Rules of Protection (Tangled in Texas) (Volume 1) (9 page)

“That’s his name. Dog.”

I gave Jake a strange look, then stepped over Dog. “Your aunt and uncle aren’t very original.”

Jake ignored me, opened the door, and flipped on a light switch. He held the door while I ducked under his arm and into the small cottage. “Home sweet home,” he said. “I take it you decided to stay?”

I couldn’t speak or move. I had expected less-than-perfect conditions, but the cottage was primitive at best. It obviously hadn’t been used in some time and needed a facelift. The linoleum had cracks, the flowery wallpaper had peeled, and a yellow love seat with large brown flowers sat in the small living room. The room was clean—depending on your definition of clean—but I did spy a cobweb hanging in the corner of the living room. It was enough to give me the heebie-jeebies.

Jake steered me toward the bedroom where a double bed, covered by a quilt and decorated with green floral throw pillows, filled up most of the room. It would be like sleeping in a closet.

“So what are the sleeping arrangements?” I asked.

“You’re looking at it,” Jake said casually. “This is where we’ll sleep.”

“
We?
You’re not French, and I doubt you have a mouse in your pocket.”

“Nope, none in my pocket. But I’m sure you can find one hiding under the bed or in the closet if you look hard enough.”

Jeez. Like the spider wasn’t bad enough? I had to worry about mice, too. “Yah, we’re sharing a toddler bed,” I said sarcastically.

“Hank and Floss know we aren’t a couple, but other people would wonder why I’m sleeping apart from my girlfriend. We’re not teenagers. If I’m not nearby, I can’t keep an eye out. We need to stay low-key, and I need to closely monitor the situation…or namely, you.”

“What other people? We’re out in the middle of nowhere.”

“The neighbors stop by from time to time. I don’t want anyone questioning our relationship. No one would believe I brought a woman home with me for a visit unless we’re sleeping together.”

I let out a sharp breath. “Fine, but we need to establish some bedtime rules. Otherwise, it could create more tension.”

“Yeah, there’s not enough of
that
between us,” Jake said.

Okay, I didn’t mind sharing a bed with Jake. In fact, my skin heated and my heart raced at the thought. But after he called me a spoiled brat, I wouldn’t dare let him know I liked the idea of sleeping in the same bed as him.

“If you want, you can go first,” he offered, pointing to the bathroom door. “Don’t lock the door.”

I grabbed some clothes and dashed into the bathroom. The water smelled funny, like rust or iron, but I stood under the blast of hot liquid, letting it pour over me as my sore, achy muscles loosened. I dried off with a ratty towel, dressed, and then tried to brush my teeth. I used the word tried loosely. I couldn’t do it.

“Jake, I’m having a small crisis. I can’t brush my teeth using this smelly water. It’s…gross.”

“You’ll get used to it,” he replied, brushing me off.

“I’m serious. Help me, or I’m not brushing my teeth the rest of the time we’re here. And don’t try to tell me it’s not your problem, because if I accidentally turn over in the middle of the night and breathe on you, it will become your problem.”

He rolled his eyes and walked out. A moment later, he returned with a bottle of drinking water. “Here, use this to brush your teeth with.”

“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”

“So I’ve heard.” Jake pulled off his T-shirt and unbuttoned his jeans.

“If you’ll give me a minute, I’m nearly done.”

“You’ve seen it before,” he said, dropping his jeans.

I tried not to look—tried being the key word—while he dropped his underwear and stepped into the tub. Not much privacy in a one-bedroom cottage, but him showing his body to me freely, without sharing, was going to be a problem. It made me wonder how firm he stood on his no sex policy…among other things.

My body drooped tiredly into the mattress. No television to occupy my time. I sat there waiting for him. Okay, so I hoped to get another peek. Sue me.

When Jake came out a few minutes later, he was shirtless and his jeans rested low on his hips. Water droplets spotted his back, and his muscles gleamed from the slick dampness of smooth skin. After putting on his shirt and shoes, we headed out the door.

“He’s got to be dead,” I told Jake, looking back at the lifeless white figure still lying on the porch. “I forgot he was there and accidentally stepped on his tail, but he still didn’t move.”

“Must not have hurt,” Jake said.

I followed Jake across the driveway and up a trail of stepping stones in the dark, not knowing where we were going until I spotted Hank sitting in a plastic lawn chair next to a glowing fire. A two-foot tall stone border trimmed the outside of the burn pit, keeping the fire and ashes contained. Jake pulled up two more chairs for us as his uncle kicked a red ice chest over to us.

Jake cut his eyes over to me. “Emily, you want a beer?”

“Does a bear shit in the woods?” I said, watching Hank smirk. Jake twisted the top off my bottle and handed it to me. “Where’s your wife, Mr. Miller?”

“Floss is upstairs grabbing some insect repellent. And, young lady, unless you want me to turn you over my knee, you’ll call me Hank. You hear?”

I studied Hank’s face, watching for signs of humor, but there weren’t any, just a straight-lined mouth and serious eyes glaring back at me. Once I decided it wasn’t an empty threat, I nodded solemnly, which made Jake take a turn smirking. What was up with the men in his family wanting to spank me?

“What’s burning?” I asked. “It doesn’t look like wood.”

“It’s not,” Hank said. “It’s a bag of garbage from inside the house. We don’t get trash pick-up way out here. We separate our trash into three containers: burnable, unburnable, and glass. We recycle the glass, but once a month we haul the unburnable to a landfill.”

“Oh,” was all I could say. I tried not to make a face, but no wonder the smoke smelled weird. Who knows what all was in there? It was a trash can fire, and had it been contained in a barrel, we would’ve resembled a bunch of hobos.

A crackling noise directly behind me caught my attention. An electrical bug zapper with a blue, eerie glow hung from a small pole. It made a faint buzzing sound. Another bug flew into it, making it crackle, sizzle, and spit bug parts back out in all directions.

I ran my hand through the back of my hair, hoping I wouldn’t feel anything resembling bug guts. Then I moved my chair.

Jake tried to stop me. “Emily, you might want to stay between the fire and the bug zapper if you want to keep the mosquitoes from eating you alive.”

“I’m moving over here a little,” I said, although my “little” was about ten feet away.

Once I was away from the fire, I could feel the slight breeze. How Jake could wear jeans and sit close to the heat was beyond me. He had to be hot. Hell, I was, and all I had on was a pair of shorts and a tank top.

Hank and Jake talked between themselves as I deposited myself back into my chair. I tuned them out and closed my eyes, listening to the sounds around me. Locusts buzzed, crickets chirped, and frogs croaked, lulling me into a trance. The most peaceful moment I’d had in the last few days.

A sudden stinging sensation nipped at my ankle. Not bothering to look, I reached down and slapped it away. Something bit my arm and I swatted at that, too. Then another and another. I jumped up, quickly checking my itchy legs, and realized mosquitoes swarmed me, launching a full-blown attack. For every one I killed, five more would take a bite out of me.

All the stomping, kicking, and slapping I did must’ve loosely resembled the German folk dance performed at Oktoberfest, because Jake busted into hysterics. Hank wasn’t far behind him, but I wasn’t amused. My legs would’ve been better protected if I had worn lederhosen.

Floss showed up and sprayed my arms and legs with a cool mist of insect repellent. “There you go, honey. It should help, but sit closer to the fire to keep the little buggers off you.” She then sprayed Hank and Jake as well.

I moved my chair back to Jake’s side and sat, crossing my arms. He had stopped laughing, but I wished he’d wipe the stupid grin off his face. We reeked of insect repellent, had bug guts thrown at us, and our skin and clothes were soaking up trash smoke. I leaned over and whispered, “What did we take showers for?”

He tipped his beer at me. “Welcome to country living.”

…

An hour later, I cowardly clung to Jake’s side as we made our way back to the cottage.

“For Pete’s sake, Emily, they aren’t going to hurt you.”

“If you didn’t want me to hang onto you, then you should’ve let me keep thinking they were birds.”

“Newsflash: birds don’t fly around at night, unless they’re owls. When was the last time you saw a robin or a sparrow after dark? Bats swoop over the lights and eat the insects.”

We stepped over Dog and made our way inside the cottage. I headed straight for the shower. I tousled my wet hair with a towel as I came out.

Jake sat on the edge of the bed. “Feel better?” he asked.

“Yep.”

He pointed to the spot next to him on the bed. “Sit.”

“You could ask me politely. Do you expect me to obey your every command?”

“Yes. Now sit.”

“Tarzan usually beats his chest,” I said, walking past him.

Jake caught me by the arm and pulled me down next to him. He grabbed my ankles, shifting my legs into his lap, which made me fall onto my back. “I don’t know why you have to be difficult.”

Something cold touched my leg. “What are you doing?”

“I’m putting some medicine on your mosquito bites. Otherwise, you’ll be scratching them all night in your sleep.”

I propped myself up on my elbows. “I can do it myself.”

“It’s easier and faster if I do it,” Jake said, rubbing another spot with a cold salve-laden finger. “Lay back. I want to get between your thighs.”

My whole body tensed, making Jake’s fingers stop. I looked at him, and he looked at me. We waited for the awkward moment of double meaning to pass. No doubt we were both still harboring sexual feelings toward each other and thinking the same thing, but I sensed his hesitation. He wasn’t going to give in to temptation. At least not tonight.

Jake’s finger dabbed my skin again as I lay back and closed my eyes. His light touch was torturously teasing, causing shivers to run the length of my body.

“Cold?”

“No, ticklish.” And, apparently, easily aroused.

When he finished with my legs, he worked on my arms. “Okay, I’m done,” Jake said. “I’m going to take a quick shower before bed. You don’t have to wait up.”

As usual, Jake left the bathroom door open. I slipped into the bed and closed my eyes. I tried to slide down the ladder of unconsciousness and into the black hole of slumber, but I got caught in the rungs. The light didn’t bother me. The sound of running water didn’t bother me. No, what bothered me was the naked man in the bathroom who refused to have sex with me but would soon be crawling into the same bed.

Yep. That was it. Jake definitely bothered me.

…

I woke up shivering.

The window unit must’ve been really something, since I’d stolen most of the quilt from Jake, but was still as cold as an ice sculpture. The room wasn’t chilly when I went to bed, which meant he knocked the air conditioner down to…oh, I don’t know, below freezing. Good thing I didn’t have to pee or I would’ve had to acquire a mush team to go to the bathroom and back.

Jake slept diagonally and commandeered an unreasonable chunk of the bed, probably to keep his feet from hanging off the end. He must’ve moved his leg closer because his toes were suddenly touching mine. They were warm, and the small amount of heat felt heavenly against my icicled nubs.

Quietly, I scooted toward him, hoping to soak up some of his thermal energy, but it wasn’t enough. The warmth his body generated wasn’t permeating my skin the way I’d hoped. I wasn’t close enough.

His back was to me, and I could hear him breathing evenly. I reached over with my cold hand and lightly touched his back. I half expected him to jump with surprise or at least flinch away from my cool fingers, but he didn’t. Actually, I jerked back, surprised by the feverish heat of Jake’s skin. It felt pleasant under my slight touch, and I ached for more of his delicious warmth. I scooted closer until my entire body pressed against his back.

“Emily, we talked about this,” Jake said, stirring from his slumber.

“You’re awake?”

He groaned sleepily. “Wasn’t that the point?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I already told you we can’t. It’s against the rules.”

“Can’t?” I paused in confusion. “Oh, wait. You thought I was trying to have sex with you?” I couldn’t help but giggle. “Boy, are you
way
off!”

Jake wasn’t amused. “Then what were you doing?”

“I’m cold.”

“And…?”

“I poached your body heat, nothing more sinister than that. Besides, you had your chance with me and turned me down flat, remember? I doubt you’ll ever get another. I don’t take rejection well.”

“No!
You
?” Jake said with a sarcastic tone.

“Hey, I tried to keep from waking you. It’s not my fault if you got the wrong idea.”

“You snuggled up to my back and squished your breasts against me.”

“So?”

“Like you said, you were cold. In the future, you might want to consider wearing a bra to bed.” Jake turned his head to the side, as if he were trying to look at me. “Turn over,” he ordered.

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

I rolled over onto my back, while Jake flipped over to face me. He grabbed my hip and shifted me onto my side until I faced away from him. Then he wrapped his arm around my waist and slid me back into him until we were in a spooning position. His heat swaddled me.

Jake settled in behind me, getting comfortable, and his hips ground across my bottom. That’s when I noticed the elephant in the room. Actually, it wasn’t an elephant, more like the elephant’s trunk, but nevertheless, it was present and demanding attention.

For a moment, we both lay motionless.