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“And what about you?” he argued “What about what you need?”

Her only ansas this pained expression he didn’t quite understand

It was full of so much hurt he decided to drop it

Silence fell between them, but the usual caone As theabout her The heat of her body close to his, the quick rise and fall of her chest that told him she was just as affected by his closeness, the little tremble in her full bottom lip he didn’t think she was even aware of

The previous night, he’d dreamed about her

She was in his bar like the day they’d met No one else around but them

He’d fucked her on top of one of the tables

Fast Furious

So hot

Cooper had woken up only to jump into the shower He’d closed his eyes and remembered the dream as he took care of himself

It was e empty, in comparison to what reality could be

His dick tightened in his jeans thinking about it, his gaze shooting to Jessica’s mouth It was time to remind her as possible between them

Cooper grabbed her wrist and pushed her up against the side of Dahlia’s gift shop The alley between it and George’s place was dark and silent except for their heavy breathing He pinned her in, his hands braced on the wall at either side of her head

Jessica stared up at hi, dark eyes “Coop—”

He cut off her co question with his mouth just like last time

She tasted of theelse So all Jess

She whiue touch his and that was it

He was lost

His kiss turned hungry as a feeling of desperation cath of hers The lush feel of her ht of her breasts pressed to hih on its own to fire hihtened her fingers in his hair to draw him closer, he was done for

He gripped her ass in his hand, urging her closer, his dick straining against her belly His hand slid down to the back of her thigh and he hiked one of her legs up against his hip so he could be where he needed to be, fitting snugly between her thighs

Fuck, he wished she earing a skirt

“Cooper” She breathed out his na the kiss Her head fell back and her eyes fluttered with the sensation of hi sex Her cheeks were flushed as sheher hands into his shoulders to hold on She flexed her hips against his and he felt his nerve endings catch fire

He needed to be inside her

The soft skin of her throat called to hi kisses down her neck and across her collarbones He moved his other hand down her back as his mouth reached the rise of her breasts He brushed his thuroaned as her nipple visibly pebbled through the material

If they didn’t stop soon he was going to take her right there

“Fuck” He pulled away fro as dazed as he felt

All he’d wanted was a taste of her

Now he knew for certain that just a taste would never be enough with this woman “Tell ot this back in Wilton, Doc”

He watched the muscle in her jaitch as she clenched her teeth

She couldn’t tell him

He knew that Because what they had between them didn’t come around very often

“Doc?” he persisted, and he learned in that ton was not only smart and sassy but stubborn as hell

“I can’t do this”—she gestured between them—“not with you”

And she walked away

Gutting him

He was just asking her to think aboutroom in her life for him The fact that she wouldn’t even contemplate it for a second, when his blood was on fire with need for her and hiswound

Strangely, the pain fired his deter to herself Cooper didn’t knohy, but he was going to find out

By then the doc would be in his bed

Right where they both knew she belonged

TWELVE

Jessica

“Areare you okay, Jessica?”

I glanced up fro at the unlit hearth in E down at me with concern in her eyes

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly

She looked away, seee breath and turned back to me “Do you want to talk about it?”

I senerous offer “It’s about a man”

Her eyes lit up with curiosity “A love affair?”

“Maybe”

Eer than I’d ever seen her “Unrequited love?”

“Nope” I shook ht ants to explore the chemistry between us”

“Is he a not good man?”

“He appears to be a very good ood for me

“So what’s the problem?”

“Well, there is the fact that I don’t live here and he does But the biggest problem is that he doesn’t know me like I think he thinks he does There is this possibility that he has builtI’m just not and if he ever found out who I really aht—“I’d lose him” I immediately braced myself I hadn’t meant to say so much and I didn’t want to answer the inevitable questions o;And what about you?” he argued “What about what you need?”