Cautious Lover Read Online Free PDF

forward and yanked the jacket out of her hands, replacing it in the closet. "Stop chattering at me like that. I'm not driving anywhere in this damn fog. I couldn't see my way out to the car, let alone see the white line on the road."
    Despairingly, Elly realized he was right. It had been her own agitation that had made her try to push him out of her home. The truth was she was trapped with him, perhaps until morning. Earlier the prospect had seemed an inviting one. Now it held only uncertainty and a nameless fear.
    She had to get hold of herself. Taking a deep breath, Elly stalked across the room and picked up the brandy glass she had set down on the table beside the sofa. The fiery liquid trickling down her throat was a welcome and distinctly reviving sensation.
    "I could use another drink, myself." Jess's voice was a low growl as he crossed the room and poured himself more brandy. He stood with his feet planted wide apart, one hand on his hips and downed a healthy swallow.
    Elly eyed him covertly, thinking he looked very pagan. She wished he would put on his shirt. Belatedly she reached down and picked it up, handing it to him. "Here. You're probably cold from running around outside without any clothes on."
    Surprisingly her grumbling comment brought a twist of humor to his mouth. "I wasn't exactly naked." Nevertheless, he put on the shirt, not bothering to button it. He swirled the brandy in his glass for a couple of reflective moments, and then he looked up, meeting Elly's wary gaze. "Sit down, honey. I can see I've got some explaining to do."
    She looked away. "You've made it clear it's none of my business."
    "Yeah, well, knowing it's none of your business doesn't seem to have satisfied you. So sit down, Elly . I'll give you the whole, sordid tale."
    "I don't know if I want to hear—"
    "Sit down, damn it!"
    Elly's mouth tightened resentfully, but she surrendered to the inevitable and took a seat. Jess sighed and walked over to stand in front of the fireplace. Bracing himself against the mantle with one fist, he took another swallow of brandy and began talking in a low, curiously detached tone of voice. Elly had never heard him sound so distant.
    "I met Marina Carrington a few years ago. I was thirty-two at the time and had the world in the palm of my hand. I had proven to myself that I was going to be a success in business, and I knew that I was going to be a hell of a lot more successful before I reached forty. I hadn't figured out at that point that I didn't really want to be on the fast track for the rest of my life. That realization came much later. At the time I looked around and thought it all looked pretty damned good. The sky seemed to be the limit. But something was missing."
    Elly slanted him a derisive glance. "The love of a good woman?"
    Jess shook his head. "Nothing that simple."
    "Simple!"
    He ignored the outburst. "When Marina swept into my life I knew right away what I'd been missing. Excitement. In capital letters. It's very seductive at first, maybe even addictive."
    "Excitement?"
    "That shot of adrenaline only a creature like Marina can give you. It's sexual and it's very exhilarating. A man never knows what's going to happen next, but he knows it's going to be wild. He feels as if he's standing with one foot on the planet and one about to step off into outer space. When I was thirty-three it was pretty heady stuff. Completely outside my normal realm of experience. You've got to understand, Elly . I had gotten where I was by a lot of hard work, ambition and self-control. Marina came along and turned everything upside down."
    Elly looked down at her clasped hands. "I see."
    Jess glanced at her, frowning. "I'm trying to explain something, Elly . Something that's hard to put into words. Marina was the kind of woman who, when she walked into a room, immediately had the attention of everyone there. She generated some kind of elemental excitement."
    "Lots of feminine charisma, I gather," Elly said