Her laugh danced out and she turned to look up at him, her eyes alight with amusement.

Rogan closed the distance between them and kissed her.

Chapter Nineteen.

He turned her and kissed her, his mouth nibbling on her lips, demanding and wanting more. He wanted her as he'd never wanted a woman before, wanted her more than his next breath.

Rogan tilted his head and kissed her deeper. Then he picked her up. Cora wrapped her legs around his waist, her skirt pulled tight between them and riding high on her thighs. Rogan walked her backwards, kissing her all the while. He tilted his head and deepened the kissing, taking from her instead of asking. A need clawed through him to claim her, to make her understand this wasn't just some quick weekend-fling for him, or any fling for that matter.

The old fears from his nightmares threatened to darken around them.

He cupped her bottom and lifted her, setting her on the counter. "Do you have any idea what you make me want to do?"

She tilted her head back, giving him access to her neck. "No. What?"

He kissed his way down her neck, felt her pulse warm and thick beneath his mouth. "I want to make love to you, over. And over. And over until you can't think."

A soft chuckle vibrated against his mouth. "I already can't think."

"I so love being a sex god."

She parted her thighs, the skirt riding high on her thighs. Rogan pulled her to the edge of the counter and stepped closer. Just as he rubbed against her, the unmistakable sound of a key in the door had him stepping back. He quickly jerked her skirt lower to cover her hot pink underwear. He knew the bra matched.

His blood hummed through his veins and he wanted to have her naked and laying on the countertop. He'd start at her mouth and work his way all the way down to those cute little toes then back up to her...

"Hello, guys. Hope I'm not interrupting." Kyle threw his keys into a bowl on the little side table with the phone and a round glass globe.

"No," Cora said, swinging her legs from side to side. Rogan sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"We were about to eat," Rogan offered.

"Want to join us?" Cora asked, motioning to the bags. "Riggio's. Our fave. I even ordered some calamari."

Kyle, his hair disheveled and a frown between his brows, shook his head. "No thanks, sweets." He walked over to Cora and pulled her into a hug. "Men are creeps. We should stay away from them."

She pulled back and kissed his cheek.

Rogan knew the guy was gay, but he found he really didn't like Cora being kissed by other men of any kind.

Losing his freaking mind. Too much sex. Or maybe sex overload? Too much in too little time. He snorted at the thought.

Cora glared at him over Kyle's shoulder.

"Kyle what happened?"

"Hanson and I had a fight. I think he has a thing for you," the man muttered, and kissed her forehead before turning to the fridge. "Prick."

"Maybe you got confused?" Cora asked. "I mean, come on, Kyle. He's hot for you. You guys have been together forever."

Kyle opened a beer and swallowed half the bottle. "Yeah, so I thought. I mean, you're with someone that long, you think you know them, right?"

She nodded and scooted off the counter. "Why do you think he has a thing for me?"

Kyle shook his head. "I'm jealous of my own best and longest friend."

"Kyle."

"He's always wanting to know more about your dreams and what they mean and asking stuff about you."

Rogan tried to wade through the information he'd never before encountered, at least not in this context. He opened his mouth, but Cora beat him to it.

"Well, why wouldn't he ask questions? I have all sorts of questions about Rogan's family and friends."

That caught his attention. "You do?"

She rolled her eyes.

Kyle stopped, his beer halfway to his mouth. "You mean you don't know all his little secrets and yet you slept with him?" One brow cocked. "And from the looks of things when I walked in you would have again. Way to go." Again the frown appeared. He turned to Rogan. "You hurt her and I'll make your life hell."

Rogan only sat at the kitchen table and started to unload the bags of food. "Kyle, sit down." He didn't look to Cora. "We need some plates."

"Aw, what? Not going to eat spaghetti off each other's naked bodies?" Kyle asked.

Rogan didn't even pause. "The idea does appeal."

Cora bopped him on the back of the head. "Men and their dicks."

"I did not mention dicks, thank you, sweets. I said naked bodies. There is a difference. And spaghetti," Kyle said.

Cora grabbed three plates, and set the table, adding flatware and glasses. He noticed she again preferred water while Kyle took another beer. Rogan followed her suit.

"I can't believe y'all fought over me." She sat with a sigh and put her hand on Kyle's. "I'll go, get my own place. I've told you before I should probably do that."

"Why? Half the time I'm not here anyway. I'm with Hanson. And he has no right to decide who I live with."

Cora grabbed a bread stick and bit off the end. Looking at Rogan, she asked, "So if we were together for say...three years, would you have an issue if I were living with another man?"

He looked from her to Kyle. "You already are."

She waved it away. "That's not what I meant." Then she frowned. "Okay, maybe it is."

Rogan paused, didn't bother to play nice. "I have issues with sharing." He opened one container and scooped out some shrimp Florentine. "And it wouldn't take three years."

"What wouldn't take three years?"

"For God's sake, Cora. The man is hot as hell over you and is so alpha it's straight out of those novels you hide under your bed." Kyle sighed. "If I wasn't in love with Hanson, the prick, I'd give you a run for your money," he told Cora.

Rogan intent on taking a bite, thought of how to reply, and went with simple. "Thank you, I think, but I'm straight."

Kyle sighed again. "I know, more's the pity. Hanson wants to play games, I can play games too."

Rogan took a deep breath. "You know, maybe you did misread the situation. Can that be possible? I mean, like Cora said, as the other half in a relationship, he'd be interested. For instance, why would you live with her? Why have y'all been friends so long, that sort of thing."

Kyle shook his head and opened the calamari box and inhaled, spearing several of the battered rings on his fork. "He already knows all that, but lately he's just...I don't know...different."

"Since when?"

Kyle thought about it. "I don't know, since about..." He shrugged. "I don't know. Things seemed fine, but then they didn't, little things. I'd notice him watching Cora when he thought I wasn't looking. And another time I got out of the shower and he was lying on your bed, granted my sheets were in the washer, but still. He couldn't lie on the couch?"

Rogan listened, but was objective enough to know this wasn't anything huge.

"Still not enough to condemn him to prick. Stupid ass, maybe," Cora acknowledged. "But prick?"

"He also has pictures of you," Kyle said, frowning.

Rogan glanced at Cora, but she didn't seem phased by this.

"What pictures?" Rogan asked.

Kyle smiled and turned to Cora. "See? He has a problem with another man having pictures of you. Prick status stands."

"I gave him those pictures of the two of us, though," Cora said, thinking. "Other than you and Lake, he's my friend."

He shook his head. "No, not the Christmas photos, or the one where you're shoving the camera away. These are black and whites. Eight by tens."

Now she frowned.

"When were they taken?" Rogan forgot his food.

"He says over time. Over the last year."

"Well, he does take photos in his spare time," Cora offered.

"Yes, but these are different."

"How?" Rogan kept his voice calm.

Kyle shrugged. "I don't know. I mean it's not like she's naked or anything like that. Well, there's one when we went to Tahoe, but you're in that nonexistent bikini."

Rogan closed his eyes.

"Anyway," Kyle continued. "He talks of lighting and you being this perfect model and though I'm glad he likes you, I can't help but be..."

Cora laid her hand on Kyle's and squeezed. "I'm sorry about coming between you."

"You didn't step there," Kyle said, picking up her hand and kissing it. "He did. You don't have a damn thing to apologize for." He wrinkled his nose and scratched his chin. "You know what? I think I'm going to take off tomorrow. I haven't taken any sick or vacation days and have them built up. I'll take off tomorrow and go somewhere and relax."

She nodded and smiled at him. "We're a pair, aren't we?"

"We're a sad and lonely pair. Thinking we found our happily ever-afters only to have it ripped out from under us whenever the significant other messes with us for no better reason than they seem bored."

They grinned at each other. "Pricks," they said and laughed.

Conversation lightened. Rogan knew he'd never come between them. Friends were often like that. Old relationships might move over and make way for new, but they were never crushed, or diminished. Not true ones.

He realized suddenly that though they'd joked about being lonely, they were lucky. Lonely was his world. Or maybe there were different layers?

"You've got a deep thinker there. Care to share?" Kyle asked.

"Just thinking how lonely might be like hell, all differing layers of it."

Kyle laughed. "Yeah. I like that idea. So which layer are you at?"

Rogan speared a shrimp on the end of his fork and held it up to Cora's lips, still slightly rosy from his kisses. "I'm a lot higher than I was."

She smiled at him and opened her mouth. "You ever notice, we locals tend to leave Sedona to think and relax?"

"Your point?" Kyle ate more calamari.

"That most people come here for the spas and relaxation."

Kyle shrugged. "I'm really not into earth chakras or mojo stuff, thanks. You believe all you want. But if John Wayne hadn't filmed several films out here, it would be quieter. And few would give a damn about the earth out here being magical or some such."

She laughed and leaned over and kissed him. Licking her lips, she glanced at Rogan. "I should have gotten that dish. The shrimp is really good today."

He grinned and held another up for her to eat. She smiled and he wanted to kiss her, watched the way she licked her lips yet again. Just as she closed her mouth over the shrimp, he let out the breath he'd been holding.

"I'm telling you, nothing like spaghetti and naked bodies. Wine. Don't forget the wine." Kyle stood and walked out of the kitchen, and back to his room.

They stared at each other, grinned, and Rogan had to lean closer to kiss her. He had to have just one taste. Just one more.

She stood, grabbed a bottle of wine and then glanced at him over her shoulder. "Grab the food."

The water sluiced down her skin.

"You missed a spot of marinara sauce," Rogan said, his voice gruff as he stepped into the shower behind her.