Conard County Marine (22 page)

But that was ridiculous. She had to start picking up the reins of life again, one way or another. She drew her hand from Coop’s and pushed back from the table. It wouldn’t kill her to be pleasant for a little while.

Todd was standing inside the foyer. He smiled warmly when he saw Kylie. “You’re looking a lot better. I got back from Saint Louis today and I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Loads better,” Kylie answered with a smile. “Except for my memory, anyway. That’s still gone.” She had no desire to tell anyone else about those brief flashes she’d had.

Todd’s smile faded. “That’s got to be awful, Kylie.”

“Maybe it’s for the best,” she answered, trying to sound bright. “I’m sure there are things I’d rather not ever remember. We’re getting close to dinner, but would you like to have some coffee with us?”

She was surprised to see that he appeared taken aback. Kind of an odd reaction to a simple gesture she’d have offered to anyone she knew.

“Uh...I really can’t. I just wanted to see how you were doing and to give you something. I don’t know if you still like this stuff, but I brought you a little statue of the arch.” He stuffed his hand into his pocket and brought out a four-inch piece of metal shaped like the Gateway Arch.

She accepted it and smiled. “What a sweet thought!”

“Maybe you don’t do it anymore, but I remember you had a collection of things like that.”

“She did,” said Glenda. “Up in the attic since she went to Denver, but maybe we’ll bring that out again. Sure you don’t want coffee, Todd?”

“Maybe another time. It’s been a long drive and I just want to get home.” He smiled at both women in turn and promised to see them in a few days. Then he was gone.

Coop spoke from the kitchen door. “Why don’t I like that guy?”

“I don’t know,” Glenda answered. “He’s all right. Not exciting, but okay.”

Kylie, however, was looking at the arch in her hand. He’d bought this for her? Something inside her squeezed. It couldn’t be new.

It was tarnished.

Chapter 12

“I
t’s tarnished?” Coop repeated after Glenda left for the night. Kylie hadn’t mentioned it earlier, and she felt weird for mentioning it now.

“I know,” she said. “I’m being ungrateful. Maybe he just didn’t notice.”

“Let me see,” he said, holding out his hand.

She passed him the arch, watching him carry it over to a lamp in the hallway to study it in brighter light. “Well,” he said after a bit, “it’s certainly not new. Maybe he picked it up in some antiques shop or something.”

“Maybe. It was a nice gesture. I don’t know why it bothered me.”

He looked up from the trinket that nearly vanished in his large hand. “Well, you didn’t like him very much in high school. Hardly strange that you wouldn’t want gifts from him now.” He straightened and put the arch on the table beneath the lamp. “I’ll grant you it’s odd, but no big deal. Maybe it just caught his eye and he remembered that collection he mentioned.”

“Maybe.” That was a valid point. The fist that had been gripping her began to ease.

He glanced down at it again. “And maybe he didn’t want to seem like he was overdoing it. I’ll give him credit for that much.”

“Overdoing it how?”

“Well, you barely got home before he was here with flowers. His reception was not exactly, um...”

She laughed. “Okay, I was a little cold to him. Not very nice of me, was it?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes we just don’t like people. Nothing we can help. And he was a little quick on the draw given what had happened. Why do I get the feeling that back in your school days he was the guy who always went a little too far?”

Kylie sat on the couch. “Maybe so. Tried too hard? I don’t know. He was part of our group, but it was more like he was on the fringe. It’s hard to explain, but it wasn’t that no one liked him. For a while I was interested enough that I dated him a couple of times, but then something just didn’t feel right. I don’t know what. Anyway, I dated him, so he couldn’t be all weird, right?”

Coop laughed heartily. “Goes without saying. He still likes
you
, however. To wit, one trinket and a mess of grocery store flowers earlier.”

She giggled. “Oh, don’t pick on him about the flowers. We don’t have a florist in town.”

“Okay, I’ll be fair.” He winked, then crossed the room to sit beside her. At once he snaked out an arm and wrapped her in it, drawing her close. Smiling, she leaned her face against his shoulder. He made it so easy to forget everything except him. And unlike Glenda, he didn’t do a thing to remind her of all that should be scaring her.

Of course, Glenda was merely expressing sisterly concern. She’d been a rock through all of this, never losing her cool. She was certainly entitled to admit how worried she was.

Feeling oddly content and happy, a rare mood for her since the attack, she didn’t want to lose a moment of the good feeling. In fact, she wanted more.

The words emerged with a boldness that surprised her. One of the changes since her brain injury. “Make love to me, Coop.”

She heard him draw a sharp breath. “I told you about marines and drawers.”

A quiet laugh escaped her. “Somehow I think you’d be able to protect me just as well stark naked. And I kind of like the image.”

His arm tightened around her, and she heard his heart accelerate beneath her ear. “I gave you the caveats.”

“Yup. You were completely honest. Leaving soon, going places no woman can follow. I didn’t miss any of it.”

He turned suddenly and took her by the shoulders. “You’ve been through a lot, Kylie,” he said, his blue eyes boring into her. “I don’t want to be something else you have to survive.”

Her mood began to sink. How many kind excuses was he going to give her? Clearly he didn’t really want her. She’d mistaken the looks, the kiss, the little gestures. “It’s okay. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” She tried to pull away, but his grip on her upper arms tightened.

“Aww, hell,” he said. Then, almost faster than she could believe, she was lying back on the couch, him half over her, his mouth taking hers in a penetrating, demanding kiss. He caught her head between his hands, giving her no opportunity to escape, making her feel instantly possessed by him.

It was like striking a match deep inside her. The simmering longings burst into full life, the entire world went away and she cared about nothing except the mouth plundering hers, the man’s weight on her torso. She reached up with both arms, hanging on to his shoulders, wanting to make sure he couldn’t escape, either.

Even as passion rose in her, something else seemed to be settling, as if somewhere deep inside she had been waiting for this man, this moment, forever.

He shifted over her, until his hips rested between her legs, and began a gentle rocking movement that lifted her even higher. Her own hips responded instinctively, moving in time to his tongue’s incursions into her mouth. She felt he had entered her from head to foot, as if he had taken possession of her entire being.

An ache blossomed between her legs, hot and heavy, and she tried to lift her legs to bring him closer to her throbbing center. The weight of him, the pressure...all of it was perfect.

He released her mouth and she gasped for air, digging her nails into his shoulders as their bodies followed the timeless rocking that carried them closer and closer to the pinnacle.

Another gasp escaped her as he pulled up her shirt and lowered his head, sucking one nipple through her lacy bra. An arc of heat shot through, so hot she was surprised she didn’t turn into a cinder. With each tug of his mouth on her nipple, another arc of fire shot through her, leaving her utterly mindless, in thrall to sensation and pleasure.

Her thighs tightened around his narrow hips, feeling his movements against her in every way possible. Wanting more, so much more.

She felt so heavy at her center, but so light everywhere else. The throbbing had spread until it became a drumbeat in her ears as well as her core. Pounding, aching, needing, hovering on the very edge of anticipation, the very edge of satisfaction. She quivered with hunger throughout every cell of her body.

“Oh, Coop,” she breathed as if the sigh could hurry him up.

*

He knew what she wanted. He wanted it, too. But he enjoyed the buildup as much as he enjoyed the climax, and he was in no rush to reach the end of this story. Her sweet scents filled his head, giving him a rush. The writhing of her body beneath his drove him to the edge of madness. His entire being seemed to be centered between his legs, except for the splinter that was nursing her lovely breasts, first one and then the other.

But as much as he wanted to delay, to hang on to each of these exquisite moments, he knew he couldn’t do it. Delaying too long might push her to a point where she started to tumble without satisfaction. He didn’t want to do that to her, stretch her so tightly only to have her snap the wrong way.

But damn, there was no finesse in this, he thought vaguely, then gave up. Later. There’d be time later.

Pumping harder, hating the material that separated them, he lifted them both to the lip of the chasm. When he heard her gasp and felt the shudder run through her, causing her to buck against him, then heard the cry, he knew she had arrived. Moments later he followed her into the abyss of perfect pleasure, each jet of his body sending a racking shudder through him.

When he collapsed on her, it was to feel her arms grab him and hold him as if she feared she might fall forever. The rictus of satisfaction eased into a soft smile as he buried his face in her hair. He felt drained to his very soul.

*

Kylie never wanted to move again. She felt as if the sun and the moon and the stars had exploded inside her, leaving her so drained and so satisfied that there was nothing left of her. She was drifting like a feather on a sense of completion she never wanted to lose.

But finally reality began to return. Coop eased off her and fell to the floor beside the couch with a groan. She turned her head as much as she could without disturbing her sense of utter relaxation. “You okay?” she whispered.

“Better than,” he answered huskily. “Um, wow?”

If she’d had the energy, she might have laughed. She felt the same way. No words would suffice. When her hand slipped from the couch and dangled, he caught her fingers gently and held them.

Minutes passed in contented silence. But at last Coop stirred and sat up. “I need to clean up. Then maybe a reprise.”

Her eyes opened wider and she found his face only inches from her own, covered with a soft smile. “I’m all for that,” she said softly.

“Count on it,” he said, and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Give me a few.”

As she watched him rise and walk out of the living room, her sense of humor decided to get involved. “Hey, marine?”

He turned. “Yeah?”

“You never dropped your drawers.”

She lay there grinning happily as his hearty laugh filled the house and followed him down the hall. “I can remedy that,” he called back.

She bet he could.

*

Since he’d gone upstairs to freshen up, she used the powder room downstairs to take care of her own needs. It was little more than a small closet beneath the stairway, but their grandmother had decorated it for guests. The wallpaper and pictures on the wall had long since passed outdated into some version of old-fashioned charm.

She smiled at her reflection in the old mirror and noted that this time he had indeed given her some beard burn. A washcloth with cool water helped quiet it down. When she heard his steps on the stairs, she hurried up to join him. Now he wore a clean blue T-shirt with the Marine Corps logo on it and gray sweatpants. The thing she didn’t miss, though, was that he wore his laced-up boots.

She felt her mood waver. “Boots?”

“Habit,” he said. “I need something to eat and drink before I explore your charms further. Join me?”

Habit? Maybe. But more like preparedness. Maybe it wasn’t just his drawers he wouldn’t drop.

Feeling a little sad, a whole lot happy and just generally mixed up, she followed him into the kitchen. No, they couldn’t afford to forget that some sicko was after her, but still...this night should be unsullied. Honesty told her that wasn’t possible, but she didn’t have to be happy about it.

After he pulled some cold cuts and mayonnaise from the fridge and brought bread, plates and utensils to the table, he suddenly squatted beside her. With his forefinger he touched her chin and urged her to look at him. “What happened?”

“Reality,” she admitted. “The boots. I just don’t want to face it.”

Still squatting, he wrapped her in his arms and drew her close until she was leaning against his chest and his warm breath stirred the hair on top of her head. “We can’t entirely forget,” he said. “But I sure understand how you feel. You want me to take the boots off?”

She shook her head a little. “You wouldn’t feel good about it. I get it. You’re supposed to be protecting me. We had a nice interlude, but in case something happens...”

At that he turned her chin upward so she looked at him. “That wasn’t an interlude. Don’t ever think that.”

Then he kissed her so deeply that she lost her breath. She felt almost dazed when he released her and calmly set about making sandwiches.

As he passed her a plate, his eyes smiled at her. “We may have to be careful, but we don’t have to give up everything. You’ll see.”

The warmth flooded her again, driving her demons into the background. She knew they wouldn’t go away until the creep was caught, but that didn’t mean she had to turn over her entire life to him. No, she was entitled to some minutes all her own.

*

The ever-brilliant Todd, as he occasionally liked to think of himself, although he avoided doing it too often, had solved the problem of how to kidnap the little Parish boy. It still seemed like the best way to separate Cooper from Kylie. He couldn’t imagine Cooper not hunting for his cousin’s child. What’s more, he’d probably leave Kylie locked in the house thinking she’d be safe on her own for a few hours.

So he had to make sure the hue and cry went up shortly after Glenda reported for work at the hospital, at a time when the evening would start to dim the light and all attention would be focused on the missing child.

If somehow Cooper didn’t leave Kylie on her own for a while, he’d find another way, of that he was certain. As for the kid, he wouldn’t have to take him very far. He could ensure he’d be found in a matter of hours, or sooner. Safe and sound. He didn’t have anything against the kid. Hell, if it came to that, maybe he could make himself the hero.

But he’d noticed Connie Parish’s older daughter, Sophie, was more interested in gabbing with her friends on the phone than watching her two younger siblings. Ethan got home late from the ranch where he was helping his dad; the oldest girl was left in charge, and the little ones often went into the backyard to play. The youngest daughter often returned inside after only a few short minutes, but the boy loved to spend long periods playing with his miniature cars in the sandbox.

Easy to get, then. All the way at the back corner of the yard, near the alley. The wooden privacy fence offered a barrier, but not much. The gate was right beside the sandbox, so all the wood fences lining the alley would help him more than they’d help the boy. He could snatch him, cover him with a heavy blanket to muffle his cries and carry him off quickly.

Then he could leave him bound and gagged in one of the abandoned houses that had been empty since the semiconductor plant closed. There were a lot of them, so he devoted some time to choosing one that wouldn’t be obvious but that would allow the child to eventually be found.

After all, he didn’t need long to grab Kylie, and once he had her, they might look all over, but it would never occur to anyone to check his place. No, they’d be looking for some stranger who had come from elsewhere. Nor would it take him very long to deal with Kylie. Then he could search for her along with everyone else.

He realized he needed to clarify his planning a bit more, but he had all night and most of tomorrow. Because he couldn’t wait any longer. He was scared himself, too. Scared that Kylie would remember him.