«How does this coffeepot work?»
«Quite simply. You fill the pot with water, put it on the stove to boil, add coffee grounds, boil for a time, and then add cold water to settle the grounds.»
«Ah,» she breathed, brightening. «Simple indeed.»
Jessica went to the stove, took the lid off the pot, and looked around for a pitcher of water. There was none.
«Water comes from pumps,» Wolfe said. «You do know what a pump looks like, don’t you?»
«You’re teasing me.»
«I’m not sure. Elves are unpredictable creatures. It’s difficult to be certain what they know.»
Jessica hadn’t ever used a pump, but she certainly had seen one used. She went to the sink, set the pot down beneath the pump’s spout, and picked up the long iron pump handle. She had to go up on her tiptoes to lift the handle to its fullest.
«Wait.»
Jessica froze, teetered, and began to lose her balance. Before she could topple andaccidently bring the pump handle down, Wolfe rushed forward and snatched her off her feet. She made a startled sound.
«You forgot something,» he said calmly.
She looked into midnight blue eyes that were intriguingly close to her own, for Wolfe had lifted her until her head was on a level with his.
«What did I forget?»
«You didn’t prime the pump.»
The blank look Jessica gave Wolfe told him that she didn’t know what he was talking about. He started to set her down, but her small, warm waist felt too good between his hands to let go of just yet.
«See that pitcher of water next to the pump?» Wolfe asked.
The deepening of his voice ruffled Jessica’s nerves in a way she liked without knowing why. She nodded. He shifted her suddenly, turning her away from him. The breathless sound she made was lost in his words.
«Pick up the pitcher, elf.»
She leaned across the counter, and in doing so, pressed her bottom into the cradle of Wolfe’s thighs. He closed his eyes and told himself to put her down. Instead, his hands tightened around her, savoring the supple warmth of her against the ache of male hunger and need that had concentrated between his thighs.
«Now pour the water into the opening at the top of the pump,» he said a low voice.
The motions Jessica made pressed her more intimately against Wolfe’s hungry flesh. Water splashed and danced, shimmering in the lantern light. Belatedly, Wolfe remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He shifted Jessica again, holding her against his body with one arm while the other worked the handle of the pump. Soon water gushed out of the pump’s spout and into the coffeepot until it overflowed.
«That,» Wolfe said, letting Jessica slide down his body until her feet touched the floor, «is called priming a pump.»
Ruefully, he acknowledged that the pump wasn’t the only thing that had been primed during the lesson, but he could hardly blame Jessica for that. She hadn’t known what she was doing when she pressed her backside against his groin until he could feel the very feminine flare of her hips beneath all the folds of cloth in her traveling dress.
«Why did you do that?» she asked.
For an instant, Wolfe thought Jessica was referring to the change that had taken place in his body while he held her; then he realized she was talking about the pump. He opened his mouth to answer, but the thought of explaining to a wide-eyed elf the intricacies of suction, pressure, and pumping involved in the mechanism — while at the same time his body was on fire — defeated Wolfe.
«Think of it as a religious ritual,» he said finally.
Jessica tilted her head back to look up at him and realized anew just how large her husband was. Yet being held by him hadn’t frightened her or made her uneasy in any way. In fact, it had been very nice, as had seeing his eyes so close to hers and feeling the warmth of his breath on her cheek. The hard strength of his arm supporting her had been even more appealing, as had been the power and motion of his body as he worked the pump. Soft sensations shimmered through her at the thought of being held that way again.
«A religious ritual,» Jessica repeated in a dazed voice.
«I must have unpacked the parrot along with your sidesaddle.»
Laughing softly, Jessica shook her head. «Priming the pump is a religious ritual, and you unpacked the parrot with my sidesaddle. Oh, Wolfe, do you think our wits were addled by the long trip?»
«Very likely.»
For a moment she looked into the dear indigo depths of his eyes. The delicate shimmering sensation in the pit of her stomach strengthened.
«You do the most curious things to my stomach,» Jessica said in a husky voice.
«Nausea, loss of appetite?» Wolfe guessed wryly.
«Far from it. You make me feel as though I’ve swallowed golden butterflies.»
The innocent admission forced Wolfe to close his eyes, for if he kept looking at Jessica he would reach out and trace the delicate curves of her upper lip with his fingers first and then the tip of his tongue. It had been difficult enough to keep his hands off her; it would be impossible if she kept watching him with wondering, luminous eyes and talked of the first, delicate tremors of passion awakening within her untouched body.
Desire beat in harsh waves through Wolfe, but he remained motionless. He didn’t trust himself to touch Jessica. If she responded to an outright caress with the laughter and honesty she had just shown, he wouldn’t stop caressing her until he was sheathed within her.
Then the marriage would be all too real. She would be bound for life to ahalfbreed mustang hunter, and he would be bound for life to a girl who was afraid of being a woman.
«I think,» Wolfe said distinctly, opening his eyes, «it’s time to get on with teaching you how to make coffee. There’s too much water in the coffeepot. Pour the extra into the priming pitcher. And next time, fill the pitcher first.»
«Why?»
«Because if it’s dry when you go to pump the next time, you have to walk to the spring for water before you can get any water from the pump.»
«I must pour water in the pump before I can pump water out.» Jessica shook her head. «That hardly makes sense.»
«Most rituals don’t.»
«What if I pump without adding water first?»
«The mechanism wasn’t made to work dry. You’ll ruin it.»
«And your temper, too?» Jessica guessed.
«Count on it. Reno’s, too. He helped me put in the pump.»
«Is he a neighbor?»
«No,» Wolfe said. «He hunts for Spanish treasure in the desert when he’s not staying with Willow in the SanJuans.»
«Truly? What does Caleb think of that?»
«He approves.»
«That’s quite, er, exceptional of him.»
«Reno is Willow’s brother.»
Jessica blinked and muttered beneath her breath, «Daunting prospect, being brother to a paragon.»
Wolfe handed Jessica the coffeepot and gestured toward the stove. When she set the pot down, water sloshed onto the black surface of the stove. The cast iron was cold. After fumbling for a bit with the stove door, she managed to open it and peer inside. Kindling was laid out in orderly array.
«Looking for these?» Wolfe asked.
Jessica straightened. He was holding out a cup full of matches he had taken from a shelf near the stove.
«You do know which end to scrape against the iron, don’t you?» he asked dryly.
«The lamp didn’t light itself,» she pointed out.
Wolfe glanced at the lamp smoking happily on the counter. «So I see. Were you planning on smoking fish over the chimney?»
«Don’t be silly. Even I know the difference between a lantern and a fish smoker.»
Jessica scraped a match over the stovetop. It broke. She took another matchstick from the tin cup.
«Besides, I’m not to blame for the smoke,» she muttered, taking another swipe at the stovetop. «I did nothing but light the lamp.» The match didn’t catch. She pressed harder and tried again. No flame jumped to the tip. «It must be the oil you use that’s causing the smoke.»