9781618850676UnchainedMelodyHunter (9 page)

“Thank
you.” Annalise closed her phone. Everything was fine. Her house was secure and
no harm done. So why did she still feel uneasy? Oh, well. She would worry about
it later. Right now she had Ethan on the brain.

She
tapped lightly on the door and in only seconds Ethan himself let her in. Before
she knew what was happening, he leaned in and placed his lips at the corner of
her mouth in greeting—a soft, sweet kiss. It took everything she possessed to
keep from turning her head the fraction it would have taken for their lips to
meet completely. He took her by the hand and led her through the front room
into their private living area. Annalise admired the tasteful decorations,
someone had lovingly turned this place into a home. How wonderful it would have
been to make this house a home for him, to prepare his meals, to care for his
clothes, to please him in bed. Mentally she shook herself; she had to maintain
control her very sanity depended on it.

She
could hear jovial male laughter coming from the kitchen and that is where Ethan
led her. Alex, whom she had met earlier, was slicing a loaf of garlic bread. The
younger brother, Bobby, was setting a very attractive table. These three men
appeared to have no need for a woman’s touch. The Stewart men exhibited
excellent taste. When they walked into the room, the other two brothers stopped
what they were doing to look at her. Ethan had not turned her hand loose. He
made the formal introductions. “Alex, Bobby, this is Lise Evans, uh, Ramsey. Lise
these are my little brothers.” Both men came over and solemnly shook the hand
she had to pry from Ethan’s grip.

“It’s
wonderful to meet you both,” Annalise spoke sincerely.

The
meal was stupendous, but the company was better. Soon the room was full of
laughter. “You should see these old ladies lust after Ethan. When he walks by
they act as if a Greek god just stepped down from Mount Olympus. But he is
totally oblivious.” Annalise did not doubt it for a moment. Alex regaled them
with other tales of the unwanted female attention Ethan received from all of
the Red Hat ladies that tended to flock to
Lost Maples
. Bobby entertained them with stories about UT’s
famous football coach, Mack Brown, and the legendary quarterback, Colt McCoy. Annalise
and Ethan shared amusing antidotes about their miniature dachshunds and their
peculiar, precious habits.

Bobby
was so taken with Annalise and the change that had come over his normally sad
older brother he spoke up without thinking. “This is great! We haven’t laughed
this much since before Ethan married Francine.” All grew quiet.

Annalise
couldn’t help but be surprised. She placed her hand over the place where the
scar from the fishhook still showed plainly on her breast. That was the only
scar she hoped would never fade. “You married Francine?” A niggling doubt and a
faded memory were trying to push its way to the forefront. For the moment she
ignored it. This news topped even Ethan’s revelation of the missed phone call
and made the identity of his ex-wife that much more devastating.

There
was no condemnation in
Annalise’s
voice,
nevertheless, for a moment Ethan paled at her question. “Yeah…not the smartest
move I ever made.”

“You
can say that again,” Bobby chimed in. Alex punched his brother, who grunted
from the blow.

Annalise
attempted to place everyone at ease. “Francine is a beautiful woman.”

“She’s
not as pretty as you are,” Bobby was having trouble keeping his mouth closed.

“There
are many kinds of pretty, Bobby,” Annalise explained. “There is sophisticated,
elegant beauty and then there is pleasant attractiveness.”

“More
correctly, there is the cool beauty of a marble statue and then there is the
warm, giving, sexy beauty of a real woman.” Ethan’s soft words sent shivers
down her back.

Alex
got up. “Bobby, let’s take the dog for a walk and run a check on the cabins.”

“We
already did that,” Bobby protested.

“Let’s
do it again.” Alex pulled his brother to his feet and Ethan and Annalise were
left alone.

“Lise,
my marriage to Francine was the worst mistake I ever made.” He left his seat
and came to kneel by her chair.

Unwillingly,
her hand strayed to his soft, dark hair. She couldn’t resist soothing him as
best she could. “She was determined to have you, Ethan. It was only a matter of
time; you never really had a choice in the matter.”

“It
wouldn’t have happened if you had been here.”

“What
ifs will drive us crazy, Ethan.” His hand came up and rubbed her knee in slow,
soft circles. She got up and walked away, needing to put distance between them.

Desperate,
thinking quickly, he decided to try another tactic.

“Will
you go out to dinner with me tomorrow? Just dinner—that’s all I ask.”

“I
don’t know, Ethan.” What would it accomplish—just more torture for her.

He
might be sorry, but he just had to know. “Have I changed, Lise? Do you still
find me sexually attractive? Don’t you want me anymore?”

She
couldn’t believe the question. “What?” He must be kidding. The problem wasn’t
with him it lay with her. “Ethan, you are much more handsome now than you were
before and you were delectable then.”

Delectable,
huh? That had to be good. He continued to push the envelope. “But are you
physically attracted to me, now, tonight?”

Annalise
bowed her head and shut her eyes. She stood up and walked to the back door of
the kitchen. She knew that a path from the door led directly to her cabin. He
stood up to follow her. She pointed one small finger at him. “Stay right where
you are. I will answer you, but you must promise me something.” He didn’t
answer her. “Promise!” she demanded.

“Okay,
anything.” He had to know.

“I
will answer you and then I am walking out of here—you cannot follow me. I have
to be by myself for just a little while. My emotions are in complete tatters. I
need to think. Do you promise?” Her face was flushed, her breathing erratic.

He
thought she was the most beautiful thing God had ever created. “I will promise
not to follow you, if you will promise to have dinner with me tomorrow.” He was
beginning to enjoy this.

She
conceded, exasperated. “All right, I will have dinner with you.”

“So,
answer me. Are you physically attracted to me? Do you remember what it was like
making love with me? Do you still want me, Lise?”

A
look of anguish came over her face that totally threw him for a loop. But her
answer was music to his ears. “Yes, I find you more attractive than any man I
have ever met. I remember every detail of every time we made love. I have
relived it in my mind and in my fantasies, every facet of the incredible hours
we shared, over and over again. And yes, I want you so much it hurts. I ache
for you. I am starved for you, but—that’s where it must end. I don’t intend—I
cannot allow myself to do anything about it.” With that amazing revelation, she
was gone.

Ethan
was smiling. “Well, we’ll just see about that, won’t we?”

Chapter Four

Annalise
flew back to the cabin, running as if the devil himself were chasing her. When
she finally got the key in the door, she entered, slammed it shut, locked it
and even engaged the dead bolt. She slid down the door and sat on the floor. If
he came after her now, she didn’t think she would have the strength to reject
him. Why did she said those things she? She knew why, because they were true!
Oh, God they were true! All of the longing was still there. And now, she had
foolishly promised to go out to dinner with him. How could she sit across from
him and pretend everything was normal?

 
Tiny came toddling across the floor to her. He
had woke up and now he was taking a step, stopping to stretch his back legs
behind him, then yawning a yawn big enough to fit over a bowling ball. When he
finally made it to her, she picked him up and held him tight. He protested with
small grunts. “Oh, Tiny, what am I going to do? I love him so much, I always
have.”

After
a few minutes, she calmed down enough to get up. She went to the bedroom, put
on her nightclothes and dared to open the laptop to see what would happen. Amazingly,
the trauma she had just endured dynamited the logjam in her brain and the words
began to flow again. She poured all of the longing and all of the joy of being
in Ethan’s presence into the story and soon the cowboy and Jenna were animated
and alive. They were fighting, but at least they were talking. As usual, the
storyline and the characters filled the lonely hours and she wrote feverishly
until the sun came up.

* * * *

Ethan
escaped to his room before his brothers returned from walking Mojo. He didn’t
feel like answering any of their curious questions. All he could think about
was Lise was here! Right here. The terrible accident that had separated them
was just that—an accident. She had not wanted to leave him. He could deal with that.
It was over and she seemed to be just fine. He, on the other hand, wasn’t. His
body was screaming for hers. He had lain in bed and remembered what she had
said—that she relived every detail of their lovemaking over and over again. He
found himself doing the same thing; as well as imagining what it would be like
to go over to her cabin right now and slowly undress her for his eager eyes and
hands; touch her soft, silky skin, caress her tender breasts, spread her creamy
thighs and taste her passion.

Damn!
He rolled over on his stomach, his huge, aching penis alive with longing. His
hips flexed slightly, allowing his shaft to rub against the sheets. He bit the
pillow in frustration. God, he needed a woman! Not any woman, he needed the
woman who had looked at him tonight and told him she was starved for him…for
him!

He
forced himself to lie still and allow his breathing to return to normal. There
was no doubt he had a bad case of blue balls. Hopefully, he had not done any
permanent damage to himself. Tonight, again, he had been sorely tempted to
stroke himself to satisfaction, picturing Lise lying on her back anxious to
feel him push his hungry cock deep within her heat. But he had denied himself. He
swore he next time he came; it would be deep in the warm, welcoming body of
Lise Evans.

* * * *

Annalise
had not been asleep very long, when a persistent knocking on the door forced
her eyes to open. Tiny was going crazy. She dragged herself out of the bed and
sleepily made her way to the door. She failed to rouse herself enough to
remember to put on her robe. When she opened the door, Ethan was standing
there; gorgeous, with big broad shoulders, a chest so wide and muscled her
palms itched to mold themselves over his bulging pecs and then down over his
abs and even lower. She realized her mouth was open and her eyes had drifted
much lower on his body than she would ever be able to explain.

He
eased by her and shut the door, so no one could possibly pass by and hear what
he had to say to her. “Good morning, sweetheart. I’m glad there’s no one else
here but the two of us. Your neck is flushed, your nipples are hard and you
have the biggest, brownest pair of bedroom eyes I have ever seen.”

Annalise
crossed her arms over her breasts and hung her head.

“Oh,
don’t do that, babe. You are the sexiest woman I have ever seen in my life and
all you have to do is say the word and I’ll set this tray down, pick you up in
my arms and love you until you beg for me to—don’t stop.” He voice was low and
seductive.

“Excuse
me.” She turned and went back to the bedroom and retrieved her robe, slipping
into it and into a pair of white slippers. “I’m sorry to come to the door like that;
I’ve only been in the bed for a couple of hours. I was able to write all
night.”

“What
a waste of the dark, Lise. I can remember when we used to enjoy each other all
night long.” She took the tray from his hands and carried it to the bar in the
kitchen. She could feel him following her. When she set it down, he was
directly behind her. There was no way she could move to the right or to the
left, he had placed a broad, tanned hand on either side of the bar. She backed
up an inestimable fraction of an inch and her whole body caught fire. He was
there, a mountain of a man, completely overshadowing her, touching her from the
crown of her head, which rested under his chin, to the soft round curve of her
buttocks, which right now were pressing up against the wide, hard ridge of his
rock-hard penis. She let out a shuddering breath.

“Ethan,
please, there are things you don’t know.”

“You
told me everything I needed to know last night. You want me, Lise. Your entire
body is crying out for mine. I can feel it, baby.”

“I
can’t deny it, but I am begging you to please, please back up.” He did as she
asked, he backed up an inch or two and she made her escape. She stepped about
three feet away and turned around. Her breathing was ragged. His face was
unreadable.