Free A Rare Breed by Mary Tate Engels

their closeness. Something about this man had attracted her from the beginning. His masculinity, his authority, his sensuality, even his arrogance appealed to her. Being close to him was thrilling and satisfying; she felt as though she were right where she belonged. While the storm raged outside, she was warm and safe with Jake.
    After a long time, he spoke softly. "From the looks of things, we're going to be stuck here all night."
    Brit stiffened. "What?"
    "Even if the storm lets up, it's too wet to do anything. Anyway, there's a danger of flash floods. We're safest right here where it's high and dry."
    "Won't it be cold up here?" she choked, trying to imagine sleeping in a cave with Jake.
    "Don't worry. We'll get the extra sleeping bag. I'll make sure you stay warm enough."
    "Oh. Good." She swallowed hard, thinking of spending the night with the man next to her. It was a dream come true.
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Brit woke the next morning feeling rested and alert. She had slept amazingly well, considering her bedroom was in a cave and her bed, an insulated sleeping bag. Last night, she hadn't even minded the inevitable pebbles beneath her. Maybe she was so tired that she could have slept anywhere.
    She blinked in the daylight and snuggled deeper under the covers, smiling to herself. The girls back home would not believe that she had spent the night with a hunk of a man who never touched her. Brit wasn't even sure she believed it herself. But she knew she had definitely remained alone. And she was still dressed in jeans and Jake's soft shirt. Besides, she would certainly have remembered if anything remotely affectionate had happened between her and Jake. The closest they had gotten was when he had curled toward her, wrapped in his blanket, and rested his head near hers. Even though he had been sound asleep, she had been conscious of the sounds of his soft breathing and the warmth he exuded.
    Brit had been tempted to turn over and pull him to her so they could share that warmth. Oh Lord, she had wanted to touch him and to feel his sensuous lips on hers. But she kept her back turned toward him and could only imagine how those lips felt . . . and it was frustrating, especially this morning.
    Suddenly, in the light of day, Brit realized why he left her alone as she stared wide-eyed at the sandstone ceiling of her cave bedroom. Jake was keeping her at arm's length because of Michael. She had mentioned arguing with him, so Jake assumed she and Michael were a couple. Brit knew in her heart how she felt about Michael, and she would just have to figure a way to convey that to Jake.
    She sat up, savoring the unusual fragrances—both familiar and unfamiliar—in the air. Apparently Jake was already up and making coffee. It didn't take her long to climb down from the cave to camp and join him. This time, there was no campfire, only the single-unit gas stove. Jake wore a rainbow-colored Mexican poncho over his shirt and jeans as he worked on his breakfast in the morning chill. The turquoise, green, and yellow stripes of the poncho contrasted his dark shaggy hair and gave him the look of a bold ancient explorer who might be pictured in a history book.
    "Morning." She gave him a chipper smile even as she shivered in the chill.
    Jake glanced at her, surprise in his expression. "You up so early?" He handed her a blanket, the one he'd used last night, and indicated that she should wrap it around herself. "This'll help until you get some hot coffee in you."
    Brit gratefully pulled the blanket over her shoulders, relishing its warmth and the erotic idea that it had encircled Jake all night. "Mornings are so beautiful down here, I hate to miss them." She wondered if he could guess that her true reason for crawling out of the warm sleep ing bag was to be with him, not necessarily the morning's special beauty.
    He let her comment pass and continued stirring a pan on the tiny stove.
    Undeterred in her effort to converse with him, Brit inhaled deeply.