Kara Lennox - Reluctant Partners

Did he have to be so tender? Life would be so much easier if he was a complete jerk.

“You’re killing me here, Allie. I want you, you know that. But I won’t have you blaming me for pushing or taking advantage. I know I’ve brought a lot of trouble into your life, and for that I apologize. But I won’t apologize or feel bad about making love to you.

“So I’m going to stand up and walk into my room. I hope you’ll follow. But that’s entirely up to you. Are we clear on that?”

“You lawyers talk too damn much.” She cupped his jaw in her hand and kissed him hard enough to make him go cross-eyed. She was beyond caring who had manipulated whom. Her mind was too filled with the smell and taste of him, the feel of his hands all over her, the sound of his low moans of pleasure as she rediscovered territory she’d charted the previous night.

She nearly ripped his shirt getting it off him, and she mentally thanked him for buying the halter dress because it was so easy to take off. Cooper gave the bow at the back of her neck one tug, and the dress floated to the floor.

They never even made it to the bedroom. Cooper somehow had a condom handy, and they made love right there on the sofa. It happened in a blinding flash, yet at the same time Allie felt suspended in time as he filled her head with soft yet urgent endearments, and filled her body with himself.

Allie couldn’t have stopped any more than she could halt her breathing.

She felt her body tingle in a way she recognized, and she held her breath trying to prolong the exquisite feelings. Then her climax washed over her. She felt it in every cell of her body, down to her fingernails and the tips of her hair.

Cooper cried out in triumph as he found his own release, and they held each other for several long minutes. Allie was afraid to move, knowing she would break the spell holding them still on this plateau of pure sensation.

When the air conditioning kicked on, Allie shivered and Cooper stirred, shifting to a slightly more comfortable position on the sofa and pulling her against him. He sighed contentedly.

“Cooper-”

“Allie-”

They both stopped. Allie laughed nervously and Cooper barreled ahead. “Allie, please, please don’t start in with how big a mistake this is. There’s just no point.”

“I was only going to suggest we move to your bed,” she said in a slightly injured tone. She wouldn’t regret this. She couldn’t. Already she knew it would be painful when they resumed their antagonistic roles, but pain wasn’t exactly something new to her.

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. She couldn’t remember ever seeing his face so boyish and unguarded. “Good idea.”

They fell asleep wrapped in each other’s embrace, but later Allie awoke to the delicious sensation of Cooper kissing her neck. He didn’t stop there, however. He kissed her all over, everywhere , places she’d never imagined being kissed. He worshiped her body in a way that made her believe he enjoyed it as much as she did, and they made love again, this time in slow motion, pausing to appreciate every nuance of feeling, every touch, every breath, every whisper of the silky sheets.

Allie knew it was the last time. Tomorrow, after the trade show, they would pack up and drive back to Port Clara, back to the real world where a court battle awaited them.

When she was sure he was asleep, she turned her face into the feather pillow and cried for something that could never be.

WHEN COOPER EASED INTO wakefulness, it was still dark out. He wondered what had awakened him, then remembered the beautiful woman in his bed and realized he’d awakened many times that night, each time reaching out to make sure she was still there.

He briefly considered tying her to the bed to prevent a repeat of yesterday morning when she’d fled him in a panic, then smiled into the darkness at the mental picture of how furious she would be if he tried anything like that, even as a joke.

But his smile faded as he realized that nothing he could do would hold Allie. No matter what she’d said last night, she would regret this. Because Allie Bateman wasn’t a no-strings-sex kind of woman.

She might not know it, but Allie was a long-term, ring-on-her-finger, forever kind of woman. And he was the last person with whom she could possibly have forever.

As he lay there in the growing dawn light, perhaps still half-asleep and unguarded, a strange thought took hold of him. At first he dismissed it as ridiculous, but the thought kept coming back.

Maybe he needed to take a novel approach to the problem of Allie and her claim on Johnny’s boat. Yes, he was used to approaching problems from a win-lose perspective. The law had always been his comfort, something in black and white that, when skillfully interpreted, solved all dilemmas. He pursued legal avenues until he came out on top, or didn’t, though usually he did because he’d never been one to squander resources on iffy legal battles.

Allie, however, required some thinking outside the box. How could they both win? How could they each get what they wanted and remain friends-or lovers?

Allie had already rejected a cash settlement. But what if he made her a different kind of offer?

Though it was tempting to wake her up and tell her what he was thinking right away, he decided to let her sleep while he chewed on this new, better solution. He thought about it while he showered and shaved, and while he dressed in a wild Hawaiian shirt he’d borrowed from Max knowing it would make Allie smile. If she wanted him to be a “Margaritaville” kind of guy, he’d give it to her in spades.

Breakfast had just arrived when she woke up. He saw her standing in the doorway to his bedroom, wrapped in his terry cloth robe, looking adorably rumpled and sleepy.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked as soon as the waiter had gone.

“You looked so peaceful, so I thought I’d let you get an extra hour of sleep.”

“Well, you did keep me up late,” she said with a saucy toss of her head.

As if he needed reminding of last night. “Come sit down. We don’t have to rush today, since everything is already set up.” He poured her coffee and orange juice and uncovered all the dishes.

“Do you eat like this every day?” she asked as she scooped up a small portion of scrambled eggs and added one strip of bacon and one toast triangle.

“Most days.”

“If I ate like this all the time, pretty soon I wouldn’t fit through the Dragonfly ’s hatch.”

“I just burn it off, I guess.” But maybe he should start considering his health. He’d never thought much about the future before, figuring it would take care of itself. But he wanted to live a long time. Now that he had a future really worth living, he wanted to make it last.

He added a healthy portion of fresh fruit to his plate. “So, speaking of the Dragonfly, I’ve been thinking.”

Her fork stopped midway to her mouth, and she looked up warily. “Cooper, haven’t we done enough thinking? I mean, we’ve already launched several of your ideas-different kinds of cruises, new ways of marketing. Shouldn’t we see if all this newfangled stuff works before we start even more? Maybe you can afford to lose money on high-risk ideas, but I can’t.”

“I couldn’t agree more, and I don’t intend for you to bear more risk than you can withstand. This is something a little different.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

“You and I work pretty well together, don’t you agree?”

She had to think about it for a few moments. “When we’re not fighting, yeah. You’re pretty easy to work for, and you’ve certainly shouldered your fair share of responsibilities.”

“If we didn’t have this legal problem hanging over our heads, we would be compatible partners. Right?”