of his hard, hair-roughened body against hers sent an electric current skipping over every nerve in her body when he once again lowered himself to cover her.

His lips heated her skin as he rained tiny kisses
from her collarbone down the slope of her breast at the same time he slid his hand between them to touch the tight nest of curls at the juncture of her thighs. As he took the taut tip into his mouth to tenderly suck on it, he parted her to gently touch her femininity, and Elise thought she would go up in flames from the exquisite pleasure of it.

Restless with a need to give to him as he gave to her, she moved her hand between them to circle his hard maleness. A low groan rumbled up from deep in his chest when she explored his strength and the velvet softness below.

“Sweetheart, I'll give you all night to not stop that,” he said, raising his head to grin down at her. But as she continued to stroke him, his eyes closed and his easy expression faded. Reaching down, he took her hand in his. “Maybe that's not such a good idea after all.”

“But I thought you said I could do this all night,” she said, wondering if that throaty female voice was really hers.

When he moved his own hand lower and slipped one finger inside her, all thought instantly ceased and she couldn't have stopped her moan of pleasure if her life depended on it.

“Cole, I—”

Nuzzling the sensitive hollow behind her ear, he whispered, “Tell me what you want, sweetheart.”

“Y-you.”

He kissed her so tenderly that it brought tears to her eyes, then reached for the foil packet that she'd seen him place under his pillow earlier. Once he'd arranged their protection, he took her into his arms,
nudged her legs apart with his knee, and holding her gaze with his, he moved to settle himself over her.

Her body welcomed him as he slowly, carefully, pushed forward and sank himself deep within her. Staring down at her, his hazel eyes darkened to chocolate brown. “You feel so damn good, sweetheart. So…tight.” She felt a shudder run through his much larger frame. “I don't think I can wait much longer,” he said, his voice filled with the strain of holding himself in check. “Are you…all right?”

“I'm…wonderful,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

When she tilted her hips, she felt him sink farther into her. He groaned and set a slow, easy pace that quickly had her biting her lower lip to keep from crying out. The consideration Cole was showing her, the care with which he moved inside of her caused her heart to swell with emotion. She'd never felt more cherished in her entire life.

As the feelings built, he quickened his thrusts and Elise felt herself rapidly climbing the peak of fulfillment. Her body strained to be closer to him, to absorb him into her very soul. Never had lovemaking been so compelling, so all-consuming that she forgot where she ended and he began.

Reaching the pinnacle, the coil inside her stomach tightened to an almost unbearable ache a moment before the spiral within her snapped and wave after exquisite wave of pleasure overtook her. Almost immediately, Cole tensed, then as he gave in to the force of his own climax, his body quaked as he filled her with his essence. When his storm was finally spent,
he collapsed on top of her, burying his face in the side of her neck.

She held him to her and reveled in the feel of his weight pressing her into the mattress, the heat that radiated from him. Even though she'd tried to deny it, had fought against it, she could no longer deny that she'd fallen in love with Cole.

He nuzzled the side of her neck. “I'm too heavy for you.”

“No…you feel…good,” she said, fighting the tears that threatened to slip down her cheeks.

Her wavering voice must have alerted him. “What's wrong?” he asked, levering himself up on his elbows. “Did I hurt you?”

The concern on his handsome face, the apprehension she detected in his voice, caused a tear to slip from the corner of her eyes. “No.”

“Then what's wrong, sweetheart?” He gently brushed a curl from her forehead as he searched her face. “Talk to me, Elise.”

Swallowing around the lump in her throat, she gave him a watery smile. “That was beautiful.”

His own smile warmed her heart as he shook his head. “I'll agree that it was pretty good, but I wanted you too much to take the time I should have.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I promise that next time will be even better.”

“Better?”

“Much better,” he said, grinning as he rolled to her side. Almost immediately his easy expression disappeared and he sucked in a sharp breath as he jerked upright in bed. “Oh, hell!”

Alarmed, Elise sat up and grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around herself. “Are you okay?”

“We…may have a problem,” he said hesitantly.

The apologetic look in his eyes sent a shiver of fear snaking down her spine. “What's wrong?”

“The condom broke.” She watched him close his eyes and take a deep breath. When he opened them, he looked straight into hers. “Tell me you're on the Pill.”

“N-no. There was no reason. I haven't been intimate with anyone since…” Her voice trailed off.

“Since when?” he prompted.

She felt her cheeks heat. Answering questions about her love life, or more accurately, the lack of one, wasn't something she envisioned discussing after the most incredible experience of her life.

“I'm afraid I've not got a lot of…experience. I…haven't been intimate with anyone since college.”

As the gravity of the situation hit her, she bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. What if she became pregnant?

He must have noticed her concern, because he reached out and took her into his arms. “Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like I was interrogating you.” He kissed the top of her head as he held her to him. “I only asked because if you do become pregnant, there's no question that I'll be the father.”

Hoping she was right, she tried for a light tone. “I'm pretty sure the odds are against that happening.”

“You're probably right.” He released her to cup her face with both of his large hands. “But I want you to know that if you do get pregnant, we'll face
it together. I'll be there for you every step of the way.”

The sincerity she detected in his gaze left her with no doubt he meant what he said. Now. But what about the day-to-day responsibility of caring for a child? It was one thing to face up to financial obligations, but would he be available for decisions concerning illness, schooling, discipline? Or would she be on her own to juggle the many demands of motherhood and her career with the Bureau?

She closed her eyes against the questions making her head spin. There was no sense in speculating about something that in all likelihood wasn't even a concern.

“Would you hand me my nightshirt, please?” she asked, pointing to the garment lying by the side of the bed.

He looked puzzled. “Why?”

“I think it would be best if I went back to my room.”

“I don't.” It wasn't the answer she'd expected.

“Why not?”

“You don't need to be alone right now. You'll only end up worrying the rest of the night about what might happen.” Pulling her onto his lap, he cradled her to his wide chest, then touched her cheek with his index finger. “It's out of our control now, sweetheart. There's no sense dwelling on it.” He kissed her with such tenderness it felt as if her insides had turned to Jell-O. “Spend the night here, with me.”

His strong arms holding her so securely, the feel of his gentle touch, and his reassuring words had her feeling as if she never wanted to move. And he was
right. She would lie awake thinking of all the what-ifs, when what she really wanted was to be wrapped in his warm embrace.

“If I sleep in your bed, I'll still need my nightshirt.”

He shook his head and the wicked grin he gave her sent a shaft of longing straight to the pit of her belly. “I really prefer what you're wearing now.”

She laughed. “A sheet?”

“No. A smile.”

 

Holding Elise close, Cole lay awake long after she fell asleep. What if he had made her pregnant? Was he ready to be a father? Would he be good at parenting? How would he even know if he was or wasn't?

All he had to go by was his own upbringing, and that was anything but normal. Raised by a marine sergeant, moving from place to place whenever Gunny received new orders, wasn't much to go by.

But his father had done the best he could, and instilled Cole with values that had served him well over the past thirty years. He'd always been on the right side of the law, served his country with dignity and honor, and been an honest, upright citizen. Weren't those qualities that any man would be proud to pass along to his child?