Page 14 of Unexpected Temptation

J aylen studied her profile. Everything about her was dainty and feminine. Her lips were full, her nose slender and straight, but it was her eyes that got him. It always felt like he’d been sucker-punched when she looked at him with those beautiful, expressive eyes.

He cleared his throat.

“Do you want to watch a movie? I’ve got stacks of them in the cabinets at the bottom of the bookshelves.”

Amelia shook her head.

“Maybe later, unless you do.”

“Do you know how to play poker?”

Amelia sat straighter, glanced at him, and shook her head.

Jaylen stood and walked to a cabinet, pulled out a deck of cards, and continued into the kitchen. Amelia watched him in confusion when he came back with a box of toothpicks.

“What are those for?”

“This is what we’re going to bet with.”

Her eyes brightened, and a smile grew.

Jaylen pulled the sofa table over in front of the fire and sat on the floor on one side.

“Have a seat,” he said.

Amelia set her cup down and slid to the floor opposite Jaylen. She watched him shuffle. He was very skillful at it, but his hands drew most of her attention. She cleared her throat.

“You’re very good at that.”

“I found it was something to do when I had some downtime at the base or here when it’s stormy like this, or we get snowed in. I go over to the food barn, and we’d sit around for hours playing cards.”

He explained the rules as he started to deal. “Now, the type of poker we’re going to play is Texas Hold’em, but we’ll use a five-card draw.”

Amelia chuckled and wrinkled her nose. “I have no idea what you just said.”

Jaylen chuckled. “You will. We’ll play a few hands so I can explain the game.”

She watched as he held his hand fanned out, facing him, and duplicated it as best she could.

“So, there are different kinds of poker?”

Jaylen explained a few of the different kinds and the rules of the game before they played a few practice hands. Amelia picked it up quickly.

Jaylen watched her face brighten, and he coughed to cover his need to laugh. She was about as transparent as a person could be. Managing a poker face was something she’d have to practice. A lot. He pushed several of his picks into the center.

“So, how many cards do you want, Sweetheart?”

“Three,” she said. She slid three of her cards over to him, and took the ones he gave her.

After a moment, Amelia counted out half of her toothpicks and pushed them into the center of the table.

Jaylen bit the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing again.

“Are you sure? That’s an awful lot of your toothpicks,” he asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.” She grinned and nodded.

“Well, hell. I can’t win with the cards I have,” Jaylen forced the words out as he tried not to chuckle. He’d never tell her he had four nines. Four of a kind beat just about everything else, but straight and royal flush.

Jaylen laid his cards facedown before he quickly mixed them into the deck. “You win.”

Amelia whooped and laid her card faceup on the table.

Just as he suspected, she had two jacks. His hand would have definitely beaten hers.

She pulled the picks from the middle of the table into a neat pile. “I like this game.”

Jaylen laughed and proceeded to shuffle again. He let her win some, but he hadn’t wanted her to get suspicious, so he won his own share.

They played most of the day, only stopping for lunch. He showed her how to make sandwiches and heat up canned soup. Ordinary things a regular citizen could do, but to someone who had never gotten the chance to cook, it was a whole new world.

****

A melia wanted to laugh and pat herself on the back. Her smile couldn’t have gotten any brighter, knowing she was learning to take care of herself. She also knew how to play poker and be in a caring relationship. She was able to learn to be independent and happy.

She’d grown up with her sister and mother’s voices in her head telling her how worthless she was. It was a feeling so deep-seated, it would take a long time, if ever, to overcome it. But she was taking steps to become a better person.

For dinner, Jaylen showed her how to make spaghetti.

It was trickier to learn than breakfast and lunch, but she knew she’d be able to do this also in the future.

Sometime, she would like to learn how to make homemade spaghetti sauce she’d seen on the cooking channels she liked to watch in her room.

The sauce looked better than the store version.

As she rinsed the washcloth out, Amelia turned to look at Jaylen as he put the last plate away.

“I’d like to get a few cookbooks during the trip to town after the road is passable.”

“Sure,” Jaylen said as he leaned back against the counter next to her. “It’s supposed to stop raining later tonight or early tomorrow. It will still take a day or two to dry out enough, and then we’ll go into town.”

She shivered.

“Let’s get by the fire.”

He waited until they relaxed back in the living room, with her in the chair by the fire and him on the sofa. He leaned back, stretched his legs out, crossed at the ankle, and interlocked his fingers over his abs.

“Are you still okay with us sharing the bed tonight?”

Amelia tore her gaze from the fire to stare at him. “I think so, if you’re okay with it?”

Jaylen smiled when a blush stained her cheek.

“Oh, I’m very okay with it.”

She cleared her throat and played with the end of his shirt she wore.

“But no sex, right?” she asked as she avoided looking at him.

“No sex.”

He bit back a smile as he studied her. She was concentrating on a shirt button while trying to muster the nerve to ask questions. She was so easy to read, it was charming.

She looked up and caught his gaze on her.

“Um ... so how will we sleep together ... like, right next to each other?”

Jaylen stood and added another log to the fire. He used the poker to adjust the log before sitting back down and studying her worried expression.

“Sweetheart, I don’t want you to worry about this. If we hold each other all night, it won’t make a difference. I know you’re not ready for sex, and I respect that. It doesn’t mean we can’t be affectionate with each other, does it?”

A relieved sigh escaped her throat before she shook her head.

“No, I guess not...” she stammered.

“Good. Now, do you want to play more cards?”

Amelia stared at him for a moment.

“Do you have things to do outside? You’ve been in here with me all day, and I know there are other horses out in the barn. I can look for a book if you don’t mind and read while you do your work, unless there’s something I can do to help?”

“I don’t want you outside. That rain is damn cold, and it takes you a while to thaw,” he said and chuckled. “I could go out and check on the horses, and I should check in with my men. If you don’t mind?”

Amelia shook her head. “Not at all.”

Jaylen took another slow look at her before he stood and walked to the back door. He pulled on his boots and raincoat.

“I won’t be long.”

She smiled at the worried expression on his face. “I promise, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going to lock the door behind me. Don’t open it for anyone. I’ll unlock it when I get back.”

Amelia shooed him off with a wave of her hands. “Go,” she ordered.

Jaylen smiled. “All right, I’ll see you soon.”