Dragon and the Dove (19 page)

“Okay,” she said, not sounding at all
okay.

He took her at her word, giving her credit
for knowing what she wanted even if she wasn’t sure of how to go
about getting it.

“You’re very beautiful, Jessie.” He traced
the lace edge of her slip across the upper curves of her breasts
and felt her quiver under his touch. A pleased smile curved his
mouth. “You’re voluptuous and soft, and I find that very
erotic.”

His hands skimmed lower, over her breasts
and down her belly. Bunching her slip in one hand, he brought the
material up above her hips and used his other hand to work her hose
and underwear down. She grew very, very still.

“Don’t stop breathing, darlin’,” he drawled,
“or this isn’t going to be nearly as much fun as I thought.”

“Don’t tease me, Cooper. I’m a nervous
wreck.”

“If we can get all these clothes off, I
think we can get beyond the nervous part pretty damn quick.”

In silent agreement, she moved to help him,
but balked again when it came to her slip.

“Not yet,” she whispered.

“Then when?”

“I’m not sure!” A soft blush colored her
cheeks.

Unable to resist, he kissed the warmed skin.
“All right, Jessie. I’ve got a plan. I’m going to take off my wet
suit”—and he did, peeling it off his body with sure grace—“and take
off your slip”—he did that too—“and then I’m going to put my hands
all over you.”

Without preamble or warning, he started with
her most secret place, tunneling his fingers down through the
triangle of soft curls between her legs. His eyes drifted closed on
a ragged breath. God, she felt so good. He stroked her, feeling her
woman’s moisture dampen his fingertips and make his erection even
stiffer. Whether she was unsure or not
, her
body was welcoming him, preparing to receive him.

“Lord, Jessie,” he groaned. “You must have
the willpower of a saint to be this wet and still say no. Either
that or you’re more innocent than I would have believed for a
mother of two.”

“Cooper?” she said breathlessly.

“Yes?”

“Let’s not talk about the kids.”

Cooper took her suggestion to heart and
stopped talking altogether, except to murmur encouragement. They
stretched out on the bed, his body darkly golden and angular
against her pale curves. He cupped her breast in one hand and
massaged her nipple to a turgid peak while he kissed her, full of
wonder at the beauty of her and the sweetness of her response. Her
fingers combed languidly through his hair, and her breathing grew
short and shallow, telling him of her pleasure.

When he lowered his head and took her in his
mouth, her muscles tensed for a moment, then gave way completely in
a melting surrender. She sighed his name and the sound went through
him like a searing bolt of heat.

He kissed her everywhere, touched her
everywhere, and with every kiss, every touch, his need for her
grew. She offered oblivion, a focus and a driving need hot enough
to consume him. He ached from wanting to be inside her, but the
taste of her on his tongue compelled him to explore her feminine
curves, to linger in soft, secret places made for the caress of his
mouth.

When his brain started sending out warning
signals, he moved up her body, blazing a trail of wet kisses,
kisses meant to imprint her shape and the satiny texture of her
skin on his mind. He kissed her where the sun had kissed her
before, on her chest and shoulders and across the bridge of her
nose, where a dusting of freckles graced her, and as he kissed her
she began her own exploration.

She ran her foot up the back of his leg and
down over his buttocks, teasing him, stroking him. Simultaneously
she slid her hand down his chest and past his abdomen, tracing a
double fuse line to his groin—then she lit it with her closing fist
and a stronger stroking of his shaft.

Jessica felt his response build with every
inch she traveled, until his body trembled with the need for
control. When she reached her destination, he groaned and let her
bring his arousal to a peak. Then he surged against her, swearing
softly and making a crude request sound like an act of divine
salvation. His breathing ragged, he nuzzled his head into the crook
of her neck and whispered his request again. They were dark words,
laden with primal fecundity, words meant to lure the innocent
across the threshold of polite sex into a realm of pure,
transcendent sensuality.

He pushed against her, breaching her silken
sheath and sliding deep. Any illusions she’d had about what he
wanted from her were shattered by the reality of his first thrust.
He was gentle but unrelenting, burying himself to the hilt and then
waiting as the exquisite pressure grew. His arousal throbbed deep
inside her, heightening her excitement and bringing her closer to
the edge of climax. He bent his head and licked her breasts before
drawing a nipple into his mouth to suck and fondle with his
tongue.

A gasp was wrung from her, and she clung to
him, tangling her hands through his hair and holding him to her
breast. Still he didn’t thrust again.

She spoke his name, urging him on, near
pleading with him, but he only brought his mouth to hers and
whispered his request against her lips
.

Dragons were a dangerous business, she
realized. They were aggressive and demanding, and showed little
sympathy for the faint of heart.

But they were also seductive, sensual
creatures, ready and willing to push the envelope of her
experience. He finally began a slow withdrawal, and her body
convulsed around him.

“Cooper, no . . . don’t.” He pushed back
inside, and her words changed to a soft moan. “Yes.”

Her eyes fluttered closed and she raised her
hips to meet him, taking the initiative, doing what he’d asked. She
drew his head down to hers and opened her mouth to receive him.
Matching him stroke for stroke, she was slowly engulfed in the
sensual haze they created out of thin air and two bodies touching,
skin to skin, and heart to heart.

She kept nothing for herself, no protection
from the sweet lavings of his tongue, no inhibitions to hide
behind. Her instincts were to cherish, to show him with her hands
and mouth, and the welcoming gesture of her spread legs, how much
she wanted him, how much he meant to her—Lord, what he was doing to
her.

Cooper recognized every gift she gave, and
he was awed that she gave so much. Her acquiescence was a haven, a
safe place to let go of anger and forget guilt, a place of oblivion
and succor. Her pleasure was a source of endless erotic
stimulation. With every soft sound she took him higher. With every
pelvic thrust she taught him a new and enthralling sensation. He
couldn’t get enough of her.

He levered himself up on his arms and gazed
at the woman lying beneath him. Just looking at her made him feel
tighter, harder. Her dark auburn hair was a tumble of soft strands
across his pillow. The lines and curves of her body were an
inspiration for the act of love, from the smoothness of her
shoulders and arms to the gentle roundness of her belly. She was
lithe and curvaceous like a female creature made to nurture. She
was a woman and lovely, and he wanted her to have everything.

“Jessie, give me your hand.” His voice was
rough with strain. He hadn’t meant to ask, he’d meant to do the
deed and hope she’d follow his lead.

He had asked, though, and when she complied,
lifting her hand with languorous grace, he smiled his pleasure. He
was still embedded deeply within her, but the only movement he made
was to bring her hand to his mouth and dampen her fingers. He
swirled his tongue down over the sensitive tips and across her
knuckles, and he felt her trembling contraction on his hard
maleness.

With effort, he held his response in check.
He was after more than release within her, and he was suddenly very
sure he could get what he wanted.

When her fingers were wet, he slid her hand
down over her belly and into the thatch of auburn curls between her
legs.

“Touch yourself for me, Jessie,” he
murmured, guiding her in the act and watching the gentle gliding
motion she made. Her thigh muscles tensed and her hips tilted
higher. Her breathing grew labored. “You are so soft and sweet
there. Let me—
Jessie
. . .” Her silken sheath tightened
around him with agonizing pleasure, leaving him breathless.

He pumped into her, looking down and
watching himself fill her again and again. She was coming apart in
his bed, in his arms, and he wanted it to last forever. Even as the
thought of forever came to life, a firestorm began building in his
loins.

Jessica grasped the sheets with both hands,
straining. Her legs came up around his waist, her ankles locking
behind his back. Dragons were lovers. The strength of him
overwhelmed her, the slickness of his movements and the heat of his
skin. He was fire and energy, and he was taking her where she’d
never been.

Cooper felt every muscle in his body coil in
upon itself. He held off, knowing once he crossed a certain line
there would be no control, no retreat, only the driving force of
his body taking him to completion.

Her low moan and the surging of her body
against him was the last thing he knew before the inevitability of
climax claimed him. Her delicate contractions were made exquisitely
powerful by the sensitivity of the shaft they milked. She convulsed
around him, her inner walls rippling in counterpoint to the jetting
of his lifestream. His back arched and he jerked against her,
making it last, and last, until the final shudder ripped through
him, leaving him dazed and struggling to find a steady breath.

He slowly lowered himself and cradled her in
his arms, taking in a great gulp of air as he rolled her to his
side. He’d known she’d be the death of him, but he sure as hell
hadn’t expected her to kill him in bed.

* * *

Sated, Jessica curled against her green-eyed
dragon, inhaling the musky scent of man and the tang of the sea. He
kissed her forehead and stroked her hair back off her face,
touching her and soothing her still-trembling body. She wasn’t sure
what she and Ian had been doing all those years, but she’d never
felt anything like what Cooper had given her
. Luxuriating in the
aftermath of his intensely beautiful lovemaking, she was ready to
commit to him for life.

“You’re dangerous,” he said, his voice
hoarse.

“
Moi
?
”

“
Toi
.
”

She looked up at him and he flashed her a
wry grin. She hid her own smile against his chest.

“Are you sure you have to go home?”

She could tell by his tone that his grin had
faded. “Yes, I do,” she said, tilting her head back to see him.
“I’m sorry, Cooper.”

Darkness had fallen since they’d first
walked into his bedroom, but it wasn’t dark enough to hide his
disappointment.

“Then let me just hold you for a few
minutes,” he said, drawing her closer and tucking her head under
his chin.

She sank against him, feeling his heartbeat
under her palm and the strength of his arms around her. He twined
their legs together. A heavy breath escaped him, sounding like a
sigh of resignation, but he said no more. He only held her, letting
the quietness fall and deepen.

When he knew he could keep her no longer,
Cooper eased his arm from underneath her and helped her to her
feet. He gave her a kiss before he let her go, but not the
ravenous, sexual kisses he’d given her during their lovemaking.
Tenderness and appreciation were his goals when he brushed his
mouth over hers, gently rubbing her lips.

“I don’t know how to tell you what happened
to me when we made love,” he said, still holding her close. “But I
want more.” He kissed her again and released her. “I’ll get your
skirt.”

Jessica watched him leave, walking naked
across the room and out through the door. The curtains blew around
him for an instant before he disappeared.

She wanted more too, much more. For her sake
even more than for his, she wished she could stay.

She wanted to wake up in his arms, without
any time apart for her doubts to surface.

* * *

Jessica hadn’t planned on being back at
Cooper’s house ready to go to work before he’d even gotten out of
bed, but that’s what happened.

John answered the door and let her in, and
within minutes after she’d reopened her files in the makeshift
office, he brought in a tea tray with croissants and fresh
fruit.

An hour later Cooper still had not surfaced.
Tempted as she was to go to his bedroom, Jessica refrained. John
and Bo both had the run of the place, and she didn’t want to be
found in an unprofessional, compromising position with her boss.
She very much wanted to be in an unprofessional, compromising
position with her boss. She just didn’t want to get caught in
one.

Her doubts about what had happened between
them had surfaced in spades, just as she’d expected. She’d
forgotten to be embarrassed and shy the moment he had touched her,
but she’d had the rest of the night and all of the morning to make
up for lost mortification.

“Jessie?”

The sound of his voice brought her head
around. He was standing in the doorway in a pair of plaid boxer
shorts, his hair all tousled from sleep, his eyes drowsy with
invitation, and his mouth curved in a purely wicked grin.

“Come on.” He turned sideways in the door
and held his hand out for her, beckoning. When she didn’t move, he
arched his brow.

It was the last bit of coercion he had to
use the rest of the morning.

* * *

One and a half more days to survive, Jessica
told herself that afternoon, then she could get a grip. She turned
on her computer and tried to focus on the job at hand. She got as
far as opening a file before a dreamy smile came over her,
physically, emotionally, and mentally.