Bachelor Untamed. Brenda Jackson

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ a coincidence,” he said, lying again. No need to send her on a guilt trip. Ten years was ten years. Now they were older, wiser, and from the sexual chemistry he felt flowing in the room, just as attracted to each other. But then, that was the crux of his problem. He never really knew if she’d been attracted to him back then as much as he’d been to her, or if it had been nothing more than playacting as part of her dare with Darcy.

      That was a mystery he needed to solve, a curiosity that he needed to explore. “So, how long are you staying out here on the lake?” he heard himself asking her.

      “A month.”

      He nodded. So was he. That meant he had a month to satisfy his curiosity about a few things.

      He gave the room one final glance, thinking for some reason that, with all the changes, it now suited Ellie more than Ms. Mable. Everything seemed much too modern for an older woman’s taste. It was as if Ms. Mable had somehow known her niece would take up residency here one day.

      Uriel returned his gaze to Ellie before placing his wineglass on the table and standing. “I just wanted to come over and apologize about my state of undress earlier today, as well as to convey my condolences regarding Ms. Mable.”

      “Thanks.”

      “It’s good seeing you again, Ellie. I’ll be here for a month, as well, so if you need anything I’ll be next door. You can call on me anytime,” he offered.

      She smiled. “Thanks, Uri, I’ll remember that,” she said, walking him to the door.

      “Do you have a lot of plans for this week?” he asked as they crossed the room.

      She shrugged. “Not really. I’ll be busy going through Aunt Mable’s things. I plan on starting that tomorrow.”

      “Okay.” He paused for a moment and then said, “I’ll be going into Gatlinburg on Tuesday to get a bunch of supplies. If you make a list of the things you need I can pick them up as well.”

      He could tell by the smile on her face that she appreciated his generous offer. “Thanks.”

      “You’re welcome. Good night.” And deciding he had stayed longer than he should have, a lot longer than he’d planned, Uriel opened the door and left.

       Chapter 4

      The next morning, Ellie’s eyes opened and she blinked a few times before remembering where she was. Then she closed her eyes, deciding to just lie there for a moment in the big bed until her mind and body became functional. Too much wine last night was definitely to blame for her feeling hungover this morning, a state she didn’t need to be in, considering all she had to do today. But she couldn’t get herself to move just yet. She wanted to lay there awhile, get herself together while remembering the unexpected visit she’d gotten last night from Uriel Lassiter.

      She hugged the pillow to her chest as she remembered how sexy he’d looked sitting on the sofa. It had been nice of him to pay her a visit, to clear the air between them, so to speak. And now, with what happened ten years ago behind them, they could move on and be friends. From what he’d said last night, he would be staying at his lake house for as long as she intended to stay here, which meant they would probably be seeing each other on occasion. She could deal with that. He’d mentioned that his godbrothers would probably be visiting him while he was here. What about a girlfriend?

      If she had a man who looked anything like Uriel, she wouldn’t let him go anywhere without her for thirty days. Although she’d never heard of him ever bringing a woman to the lake with him before—at least Aunt Mable never mentioned it—Ellie refused to believe Uriel didn’t have a special woman in his life. For some reason, she just couldn’t imagine him being unattached.

      One thing was for certain—although they had both downplayed it last night—sexual chemistry had stirred in the air between them, especially after their hands touched. She had felt a sense of relief when he hadn’t acted on it. Some men would have, and she doubted she was ready for the likes of Uriel Lassiter if he were to come on to her. The man was sexual magnetism on legs.

      After he left, she had tried doing a few things—had even made an attempt to rearrange her aunt’s pantry, which was a wasted effort, since her aunt was known to be meticulously neat. For some reason, she hadn’t been able to sleep. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, she ended up getting out of bed around three in the morning and indulging in another glass of wine. She didn’t remember much after that.

      Ellie slowly reopened her eyes and glanced at the clock. The day had already started without her, and she needed to get out of bed and begin getting some work done.

      She had just thrown the quilt off her body, ready to ease out of bed, when a noise outside caught her attention. Deciding she didn’t want to be caught staring out the window just in case Uriel had decided to go skinny-dipping again, she slid off the bed and slowly pulled back the curtain and looked out.

      She had a clear view of Uriel’s backyard, and he was out there jumping rope. And it looked like he was going at it one hundred times a minute. He was shirtless, and the only thing that covered his bottom was a pair of dark-colored gym shorts. No wonder the man was in good shape, with solid muscles. Her gaze scanned his body and she saw he had worked up a sweat. At that moment, her imagination went wild with thoughts of that hot, sweaty body rubbing against hers.

      She swallowed deeply as she tried convincing herself there was no need for her to feel guilty about the tingling sensation she was feeling between her legs. After all, she was a woman who hadn’t been involved with a man in a while—almost four years now. She had been too wrapped up in schoolwork to care. But with school behind her, her hormones were letting her know she had more time on her hands; and after seeing a naked Uriel yesterday, her body was forcing her to realize that those needs she had placed on the back burner were now clamoring for attention of the primitive kind.

      When Uriel stopped jumping rope and leaned over to pick up a set of barbells, she quickly dropped the curtain in place. It wouldn’t do well to be caught spying on him again. Besides, she needed to take a shower, get dressed and get some work done.

      She made her way to the bathroom, thinking the best thing to do today was to stay busy. Then she wouldn’t have a reason to think about her neighbor next door.

      Uriel opened his refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of cold water. He chugged it, not caring that a few drops missed his mouth and oozed down his chin to join the sweat on his chest.

      He emptied the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He’d needed that. He had doubled the amount of exercises he normally did each morning, just to work off a hard-on that wouldn’t go away.

      He had awakened around three in the morning, unable to sleep, and had gone outside on the porch to sit a spell. He had known the exact moment the light had gone on in the upstairs bedroom next door, and his gaze had sought out the same window that Ellie had been staring at him from yesterday.

      While he sat there in the swing, he had seen her pass by the window a few times before she finally came and stood there with a glass of wine in her hand and a skimpy nightie covering her body. She stared out the window at the lake and sipped her wine. The angle at which the lamp had shone on her had given him a pretty good view of her body through the thin material of her short, bright yellow gown. He had gotten a very private viewing, one he doubted very seriously she knew she was giving. She probably figured that, since his house looked totally СКАЧАТЬ