“Good, because—”
“I’ll be sure she makes it,” Jake said, the finality in his tone brooking no more discussion. “Even if I have to hand her the phone in bed myself.” He gave Anna’s hand a more definite tug. “Now I think we’d better be getting back to the guesthouse.”
Todd’s eyes widened. “But you just got here.”
“Yeah, I did.” Jake grinned. “See you tomorrow, Todd.”
Chapter 11
“Jake! Are you serious?” Anna’s voice squeaked as they made their way back through the crush of people. “I don’t even have a key to the guesthouse. I mean, I expect there will be people there, but I—”
“I have no immediate intention of doing anything at the guesthouse, Anna,” Jake said, trying to keep the growl out of his words. Everything about that fucking jackwit set his teeth on edge. If they hadn’t gotten away so quickly, Jake would have been sorely tempted to work out his frustrations with his fists for the first time in longer than he could remember. And that wouldn’t have been good. Satisfying, but not good.
It’d been more than five years since Jake had been locked up for not being able to keep a hold on his temper. He’d vowed back then that he wasn’t going to see the inside of another jail cell because of his lack of control, and he’d kept that vow. Some little corporate pissant like Todd Moreland wasn’t worth going back on his word. And yet … “For chrissakes. You dated that guy? What the hell was that about?”
“I know, I know,” Anna groaned. “It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time.” Before Anna could muster a response, however, they broke free from the crowd. Jake felt the release of the pressure that had been coiled within him, as if a valve had just been turned, and he stepped with Anna into the cool, moist air surrounding the dock house. Instantly it felt like they had traveled into another world. Only a single line of torches broke the heavy veil of darkness and Jake instinctively reached for Anna’s hand. They walked close together from torch to torch, until the noise of the dock house had faded to a distant hum.
Then Jake stepped out of the protective arc of the torchlight, drawing Anna with him into the shadows.
“Hey!” Anna gasped, her hand tightening on his. “Where are you going?”
“Shhh. Riding up through all of these trees to get here got me thinking. It seemed like a pretty secluded place, all in all. And secluded is exactly what I think we need right now.”
“I don’t like Spanish moss,” Anna muttered, and Jake grinned. She sounded nervous, a little bit scared. Let her think it was because of a bunch of creepy plant shit hanging off the trees if that made her feel better. He knew that it also had to do with the fact that they were alone once again … and every time they ended up alone, really interesting things happened. Really interesting things that he intended to make happen right here, maybe up against one of these trees with the long strands of moss protecting them from view. That’d go a long way toward cooling him off—cooling him off and turning up an entirely different kind of heat all at once.
“It’s not so bad,” he said, pulling away from her just enough to turn his body, so that when she took another step she came sharply up against him, almost stumbling in the darkness.
“Jake, stop that!” Anna hissed, and now he did hear the fear in her voice. He didn’t like that sound, and he instantly felt like an ass.
“Hey there, shhh, it’s okay,” he said, his arms going around her like it was the most natural reaction in the world. She shivered in his embrace, and he tightened his grip. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted you to myself.”
“It’s okay. I just … I just get a little freaked-out at night, especially when I’m not someplace I know.”
He drew a hand down her arm. “Or not with someone you know?” he asked quietly, not willing to let her off the hook.
“Well, I clearly don’t know you as well as I even thought,” Anna said. “That stuff you said back there to Todd, where did that come from? You sounded like you talked like that for a living. I totally bought it, and I couldn’t even follow it. Do you seriously do that kind of work?”
“Not hardly.” Jake snorted, but he continued rubbing Anna’s arms rhythmically, glad when she softened yet further under his touch. “My line of work, you run into guys from all walks of life. Some of them have the bikes they deserve after a long love affair with the road, and some of them just buy a bike because it’s the best, and they figure they deserve the best. It’s all good, but when I work with a bike, I get to know the owner, too. This one guy was some sort of city contractor, planning a new development that was running into problem after problem. He got a custom Ducati to ease his stress, and ended up falling in love with the damned thing. Which was good, because the amount of work he needed to put into her would have broken a man less dedicated. But he talked all the time about issues at his job, and always with the same long-winded explanation about what the causes were behind the problems.” He kissed the crown of Anna’s head, nestling his face in the curls that smelled like honeysuckle. “So how did I do?”
“You did great. I seriously don’t think Todd knew what hit him.”
“Speaking of.” She stiffened, but made no move to draw away—another benefit of trapping her in the middle of a dark, sinister stand of trees, no doubt. “What’s the deal with you and Todd? I thought you said you guys were through.”
“We are through,” Anna said firmly. “Completely through.”
“Yeah? Well, someone hasn’t given him the memo. What was he talking about with the Japan call?”
“I really don’t want to talk about that right now, if that’s okay?” He could feel the tension in Anna, and something strange shifted in him then. He wanted to hold her, protect her, make everything okay. He wanted to be the one she came to with her problems, the one she trusted. He didn’t know what to do with those thoughts, or the uneasiness they brought with them. Connection wasn’t his thing. Relationships were meant to be enjoyed, then left behind before emotions got involved and you did something stupid. But standing here with Anna, in the cool embrace of these ancient trees, Jake no longer knew what he wanted.
“Anna—” he began, but her quick words cut him off.
“Could we maybe not talk anymore at all for a little while? About anything?”
That plaintive request had him smiling again. If talking was off the table, then he definitely knew what he wanted. “Hmm. Then whatever will we do?” Jake heard himself murmuring, finally letting his fingers trace the scooped neckline of her insanely hot red dress, and just the edge of the warm skin beneath. Her body seemed more pliant in his arms, and when his fingers slid up to the curve of her neck, the sigh she released took him the rest of the way to where he needed to go. Anna Richardson was playing with fire, and she probably didn’t even realize it.
Her next words were impossibly soft, and absolutely perfect. “Would you … would you mind kissing me again?” she asked.
Jake’s answering chuckle scattered Anna’s thoughts like sand in the wind. He angled her body into his as they moved maybe ten feet more, deeper into the darkness. Then he pulled her hand into his and stretched it forward. She nearly came out of her skin when it connected with something cool and dry and fairy-light. Her eyes snapped into focus.
“Spanish moss,” Jake whispered in her hair. “Just stay close to me, we’ll get you through.” He said the words quietly, letting the moss swing back to its position as he grabbed her hand again. Another few steps and he stopped, turning toward her as he settled his back against the immense oak tree. The silvery moss hung around them like a tattered canopy, shifting in the moonlight, and Anna’s eyes widened as she looked around. The grove of trees, so eerie in the daylight, was absolutely beautiful at night, with the moon shining through from above. The moss shimmered beneath the stately oaks, whose branches seemed to reach out to embrace the sky, the park … and them.
Jake turned her head gently back toward him, pulling her up against his bo
dy. He was hard and ready, and that fact frankly still astonished her. She hadn’t been unaware of the many beautiful women at the rehearsal dinner. The South seemed to be full of them, willowy and graceful, with soft accents and softer skin, and not one of them with dark circles under their eyes indicating that sleep was something best left to other people. Not one of them with skin that seemed as white as a piece of copier paper, even in the middle of summer, from lack of exposure to the sun.
And yet Jake hadn’t looked at any of those women. He’d come straight to her side, taken her hand, and helped her fend off Todd’s advances as if she were his actual, honest to God girlfriend. Then he’d pulled her out here as if he really just wanted to get her alone to … to … she didn’t know what. But she suspected it would be really good. She raised her eyes to look into his, and found him staring back, the intensity of his gaze almost a physical thing between them.
“Anna,” Jake said roughly, as his hands moved up to her hair, and he threaded his fingers through it. She placed both of her palms on his hard chest, feeling the strength of him beneath her. Her hands fell lower, and her fingers sought the curves of his muscles through his shirt. He was wearing a button-down over his jeans tonight in a nod to the decorum of the event, though, and she couldn’t feel them. Without asking, without thinking, she pulled the soft material free from his jeans and slid her fingers up against his abdomen, taking in the sturdy warmth.
“You feel so good,” she said, and Jake responded with a half-choked laugh, and then his large hands were suddenly gone from her hair, and she jumped as they touched the sides of her breasts, caressing them for a moment before drifting farther down to press against either side of her waist.
“I have wanted to do this since the moment I saw you tonight,” he said. Anna drew an unsteady breath as Jake gathered up the smooth silky material in his fingers, and then she felt his hands on her ass and hips through the thin layer, his fingers sinking into the soft flesh.
“Where in God’s name did you get this dress?” he asked. “It’s absolutely perfect on you.”
“You like it?” Anna didn’t care that the question was stupid, she just wanted to hear Jake say more of these wonderful things to her, to believe all of this was real, if only for tonight.
“I love it,” Jake replied with feeling. “But that’s not going to stop me from pulling it off of you later. Kiss me,” Jake urged her. He bent his head down and Anna stretched up, deliberately dragging her body up his. Jake groaned and she snatched the sound from his lips as their mouths connected. His lips were sensually soft. They moved against hers with rhythmic power as he buried a hand in her hair, gathering it tightly as he crushed her against him. Jake surrounded her with his long, hard body, his powerful arms. His legs pressed against her thighs as she lost herself in the kiss. Gasping for breath, her tongue slid forward and met his. Electricity shot through her, fusing them together.
The power she felt in that moment almost undid her. It was heady, pulsing, and it sizzled in her fingertips as they lay on Jake’s hard, shuddering body. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes now on his lips, as if savoring the thought of them, aching to taste them again. Then Jake’s left hand left the small of her back, and shifted downward, his kiss intensifying even as small whorls of delicious panic started skittering along Anna’s nerves. He started pulling the fabric of her dress again, scrunching it in his fingers, but this time he didn’t stop until its hem cleared her upper thighs, and then there was only his hand against her skin as he slid it beneath the fluttery skirt. Anna froze, paralyzed by the reaction of her body to his hand on her thigh, so close to everything that was going wild with heat and panic, his fingers splayed against the edge of her silk thong, tracing the edge.
“Nice,” Jake breathed, and Anna moaned as his hand cupped the roundness of her bottom again. The feel of his rough palm against her sensitive skin crowded out any other thoughts. He began stroking her, the rhythm adding to the crescendo thrumming inside her belly. Anna’s heart began to race, the pounding of her pulse keeping time with the crashing need she felt. She put both of her hands on Jake’s face, branding his mouth with hers, pressing hard into him as he swelled against her, his breath growing ragged.
“Jake,” she gasped, not knowing how to say it, not knowing how to ask him for what she wanted, what she craved so deeply that it seemed to redefine her being. The aching desire came from her body, yes, but also from her brain, her heart, her nerves—everything. She felt as if this was the one opportunity to make everything happen perfectly, and she dared not miss this chance. It created a need so powerful she wanted to cry, to call out, to shred his clothes with her fingers—anything so that he wouldn’t stop. “Please … I want … please,” she moaned, and he gripped her tightly to him, grazing her face, her jaw, the dip of her collarbone with his mouth, his kisses becoming more urgent.
“I will, Anna,” he said, speaking the words like an oath. He met her gaze then, and the war between them raged for a few seconds more. What was it she saw in his eyes … and what was she betraying with her own? This wasn’t actually a thing between them. It couldn’t be. He was a fake and she was a liar, and this perfect night was nothing more than an illusion. She knew it, he knew it, they both knew it. So what was happening here?
Then the moment passed, painfully, reluctantly, as their breathing calmed and Anna came back to herself. Jake smoothed her dress over her legs, then rested his chin on her forehead as she trembled without apology in his arms. “I’ll do it all with you, sweetheart. Everything you want, whatever you want, however many times you want it to happen. Here, back at the house, wherever.” He leaned away from her and smiled crookedly. “Now seems good, actually.”
A shout of laughter, so close it felt right next to them, shattered the silence. The crash of loud conversation swept over them, and Anna stiffened. Suddenly, she realized where she was and what she was doing. And with whom. And at what event. And how close other people were. “Jake …,” she said, “I think we should—”
But Jake chose just that moment to slide his fingers up over her hip and down again, now so very close to the center of her, where she was literally pulsing with desire. He inched his fingers down the edge of her panties and she squirmed against him, the need within her spiraling up once more. There was no way that he would miss how damp the fabric already was. “Seriously, Jake, we can’t, not here.” She sighed heavily, almost desperately, as Jake dropped his head to her neck and began nipping a small trail of kisses along the curve of her shoulder. His hand moved the final inch and cupped her body at the juncture of her thighs, and her breath left her lungs in a strangled moan.
“Shhh,” Jake said. “You wouldn’t want anyone to hear you, would you?” And he drew his knuckles over the top of her panties, the gentle pressure turning her inside out.
“You’ve got to—ohhhh,” she moaned, as he shifted direction and pressure, seeing what made her twist and gasp, while holding her firmly in place, braced against his legs when her own legs were threatening to give way beneath her.
“You’re so ready, so hot,” Jake murmured in the cool darkness, and Anna felt her head fall forward, heavy on his shoulder, even as the sensations he was evoking twisted and sharpened.
Then Jake took advantage of her position and bent to speak. “That’s right, Anna, slide over the edge for me,” he murmured, his words setting her body on fire. “Let me feel you break here, and know that I’ll give you more, so much more, so much more than you can possibly imagine. Take you places you have never—”
“Jake …” Anna intended it as a warning, but it sounded like nothing more than breathy encouragement. She realized her body was moving now, meeting Jake’s fingers stroke for stroke as he took her higher and higher. “I think, I think you should—ah!” she gasped as his fingers shifted just a little, and suddenly she was on the precipice, almost falling, almost there …
“Just ride it out, sweetheart. Let it go. Imagine me filling you up, hard and tight against
you, touching you right here, just like this, buried inside you, making you mine—”
And just like that she shattered, the orgasm almost knocking her sideways, as some minute twitch of Jake’s fingers suddenly plunged her over the other side, the convulsion of her movement making him immediately change position and grab for her, pressing her close, holding her, as she shuddered and gasped and twisted, adrenaline and release skating through her.
She’d barely caught her breath when Jake straightened. “You know, maybe we should go back and mingle some more,” he said, his words crisp and defined when even Anna’s thoughts felt mushy and soft. She could hear the smile in his voice. “People might talk.”
“What? Oh,” she managed to say, her brain slowly clearing. “Well, of course, if that’s what you want.” She bit her lip, turning to peer into the distance, where the lot of cars and one shiny motorcycle awaited. “But your bike is not so far away from here, is it? I wouldn’t mind going back to the guesthouse, if you’d rather,” Anna said. She voiced the next words that came into her head, not realizing until too late how needy they sounded. “We only have tomorrow, you know. Then the weekend will be over and it’s back to real life.”
Jake chuckled, then held her back from him, his teeth flashing in the filtered moonlight, but his eyes unreadable. “Keep telling yourself that, Anna, if it makes you feel better,” he said softly, sending a whole new set of emotions spinning through her. “But there’s a whole lot of road between now and real life.”
Chapter 12
Jake followed Anna up the wide veranda steps of the guesthouse. He’d convinced her to check in again at the rehearsal dinner, to make sure she wasn’t needed, and they’d ended up staying another thirty minutes. Still, not even Todd had been able to break through Anna’s good cheer, and Jake hadn’t even bothered to hide his own smug look. He’d caught Kristen looking at them from across the dance floor more than once, clearly having a hard time trying to figure out how serious they were—or who he really was. No one was going to believe he worked for some stiff-ass financial firm for long, but how much was it worth to the bride-to-be to know the truth?
Fake It Page 10
