LEAP OF FAITH (5 page)

“I told you, I’m much better this morning,” Abby replied obstinately, although her hand remained immobile while the visions he’d presented danced through her head.

“Then why are you trembling?” he spoke softly. “Ah, I get it,” Jack said when she didn’t answer. “This isn’t about declaring your independence; it’s about what happened last night. Or rather, what
didn’t
happen last night.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped. “I’m glad nothing happened. It would have been a huge mistake for both of us.”

“You’re right about that.”

Abby could hardly fault him for agreeing with her, despite the irrational twinge of disappointment. Maybe she could blame her behavior on the bumpy ride up the mountain. She’d certainly hit her head on the roof of the jeep enough times; it was entirely possible she’d dislodged a few brain cells and hadn’t fully recovered yet.

“Look,” she sighed, “it’s embarrassing enough that I threw myself at you, particularly since you weren’t interested. Do we really need to dissect it too?”

“Abby, would you please let go of that blasted coffee pot and turn around so we can talk face to face.” Jack’s tone labeled it a command, not a request, which instantly incited rebellion.

“There is nothing to…” Abby gasped when she whirled around and discovered just how close he was. 

“I think there is,” he said, bracing his hands against the counter on either side of her, effectively cutting off any chance she had of turning away from him again. “
You
are one mule-headed woman, Abby Travis. Now give that pretty mouth a rest and let me say something.”

There was an indignant reply just dying to get out, but the words never made it past her lips. The way he was looking at her sent a jolt of sexual awareness from the top of her tingling scalp to the tips of her curling toes. Her eyes locked with his as Jack slowly lowered his head and brushed the lightest of kisses to her lips.

“I thought…you wanted to talk,” she said in a breathless whisper.

“Haven’t you heard?” He kissed her again, longer, harder. “Actions speak louder than words.”

Abby couldn’t have agreed more, and right now Jack’s actions were threatening to send her up in flames. The only part of him touching her was his lips, but the slow, sensual assault on her mouth had a ripple effect on her entire body. Nerve endings danced with sexual pleasure while her heart thundered inside her chest, the rising excitement an unstoppable force that grew stronger with each provocative sweep of his tongue. By the time Jack lifted his head, Abby had run through a plethora of emotions that left her even more confused than ever.

She looked up at him, searching his eyes. “Why did you do that?”

"Because I wanted to do it last night and couldn’t. Just hear me out first,” Jack said when she arched a disbelieving brow. "You have no idea how difficult it was to exercise that much restraint. If had gotten between the sheets with you…if I’d so much as given you a goodnight kiss, I wouldn’t have been able to stop there. Physically, you weren’t up to it, not when your muscles were so sore you could barely move.”

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Jack, I really do. It’s just that…well, it would have spared me considerable humiliation and buckets of self-recriminations if you had told me that last night. I mean, you must have
known
…” Abby bit down on her lip, a soft blush staining her cheeks.

“Known what; that you wanted me to make love to you? Yes, I knew,” he said when she nodded, “but I wanted to give you pleasure, not pain. Believe me, it was pure torture sleeping next to you, imagining all the things I wanted to do to you while trying to convince myself that waiting a few days wouldn’t kill me. Now I’m not so sure about that,” Jack said with a wry smile.

“No, you were right,” she conceded. “I only managed a few stretches this morning before my muscles started a full-scale riot.” At the moment, it was Abby’s heart that was rioting as she drank in Jack’s handsome face. “I’m not normally like that, you know. You may have a hard time believing this considering how I behaved last night, but I don’t make a habit of sleeping with men I barely know.”

“That thought never entered my mind. Even if we had acted upon the strong physical attraction we feel for each other, there is no reason to be ashamed of it, Abby. If the idea of sleeping with me when we’ve only just met bothers you, then I have a very simple solution.”

“And what would that be?”

“We spend some time getting to know one another better. Much,
much
better.”    

The sinful smile he angled at her detonated a round of sexually charged explosives that resonated through every sensitive nerve in Abby’s body. The kiss that followed was even more devastating; administered as it was with a tenderness that belied the fire of passion she’d seen smoldering in his eyes. It tugged at her heart to know Jack was deliberately holding back because he didn’t want to hurt her, and it was that gentle, caring side of his nature that touched her on an emotional level.

It had been a long time since Abby allowed herself to feel anything beyond a mild interest in a man. Jack Burton stirred a lot more than interest. All the years she’d spent guarding her heart, building a solid, impenetrable wall, brick by brick – he swept it all away with one deliciously slow, seductive kiss. It excited Abby, and it scared the hell out of her.

                                                             ***   

Three days and three nights; that’s how long Jack tortured her with kisses that offered glimpses of the erotic pleasures that awaited her. 

After breakfast that first morning, Jack coaxed her into going for a walk in the woods, insisting she would recuperate faster if her strained muscles received exercise. Of course, that meant he had to keep a firm arm around her waist so she didn’t stumble and fall, and frequent breaks were taken to ensure she didn’t overdo it. Abby enjoyed exploring the woods, but the real thrill occurred during the breaks, which usually began with Jack pointing out the flora and fauna surrounding them and inevitably ended with him pulling her close for a few stolen kisses.

In the afternoon, he’d helped put away the belongings she’d brought with her and then offered to familiarize Abby with the kitchen, although Jack had done all the cooking.  They’d eaten dinner on the deck, laughing and talking until long after the sun went down, and then wandered inside where Abby was ordered to sit and relax while Jack washed the dishes and put them away.

“I should go,” Jack said when he caught her attempting to stifle a yawn.

Tired as she was, Abby didn’t want him to leave. “We could…talk awhile longer if you like.”

Never in her life had she’d seen a sexier smile than the one Jack turned on her. Pin pricks of excitement rippled along her skin when he slipped his arms around her waist and drew her snuggly against his body.

“There are a lot of things I’d like to do with you right now, Miss Travis, but talking isn’t one of them. I am, however, a man of my word, which is why I’m going to kiss you good-night and go back to my cabin to take a long, cold shower.”

And that was exactly what he had done.     

The following day was much the same. Neither of them was very hungry so they opted for a light breakfast of toasted bagels and coffee and then took another leisurely stroll down well-worn paths in the woods. They discussed places they had traveled to, their favorite books, the type of music they enjoyed, and even got into a friendly dispute over which football teams were likely to be Super Bowl contenders. Growing up with five brothers had educated her on a variety of sports, although football was her favorite, and Abby had enjoyed sparring with Jack. It was only when she asked more personal questions about his past that she noted how practiced he was at side-stepping the subject.

Maybe it should have concerned her that Jack was deliberately being evasive, but it only served to intrigue her more. Besides, Abby told herself, even if she didn’t trust her own ability to see through any deceptions on Jack’s part, her father was an expert at accessing people’s character and she trusted his judgment implicitly. He never would have suggested she come here if there was any doubt in his mind that Jack Burton was a reliable, principled man worthy of his respect. And, given her past history of avoiding relationships, Sam Travis wouldn’t have had any reason to believe Abby would feel drawn to Jack as strongly as she was.

The storm of emotions he elicited in her was a mystery to Abby – one that she desperately wanted to explore further. Which was why her heart gave an excited flutter when Jack tapped on the sliding glass door the following morning and offered to make breakfast while she showered. Carefully unwrapping the bandages on her hands, he’d examined them closely before deciding it was best not to subject the partially healed wounds to hot water.

Abby stared at the damage she’d inflicted on her palms. Some of the blisters were engorged with liquid, but most of them had been broken open from the friction of the wooden axe handle. The ibuprofen she’d taken earlier had alleviated some of the pain, but exposing them to air made them prickle and throb simultaneously. Despite the appalling condition of her hands, the idea of going another day without bathing was a very unpleasant one.

“But…I have to bathe,” she’d protested. “We’ll both have to wear nose plugs if I go another day without washing.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he replied with a hint of a smile. “The forest is full of predators that would find your…gamey scent extremely alluring.”

“Your sensitivity to my predicament is overwhelming,” Abby shot back dryly, and then added, “You
were
joking about the predators, right?”

The response she received was a hearty laugh that made her insides quiver in a very disturbing way. Quelling it was no easy task either, especially after hesitantly agreeing that the simplest solution was to allow him to help her. Not that Abby was cavalier enough to put herself on display by stripping down to her bare essentials in front of him, which seemed silly considering how badly she wanted to entice him into peeling off
his
clothes.

“No shower, but you can take a nice, long soak in the tub,” he told her. “When you’re done, I’ll wash your hair.” The blank stare she leveled at him made Jack laugh again. “What I meant is that I would wash your hair in the kitchen sink.”

The wicked gleam in his eyes convinced Abby that she hadn’t misconstrued his offer. The wretched man was deliberately baiting her. Well, two can play at that game, Abby had thought, purposely letting her gaze linger on his lips.

“Too bad,” she’d told him with a casual shrug as she headed for the bathroom, “A thorough washing with a warm…soapy…cloth would have been immensely enjoyable.”

She didn’t have to see Jack’s expression to know her suggestive comment had extracted the desired response. The fact that he didn’t make any sound at all told Abby he was struggling to maintain his composure. With a satisfied smile, she closed the bathroom door behind her. Mindful of the wounds on her hands, Abby had taken her time undressing before sinking into the warm bath water with an appreciative sigh.

“If there is any justice in the world,” she’d mumbled to herself, “Jack Burton is suffering from an over abundance of blood rushing to a certain part of his anatomy at this very moment!”

Against Jack’s advice, she didn’t settle for a long soak. Using a wash cloth and liquid soap, Abby was careful not to apply too much pressure and chance opening up more blisters. Even so, the warm water quickly softened the partially healed wounds, making them tender to the touch. Although a good scrubbing would have been much more gratifying, Abby was content that at least she smelled better when she emerged from the bathroom. To avoid dealing with buttons and zippers, she opted to dress in a pair of light weight jogging pants and matching top, and joined Jack in the kitchen where she presented her palms with an unapologetic request to apply more antiseptic cream and fresh dressing.

Jack obliged in tight-lipped silence, his disapproval expressed only once with a clipped grunt when Abby’s hand jerked as he dabbed the ointment on a particularly sensitive spot. Biting her lip, she scolded herself but stubbornly refused to admit out loud that he’d been right about subjecting her hands to warm water. The rest of her body had taken less of a beating and seemed to be mending without any residual effects, save for a few lingering aches in her shoulders and thighs. It was her thundering heart that gave Abby cause for concern when Jack told her to lean over the kitchen sink, positioning himself a little too close for her peace of mind as his long, lean fingers massaged shampoo into her scalp.

How something as innocent as washing her hair could cause such a visceral reaction was unnerving to say the least. Did the man have a clue what he was doing to her? A groan of sheer agony locked in her throat when Jack insisted on blow drying her hair and brushing it out before they left for another walk in the woods. The man was positively toxic, and while she appreciated that he was being true to his word and taking the time to get to know her, Abby couldn’t help the twinges of disappointment that broad-sided her every time Jack passed up the opportunity to reestablish the physical closeness they’d shared that first night.  

After meandering through the woods for most of the morning with minimal contact except for a brief helping hand over a fallen tree branch, the sexual tension between them was snapping and popping like a live wire. In truth, Abby fully expected him to initiate intimacy in the form of a kiss, if nothing else, once they returned to the cabin. Anticipation slowly turned to confusion when Jack continued to keep his distance.