All I Want is You (Hearts on Fire Book 1) (3 page)

“I’d love to talk about that.  I think right now though, I just need to get back into my apartment, get things back to normal….”

“I’m going to fix that, remember?” Jake asks.

“I know you said that, but I don’t know how I’m going to repay you, so the problem isn’t really going to go away.”

They reach the west side park exit, cross the street and enter Ellie’s apartment building.  

“I’ll probably stay with Naomi tonight,” Ellie says while they wait for the elevator.  

It’s more of a suggestion— offered for challenge— than a statement, but Jake doesn’t take the bait.  

The elevator bell rings.  

Her eyes glance at the floor indicator, then back at Jake.   

“It’s not the money I want,” he flashes a wry grin.

Ellie’s expression goes blank.  “What is it then, Jake?”  

The door opens to an empty car and Jake steps inside.   

He extends his hand toward Ellie.

His eyes wide, his full lips part to speak.  

“Get in,” he says.  “There’s something I want you to do for me.”

***

Ellie’s heart races.  She wants to step forward, but somehow her legs won’t work.  She shifts her stance instead, tucks a tuft of hair behind her ear.  Suddenly, she’s overwhelmed— her face glowing like a hot iron.

Earlier today, all she wanted to do was figure out a way to pay her rent.  Now, she stands in front of the gorgeous— no, beyond gorgeous— Jake Harlow, and he
wants
something from her.

Their eyes lock on each other.  

The corners of Jake’s lips edge up.  His fingers gesture— without even a hint of impatience in the rest of his demeanor— for Ellie to step into the elevator car.  “Take my hand,” he commands.

Ellie’s mind eases, disarmed by his confidence.  The rest of her body is a different story— his full, moist lips make her quiver with desire.  A guy like him could take her places she’s never been, never imagined.  
Come on, legs!

She sucks in a breath, steps forward, reaches for his hand.  Her heart pounds against the inside of her chest.

Somewhere in the back of her head, a voice
still
says this is wrong.

But the instant warmth of Jake’s touch ignites her smoldering anticipation….

She wants so desperately to place her lips on his.  Only the quick ride, and the uncertainty of running into other tenants, prevent it.

The door opens and they enter the empty corridor to her apartment.  She steps out in front of him.  

As they walk, she glances at the artwork.   A particular piece— a long and curvy cliff road, a bridge that drops thousands of feet to the ocean below— steals her attention.  But only for a moment…

She looks over her shoulder.  

Jake follows behind her, his eyes fixed downward, focused on a different set of curves.  

She stops walking.  

He looks up at her, surprised.  His hand finds the small of her back, keeps him from bumping into her.  

“Caught!” she says, and starts to walk again.   

He smiles wistfully at her revelation.  

“Dangerous Curves Ahead,” he says softly.

Ellie reviews the painting a moment longer— Jake’s words match the title plate.  

She turns toward him, and continues to walk, backwards now.  “Not if you’re experienced,” she flashes a subtle grin.

Jake’s eyebrows lower.  “I’ve got more qualifications than a Nascar driver, if that’s what you mean.”

Ellie doesn’t know what she means.  She’s never even tried to talk dirty before.  “What if the conditions are wet?” she surprises herself.

He moves closer to her, and reaches for her hand.  “You’re in luck,” he grins, “I just so happen to be an expert in wet conditions.”

“Oh?” she asks as he pulls her toward him, but it comes out as more of a gasp.  Her legs spasm, her body’s a quivering disaster.  She feels as if she’ll pass out.
 
 
Is this really happening?

Jake reaches down, gently at first, but then with firm resolve, and picks her up.  

Her legs wrap naturally around his waist, her skirt slides up her hips.  

His hands find her back before they land firmly against the double doors of his apartment.    

Her arms fold over his shoulders, around his neck, pulling him tight to her.

She can feel his arousal between her legs, pressed hard against her own wetness.  A moan escapes her.

His lips crash into hers, then pull away just as fast.

“That’s not playing fair,” she pulls him back in.  

His mouth finds her neck. “I want to taste you,” he groans.

Her whole body shudders.  “Take me inside.”   

“I can’t wait that long,” he says between heavy breaths.

“Are you insane?” She asks.

He nibbles on her earlobe.

Shivers run down her neck.  She clutches his back.  

The elevator bell rings.  

OH SHIT.  
Ellie’s eyes bulge in a panic
.

Jake eases her down, exhales hard.

Ellie tugs at her skirt, frantic to put herself back together.  

Jake reaches into his pocket and fumbles with a set of keys.  “Step to the side,” he says.

Ellie does as instructed, and is stunned to see Dan Reese, her closest neighbor and deacon at the local church.  He walks to his door, ten feet from her, mouth agape.  

Her head nearly explodes.  
I'm literally going to hell.

Ellie glances back at Jake.  He’s already opened the door and is halfway in, reaching back for her hand.  She looks at Dan and shrugs her shoulders, then follows Jake into his apartment.  She thinks she saw the hint of a smile on Dan’s face.  Or did she just imagine it
?
 

Ellie brings her hand over her mouth as the door shuts behind her.  “HOL-Y CRAP,” she says.  

“Don’t worry, we gave him a good story,” Jake says.  

“Yeah, but it cost me a heart attack,” Ellie replies.

Jake cracks a smile.  “Such things happen in New York City….”

Ellie laughs and walks further into the apartment.  “Smells new in here.”   

“Make yourself at home.  I’ll be right back,” Jake says.

The room is huge, much bigger than Ellie’s cramped one-bedroom apartment, and twice the height.  

Unlike Ellie’s, this apartment faces Central Park.  An entire wall of floor-to-ceiling glass reveals the view— Upper East Side lights flicker in the distance.  

Ellie feels like she stepped into another world, one she didn’t think was possible in her building.

“I found a bandage,” Jake calls from a back hallway.  His voice holds surprise.  

Ellie turns from the windows.  As she glances around the rest of the room, a picture— the lone personal touch in the otherwise newly renovated space— catches her attention.  She walks toward the end table to get a better look.  There are four young boys at the beach, the ocean in waves behind them.  One of them is clearly Jake, maybe ten years old.  

On the other side of the room, Jake walks in.  His shirt is loose, half the buttons undone.  His chest is exposed, and somehow even more impressive
than Ellie first thought.  Dark, firm, and defined.  

She turns her full attention to him now as he continues to undo the remaining buttons. One-by-one, the ripples of his abs appear.  
This man’s body is insane.

The pace of Ellie’s breathing increases.  She walks to him and places her hands on his chest, sliding up, over his shoulders, rolling his shirt off of his arms, into ruins on the floor.  “Let’s clean you up.”  

He hands her the bandage and turns around.

“We’ll need more than a bandage,” Ellie says.  “Do you have a towel? … Wet, please,” she smirks.

Jake glances over his shoulder at her, a casual smile crosses his face.  He walks into the kitchen, rummages through several drawers, and pulls two beers from the fridge and returns.  “Thirsty?”  He hands a towel to her.

Ellie nods.  She sits at a bar stool and turns him to the side.  She gently cleans the small wound.  “So, Mr. Harlow… tell me something about yourself.”  

Jake pulls the tops off of the beers, sets hers down on the counter and takes a long drink.  “What would you like to know?”

Ellie pauses for a moment.  She realizes she knows next to nothing about him.  “What about your family?”

“There’s not much to tell,” he says.

“Siblings?”

“Nope.”

Ellie senses the tension in his voice, flashes a quick glance back at the picture, and decides to keep on.  “So, you didn’t just drop out of the sky, what about parents?”  She dabs the towel on his back.

Jake hesitates for a moment.  “It’s a long story,” he says.

“I’ve got time,” she smirks.

“Not right now,” his face tightens.

“Do they live around—?”

“They’re both dead.”  Jake picks up his beer, drinks the rest of it down and brings the empty bottle to the counter with a thud.  A grave look washes over his face.

“Oh, Jake, I’m sorry, I didn’t…”  Ellie blushes.

“Yeah, well,” his expression goes blank.  “It’s nothing anyway.  It was a long time ago….”  He walks to the fridge.  “Another?”

She shakes her head side-to-side and picks her beer up from the counter.  “Sorry, Jake,” she says in a soft voice.  Her stomach rumbles inside, but she takes a drink anyway.

Jake walks back over and stands in front of her.  His exposed upper body this close makes her forget what just happened.  Even the dark oval birthmark above his left nipple is perfect, like it was painted on, delicately finishing the canvas, just right.

She rips the package open, gestures for him to turn around.  She presses the ends of the bandage against his warm skin.  The soft sensation makes her whole body plead for more.  

She studies the contour of his muscles, massages them up and down his lean back with her hands.  She closes her eyes, her mind racing toward sex each time she looks at him now.  She imagines lying together with him in bed... what it would—what it
will—
be like to wake up next to him.  

But as her heart— her feeling and emotion— drive her closer, her mind pushes back.  She can’t help but wonder how many times Charlotte’s woken up next to him?  And what about Alex?  And worse, the fact that he owns a strip club still doesn't sit well with her— helping a friend or not.

And what about the help he’s offered her?  It doesn’t sound free.  He wants
something
from her, but is she just prostituting herself out, or does he somehow really have feelings for her?  

It’s all too much, she tells herself.  It can’t be right.  She reaches for her phone.  

Jake looks over his shoulder.  “What are you doing?” he asks.

Ellie’s fingers tremble.  “Calling Naomi,” she says, “I’m staying at her place tonight.”

Jake turns toward her and puts his hand down on hers, covering her phone.  “That’s not necessary,” he says.

Ellie looks up at him.  “I don’t have any other choice.”

His steady gaze fixes on her.  The hint of a grin tugs at the corners of his lips.  “You’re staying here tonight,” he says.

Ellie is beyond surprised, not by his words as much as the authoritative tone with which they are delivered.  Not only is she shocked, she’s actually… turned on.  

“That way,” Jake’s eyes lower, “You and I will both be satisfied.”  

Ellie’s body aches at the suggestion.  She bites her bottom lip to keep it from quivering.  

She’s imagined on many nights prior, alone in her own bed, what her first time would be like.  She never dreamed, however, it would be with someone as devastatingly handsome as Jake Harlow.  She couldn’t have made him up, even if she had tried.  

And now, here he is, standing in front of her, telling her what she’s going to do… and it's exactly what
she
needs.  She can't deny it any longer.

“There’s something you should know about me,” Jake looks into her eyes.  “I’m not the kind of person who only goes halfway…. When I find something I want, I want it all… all the pieces… every inch... and what I want right now, what I need more than anything, is you.”

Ellie’s body screams into overdrive.  In a way, she's terrified— no one’s ever said anything like that to her.  “Be gentle with me,” she thinks….  Or does she actually say it?  She doesn’t know, doesn’t care.  She can’t think straight.

“I just need to know one thing,” Jake says.  “Can I count on you to trust me?”

“I think—”

“I don’t want you to
think
,” he demands.  “I want you to
know
.”

Ellie pauses, and looks away from him for a moment.  When she finally looks back up, she's greeted by the iron look of determination in his eyes.

She stands up, runs a finger down the middle of his firm chest.  “I do trust you, Jake,” she says.

“Good,” he replies.

Between her legs, his warm hand brushes the soft skin of her thigh, traces a line under the bottom edge of her skirt.  

“Now take this off.”