The Cowboy's Temptation Page 0,12

day and wondering if she really felt as good as he’d remembered. And now he knew. She felt better. And all she was wearing was a thin tee-shirt that barely covered her thighs. The gentlemanly thing to do was to move on down to his bedroom so she could get back to bed.

“Why are you so scared?” he asked instead.

“Well, I….I’m just not used to the sounds yet,” she said. It was feeble but it was also the truth.

“You don’t look like you sleep very well at home,” he said, releasing one hand to gently touch the dark circles under her eyes.

His touched caused her entire face to heat with embarrassment and something else she couldn’t define but made her stomach flip-flop. “No. Not very,” was all she could say.

“Well, I hope you sleep better now. I promise to protect you against all other invaders,” he said, smiling down at her face. “There’s a rabbit that sometimes gets into the garden. I’ll be sure to warn it away in case it makes too much noise. I imagine he’ll be just as terrified of your hairbrush as I was,” he chuckled, then sauntered down to the hallway to disappear a few doors away.

Elissa stood there for several minutes, trying to calm down her nerves and her body’s reaction to Jake. Once she felt her legs would hold her up, she walked to her room and closed the door, falling into bed. She thought she’d be awake for several more hours but the next thing she knew, the sun was coming up over the horizon and she heard the back door slam shut.

Elissa woke up and stretched, walking over to the French doors that opened onto a small balcony. She saw a tall man walking across the backyard and instinctively knew that it was Jake. He had a confident walk, she noted. She liked that about him. It wasn’t practiced or stiff, like the brokers in New York. He walked with a purpose and determination. With a touch of arrogance, she thought.

Rick pulled out a brown horse and walked her up to Elissa. “This here is Jemima. She’s the sweetest, gentlest horse Jake owns. I think you and she will be good friends,” Rick explained, patting the horse’s nose.

Elissa watched the extremely large animal with wary eyes. “Are you sure she’s nice and docile?”

Rick chuckled. “She sure is. Don’t worry. She won’t throw you.”

Elissa stared at the horse’s soft brown eyes and decided to trust Rick. “Okay. What do I do?”

Rick walked the horse over to the mounting block. “I guess the first thing to do would be to climb on.”

“What’s going on, Rick?” a deep voice behind Elissa asked.

Elissa tensed, knowing that voice well now. She turned to see Jake standing in the sunshine with his hat low over his eyes, hands on his hips and waiting for an answer.

Rick didn’t seem to take offense at Jake’s curt tone. He simply smiled at Jake and tipped his hat back slightly. “Elissa wants to learn how to ride. I told her I’d give her a few lessons.”

“Jimmy needs help with the steer out in the south field. Go give him a hand. And bring Tommy and Joe too. They are probably finished with the truck by now.” Jake looked right at Elissa. “I’ll take care of the lessons.”

Jake give her lessons on riding? No way, she told herself. Elissa backed away. “No, that’s okay. I can do this another time. I don’t want to be in the way.”

Rick ignored her statement and tied Jemima up to the nearby fence. “Thanks, Jake. I’ll take care of that steer if you’ll take care of Elissa. I think she might be a bit nervous so be nice,” he said and smiled as he walked off to a truck. Elissa watched him get into the cab and revved the engine, waving to her with a cheeky smile as he drove of. She didn’t want to get lessons from Jake. He terrified her more than the horse did. And it didn’t help that he was staring at her now that they were relatively alone in the corral.

“This really can wait until Rick has more time. You’re busy,” she said warily and backed away from the mounting block intending to hide in her room until this enigmatic man left the area.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of Jemima,” Jake said, moving closer to pat the horse’s head. His eyes challenged her.

Elissa tried to keep her eyes off his hands