Eleanor stood up and slipped her hands in her rear pockets. “I’m not too sure about that.”
“I am.”
“What makes you so sure?”
Megan grabbed Eleanor by the shoulders and pushed her to the door. “A little bird named Jake has been talking to a little bird named Carl.”
Eleanor stopped walking. “What did Jake say?”
“You know I can’t tell you that. Carl thinks I can keep a secret. Now, let’s get back out there. I miss my sweetie.”
***
If Carl and Megan didn’t leave in the next five minutes, Jake planned to throw them out. He took a quick glance at Eleanor. Damn! She was getting increasingly uptight with each one of Carl and Megan’s not-so-subtle jabs.
Any other time with any other woman, he could have enjoyed the other couple’s antics. Not with Eleanor. Not where they were in their relationship. If they even had a relationship. And if he didn’t get Larry and Moe out of there, they didn’t stand a chance of becoming a couple.
“Are you two sure you don’t want to check out this new flick?” Carl asked, mischief in his smile. “We’d love to have you come with us, wouldn’t we, cupcake?”
Megan’s smile was all butter. “We sure would, especially since you two don’t have anything better to do.”
Eleanor refused to be baited. “Why don’t you all leave?”
Carl gave Jake an understanding smile. “I think she wants you out, too, man. I hope we didn’t ruin your evening.”
Jake wanted to wrap his hands around Carl’s neck. “See you later,” he said instead.
“I guess we’d better go, sweetie. They’re both being rude.” Megan giggled. “They must be frustrated.”
Carl guffawed. “That must be it.”
Jake stood. “That’s it. You two are outta here.” He walked to the door and opened it. “It’s been real.”
“We can take a hint,” Megan said, moving to the door. “I’ll talk to you later, Eleanor.” She giggled again. “Maybe I’ll wait till tomorrow. You probably have a busy night planned.”
Carl and Megan were still laughing when Jake slammed the door behind them.
Eleanor stood up. “You’d better go, too, Jake. It’s getting late.”
“That’s not gonna cut it, Eleanor. We have to talk.”
Eleanor didn’t want to talk. She needed to think. “Not tonight, Jake. I can’t handle it tonight.”
Jake went to her and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry we were interrupted.”
“I’m not.”
He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “Yes, you are.”
She pulled back and looked up at him. “I don’t like your bossy attitude. I know my own mind.”
“Sure you do,” he said, pressing her head back to his chest. This was his woman and he liked holding her. His woman. He’d never thought like that before, but he liked the sound of it.
He felt her relax in his arms. “What do you want from me, Jake? A summer fling?”
That question took him off guard. He didn’t even like the sound of the word fling when thinking about Eleanor. But what did he want?
She pulled away from him. “You won’t even admit that a fling is all you want?”
He wanted to tell her she was wrong, but he couldn’t. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to feel things for her. What had happened to his plans to work a deal that would make his father sit up and take notice? When had she become so important to him? “I want more than that.”
The surprise in her eyes was clear for him to see.
“Don’t look so surprised.”
She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. “What do you want, Jake?”
He couldn’t answer her because he didn’t know. He hadn’t though much beyond his feelings for her now. He knew he cared about her. A lot. He knew a relationship with her would be different from any he’d had in the past. He didn’t know what that meant in practical terms. He didn’t know where or how the relationship would progress. He was afraid even to think about it. He only knew he couldn’t not be with her.
“I think you’d better go,” she said finally.
“I don’t want to go.”
She smiled sadly. “I know, but you have to.”
“But—”
She lifted a hand to stop his words. “Close the door on your way out. I’m going to lie down.” She gave him a final look and left the room.
Jake stood rooted in place while she practically ran to her room and closed the door. Damn! She was driving him crazy.
Jake stared at her bedroom door for a couple of seconds, before taking the few steps that placed him only a door away from her. He lifted his hand to open the door, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do it because he couldn’t answer her questions. Damn! Why did she have to make things so difficult?
He turned slowly and walked out of her cottage, closing the door behind him. Maybe it was best, he told himself. He didn’t need the complications that came along with Eleanor. No, he was much better off without her. Maybe he could get Carl and Megan to introduce him to somebody else and he could keep his mind off Eleanor. Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do.
Who was he kidding? he asked himself when he reached the French doors of the main house. There wasn’t a woman alive who could keep his mind off Eleanor. He’d have to find a way to deal with her. Soon. God knows, he couldn’t go through another night like tonight. Going unsatisfied was not a situation he found himself in often and he didn’t like it. No, he didn’t like it one bit. Thank God he hadn’t had to resort to cold showers. Yet.
***
Eleanor released the breath she’d been holding as soon as she heard Jake’s footsteps leave her bedroom door. She didn’t know if she was glad or sad he hadn’t opened the door and joined her in bed. Maybe she wished he had. Maybe that was why she’d stripped off her clothes and collapsed naked on the bed as soon as she’d closed her bedroom door.
It was all moot now that Jake was gone. At least, it was moot for the moment. Eleanor was mature enough to know that the feelings that raged between her and Jake wouldn’t be denied forever. She and Jake would make love, and soon, as sure as the sun rose each day.
She rolled over onto her stomach. Why was she delaying the inevitable? Maybe the wisest thing to do would be for them to go to bed, do the deed, and be done with it.
She eased up from the bed and headed for the shower. Yes, she and Jake needed to do the deed and get it over. There were only so many cold showers a woman could take.
***
Eleanor dragged into work the next morning after a nearly sleepless night. Thoughts of Jake and her own libido had kept her awake until early in the morning. She grabbed a cup of coffee and hoped it would keep her alert enough to get out today’s edition.
“Morning, Eleanor,” Carl called. “Sleep well?”
Eleanor wanted to wipe that stupid grin off Carl’s face.
“Morning, Carl,” she said and kept moving to her office. She uttered a silent thanks that Jake wasn’t at his desk. Hopefully, he’d be out all morning. She dropped in her chair and began her morning ritual. Before long she was in her routine and her tiredness was forgotten.
“Morning, Eleanor.”
The smooth silkiness of Jake’s voice stopped the movement of her fingers. She glanced up at him. “Morning.” She refocused on her screen and forced her fingers to move again.
She heard Jake settle himself at his desk and pick up his phone.
“So what do you think, Buddy?” she heard him ask.
Buddy? Who was Buddy? She didn't consider listening to his conversation as eavesdropping. No, they shared the same office and he talked loudly.
When his voice dropped to a whisper and she could no longer hear him, her fingers stopped their movement again and she leaned, ever so slightly, toward him.
“Do you want something, Eleanor?” Jake asked.
Buste
d, she sat up straight and resumed her keystrokes. “Oh, no.”
“Look,” she heard Jake say, “I’ll talk to you a little later when I have some privacy.
Eleanor heard the emphasis on the word privacy and knew it was for her. When she raised her eyes to him, he was staring at her, his eyes blazing with passion and something else she couldn’t name. She gave a weak smile and returned her attention back to her keyboard. She heard him hang up the phone then swagger over to stand behind her.
“You were eavesdropping,” he whispered.
The spoken words couldn’t have affected her more if he’d said I want you.
“I was not,” she lied.
“You’re lying,” he said, so close his breath tickled the back of her neck.
She resisted the urge to swat him away. “I can’t help it if you talk too loudly.”
He moved away from her and sat on the edge of her desk. “You know what I like least about this office?”
“No,” she said, turning around. “I don’t.”
“That damned window,” he said, referring to the window in the wall separating her office from the rest of the newsroom.
He sounded so sincere that laughter bubbled up in her and spilled out.
“I love your laugh,” he murmured.
His passion sobered her and she looked through the window out into the newsroom to gather her wits. Carl, a knowing grin on his face, had the audacity to wave at her. Maybe she should consider getting rid of the window.
“Did you sleep well last night?” he asked.
Praying the passion she felt didn’t show in her eyes, she glanced up at him and shook her head.
“Neither did I.”
They were both silent for a while.
“Is this easy for you?”
She shook her head. If he thought this was easy for her, she must be one good actress.
“So what are we going to do?”
She smiled crookedly. “We could close the blinds and go for it right here.”
He inhaled deeply. “Don’t tempt me.”
She stared up at him, wanting to tell him he wasn’t the only one tempted. Instead, she got up out of her chair and walked to the window.
“What are you doing?” Jake asked, his eyes wide with banked passion.
She twisted the rod and the blinds closed. “I’m yielding to temptation.” She started to walk back to him, but she turned around and twisted the lock on the door. “We don’t want any interruptions, do we?”
Jake’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out.
“What’s wrong, Jake?” she asked as she sauntered toward him. “This is what you want, isn’t it?”
“Eleanor . . .” Jake warned.
She walked into the middle of his spread legs and his thighs tightened against her. When he groaned, she placed a hand on either of his shoulders and stared into his passion-filled dark brown eyes. She’d known this man less than two months, but she knew the place he’d found in her heart was forever. She didn’t kid herself the relationship was forever, though. Jake’s stay in Lamar was limited. She knew that and she accepted it.
“Two can play this game,” Jake said, unbuttoning her jacket and pushing it apart.
She leaned her face closer to his and rubbed her jaw against his. “What game?”
Jake reached inside her jacket, encircled her waist with his hands, and pulled her tight against him. “You feel so good.”
“Umm, you don’t feel so bad yourself.” She relaxed in his arms and tightened her arms around his shoulders. She thought she could stay in his arms forever. There was something sure and right about it.
“I want to kiss you.”
She leaned away from him and his eyes repeated his words. “I thought you’d never ask.”
She closed her eyes when his lips captured hers. When his tongue slipped inside her mouth, she knew this moment was only the beginning for them.
When he pulled away, they were both breathing heavily.
“Do you want to come over tonight?” she asked when she could get her breath.
He pulled her back for another long kiss. “What time?” he asked.
“I’ll be there all night.”
“All night?” he repeated.
“All night.”
He pushed her away from him and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure?”
Her confidence slipped a little and she wondered if her feelings were one-sided. She stepped out of the circle of his arms, went back to the window, and was about to open the blinds. Jake’s hand stopped her.
He turned her around. “Make no mistake about it, Eleanor. I want you. I want you so bad now I hurt.”
She relaxed and dropped her head against his chest. “I want you, too.”
He grunted. “You’re going to have me.”
Sixteen
Eleanor stripped out of her fifth outfit in the last twenty minutes. Why was Jake Mason making her so nervous? This wasn’t her first date, nor was it her first time. Get a grip, she told herself. Jake is only a man.
“Right,” she said, looking at the three piles of lingerie covering her bed. She never would have guessed she had this much lingerie. A piece here and a piece there over the years certainly added up. Her bedroom looked ready for a Victoria’s Secret yard sale.
She opened the last drawer in her lingerie chest, praying the odds were with her. She pulled out garment after garment until there was nothing left in the drawer. And still she had found nothing to wear.
She pushed the piles of lingerie aside and dropped down on the bed. Maybe she should give up on clothes and greet him at the door in her birthday suit. She wondered what he would think of that.
She grabbed a pile of the lingerie in her hand and took it to the dresser. It didn’t matter what Jake would think. She was going to be herself tonight. She stuffed the first pile in the dresser and went back to the bed for another. Finished, she propped her hands on her hips and stared at the third pile still on the bed.
Nodding her head, she pulled a white lace bodysuit from the pile and held it up in front of her. “This is it. This is what I’ll wear tonight.”
Satisfied, she picked up the remaining items and placed the
back in the dresser. When she turned to head for the bathroom, the phone rang.
“Are you nervous?”
Eleanor dropped down on the bed. “What are you talking about, Megan?”
Megan chuckled. “Carl told me about the closed blinds and locked door at the office today. When you canceled our date for tonight, I figured you must have had other plans.”
She should have known Carl would say something. He’d been grinning at her all day. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied.
Megan chuckled again. “Sure you don’t. Anyway, have fun tonight. I’ll call you tomorrow and see how things went.”
Megan hung up before Eleanor could respond.
“Damn,” she said, then scrambled into the shower.
Twenty minutes later, she was dressed in her bodysuit, applying her makeup. Not too much, though, but she couldn’t plan for a love scene without the proper look, could she?
She heard a knock at the front door as soon as she placed the cap on her lipstick. “Perfect timing,” she said, grabbing her standard robe. “Let’s make Mr. Mason wonder for a little while, at least.”
Eleanor walked to the door, took a deep breath, then opened the door. At the sight of Jake standing there in a pair of beige pants, a white open-collar dress shirt, and aviator sunglasses, her knees went weak and she tightened her hold on the doorknob to keep her balance.
“Hi,” she said, praying her voice sounded normal since her pulse wasn’t. It seemed her heart rate had doubled in the few seconds she’d been standing at the door.
Jake pulled off the aviator glasses and handed her a single white rose. “Hi, yourself,” he said, his eyes shining with passion.
When she saw the burning passion in Jake’s eyes, she immediately felt exposed, a rare feeling for her. She was comfortable with her body and usually relished her nudity, but not now. Now she wished for a longer robe. Maybe even jeans and a T-shirt. She ran her hand through her hair, which fell in soft curls on her shoulders.
“Aren’t you going to take it?”
The laughter in his voice alerted her to action and she reached for the rose. “Thank you,” she said, stepping back into the room. “Come on in.”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
Eleanor walked to the couch, twisting the stem of the rose in her hand, very conscious of Jake behind her. She wished again that she’d chosen to wear more clothes. She sat on the couch and Jake sat next to her.
“Ouch,” she said, and dropped the rose on the table in front of her.
Jake placed the aviator glasses next to the rose and reached for her hand. “Did you hurt yourself?”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I pricked my finger.”
Jake pulled the injured finger to his lips and his eyes met hers. “Let me kiss it and make it better.”
“That won’t be—”
Jake’s tongue on her finger sent a shiver of desire through her and her words were forgotten. After he kissed the injured finger, he moved on to each finger of her hand. Eleanor felt warmer with each touch of his tongue.
“That better?” Jake asked, his eyes now glazed with passion.
She reluctantly pulled her hand away, wondering what had happened to her courage. Had she really expected to go through this evening in a mechanical fashion—wham, bam, thank-you, ma’am—and have it done with? What had she been thinking?
Jake shifted in his seat. He wondered if taking her finger in his mouth had been a wise move. He’d known his desire for Eleanor was great, but he hadn’t anticipated his desire would work against him. That’s exactly what was happening.
He glanced at Eleanor and took small satisfaction in knowing she was as affected as he was. No, her eagerness could only enhance their union while his could ruin the evening for both of them. He definitely didn’t want that to happen. He needed to slow things down. “Nervous?”
She looked at him with wide doe eyes and all he wanted to do was take her to bed. “Who, me?”
Between the Lines Page 16
