Turbulent Intentions (11 page)

“I . . . uh, don’t know if I can stay here,” she said. Maybe she wasn’t as calm as she’d thought she was.

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is a dream-come-true kind of house. You’re absolutely not gonna leave,” Amy said with an outraged gasp.

“Do you recognize this man?” Stormy said, pointing her finger hard against the glass.

Amy looked and then her eyes widened slightly. “Isn’t that the pilot who was such an ass to you at the airport?”

“Yeah, among other things,” Stormy mumbled.

“Well, maybe he’s really good friends with whoever lives here,” Amy said. “Guys don’t put pictures of themselves on the walls.”

Exactly what Stormy had just been thinking. Okay, she was definitely overreacting here.

“Look, Stormy, you can’t give up this place. You literally have nowhere to go,” Amy reminded her. “I hate to point that out, but it’s the truth.”

“I can go to a motel,” Stormy said almost desperately.

“And you’d last a week because your money would run out and then you’d be broke
and
homeless,” Amy pointed out. “Then what?”

“You don’t understand,” Stormy tried saying.

“I get it,” Amy interrupted. “But sometimes we have to put our feelings aside and do what’s best for us, not what we think we need to do.”

“It’s not his place,” Stormy said. She was more and more sure of that. But still she looked around nervously.

“Hello,” she called out. There was nothing. “Is anyone home?”

“Um, darling, if no one has appeared yet, then I don’t think they’re going to,” Amy said with a laugh.

The only response that could be heard in the house was the sound of a ticking grandfather clock. Maybe it was an omen.

Amy left Stormy behind, obviously reluctant about doing so. After an hour, she decided to explore more of the home now that her meager possessions were put away.

Maybe she would find out exactly who resided in the house. She was saying prayers at two-minute intervals that it wasn’t Cooper Armstrong.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Sweat dripping down his brow, Cooper pushed himself even harder as he ran along the rocky terrain of the Gig Harbor coastline. A breeze ruffled through his hair, and once in a while a mist would come up and cool him down.

Still, he ran faster and harder.

When he stopped at the trail that led back to his property, he pulled off his shirt and wiped his brow. The ten-mile run had been exactly what he’d needed to burn off the excess energy he’d been feeling from being cooped up in small flight decks for the past week.

Man, he loved to fly, but sometimes it was a little claustrophobic.

Walking up the path to his house, he made it to the back patio when he stopped, realizing that something wasn’t right.

Carefully he opened his back door and stepped through. There was the noise again. Someone was moving around his upstairs. The staff was off today, so no one was supposed to be in the house.

Moving to the front of the house, he glanced out the window and didn’t see anything to set off alarms, but then there was that same noise, sounding like shoes scuffling across his hardwood floors.

Well, if someone was there to rob the place, they’d picked the wrong house. Stealthily, he walked up the stairs, determined to catch the culprit. He was furious when he found his bedroom door open. That was his private space, and no one was allowed to step foot inside.

Taking a menacing step forward, Cooper stopped in his tracks when he saw Stormy move past his bed and then peek into his private bathroom. What in the world was the woman he’d been thinking about far too often doing in his bedroom? Had his imagination suddenly conjured her up? Was he daydreaming?

She crossed his spacious floor and ran her fingers along his mocha-colored walls. The natural light filling the room cast a soft glow on her features, and he felt himself growing hard when her fingers caressed his satin drapes as she pushed them aside to peek out onto his large balcony.

His eyes traveled from her to the centerpiece of his room, his very large and comfortable four-poster California king-size bed. It was made and just asking for him to throw her onto it and mess it up.

A ray of sun hit Stormy, casting an almost ethereal glow about her. In her white lace summer dress, she certainly looked like an angel. The plans he had for this woman, though, didn’t come down from heaven.

Never before had Cooper allowed a woman into his bedroom. He took them to hotels or went to their homes, but he didn’t like them to invade his personal space. Surprisingly, even though he had no idea how Stormy had gotten into his house, he didn’t mind her being exactly where she was.

Shaking his head, he scowled though she couldn’t see him. There was a reason he didn’t invite them back to his house—he didn’t want them after him for his ass . . . ets.

Then it hit him.

Uncle Sherman! His eyes narrowed as he realized what the old coot was up to.

First of all, a so-called
family friend
needed a place to stay. Then
conveniently
right before she was to move into the guest cottage, the pipes had burst, causing him a hell of a headache, not to mention the cost of repairs, and the
family friend
now got to stay inside his house.

He and his uncle were going to have a talk
real
soon.

“I assume you know Sherman Armstrong,” Cooper said as he stepped through his doorway and alerted Stormy of his presence.

She jumped as she spun around, the move nearly toppling her over. Dammit! She was far too close to his bed for her to be getting horizontal. His brain had already begun to picture her lying on top of his dark blue comforter.

“Cooper . . .” His name came out breathlessly, and he really had the urge now to lie her down and hear her saying that in the exact same manner as he slid in and out of her body.

“That’s what my friends call me,” he said with a crooked grin as he leaned back against his wall. “If you really wanted in my bedroom so badly, all you had to do was ask,” he added with a wink he knew would infuriate her.

Stormy’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she moved away from the bed and farther from him.

“This
is
your house.” She said the words almost as an accusation. Sherman hadn’t told her any more about where she was staying than he’d told Cooper who would be staying with him.
Family friend, my ass
, Cooper thought.

“Yep, it is.”

“I . . . uh, didn’t know . . . when Sherman said his nephew had a place, I never thought . . .”

She seemed to be getting her equilibrium back as they faced off. Interesting. He actually believed she hadn’t known it was his place. What was also interesting was the fact that he wasn’t upset about having a guest anymore.

His pride wasn’t unaffected when he saw the appreciative light in her eyes as she took in his appearance. He’d had a great run today. Yes, he knew his dark hair needed a good brushing, and he was covered in sweat, but she didn’t appear to mind.

The more she looked at him, the tighter his snug shorts felt, and he was
very
aware that there was a bed nearby to alleviate the pain he was feeling. He glanced at his bed, and then back again at her—and he smiled.

Stormy’s eyes widened the slightest bit as she looked into his and then looked down, before jerking her head back up and looking more like a mouse cornered by a very hungry cat.

“I’m . . . uh . . . sorry for coming into your room. I was just looking around, trying to get a feel for the layout,” she finally muttered. “I really like your chest . . . I mean, uh your house, especially your room,” she said before turning scarlet. “I mean that it’s very hard . . . I . . . uh . . . I mean comfortable.”

She finally lifted her hand and put it over her mouth to stop the flow of words.

Hot damn, he wanted this woman with something that bordered on obsession. Not good! Her sweet scent drifted over to him, bringing an exotic flavor that had never been in his masculine room before.

His mind wandered as he imagined moving across the room and pulling her into his arms, a gasp of approval sliding across her lips right before he claimed her mouth. He would slowly peel her summer dress away, revealing her shoulders and then her sweet perky breasts for him to feast upon. He wouldn’t mind nibbling his way down her body, trailing his fingers until he found her center.

His hardness was now a screaming mass of pain that he seriously had to do something about. Moving quickly over to his bathroom, he grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his brow before moving it over his naked chest and then holding it in front of him. This woman got under his skin like no woman ever had. Something about her called to him, and even though his mind couldn’t for the life of him clear the foggy feeling that he’d met her before, his body decided it didn’t care either way.

“My room is open to you anytime,” he heard himself say.

And then he enjoyed the gasp from her suddenly puckered lips, but he didn’t get to feel her warm breath against his mouth. Dammit!

“I think I should finish unpacking,” she stuttered. “I won’t be here very long,” she added as she took a step toward his bedroom door.

She seemed to think twice about it, though, when she realized she was going to be left with no choice but to come intimately close to him. He decided not to move. He wanted her nearer to him.

“Be my guest,” he offered when she stood there for a few more seconds, completely frozen in place.

“Well, okay then,” she said and she began to make a wide arc past him. He inhaled while she walked past.

She made it to the door before he spoke again. “We’ll talk after I shower, Stormy.”

She stopped in his doorway but didn’t turn around. She was feeling the sexual tension as much as he was. Cooper really wasn’t disappointed about his new housemate.

Screw the shower. He needed to move! After dressing in some swim shorts, he made his way outside.

It took a while, but his arousal finally died down. Still, there was something niggling against his brain—something about her smell—about the gasp from her lips and the widening of her eyes that was so damn familiar.

But how could he ever forget a woman like Stormy if he’d met her before?

He couldn’t have. He might be somewhat of a rogue, but he didn’t forget his bed partners. Maybe he hadn’t bedded her, though; maybe he’d just met her at a party? But why wouldn’t she tell him if he had? Cooper flashed through his mind the last couple of years of women, and there was no Stormy.

He would figure it out. She was now his guest. He had plenty of time.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Breathing deeply in and out, Stormy moved down the staircase, not wanting to hear the shower running with Cooper inside the large room—wet . . . naked . . . soapy. Oh, living here was
so
not a good idea.

As she walked, she became engrossed again in the beautiful nautical pictures lining the walls. Whatever else she could say about Cooper, she had to give the man his due. He had good taste.

When she felt it was safe again, she moved back upstairs to her sparsely furnished room. Luckily there was already a mattress and dresser in it, but no extras. Her few possessions didn’t take up much space at all.

She was drawn to the large window and the view of the large, well-manicured backyard and the nearby harbor beyond. She hated that the place belonged to Cooper because otherwise, it would be a dream come true to live in such a lavish location.

Beggars couldn’t be choosers, though, and she’d just have to make the best of the situation. She was an adult. She could handle this. She needed to handle this. She turned back to the luxurious bed. Even though she wasn’t thrilled with her new housemate, the place clearly had its perks. She swiftly rushed over to the ultra-comfortable oasis, flung herself on top of its welcome warmth, and sank down into the soft mattress. She couldn’t stop herself from allowing a giggle to escape.

Yes, it was childish, but she hadn’t been in this nice of a place, well, ever. The picture of her parents was already set up on her nightstand, and she smiled at the people she loved so deeply. She’d have slept on the cold, hard ground for the rest of her life in exchange for another minute with them both.

She was glad of the values they’d taught her. They wouldn’t have approved of her living with a man—especially a man she felt something for, a man she’d already slept with. But they also had always told her to make her own choices—even if those choices weren’t the smartest ones.

Her father had always told her that people were shaped by the decisions they made. There was no such thing as a wrong decision, just a path you were meant to travel and grow from. She hoped the path she was now choosing wasn’t a bad one.

The sharp sound of a car door slamming grabbed her attention away from the picture and to the open window. Reluctantly, she got up and moved across the room. With one hand, she drew aside the drapes and peered down on the driveway.

The sight of Cooper with a hose in his hand pointed at a sleek silver Jaguar had her mouth watering. He hadn’t taken a very long shower. But she knew she was in a bit of trouble as she found herself once again appreciating his incredible physique. Staring at him for who knew how long, Stormy found herself trying to be more confident.

The man wasn’t kicking her from his home. Maybe she should try to make a friendly gesture. After all, the two of them hadn’t exactly been the best of friends up to this point. Who cared if he didn’t remember sleeping with her? She had to get over it.

Matter of fact, it was probably much better for all concerned if he had no idea that they’d been lovers for a night. It had been incredible for her, but it wouldn’t be wise to repeat that night, so at least they wouldn’t have to deal with the sexual tension from it, right? Right!

But she could say thank you to the man for offering her a place to stay. Her decision to seek him out had nothing at all to do with the fact that he was in his driveway—half naked. Nope. It had nothing at all to do with that, she assured herself.

Moving quickly now, she practically ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Searching around, she located a large container of iced tea, grabbed a couple of glasses, and poured them each some before squaring her shoulders and moving to the side door. She stepped outside.

Looking up at the bright, sunny sky, she felt she could get used to this tree-lined area. The crisp sea breeze blew gently across her cheeks as she carried the drink to Cooper. She thought about rubbing the icy glass against her flushed body. Of course, it was only the heat of the warm day, not the fact that she was feeling anything else as she came closer to the man who could work magic with his hands and mouth.

Only a few feet away from Cooper, she had to admire how good he looked in nothing but a pair of shorts, his firm upper body gleaming with a splash of water and maybe a trickle of sweat. A trail of soapy water was slowly making its way toward the waistband of his wet swim shorts.

She must have made a noise, because suddenly Cooper turned in her direction. She really wished he weren’t wearing sunglasses because she had no idea what he was thinking as he set down the hose he’d been holding and then trailed his fingers through his damp hair.

“Settling in okay?” he asked. It took her a moment to process his words.

“Um . . . yes, I am,” she finally murmured. “It’s hot out, so I thought I’d break the ice and bring you a drink.”

Maybe she should have just stayed in the house, dang it.

Giving her a smile that could melt butter, he thanked her and then took the glass. She watched as his throat flexed while he downed half the tea. “I was thirsty,” he said, wiping the moisture from his lips.

Her stomach clenched with need unlike anything she’d ever felt before.

“Well then, I guess I’ll let you get back to it,” she told him, taking a step back and nearly falling on her ass.

He chuckled then reached out. Before Stormy knew what was happening, he was wrapping his arms around her and tugging her against him.

“What in the world are you doing?” she asked, her voice trembling.

The sudden fire that ignited in his eyes was making her far too warm. She couldn’t figure out what else to say as he gazed down at her.

“You looked a bit hot. I thought I’d cool you off,” he told her.

She’d been warm, but him pulling her against him had instantly overheated her.

“I’m good,” she said, tugging from his wet hold.

With a chuckle, he released her. Stormy was fully out of sorts, but looking down, she saw the hose at her feet. Bending, she picked it up, a twinkle in her eyes.

“What are you doing?” he asked. This time, he was the one to step back.

“You look a little hot,” she said, repeating his words. Then she unleashed the cold spray right against his chest.

His smoldering eyes weren’t so hot anymore as he yelped and lunged backward. When she saw him glance toward the bucket of sudsy water, she decided it was a good time for retreat.

“See ya later,” she hollered, dropping the hose and spinning around.

It was too late, though. She didn’t make it three steps before icy-cold water launched over her head and soaked her white dress, plastering her clothes to her suddenly freezing body.

She stopped and spun back toward him, glaring at his head, which was lowered to the ground. He was bent over laughing. She moved up to him and tried to push him over, but that backfired on her.

He was far too fast for her, and suddenly she found herself being lifted and then both of them were tumbling on the grass on his perfect front lawn.

Gasping for breath, Stormy was disoriented as the world spun around her. Then, she lost her air when he pinned her beneath him, his solid body on top of hers. She was pretty sure it wasn’t the hose pressing against her thigh.

“I’ve wanted to do this from the moment I saw you in that coffee shop. I feel like I’ve known you forever and it’s haunting me.” No more warning than that was given before his head descended and his lips were fastened on hers.

The kiss was exactly what she remembered, and she sighed into his mouth, forgetting for a moment what a bad, bad idea this was. Within a second, she was lost in his embrace.

The kiss ended far too quickly, though, when Cooper pulled back, confusion in his eyes as he gazed down at her.

“I know you,” he said, making her heart race.

“Of course you do. I worked at the coffee shop,” she said, out of breath.

His finger came up and traced her lips as his eyes narrowed.

“No. I’ve kissed you before, tasted you.”

It wasn’t a question. He was certain of it.

Her heart stopped in her chest as she gazed up at him. This would be the time for her to tell him that indeed he did know her. She tried to get her mouth to form the words. Instead, what came out wasn’t what should have.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now get off me,” she said, wishing the words would have come out a bit more firmly.

“What are you hiding from me?” he said, still not releasing her.

“Nothing. I just can’t breathe with you on top of me,” she told him.

With what seemed like reluctance, he rolled off her. That’s when Stormy realized they were on his front lawn making out like a couple of teenagers who couldn’t care less what the neighbors thought. Sure, she couldn’t see his neighbors, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t see them.

No more words were exchanged as she rose to her feet and walked away, her arms folded across her chest. She couldn’t shake the idea that countless onlookers could see through her wet dress. She cast her eyes to the ground, not willing to see if that were true or not.

What Stormy knew for sure was that she couldn’t stay in Cooper’s house. There was no way. If she did, she was sure she’d end up in the man’s bed again. And that was a road she wasn’t willing to go down.

Stormy wasn’t too far into the house when she heard Cooper following her. Dang it. He could be a man and give her a bit of space, couldn’t he? That would be the nice thing to do.

“Stormy, we need to talk,” he called. He was too close.

She froze for a second trying to figure out which way to go. She knew for sure that she couldn’t face him again right now. No way. So, doing the only thing she could think of, she decided to hide.

Rounding the base of the stairs, she shot into the hallway and opened a door, deciding the bathroom was the best place to duck into. She shut the door too hard behind her, and then sought a light switch.

There wasn’t one to be found. After a moment, her eyes adjusted to the bit of light coming in from the bottom of the door. That was when she realized she wasn’t in a bathroom at all—she was in a closet.

She could hear Cooper’s approaching footsteps on the hardwood floor as her back slid down the wall and her arms tucked her legs up into her chest. Feeling extremely foolish and very trapped, her heart raced as Cooper stopped on the other side of the door.

“Stormy, are you all right?” Cooper asked as he knocked on the door.

Utterly humiliated, Stormy knew she was going to have to answer. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Everything
was
fine except for the fact that she was sitting on the floor in a closet feeling like a total fool. Now her new housemate had to think she was crazy and was wondering how quickly he could evict her.

She wanted to be evicted, though, didn’t she? It was better than her reminding him that he was right to think he knew her. That they had slept together and he was only now remembering it.

Stormy wasn’t too thrilled to have to remind a man he’d bedded her.

“I was just really cold and thought I would look for a coat,” she called out when he said nothing to her last statement.

“You had to shut the door to find a coat—in the dark?” he asked.

“The wind must have blown it closed behind me,” Stormy said quickly, impressed with her quick thinking.

“Well, if you need it, there’s a light in there hanging from the ceiling,” Cooper told her. “I’m going to be a gentleman and give you a break,” he said before pausing. “Then we will finish what we started.”

Her heart thundered at those words. What did he mean by
finish what we started
? Was he talking about the discussion or the kiss? Oh, she wouldn’t mind finishing the kiss. She really wouldn’t mind that.

If she had the ability to kick her own ass, she would, because she couldn’t sleep with Cooper Armstrong again. At twenty years old, she could write the night off as youthful idiocy, but now at twenty-six, it would just be plain irresponsible.

Stormy was more than grateful to hear his steps retreating. Slowly, she turned the closet doorknob and opened it. After stepping outside, she looked back in and saw how ridiculously small the closet was. There would be no need for her to step inside for a coat—not unless she was hiding.

She was grateful he hadn’t called her on her foolishness.

Taking her time, she climbed the stairs and locked herself in her room. It was the best place for her to be after her childish behavior. Lying down on her bed, she closed her eyes.

She’d call Sherman and let him know that she needed to get out of the agreement. Sherman’s best intentions were not worth this level of humiliation. No, she’d be out of here in a few days max, she assured herself, because being housemates with Cooper would never work—not without her spilling her guts to him or ripping off his clothes. Either situation would be pretty dang disastrous.