by Arianna Hart
“I won’t push yet, but it’s only a matter of time,” Jared threatened as he stormed out of the living room.
Macayla took a deep breath once Jared was out of the room. Her hands were shaking and her blood was still hot. If Jared had known how close she was to begging, she would be mortified. She had never felt such intensity in her life. Granted she wasn’t exactly experienced, but she wasn’t a virgin either.
She tried to analyze why she kept backing off. Whenever Macayla had a problem, she thought it to death. Samara always said she was so successful at anything she set her mind to because she beat any problem to smithereens by pummeling it with a barrage of logic. Macayla knew she sometimes over-analyzed things, but she didn’t like to make mistakes. Better to think a situation through than jump in and make a huge mistake.
Macayla’s only other relationship was a huge mistake from the start; only she was too stubborn to give it up. She had been thinking a lot about Joe lately. It was probably a side effect of having Jared around. She hadn’t had a relationship in eight years, and she had told herself she didn’t need one either.
Maybe she was a little gun shy now that she had been on her own for so long.
It had taken her years to get over the physical and mental abuse she had taken from Joe. She knew in her head that Jared wasn’t like Joe in the way he treated women. She could tell from the way he behaved around Samara and baby Caitlyn that he wasn’t abusive, but she was still nervous. The man radiated danger and strength like some kind of cologne. She knew that he had been in the military with Connor, and that he had combat training as well. There was an awful lot she didn’t know about him though.
Perhaps when she knew more about him as a person she could feel comfortable enough to be with him as a woman. God knew she wanted him as badly as he said. The constant raging of her hormones was enough to make her teeth itch. He was right; it was only a matter of time before they ended this dance. Macayla just wanted to be the one to change the tune.
Taking a deep breath Macayla steeled herself to face Jared; she hoped he didn’t hold a grudge.
“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes if you want to wash up first. I’ll set it out on the table in front of the fire.”
“Okay, I’ll only be a minute.” Jared looked like he had pulled himself together. His face no longer had the pained expression on it, nor did it have the thunderclouds of moments ago. Macayla hated the feeling of walking on thin ice, but it was better than fighting all the time.
Dinner was a quiet, stilted affair with little conversation. Jared was stone silent, and Macayla was trying not to bring up anything that would get him upset. After the dinner dishes had been cleared, Macayla left Jared to the cleaning and retired to the bedroom. She didn’t know how she was going to get any sleep with Jared in the bed next to her; the tension was so thick you could practically cut it.
She washed her face and changed into her nightgown before getting some of her medical journals to read in bed. She wasn’t a big TV watcher, but even if she was they didn’t have any TV service where they were anyway. She could either sit in the living room with the still brooding Jared, or read in bed. Reading in bed won, hands down.
Macayla was deep into an article on repeat caesarian sections when Jared came through the door to their room. She looked up as he passed her on his way to the bathroom. That man really was too good looking for her peace of mind. For the first few nights they were both so tired from the trip and Jared’s wounds they both were asleep in minutes. Somehow Macayla didn’t think she’d be so lucky tonight. When Jared came back from brushing his teeth, he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his tiny bed.
“I can turn out the light if it bothers you,” Macayla said trying not to goggle at his almost naked body.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve learned to sleep anywhere, through anything. I’ll be fine.” Jared twisted and turned, trying to find a comfortable position in the twin bed.
“Okay. I’m almost done with this article anyway.” Macayla watched him as he tried to crunch his huge frame into the bed. His feet kept banging the footboard or his head smacked against the headboard. It couldn’t be comfortable.
“Jared, don’t you think this is silly. Just go into the bigger bed. You’ll be more comfortable and heal faster.”
“I’ll go if you go with me,” Jared said stubbornly.
“Fat chance. Go ahead and suffer than, but don’t say I didn’t make the offer. I’m done reading. Good night.” Macayla shut out the light by her bed and rolled over on her side away from Jared.
She could feel his eyes trying to pierce the darkness to her, but she didn’t care. He had no idea how stubborn she could be. The more he tried to push her, the harder she was going to dig in, and if he thought she was going to take pity on him and move into the same bed just so he would be more comfortable, he was sorely mistaken. With the ease of someone who was used to catching sleep in hospital lounges, Macayla fell asleep in minutes.
Jared was so keyed into Macayla that he knew the second she drifted off into sleep. He wasn’t the least bit sleepy. He tended to do most of his work at night anyway. After pausing to make sure she was really asleep, Jared slipped back into his jeans and went into the living room to work on his computer by the fire. He might be stuck in the woods, but that didn’t mean he had to be completely out of the loop.
He made himself some coffee and got to work tracking the whereabouts of Shaun Hints. The challenge of going against someone of equal talent was stimulating enough for him to forgo the coffee, but old habits died hard. Four hours later, he hadn’t gotten so much as a glimmer of his location. It was frustrating, but fascinating at the same time.
He loved pitting himself against someone of this caliber. Unfortunately, he still had a long way to go before he could find more on Hints, and his battery needed to be charged. He should have done it that afternoon, but he didn’t want to send up any flags for Macayla. Working around her wasn’t going to be easy. She was intelligent, observant, and wasn’t afraid to call him on anything. If she thought he was holding back on her, she’d hit the roof.
Jared took the charging cord out of his briefcase and went into the room next to the one he shared with Macayla. He plugged the computer in there, and figured he could unplug it tomorrow when he went in to use the shower. Now he needed some sleep, although how much sleep he was going to get in that tiny bed was anybody’s guess. When he crept into the room, he could see that Macayla had kicked the covers off one leg and her enormous nightgown had ridden up to bottom of her naked derrière.
Maybe the time he was spending in a purgatory of his own making would balance out when he died. He slid under the covers and tried to ignore the woman next to him. Yes indeed, he was earning credits for heaven that was for sure.
Chapter Eleven
Macayla woke up with the sun. She stretched and got up with a spring in her step. Her head automatically turned to her roommate who was sprawled across his little bed. Macayla fit into the twin bed with room to spare, Jared could use some of her extra space.
He was lying on his stomach diagonally across the bed; he hadn’t bothered with the blankets or pajamas for that matter. Macayla got a long look at his almost naked body, there were definitely worse ways to wake up in the morning. His face was turned away from her, so she had nothing to distract her from the virility of his body.
She couldn’t believe any one man could be so sexy even asleep. It seemed like it would only be fair for him to bottle some of that sexiness and hand it out to other men less fortunate than himself. Sometimes Macayla wondered what was wrong with her. This drop dead gorgeous man wanted to sleep with her.
After his kisses she knew he was experienced enough to make her enjoy herself even if he wasn’t seriously easy on the eyes. Why couldn’t she just let herself go and enjoy the experience? What was the worst thing that could happen? She could fall in love with him and he would leave her to go on his merry way.
Okay, that was
pretty bad. Maybe she wasn’t so stupid after all.
Macayla did everything intensely, there was no “I’ll just enjoy the physical part of the relationship and we can part as friends.” That wasn’t her style. The only other person she had slept with she had been engaged too. Granted she was only nineteen at the time, but she honestly believed she would be with him forever, otherwise she wouldn’t have lost her virginity to him in the first place. She didn’t consider herself old fashioned, but she did feel that intimacy was emotional as well as physical. There was no way she could sleep with Jared without losing her heart.
She had a feeling she was fighting a losing battle with her heart as it was, but there was no need to concede the war. Macayla quietly left the room wondering if the battle to keep her heart whole was worse than recovering from a broken one. As she put the coffee on she noticed that the pot wasn’t how she had left it last night. Jared must have made some coffee after she went to bed.
At least he was considerate enough to clean up after himself. Macayla was actually amazed at how neat he really was. He hung towels up, put clothes in the hamper in the bathroom, did the dishes, and put things away after he used them. Must have something to do with living with just his mother for so long.
Kevin was probably neater than others his age after living with her during his formative years. The last thing she felt like doing after cleaning all night and going to classes was cleaning up after a teenage boy. Jared’s mom must have felt the same way.
Whatever the reason, she was glad for it. She didn’t mind cooking and helping out, but she was no longer a maid, and didn’t intend to resume her previous career. Macayla took her coffee and wandered around the house, she wanted to see what was downstairs and hadn’t had the chance to do so yet. Well, no time like the present, she took her steaming mug and went down the stairs.
Macayla didn’t know what she had expected, a dingy cellar perhaps, or maybe a storage area. What she wasn’t expecting was the gleaming home gym complete with full size punching bag and mirrored wall that took up the entire area under the house. Macayla’s day immediately perked up. There was now something she could do to not only fill some of the empty hours she had ahead of her, but also burn off some of the frustrated energy Jared was creating in her.
Macayla jogged upstairs and put her coffee in the sink, then ran to the bedroom to change into some shorts and a tee shirt. After tying her sneakers tightly, she ran back downstairs to the beautiful, sparkling gym. She didn’t know where to begin, she wanted to try everything at once. She decided to do some warming up and stretching first, then she would decide.
After doing her warm-ups she felt a little winded, and realized she had been neglecting her workouts for too long. That made her decision a little easier; she would do a cardio workout on the bag today, then a weight lifting workout tomorrow.
The equipment took up most of the space in the cellar, so there wasn’t much room to practice her karate, but she could make some room upstairs in the living room, it would be pretty big if she moved the couch and some of the tables closer to the fireplace. She would worry about that later, for now she had to find some music.
She found a CD player, and after a little searching in the drawer below it, found a classic rock CD to work out to. She also found a box of condoms in there. Apparently, Connor’s friend used this workout room for more than one purpose. She pushed that thought out of her head.
Making sure the volume wasn’t loud enough to wake Jared, Macayla put on the boxing gloves she found, and got to work punching and kicking the heavy bag. After half an hour of that she switched to sit ups, push ups, and leg strengthening exercises.
She was out of breath and sweaty when she finished, but she felt better than she had in days. There was nothing like forty-five minutes of mindless exercise to take care of stress. Pounding on a punching bag didn’t hurt either. Turning off the stereo, she put the boxing gloves away and turned around as a towel was tossed in her face.
“Pretty impressive Red, but tell me, who were you beating up?” Jared asked with a grin.
“Gee, I don’t know, you perhaps?”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me? Here, have some water, you need to re-hydrate after that workout.”
“Thanks.” Macayla didn’t bother to point out that she was not only an intelligent woman, but also a doctor and knew she needed water after a workout. She was grateful for the water so she decided to keep her mouth shut. “I’m going to head up to the shower, than I’ll make you some breakfast.”
“Don’t rush, I ate already. I have to say Red, you look as good hot and sweaty as I thought you would. Maybe even better,” Jared said eyeing Macayla’s glistening body. His eyes were so hot she was surprised all the sweat didn’t turn to steam.
Macayla had no response and fled by him up the stairs. His eyes had turned her knees to jelly, and sent heat flooding through her system. She wanted to blame her rapid breathing on the workout, but knew better.
Jared watched her fly up the stairs and didn’t try to stop her. He needed a minute to regroup himself. He woke up the minute he heard her turn on the music downstairs. He had seen the gym yesterday, but didn’t think anything of it other than it would be a great place to rehab when he finally got the staples out of his side.
When he heard the music coming from the gym he had been curious enough to get out of bed and take a look at what Macayla was up too. He didn’t need much sleep, a product of his time spent in the military, so it was no hardship to get up after being in bed approximately four hours.
Any lingering exhaustion was soon dispelled as he watched Macayla work out. Her long legs kicked the heavy punching bag in a variety of kicks that impressed him with their height and strength. She was throwing her weight behind the punches and was probably going to be sore tomorrow.
When she ended her kicking and punching, and began doing sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and crunches Jared was amazed. He knew she was in good shape, now he realized she worked for it. And boy did it pay off. Her legs were muscled, yet smooth; her arms well formed, and her torso was flat with only a slight curving in her belly. She wasn’t sculpted like professional body builders, nor was she so muscled that her shape was flattened, she was shapely and feminine, and mouth-wateringly beautiful. She looked like a woman, not like a skinny boy.
Jared had been with many beautiful women once he finally came into his own, but none made him so glad he was a man as the little spitfire that he was presently gnashing his teeth over. He was certain if he could just relieve the ache she had lodged permanently in his groin he would get over this obsession he had with her.
No woman had ever placed herself so firmly into his thoughts. Part of him blamed it on their situation. After all, when she was the only woman around, it made sense that he’d be thinking about her all the time. The other part of his brain called him a damn liar. She had set up shop in his brain since the first day he met her, and it didn’t look like she was going away any time soon.
He didn’t understand it. She wasn’t the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, yes she was beautiful, but he’d slept with women who made their livings on runways and magazine covers across Europe. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was about her that kept him in a constant state of lust.
Maybe it was the fact that she didn’t know what effect she had on him. Or maybe it was the way that she took care of everyone around her, from him to Connor and his family, to her little brother, to her patients. Or maybe it was her smart mouth, God knows why he would find that attractive, but he did. There was something about this woman that he wanted, besides her delectable body, and he was going to keep after her until he not only figured out what it was, but also got it. With that resolved, Jared shut off the lights and climbed up stairs as well.
Jared climbed the stairs and poured himself some of the lukewarm coffee. He debated making breakfast for Macayla, but decided she would probably be too keyed up from her workout to eat now. He took his coffee and walk
ed out onto the porch. It was still chilly outside, there was mist coming off the ground floating up through the trees.
Where there was a break in the trees, a weak stream of sunlight shined through the mists giving the forest a golden glow. Jared grew up in Iowa; he had never spent so much time around this many trees. When he was in the military, he was in the jungles of South America, but that was nothing like the forests of Maine.
In South America the greenery was everywhere, vines fought with the trees and undergrowth for the light and water. Here there was the green of the pine trees, the browns of their trunks and the fallen needles littering the ground. He could hear the birds in the silence, and occasionally the man made noise of a plane flying by.
He was amazed at the sense of seclusion he felt in the cabin. He knew there was a trailer park that shared the forest, but if he hadn’t been given that information, he never would have known. Jared was by nature a loner. During his youth he was a loner because he never fit in. As he got older he stayed a loner by choice. There were very few people he trusted and called friends.
When he was working he quite often went weeks or even months without contact from the outside world. After he finished his job, he usually hit the town, more for female companionship than any need to interact with his fellow man. He considered those fleeting encounters as a way of filling a need, like eating or breathing, a necessary biological function. He figured he could spend the rest of his life in a place like this and never miss the outside world.
He was thinking that if Macayla were with him, he would never leave when the object of his thoughts joined him on the porch. She was dressed in jeans and a fuzzy black sweater; her hair was pulled back into her customary loose bun with tendrils springing around her face.
“You look awfully pensive.”
“I was just looking at the trees. They make you feel so cut off from civilization, even though it’s only a few miles to the nearest town.”
“I know. I guess that’s the point of a place like this, to get away from it all, yet not be inconvenienced. I think I would go crazy all by myself here.”