never thought of him, that she didn’t want him—her body’s reaction to his statement exposed her as a liar.
She was dressed in casual jeans and a fitted T-shirt, and her nipples strained against the white cotton top as her breaths came out on shallow pants. Her cheeks flushed a soft rose, and when her eyes sparkled with lust, her tongue slipping out to moisten her lips, Jeff had to bite back a groan.
“Thank you, but I… I will be fine here,” Teresa finally replied, and he did not mistake the nervous stammering of her voice, nor the cause of it.
Jeff was not a patient man, but he’d been forced to proceed cautiously with Teresa. He wanted to push her, insist that she stay for the night, but he didn’t.
Teresa obviously feared her desire for him, she feared she would soon surrender to him…and he was determined that she would. Pushing her on this would only earn him another stubborn refusal, so he decided to let it be.
“Suit yourself. But the offer still stands.”
Teresa nodded in response, her gaze shadowing him when he turned to leave. She frowned at his retreating back. It was not like Jeff to yield so easily, actually quite the opposite. She’d expected him to push and prod her on this point, but he hadn’t, which came as a surprise…but it shouldn’t have. Or rather, she should have known he’d been quick to give in because he figured he would get what he wanted in the end.
It was that notion alone which fuelled Teresa’s stubborn refusal later that evening to simply pack it in and accept that Jeff had been right.
The approaching storm promised to be every bit as brutal as the forecasts had promised. The full brunt of the storm was still a ways away and already wind whipped her cheeks, snaring tendrils of her hair from her ponytail to splay the wisps across her face. It was the dead of summer so the rain pelting her skin wasn’t biting cold, but the flurry of the drops hammering against her stung as she struggled to board up her first floor windows.
She should have done this sooner, but after a gruelling day in the stables—one that had started earlier than usual—she’d been exhausted.
The harsh peal of thunder abruptly broke through her thoughts, and she all but jumped at the sound. The force of the rumbling was so intense she could feel the vibrations through her entire body. Eventually, the quaking stopped and the air around her calmed, but the quiet didn’t even last a minute. When it thundered again, she didn’t jump this time. Instead, Teresa scowled up at the grey clouds darkening the sky as if they were her worst enemy. Right now, they were. Her nap was only supposed to have lasted an hour, but obviously she’d overslept, so now she was rushing around trying to do what should have been done hours ago, and this damn storm was slowing her down. She should have asked the men to help her, but she’d sent them home early so they could take care of their own families before the storm came.
So just ask for help.
That niggling, nagging inner voice of hers kept whispering at her to simply set her pride aside and call the Downing brothers for help… before the telephone lines went out as the electricity had just done.
Despite the fact that she could really use the help, Teresa had managed to ignore that voice only because every time she thought she would cave in and call Jeff Downing, the image of him would flicker before her—sinfully handsome and wickedly arrogant. It wasn’t the vision alone which halted her, but her body’s reaction to the twinkling gleam in his eyes and that smug grin.
My offer still stands.
She bet it did, but she’d be damned if she entered that lion’s den. Teresa knew exactly what would happen if she found herself alone with Jeff Downing at Cottonmouth Ranch—she knew exactly what Jeff Downing would do to her, just as she knew she wouldn’t have the willpower to stop him.
Another angry blast of thunder hurried her pace as she hammered another
She was dressed in casual jeans and a fitted T-shirt, and her nipples strained against the white cotton top as her breaths came out on shallow pants. Her cheeks flushed a soft rose, and when her eyes sparkled with lust, her tongue slipping out to moisten her lips, Jeff had to bite back a groan.
“Thank you, but I… I will be fine here,” Teresa finally replied, and he did not mistake the nervous stammering of her voice, nor the cause of it.
Jeff was not a patient man, but he’d been forced to proceed cautiously with Teresa. He wanted to push her, insist that she stay for the night, but he didn’t.
Teresa obviously feared her desire for him, she feared she would soon surrender to him…and he was determined that she would. Pushing her on this would only earn him another stubborn refusal, so he decided to let it be.
“Suit yourself. But the offer still stands.”
Teresa nodded in response, her gaze shadowing him when he turned to leave. She frowned at his retreating back. It was not like Jeff to yield so easily, actually quite the opposite. She’d expected him to push and prod her on this point, but he hadn’t, which came as a surprise…but it shouldn’t have. Or rather, she should have known he’d been quick to give in because he figured he would get what he wanted in the end.
It was that notion alone which fuelled Teresa’s stubborn refusal later that evening to simply pack it in and accept that Jeff had been right.
The approaching storm promised to be every bit as brutal as the forecasts had promised. The full brunt of the storm was still a ways away and already wind whipped her cheeks, snaring tendrils of her hair from her ponytail to splay the wisps across her face. It was the dead of summer so the rain pelting her skin wasn’t biting cold, but the flurry of the drops hammering against her stung as she struggled to board up her first floor windows.
She should have done this sooner, but after a gruelling day in the stables—one that had started earlier than usual—she’d been exhausted.
The harsh peal of thunder abruptly broke through her thoughts, and she all but jumped at the sound. The force of the rumbling was so intense she could feel the vibrations through her entire body. Eventually, the quaking stopped and the air around her calmed, but the quiet didn’t even last a minute. When it thundered again, she didn’t jump this time. Instead, Teresa scowled up at the grey clouds darkening the sky as if they were her worst enemy. Right now, they were. Her nap was only supposed to have lasted an hour, but obviously she’d overslept, so now she was rushing around trying to do what should have been done hours ago, and this damn storm was slowing her down. She should have asked the men to help her, but she’d sent them home early so they could take care of their own families before the storm came.
So just ask for help.
That niggling, nagging inner voice of hers kept whispering at her to simply set her pride aside and call the Downing brothers for help… before the telephone lines went out as the electricity had just done.
Despite the fact that she could really use the help, Teresa had managed to ignore that voice only because every time she thought she would cave in and call Jeff Downing, the image of him would flicker before her—sinfully handsome and wickedly arrogant. It wasn’t the vision alone which halted her, but her body’s reaction to the twinkling gleam in his eyes and that smug grin.
My offer still stands.
She bet it did, but she’d be damned if she entered that lion’s den. Teresa knew exactly what would happen if she found herself alone with Jeff Downing at Cottonmouth Ranch—she knew exactly what Jeff Downing would do to her, just as she knew she wouldn’t have the willpower to stop him.
Another angry blast of thunder hurried her pace as she hammered another
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