Authors: Christina James

Operation: Tempt Me (35 page)

One glance at
her reflection in the mirror showed just how affected she was by her orgasm.
Her face was flushed. Her lungs fought for air as she breathed deep to regain a
normal rhythm. Her skin was damp with her efforts to reach orgasm. All thanks
to one man at the center of her fantasies.

Walking back
to her room, Emma tossed the vibrator back into the nightstand, climbed back
into bed, and turned off the light.

With her
pussy still pulsing from her orgasm and her body still warm, she kept the
blankets off and snuggled into her over-stuffed pillow. Laying in her pretty
nightgown, alone, Emma closed her eyes and dreamt of Finn, dreamt of a man who
would forever only be a fantasy.

****

Morning came
too soon. Emma had tossed and turned so much during the night that her body
felt like it had been through a wrestling match. Of course, she had dreamt of
rolling over her bed with Finn, his body hard and firm against hers. So, it’s
no wonder she’d tossed and turned.

Emma
considered her full morning as she walked to the kitchen to start coffee.
Walking across the hallway’s hardwood floor, down the stairs, the icy sting of
the cold wood shocked her feet. While the heat was programmed to automatically
turn on at five-thirty, it was only five so she first stopped at the thermostat
to override the commands to get the chill out of the house.

Rubbing her
arms with her hands, Emma yawned and stretched before starting the coffee pot.
Her kitchen was a decent size, large enough for the six-burner stove and
butcher-block table that seated eight. She laughed. For a woman who lived
alone, she sure had an abundance of appliances and furniture. Still, she liked
to believe that one day the house would be filled with laughing kids and lots
of friends and family.

The canary
yellow she had painted the walls last fall really brightened up the room. Now,
as she inhaled the smell of freshly perked coffee, she looked out the window
overlooking her backyard. In a few more weeks, she’d plant her vegetable garden
but not until after the threat of frost was past. She was grateful her dad had
taught her when she was a young girl how to can jams and veggies. Now she had a
family tradition to pass on to her children some day.

Filling a
large mug with coffee, sugar and cream, Emma sipped the hot liquid and sighed.
She loved her morning coffee and was a bear without it. She didn’t have the
willpower not to check her email, even though she felt foolish waiting for Finn
when it was obvious that he was either too busy to write or maybe had grown
bored with her. She didn’t want to think about how depressing life would be if
she no longer had Finn’s emails to spice up her otherwise plain life.

After her
second cup, she walked to her bedroom to dress for the unavoidable trip to
deliver Mrs. Galway’s special order of roses. Emma wondered who the mystery man
was to make such an effort to get his special woman the best roses he could
find. She sighed. What it must feel like to have a man so completely infatuated
and go out of his way to please you.

Opening her
Maplewood armoire, Emma chose an old pair of jeans that were comfortably worn.
They, along with a grey short-sleeve shirt, would do for her first
chore—feeding the horses. Standing naked in front of the mirror, she had to
admire her body. While she had no regular exercise regimen and actually
detested any kind of physical fitness program, she kept in shape with the
multitude of tasks she was responsible for on her farm. Holidays and sick days
didn’t mean the work took a hiatus. Roses needed to be watered, horses fed and
groomed.

So the
slender body reflected back in the antique oval looking glass was toned and trim.
She laughed as she stepped into pink lace panties and matching lace bra. Even
if no one else would see her under-things, she felt sexy and feminine while she
did her sweaty chores.

Before
sitting on the king-sized four-poster bed, Emma pulled the comforter up over
the messed up sheets from her restless night’s sleep. She detested making the
bed, doing laundry or the dishes, and all household chores. She would much
rather be mucking a stall or brushing the horses than being stuck in the house.
But since she lived alone, those chores wouldn’t do themselves so she just
sucked it up and did them.

She quickly
laced her dark drown work boots and grabbed her jacket from the floor in the
corner of the room. Wrapping her long hair into a ponytail, she walked out the
front door toward the horse barn. Once she fed the horses then she’d have to
take the trip into town to Mrs. Galway’s. Despising another match-making
session by the well-meaning but annoying old woman, Emma sighed and prayed Mrs.
Galway wouldn’t disregard Emma’s wishes and have the Sanders boy at the shop
or, worse, have the unknown stranger waiting around while she brought his
roses. Praying the old woman wouldn’t stoop so low as to trick Emma into
meeting some guy who was obviously already interested in another woman since he
was ordering special roses, Emma shook her head and sighed. Emma was prepared
though. She couldn’t defend herself against another ambush, but she was
prepared for today.

Strategy.
Emma needed a damn good one.

The morning
dew wet the grass as Emma trudged through the field to the horse pen. The sun
was rising, casting its yellow tint over everything. Emma squinted against the
bright rays breaking over the trees. It seemed like only yesterday that she’d
run through these grounds and the surrounding woods as a pig-tailed kid, more
tomboy than princess. She swallowed hard to fight the knot forming in her
throat. Now wasn’t the time to think about all she’d lost at such a young age
and how her father tried to be everything for her.

When she’d
lost her mom at seven, Emma didn’t think she’d be able to live without her. But
Daddy needed her, so she learned to be strong for him. And now Emma was envious
of her own father for finding love again when Emma couldn’t even be honest with
her cyber-lover, leading him to believe she’s something she’s not.

Oh hell!

****

Emma wanted
to avoid as many people as possible since she still wasn’t in a socializing
mood, so this trip into town would be quick. It was early, but people already
mulled about Merridien Street, sipping coffee, having conversations, pushing
strollers. With her foot a little heavy on the gas, she roared through town,
leaving her truck running as an excuse to escape the clutches of Mrs. Galway’s
matchmaking powers.

“Always on
time, Emma. Too bad you weren’t early though,” Mrs. Galway noted with an edge
of excitement to her voice as she cradled the box that held two dozen of Emma’s
favorite, long stem white roses. They were pure and simple, just like love
should be.

Emma knew she
shouldn’t inquire but curiosity got the best of her. “Why’s that, Mrs. Galway?”

“Because you
just missed the most handsome fella. The customer who ordered these roses
arrived early. I told him he could wait but he said he needed to get something
to eat. If you wait a few minutes, I’m sure he’ll be back very soon.”

Emma laughed
and kissed Mrs. Galway’s cheek. “Remember what I said, Mrs. Galway. I can make
my own dinner dates. My truck’s running. Got to go.”

“You always
have an excuse, young lady. I didn’t see a wedding ring,” she whispered as
though they were conspiring to run the guy down the aisle.

Emma placed
her hands on her hips and stared at the woman. “The man is buying special roses
for another woman. Wedding ring or not, I’d say he’s taken. Besides, a lot of
men don’t wear wedding rings now-a-days.”

“And what a
shame that is. If my Neal ever stopped wearing his ring, well, I’d be
heartbroken of course.”

Emma sighed
and patted the older woman’s hand. “He would never do such a thing Mrs. Galway.
But in today’s world men go without so they don’t get hurt on the job. You
know, catching it on machinery.”

“Nonsense. My
Neal worked every day with his ring and never lost a finger for it. If you ask
me, youngsters today don’t know what true love is all about.”

Oh oh. Warning
bells!

“Everyone’s
so rushed and don’t even take the time to eat supper together,” Mrs. Galway
complained.

Emma admitted
that it’d be nice to have someone to eat with other than her cat. She made a
mental note to feed her cat, Freckles, as soon as she got home. Damn, he was
going to be pissed that she’d forgotten him this morning.

Mrs. Galway
continued her rant while Emma felt obliged to give the woman a few minutes. The
old lady sure did live for romance.

“Maybe you
have the right idea after all, Emma, dear.”

That snapped
her out of her thoughts. “What do you mean?”

“Since your
generation has lost the ability to be romantic, I think maybe you have a good
idea to stay by yourself out on the farm. I mean, if today’s men can’t even
wear a symbol of their love, then what’s a woman got to look forward to?”

Hot wild sex
—oh jeez,
there goes thoughts of Finn again.

“Well, I
happen to envy you and Mr. Galway, since he obviously still adores you after
all these years.”

Mrs. Galway’s
face lit up like a Christmas tree. “And I him. Oh dear, look at me carrying on
like I don’t have work to do. My special customer should be back any second.

Damn! When
did the woman become so sneaky? Emma should’ve guessed that her ramble was her
well-planned scheme to match her with some stranger. That was Emma’s queue to
leave and quick.

“You have a
good day.” Emma rushed from the store, ignoring the pleading look Mrs. Galway
sent her.

Emma jumped
into the truck and sped off toward the comfort of home. She didn’t care how
many handsome strangers were in town. She only wanted one man, as impossible as
that was, and he was nowhere to be found. Damn!

She promised
herself that if she ever heard from Finn again then she’d come clean about the
real her. She’d reveal all of the deceit and, if he chose never to speak to her
again, then that’s what she got for participating in her stupid friends’ ideas.
But how long would only having Finn online satisfy her? How long could she
continue their erotic conversations with no physical touch? That was all
something she would just have to deal with another time as she focused on the
road. She knew she should be upset or even worried considering the dangers of
Finn’s job, but anger boiled through her veins. Finn better have a real good
reason for not keeping in touch with her.

A real good
reason.