but perhaps now craving spilled lemonade.
Cooper turned to sound an alarm. ‘Um…Afton…there’s a bee coming this –’
Whenever the story was retold, Cooper would always swear that crazy bee made a beeline right for her. Before he could get the words of warning out of his mouth, it landed on her shirt – and just like that – war between Afton and bees was declared anew!
Maybe if she hadn’t swatted it, things would have turned out differently, Cooper mused; the bee would have buzzed off to visit a nearby flower – or flown back to the hive to gossip with the queen, or whatever else honeybees do on hot summer days. But swat it she did – and it retaliated in the only way it knew how – nobly sacrificing its honey-filled life in the process.
Afton’s shout of pain coincided with Cooper’s swiftly uttered curse. He reached over and dragged her across his lap, moving her hand away from the sting located on the exposed expanse of skin just above her left breast.
‘Are you allergic?’
His harsh question caused her to give a shake of her head, tears of pain welling in her eyes, white teeth biting deeply into her lower lip leaving a reddened indentation.
‘Hell, what are you supposed to do for bee stings!’ Cooper swore again wishing he’d paid more attention in Boy Scouts during first aid week.
‘Pull the stinger out,’ Afton gasped out instructions and he quickly moved aside the T-shirt using his fingertips to fumble for the stinger in the silver-dollar sized area already beginning to swell and redden.
‘I can’t get the damn thing,’ he muttered vexed. After several more tries probing with no success watching her wince with pain each time, he bent his head using his teeth to grasp the stinger and remove it, spitting it out on the ground. ‘It’s out!’
‘Ice,’ she said between gritted teeth and Cooper quickly grabbed his empty lemonade cup scooping out an ice cube.
‘Move your hand!’
Afton gasped again as the cold ice was applied to her skin, but Cooper was relieved to see the swelling beginning to subside dramatically. He held the ice firmly in place watching the furrow between her brows ease, color creeping back beneath her skin.
‘Is that better?’
‘Yes,’ she gave him a weak smile, the dark circle of shock fading from her eyes leaving them a brilliant golden-green, ‘that feels absolutely wonderful, Cooper.’
Cooper swallowed jerkily. He soldiered on with his ministrations, but at some undetermined point, they took a dramatic turn and the hand that held the ice shifted slowly lower causing visible goose bumps to rise on her skin and shivers to run up and down her spine, as she lay acquiescent across his lap.
The ice cube slid beneath the slashing v-neck of her T-shirt tempting a bud found there to full thrusting attention and he lowered his head to capture it through the thin damp material. Cooper sucked it hungrily into his moist mouth and Afton gave a cry of tortured sensation, her eyes closing, long lashes fluttering in a crescent fan against passion-flushed cheeks.
His head lifted and she blinked dazedly up into his eyes as the ice cube next journeyed to her mouth, tracing its wet, pink fullness, his hot lips replacing it with a stimulating shock felt by both after the chill of the ice. His tongue stroked over the indentation her teeth had caused until her lips parted soft as the petals of a flower beneath his and the sweetness he discovered between was just like honey to a bee – and Cooper wanted more – much , much more!
He deepened the kiss, his hands planted on either side of her to press her back down on to the table beneath him when, with a loud crack of thunder, the clouds that had been circling above unnoticed, converged and the heavens opened up – drenching them both with the buckets of cold water the situation called for.
Afton came to her senses first, sitting up abruptly as cold raindrops splashed against her face. What was I thinking –
Cooper turned to sound an alarm. ‘Um…Afton…there’s a bee coming this –’
Whenever the story was retold, Cooper would always swear that crazy bee made a beeline right for her. Before he could get the words of warning out of his mouth, it landed on her shirt – and just like that – war between Afton and bees was declared anew!
Maybe if she hadn’t swatted it, things would have turned out differently, Cooper mused; the bee would have buzzed off to visit a nearby flower – or flown back to the hive to gossip with the queen, or whatever else honeybees do on hot summer days. But swat it she did – and it retaliated in the only way it knew how – nobly sacrificing its honey-filled life in the process.
Afton’s shout of pain coincided with Cooper’s swiftly uttered curse. He reached over and dragged her across his lap, moving her hand away from the sting located on the exposed expanse of skin just above her left breast.
‘Are you allergic?’
His harsh question caused her to give a shake of her head, tears of pain welling in her eyes, white teeth biting deeply into her lower lip leaving a reddened indentation.
‘Hell, what are you supposed to do for bee stings!’ Cooper swore again wishing he’d paid more attention in Boy Scouts during first aid week.
‘Pull the stinger out,’ Afton gasped out instructions and he quickly moved aside the T-shirt using his fingertips to fumble for the stinger in the silver-dollar sized area already beginning to swell and redden.
‘I can’t get the damn thing,’ he muttered vexed. After several more tries probing with no success watching her wince with pain each time, he bent his head using his teeth to grasp the stinger and remove it, spitting it out on the ground. ‘It’s out!’
‘Ice,’ she said between gritted teeth and Cooper quickly grabbed his empty lemonade cup scooping out an ice cube.
‘Move your hand!’
Afton gasped again as the cold ice was applied to her skin, but Cooper was relieved to see the swelling beginning to subside dramatically. He held the ice firmly in place watching the furrow between her brows ease, color creeping back beneath her skin.
‘Is that better?’
‘Yes,’ she gave him a weak smile, the dark circle of shock fading from her eyes leaving them a brilliant golden-green, ‘that feels absolutely wonderful, Cooper.’
Cooper swallowed jerkily. He soldiered on with his ministrations, but at some undetermined point, they took a dramatic turn and the hand that held the ice shifted slowly lower causing visible goose bumps to rise on her skin and shivers to run up and down her spine, as she lay acquiescent across his lap.
The ice cube slid beneath the slashing v-neck of her T-shirt tempting a bud found there to full thrusting attention and he lowered his head to capture it through the thin damp material. Cooper sucked it hungrily into his moist mouth and Afton gave a cry of tortured sensation, her eyes closing, long lashes fluttering in a crescent fan against passion-flushed cheeks.
His head lifted and she blinked dazedly up into his eyes as the ice cube next journeyed to her mouth, tracing its wet, pink fullness, his hot lips replacing it with a stimulating shock felt by both after the chill of the ice. His tongue stroked over the indentation her teeth had caused until her lips parted soft as the petals of a flower beneath his and the sweetness he discovered between was just like honey to a bee – and Cooper wanted more – much , much more!
He deepened the kiss, his hands planted on either side of her to press her back down on to the table beneath him when, with a loud crack of thunder, the clouds that had been circling above unnoticed, converged and the heavens opened up – drenching them both with the buckets of cold water the situation called for.
Afton came to her senses first, sitting up abruptly as cold raindrops splashed against her face. What was I thinking –
Similar Books
