either friends or enemies. Dinnertime came and went with no sign of Cooper.
I sat in the lobby by the fireplace until well after midnight, waiting for him. Or waiting to hear—maybe via Asher Glass, if I was really lucky—that there’d been some “accident” out on the road. That the Wicks had gotten him.
Finally, Cooper came through the front entrance, looking rumpled but unharmed, rolling a small suitcase behind him.
I didn’t bother trying to hide my relief. The sight of him, solid, strong. Safe. And smiling at me. There was that arc of electricity between us, the one I always told myself was my imagination.
He walked over to me and kissed my cheek. His lips were warm, and he smelled like soap and black pepper. I never realized he had a scent all his own, certainly not one I could identify so readily with him, until I smelled it again in that moment.
I did hide my shaking hands, tucking them away in the back pockets of my jeans.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” he said. “You look good.”
I did look good; I’d made sure of it. Which I’ll allow was a petty and shallow thing to do when I had bigger things to worry about. But no matter the circumstances, I wasn’t about to meet Cooper Blackwood without doing my best with my hair. Not that I wanted to be like all his admirers back in Lenox, always primping, hoping he’d notice. It was just that I knew we had important things to do, things that would require concentration, and it’s hard to concentrate when you’re feeling self-conscious in the presence of someone beautiful.
“Any problems getting here?” I asked.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Okay, well, I got you a room.” I handed him the key. “I’ll walk you up, it’s just down the hall from mine. Why don’t you get some sleep and we’ll talk in the morning?”
I waited until we got in the elevator, then said, “If anyone asks, you’re here in your capacity as a chef. That’s what I said when I booked the room.”
He nodded and stifled a yawn at the same time. Up close, he looked awfully worn out. “You’re looking for a chef?”
“We just opened a new restaurant, and we’ve got two more under construction, including one fine dining. I said you were an old colleague coming to do some consulting.”
“Got it.”
“Which unfortunately means the manager will descend on us as soon as he can,” I warned. “But we’ll just have to deal with him. It was the only excuse I could think of at the time.”
“Could’ve just said I was a boyfriend.”
He sounded like he was smiling, but I didn’t know for sure, because I kept my eyes on the opening elevator doors. “I didn’t… I wanted you to have your own room.”
We got out on the third floor, and I walked him back into the new section, where both our rooms were. “You really didn’t run into anyone on your way here?” I asked.
“No, and I wasn’t followed, as far as I know,” Cooper said. “But it would be great if you could lay a few wards on me, just in case.”
“Already done. I put some extra spells in your room. Here it is.”
Cooper glanced at the door, but made no move to go inside. “Where’s yours?”
“It’s 319, just there.” I pointed out my door. “It’s a suite, and it officially doubles as my office. So I’ve ordered a breakfast tray and coffee service to be delivered at nine, to make it look like a real meeting. We don’t do breakfast at the hotel yet, but they’ll get stuff from the coffee shop down the street, it’s really g—”
Cooper pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
At first I was so taken by surprise, I responded automatically. And then it felt so good to have his arms around me. To have anyone’s arms around me, much less Cooper Blackwood’s. He was exactly as good a kisser as I would have expected him to be.
So I kissed him back, and slid my hand just the tiniest inch or two under his shirt, to feel the heat of his skin. He made a noise in the back of his
I sat in the lobby by the fireplace until well after midnight, waiting for him. Or waiting to hear—maybe via Asher Glass, if I was really lucky—that there’d been some “accident” out on the road. That the Wicks had gotten him.
Finally, Cooper came through the front entrance, looking rumpled but unharmed, rolling a small suitcase behind him.
I didn’t bother trying to hide my relief. The sight of him, solid, strong. Safe. And smiling at me. There was that arc of electricity between us, the one I always told myself was my imagination.
He walked over to me and kissed my cheek. His lips were warm, and he smelled like soap and black pepper. I never realized he had a scent all his own, certainly not one I could identify so readily with him, until I smelled it again in that moment.
I did hide my shaking hands, tucking them away in the back pockets of my jeans.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” he said. “You look good.”
I did look good; I’d made sure of it. Which I’ll allow was a petty and shallow thing to do when I had bigger things to worry about. But no matter the circumstances, I wasn’t about to meet Cooper Blackwood without doing my best with my hair. Not that I wanted to be like all his admirers back in Lenox, always primping, hoping he’d notice. It was just that I knew we had important things to do, things that would require concentration, and it’s hard to concentrate when you’re feeling self-conscious in the presence of someone beautiful.
“Any problems getting here?” I asked.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Okay, well, I got you a room.” I handed him the key. “I’ll walk you up, it’s just down the hall from mine. Why don’t you get some sleep and we’ll talk in the morning?”
I waited until we got in the elevator, then said, “If anyone asks, you’re here in your capacity as a chef. That’s what I said when I booked the room.”
He nodded and stifled a yawn at the same time. Up close, he looked awfully worn out. “You’re looking for a chef?”
“We just opened a new restaurant, and we’ve got two more under construction, including one fine dining. I said you were an old colleague coming to do some consulting.”
“Got it.”
“Which unfortunately means the manager will descend on us as soon as he can,” I warned. “But we’ll just have to deal with him. It was the only excuse I could think of at the time.”
“Could’ve just said I was a boyfriend.”
He sounded like he was smiling, but I didn’t know for sure, because I kept my eyes on the opening elevator doors. “I didn’t… I wanted you to have your own room.”
We got out on the third floor, and I walked him back into the new section, where both our rooms were. “You really didn’t run into anyone on your way here?” I asked.
“No, and I wasn’t followed, as far as I know,” Cooper said. “But it would be great if you could lay a few wards on me, just in case.”
“Already done. I put some extra spells in your room. Here it is.”
Cooper glanced at the door, but made no move to go inside. “Where’s yours?”
“It’s 319, just there.” I pointed out my door. “It’s a suite, and it officially doubles as my office. So I’ve ordered a breakfast tray and coffee service to be delivered at nine, to make it look like a real meeting. We don’t do breakfast at the hotel yet, but they’ll get stuff from the coffee shop down the street, it’s really g—”
Cooper pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
At first I was so taken by surprise, I responded automatically. And then it felt so good to have his arms around me. To have anyone’s arms around me, much less Cooper Blackwood’s. He was exactly as good a kisser as I would have expected him to be.
So I kissed him back, and slid my hand just the tiniest inch or two under his shirt, to feel the heat of his skin. He made a noise in the back of his
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