Read A Reason to Stay for Free Online

legs intertwined on top of the crumpled sheets, basking in the warmth left by their lovemaking.
     
    Ellie felt like she should say something, anything, but nothing came to mind. There were no words to express what was going on within her. Shocked, dazed, confused, scared and utterly satisfied all came to mind, but all seemed to fall short. Her body still tingled and burned from his touch. His arms, strong and solid around her, made her feel small and safe. They always had. She wondered what he was thinking, feeling. But she couldn’t ask.
     
    She couldn’t speak at all for fear of breaking the magic spell that seemed to have entrapped them. So she lay there, half on top of him, listening to his heart beat, feeling his chest rise under her hand with every breath. She committed every sound, every smell and every sensation to memory. She had no idea what would happen next, but she would always have this moment locked away in her heart.
     
    After a while—Ellie had no idea how long—Jake’s breathing became shallow and regular. She knew he was asleep. She shifted a bit and felt his arms tighten around her, as if to keep her from moving away. She had no intention of moving, not right now. She would steal every moment of his touch she could. His chest, which had seemed so hard moments earlier, now felt like the softest pillow she had ever known. Heaviness swept over her limbs as fatigue set in. Her body was tired and sated and she didn’t fight sleep when it overtook her. Instead she settled into sweet oblivion with a smile.
     
    It was around three in the morning when Ellie woke up. She knew this because the huge digital alarm clock was directly in front of her eyes as she opened them. For several moments that was all she knew. The haze of sleep still fogged her brain and it took a moment to register the hard, warm body curled around her. Who was this in her bed? No, not her bed. Jake’s bed. Jake! Oh God! Reality came crashing back to her with a force that nearly knocked the breath from her.
     
    She and Jake McCallister had made love only a few hours earlier. It was her best friend, the man she loved beyond all reason but could never have, holding her in his arms, his naked body pressed to hers. Ellie suddenly felt an irrational burst of self-consciousness and grabbed the sheet, clutching it to her breast. Sheet? Jake must have awakened and covered them while she slept. She realized she wasn’t lying with her head on his chest anymore, but on her side with Jake molded to her back. His heat seeped into her. Every inch of her backside, from her shoulders to her heels, was in direct contact with warm male flesh. One arm was under her head, the other thrown possessively over her waist, its hand cupping one of her breasts.
     
    His warmth was so inviting and delicious she couldn’t help cuddling closer. Emotions warred within her. What had happened? Oh, she knew what had happened, her body still held evidence of it. But the why, and what it meant, was lost on her. Confusion dizzied her.
     
    The only thing about what had happened that didn’t confuse her was her own part in it. She knew very clearly why she was here—she wanted to be. Fantasies of lying in Jake’s arms and making wild, passionate love with him had dominated her thoughts for so long that the moment he’d kissed her, she’d been powerless to resist. The little voice in her head that warned of the perils of having sex with a friend, especially with her best friend in the world, double-especially with Jake "love’em-and-leave’em" McCallister, was easy to ignore. The thud of her heart and the rush of blood in her ears had drowned it out.
     
    What she couldn’t wrap her mind around was why Jake was here. Jeez, who was she kidding? She knew exactly why Jake was here. Seduction was as natural to him as breathing, and you don’t have to be in love to breathe. She should have seen it coming. She was probably the only single woman in Cedar Grove over