The Cowboy's Temptation Page 0,48
some of my economics courses and almost failed. She hated the theory side of it. She likes the more down to earth, solid sort of concepts.”
“Don’t you like that?”
Elissa grimaced. “No way. I tried taking some of her upper math classes and just about failed those. I like thinking about math more than doing it. Once you get into that physics and tangent stuff, you’ve lost me.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t know how anyone could stand being cooped up in an office all that time.”
Elissa smiled and agreed. “I can definitely see the advantages to living out here, smelling the clean air and actually seeing the stars every night.”
“I’m guessing you don’t get to see many stars in New York.”
“No, not really. In order to actually see stars, we have to travel about two hundred miles west. And even then, the pollution is still so strong and the air so humid, we can’t really see anything. Not like this at least,” she said, glancing outside as the sky continued to darken and she could already see the stars peeking out of the night.
“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” he said. “Yes. Everything about this country is beautiful,” she said, keeping her eyes down and concentrating on cutting the vegetables.
Jake opened a bottle of red wine and poured her a glass, then pulled out a beer from the refrigerator for himself.
Jake moved on to less touchy subjects and Elissa finished cooking the spaghetti and preparing the salad. When it was done, she put the plates on the counter and joined him, relishing the warm, savory sauce.
They ate their pasta and talked about college days and growing up with their respective parents. It was more about getting to know each other rather than a heated conversation filled with emotional undertones. It felt nice to just relax and talk with someone, Elissa thought.
When they were finished, they cleaned the kitchen together, then Elissa stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, wondering what would happen next. She didn’t want the evening with Jake to end but also didn’t want to impose on his time anymore. Jake took the lead by saying, “Bring your wine and come join me outside.”
Elisa picked up her glass and followed him, unwilling to resist the lure of Jake any longer. She’d already experienced the magic of his touch, his kiss, his body. She wanted more. She wanted to experience as much of him as he’d allow before she had to abandon the fantasy world she’d created in the past two weeks.
Elissa walked quietly behind him, right into his arms as soon as he closed the door leading out onto the patio.
“I’m sorry about this morning,” he said. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
Elissa didn’t want to talk about that. She wanted him to make love to her again and help her forget the world and all the awful things waiting for her. “Shhh,” she said and leaned against him.
Jake couldn’t resist. He wanted her and, just as he had last night, at her first touch, the feel of her body against his, he lost all his ability to concentrate and talk sensibly to her. He wanted to get things straight between them, find out what exactly she wanted from him. But when she looked up at him as she was now, his body reacted instantly to the desire shining through her eyes and he reached down to kiss her.
When the kiss didn’t seem to stop, Jake took her wine glass from her hand and set it down on the table behind him, doing the same for his beer. Then he pulled her more firmly into his arms and kissed her soundly.
With a groan, he picked her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. Laying her carefully in the center of the bed, he looked down at her and promised himself that he would go slow, teach her about making love and make sure she felt everything he was feeling.
The plan was all well and good but the moment Elissa put her hands on his shoulders, she pulled him down and the plan to go slowly flew out the window. Elissa’s touch drove him wild and he couldn’t slow down much less stop breathing. She pulled his shirt off, her hands eagerly touching his skin and making him burn for her. He pulled her tee-shirt over her head and stared at her, then quickly removed her lacy bra. She tried to cover