Bachelor Untamed Part 5

She wondered if he'd noticed that he'd asked the question as if they were a married couple who'd just done grocery stopping together and was returning to the same house. "No, I'm fine."

"Do you mind if I stop by Logan's hardware store? I need to get some more hooks."

"No, I don't mind."

After making the stop at the hardware store, Uriel suggested they grab something to eat at one of the diners in town, since it was so close to lunchtime.

"What about your frozen dinners?" she decided to ask. "And the ice cream?"

"Thanks for reminding me. We'll get our orders to go," he said, as he pulled into Buddy's Diner.

As she resettled in the truck, she couldn't help but appreciate how easily they seemed to get along. They teased each other mercilessly about their purchases, but it had all been in fun.

"Next time we decide to ride into town together to pick up a few things, we'll grab lunch before hitting the grocery store," he said, glancing over at her and smiling.

She didn't say anything, just let the words flow between them while fighting the flutter in the bottom of her stomach. That was the third time today he'd said something that made them seem like a couple. Were they words spoken between friends with no hidden meaning? Or was he throwing around some type of hints of possibly something more?

When Ellie snapped her seat belt in place she decided not to put more stock into something that really wasn't there. The little innuendos Grant would occasionally say to Tamara were getting to her, making her dissect Uriel's every word for some hidden meaning. She had to pull her mind out of fantasy land and back into reality. They were not the hero and heroine in a hot and steamy romance novel. The man sitting beside her was Uriel and she was Ellie. And the conversation they had been exchanging was merely words spoken between friends. Nothing more.

As he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, Uriel muttered a curse that was too low for Ellie to hear. What was with all these slip-ups he was making?

d.a.m.n. He was getting too comfy with Ellie. Letting down the guard he usually kept up with most women. It could possibly be the result of his dream last night and the visions that keep popping up in his head. In his dream, she had been sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bed. Naked. And waiting for him to tear off his clothes and join her there. The dream had been as erotic as any dream could get, and before he could join her on the bed, something had awakened him.

Unable to resurrect the dream, and with no sleep in sight, he got up at 2:00 a.m. for the second straight night and had gone outside to sit on the porch. He had fervently hoped he would be lucky and she'd be standing at the window, half-naked again, with her gla.s.s of wine. To his disappointment, she hadn't been.

He gripped the steering wheel even tighter, and kept his focus on the road while trying to come up with one good reason he shouldn't pursue a relationship with Ellie. She was no longer a minor, but a full-grown woman who could make her own decisions. He was attracted to her bigtime. She didn't have a significant other and neither did he.

Something else he needed to consider was that their families knew each other, which in a way wasn't a bad thing, but it wasn't necessarily a good thing, either. She already knew more about him than he would have shared with a woman, especially the situation with his parents. He was sure she had heard the story about his mother and her boy-toy. Hadn't practically everybody?

He loosened his hold on the steering wheel when the thought of an affair with Ellie began to take shape in his mind. A month was long enough to indulge in an affair. h.e.l.l, that was longer than most of his affairs.

"Are you still into photography?"

Her question made him glance quickly over at her, before returning his gaze to the road. He was surprised she remembered that. "Not as much as I used to be," he responded. "That was something I outgrew, especially when I found out that I would be responsible for buying my own film. Too much out of my allowance. So I got another interest that didn't cost as much."

When he came to a stop sign he glanced over at her. "What about you? Did you ever write your book?"

Ellie blinked, and then she couldn't help but chuckle when she remembered. Gosh, how long ago had that been? She was probably no more than twelve that one summer when she'd decided after reading a Nancy Drew Mystery that she would pen one of her own. She had interviewed everyone for her book, including him, and she hadn't gotten past the first chapter when she decided writing was too much work.

"No, but when I got to college I did enough writing, with all those term papers."

He nodded. "So, are you through with school, or will you go ahead and get your PhD, like your parents?" Both of her parents were college professors.

"I've had enough of school. I'm hoping my entrance into the workforce this time is better than the last. I only had the job a year before I got laid off. That's why I went to grad school."

"What is your field of study?"

"Finance."

As he rounded the lake, he said. "Hopefully, with the economy improving, you won't have a problem finding a job and keeping it."

"I hope not."

The SUV came to a stop in front of her house. "I'll help you get your stuff inside. Just unlock the door for me."

"Thanks."

While he unloaded her purchases, she quickly walked ahead, unlocked the door and pushed it open. When he strolled by her she got a whiff of his aftershave, the same one that had played havoc on her senses during the ride home. The same one that reminded her of what a strong male he was-not that she could forget.

She followed him into the kitchen where he sat her bags on the table. "I'll go get the rest of the stuff," he said, before walking out. She began going through the bags, immediately taking out the ice cream to place in the freezer. She was putting away items in the pantry when he returned after a couple of trips.

"Okay, that's everything that's yours."

Ellie moved away from the pantry to where he'd placed the other bags on the table. She hadn't realized she bought so much. "Thanks, Uri, for everything."

"No problem. I'll check you out later."

Uriel turned to leave, almost got to her kitchen door when something stopped him. It could have been a number of things. It could have been the dream he'd had last night, or the memory of the kiss they'd shared all those years ago that had been playing on his mind a lot lately. It could be something as simple as the fact that he was a man and she was a woman, and the chemistry between them had been more potent today than ever. It could have been any one of those things or all of them.

She noticed she hadn't heard the back door close behind him, so she glanced over-at him. him. Met his gaze. Met his gaze.

He stood there with his focus directly on her, while trying to figure out what there was about her that made him want to strip her naked, right here in this kitchen, but not before he got to taste her again, to see if the flavor of her mouth had changed, and to see if she could still work her tongue like she had before.

His eyes slowly shifted lower to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He pulled in a choppy breath when he saw her nipples start to harden right before his eyes. h.e.l.l, if just a look could do that to her, he wondered what would happen if he were to touch her, taste her kiss.

He could feel his own eyes darkening with heat, and he knew the moment she saw it as well. She continued to hold his gaze, then asked, "Is there something else?"

He couldn't help the smile that touched his lips. She could ask the d.a.m.nedest questions. This time he would give her an answer, and he hoped she was ready for his response. "Yes, there is something else," he said, walking back toward her.

He came to a stop in front of her, and because of their difference in heights, she tilted her head back to look up at him. He figured, at some point she must have figured what this was about. He had to kiss her. For no other purpose than to appease the curiosity between them, harness this sensuous pull, take control of the s.e.xual attraction. And that was precisely what he intended to do. Now.

He lowered his head toward hers, and when their mouths were mere inches apart, when he could feel the heat off her lips radiating toward his, he paused. He was giving her a chance to pull back, resist what he was about to do. But when she darted her tongue out of her mouth to moisten her top lip, he decided it was too d.a.m.n late.

Before she could put her tongue back, he sank his mouth down on hers, taking it all. He immediately grabbed hold of her tongue with his and began sucking on it, as he had in his dream. And when she moaned deep in her throat and wrapped her arms around his neck, every nerve in his body began to flicker, his erection began to throb. To let her know just how aroused he was, he pulled her closer into his arms, and pressed the lower part of his body to hers.

It didn't take long for Uriel to see that this kind of kiss could turn dangerous, especially if he listened to what his aroused body was begging him to do. It wouldn't take much for him to push everything off the table and take her there. h.e.l.l, taking her against the refrigerator sounded even better. The bottom line was that he wanted to take her. Somewhere. Now. Standing up in this very spot would even work. All he had to do was pull her shorts and panties down, undo his zipper and get to work.

But he realized that the first time he entered her body he wouldn't want it to be a quickie. He would want to savor the moment, enjoy the buildup. So, until that time came, he would enjoy this, the meshing of their tongues, while he got aroused by her taste. It was nothing like he remembered. The flavor was more intense, her tongue more controlled.

The kiss was everything he'd known it would be, everything he'd imagined as well as dreamt about. Every lick sent sensations rushing all the way to his toes, had blood rushing through his veins and made something in the pit of his stomach stir to the point where he couldn't help but deepen the kiss, pull her closer to his body and begin backing her up toward the refrigerator after all.

The moment Ellie felt the refrigerator against her back she pulled her mouth free from Uriel's and whispered, "Wow."

Her mind began reeling, her pulse was racing and tingling sensations were having a serious confrontation between her legs. She gazed into Uriel's eyes that were so close to hers. He hadn't backed up any. It was as if he just wanted her to get her breath, since he wasn't quite through with her yet.

The intensity in the gaze holding hers said as much. She could only stare back, transfixed. Pressed against the fridge, she should have felt trapped. Instead, she felt provoked into seeing just how far he would take this.

Ellie pulled in a deep breath. She needed to think, and then quickly decided that, no, she didn't. What she seriously needed to do was play this out, see where it would go and put a stop to it if it became too much. This was Uriel. He wouldn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do. Although he had initiated the kiss, she hadn't fought it, because she had needed it. Seeing him naked, and then seeing him every morning working out, had been too much for a woman who hadn't had s.e.x in quite a while to handle.

Staring into his face, she knew he was waiting for her to make the next move, since she'd been the one to end the kiss. She detected patience in him and knew he would wait, give her time to make up her mind. But she also understood, and very clearly, that if the decision didn't go the way he wanted, his untamed side, the one she detected he possessed, had no qualms about using seduction to sway her to what he wanted. The very thought of being seduced by him had her drawing in another breath, just seconds before she leaned closer and touched her mouth to his again.

And he took things from there-immediately deepening the kiss, to make up for lost time. In a way, she wasn't the least bit surprised or shocked by the intensity of the kiss. He was kissing her with the confidence of a man who knew exactly what he was doing. A man who knew what he wanted, with no qualms about getting it, but making sure he enjoyed it in the process. A man who knew how to combine an ample measure of warmth with his hunger, an enormous amount of sensuality with his greed, and who had the ability to ignite pa.s.sion around with a force that made her weak in the knees.

When she felt his hands move to the waistband of her shorts, felt his fingers inch lower, tracing a path past her panties, seeking hot bounty, she pulled her mouth away. "We have to stop."

His brow lifted with an arrogance that she found totally captivating. "Do we?"

The man was too much. "I think we'd better," she whispered.

He held her gaze. "You think so?"

"Don't you?" she countered.

His response was quick. "No."

She couldn't do anything but drop her head to his chest and mumble against his shirt. "You're not helping matters."

"Am I supposed to?"

She lifted her head, gazed into his eyes and tried smiling rea.s.suringly. "That would really help."

"All right."

He then pulled his hands from within her shorts, but he didn't move away, just backed up. A little. A quiver slid down her spine at the intensity of the gaze holding hers. And she knew he was in a waiting mode, to see what she would do or say next.

"How did we go from just friends to this?" she heard herself asking, while still trying to force air through her lungs. She had never been kissed that way. Had never partic.i.p.ated in anything so intense that it nearly snapped her senses.

He shrugged and then said, "I've wanted you pretty bad ever since I saw you that night at the window."

She lifted a brow. "You saw me at the window one night?" At his nod, she asked. "When?"

"A few nights ago. Evidently, you couldn't sleep and neither could I-which has been happening a lot lately-so I thought I'd sit on the back porch a while. The lights came on in your bedroom and sometime later you came to the window to look out at the lake. You were wearing a very short and ultras.e.xy nightie. I couldn't see everything, but I saw enough."

Ellie swallowed deeply. Yes, she could tell by the look in his eyes that he had seen enough. She remembered that night. She hadn't been able to sleep and had drunk more wine than she really should have. "I didn't know you were watching."

"I know. It was dark, and not once did you glance over at the porch. You just stood there staring at the lake. I could understand why. It was a beautiful night and a full moon was in the sky. You were satisfied with just staring at the lake and I was satisfied with just staring at you. I've been back every night since then, feeling restless, edgy, but you haven't been back."

"And?" she asked, wondering why he was telling her this.

"And there's nothing else to tell. Like I said, you hadn't been back and I've been fine at fighting the temptation."

Until today, evidently, she figured. He had been fine until today, when they had gone into Gatlinburg together. "And what made you kiss me?" she asked him, hoping he would answer, since he seemed not to mind talking about it.

"That day at the lake, when you took your friend up on that dare, I had enjoyed kissing you. I was curious to see if I would enjoy kissing you now. And today I just couldn't leave until I found out."

"And?" she asked, as she relaxed back against the refrigerator.

His brows rose. "I enjoyed it. Couldn't you tell?"

Yes, she had been able to tell, but then it definitely had been a mutual exchange. "I need to finish putting things away," she said, deciding it was time for her to rein in her senses and for him to do the same with his.

An affair would be a waste of their time, because it would be an affair that went nowhere. He wasn't into long-term, and she'd figured whenever she did get back into the dating scene, that she would be. She never intended to spend the rest of her life alone, without a special man in it, as her aunt had done. She wanted to marry, have children. She wanted the white picket fence and the house that it surrounded. She had a feeling he didn't.

"All right, I'll let you call time out for now," he said, taking another step back, giving her a lot of s.p.a.ce.

"Excuse me?" She must not have heard him correctly.

"I know what's probably going through your mind right now. You're probably wondering if an affair-a short-term affair-with me is worth it. We'll be here for a little less than thirty days, so the way I see it, we could either be bored to death or we can really enjoy each other's company."

She lifted her chin. "What makes you think I'd be bored?"

"Just a guess."

Unfortunately, Ellie thought, he had probably guessed right. If she had the rest of that ma.n.u.script to read, then she would have had something to look forward to doing for the next couple of days. And packing her aunt's things would keep her busy, but only for a while. But no matter how you looked at it, indulging in an affair with Uriel La.s.siter was too much to think about. She wasn't sure she could handle him. The man had more s.e.xual energy than any man she knew. His kiss had confirmed that.

"I propose we have a summer fling, Ellie. At the end of the summer, when we leave here, you will go your way and I'll go mine. No attachments. No follow-up visits or phone calls. No cards in the mail during the holidays, nor any getting together for an Easter feast. And when we do see each other again we'll be friends. Former lovers who'll always be nothing more than friends."

He paused and she knew he was letting his words sink in. "I'll give you a few days to think about it," he said, backing up.

The lines around his lips eased into a smile. "You know where I'll be once you've made a decision."

She didn't say anything, just stood there and stared at him and then stared at the door when he left.

Chapter 8.

Uriel pulled the dinner out of the microwave and placed it on the table before moving to the refrigerator to pull out a can of soda. It was a nice day, and he had thought about eating outside on the porch but changed his mind. There was no way he could sit on his porch and not look over to where he knew Ellie was.

It had been two days since he had kissed her. He'd told her that he'd give her a few days to consider an affair between them, but hadn't really expected for her to take all this time. What was there to think about? They were attracted to each other. There was strong s.e.xual chemistry. They had enjoyed kissing each other, which meant sleeping together would be enjoyable as well.

That night, when he'd gone to bed and thought about it, he had figured out why she was holding back. Her parents' marriage was a good role model for her to go by, and she wanted the same thing they had. So she was holding out for marriage and was not into casual affairs.

Sitting down at the table, he bowed his head and said grace before digging into his meal. He couldn't help but grin when he recalled how she'd warned him about the amount of sodium in his microwave dinner. He would have to admit that he had enjoyed going grocery shopping with her that day, the first time with any woman. For some reason it had seemed natural to be with her in that store.

He wondered how long she would stay locked up in that house. Was she deliberately avoiding him or was she actually busy packing up Ms. Mable's belongings? He had seen the Salvation Army truck over there yesterday. Still, the last two days had been nice ones, so she should have been outside enjoying them.