Wild Fire (The Fairy Tale Match Series) (7 page)

Liquid fire raced through Laura,
making her gasp. Jake’s tongue slipped into her mouth, stroking the fire to a
raging inferno. Laura had never in her life left such desire, never been kissed
with such passion and abandon. She’d never felt need like this burning through
her with her ex, Brad. His kisses had been nice, but she’d sometimes caught
herself thinking of other things, like new recipes she wanted to try out. With
Jake, she felt consumed, drunk on passion she’d never known she had in her.

Her arms crept around his neck and
she clung tightly to his shoulders, moulding her burning body to his. She
needed more. She needed to feel her skin next to his. Laura felt frightened by
the intensity of the experience. She was aching, burning up in a fever she instinctively
knew only Jake could satisfy. Her heart lurched as she realised she was falling
for this man. How could this happen when she barely knew him?

Confused, Laura pulled back, gasping
for air. Jake gazed at her, his breath coming hard and fast. Neither knew what
to say. Jake had never felt such a raging need to possess a woman in his life.
Not even Victoria. That thought frightened him. He’d thought he wouldn’t live
past her betrayal and she’d never touched him as deeply as this. Did he dare
get close to Laura, when this one brief kiss already threatened dire
consequences if it all went wrong?

Laura disengaged herself from Jake’s
lap and sat on the grass a few feet away. Her face burned with her
embarrassment. She’d never been in such an awkward position. She glanced at
Jake, wondering what he must think of the whole escapade.

“I’m sorry Laura,” Jake said quietly,
not looking in her direction.

“You have nothing to apologise for. I
was the one that initiated that.” She waved her hand vaguely in the air, her
face heating up even more.

“You were distraught from what
happened. It’s only natural that you would want someone to comfort you. I
shouldn’t have taken advantage. It won’t happen again.” Laura didn’t like the
finality she heard in his voice. Sure, the intensity of the kiss had frightened
her at first, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to explore the attraction
she felt for him.

“Don’t you think we should talk about
this?” she asked him, puzzled by his attitude.

“What is there to say? It was a
mistake. End of discussion.”

“But Jake, we have to ask ourselves
why it happened. Obviously we must feel something for each other for it to have
even been a possibility. After all, we were matched up by……” Laura stopped
short at the expression on Jake’s face. He looked like he’d been chewing on
nails.

“Don’t get any ideas Laura. You said
you were happy to be here as Kerry’s friend and that you wouldn’t be pursuing
me in any romantic way. I am sorry if I have given you a false impression by
kissing you, but let me make things absolutely clear. I have no intention of
starting a relationship with you or anyone else. I am not what you are looking
for. Is that clear?”

Laura nodded mutely. She really
didn’t know what to make of Jake. One moment he was kissing the breath out of
her, the next he was pushing her away. She felt confused and empty. How could
he not feel how special and amazing their kiss had been? She certainly had
never experienced anything like it and was sure she never would again. How
could he not want to explore that?

“Good. Let’s just forget the incident
ever happened.” Jake rose to his feet and walked to the two horses standing
together a short distance away. He gently rubbed his hands over the tired out
animals, checking for injury.

Laura watched him, feeling the sudden
need to weep. She didn’t want to forget that kiss. In fact, she realised she
very much wanted it to happen again. Once had certainly not been enough.
Something about this man touched her deeply. The yearning she felt for him was
far more than simple lust; it was soul deep. He drew her to him on every level.
She realised that The Fairy Tale Match had indeed found her the perfect man.
The only problem was she wasn’t at all sure he felt the same way. Even if he
did, he appeared to be reluctant to allow his heart to get involved with
someone.

She knew something bad had happened
in his past. It seemed obvious it involved a past relationship. Somehow, she
needed to find out what had happened. Careful questioning of Bill and Kerry
could help her piece things together. If she could only know what stood in the
way, she might be able to find a way to break down Jake’s walls. The kiss
they’d shared gave her hope. He’d seemed to be as affected as she was. She
couldn’t have imagined his response. Her experience was limited to be truthful,
but even she couldn’t have got that wrong!

Her mind made up, Laura got to her
feet and dusted off her trousers. Somehow she was going to win Jake’s heart.
She felt better with the decision made, knowing she had just under three weeks
to achieve it. She didn’t want her fees back, she wanted the love part of the
deal and she aimed to get it.

She walked slowly over to Jake,
keeping a good distance from the horses. “Are they okay?” she asked.

“They’re fine,” he replied, picking
up their reins and walking the horses towards her. Laura stepped back as he
approached, nervously clasping her hands together in front of her body like a
shield. Jake noticed. He lifted one dark brow. “You do know we are going to
have to ride back to the ranch, don’t you?”

“No way!” Laura stated firmly,
backing even further away from the two innocent looking monsters. “I have no
intention of ever getting back on a horse again. Once was quite enough, I
assure you.”

“It will be perfectly safe, I promise
you.” Jake held his hand out, trying to coerce her into coming closer. She
wouldn’t have it, shaking her head stubbornly. “Laura, it’s too far back to the
ranch from here without using the horses. It would take us hours on foot.”

“Don’t you have a phone with you? We
could call for someone to come and pick me up.” She looked at him hopefully.

“My phone is back at the ranch. I
wasn’t really expecting to need it this afternoon. Unless you had the foresight
to bring one with you, we’re stuck with two options; riding or walking. I opt
for riding.”

Laura scrunched up her nose in
irritation. She hadn’t thought to bring her phone. The stupid thing was sitting
on her dressing table where she’d left it; totally useless to her. Why, oh why
hadn’t she thought to pick it up? She eyed Daisy, who now appeared completely
docile. But then, she’d looked harmless enough before.

“I don’t know, Jake.” She bit her lip
in indecision. “I’m not really happy to ride. Not straight after what
happened.”

“I’ll be leading Daisy,” he promised.
“I’ll have hold of her reins the entire time. She won’t be able to bolt again.
Trust me?”

“Can’t I ride with you?” she asked
hopefully. “I’ve read books and seen films where they ride double. I’d feel
safer.”

“It’s a lot more weight for one horse
to carry. They are both tired out from the run. I would much prefer not to
overload one of them when there are two them here we can use.” He also wouldn’t
admit that having her share a saddle with him was too much for him to take.
Especially after a kiss that he was sure left scorch marks on the ground where
they’d been sitting. No, this way was safer for him! “I won’t let anything
happen to you,” he said persuasively, holding his hand out to her again.

She looked into his eyes. In truth,
she did trust him. Taking a deep breath, she nodded her consent. He smiled at
her and suddenly the risk was worth it. When he looked at her like that, she
was sure she couldn’t refuse him anything.

She moved hesitantly nearer the
horse. Jake gave her leg up onto Daisy’s back. Laura immediately gripped the
saddle, her whole body feeling frozen in fear. She held her breath, but Daisy
didn’t even twitch. Keeping hold of the reins, Jake climbed onto the back of
his horse. He started them towards the ranch at a nice easy pace, glancing at
Laura to make sure she was okay.

“How you doing?” he asked her.

She smiled with trembling lips and
gave him a thumbs up. “All things considered, not bad.”

“Try to relax in the saddle,” Jake
said a few moments later, after studying her frozen form and death grip on the
saddle.

She looked at him incredulous.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“If you stay in that stiff position,
you won’t be able to move when we get back. Let yourself find your balance and
flow with the movement of the horse.” He indicated his own relaxed stance and
fluid motion as he moved with his horse’s body. They were like one being in perfect
harmony with each other.

Laura glared at Jake. “You’ve been
riding for years. I have had one horrible moment on a horse that I will never
forget. There is no way I am letting go of this saddle! I’ll fall.”

“No you won’t. Come on Laura, where
is the courage of the woman that joined a dating agency and flew half way
across the world by herself to meet someone she didn’t know?” He gave her a
small grin, making her stomach do flip flops. “Surely that woman can let
herself relax and go with the flow of a horse?”

He was challenging her. Her pride
simply wouldn’t let her give in to her fear in front of him. Slowly she began
to relax her body. The bouncing became smoother. Jake talked her gently through
adjusting her body’s position until she found herself moving with Daisy’s
rhythm. He continued his patient instruction and slowly Laura began to lose
some of her fear.

“Do you think you could forgive Daisy
and maybe keep learning to ride? It would be a shame for this to stop you. You
seemed so enthusiastic about the idea last night. I can assure you, she isn’t
usually like this. I can’t imagine what got into her. I don’t think I’ve even
seen her trot, let alone run before.” He shook his head in amazement. “I still
can’t believe she jumped fences.”

“Don’t remind me!” Laura shuddered.
She looked at Jake, her mind quickly jumping on the possibilities. “Would you
teach me? I’d feel so much safer with you.” She smiled her best, most
persuasive smile.

“I don’t know. I have a lot on at the
moment. I’m not sure I’ll get the time.” Jake wasn’t sure he wanted to spend
that much time with Laura. After today, he was even more determined to keep his
distance.

“Please Jake. If you taught me, I
think I’d be able to do it. You’ve already helped me in just this short space
of time. I already feel more confident. I can’t imagine being able to learn
with anyone else now.”

Jake tried to harden his heart
against her, but found it impossible to deny her request. “Fine, but I won’t be
able to teach you every day.”

She gave a happy squeal of
excitement, then clung to Daisy’s saddle again in fright when the horse snorted
in response. Jake laughed. He couldn’t stop himself. The expression on her face
was too funny for words. For the first time in years, he let out a full rich
laugh from deep in his belly. Laura glared at him in indignation, but it only
made Jake laugh harder. She looked too adorable for words. It took him some
time before he got himself under control. He finally sobered up, wiping tears
from his cheeks. He breathed in deep. It felt good to laugh again. He hadn’t
realised how much he’d needed it. Maybe spending time with Laura wasn’t such a
terrible idea after all.

Watching him, Laura felt another
little piece of her heart turn over to Jake. Heaven help her but she knew she
was falling in love with him. She only hoped he would feel the same way about
her given a little time.

They rode in silence the rest of the way
back to the ranch, each buried in their own thoughts. At last they sighted the
school and made their way to the stables. Kerry, Bill and Walter all rushed to meet
them, talking all at once.

“We’re fine,” Jake called out,
holding his hand up for silence. “The horses aren’t injured, but they will need
a good drink, brushing down and some food.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Bill said,
taking their reins. “I am so sorry Laura,” he told her, looking up at her with
worried eyes. “I never expected Daisy to do something like that. She never has
before. It’s a good thing Jake acted so fast.”

“Please don’t worry, Bill,” Laura
rushed to assure him. “It was just an unfortunate incident. It was nobody’s
fault.”

Walter sidled up to her, reaching up
to help her from Daisy’s back. “We were all so worried about you,” he remarked
as he lifted her down, bringing her far closer to his own body than was
necessary, his hands lingering at her waist. “I tried to follow you, but my
horse was playing up today too. Must be something in the water.” He leaned
closer, his warm breath tickling her cheek as he spoke into her ear. “You have
no idea how happy I am to see you unharmed.”

“Thank you Walter,” she said softly,
untangling herself from his grasp. Luckily Kerry stepped in and practically
elbowed Walter out the way. She wrapped an arm around Laura. “We must get you
inside. You poor thing. What you need right now is a long hot bath. I’ll run
you one in the main bathroom.” She dragged Laura away, still talking at top
speed.

Walter went to follow them, but Jake
stepped in the way. His eyes bored into Walter, not giving him an inch.