Pure Temptation Read online

  He stared at her. “Tess, I had an erection driving over here just knowing what we planned to do tonight.”

  “Yeah?” She smiled. “So the phone thing worked?”

  “I knew you did that on purpose!”

  “Of course. Just like you sent the gloves on purpose.”

  “And you put that double-meaning message on the answering machine. I stood there listening to it with my mom watching me the whole time, if you don’t think that was tough!”

  “Well, I didn’t want you to lose interest!”

  “Fat chance of that, twinkle-toes.”

  “Seriously, Mac. According to what I’ve read, women are a lot better at sustaining lustful feelings in the absence of the lover than most guys. Guys are more the out-of-sight, out-of-mind type. I didn’t want you to lose interest.”

  “For your information, there was no chance I’d lose interest. I didn’t need that phone conversation or the message on the answering machine and your cute little reference to ice in order to get excited.”

  “Oh! I didn’t remember the ice! I was planning to give you a special treat with that ice trick. But I was so carried away that I…forgot.”

  He gave her a long glance. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Her heart beat a little faster, remembering the glory of the moment when she’d felt completely united with him, as if their souls had fused. She’d lost all track of techniques and tricks in the wonder of loving Mac. “It is a compliment. I couldn’t think of anything but what was happening between us.” She held his gaze and heat invaded her secret places once again. “I guess we didn’t need the ice.”

  “No. We didn’t need anything but each other.”

  Even now, she could barely believe that he really and truly wanted her. “This is so new. Then you’re really turned on by me, the girl you’ve known forever?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Wow.”

  “In fact, I’m getting in the mood again.”

  And so was she, but she’d been hesitant to admit it. “I thought it took a while for men to recharge.”

  “It does. It’s been a while.”

  “Not that long. From what the experts say, a man would probably need some stimulation before he could manage another episode.”

  Mac chuckled. “That reading may get you into trouble yet. Take my word for it, I could manage another episode. Maybe several. I wish I could stay here and make love to you all night, but I don’t know how we’d ever explain my truck being parked outside your house all that time.”

  Tess glanced at the clock and sighed with regret. “You’re right. The neighbors would wonder and the gossip mill would start running.”

  He nodded. “I could park outside somebody else’s house all night with no problem, but not yours. And we sure don’t want to awaken anybody’s suspicions.” He moved the pillow and the tray of food and swung his legs over the end of the bed.

  Tess couldn’t resist glancing at the part of his anatomy that had recently delivered her from her virgin status. “You are ready again!”

  “Surprise, surprise.” He reached for his clothes.

  “Want a quickie?” Her blood raced at the thought.

  He turned back to her, a smile on his face. “And what do you know about quickies?”

  “Everything. You just forget about the foreplay and go for it.” Her nipples tightened in reaction. “It makes for variety. What do you think?”

  He paused, his boxers in one hand. “Sounds tempting. But I guess I need the answer to my question first.”

  “What question?”

  He faced her. “Well, you’re not a virgin anymore.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “So your project’s technically finished, right?”

  Her stomach clenched with sudden anxiety. “You mean we could stop right here and never…make love again?”

  “That’s what I mean. I need to know if this is the end of the fun and games or not.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  He gave her a wry grin and gestured toward his groin. “I think that’s obvious.”

  “I’m talking about the long-term risk.” But as she spoke, she wondered if she fully understood the longterm risk. She’d been concerned about their families and people in town finding out. Maybe that wasn’t the biggest problem. After tonight she felt bonded to Mac in a way she’d never experienced before, and yet she’d have to break that bond at the end of the summer. The more they made love to each other, the stronger the bond would become.

  “I’m willing to accept the long-term risk,” Mac said quietly.

  A world of meaning lived in that statement, she thought. “And we’ll still be…friends?” She wondered if that was the most foolish risk of all. If they made love all summer, could they possibly continue to be just friends?

  His reply was soft and deliberate. “We’ll always be friends.”

  He looked magnificent standing there, she thought. No woman in her right mind would turn down the chance to spend the summer loving Mac, no matter what the consequences. “I wouldn’t want to lose your friendship,” she said.

  “You won’t.”

  “Promise?”

  He smiled. “I swear on the tomb of old King Tut, take a willow switch to my butt.”

  She took a deep breath. “Then I guess…” She paused and blushed. “I guess I’d like to expand my summer project and get more…experience.”

  His smile faded, and he gazed at her with that unfamiliar fire in his eyes. “Okay. Then that’s what we’ll do.” He started to put on his clothes.

  “Wait. I thought we were going to have—”

  “A quickie?” He pulled on his jeans and winced as he started buttoning his fly.

  “Well, yes.”

  He reached for his shirt. “If tonight had been the end of the road, we would have. In fact, I might have turned it into something a little longer than that.” He gazed at her as he buttoned his shirt. “But if we have all summer, then I don’t want to settle for a quickie.”

  She wanted him so much she trembled, but she swallowed the words that would have begged him to stay. Still, she couldn’t let him go without knowing when they’d make love again. Her hunger for his touch both startled her and warned her of the dangers ahead. “When are you…free again?” she asked. No matter how hard she tried, the neediness in her voice seeped through.

  He crossed to the bed and sat down. Leaning toward her, his shirt half fastened, he cupped her face in one hand. “Are you going to get all prissy and try to pretend you don’t want me so much you can’t see straight?”

  Of course he could read her like a book. She should have realized that. “I—”

  “Because that’s how much I want you. I’m practically blinded by how much I need you, how much I want to be inside you again. I don’t want to leave tonight, but we both know I have to, and the sooner I go, the easier it’ll be for both of us.” His thumb brushed her lower lip. “I want to see you again tomorrow night, and the night after that, and the night after that. Hell, I want to spend all summer here in your bedroom.”

  “You do?”

  “I can’t think of anything sweeter. But we have to watch it or we’ll make people suspicious. We need to wait a while before we get together again.”

  She moaned in frustration.

  “That’s better. At least you’re being honest about what you want.”

  She gazed into his eyes, helpless in the grip of passion. “I didn’t realize making love would be so…so good.”

  “It isn’t always.”

  “I figured that, from the cautionary tone of the books. The first time is supposed to be pretty awkward because the couple isn’t used to each other.”

  He caressed her cheek. “That’s where we have the advantage. We already know how the other one thinks.”

  “Maybe not completely. You see, I was afraid that familiarity would make me boring for you.”

  “Oh?” His eyebrows raised. �
�Why? Am I boring for you?”

  “No, but I’ve never done this before. You have.”

  “But not with you.”

  “So having sex with me is not boring?”

  He smiled. “Not by a long shot.”

  “Good.” She smiled back. “Then how about we do it again Tuesday night?”

  He shook his head. “Too soon. And Wednesday’s poker night. That should be quite a test, come to think of it.”

  “Mac, you’re torturing me.”

  “No more than I’m torturing myself. Listen, Thursday night’s a full moon. Let’s take a ride to the river.”

  Her pulse rate skyrocketed. “Am I supposed to wear a dress with nothing on underneath?”

  He grinned. “Good memory.”

  “As if I could ever forget that dream of yours!”

  “Well, I won’t ask you to do that. You’d be uncomfortable, and your hair’s too short for that particular fantasy, anyway.”

  “I could wear a wig.”

  His smile widened as he combed his fingers through her hair. “I like your hair the way it is. But you might wear as little as possible without making a big deal of it. And don’t worry about being thrown to the ground. I’ll bring a blanket. And a couple of towels.”

  “Towels?”

  “Ever gone skinny-dipping?”

  “Of course not. My brothers would have had a fit if they thought I was swimming nude in the river.” She gazed at him. “Have you?”

  “A time or two.”

  “With a girl?”

  “Maybe.”

  She was insanely jealous, but she didn’t want him to know. She glanced away. “It’s naive of me to think you wouldn’t have. Did you take them…down to our hideaway?”

  He guided her chin around until she had to look at him again. “Do you honestly think I would take someone else to our spot? To go skinny-dipping and…other stuff?”

  She hoped he wouldn’t, but she’d never asked him not to. “It’s a good spot.”

  “It’s our spot. I wouldn’t feel right taking someone else there. I’m insulted that you could even think such a thing.”

  “Oh, Mac.” She couldn’t help the happy smile she gave him. “I would have so hated you taking someone else there, even if you didn’t go skinny-dipping or have sex with her.”

  “I know. That’s why I’d never do that. But I want to make love to you there, on the sand. And maybe even in the water.”

  Her body moistened, imagining exactly that. “I don’t know if I can wait until Thursday night.”

  “Me, neither. But we don’t want to ruin everything. In the meantime…” He leaned closer and kissed her, his tongue taking firm possession of her mouth.

  She grew hot and dizzy from the suggestive movement of his lips and tongue and the memory of all the pleasure he’d given her. By the time he drew back, she was struggling for breath.

  “Come to the corral about seven-thirty Thursday night,” he murmured.

  “I will.” She tried to pull him back for another kiss, but he left the bed.

  His voice was hoarse. “I really have to go, or we’ll be tumbling around on that bed all night and we’ll both be in trouble.” He finished dressing. “I’ll see you Thursday night.”

  It seemed like an eternity, but she knew he was right. People were used to them doing things together, but not constantly. “Okay. Thursday night it is.”

  He started out of the room and turned back. “I suppose you’ll have to change the room, in case anybody shows up.”

  “I probably should. But I could put it back again sometime if you’d like.”

  “Oh, I’d like. We have some unfinished business in this room—something to do with silk ties and furry gloves.”

  She was going wild inside. “Mac, if you drove your truck down to the bar, and walked back, maybe we could—”

  “No.” He gripped the door frame as if to keep himself from walking back into the room. “Leaving is best. I don’t want anybody reporting my truck was at the bar all night, either. And there’s always the chance I’d be seen leaving your house in the early-morning hours.” He glanced at her. “If we really want this secret to keep all summer, then we have to be careful not to blow our cover.”

  She sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Aren’t I always?” He gave her a cocky grin.

  “No, you are not, you arrogant man!” She laughed and threw a pillow at him.

  He caught it in one hand. “Your aim’s off, Blakely. You must be out of practice. When was the last time you threw a baseball?”

  “I don’t know. Want to practice Thursday night instead?”

  “Not on your life.”

  “Then get out of here. I have more reading to do.”

  The comment had the desired effect, making the flame leap again in his eyes. “You really know how to get to a guy.”

  “I promise to tell you all about what I’ve read when we get together Thursday night.”

  “Want to bring a flashlight and a book along? We could glance over it together.”

  “Sure, why not? Sort of like reading comics together in the tent after dark.”

  He laughed. “Not even close. Oh, and by the way, congratulations on your new status.”

  “Thank you. I think I’m going to like it.”

  “I know I am. This is by far the best summer-project idea you’ve ever had.” With a wink, he walked down the hall.

  Tess listened until she heard the front door close. Then she got up and threw on a robe before walking down the hall. Maybe he’d change his mind and come back in, needing to hold her again as much as she needed to hold him.

  Unfortunately he really seemed to be leaving. After he slammed the truck door shut, the engine roared to life and the headlights flicked on. She automatically walked over and flashed the front-porch light, their goodbye signal. He flashed the headlights of his truck in return. Then he backed the truck down the driveway.

  She could hardly stand to have him go. He’d taken her from innocence to knowledge, and now she craved him with an intensity bordering on obsession. Maybe she would have felt this way about any man who had introduced her to the wonders of physical love, but she doubted it.

  For one thing, not any man would have known her well enough to make this such a mind-bending experience for her. Not any man would have had the tenderness and caring Mac had demonstrated every step of the way. And she couldn’t imagine any other man looking so beautiful in the act of love.

  As she stood in the living room listening to the fading sound of his truck’s engine, she discovered the fatal flaw of her great plan. If she couldn’t bear to have him leave after one night of lovemaking, what condition would she be in when the summer came to an end?

  12

  TESS WAS LOOKING for any distraction to get her through until Thursday night. When Hammer’s wife, Deena, called Tuesday morning to suggest a day at the community pool with whichever Blakely women and kids could make it, Tess jumped at the chance.

  Deena, a freckle-faced brunette who had been one of Tess’s best friends in high school, was a teacher’s aide. She had summers off, which was a schedule she intended to keep until five-year-old Jason and four-year-old Kimberly were older. Joan brought Sarah and Joe, and Cindy found somebody to work her shift at the auto-parts store so she could ease her pregnant self into the cool water. Only the newlywed Suzie, a bank teller, couldn’t get off.

  “And wouldn’t you know, she’s the one who looks the best in a bathing suit,” Deena said as the group of women staked out a corner of the fenced pool area with lawn chairs, beach towels and a cooler containing sandwiches and juice.

  “Oh, I don’t know that Suzie wins the bathing-suit competition,” Joan said. Like everyone else, she’d worn her suit under her T-shirt and shorts and was now stripping off her outer layer. “Tess is looking pretty buff in that red tank suit.”

  Tess glanced down at herself, suddenly self-conscious. “Hey, it’s the same old me.”


  “Maybe so,” Deena said. She grabbed Jason and swiped some sunscreen lotion on him. “But you’re looking real good, chick. Been working out or something?”

  “Nope.” She hoped she wasn’t blushing. Surely the fact that she was no longer a virgin didn’t show somehow. Inside she felt like a changed woman, but outside she must look exactly the same. Mac wasn’t that much of a miracle worker.

  “They’re right,” Cindy chimed in. “There’s a certain glow about you.” She laughed. “People say pregnant women get that, and I’m still waiting. Mostly I just feel fat.”

  “I think you’re all seeing things.” Tess felt desperate to get out of the spotlight. “Come on, kids! Who’s ready to go for a swim with Aunt Tess?”

  A chorus of me, me, me followed immediately.

  Tess had helped teach all of them to swim, and consequently they were all fish, even four-year-old Kimberly. Tess gazed down at their eager faces and felt a pang of regret. They would grow so fast while she was gone. She must remember to cherish days like today, and not count them as time-fillers until she could see Mac again. “Last one in’s a rotten egg!” she called, and leaped into the pool.

  Three hours later the women gathered their tired group together, put more sunscreen on pink noses and decided the perfect ending to the day would be treats all around at the Creamy Cone. Tess pulled on her shorts and sandals, ran her fingers through her hair and decided not to bother with the T-shirt. In the summertime, shorts worn over a bathing suit became almost a uniform for patrons at the Creamy Cone.

  Everyone piled into Joan’s minivan for the four-block trip, and on the way Tess sat in the back with the kids and led them through “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “I’m a Little Teapot.”

  “Carry me, Aunt Tess,” Kimberly begged when they arrived at the bustling ice-cream shop.

  “Too many cannonballs into the pool for you,” Tess said, hoisting the little girl out of her seat and propping her on her hip.

  “I like cannonballs,” Kimberly said, snuggling against Tess.