Copper (11 page)

He loosely rested his arm around the woman’s shoulders and led her onto the dance floor.   As soon as they were on the dance floor, she moved in as close as she could get, and pressed her body against his.  Copper sighed inwardly and used his hold on her body to put space between them. 

He’d much rather be holding Marla in his arms, but her safety came before his own wants and needs. The Metal Cowboys traded their bike helmets for black cowboy hats to blend in at the honky-tonk.  The idea was to cozy up to as many locals as possible and subtly probe them about Rob Storey and his whereabouts. 

After a couple of spins around the dance floor, Copper made his move.  “A good-looking woman like you, I bet you know just about everybody in town, huh?”

The woman’s bright red lips parted. She flashed him with teeth so white they had to be bleached. “That’s right, sugar, and everybody knows Rose.”

Copper bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.  When the urge passed a few seconds later, he winked at her.  “I just bet they do.  So, Rose?  Does the name Rob Storey ring any bells?”

“Of course it does, sugar.  We went to school together, though he was actually a couple of grades ahead of me.  Funny you should ask.  He’s been gone for years, but I saw him in the feed and tack store just the other day.”

“Really?” Copper tried not to act too excited. “Any idea what he’s up to these days?”

The woman shrugged. “You never can tell with Rob. He’s a cagey bastard that one.”

“Give me your best guess, and I’ll buy you a drink for your trouble,” Copper promised, turning on the charm.  He gave her his sexiest grin to sweeten the deal. 

“That’s a tempting offer,” she said, moving even closer. “I think his father is getting on up there in years. The family ranch is probably too much for the old man, and Rob’s brother to handle on their own. Everybody in the farming and ranching community have been tightening their belts since the last drought.”

“Makes since,” Copper swallowed a sigh of relief when the song ended.  “Let’s go back to the bar, and I’ll buy the drink I promised you.”  He carefully disentangled himself from the clinging woman and sauntered over to the bar. 

The fact that he’d left many a bar with a woman just like this one didn’t escape his notice.  It was ironic really, because the only interest he had in Rose was garnering as much information as he could about Storey.   He most certainly wouldn’t be going home with her.  Just the thought made his sex shrivel. 

The only woman his body wanted was in his home, probably tucked away in his bed, and he was going to have to beg for Marla’s forgiveness to join her there, after the monumental screw up he made that afternoon.  Finding and shutting down her tormentor would go a long way toward making things up to Marla.  That was the only reason he was tolerating Rose’s outrageous flirting and seductive groping. Her touches gave him the willies, but he sucked it up and concentrated. He was doing this for Marla, he reminded himself.

He leaned closer to the woman, struggling not to hold his breath. Her cloying perfume really annoyed his senses. It was almost the opposite of the delicate floral scent that Marla favored. “What will you have to drink?” Copper said to keep the conversation going.

“Whatever you’re having, I’m easy.”

Copper didn’t doubt that for a second. He raised his hand to get the bartender’s attention. When the woman sashayed over, he ordered, paid for two bottles of beer, and spent the next fifteen minutes extracting all the information Rose possessed on Rob Storey.   When he finished, he hightailed it straight home. It was the one and only time he remembered leaving a bar alone and being happy about it.

SEVEN

The closing of the bedroom door roused Marla from a light sleep.  There was a crick in her neck from falling asleep on the window seat of the bay window in Copper’s bedroom.  She raised a hand to massage the sore spot just as a shadow loomed over her.  Before she could react, a pair of strong arms swept her up and held her close in a tight embrace. 

Marla was wide awake now.  She instantly relaxed when she recognized Copper’s profile thanks to the moonlight filtering through the windows.  “Um, hi,” she shyly greeted the man holding her. 

“Did you get tired of waiting for me?” he teased.

“I think it was the wine,” she confessed. “Natalie and I found a bottle of wine hidden behind all your whiskey, vodka, gin, and rum.  The last thing I remember is staring at the sky full of beautiful stars.”

“They aren’t as beautiful as you are,” Copper told her with a flashy grin. “Staring at you would make me want to do a lot of things, many of them include a bed, but sleeping isn’t one of them.”

Marla’s lips parted, and her mouth opened and closed without making a sound. Instead, she watched him staring at her, which made her feel even more self-conscious.  She nervously twisted several strands of hair around a finger.  The thought of sharing his bed, even if nothing happened, kept her body charged and her mind wandering to places it didn’t need to go, especially after drinking half a bottle of wine.

“You look good in my room, but you’ll look even better in my bed,” Copper groaned out.  He swiftly walked over to the king size piece of furniture and lowered her onto the mattress.  He turned on the lamp that rested on the nightstand.  Soft light filled the surrounding area. 

Stepping back from the bed, he undid the fastening of his jeans. When her gaze focused on his body, he slowly slid the skintight pair of denims past his hips.  He kicked them off and stepped clear of the hindering garment as soon as he could. 

Marla’s eyes soaked in the sight of his well-defined body.  His erection jutted out to tent the front of the pair of black briefs he was wearing. Her body responded to his need for her.    Her nipples swelled and pushed against the cotton of the oversized T-shirt she wore to sleep in.  She clenched her thighs together in an inadequate attempt to ease the growing ache at the very heart of her feminine core. 

“I didn’t mean to shock you into silence,” he teased.  He lifted the black T-shirt he was wearing over his head and threw it onto the floor. 

Her eyes ate up the sculpted abs and beautiful body standing in front of her.  Her sight focused on a splash of color.  She reached out and traced the outline of the large tattoo inked on most of his chest.  Two Celtic looking horses faced off against each other with slashing hooves. One horse was the blue-green color of copper with a patina-finish. The other creature was the color of bronzed copper. 

“It’s absolutely gorgeous, and it’s perfectly suited to you,” she said in awe.

He gave her a wolfish grin and joined her on the bed.  “I created a similar image in my head years ago.  I got this inked the day after I left the SEALs.  The tattoo artist did a great interpretation based on my description.” He shrugged. “The ink is old news for me. I’m much more interested in discovering your body.”

Marla wished she had a flirty comeback for his teasing, but she’d never excelled in the art of flirting. Still, she felt the inner seductress that must live somewhere inside all women fight to get free. She batted her eyelashes and arched her back so that her breasts thrust outward toward the sexy man who was gazing at her through heavy-lidded eyes.

“You make my body feel like it’s on fire,” she admitted in a soft whisper. “I want you so much I ache.”  

“That’s real good, because I’ve wanted you for a while, and I’m tired of waiting.  This is going to be a night neither one of us forgets anytime soon,” he promised. He used his fingers to lightly trace the outline of her stiff nipples. 

  Sensation after sensation shot from her nipple to her feminine core, and he was barely touching her.  Marla closed her eyes and concentrated on the way he made her feel.  She arched her back and pushed her breasts against the palm of his hand.  His touch disappeared, and Marla whimpered. She wanted it back.

Her eyes popped open just in time to see Copper leaning toward her. His lips covered hers. She shut her eyes again, savoring the feel of his mouth moving over hers. She opened to the insistent demand of his tongue, and it plunged inside. 

The slow heat in her pelvic area was starting to burn out of control.  She’d never experienced such an all-consuming need to join her body with someone else’s.  The two of them were just getting started, and the passion was so much more intense than she expected.  It was a shocking but pleasant surprise. 

She knotted her hands in his copper colored hair and pulled him closer. His lips moved from her mouth to trace the slender line of her neck.  Marla shivered when his lips nibbled against an extra sensitive spot.  Copper must have noticed, because he sucked harder on the tender skin, causing her to moan. 

He didn’t stop there.  His hands trailed down her body until they reached the hem of her T-shirt.  Before Marla could utter another breath, he stripped the thin barrier from her body.  Now they were lying skin to skin.  Marla pressed into him and rubbed her breasts against his firm chest, slow at first but soon with more abandon, when she discovered how good it felt. 

“You’re beautiful all over,” Copper told her, “but your breasts are flawless.  They’re the perfect size for my hands.”  As if to demonstrate, he reached out and cupped her breasts.  His hands were soon joined by his mouth.  His tongue slid over first one nipple and then the other. 

The stimulation caused Marla to moan and pull him closer.  Her hands slipped out of his hair, and her fingernails lightly raked down his back. “More!” she demanded in a hoarse whisper. “I need more.” She twisted to give his mouth better access. Copper didn’t disappoint her.

His teeth grazed the tip of her left nipple before he sucked it into his mouth.  Pleasure shot from her nipple straight to her sex.  She arched her back and lifted her pelvis in an attempt to get as close to him as possible.  “I need you, please.”  Marla was a helpless captive to the need and want taking over her body.  She couldn’t control the instinctive thrust of her hips. 

Deliciously rough hands trailed down her body, leaving goose bumps in their wake. One hand pressed against her feminine core. The other hand ripped away the thin wisp of silk covering her. It was Marla’s favorite pair of panties, but she was too far-gone to the passion simmering in her blood to even care that the expensive piece of lingerie was ruined.

His hands left her body, and she heard the rustle of fabric and realized that he was removing the last piece of clothing that stood between them and total nakedness.  His hands returned, skimming over her body. He swooped down to share another simmering kiss that left her breathless. 

She rocked her body against his, rubbing her sensitive parts against the hard planes of Copper’s body.  She could feel moisture gathering between her legs, preparing her sex to welcome him inside her. Almost as if he knew, his fingers cupped her before sliding between the slick folds of her sex.  Marla’s feet dug into the soft mattress, but her hips shot off the bed. 

“Take it easy, darlin’.”  His throaty voice soothed her, but his busy fingers stroked her and worked her heated body into a frenzy.  Teasing the delicate entrance with one hand, Copper rubbed the sensitive bundle of nerves centered above her opening with the other. 

Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly feel more pleasure, his finger glided inside, and her movement went from instinctive but controlled to frantic.  Her muscles tightened, waiting for a release that she knew only Copper could give her.  He abruptly left her body, and a strangled sob of desperate need filled the bedroom. 

Before she could utter a protest, she heard the crinkling of a foil packet being opened. One of Copper’s muscled legs settled between hers and pushed her thighs wide apart.  She could feel the tip of his erection settle against her opening.  She wiggled, urging him to do something. He adjusted his position and thrust downward with his hips. The length of his thick erection entered her with one swift motion.

Tiny quakes caused her body to quiver.  She was so close to fulfillment, reaching out, begging to fall into the oblivion of an all-consuming pleasure.  She swiveled her hips and pushed upward, meeting him thrust for thrust. All but the tip of his erection slipped outside her body before it powered its way back inside. The tension inside her was at an all-time high, almost unbearable in its intensity. 

She wrapped her legs around his lower back to get even closer. His hands seized her hips, and he sped up the already desperate rhythm of their passionate joining.  Her back arched, and her body froze.  Two thrusts later, she screamed as an earthshattering orgasm shook her body. 

Even in the delirium of her release, she felt Copper thrust once more into her quivering sex.  His hands tightened on her hips, the rest of his body froze, and he cried out his own release.  Copper placed a quick kiss on her lips before rising from the bed.

Marla shot up and gave him a startled look.  She knew he hadn’t promised her anything, and this was an act of passion sparked by the building physical attraction between them, but she thought they might cuddle at least a little.  “Was it that bad?” Marla said with a self-deprecating laugh.  Personally, she thought it was spectacular, but that didn’t mean Copper felt the same way. 

She laid her head on her upturned knees, refusing to look at him.  She felt the shift of the bed when he sat next to her. A strong finger lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. “You set my body on fire and make it burn out of control. What we just experienced was incredible.  I’ll be ready to go again soon with a little coaxing from your hands and mouth.” 

Even though she couldn’t see herself, Marla knew she turned bright red.  She could feel the rush of blood to her face.  “Just a few seconds ago, it looked like you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.  I thought you might be having second thoughts even before the bright light of day.”

He reached out and caressed her hot cheek.  His lips followed the same path as his stroking fingers. “It’s practicality that hastened my departure from your sweet body,” he insisted.  Copper stood once again.  “I have to dispose of the condom before it leaks,” he warned.  “I’ll be right back.”