A Reason to Stay Page 4

The only thing about what had happened that didn’t confuse her was her own part in it. She knew very clearly why she was here—she wanted to be. Fantasies of lying in Jake’s arms and making wild, passionate love with him had dominated her thoughts for so long that the moment he’d kissed her, she’d been powerless to resist. The little voice in her head that warned of the perils of having sex with a friend, especially with her best friend in the world, double-especially with Jake "love’em-and-leave’em" McCallister, was easy to ignore. The thud of her heart and the rush of blood in her ears had drowned it out.

  What she couldn’t wrap her mind around was why Jake was here. Jeez, who was she kidding? She knew exactly why Jake was here. Seduction was as natural to him as breathing, and you don’t have to be in love to breathe. She should have seen it coming. She was probably the only single woman in Cedar Grove over twenty-one Jake hadn’t nailed.

  Until now, she reminded herself.

  Ellie guessed she should be proud of his restraint; he’d resisted for fifteen years. He had never treated her in a sexual way. She’d just never thought she was the type of woman Jake would want to sleep with. There was her mistake. Every woman was the type of woman Jake would sleep with. Not that Jake was a male whore. He just loved women. And women loved Jake. He just had a way about him that caused females of all ages develop a case of the giggles and googley eyes.

  Depression threatened to settle over Ellie, but she shooed it away. It really didn’t matter that Jake had a weakness for sex and women, especially when they were combined. It really didn’t matter what his motives were when he’d kissed her—she really couldn’t say he’d seduced her, because one kiss was all it had taken to melt her defenses. It really didn’t matter that in the morning she would just be another notch on his bedpost and their friendship would be irrevocably changed, if not destroyed.

  Bottom line was, she was here, he was here, and they’d fucked. It was what she had wanted for so long. Admittedly she would have preferred a relationship to go along with it, but beggars shouldn’t be choosy. She could either lie awake all night worrying herself to death about what it all meant and what was going to happen in the morning, or she could cherish these few precious hours in the arms of the man she loved. She chose the latter.

  ****

  Ellie lay there quietly a few more minutes. She was intensely aware of the man sleeping beside her. She watched him sleep. His chest rose and fell rhythmically with each breath. His hair was tousled about his face, giving him the look of an innocent boy. Her fingers ached to reach out and touch the smooth muscles of his chest, to tease his nipples into hard little buds.

  She held back the desire that had heat pooling in her belly. He looked so peaceful and relaxed; she didn’t want to wake him up. She wanted to prolong the time until he would wake up and they would have to discuss what their making love had meant. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to hear him say it hadn’t meant anything.

  Then, moaning softly in his sleep, Jake shifted and turned over so that he was lying on his back. The sheet covering his naked body slipped, revealing a large expanse of smooth, taut skin covering hard planes of muscle along his hip and thigh. Ellie’s mouth went dry. In her mind, the sexiest part of a man’s body was the juncture where the hip and leg meet. There was something innately sensual about the way the bones and muscles curved. The sheet that draped loosely over his manhood, hiding it from plain view yet leaving little to the imagination, only heightened the sensuality.

  Tentatively she reached out and carefully slid the sheet off of him. She scanned him from head to toe, devouring him with her eyes. He was a beautiful man. Her gaze trailed from his broad shoulders and chest, to his flat stomach, to the distinct tan line where his jeans rode low on his hips, to the column of flesh that had been inside her just a few hours before, making her feel so complete.

  Something wild and primal broke loose within her. Heat flooded her body. She had to touch him again, be with him, and have him inside her. To hell with not waking him up! If she did it right, talking would be the last thing on his mind.

  Moving slowly so that she didn’t wake him, she moved down the bed until she was right where she wanted to be. It was funny really; sucking cock had never been one of her favorite activities, but right now it was what she wanted to do most.

  She positioned herself between Jake's legs and bent down so that her mouth was almost touching him. Even in his sleep his cock was half-hard, and when she flicked her tongue over the head it jerked to life. He tasted so good, so musky and masculine. Slowly, she slid her tongue up his shaft. When she reached the tip, she sucked it into her mouth as she swirled her tongue around the throbbing head.

  Jake moaned in his sleep and a little thrill jolted through Ellie.

  *****

  This was the most amazing dream. It wasn’t the first time he’d dreamed of Ellie going down on him. He’d dreamed of making love to Ellie in every position imaginable too many times to count. But this time it felt so good, so real. Her mouth, her tongue, it felt so glorious. Oh, yeah!

  Teeth nipped gently at his skin and his cock jumped again. Jake’s eyes flew open. This was no dream.

  He looked down and saw Ellie between his legs on her hands and knees, plump ass in the air, and her sweet, red lips wrapped around his cock. Her sleep-tousled hair formed a halo of chaotic chestnut curls around her heart-shaped face.

  My God, she’s beautiful!

  It was hard to wrap his brain around the fact that he was really lying in his bed with Ellie, his Ellie, sucking his cock. And, oh God, she was doing it so well. He’d always suspected she’d be good in bed. Though she appeared shy and reserved to most people, he knew the Ellie that was carefree and a little wild. He also knew that there was a deep pool of passion simmering just beneath the surface that was bursting to get out. He doubted if she even knew it was there. But he had. And tonight it had broken through with a wild abandon.

  She had an intense sensuality about her that he’d never—even in his wildest fantasies—dreamed existed, and he’d had some pretty wild fantasies about Ellie. But not even one compared to the reality of being with her. She took his breath away.

  At that moment Ellie looked up at him, a smile slowly spreading across the soft lips that had been so industriously occupied moments before.

  "Hi," she said, almost shyly.

  "Hi, yourself," Jake replied with a soft chuckle, propping himself up on his elbows so he could see her better.

  "I woke up and I was hungry." Ellie’s small hands continued the work of her mouth, stroking him softly as she spoke.

  Jake bit back a groan as one of those soft hands cupped his balls and squeezed ever so gently. He struggled to make his voice sound normal as he answered, "Really?"

  "Yes, but I was too lazy to get up and walk downstairs to the kitchen. And you looked so delicious; I decided just to feast on you."

  This time Jake couldn’t hold back the moan as she moved her body slowly up his, her nipples skimming his flesh, leaving tiny rivers of fire in their wake. When her face was mere inches from his, he finally found his voice again. He tried to sound flippant as he said, "Really? Well, far be it from me to stand between a woman and her appetite."

  "Don’t worry, you won’t," Ellie said, pushing him back on the pillow. She grabbed his wrists, pinning his arms to the bed.

  Jake stared up at her plump and luscious breasts dangling above his face. Oh, yeah, this Ellie far surpassed the Ellie of his fantasies, and he loved it!

  *****

  Jake’s gasps were music to Ellie’s ears. The slightly glazed look his eyes had as she settled on him so that her pussy lips cradled his cock gave her the most overwhelming sensation of power. It was almost orgasmic, this feeling that she had total control over him at this point.

  She began sliding back and forth, his rock hard shaft pressed between her pussy and his own skin. The sense of power grew. With every twitch and jiggle of her body she drew him deeper into her control. She
knew from his gasps and moans that she could ask anything of him right now and he would do it.

  Still holding his arms down, she rained kisses over his chest, neck and face before capturing his lips with hers. The kiss was hungry, hot, and demanding. Tongues warred, teeth nipped, and they gasped into each other’s mouths when she lifted herself and slid down onto his waiting cock. She slid all the way down, taking him in completely. She felt stretched to the limits, yet completely and utterly whole.

  They stayed that way, lip to lip, neither moving, both barely breathing, for what seemed both an eternity and just a heartbeat at the same time. Then she began to rock. Not move up and down, or even rock fast. She just slightly moved her hips forward then back, so slowly at first the movement was almost imperceptible. The room was so quiet nothing could be heard but their slightly labored breaths.

  Then, as heat pooled in her tummy and her blood turned to molten lava, she began to move a bit more. She rocked faster and harder. She let go of his wrists and pushed herself up so that she sat right on him. Her huge breasts jiggled and jumped with her movements and Jake grasped them, kneading and teasing them as she moved.

  As her rhythm increased, Jake put his hands up and she interlaced her fingers with his. She held tightly to his hands, using him as leverage as she started pumping up and down on his cock.

  Something wild and primitive had broken loose within her. The room, no longer quiet, was filled with gasps and groans that mingled together so that it was impossible to tell who made which noise.

  Every pore in Ellie’s body felt open, as if every sensation, every emotion possible were flowing into her. She could feel everything, the hard muscle of Jake’s thighs against hers as she straddled him, the strength in his hands and arms as she strained against them, using them for leverage. She could feel the way his ragged breath made his chest heave; she could feel the searing heat of him deep within her.

  She was filled and stretched to the limits. A tight ball formed in her tummy and grew with each stroke she made until every muscle, every inch of her being, was tight as a bowstring. She felt as if the string would snap at any moment and she would fly into a million pieces. But it didn’t. She squeezed her eyes tight and flung her head back. She concentrated on the feel of Jake beneath her and between her legs. Her pace became frenzied as she rode Jake with all her might, chasing that explosion that would ease the tightness, that release that would turn her into a pliable heap.

  Suddenly Jake let go of one of her hands. She felt his fingers slide between them, searching, then finding the slick, hard little nub at her center. The tip of his work-roughened finger rubbed over her throbbing little clit, once, twice, then bam! The bowstring snapped. Ellie’s world exploded and rained down around her. There was a loud keening sound that she knew was her voice, but was totally unrecognizable.

  Jake’s grip on her hand tightened, and as her pussy walls contracted around him, she felt him shudder uncontrollably. He emitted a long, low growl and she felt his hot seed spurt deep into her just before she collapsed onto him.

  After a few long minutes she rolled off of him. He gathered her close, her head in the crook of his arm. Just before she slid into the sweet abyss of sleep she thought she heard him say, "Damn, honey, I wish I could always wake up with you like that."

  Jake couldn’t help whistling as he toweled off after his shower. He was happier than he’d been in a long time. Ellie was asleep in his bed. The fact that last night may have been a one-time thing, never to be repeated, couldn’t dim the light a night of making love to the woman he loved had lit inside him.

  Sheesh! If any of the guys down at the Station could hear his thoughts they would swear he was going nuts. Maybe he was. Love did strange things to a man. He’d loved Ellie for so long, lusted after her body for so long. He’d fantasized about making love to her so many times, but none of it compared to the real thing. He’d made love to more women than he wanted to count, but not one of them made him feel the way Ellie did. Not just in bed, but afterwards. Nothing had prepared him for this feeling that was swelling in his chest. He couldn’t put words to it, but it felt good, and scary. He wondered if this was how women felt when they made love with a man that they loved.

  He didn’t want this feeling to end. Heck, he didn’t think it could end. But he had a feeling it could turn agonizing if she left. But what could he do? He didn’t want to stand in the way of her happiness. If moving to Chicago would make her happy, he had to stand back and let her do it. Maybe he should move to Chicago too.

  The thought was not appealing. He was a small town boy through and through. Cedar Grove was where his job, his home, and his life was. But if Ellie moved to Chicago, his house would just be an empty shell, his family would be missing the most important member, and his life would lose its spark. Ellie was his spark.

  Giving his head a good shake to empty it of those thoughts, Jake wrapped a towel around his waist and padded into the bedroom. Ellie was standing at the window, looking out. Her hair was tousled; curls flying about all over her head and trailing down her back. The sheet wrapped around her body clung to her curves, emphasizing her plump, round ass. Jake felt himself harden instantly, causing the front of the towel to protrude slightly. God, she was beautiful.

  Quietly he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. To his great pleasure she back into him instantly. Her softness collided with his hard chest and her crazy hair tickled his nose as she snuggled into him. He was so consumed with the feel of her that it took him a moment to realize what she was staring at out the window. But when it finally registered a bubble of happiness exploded in his chest.

  It was raining. No, it was storming! It was a huge, thunder and lightning, wind blowing so hard it was raining sideways, can’t see three feet in front of you, there is no way a moving company will work in this weather, kind of storm.

  He couldn’t believe his luck. Someone upstairs was looking out for him today. Okay, so maybe to most this bad storm would be a cause of worry, but to him it meant one more whole day with Ellie. A whole day of lovemaking, if he could convince her. A whole day to try to figure out where he fit in her new life. A whole day to figure out how to tell her how much he loved her.

  Jake took a deep breath before speaking in an effort to keep the joy out of his voice. "Looks like you won’t be moving today."

  "Nope."

  "I guess we’ll have to find something else to do, won’t we?"

  Jake leaned in and nuzzled her earlobe with his lips. The hard shaft pressing into the soft flesh of her ass made it clear what he thought that something should be. But it seemed Ellie had something else in mind.

  "Yeah, eat." She turned in his arms and laughed at the abashed look on his face. "Don’t look like that! I used a lot of energy up last night; I need sustenance!"

  Jake grinned. "Well, I guess if it will keep you from passing out on me later. I like my ladies to have plenty of energy and spunk in bed."

  The moment he said it he wished he could take it back. How could he be so stupid? She was going to think she was just another fuck to him. He knew she thought he slept around way too much, that women were little more than playthings to him. And he had just put her in that category. But she was so much more than that. Why the hell did he have to open his big mouth?

  "Oh God, Ellie, I didn’t mean it that way."

  Ellie smiled, but her expression had lost the fun of moments ago. "I know you didn’t, Jake. But we do need to t—"

  Jake placed a finger over Ellie’s lips, silencing her. "Shh, don’t say it. I know we need to talk, but it can wait. There is no way you’re going anywhere in this weather, so you’re stuck here until at least tomorrow. There will be plenty of time for talk; can we just enjoy being together for now and analyze all this later?"

  His stomach was clenched so tight he felt as if he’d been punched. This couldn’t all be over so quickly. He needed the rest of the day with her. Hell, he needed the rest of his life with her, but right now
he’d take what he could get.

  Ellie’s smile widened and Jake’s stomach unclenched and his heart did a flip-flop. Damn! Would her smile always make him feel like he was floating? He sure as hell hoped so.

  "Okay, we’ll talk later," Ellie said. "Right now I need to take a shower; I’m smelly and my hair is scary. And you are going to fix me breakfast."

  "Well, how can I refuse such a polite order? How does a nice fluffy western omelet smothered in cheese sound?"

  Ellie’s grin was impish. "With toasted cinnamon-raisin bread?"

  Jake laughed heartily, "You aren’t demanding, are you? Of course with toasted cinnamon-raisin bread."

  Ellie laughed and started off towards the bathroom, squealing when Jake stepped on the edge of the sheet, causing it to slip off, giving him a full view of her naked body. She blushed at his openly appreciative look and hurried into the bathroom.

  After she’d left the room, Jake pulled on a pair of shorts and headed downstairs to make breakfast.

  He quickly threw together two delicious omelets. As he began slicing the homemade cinnamon-raisin bread, his thoughts drifted back to Ellie. She knew him so well. That was one reason he loved her so much. No other woman would know that there was always fresh raisin bread in his house. Growing up, his mother had made it for him every week. He was the only one in the house that would eat it, but she made two loaves every Saturday. He loved the stuff so much that when he’d bought this house, his mother had bought him a bread maker and taught him how to make it himself.