“What?” she whispered, holding her breath as she waited…waited…for him to kiss her.
“I don’t have to stop myself from doing this,” he said. Then his lips covered hers. Slowly, gently, he teased and coaxed her into responding. Abby didn’t need much encouragement. At the first touch of his lips against hers, Abby released the breath she’d been holding and leaned in, her hands tentatively sliding up his chest as she tilted her head back to return his kiss with interest. That was all the encouragement he needed and the kiss went from soft and coaxing to full out seduction. She felt one of his hands cup the back of her head, holding her in place so that his lips and tongue could ravish her own. It was glorious!
And over too soon.
“If we keep this up,” he growled, “we’ll never have dinner.”
Abby almost asked if they really needed dinner, but stopped herself. “Right.” Stepping back, she looked around, trying to remember what they were doing. Why were they in her apartment instead of heading out?
The gauze on the coffee table caught her attention and she grabbed it with both hands. “Um…if you’ll…” she stared at his tee shirt… “take off your shirt, I can…” she waved the gauze in the air.
“With pleasure,” he said teasingly, then pulled the navy tee shirt up and over his head.
Abby gasped when his chest and all of those rippling muscles were revealed. Would she ever get used to him like this? Probably not!
“Feel free to touch,” he stepped closer.
Abby closed her eyes, shaking her head with exasperation and…lust. Seriously, she needed to regain control of this situation. “Turn around, Zeke. Let me get this over with.”
“Take your time. I like having you touch me.”
He turned and sat down on the edge of her sofa, otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to reach him. For a long moment, she simply stared at him, admiring his wealth of muscles.
Finally, she carefully peeled away the bandage and was surprised to see how much the man had healed in just the past twenty-four hours. “It looks much better,” she announced. “You must be healthier than the average person. You’re healing better than normal.”
“I hope so. I’m ready to get these things out. They’re itching like crazy!”
She smiled. “I’m sure that you have the self-discipline to not scratch.”
“Most of the time. But it would help if you gave me something else to think about,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at her.
There was no way she could misinterpret his glance and she smiled. “Give yourself a couple more days, he-man. Then you can resume your normal activities.”
“Two more days, Abby. And then we’re working on an activity that is near and dear to my heart.”
Abby knew she should tell him that he shouldn’t make assumptions. But in truth, she was looking forward to that moment as much as he was. She was thoroughly sick of denying herself the pleasure of Zeke and these little teasing touches on his back made it difficult to sleep.
“No comment?” he asked, looking up at her.
She suppressed a shiver, and shook her head. “None.”
He stood up and had her in his arms before she knew what had happened. “Damn, Abby!” he groaned, his hands sliding up her back again. They crept around to the front, but he stopped himself before his hands could become too intimate.
Leaning his forehead against hers, he looked into her eyes. “You can’t say things like that. Not yet. Wait until you’ll let me follow through.”
“Okay,” she replied, breathless and more turned on than she’d thought possible. He pulled her hips against his, grinding his teeth as he fought for control. She even felt his fingers tightening around her waist and inched closer.
“Abby!” he groaned again. “You’re killing me!”
She laughed, feeling powerful. Little Abby Fisher could actually make a man as big and powerful as Zeke Jeffers shiver with desire! What a power trip!
“Oh, you think this is funny?” he asked, shifting so that she was pressed firmly against him.
“Um…maybe I should finish your back first, so we can get out of here. This is getting…dangerous.”
He sighed, kissed her forehead, and nodded. “I agree. But no more of those soft, sexy touches, Abby. I can’t handle it. Just…smear the goop on me and then slap another bandage over the stitches. Then we’ll get out of here.”
Order given, he turned around and sat back down on the arm of her sofa.
With brisk efficiency, Abby smoothed the antibacterial ointment over his wound, and carefully bandaged everything back up. “There. All done.”
Zeke grabbed his shirt and pulled it back over his head, tugging it back into place as he stood up and faced her. “Okay, we need to get out of here.” And with that, he took her hand in his and drew her to the front door. He barely gave her time to grab her purse and keys.
“What’s the rush?” she asked, a bit breathlessly as she followed him down the stairs to his truck.
“I can’t be this close to you and a bed at the same time, Abby,” he explained as they approached his truck. He leaned in close, pressing her back against the cab. “I know that you need more time, time to get used to what’s happening between us. So instead of tempting fate, and my self-discipline, we need to get away from temptation. Because you…” he glanced down at her sweater set and Abby suddenly realized that his hands were underneath the sweater, stroking her bare skin. “Honey, you’re temptation personified!”
He gave her a quick, hard kiss and pulled her into his arms just long enough to open the door to his truck. Abby eyed the tall truck hesitatingly. His truck was just like him - big! Instead of making an undignified entrance into the cab of the truck, Zeke took matters into his own hands and simply lifted her up, placing her gently into the passenger seat.
With a wink, he slammed the door closed, then walked around to the driver’s side. When he pulled himself into the seat, he looked at her with an expression that dared her to be angry with his efficiency.
“Just drive,” she ordered, laughing.
Twenty minutes later, Abby was completely lost. She had no idea where he was taking her. For all she knew of this area, he could be taking her to a swamp to bury her alive.
She didn’t think that was the case at all. In fact, she felt safer with Zeke than she did in her own home behind a locked door. Looking at him, she suspected that Zeke could take on Superman and come out the winner!
“Where are we?” she asked when he pulled into a small area that wasn’t really a parking lot. It was more just a small space between the trees and shrubs.
“It’s a spot I found about a year ago when I was jogging.”
She looked around, the road was probably four miles behind them. “You were jogging this far out?”
“Yeah. It’s only about ten miles to this point. But it’s worth it. Trust me.” He came to a stop and turned off the engine. With that, he reached behind his seat and grabbed two bags.
“That’s a pretty long run,” she commented, squinting into the distance. “How long does it take you to get this far?”
He walked around to her side of the truck and opened the door. “Want me to carry you?”