Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

P ale gold filtered through the tiny bathroom window, heralding the dawn of another perfect Melbourne day.

Though it wasn't just another day.

Ariel braced herself on the antique washbasin, staring at her tousled reflection in the bevelled mirror.

You had sex with Cooper Vance.

And not just ordinary sex. Scintillating, mind-blowing, burn up the sheets sex, though they never quite made it to the bed until later. Much later.

She'd never be able to look at her favourite rug in the studio again without remembering the way he'd felt inside her, the way he'd touched her all over, the way he'd made her crave him with every turned on cell in her body.

The man was a menace.

She'd known it from the first second he set foot in her studio and now she had proof.

Closing her eyes, she leaned forward and rested her forehead against the cool glass.

What had she done?

She'd been doing her damnedest to push him away, to ignore the sizzling attraction between them, to focus on saving her business; and that meant getting as far from the corporate shark as possible.

Instead, she'd melted into a puddle of lust the minute he kissed her and nothing would ever be the same again.

At least, not for her.

She didn't do casual sex, never had. She could count her past encounters on one hand and each had been with guys she'd been dating for a while. The scary thing was, nothing about last night with Cooper felt casual. She felt like she knew him and that scared her more than the way she'd jumped him; or how much she'd enjoyed it.

"You okay?"

Ariel jerked upright and her eyes flew open, only to wish she'd kept them shut. The sight of Cooper behind her—naked Cooper—reflected all too clearly in the mirror and her heart flipped.

"Fine. Just a bit tired."

"I'm not surprised." His warm, intimate smile notched up the temperature in the bathroom by a hundred degrees.

"I didn't mean to wake you," she said, fiddling with the tie of her favourite kimono, wishing he'd stop staring at her like he was starving and she was breakfast. "I'm usually up pretty early."

"No problem."

An awkward, tense silence stretched between them she would've given anything to avoid. Why couldn't he stop gawking at her, get dressed, and get the hell out of her life?

She knew her jitters stemmed from the startling realisation how much he meant to her and the phenomenal sex only solidified it. So how could she extricate from this morning-after scenario without making a fool of herself?

His eyes met hers in the mirror and she glimpsed confusion. Join the club.

"You're okay about what happened last night, right?"

To her annoyance, she blushed. "Fine."

"You sure about that?"

She stiffened as he came closer and slid his arms around her waist from behind, leaving her no option but to lean back against him or jump up onto the antique vanity to avoid him.

"You're gorgeous," he murmured, nuzzling her neck, sending shivers through her body, resurrecting erotic memories of the way he'd kissed every inch of her last night. Every single tingling inch…

"And you're crazy," she said, grimacing at her reflection—frizzy hair, swollen lips that looked like they'd been ravaged all night, wide, luminous eyes filled with fear.

Fear of what happened next, fear of how much she'd miss Cooper once he exited her life, fear of never finding a guy to make her feel half as good as he'd made her feel last night.

"Whose fault is that?" He kissed his way up her neck, turning her around slowly, staring deep into her eyes. "You make me crazy. With your sexy smile, your incredible eyes, and that mouth that makes me want to do everything I did with you last night and so much more."

His compliments warmed her heart but she had to establish some distance between them before she did something stupid. Like drag him back to her bed and ensure they didn't leave it for the next forty-eight hours.

"You can cut the sweet talk. I'm a sure thing, remember?"

"Time for you to shut that sassy mouth of yours. Again," he said, lowering his lips to hers, and his slow, sensual kiss would've curled her toes if she hadn't been standing on them to reach him, desperate for one more taste of his lips but hating her treacherous body for it.

"I thought you said you didn't have any more condoms?" By the feel of his boner pressing against her stomach, she guessed he wasn't popping into the bathroom for a quick goodbye. More like a quickie something else.

"I don't." His hands strummed her back through the silk of her kimono, the steady strokes making her arch like a cat. Next she'd be purring. "Don't worry, we won't need them. I was only planning on taking a shower, that's it."

She didn't believe him, as he tugged on the knotted tie and peeled open the front of her kimono. He skimmed her skin, teasing with his touch, brushing her nipples with his thumbs until they peaked in sweet agony.

Her breath hitched as he slid the silk from her body with infinite patience, one exquisite inch at a time until the kimono pooled at their feet in a slash of vibrant emerald against the white tiles.

"I don't think my shower's big enough for the both of us," she said, eyeing the small glass cubicle, considering Cooper took up most of the bathroom already.

"All the better for a nice close fit."

With an arm firmly draped around her waist, he turned on the hot and cold taps with his other hand, tested the water temp, and took the opportunity to turn the five second wait into another scorching kiss.

She could've shrugged out of his grip.

She could've picked up her kimono and stalked from the bathroom with what little dignity she had left intact.

But where was the fun in that?

She'd spent a lifetime being serious—first surviving the foster system, and later being the model niece for Barb—and more recently, worrying about how to keep the gallery afloat. She never had time for fun. And that's what this last taste of Cooper would be: pure, unadulterated fun.

"You coming in?" He arched an eyebrow, his arm loosely draped around her waist. "The water's warm."

He waited, wearing nothing but a sexy, persuasive smile, as Ariel mentally recited every rational reason she shouldn't do this.

He's your enemy. This could be another ploy to soften you up. He's not your type. He's your opposite in every way. He'll break your heart.

Her conscience made a lot of sense, but she always listened to gut instinct and right now, she wanted one, last taste of Cooper.

With a coy glance from beneath her lashes, she said, "You bet," and stepped with him into the shower.

A staunch environmentalist, Ariel conserved water by taking short showers even though she loved the hot spray peppering her skin. Today, however, her ideals flew out the window along with her reservations as she leaned against Cooper, her back wedged against his front, while his hands travelled her body in long, slow strokes. Soaping, circling, teasing, turning her legs to jelly before he delved between them and brought her to a knee-buckling orgasm with a few deft flicks of his fingers.

"I can't stand up," she murmured, sinking against him further, joining in his chuckles when he clunked his head on the nozzle trying to support her.

"That's not funny." He rubbed his head and the harder he tried to frown, the more they laughed until she clung to him in mirth rather than desperation.

"You're a dangerous woman," he said, pulling her into a tight hug that squeezed the air out of her. Or was it the intensity in his blue-eyed stare that robbed her of the normal function of breathing?

"Not really." She winked. "But I can be."

He'd given her so much pleasure, time to return the favour.

Reaching between them, she captured his cock in her hand, stroking until he groaned, loving the ecstasy etched on his face as she slid up and down the shaft.

They watched as she picked up tempo, and she'd never felt so empowered as he came in a hot rush.

His head fell back, exposing the strong column of his neck, and Ariel placed a gentle kiss there, knowing they could never recapture this moment, shocked by how sad that made her feel.

As Cooper opened his eyes and smiled, before resting his forehead against hers, she couldn't say a word. As water sluiced down on them, she knew why.

They had nothing left to say.

After all, what can you say when you've just screwed the enemy?