Her jaw dropped.
“Because you want me. You’re angry, rightly so, but you still want me.” He took her hand. Put it over his chest. Over the heart that she could feel racing so frantically. “And I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted another woman. The way I feel for you isn’t about a mission. It’s not about anything, but us.”
Was he about to kiss her? She didn’t want him to kiss her. Oh, dang it, she was the liar now. She wanted his mouth more than breath right then, but she was also scared.
Of him.
Of the way he made her feel.
Of making a mistake. I’m already in too deep with him.
“What do I need to do—” his words were a deep, sexy rumble “—to get you back again?”
“I don’t want secrets.” Her words surprised her. She’d meant to pull away from him.
Hadn’t she?
So why was she edging closer? And why did she continue, saying, “I don’t want any lies. I might not have your EOD clearance, but that doesn’t mean you get to jerk me around.” His heart was still racing beneath her touch. Only fair, considering her heart felt as if it would jump out of her chest. “And if we’re partners, really partners, then that means you don’t leave me behind. We work together. We share everything.”
He was staring straight down at her.
She just didn’t want...secrets.
“I should be running from you right now,” Gabrielle said. That would have been the smart thing to do, but her heart wasn’t interested in smart. Her heart just wanted her to be close to him.
He’d gotten past her defenses. He’d gotten to her. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be the same ever again.
“If you ran, I’d follow.” His voice was deeper, sending a shiver over her spine. “I think I might just follow you any place you go.”
Gabrielle couldn’t pull her gaze from his. His stare burned. “Tell me...tell me that you didn’t sleep with me for the case.”
His hands lifted and curled around her hips. They seemed to singe her through her clothes. “I slept with you because you were driving me out of my mind. Fantasies weren’t enough to keep me sane. What happened between us had nothing to do with the case.”
That was good. That was— “If you ever have me handcuffed again, you are going to have some serious trouble on your hands.”
He smiled at her. A smile that reached his eyes and made her heart ache. “Sweetheart, if I handcuff you again, you’ll be in my bed—and trouble will be the last thing I get.”
That was...oh. His mouth took hers. She let go of her fear and her anger because right then, they didn’t matter.
She wasn’t sure how much time they had left together. With the killer out there, there was no way to determine their future.
So she forgot about the future.
She let go of the past.
Gabrielle just held on to him.
His tongue thrust into her mouth. His hands curled around her hips and lifted her up against the hard bulge of his arousal. She met him, kissing him back with a fierce desire that grew and grew within her.
She’d never been the kind of girl to get swept off her feet...
Cooper raised her higher in his arms.
...until now.
He took a few steps, and her back hit the wall. He didn’t release her. He kept her pinned there, and she twisted, arching against his hips.
Need rose to a feverish pitch within her as his mouth trailed down her neck. He licked her, kissed the curve of her throat. Had her gasping and digging her nails into his shoulders.