mountain he’d climbed starting his love of the endeavor – and his determination to plant his flag on top of each of the famed Seven Summits – the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. He’d ached to tell her that that day. He’d ached to tell her everything about him.
‘What’s your mountain, Afton?’
Afton had hesitated looking over at the highest peak, the sun shining through the windows picking burnished highlights out of her chestnut hair, ‘maybe…maybe it’s that I have to learn to trust again.’
Her gaze had wandered from the mountain to far away, somewhere in the past. ‘I told you my father and mother got divorced when I was young and my father promised that he’d always be there for me – but he wasn’t.’ Her hands gripped his arms as they tightened around her comfortingly. ‘Always too busy with some new project at work. I didn’t see him much growing up at all – especially after he remarried…and he died before I could form a relationship with him as an adult.’
‘That must have been tough for you.’
Afton had nodded wistfully before continuing, ‘And then there was the whole debacle with Jason – all the lies he told me. It’s been really… hard … for me to trust or depend on a man again –’ she’d lifted Cooper’s hand tenderly to her lips, ‘like I do you, Cooper.’
‘ Afton !’
Cooper’s voice had become urgent, his hands biting into her shoulders as he’d twisted her around to face him, ‘I want you to know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you – do you believe me?’
‘Yes,’ she’d whispered shakily, ‘I believe you, Cooper.’
His head had come down; his mouth taking hers in a hard, almost brutal kiss knowing it was time to tell the truth no matter what happened. He’d opened his mouth to begin. ‘Afton, I need to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago…’
‘What is it, Cooper?’ Afton had asked tremulously, blinking up at him, ‘you can tell me anything – you know that…’
‘Excuse me, mister, but can I look through the telescope?’ The small voice had piped up out of nowhere.
Cooper had looked down startled to where a small boy had stood expectantly pointing to the telescope he was inadvertently blocking. His head had swiveled around then, taking in the class of wide-eyed second graders on a summer school field trip who’d inundated the Observation Deck – and their heavily frowning parent-chaperones who’d been warily watching their passionate encounter from a distance.
‘Er – we’ll finish our talk later,’ he’d muttered from the side of his mouth to Afton before they’d crept back to the elevator with sheepish smiles. But the time had never been right again…
Cooper’s mouth tightened grimly reaching for his tie draped over a chair – he was being a coward he knew it – but he just couldn’t take the chance of losing Afton now!
As Cooper slid his striped blue tie in place, Afton turned over again, pulling the sheet up over her body still bearing faint marks of passion from his powerful possession. She watched him as he finished dressing loving the sight of the lean, lithe body she now knew intimately – every glorious, mouth-watering inch of it. Her eyes wandered hungrily over him as he tucked in his shirt over an athletically flat stomach, noting his cheeks were still slightly flushed from their lovemaking, eyes still dark with quenched ardor.
‘Please don’t be mad, Cooper,’ she said in a sultry purr, ‘I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get back home after the Founders Day Celebration tonight – if you still want to stop by again later that is.’
She dropped the sheet away and her ‘come-hither’ smile and the way she posed what he’d earlier called her ‘sinfully seductive body’, were designed to let him know exactly what she had in store for him later. Afton was rewarded by seeing his anger disappear instantly, replaced by an
‘What’s your mountain, Afton?’
Afton had hesitated looking over at the highest peak, the sun shining through the windows picking burnished highlights out of her chestnut hair, ‘maybe…maybe it’s that I have to learn to trust again.’
Her gaze had wandered from the mountain to far away, somewhere in the past. ‘I told you my father and mother got divorced when I was young and my father promised that he’d always be there for me – but he wasn’t.’ Her hands gripped his arms as they tightened around her comfortingly. ‘Always too busy with some new project at work. I didn’t see him much growing up at all – especially after he remarried…and he died before I could form a relationship with him as an adult.’
‘That must have been tough for you.’
Afton had nodded wistfully before continuing, ‘And then there was the whole debacle with Jason – all the lies he told me. It’s been really… hard … for me to trust or depend on a man again –’ she’d lifted Cooper’s hand tenderly to her lips, ‘like I do you, Cooper.’
‘ Afton !’
Cooper’s voice had become urgent, his hands biting into her shoulders as he’d twisted her around to face him, ‘I want you to know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you – do you believe me?’
‘Yes,’ she’d whispered shakily, ‘I believe you, Cooper.’
His head had come down; his mouth taking hers in a hard, almost brutal kiss knowing it was time to tell the truth no matter what happened. He’d opened his mouth to begin. ‘Afton, I need to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago…’
‘What is it, Cooper?’ Afton had asked tremulously, blinking up at him, ‘you can tell me anything – you know that…’
‘Excuse me, mister, but can I look through the telescope?’ The small voice had piped up out of nowhere.
Cooper had looked down startled to where a small boy had stood expectantly pointing to the telescope he was inadvertently blocking. His head had swiveled around then, taking in the class of wide-eyed second graders on a summer school field trip who’d inundated the Observation Deck – and their heavily frowning parent-chaperones who’d been warily watching their passionate encounter from a distance.
‘Er – we’ll finish our talk later,’ he’d muttered from the side of his mouth to Afton before they’d crept back to the elevator with sheepish smiles. But the time had never been right again…
Cooper’s mouth tightened grimly reaching for his tie draped over a chair – he was being a coward he knew it – but he just couldn’t take the chance of losing Afton now!
As Cooper slid his striped blue tie in place, Afton turned over again, pulling the sheet up over her body still bearing faint marks of passion from his powerful possession. She watched him as he finished dressing loving the sight of the lean, lithe body she now knew intimately – every glorious, mouth-watering inch of it. Her eyes wandered hungrily over him as he tucked in his shirt over an athletically flat stomach, noting his cheeks were still slightly flushed from their lovemaking, eyes still dark with quenched ardor.
‘Please don’t be mad, Cooper,’ she said in a sultry purr, ‘I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get back home after the Founders Day Celebration tonight – if you still want to stop by again later that is.’
She dropped the sheet away and her ‘come-hither’ smile and the way she posed what he’d earlier called her ‘sinfully seductive body’, were designed to let him know exactly what she had in store for him later. Afton was rewarded by seeing his anger disappear instantly, replaced by an
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