The Cowboy's Temptation Page 0,22
unyielding.
He sucked her lip and tongue, demanding more from her than she knew she had it in her to give. She whimpered as he tilted his head the other way, gaining a better advantage to the kiss.
Without her knowledge, Jake pulled her leg up, allowing his leg to move between hers. He kissed her neck, her ear, nibbling on the lobe and caressing the delicate shell with his tongue, eliciting another groan from Elissa as she arched her back, desperate to feel more but not sure what to do.
Just as suddenly as the kiss started, Jake pulled away, both of them breathing hard and staring at each other. Then Jake walked back over to Jemima and climbed on. A second later, he maneuvered the horse over to where Elissa was standing and she was again plunked down in front of him. They rode back to the corral in silence. When Jemima was standing in the middle of the corral, Jake hopped down and walked right back to where he had been when she’d yelled at him before and he started calling out orders to her again, just as cranky as he had been before.
Elissa obeyed him simply because she couldn’t think anymore. Her hands were still shaking from his kiss and her mind was still reeling.
By the time the lesson was over, she was no longer shaking with reaction but she was shaking in anger. Had he not felt the same things she had during the kiss? How dare he kiss her like that, she thought in the next moment. He had no right to do that to her and the next time she saw him, she’d tell him to keep his hands off her! Elissa was kicking the ground all the way back to the house, wishing it was his incredibly attractive butt instead of just the dust.
She made a huge meal for dinner that night in an effort to calm her frustration. She made glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, blueberry pie and several types of cookies. In the end, she still left him a plate but it was a tough decision this time.
“Well, I’d better get up to the house and get some sleep. You guys look like you’re about to pass out anyway,” Elissa said, standing up and heading towards the door.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Veronica called, heaving her pregnant body out of the reclining chair. She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled a piece of paper off, handing it to Elissa. “There’s a dance tomorrow night. Wear a dress,” she said, making the assumption that Elissa would attend.
Elissa stared at the flyer. “I don’t think I can do this,” she said, handing the flyer back to her.
But Veronica was having none of that. She pushed the paper back, shaking her head. “You have to go. Rick won’t have anyone to dance with unless you go. And I want to be around people that don’t write notes in class.”
Elissa laughed. “Really, it’s nice of you to invite me but…:
“No ‘buts’,” she interrupted. “If you don’t go, I’ll have to dance with him,” she said, pointing to her husband who was cleaning up the kitchen. “And that won’t be a good thing with old Junior here,” she said, patting her belly, “jumping around and causing trouble. So be ready at seven o’clock. We’ll all go together. I promise none of the other cowhands will bother you.”
Elissa couldn’t deny her friend company so she relented. “Okay. I’ll be ready. But do I have to wear a dress?” she asked.
“Yes. You need to show off those sexy legs. All I get to see are Rick’s.”
“Hey, mine aren’t too bad to look at,” he challenged, coming up behind his wife and hugging her.
“Okay, you’ve convinced me,” Elissa laughed. “I’ll be ready at seven.”
Elissa didn’t follow her now normal routine on Saturday. She still woke up when she heard a door close somewhere downstairs, but the sun was almost completely over the horizon this morning. So instead of watching the sun rise with her first cup of coffee, she made a fresh pot and sat down and considered the past week.
She had slept soundly each day, not worrying about anything other than how to get through her riding lessons and avoiding physical contact with her handsome, sexy host. She had been living more this week, working harder, enjoying the days much more than she ever would have expected she could have. The work was tough, as was evidenced by her blistered and