Catalina’s knees trembled, knocking together so violently, she hoped they wouldn’t fold out from under her as Cooper drew lazy circles around her throbbing clit. How he thought she would be able to narrate the magical ceremony taking place in front of them was a mystery for the ages. There were standing in the shadows, but she was sure they were still visible to anyone making a minimal effort to search them out.
Damn, the man knew exactly how she responded to his touch, and she was enough of an adrenaline junkie to feed off the energy created when there was a risk of being caught. Cooper Hicks could turn her inside out with frustration, then switch it all up and light her up with little more than a whispered word. His touch intensified until it sent her spiraling over the edge as the light show from the ceremony lit up the sky, and a split second later, Lilly West’s damned bazooka shot from a boat anchored in the lake. An orgasm, so powerful she dropped into his arms, was the third element in the trifecta of erotic moments.
“Your trust is my most treasured possession, Princess.” Cooper’s whispered words wafted over the shell of her ear, sending a shiver up her spine. He was a man of many talents… seduction ranking dangerously close to the top of the list. “Let’s get this debrief done. I’ve missed you, and I intend to fuck you until we both lose our damned minds.”
There was something he wasn’t telling her. Catalina was a lot of things, but she wasn’t naïve. She’d worked with Cooper enough to know it was pointless to ask. Cooper Hicks could not be coerced into surrendering information until he was ready. For tonight, she would try to set it aside. She was anxious to wrap up the debriefing and get back to Adler Oil.
Catalina was the first to admit the past few months had been physically and emotionally draining. Walking barefoot over hot coals with the devil nipping at her heels would have been a walk in the park compared to being kidnapped and held hostage. Reliving the terror of those interminable days left her unable to sleep and presented an enormous roadblock to her healing.
If it hadn’t been for the man currently leading her up the grassy slope to her brother’s house, Catalina knew she would have died in the filthy cell where she’d been confined. Hell, the only time she’d stepped outside its confines was when her captors tortured her. After she was released from the hospital, Cooper stayed with her in a hotel until her injuries healed enough, her family wouldn’t go batshit crazy when they saw her at Austin and Charlotte’s wedding. Their reaction to her emaciated state had been bad enough.
Moving from New York back to Texas to set up her own storefront on the ground floor of Adler Oil’s downtown building proved to be her saving grace. Throwing herself into work until she was running on fumes was the only way she could sleep longer than a few hours. Thankfully, her business wasn’t up and running when a political faction she’d never heard of decided she was public enemy number one. Shuddering as a flashback assailed her, Cat stumbled, the world around spinning faster and faster. Before she could take another step, Cooper’s arm tightened around her waist.
When had he let go of her hand and secured her to his side? Before they stepped into the light flooding the bustling patio area, Cooper pulled her to the side of the walkway and into his arms. With a quick turn, they were facing one another without a breath separating them.
“How often does this happen?” Catalina considered opting for denial, but pretending she didn’t know what Cooper was talking about would be impossible to pull off. He knew her too well. He must have sensed her hesitance because he gave her shoulders a squeeze to emphasize the fact she hadn’t answered. “Stop trying to figure out a way to lie, Princess. You and I both know it won’t work. I know all your little tricks, and I’d much prefer the rest of the night be about pleasure without any reason to punish you for lying.”
Yeah, Cat wanted to cast her vote for cutting straight to the mind-blowing pleasure part of this evening’s activities as well. Skirting around a conversation she’d rather avoid was preferable to confessing she was slowly drowning in flashbacks and nightmares. The line between memories and premonitions was starting to blur… and that was the heart of the problem. She knew once she started this conversation, he wasn’t going to let it go. Fucking hell.
“I’m coping… the dreams started right after you left.” Cat wasn’t ready to admit she didn’t have nightmares when he held her during the night.
“There’s more. Tell me.” Cooper’s tone was implacable. She’d pushed him far enough.
“I understand the flashbacks and nightmares. Hell, as much as it humbles me, I’m not going to deny the truth—when you hold me at night, it chases the fear away.” He didn’t interrupt her, but when he caressed the side of her face with the pads of his fingers, Cat couldn’t hold back her soft moan. Leaning into his touch, she pulled in a deep breath.
The moment she met Cooper Hicks, Catalina knew they were fated mates. It pissed her off at first because his arrogance grated on her last nerve. Due to her frustration, the first few years, their relationship drifted from adversarial to professionally distant. After a night of drunken sexual abandon at the end of a successful mission in Indonesia, Catalina learned two things. First, she had a submissive streak a mile wide when it came to Cooper. Second, no other man would ever earn her trust—he was the only man she would ever let dominate her.
“Lately, there have been dreams that don’t reflect what has already happened. They feel more like premonitions… and they are terrifying.” He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, studying her. She sensed he was trying to assess how far to push at the moment. Goddess above, she had no idea how to mention elderly witches and black slime—he’d lock her in the nearest padded room and throw away the key. Before he could ask any of the dozens of questions she was certain were floating around in his sharp mind, she blundered ahead.
“Can we get the debriefing over and then get to the wild monkey sex? We can talk about the gloom and doom stuff later. Unless you’ve changed your mind, and in that case, I’ll catch a ride back to Prairie Winds with the Wests.”
What am I supposed to do when the man who drives me insane also drives me wild, fulfilling my every sexual fantasy? Poke the bear with a long stick, then run before he eats me alive.