Billionaire Husband Test (Billionaire Online Dating Service) (12 page)

 “Let’s not talk about him.” Emma spun away. “He’s gone and never coming back.”

Cooper rested his hands on her shoulders and turned her back to face him. “No, he’s not, and I’m truly sorry for your loss.”

Emma leaned her forehead against his chest, her fingers curling in his neatly starched shirt. “Thank you for understanding.”

Cooper’s hands slid down her arms and circled around her back, drawing her closer. “He was a brave man.”

“Yes, he was.” Emma’s head tipped upward, allowing the overhead light to glint off her pupils, making them shine like stars. She leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to Cooper’s.

When she dropped back down, Cooper smiled. “What was that for?”

“My brothers are right.”

“Yeah?”

“Cooper Johnson, you’re a good man.” She leaned back in his arms. “Most men would have pushed for more. You didn’t.”

“I don’t force myself on women.”

“My point exactly.” She brushed his lips again and stepped free of his arms. “Are you going to feed me, or do I have to wait until I get home?”

Cooper let go of the breath he’d been holding and relaxed. “What’s open in Temptation at this hour?”

“How are you with pizza?”

“I like it anyway it comes, except vegetarian.”

“Good. I know a great little pizzeria on the other side of town.” She captured his hand and set off, leading the way, her pretty yellow dress brushing against his fingers. “What’s your favorite topping?”

Ace had told Cooper Emma’s favorite topping was pepperoni. “I could go for a pepperoni.” He hesitated and finished, “but I prefer the works.”

Emma smiled up at him. “Marcus loved pepperoni and we always ordered it plain.”

“We can do that, if you like.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’d rather have all the toppings.”

Cooper grinned. “I love the explosion of flavors in every bite.”

“Me too.” She laughed and hooked her arm through his, leaning into his body. “You know, you’re all right for a desk-jockey cowboy. If I was even remotely interested in starting a relationship, I’d seriously consider you.”

They walked the rest of the way across town, arm-in-arm. At the pizzeria, Cooper purchased a hand-tossed, pizza pie with everything, to go.

Emma tilted her head. “To go?”

“The stars are out, the air’s not too hot or cold and there’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. I thought we’d head out past the city lights.”

“I like that idea.” She walked alongside him, her hands in her pockets.

With his own hands full of a pizza box, Cooper could do nothing more than match her pace. As they passed an alley between two buildings, a lonely mewling sound caught his attention. “Did you hear that?”

Emma stopped and looked up at Cooper, brow wrinkled. “What?”

Cooper stood still and listened. After several long moments of silence, he’d about credited the sound to the wind or his imagination. He shrugged and stepped forward when he heard it again. “That.”

“Yes. I heard it that time.” Emma spun to face the alley. “Sounded like it was coming from that direction.”

“Mind holding this?” He held out the pizza box.

“Not at all.”

Once he’d passed off possession of the box, he edged into the alley, his head tipped to the side.

“Hello?” he called out softly.

The mewling sounds grew louder and Cooper zeroed in on a box lying next to a trash bin.

“What is it?” Emma called out from the street.

“I don’t know.” He opened the box and peered inside.

Nestled in a dirty rag was a tiny calico kitten that let out a pathetic wail and launched itself at Cooper’s arm, spitting and hissing.

“Whoa there, little one.” Cooper chuckled and plucked the kitten’s claws out of his sleeve and stood.

Emma, still carrying the pizza box, appeared at his side. “What is it—oh, a kitten.”

“Appears to have been dumped.” Cooper nudged the box into the light. Written in bold, but childish, letters were the words,
Please give me a home.

Cooper had only to stroke the kitten’s soft fur once to know he couldn’t leave it there. Ace had mentioned Emma liked dogs, not cats, and he didn’t want to put her on the spot with the tiny creature. “Guess I’ve just inherited a kitten.”

“Still want to go watch the stars?” Emma asked.

He tucked the frightened kitten into the crook of one arm and petted him until he closed his eyes and slept. “I’m game as long as Lucky is.”

Emma stared at Cooper for a long moment, a smile curling the corners of her lips. “I thought most men hated cats.”

“I’m not most men.” He tickled the kitten beneath the chin. “And this little guy doesn’t deserve to be tossed in the trash.” Cooper reached for the pizza box. “Want me to get that?”

“I can carry this.” Emma retained her hold on the box and fell in step beside Cooper. When they reached the truck, still parked at the theater on Main, Emma turned to face him. “So, where to?”

“Out of town was as far as I got with the idea.”

Emma grinned. “I know a place.”

“The Rockin’ J?”

“No. I have somewhere else in mind.” She held out her hand. “Trust me to drive your truck?”

Chapter Nine

Emma waited, wondering if Cooper would balk at a woman driving his vehicle. Marcus had always insisted on driving, never once letting Emma behind the wheel of his truck.

“Sure.” Cooper fished in his pocket for the keys and handed them over, no mention of being careful or a single frown of consternation accompanied his gesture.

Her heart lightening, Emma hit the button to unlock the doors, laid the pizza box on the back seat and climbed into the driver’s side, adjusting the seat so she could reach the brake and gas pedal.

Cooper eased into the passenger seat, the kitten snuggled close to his white shirt, content to be held and rubbed.

Emma headed west out of town toward the Rockin’ J, passing the arched gate without slowing. After crossing the bridge over Willow Creek, she turned in at the top of the next rise and pulled to a stop at an old gate with rusty hinges. A
For Sale
sign clung to the fence beside the gate, with a
No Trespassing
sign hanging sideways by a single wire beneath it.

“I take it you know the owner?” Cooper asked as he climbed down, still holding the kitten.

“I do. He doesn’t mind me visiting as long as I close the gates behind me.”

“Glad to hear that. Hate to think of someone shooting me and Lucky for trespassing.” With one hand, Cooper unhooked the chain looped over the fence post and swung the gate wide, closing it after Emma drove his truck through.

Emma had rolled down the windows and sat patiently while Cooper climbed back into the truck. Already, she felt as if she’d just come home. She loved this little piece of Texas heaven and couldn’t wait to call it her own. She drove to the highest rise where a cottage perched, the windows dark, not a single vehicle parked nearby.

“Abandoned?” Cooper asked.

“For now.” Emma smiled at the house with the crooked porch. “Just needs the right owner to bring it back to life.”

“Have one in mind?”

“Maybe,” she whispered softly. Pulling up in front of the house, she shifted into park and climbed down. “If Old Man Rausch doesn’t sell it too soon.”

“I keep a sleeping bag tucked behind the back seat for emergencies. We could use it as our picnic blanket.” Cooper climbed down from the passenger side and opened the crew cab and rummaged in a gym bag, dragging out a clean white T-shirt.

“What’s that for?” Emma grabbed the pizza box and tipped the backseat forward.

“Lucky.” Cooper wadded up the shirt on the floorboard and laid the kitten inside. “I think he’ll sleep for a while. If not, we’ll hear him through the open windows.”

Emma smiled at how carefully Cooper handled the kitten. “Marcus didn’t like cats.”

“And you?”

“Never had one, other than the strays in the barn that kept down the mouse population.” She grinned. “And for the record—I think all calicos are female.”

Cooper’s brows lifted and he stared across the seat at Emma. “Lucky’s a girl?”

“That would be my guess.”

“Lucky again, aren’t you?” Cooper patted the cat. “The name isn’t gender specific.”

While Cooper retrieved the sleeping bag, Emma carried the pizza box to the middle of the front yard, a prime location for viewing the stars. Even the house didn’t block much of the sky.

Cooper spread the sleeping bag on the grass and took the pizza box from Emma while she settled.

Up until that point, Emma had been completely relaxed and comfortable with Cooper. Once she stretched out on the flannel lining of the bag, her heart flipped several times. She could imagine Cooper lying naked in the bag, beside a campfire, staring up at the clear, starlit night. Even more alarming, she could picture herself lying beside him…equally disrobed.

The pizza box was the only barrier that could come between them in this scenario, and Cooper laid it at the foot of the shared blanket.

“If you’re hungry, go ahead and help yourself.” He laid back and stared up at the night sky. “Like I said, I had a late lunch.”

“I can wait.” Emma eased onto her side, staring more at the man than the sky, wondering whether he’d make a move to pull her into his arms. Or worse, that he wouldn’t. The familiar guilt only slightly nudged her this time, and that fact scared her more than the thought of Cooper kissing her.

Her lips tingled, the night air warming around her.

Cooper pointed at the sky. “Look. Venus, Jupiter and Mars are all in alignment.”

“Where?” Emma lay down on her back and stared up at the sky.

The cowboy scooted closer and pointed at the stars. “The ones shining brighter than the others.”

His nearness made Emma’s breath lodge in her chest. “I’m not seeing them.”

“Here, lean on my arm.” He slipped his arm beneath her head and pointed again.

By that time, Emma couldn’t think past the solid muscle beneath her neck or the fresh scent of his soap and the long, hard length of his body stretched out beside hers.

“See it?” he whispered, his breath skimming across her temple.

“Oh, yes,” she said, her gaze on him, not the sky. They could have been lying in a barn for all the attention she could afford the stars. Her pulse hammered against her eardrums, and she tilted her head to the side, her cheek resting on his shoulder.

Oh wow, being in a man’s arms felt good.

No. She was wrong.

Being in
Cooper’s
arms felt great.

“I’m always amazed…” Cooper turned to face her, his lips only inches from hers, his words fading away.

“Amazed?” Emma asked, shocked at how breathy the word came out of her mouth.

“At how beautiful…” His tongue brushed across his lips and he inhaled, then curled his arm, bringing her closer. “How beautiful you are.” His lips brushed over hers in a feather-soft kiss.

Emma laughed, breathily. “I thought we were talking about the stars.”

“To hell with the stars.” Cooper came up on his elbow and leaned over her body. “Do you realize what you’re doing to me?”

“No.” As if of its own accord, her hand rose to caress Cooper’s cheek, the hint of rough stubble sending shivers of awareness across her skin. “Tell me.”

“I can’t be a gentleman forever.” He brushed a tendril of hair from her forehead. “Not with you.”

She dragged in a deep breath and let it go, along with her hesitation to make love to this man. “Then what are you waiting for?”

Cooper’s eyes flared, then his mouth crashed down over hers, his tongue sweeping past her teeth to claim her own.

She matched him stroke for stroke, as she flicked open the buttons of his shirt, baring his chest to her marauding hands.

Cooper slid his fingers across her cheek, down the curve of her neck and across a breast, capturing it in his palm.

Emma arched her back, pressing deeper into his grip. She wanted to be closer, to feel his skin against hers.

His hand slipped lower to the hem of her dress and he paused, his lips leaving hers. “Tell me to stop, and I will.”

“No. Please, don’t stop.” She couldn’t give herself time to think, afraid she’d come up with a dozen good reasons not to make love to Cooper. Emma guided his fingers to the hem and helped him pull it up her body and over her head. The warm, balmy air caressed her skin, making her deliciously aware of her near nakedness and wanting to take the next step.

She attacked the remaining buttons on Cooper’s shirt and slid it over his broad shoulders, her fingers gliding across his smooth, tight muscles.

Fire raged in her blood, urging her to move faster, reaching for the buckle on his belt.

Cooper got there first and ripped open the belt, then the hook on his trousers.

Emma’s fingers closed around the zipper and slid it downward, ever so slowly, her knuckles grazing the hard ridge beneath. His member sprang free into her hand—hard, straight and velvety smooth.

All the long, lonely nights lying alone merged with the pent-up desire building inside her since meeting this man and burst to the surface. Emma pushed Cooper to his back and yanked off his boots and trousers. Then she straddled his hips and reached for the hooks on the back of her bra.

He grabbed her arms and held her steady. “Hey, slow down.”

“I can’t.” Staring into his gaze, she flicked the hooks, her breasts spilling free from the lace.

His gaze didn’t slip from hers. “I want you to be sure about this.”

“I’m sure.” With deliberate moves, Emma shrugged out of his hold and let her bra straps slide down her arms to the blanket.

Then she grasped his hands and guided them to her naked breasts. “Am I unattractive naked?” She froze, waiting for him to take the lead, her heart pounding against her ribs, fear clutching at gut. Now that he had her so close, would he still want her? Or would he be repulsed by her forwardness and her body?

Cooper shook his head, a smile curling his lips.

For a moment, Emma’s heart stopped.

Then he bucked beneath her and flipped her onto her back. “Emma Jacobs, I’ve wanted you since the moment we met. I want you so much I ache with it.”