GodOfWar05152014aLLROMANCE Page 3

  I flashed my teeth at my brother in law giving him the impression that I was a wild tigress and he pretended to be shocked. Jeff just chuckled and gathered me against him, “Don’t listen to him. He’s just jealous because it took him five years to get Carson pregnant, and it took me only one try.”

  I was beginning to feel a trifle like I’d been conspired against. Still, I made my exit kissing my chunky niece on the forehead and giving Carson one last congratulatory hug.

  In the car I leaned my heat against the soft leather seat and considered. I’d shown up to be with my sister and he’d been waiting at the airport. His home was gorgeous and so was he everything seemed a bit contrived.

  “Jeff?”

  “Hmm?” His eyes were bloodshot and sagging.

  “Exactly how long have you been back?” I asked.

  He cleared his throat, “About seven months.”

  “Why didn’t you reach out to me as soon as you got back?” I asked, but I’d been part of our dwindling past too.

  “Alright listen, because I’m too damned tired to sugar coat this. The only thing I’ve thought of the past five years was you. In the field, at the hospital in Germany, anywhere and everywhere I was you were on my mind. Laying on your ass in the hospital for that long gives you time to plan things out so the minute my feet hit solid ground I went to work.”

  “Doing what?”

  “I went to work, preparing my life for you.” My skin heated with his musky voice as though being so tender was so abnormal for him that he was choking on the words.

  For the second time in my life I knew I was a goner. “But you didn’t know about Parker?” I asked in more of a whisper.

  He shook his head, “No, and I had your skunk of a brother in law against the hospital wall about it. He said you made them promise not to tell me about Parker, but you didn’t make them promise not to tell me about you. So they told me everything about you other than the fact that we had a son together. Steve told me tonight that they agreed that if I was going to show up and surprise you, it was only fair that you had a surprise for me as well.”

  I had to chuckle. This was so like my sister. Everything with her has to be fair. She’s been like that since we were infants; if we had two different toys, then we either had to share them freely or throw them out. It would seem that her meddling was an attempt to make sure we had similar toys. She married a Marine, so it was only fair that she match me up with one. I shook my head at the ridiculousness of her thought process but the truth of the matter was that my love for Jeff had never really faded. I’d just let it slide into the background until our vast differences dissolved. Now we seemed more alike than different.

  A thought popped into my head, “Do you have Bluetooth in this car?”

  “Of course I do, here you want to make a call?” He pulled his phone from his shirt pocket and handed it to me.

  I dialed the number and waited, “Dr. Steven’s Residence,” Mrs. Mulaney’s voice sounded through the car speakers and Jeff shot me a look of sheer terror.

  “Mrs. Mulaney, this is Morgan. By chance is Parker up and moving already?”

  Jeff clutched his chest as the small voice rang through the speakers, “Hey Mommy!”

  “Hey sweetheart! Tell me what you’ve been doing.”

  The next ten minutes were spent explaining in glorious detail how his pre-school teacher had accidentally let the hamster out of its cage and they’d searched for him all day until the lady from the cafeteria saw it and screamed. He finished with, “Boy Mommy, ladies sure do lose their heads don’t they?”

  I laughed and fully agreed, “They sure do. But listen remember how I told you that your Daddy was at war?”

  “Yeah, and I like to play war too,” he said cheerfully.

  “I know. Well I found out that your Daddy is back from war now.”

  “Oh good,” his little voice peeped. “When is he coming home?” he said excitedly, and I could picture him slipping around the floor in his socks with his hair standing straight up after a long nights sleep.

  “I’m thinking about pointing the car in that direction right now,” Jeff blurted.

  The phone was silent for a moment, “Daddy?”

  “Yes Parker, it’s me.”

  “The kids at school have been asking where you were,” my son said plainly.

  I interrupted their chat; this was no time to explain to a four year old the complications of relationships, not that I even remotely understood them myself. “No, no, no Parker, Daddy and I need to sleep today. We were up all night long with Aunt Carson having her baby and we’re tired now.”

  “Okay. Come home tomorrow then?” he said, plainly disappointed but most likely considering that our delay will give him time to tell every child in the preschool that his daddy was home from war now.

  “We’ll talk about it. Tell Mrs. Mulaney that I’ll call her later. Alright baby?”

  The phone was silent and it took me a minute to realize what was happening, “Oops, sorry about that. I know you don’t like to be called baby, and I apologize.”

  “Okay. Well bye Mommy. And Daddy, I’m glad you’re home.”

  “Me too,” Jeff said and I wasn’t totally shocked to see a tear roll down his cheek.

  The phone disconnected and we sat quietly before Jeff spoke, “He’s brilliant isn’t he? I mean is he one of those savants or something?”

  I laughed, “Nope just a normal kid. He looks like you but he gets his brains from me.” I teased proudly.

  “Oh really?”

  “It’s only when I’m with you that I turn to brainless mush. Most of the time I’m a respected scientist,” and I reached over and patted his thigh. “Don’t get me wrong, mush is good. Really, really good.”

  He eyed me carefully as he pulled into the driveway. “One can’t survive on mush alone, Morgan. I’ll fix some sandwiches and dig out a bottle of wine. Then we need to sleep.”

  In a glance I realized he was right, we needed refreshment. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, and I wondered if he’d looked this exhausted defending our country. I followed him into the house like a tiny puppy panting in his shadow.

  *-*-*-*-*

  I woke long after dark that evening, suddenly startled with a lack of direction and then I felt his body, warm and relaxed against mine. No matter how much I thought this relationship needed slowing down, feeling him beside me rendered me helpless. My fingers trailed a path up the sides of his back and waist, bringing him slowly to awareness beneath my touch. His body was even more perfect in the waking hour as he rolled over and pulled me close to him. “Do you realize this is the first time we’ve woken up together?” he murmured, snuggling tight against me.

  “Mmm, it’s nice,” I whispered.

  He lifted and leaned on his elbow with his head resting on his hand, “Marry me, Morgan?”

  I opened and shut my mouth a few times, staring deep into his eyes without blinking. Of course I considered the matter of marriage before; we do have a child together after all, yet there was something so dangerous and unsure about marrying a man you’ve spend less than a full week with. My sister adored him. He’s my brother in law’s best friend. Everyone I knew seemed to have a deeper relationship with him that I did.

  He ran his hand tenderly along the lines of my face, “I can see your brain twitching, you know? Look, you’re wasting your time trying to put a finger on what it is we have together. I’ve tried for five years. It’s not normal, I don’t think. If it was, everyone would be searching for it. I’ve even talked to my mom about it.”

  I drew in a sharp breath wondering what she had to say about her precious boy bringing home a short, skinny Mormon girl. “And what did she say?” I asked when he paused.

  “She asked me if I’d thanked God for saving me in Afghanistan.”

  “And?”

  “I told her of course I did. Then she yelled at me and called me an arrogant ass. She asked if I was starving and a loaf of bread floated down from
Heaven to feed me would I eat it all or just take one bite?”

  “Ah…” I said the picture becoming clear.

  “Right, basically I was an arrogant ass for questioning a gift. And I know she’s right, I should take what is offered me without question. Whether I believe I’m worthy of it or not, someone does.”

  “I’m just not so sure things work that way, Jeff,” I said tracing circles around his upper arm. I was relieved to find that his family knew about me. Somehow, the fact that he’d talked with his mother about me made me feel official. Miracles don’t appear often, and we should accept this without issue. I looked into his eyes again, “Make love to me?”

  His hand moved slowly down my thighs, flecks of gold flashed through fields of deep brown as he found my soft folds and moistened them by dipping inside then spreading the dampness. I groaned burying my face deep into his shoulder as his fingers continued to prepare me. His touch on my body was forever tender, almost painfully gentle, and already I was eager to draw him inside me and become one again.

  Satisfied with my readiness, he pulled me over him, lifting my hips high then allowing me to impale myself on him at my leisure. There was no choice but to move slowly; a member that large could do serious damage to me if I rushed, so I lowered in such small increments that I didn’t realize he was still growing inside me. Moving my hips in tiny circles I stimulated him, feeling instant satisfaction as he grew inside me. With such miracles at hand it was hard to deny that they existed. He groaned and stiffened moving his hands to my hips to guide me, lifting me and pushing me down on him with such delicious slowness that I shuddered at the sheer power of him.

  He felt my quake and for a moment he held me still above him, “Put your hands on my chest.”

  Leaning forward I put a hand over each nipple.

  “Can you feel my heart beating?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. Keep your hands there and let me know if it stops.” My face flushed the tiniest bit with his words and I tensed for the slightest moment, then with a sign of acceptance I relaxed. There was no battle here. I’d been gearing myself up since the day I first laid eyes on him for failure, because somehow failure with him seemed more practical, easier than getting past our vast differences. Those differences disappeared when we merged as one, there was no black and white, no Mormon and Southern Baptist, no soldier versus hippy, there was nothing except the wonder of his touch.

  I leaned forward and kissed his lips, thrusting my tongue against his wildly now as I fought to pull us together. He reached behind me and placed a hand on my cheeks, tucking me in for a nicer fit and letting me feel the throb of his erection within me. I whimpered, but answered him with the strong grinding of my pelvis against his. My fingernails dug into his chest as though trying to dig through to his pounding heart. He lifted me with more urgency now, building up speed almost excruciatingly slow until I felt like begging for mercy. My fingers wound into fists against his bare chest, my eyelids fluttered shut and my brain bent into a pretzel. I was completely twisted with lust for him, stunned by the lushness of his words and only wanting to immerse myself in him forever.

  He quivered from head to toe and it was incredible to watch him as I moved above him, pleasuring him within my soft folds. He groaned, squirming below me and I looked at him, his eyes half closed, his breath coming faster and faster with each beat of his heart. I leaned forward and took his nipple in my mouth. It was soft, like velvet against my tongue, and swiftly it turned into a hard marble between my lips.

  Moans of pleasure poured from my lips as I pulled and plunged him deep inside me. I felt like an animal as I unleashed my need to hold all of him as far within me as I could. As if I could physically merge us into one solid person I battered against him using my fingers to pinch his nipples as my head flung back in a flow of blond sparks. Everything held a magical element for me now as if the air in the room was filled with glimmers, flashes and flickers of color. Stars ignited before my eyes and I held on to his chest as if I were riding a unicorn that was ready to leap across a wide river.

  I was faced at that final moment with the choice; I could leap from his back and take my chances rolling in the grassy banks or trust that he would carry me through the vast leap. His deep groan brought me back to him and I clutched tightly and held on for dear life as he carried me to the moon and held me as I floated slowly back to his dark chest.

  “Yes!” I screamed as he released inside me with a grizzly groan.

  His eyes flickered open, “Yes what?”

  “Yes I will marry you!”

  He pulled me flat against his chest, holding me preciously as his hands slid up and down my back. “Then let’s get to Seattle and get our son.”

  About the Authors

  Born in Savannah but raised on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, Laura Cooper is a true southern woman. She believes that iced tea should always be sweet and has an entire Pinterest Board with over a hundred different ways to cook shrimp.

  Via an AOL chat room she met her husband of sixteen years, Chris Cooper. Together they have two children, (both in college at the same time) and fifteen, yes count ‘em, fifteen dogs.

  Prior to writing novels, Laura ran a large pure breed rescue organization for homeless animals. She, Chris and the kids found homes for over six thousand homeless dogs until they retired three years ago.

  Between calls begging for money (from her children) and squeaky toys, she somehow manages to embolden other southern women to explore their sexuality through reading. Claiming that fifty is the new thirty, Laura encourages her readers to examine themselves, crawl out from beneath the soccer mom status and live a little.

  Follow me on Twitter: @lbcooper123

  Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Laura-Cooper/279254182092261

  Follow us on my blog: laurabcooper @ blogspot

  Other Books

  Semper Fi

  She wouldn't even be in the predicament if it weren't for Travis. A phone call in the middle of the night to ask for a "free pass" from her boyfriend of 7 1/2 years was hard to take seriously. When he doesn't get the answer he wanted, his drunken stupor is all it takes to tell her via text message that it's over. That's enough to irritate Mattie into flying home to deal with him.

  However, bad weather grounds her flight out of Washington leaving her stranded in the airport all night with one other passenger... Logan McNarry.

  Ordinarily, she wouldn't even think of speaking to him, but Travis' unexpected break up was just the opportunity she needed to seek passion in the arms of another man.

  All this leads up to the predicament that Mattie must face. Choosing the safe, steady life already mapped out, or chasing the love and passion one only stumbles upon once in a lifetime.

  Boneyard Beach

  ‘The Night’ on Boneyard Beach was over fifteen years ago, but for Jenna Sinkler it is replayed each time she closes her eyes. His hands touching her, the salt marsh taste of his lips and the ultimate “first time” every girl dreams of.

  In the real world, she’s a New York City cop who feels like her world is close to tumbling down on her. When she steps blindly into her apartment for a quick shower and finds her culinary wizard boyfriend enjoying a naked blonde waitress on her blue sofa, she reacts. It’s her reaction that sends her reeling with her tail between her legs back to the island in South Carolina where she spent every summer of her youth, including 'The Night' on Boneyard Beach.

  Fifteen years ago Nicolas Talbot was an uncomplicated southern boy with dreams and a bright future. Now Jenna’s making lists of why she and Nick should be as far away from one another as possible. But one question remains: was ‘The Night’ on Boneyard Beach a fluke, or was it truly as magical as they both believe? There’s only one way to find out.

  As Jenna falls head over heels in love with Nick again, the list of reasons why their relationship will never work begins to pile up. The fact that she lives in New Jersey and he lives in South Carolina is a major
problem. But it doesn’t take Jenna long to understand that may be the least of the problems. Nick’s meddling Charleston family has harbored his secret for fifteen years, and she’s beginning to wonder to what extent they would go to protect him.

  Since ‘The Night’ on Boneyard Beach, no man has ever been good enough for Jenna, and no woman good enough for Nick. It seems as though they were meant for each other and no one else. But there had been someone else in Nick’s life and now she’s been found dead… on Boneyard Beach. Can Jenna overcome her mistrust for men enough to believe that Nick and his family had nothing to do with the mysterious death?

  Shades of Shame

  2012’s run away smoking romance of the year, SEMPER FI, continues in this riveting story written by the self proclaimed belle of the South, Laura Cooper and her devilishly sexy husband Chris. Together they bring Logan McNarry more clearly into vision in this sexy and gripping prequel SHADES OF SHAME.

  We already know that Logan and Mattie are made for each other; from the moment she’d walked into the Airport that morning she’d belonged to him heart and soul. Together, they are simply smoldering hot. But was there a time when Logan’s passion melted another heart? Judging from his shyness, emotional devastation in a relationship isn’t new to him. What kind of woman could make a marine like Logan McNarry completely swear off women for so long? We back up eight years to find out!

  Washington’s newest Senatorial Intern Leila Johnson has an attitude that rivals that of Lindsay Graham on Benghazi. While most college students would sell themselves for such an opportunity, Leila was handed the job on a silver platter. Of course she’d been raised since birth to be a politician; she’d been sent away from home at a young age in an effort to make her cold and calculating. She’d been educated within an inch of her life. As the Senator’s Chief of Staff, her mother would have nothing less than the best for her daughter. It never would occur to her that being with her mother may have been the best thing for Leila. You may know of Patricia Johnson; she was most recently featured in Time Magazine’s list of Top 100 Bitches in the U.S. She came in an honorable 18th.