One More Night (4 page)
~*~
Nate jerked awake and opening his eyes, he frowned as he let his gaze slide around the unfamiliar room.
Just where in the hell was he?
He tensed when he felt the slight stirring of soft curves cuddled against him. It only took a few rapid heartbeats for everything to come rushing back at him, and he smiled.
Ah yes, now it became clear
. His grin grew wide.
What a woman, he thought and what a hot, wild little woman she was.
Just thinking about what happened between them last night brought his morning arousal to an intolerable ache. Well why the hell not? She didn't seem to have any objections last night, in fact she was quite demanding. He was about to shift her off him, but stopped when she suddenly sat up and gazed down at him with those big silver gray eyes.
“Good morning.” Cooper said softly and brushed her hair off her face. She turned away and glanced at the alarm clock, then back to the man in her bed. “Look I have to get ready for work and you'll have to leave.” Not waiting for his reply, she tossed the covers aside and left bed. Heading towards the bathroom, she glanced over her shoulder before she reached the door. “You can use the shower after me.”
Amazed at the woman, Nate watched her walk away.
Leave? Just where in the hell was he supposed to go?
Grumbling to himself, he tucked himself back in his pants and did them up. God, he couldn't believe that he acted so damn wild and didn't even have the patience to undress either of them.
Annoyed at himself, he sprung from the bed and chased after her. Turning the handle, he pushed but the door wouldn't open.
Confounded woman.
He started to pace as he waited for her to finish her shower. He didn't intend going anywhere until this matter between her sister and his cousin was sorted out, and if the damn irritating woman thought he would just walk out the door,
well too bad
.
Quite pleased with herself, Cooper hurried with her shower, she thought she handled this morning's situation with aplomb and confidence she was far from feeling. Even now, she could feel the heat of shame spread across her face. Hopefully, he would take the hint and leave town altogether, and she would never have to face him again.
She could either ring him or fax him to let him know if Sandie was pregnant or not. Lord, she hoped her little sister wasn't, it didn't bare thinking about. Wrapping a towel around herself, she unlocked the door and stepped into the bedroom. She raised a brow when she saw the handsome hunk pacing the floor. He looked downright mad and it made her smile. “Showers free.”
So lost in his thoughts, Nate spun around at the sound of the husky voice, he stopped moving and lifted his dark brow as his gaze swiftly ran over her. He clenched his jaw at the sexy sight she made dressed in only a towel, her shoulders and the tops of her breasts still glistened with water and making him aroused all over again. He tore his eyes away and stared at the wall behind her. “
First,
I want to know where I'm meant to spend the day and most of the evening while I wait for you to return home?”
Cooper shrugged her shoulder at his angry question. “Beats me. But you're not staying here. Now if you would like to take a shower I suggest you do it now. Because in twenty minutes I'll be leaving for work.”
Nate gritted his teeth as he watched her turn away and head for the built in wardrobe. “
Fine.
I'll just fetch my bag from the car.” He stomped over to the door and pulled it open. “
Damn aggravating woman."
He grumbled as he strode down the stairs and out of the house.
A smile of mischief on her face, Cooper reached for her clothing. The man was so easily riled and she couldn't wait to stir him up some more when he returned. She knew what she was going to say to him would have his temper rising, and just as she did up the zip on her skirt, he strode through the doorway. “In case you're interested I thought to let you know that since you didn't use protection last night that you don't have to worry about any unwanted consequences. I'm on the pill and just for safety sake I took a morning after pill. Today while I'm at work I'll run some tests on myself to make sure there isn't anything else I might have to concern myself with.”
When she started speaking to him, Nate closed his eyes in horror.
God damn it all
, he never gave any thought to anything else other than burying himself inside her. He let out a sigh of relief, and opened his eyes when she told him she was protected, but he gnashed his teeth and he silently steamed in outrage when she finally finished speaking.
Flashing her a look of pure venom, he hefted his bag and strode towards the bathroom, but stopped just inside the doorway. “I'll have you know woman I am healthy and free from disease.” With that, he stepped forward and slammed the door shut.
"Damn smart mouth annoying woman."
He muttered to himself as he dropped his bag, and started to strip off his clothing.
It was hard but she managed to hold back her laughter. Cooper did her hair and made the bed. When she heard the shower turn off, she checked the time and saw that she still had ten minutes left. She thought about offering him a cup of coffee but decided not to. The sooner he was out of the house, the better.
Her gaze swung towards the bathroom when the door opened and the gorgeous hunk stepped out, her insides quivered and heat pooled between her thighs.
Lord, he looked fantastic.
The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up and the two top buttons at the collar were left undone. The silk material molded itself to his magnificent body, and a spear of heat stabbed her in the pit of her stomach.
She was unable to stop her gaze dropping and swallowed,
those jeans should be outlawed, she thought
. They fitted so snuggly that they left very little to her imagination. It was only when he started to walk forward that she was able to tear her gaze away and meet his.
Nate did some thinking while he showered, and thought it best not to antagonize the woman if he wanted to stay. Not only did he want to sort the mess out about her sister, but he wanted more than anything to make love to her again. Wanted to make sure he experienced the amazing pleasure he did last night,
because he knew it would be for the very last time.
As he moved towards her, he gave her a winning smile. “I know it's an inconvenience, but I'm hoping that we can see each other again after the wedding. I would like to know your sisters results so I can deal quickly with the problem if there is one.”
For a few seconds, Cooper mulled over what he said, she didn't trust that devilish smile on his face. Nevertheless, he did make sense and if Sandie was pregnant, the matter should be dealt with as swiftly as possible. She felt herself tingling at the thought of this man sharing her bed again.
It might be wrong
, but God help her, she just couldn't resist the temptation. “Well if you can amuse yourself until I come home from the wedding, I don't see why not.”
It took an effort, but he managed to keep the smile on his face and followed her out the room and down the stairs. Walking behind her, his brow rose, when he finally took notice of what she was wearing.
Good Lord, she looked like a wild haired gypsy
. She wore high heeled ankle boots, a black skirt and the hem was flouncing uneven reaching the top of her shoes. Her light long sleeved purple blouse sat at the rim of hip hugging skirt.
The outfit was the most bizarre thing he'd ever seen a woman wear, yet somehow on her it looked as sexy as hell. He stopped thinking when they reached the foyer, and she opened the front door and waited for him to leave. Grimacing, he stepped outside and turned to face her. “What time can I expect you home?”
Eyebrows lifting in amusement, Cooper shrugged. “Probably around midnight.” She watched him give a curt nod before he spun around and headed for his car, she eyed his butt in appreciation and let out a sigh of disappointment when he hopped in the vehicle. Without bothering to watch him drive away, she closed the door and leaned her brow against the cool wood. Dear heaven, she was in trouble. She hoped whatever madness was possessing her now, would disappear as quickly as it came.
SEVEN
Actually, Nate was surprised he had such a productive day after leaving the house. Once he drove away, he headed for the diner to have a cup of coffee and some breakfast. It was just his luck to run into the woman he spoke to last night. After receiving a glare of angry disappointed from the waitress named Kate, he managed to talk himself back on her good side.
It proved to be a very smart decision and after promising to return later in the day, he drove the fifty miles out to the oil fields to check on how things were running. More than pleased with how things were going, he spoke to the foreman, Jake, about his cousin and wasn't surprised at what he learned. Late afternoon, he showered, changed into a suit and headed back to town. He couldn't stop grinning as he pictured how Cooper would react when he turned up at the wedding with the waitress Kate.
No doubt about it she would be furious,
well too damn bad
. He might hate weddings and try to avoid them as much as possible, but he reckoned that this one was going to be very enjoyable. He swung the car into the diner parking lot and saw Kate waiting outside, he raised an eyebrow at her outfit.
Good God, he better be on his toes with this one
. If that dress wasn't man eating material, he didn't know what was.
The bright red dress swirled around the top of her thighs, any shorter she may as well wear it as a top. The neck plunged low, barely covering her breasts and he knew trouble when he saw it. Well, he was certain he could handle the woman without any difficulties. Pulling up in front of her, he reached over and opened the door. “Hop in.” Suppressing a grin, he knew she was disappointed when he didn't get out and open the door for her like a gentleman.
Well, he wasn't going to play the gentlemen and have this small country town woman snag in him some Godforsaken trap.
No sirry,
he was too smart for that, besides he intended taking Cooper home and finishing what she denied him this morning. It still burned him that she thought he might be contaminated with some disease.
Once he spent the night making love to her, and in the morning they found out if her sister was pregnant or not, he would be leaving and hopefully he wouldn't set eyes on the infernal woman again. He tried not to grimace when Kate placed her hand on his thigh. Reluctantly, he turned to face her. “Is something wrong?”
Even though she was dissatisfied that Nate never returned last night, Kate was glad she didn't stay angry with him. She was going to enjoy seeing everyone's face when she walked into the church with this man on her arm.
Talk about arm candy
, wow, every woman there was going to be just green with envy. She also wanted show her ex-boyfriend that she could find something better than him. “I just wanted to say how happy I am that you agreed to be my escort.”
After giving her a tight smile, Nate turned away and drove out of the parking lot. “Which way?'
“Oh, go left and turn down the first street on your left again and it's not far.”
His jaw clenched, he managed to ignore the hand still on his thigh, hopefully when they were in the church the woman would keep her hands to herself. At the reception, he planned to ditch her at the first opportunity that presented itself. It wasn't how he usually treated a woman,
but this one was sending out all the wrong signals like a neon sign
. Well, whatever she had planned she was doomed for disappointment, because he had no intentions of hanging around.
He noticed the church and the crowded parking lot, he turned in and found a spot to park. Turning off the ignition, he pulled the keys free and undid his seat belt before he opened the door and stepped out. He stood waiting beside the car and hid a smile when a few moments later Kate let herself out and threw him an irritated glare. “Come on we better hurry. Everyone else is already inside.” He started walking and it wasn't long before Kate caught up, and together they stepped inside the church, accepted the hymn book and took a seat on the last pew.
“I wanted to sit up front.” Kate griped in a whisper.
Nate shrugged his wide shoulders and was prevented from answering when the music started, and everyone stood up to watch the bride walk down the aisle. He only gave her a passing glance, he was too busy searching for Cooper. Finally, he spotted her standing up front amongst the other bridesmaids and nearly burst out laughing. Good God, she looked like a child playing dress up in her mother's clothing.
He could tell by the look on her face that she was annoyed as hell, and he really couldn't blame her. Hell, the ruffled collar of her dressed reached halfway up her throat. The long mutton sleeves were way too big and way too wide for her small frame. Ruffles covered the bodice of the horrendous dress, but thank God they stopped at the waist. A long skirt reaching the floor covered the rest of her. It was the color though that kept the smile on his face. The brightest shade of lime green, it was enough to dazzle the eyes.
When the bride finally reached the poor sucker she was about to torture for the remainder of his life, everyone sat down again. He paid scant attention to the ceremony, all his attention was on Cooper, he was going to enjoy teasing her about her hideous gown. When everyone started clapping, he realized the ceremony was over, and sitting up straight, waited impatiently for Cooper to walk down the aisle.
As she followed the bride and groom, Cooper tried not to grimace. How she let herself be talked into this she'll never know, and worse to be forced to wear this atrocious ugly dress. Her gaze swam over the faces filling the church, and she stumbled slightly when she met a pair of dark eyes dancing with laughter.
Darn it
, what in tarnation was he doing here? Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the bright red dress and knew.
