Still in Cooper’s lap, Breanne froze.
The shadow stepped further into the room. The candlelight caught him, revealing nothing more than a mere mortal man, possibly thirty, wearing a tool belt from which swung a hammer, a wrench, and an assortment of other tools.
Hence the clinking.
Cooper threw an amused look at Breanne, who remained utterly still for one instant before she blew out a short breath and struggled like a wildcat to get out of his lap.
But because he was a sick, sick man, Cooper used his superior strength to hold her against him before craning his head toward the man in the doorway. “No flashlight, sorry.”
“Well, fuck me,” Scottish said, and scratched his head. His red hair stood straight up. “I’m trying to get the generator up and running, straightaway.”
“That’d be good,” Cooper said.
“Power lines are down all over the bloody place. It’ll be days and days with no electricity if I don’t get the generator running.”
Breanne looked horrified. “Days and days . . . ?”
“Aye. Well, off I go, then.” With another scratch of his head, Scottish walked out.
Step, clink.
Step, clink.
“If I call him back here,” Cooper whispered in her ear, “will you crawl up my body again?”
“Oh!” she spit out. “You are so not a nice man!”
“Are you sure? Because a minute ago you couldn’t get enough of me.”
“Let me up!”
Enjoying not only the squirming, but the lovely, warm feel of her butt rubbing against his crotch, Cooper did no such thing.
“I said, let me go!”
Grinning down at her, he easily held her against him. “Not until you say ‘thank you, Cooper, for saving my life.’ ”
“You didn’t save my life!”
“But you wanted me to.”
She stared at him. “I can’t believe you can walk through a door with your head as swollen as it is.”
And it wasn’t the only thing on him swollen, either. Her fidgeting was having another effect on him entirely, and given the way she went suddenly still, she knew. “What do you have in your pocket?” she demanded.
He let his grin speak for itself.
She ground her teeth together. “You. Are. Impossible.”
“You’re the one wriggling around.” But careful to mind her knees and where she put them, he let her go.
Jerking to her feet, she yanked down on the sweatshirt, which fell to her thighs and covered too much of her.
His own fault, but it didn’t matter what she wore because he knew what lay beneath—a thin white tank top sans bra that outlined her breasts and mouthwatering nipples in such a way that he’d nearly swallowed his own tongue. And then there’d been those tiny panties—
“Whatever you’re thinking about,” she said shakily, backing away to walk back around the table to her chair. “Stop. Stop it right now.”
“Why?”
She reached for her glass of wine, her hand shaking. “Because I’m on my honeymoon, remember?”
“You didn’t get married today, remember?”
“Yes. I do remember that part,” she said softly, face averted.
Ah, hell. He was an ass, especially since he knew how she felt. He’d also once had a woman walk away from him.
Only at least he’d seen it coming. Annie had chafed long and hard beneath the impossible hours Cooper had put in on his job. She’d broken under the strain only six months before he had, but she’d been long gone by the time he’d been free.#p#分页标题#e#
It no longer mattered, though, because he still deeply resented how she’d never accepted that part of him. In fact, few had. “Look,” he said more gently, “consider it this way. The guy’s an idiot for letting you get away.”
She snorted her agreement and poured herself more wine.
“And anyway, in the long run, he did you a favor.”
“Yeah? How’s that?”
“He left you free to take advantage of the next best thing to come along.”
She regarded him for a long moment, her bitterness and sadness draining away, replaced by a reluctant smile. “You know, just when I think you’re part of my worst nightmare, you go and say something almost human. And definitely profound.”
He smiled and lifted his glass in a silent toast.
“Days and days,” she murmured again after another long sip. “Can you imagine?”
“It could be worse.”
“How?”
“You could be stuck here with your ex.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re very helpful tonight.”
“I try.” He dug back into the cheese and crackers, and was well on his way to filling his rumbling belly when something hit him on the nose and landed on his plate.