Bachelor Untamed - Brenda Jackson [60]
Then there were the other things they did together, like cook breakfast and dinner. He helped her pack up the last of her aunt’s belongings to give away and had helped store in the attic those things she wanted to keep. He had driven her into town to a nursery to purchase a couple of fruit trees she wanted for the backyard, and had even chopped wood for the winter months; if she decided to come back later in the year, there would be enough ready for the fireplace. And he had made watching movies with him special.
Sensations suddenly overwhelmed her at the thought that in two weeks he would be leaving Cavanaugh Lake to return to Charlotte. Their affair would be ending. She would remain here and finish the book, which shouldn’t take too long. Then she would return to Boston. She had decided to wait until the first of the year to decide if she wanted to go back into corporate America, or start her own business. Uriel had given her good advice regarding the pros and cons of both.
She didn’t have to look up to know he had entered the bedroom. She felt his presence. She was intercepting his heat. She knew, at that moment when they went their separate ways, her pain would be almost too much to bear, but she would. She had no choice.
Tilting her head back, she stared at him. He was leaning in the doorway, shirtless and wearing a pair of shorts that, in her opinion, looked just as scandalous as any she’d ever worn. They displayed just what a good physique he had: flat stomach; muscular thighs; strong legs. And a thick arousal pressing hard against his crotch. It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t know what was behind the shorts. She knew every solid inch of him there, had seen it erect and nonerect. Her fingers had touched it, gently squeezed it, had given it her own personal massage. And one night, in a surprise move and with a bold degree of naughtiness, her mouth had tasted it, almost greedily, and several satisfied groans had escaped his lips. She now knew all the things that brought him pleasure, all the ways they could be done, what it took to push him over the edge, make him call out her name in a throaty growl. Remembering made an intense shudder ripple down her spine.
She had opened the bedroom window earlier, and a gentle breeze was coming in, stirring the heat he was emitting, as well as his scent. The air between them seemed to spark, and she had a feeling if she didn’t say something, didn’t start conversation, they were liable to go up in flames just from staring across the room at each other. So to break the silence, she asked, “Did you get all the fish cleaned?”
“Yes, with no help from you.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. “You poor baby. Do you want some cheese to go with that whine?”
“Do you really want to know what I want, Ellie?”
“No,” she said, managing a faint smile, letting her gaze travel back down to his crotch, then back to his face. “I have an idea.”
A smile curved his lips. “And you’re probably right. But I can wait till after dinner for you to be my dessert,” he said, coming into the room. “Besides, we need to talk.”
She raised a brow. “About what?”
“More company coming. My business partner, Donovan Steele. I think I mentioned he’d gotten engaged.”
She nodded. “Yes, you did.”
“Well, I invited him and his fiancée to come to Cavanaugh Lake for the weekend for a fish fry.”
“This weekend?”
He chuckled. “No, next weekend. I haven’t forgotten my promise to take you rafting in the Smokies this weekend.”
“Good.”
“And I hope you don’t mind, but I gave them full use of my place for the weekend, which means I’ll be crashing over here,” he said.
“No, I don’t mind,” she responded. He’d been crashing at her place anyway. Since their affair had begun, the only night he hadn’t stayed was the one