Love Between the Pages: 8 Romances for Booklovers

by Bird, Peggy

  Jade called Ben in the main house. He would leave a message for Matt, letting him know that Jade would be taking Jeff’s place. With that obligation met, she yanked the covers up over her head and fell into a fitful sleep. She dreamt Nick was a zombie, and when she chopped his head off with an axe, it popped back up, this time with Matt Connor’s face.

  Chapter 3

  Jade woke up at 7:00 A.M. after hitting the snooze bar five times. She wasn’t a morning person. She wasn’t even a late morning or a noon person. It was only through sheer determination that she was fully dressed and stumbling toward the main house—specifically toward the coffee maker in the main house—by 7:15. Meg wasn’t due until 9:00 A.M. after she dropped her kids off at school, but through the miracle of modern technology, the coffee maker was set to brew at 7:00 A.M. every morning. Jade considered this one of man’s greatest achievements.

  There was already an array of baked goods carefully laid out on trays in the dining room. Jade simply added the cream cheese, butter, and cream, and, voila! Breakfast was served. Jade let Ben know that she was on shift, and he could go home. Mornings were easy on the lake. Many of the guests slept in late and there was little to do.

  When Meg arrived, Jade was in the kitchen with the newspaper, drinking coffee.

  “So, how did last night go?” Meg nearly sang as she began preparations for boxed lunches and the night’s dinner.

  “Dinner was great.”

  “I know it was great, I cooked it. Did you see Matt Connor?”

  “Yes, he ate.”

  “Aaaand?”

  “He wants a guided hike at ten o’clock. I guess we’ll need a boxed lunch.” Jade blushed.

  “Yes!” Meg grinned and danced around the kitchen.

  “Give me a break! It’s just a hike, you dork!” Jade scowled and buried her nose deeper in the newspaper.

  Meg laughed and pulled supplies from the refrigerator. “Wow, grouchy. You must still be on your first cup of coffee. So, are you taking him up to the point?”

  “Are you kidding? I have no idea what kind of shape he’s in. I don’t want to kill him!”

  “He looks in pretty good shape to me. He must belong to one of those hardcore gyms in the city.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll probably just take him up the lake trail. The scenery’s good and the grade is gentle.”

  “Yeah, you’ll want him to save his strength,” Meg laughed.

  Jade rolled her eyes but declined a reply. She knew better than to engage Meg in an argument. After all, Meg was making their lunch.

  Jade wasted time checking on the dining room and grounds for a half-hour before heading to Matt Connor’s cabin. She swung through the kitchen, ignoring Meg’s looks long enough to grab the boxed lunches and stuff them in her backpack.

  Though she told herself it was just a hike, her heartbeat quickened as she approached his cabin. She rapped sharply on his door and waited. No answer. She waited until she couldn’t stand it anymore and knocked again. She waited. Jade was about to knock a third time when the door swung open. Matt stood in the doorway, hair akimbo, chest bare, jeans slung low on his hips—extremely low—so low that it would be very hard to hide any sort of underwear below that waistband. He stared at Jade for a moment, clearly perplexed.

  Jade frowned. “Um, didn’t Ben call you?” Matt shook his head at her and she made a mental note to talk to Ben. “Jeff couldn’t make it.”

  Matt seemed to take that in but didn’t ask any further questions. He nodded, turned, and walked back into his cabin. Without invitation, Jade followed. She just couldn’t help herself. Matt didn’t object. In fact, he seemed to know she would follow. He walked back through the living room and into his bedroom. Jade followed. He grabbed a t-shirt out of his drawer and pulled it over his head, talking through the fabric. “Sorry, I slept in a bit.” Jade’s eyes were glued to the hem of his t-shirt as it slid down over his abdomen. He pulled a pair of black boxer-briefs out of the dresser drawer and looked into her eyes. “I’ll just be a second,” Matt said. Jade blushed as he went into the bathroom. That left Jade standing in the bedroom for two minutes, staring at the tangle of sheets and blankets on the bed. They still looked warm. And rumpled.

  Matt emerged, face damp but still unshaven. Without a word, he went back to the dresser, grabbed a pair of socks, and headed for the front door. He pulled on the socks and shoved his feet into a pair of well-worn hiking boots. That was a surprise. Jade had expected top-of-the-line, brand new, stiff-as-a-board boots from the city boy. These were top-notch but had been broken in at least five years ago. They were as beat up as Jade’s.

  “All right, I’m ready to go.”

  “Are you sure? Don’t you want coffee? Breakfast? Anything? You’re barely awake!”

  “Nope, I’m good. Let’s roll.” Matt grabbed the strap on Jade’s daypack with remarkably fast reflexes for someone who had been fast asleep five minutes ago. He swung it around onto his shoulders and headed out the front door, leaving Jade staring after him.

  Matt strode out of the cabin and turned left at the trail without a word or backward glance. They passed cabin eight, but he paused in front of the last cabin before the trail inclined to the right.

  “Yours?” He indicated her cabin with a nod.

  “Yep.”

  Matt stared at the cabin intently for a few moments, making Jade nervous. Perhaps he had x-ray vision and could see her mess. Jade shifted her weight uncomfortably. He smiled, turned back to the trail, and started walking.

  It was a perfect day. The air was cool and crisp. The scenery had the sharp focus and vivid color that reminded Jade why fall was her favorite season. She took a deep breath of mountain air. Matt led the way easily, as if he had been coming here as long as Jade had. They walked for ten minutes in relative silence.

  “How do you know where you’re going?” Jade looked up the trail at Matt’s world-class backside. Damn, that was a great view.

  “I checked a trail map. I always do my research.”

  “So … you don’t exactly need me as a guide.”

  “Not true. There are certain things that I can research on paper, and other things I like to find out first hand.”

  “Okay, like what?” Jade was half listening to Matt, half listening to the voice in her head that was wondering how his tight butt would feel naked and “first hand.”

  “Well, as a writer there are sensory experiences you write about that only ring true if you’ve actually experienced them. Hence the adage: ‘Write what you know.’”

  “That makes sense.” She’d like a “sensory experience” of that butt …

  Cut it out! Think clean thoughts!

  “I can read about the terrain and environment, but I can’t hear it or smell it.”

  “Uh-huh.” Jade thought about the subtle smell of Matt’s soap.

  “Not that I need a guide for that either. But I did want your input on some of the local lore.”

  “Mmm.” Jade gave up on the conversation and instead thought about what it would be like to run her hands down his muscular thighs and back up again … to that butt.

  • • •

  Though Jade seemed to be in great shape and was most certainly used to hiking at this altitude, her breathing had become quick and shallow. Matt was keeping his pace casual, but sometimes he forgot that with his long legs, one of his strides might be two of Jade’s. He slowed his pace and glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was all right. Jade nearly ran right into him. He caught her shifting her gaze upward at the last minute.

  “What are you doing back there?” Matt grinned, widening his eyes innocently and crossing his arms in front of his chest in mock indignation.

  The look on Jade’s face was perfect. She blushed furiously while her mouth opened and shut again like a fish. Panic flashed in her eyes as her brain frantically searched for a lie.

  “Uh.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going with honesty here. I was checking out your butt. I mean, it’
s quite frankly amazing. And I mean, after all, I’m a healthy woman with … I mean, you can hardly blame me … I couldn’t quite help myself. God, I’m sorry … that sounds so rude. Please don’t hold it against me.”

  Matt waited a beat for her brain to catch up to what her mouth had just blurted out. Then he burst out laughing.

  “Oh shit. I’m sorry.” She blushed an even brighter shade of red, if that was possible.

  Matt could barely get words out between his laughter. “No … apologizing … It’s great! … Ogle my ass … all you want … but … are you sure … you don’t want me to … hold … it … against you?”

  “It’s not funny! Oh, God.” Jade started to laugh too.

  Matt was laughing so hard he finally had to sit down right in the middle of the trail. He rolled onto his back and wiped tears from his eyes. Jade laughed harder, and she flopped down next to Matt. Five minutes later, they were still there trying to catch their breath. Then Jade broke out in giggles again. It was a full ten minutes before either one could regain composure.

  They lay there on the trail in silence with the warm sun on their faces. Matt could see flashes of light behind his closed lids and hear the breeze play through the branches of the sparse remaining dried leaves. He could feel and hear Jade breathing next to him, and he felt deeply content. If only time could freeze …

  Jade broke the silence first. “I really am sorry. That was … inappropriate.” Her voice was soft.

  Matt rolled over on his side to face her. He reached over to brush her bangs out of her eyes. Eyes the color of sea glass. Her breathing was still uneven and quick.

  “I had this idea that I would back off for a while. Give you some space. Just be friendly. I figured you would appreciate having some time to make up your mind about me.” Matt’s voice was deep and gentle.

  Jade turned her head to look at him. “Very wise move.”

  Matt’s gaze dropped to her mouth. “Yeah, wisdom isn’t really my strong point.” He rolled himself over her, meaning to lean down and just barely touch his lips to hers. But Jade leaned into the kiss, into him, at the same time.

  The kiss started slow. His body pressed down onto hers as he deepened the kiss. But then she was reaching for him. Her hands thrust into the hair at the nape of his neck, and she just sparked. Her hips lifted off the ground and pressed into him. Jade made an urgent sound against his mouth, and he almost lost it right there. Holy God, this feels good.

  Maybe. Back. Off. Just ease up a little bit. Yes, that would be a good idea. But no fucking way it was going to happen. He had spent half the night tossing and turning and dreaming of doing exactly this. Of her lying there with her mouth on his, her soft breasts pressing up into his chest and her hips grinding against him, a hint of what could be or of more to come. God, but it was so much better than he had dreamt. And they still had their clothes on. That really needed to be remedied. He reached one hand between them and slipped it up under her shirt. Ahh, yes! Skin. Her flesh was silken soft beneath his hand as he spread his fingers wide and low across her stomach.

  More, Matt thought through the haze of feeling her, wanting her. There was only one word for her: un-fucking-believable. Or, perfect. Perfect would do, too. “Oh God, Jade. You’re just so …”

  Then, beyond the sound of blood pounding in his ears, he heard something else. There was a light crunch of footsteps and the low sound of voices approaching them from the trail below. Oh, shit. What crappy timing. Matt took another deep breath as he pulled away from Jade. He looked at her, laid out beneath him, her black hair fanned out around her head, cheeks flushed and her eyes half closed. Shit again! He almost laughed with the absurdity of their situation.

  Jade’s eyes fluttered open as Matt pulled away from her, confusion in her gaze. He smiled down at her and tugged her shirt back into place, then rolled to his feet and glanced down the trail. Matt could tell the moment she heard the approaching hikers by the way her eyes widened in surprise. She scrambled up to a seated position and took his hand as he stood and reached for her. She shook her head and frantically tried to brush the dirt off her clothes.

  When the hikers reached them, Matt was surreptitiously pulling leaves out of Jade’s hair. And biting his lip to keep from laughing. Oh well, never a dull moment. Which was ironic, since he had come to Lakehaven for exactly that—a week of doldrums. So much for expectations.

  • • •

  The hikers turned out to be none other than the Kent sisters, both in their seventies and spunky as hell. Adele was tall and spindly with a scrawny neck and oversized feet. The rumor was that the Olive Oyl character from the Popeye cartoons was fashioned in Adele’s likeness. Her age and the timing made it impossible for the myth to be true, but the rumor persisted. Her sister, Beatrice, was smaller, with a dancer’s grace. In her day, she’d been quite the beauty and supposedly the lover of Joseph Pilates, creator of the famed exercise method. The two were arguing as they approached.

  “That is absolutely untrue, you bean-headed dolt!” Adele shouted.

  “Oh look, Jade and that young man are out … enjoying nature!” Beatrice grinned up at Matt.

  “Oh, perfect. I wonder if you two wouldn’t settle a dispute we’re having.”

  “Sure, what kind of dispute?” Matt asked good-naturedly.

  Jade stared at the ground in front of her while she drew circles in the dirt with the toe of her boot.

  “This is quite important, you understand,” Beatrice began.

  Adele nodded vigorously. “We’ve got a wager going.”

  Beatrice rubbed her hands together—the international Dick Dastardly sign for greed. “Yep, big money riding on this one. None of that penny-ante stuff.”

  “Really! Big money?” Jade’s head whipped up, eyes wide. “But Adele, you never paid Beatrice after the last bet.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry about that,” Adele said. “This is my chance to win back my losses.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, you’ll lose this one just like the last,” Beatrice gloated.

  “Well, why don’t we let Matt be the judge of that?”

  “Yes indeed, why don’t we?”

  “Fine.” Adele crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Fine.” Beatrice mirrored the motion. The two stood in stony silence for the space of a few heartbeats. Matt finally interrupted the stalemate.

  “What is it you need me to settle?”

  “Do zombies eat flesh or drink blood?” Adele asked eagerly.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I told you he wouldn’t know,” Beatrice gloated once again.

  “He didn’t say he didn’t know. He just didn’t understand the question,” Adele snapped.

  “Okay, the question is: Do zombies eat flesh or drink blood? This is our wager. I think—”

  “No, no, no! Don’t influence him by telling which way you bet. You always do that: try to manipulate things by throwing your womanly wiles around and getting some unsuspecting sex-hound to vote your way. It doesn’t matter which way we’ve wagered. He just needs to answer the question. Assuming you have an answer.” Adele smiled at Matt.

  “That is so unfair! I can’t help the way I look, so don’t assume I’m using my overt femininity to unduly influence the outcome. I was merely trying to clarify the situation.” Adele slowly swiveled her head toward her protesting sister and raised her eyebrows. Beatrice huffed. “Fine. Please answer the question.” Beatrice smiled up at Matt and shamelessly batted her eyelashes. Matt cleared his throat.

  “Well, I’m not sure this is a definitive answer; however, in the Odyssey, Homer references bringing forth ‘Shades’ by cutting the throats of two sheep and letting the blood run into a trench … ”

  “Ah, see, there you are. Homer! One can hardly argue with that,” Beatrice crowed.

  “Homer! What nonsense. He was a writer! All they do is make things up. I do not concede.”

  Matt ran his hand across the back of his neck and shook his head slowly. “But th
ose aren’t zombies.”

  “Aha!” Adele gestured vigorously, and Jade had to back up to avoid getting poked in the eye.

  Matt squinted in thought. “The Vodun religion asserts that the blood of animals or humans swiped across the mouth of a newly deceased corpse will raise the corpse while binding its will to the animating priest or priestess.”

  All three women shuddered at the gruesome image.

  “However, some literature suggests that if the priest or priestess is not sufficiently powerful enough to bind the will of the raised dead, then the zombie will uncontrollably devour flesh.”

  “Well,” Adele harrumphed. “This was terribly inconclusive. I will need a second opinion.” She turned and headed up the trail.

  “You always want a second opinion. You never just trust people. That’s your primary flaw—a basic mistrust of your fellow human beings,” Bea chastised as she followed in her sister’s wake.

  “Maybe it’s your primary flaw. Just too trusting.”

  “Oh, here we go again with the character analysis. You can’t ever just lose gracefully. Always have to get a dig in.”

  “You started with the character assassination. I said I would concede with a second opinion. Is that unreasonable? Why can’t it ever be enough with you? You always want to make it about …” Adele’s words faded as the two marched off up the trail, bickering as they went. Matt and Jade just stood there in the blooming silence. A breeze danced through brittle leaves and lifted Jade’s bangs from her forehead. The scuttering sound of a small animal whispered through the underbrush nearby.

  “Are they always like that?” Matt asked.

  Jade grinned. “Really? Homer?”

  • • •

  The hike back to Lakehaven was less eventful, with Jade playing guide and Matt listening intently. She was determined to keep her distance after that kiss—that mind-blowing, amazing kiss that she was most certainly not thinking about. Instead, she focused on all of the reasons it was a bad idea. One: He was a man. Enough said. Two: He was a sophisticated city dweller and therefore her complete opposite. Three: He was pretty great and she was sure to mess things up anyway. Four—there was probably a four, but who was counting?