Staking His Claim(14)

She swallowed hard. "Yes, she whispered in submission, and his mouth fell on hers.

*

Elaina came back to the present and reached for a towel as she climbed from the bathtub. Had she gotten through to him? Had she made him understand?

Really, only time would tell.

As for herself; she knew, she wanted him. What they had was intense, and she was old enough to realize that what they shared might not ever come around in her lifetime again.

But it had to be right.

His masculinity was fearsome. There was no doubt that was what she found so exciting about him. But it was also what scared her the most.

She hoped and prayed it could work out. The sex had been addictive. Crazy. Crazy addictive. She could happily go her whole life with only him as a lover. If--

If they could find a happy medium.

Again, only time would tell.

Thank God, she had a lot of time to make it work.

*

Elaina spent the day cleaning up after the party alongside her aunt. Janie gave her several probing looks but never asked any questions.

It was still too new for her to talk about, so Elaina didn't offer any details.

They spent a pleasant day together regardless.

Her cell phone rang at six o'clock that evening and she answered on the second ring. She knew by the display it was Raul. "Hello?"

He cut to the chase. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, right now."

"Have you eaten?"

"No, not yet."

"I'll pick you up in twenty minutes."

His arrogance was inborn; she wasn't going to get him to change that. Besides, she wanted to go.

"Okay."

She was sitting on the porch swing waiting for him when he drove up.

He pushed the passenger door open from the inside and she stepped on the running board and up into the seat. She buckled and turned to him.

"Hey," she said softly.

He put the truck in reverse and looked over at her. "Hey."

"Where are we going?"

"You've got two choices--"

She cut in with a smile in her voice. "Mmm. Choices. I like it already."

He sniggered and ran his hand caressingly over her thigh. "Little shit."

"Me?" Her eyes cut to him flirtatiously, then away again. "Surely not."

His smile broadened in approval as he turned his eyes back to the road. "The diner in town or my house. I've got steaks we can grill."

"A real date?"

The truck came to the fork in the road and he stopped before turning onto the county road. "Would you like that?" His eyes radiated indulgence as he contemplated her mischievous mood.

"Yeah." Her eyes searched his playfully. "Can we go to the diner and then--" Her voice stalled.

"And then?" He lifted his hand and rubbed her silken chin between his fingers.

"And then--can we go parking?"

"Parking?" he almost choked on the word.

Their eyes tangled as incendiary heat flowed between them. "I've never been."

"Never?" he questioned her.

"No, never," she qualified.

He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. "Baby, if you're going to be so easy to please, I don't think we're going to have any worries at all."





CHAPTER ELEVEN


Elaina sat across from Raul in a booth at the only diner in town. Almost all of the tables around them were filled.

His eyes were hot on her face as they searched for hidden answers. His hand entwined hers on top on the table as he played with her small white fingers. "You okay today?"

Her eyes flew from watching the rough pads of his fingertips up to his heated, expectant expression. She knew what he was asking with that question. "I'm fine," she said quietly.

His hand compressed over hers. "You sure? No residual effects from last night?" His thumb stroked back and forth across her palm.

Elaina had the absurd notion she should be feeling embarrassment. But she wasn't. Arousal, immediate and all-consuming, slid through her veins and landed in a pool of heat between her thighs.

His eyes pierced hers and she saw the same arousal reflected in his expression as his jaw tensed visibly and his skin pulled taut over his cheekbones.

She sucked in a shaky breath. "Maybe a tiny bit--sore. But it's mostly gone now."

"You sure? You bled so much--Jesus, babe."

Elaina glanced quickly around to see if anyone was paying them any attention. She was relieved to find they were completely alone in their conversation. "Raul, please, be quiet. I'm sure it was normal."

"I guess so. I worried about you after I dropped you off."

"Don't you know so?"

"What?"

Now Elaina did feel the blush of embarrassment. "How much I bled," she whispered so softly she knew he would have a hard time hearing her. "Don't you know if it was normal?"

"No, I don't. Christ, wait--what are you asking me?" His eyes flared and his fingers entwined with hers, grasping her hand completely.

She remained silent as he studied her.

His voice was firm when he spoke. "I haven't had any virgins before you."

Pleasure, sharp and intense slid through her system. She was about to try to convey that emotion to him when her eyes looked past his to see the man coming up from behind him and toward her.

It was Mr. Reynolds, from the bank. He had a smile on his face and stopped in front of their table.

Elaina looked up at him and gave her best attempt at a smile as she retrieved her hand from Raul's. Had the banker heard Raul's last statement?

Mortification pierced her, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as the man moved on to the business at hand.

"Elaina, I've been trying to find the time to call. We want you to start on Monday if you're still interested in the job."

Surprise and pleasure lit her face as she began nodding her head. "Yes, sir! Thank you, that would be great." As exhilaration infiltrated her, she knew she needed to introduce the two men.

She was about to do just that when she realized it wasn't necessary. Mr. Reynolds had obviously only now discerned who she was with. He held his hand out to Raul for a handshake as his eyes darted between the two of them in inquiry.

"How are you, Raul?"

"Good. You?"

"Fine, just fine," the other man said as he looked like he was recovering from finding his newest employee having a tete-a-tete with the town's hard-nosed, yet most eligible bachelor.

Gossip was rampant around here and everyone would know they were seeing each other long before she showed up at work on Monday.

She thanked Mr. Reynolds and watched him walk away and pay his bill at the counter. She looked back at Raul and found his frowning attention fixed on her.

"I didn't know you were actively looking for a job."

"I was, I'm not anymore," she said with satisfaction in her voice.

His frown became a scowl. "Why do you want a job so bad?"

"I need a job."

"You don't need a job."

"Yes, I do! I can't leach off Janie and Brian forever," she said with a distinct chill.

Raul was about to respond when he thought better of it. She already looked about to come unglued on his ass. He could almost see the steam rising off her. He was irritated with her wanting a job, but he had enough brains to realize this was the kind of shit she was pissed about. The reaction he was trying to suppress was exactly why she wasn't comfortable with him.

He bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood and took her hand back in his again.

He gave her his best smile. "Fine, baby."

Elaina almost laughed out loud at the play of emotion streaking across Raul's face. Tension gripped his shoulders and he held himself so tightly he looked like he might snap. His face was twisted in a sad imitation of a smile that totally failed. She choked back the humor in the situation and focused on how he was attempting to respond. There was no telling what it was taking for him to back down. Pleasure spiked through her. He was trying.

She was going to give him this one.

She wasn't keeping score. She wasn't.

Still, an imaginary line went up in the chalkboard in her head.

One point for Raul.

*

The windows were foggy and her panties were hanging from one ankle. They were in the backseat of his truck and he was pulling her over him in a straddling position while he sat in the middle of the bench seat.

She thought parking meant petting. She was wrong. Evidently, it meant seducing her into going all the way.

She was semi-ashamed to admit to herself it wasn't taking much seducing.

She clenched her hands on his shoulders and tried to lower herself over him. "Mmm," she let out a tiny moan of anticipation as her legs shook with the effort of holding herself over him.

A drop of sweat dripped down his face and his control threatened to snap as he rasped out, "Hold still and let me get the condom on."

They were on a narrow dirt road at the back of his property. It was dark outside but there was just enough moonlight shining in for her to see what he was doing.

His erection pulsed thick and hard and ready. There was something incredibly sexy about seeing him holding his engorged penis while he rolled the condom down its length. She bit her lip and tried to push her torso closer.

"Baby, just--okay, now." His hands bit into her hips as he lifted her over him and began pushing up into her as his grasp on her silky skin pushed her down to meet him. He adjusted her legs, moved her minutely and then impaled her completely.

He sucked in a shuddering breath and threw his head back against the rear window as the fierce pleasure from their joining consumed him. The vibrations from her sharp inhalations reverberated through him. He expelled his breath as the provocative feel of the shiver that attacked her body flowed into him, from her sweet silky arms wrapped around his neck.