Page 80 of The Love Lie
“Samantha.”
He arches a brow in question even as his eyes sparkle. One of those damn dimples digs into his cheeks. He might not be making a sound, but he’s laughing at her clear as day, amused as ever by her futile attempt to keep a little distance between them.
“Oh, shut up.”
“I didn’t say a word, Cuj.”
“You didn’t have to. What are you even doing here? I thought I’d find you waiting outside in a pickup truck.”
“And I thought I’d find you in cowboy boots and a thong, so I guess we were both wrong.” He leans in close, the tip of his nose like a brand against her cheek. His warm breath brushes over her skin. Tingles cascade down her back. “Though that tight little skirt is sexy as hell.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s a suit, Cooper. For work.”
“It’s begging to be bunched up around your hips is what it is.”
“Well, Iamwearing that thong you can’t seem to stop thinking about.”
“Don’t tempt me with a good time, Cuj,” he murmurs as he slips his hand through the slit in her jacket and slides his warm palm around her waist to toy with the zipper. In a sudden rush, he pulls her flush against him and nips at her earlobe. “I have the home team advantage here, and I plan to play dirty.”
Her heart leaps like a professional gymnast going for gold. After so many hours on the phone with nothing but his voice and her imagination, she’s overwhelmed by his presence, by his proximity, by the feel of his hands on her and the memory of exactly how skilled they were. But there’s one little question nagging at her through the lusty haze, the only thing keeping herfrom jumping on him in the middle of this airport. “How’d you get on the other side of security, cowboy?”
“I have my ways,” he says distractedly as he drags his fingers down her spine and over the curve of her ass as if he just can’t stop himself.
“Cooper.”
“Come on.” He chuckles softly and pulls back. “You’ll see soon enough.”
“See what?”
He steps around her without bothering to answer and starts wheeling her suitcase in the opposite direction to the exit.
“See what, Cooper?”
He keeps ignoring her.
“What aren’t you telling me?” she asks, racing to keep up as he leads her across the one-room terminal. “What are you hiding? Why are you smirking? And why—”
He bursts through a set of metal double doors, and everything within her comes to a screeching halt. Gleaming in the fiery sunset like a harbinger of doom sits a forest-green four-person helicopter with the wordsKelley & Dunnepainted on the side.
“Oh, fuck no.”
She starts to wheel around, but he stops her. “I have a pilot’s license.”
“Good for you.”
“We’ll be home in twenty minutes compared to the hour and a half it takes to drive there.”
“Not happening.”
“You’ll get an amazing view of the ranch.”
“Not if I pass out.”
“You don’t have to be afraid with me.”
“No, apparently I need to be afraidofyou.”
He steps close and cups her face, then arches her head back until she meets his eyes. “Remember what I told you on the parasail? Same thing applies here. I’ve got you. You’re safe. And you’re going to kick yourself if you miss out—”
