âNick, I canât sleep.â
Danielleâthe woman of his dreams, the woman heâd just been thinking aboutâmaterialized at his side. Heâd imagined her in his bed, her head on his pillow. But the reality of her standing beside him now was far more potent than any fantasy. His eyes swept over her, stopping at the gap of bare skin below the T-shirt she wore.
âI wanted to thank you again,â she whispered. âBecause of you, I can let my guard down.â
He forced his gaze up, past that bare tantalizing belly. He shouldnât be thinking these thoughts. She needed his help, not his overactive libido.
She hesitated, then continued boldly. âI want what we should have had all those years ago.â
Her words stunned him. Did she mean what he thought she meant?
She tugged at the light blanket heâd thrown over himself. Her gaze roamed over him, greedily taking in his naked chest. His breath caught at the heat that smoldered between them.
âI want this night, with you. Make love to me, Nick.â
Dear Reader,
I hope youâve enjoyed reading about the Rhode Island branch of the Cooper family. I'm grateful to the COOPERâS CORNER continuity for letting me live out fantasies that have no place in my reality. Being on the run, for instance. In my life? No, thank you.
But in For the Love of Nick, it works. Danielle Douglass is on the run from the law, with only her one-hundred-pound puppy and her wits to guide her. Thankfully she runs into one particular sexy memory from her pastâNick Cooper.
Tall, dark and slightly attitude-ridden, Nick is the answer to her prayersâ¦and her greatest nightmare, because Nick wants to show her what's missing in her life.
I hope you enjoy this prequel to the continuity series COOPERâS CORNER. Look for my upcoming Duets titles in OctoberâA Royal Mess and Her Knight To Remember.
Happy reading!
Jill Shalvis
AS IF SHE HADNâT just broken the law, Danielle made a full stop at the red light before getting on the highway heading back toward Providence. âWell.â She glanced at her passenger. âItâs official, you know. Weâre on the run. Outlaws.â
Sadie didnât answer; she was too busy enjoying the breeze from the open window.
âAt least the car isnât stolen,â Danielle said. âBut we have to have it back to Emma tomorrow.â She let out a laugh that sounded slightly more hysterical than humorous, and checked the rearview mirror for flashing lights. âI wonder if theyâll let us share a prison cell.â
Sadie pulled her humongous head back inside and craned her thick neck toward Danielle. Her tongue hung out as she panted her hopeful agreement.
Danielle sighed at her best friend and loyal one-year-old bullmastiff, a dog sheâd raised with her boyfriend.
Ex-boyfriend.
Ex-psychotic-boyfriend.
Luckily Sadie wasnât psychotic. Just unsure of men.
That made two of them.
Danielle checked her rearview mirror again, grateful to see nothing but light traffic and the bright colors of spring in the Rhode Island countryside.
Apparently, sheâd truly gotten away with it. Stealing Sadie back. She had simply pulled up to Tedâs houseâwhere heâd had Sadie staked on the lawn in the sun without waterâand released the grateful dog, whoâd been nearly beside herself at the sight of Danielle. âI wish you could talk,â she said, checking her rear mirror yet again. âOr hug. I could really use a hug.â
Sadie stopped panting and looked at Danielle with her heart in her eyes. As if Danielle was her hero.
âStop that.â She glared out the windshield. âIâm not a hero.â Her gut twisted. If she had been, sheâd have been smart enough to see this coming. Strong enough to protect Sadie.
Sheâd almost been too late. As it was the poor dog had been underfed in the time Ted had kept them separated. And given the heart-wrenching way Sadie was hanging on Danielleâs every movement, sheâd been neglected entirely. It was a crime, as Sadie was just a baby, really, albeit a one-hundred-fifty-pound one.
Okay, more like a brick of brawn than a baby, with a broad, well-padded head set on a thirty-four-inch neck sturdy as oak. But she was adorable, and she was Danielleâs. Well, half, anyway.
She had no idea how she could even put a roof over their heads, now that Ted had changed the locks on the house, stolen her car and emptied her checking account.
The police hadnât had time for the case. First of all, the house was Tedâs, leaving her with little legal recourse. Second, Ted had bought her the car heâd taken back.
The money though, that had been all hers, hard earned from her job as a professional dog handler. Not that she had legal recourse there, either, as sheâd actually given Ted the PIN number for her bank card.
Danielle could handle her stupidity in letting herself get ripped off, but living with the fact sheâd nearly lost Sadie to a man who could, and would, hurt her had been untenable.