by M. E. Parker
He brought over what looked like a steak grilled to perfection, and a plate full of steamed vegetables that he had unwrapped from tin foil packets that had been sitting on the grill. “This looks delicious, Jack.” I said as I took my first bite. It was delicious, and I was beginning to believe that anything he touched would probably turn out just right.
I moaned a little as I took another bite of steak. Jack smiled at me and shook his head. “I’m glad you asked about the farm Freckles, because I have a proposal for you.”
“Oh yeah, is it an indecent one?” I asked smiling throwing his old joke back in his face.
“No. this one is totally on the up and up. The indecent one comes later.” He said with a smirk. “I want you to do some consulting for me.” I raised an eyebrow at him, but I didn’t say anything. “I want you to do a profitability analysis on the farm. I will pay you $30,000. I’m thinking it should take around thirty days to complete.” I practically choked on my steak.
“Jack that’s ridiculous. You’re not inventing some sort of fake job on the farm for me—I…”
He interrupted me. “Stop Claire. At least listen before you turn it down. This is something I have wanted to have done for the last year. I told you how fast we grew. Because of that, I have had to outsource just about everything. I pay a company to take care of benefits, payroll, investment in 401Ks, and that is just the start. There is so much I don’t do on my own, because I just don’t have the time. I want somebody to look at everything, figure out what makes sense to bring back in-house and give me a plan to do it. This isn’t a fake job. It needs to be done, I know I’m throwing away a ton of money right now.”
He looked at me with hopeful eyes. “Jack—there are firms out there that do this sort of thing, I don’t think I’m qualified, I mean I have practically zero experience with something like that.”
“Claire. Listen, I’ve looked into those firms, what would you guess one of them would charge me for something like that?”
“I don’t know, maybe a quarter of a million or a little more.”
“Exactly. I recognize you have no experience—but you don’t have any overhead either, no employees to pay and you’re available. I could have you full time. Something in my gut tells me that you would be perfect for this. My gut rarely lets me down, so I’m telling you that I’m willing to take the risk and give you a chance.”
“So, you want me to look at your business and find ways for you to make more money? Why? You don’t strike me as greedy. What’s the deal?” I couldn’t help but feel skeptical about what he was asking me to do.
“It’s not for me. I want to put it back into the business. I want to figure out how to pay more competitive wages—to get some of my seasonal workers to move to Spring Hill full time. Most of them live outside the county, I’d like to get them to move to town—it would be great for the economy here. The small businesses really struggle during the offseason. I want to see if I can give something back to this town.”
Holy shit, he’s serious, I thought to myself. My heart was pounding with excitement. It was a huge opportunity, but I had serious doubts about my qualifications. I hadn’t really done anything since I had graduated from business school and even though I had done small projects similar to this in school, there was nothing on this scale. Before I could respond, he continued his pitch.
“Claire—think about it. This is good for you. You said you wanted to do something real. You said you wanted to figure out what you wanted to do. Maybe you’ll like this and then you’ll have experience, something to put on your resume. I’m sure your father spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on that education, you should put it to use. And frankly, I want to take advantage of it.”
“I don’t know Jack. This is big. It’s above my level of expertise. There’d be a huge learning curve. Besides that, I know nothing about farming. I’m afraid I’d disappoint you.” I smiled at him.
“Claire—I’m telling you this feels right. I trust you. I know that you will listen to what I want and figure out a way for me to get it. I want you. Not some freaking firm from New York. I’m willing to take the risk on this. And if you decide to do it, I happen to know an expert in farming and I’m willing to give you twenty-four-hour access to him.” He smiled at me and then winked.
I swallowed hard still trying to take in the magnitude of his offer. He interrupted my thoughts. “Claire—if you want, I can take you to town tomorrow. I can probably convince the bank to hire you as a teller, or you can sweep floors at Smithfield’s, or you can wait tables and wash dishes at Suzie’s Diner. But if you take one of those jobs, you will be taking a job from someone else who is not qualified to do anything else.” He smirked at me. He knew this would get to me.
“Now you’re just playing hardball, Jack.”
“What can I say? I’m a tough negotiator. Listen, if what you really want is some menial job, I’ll hire you to work on the farm. You can help Luke with the animals. The job starts at $9.00 per hour. After 90 days, it goes up to $10.00 and you get benefits. Of course, if you take it, I might have to fire Luke because I can’t stand the thought of you spending all that time alone with him.”
I laughed at him and threw my napkin at him. “You’re ridiculous Jack. You’re trying to make it impossible for me to say no, aren’t you?”
He shrugged. His eyes were dancing in the light from the candle.
“Okay. I’ll do it. But you can’t be mad if I disappoint you.”
“You’re not going to disappoint me Freckles.” He said as he picked up the wine bottle to pour me another glass. It was empty. “I’m going to open another.” He said smiling at me. “We have some celebrating to do.” I rolled my eyes at him. I was crazy nervous about the job he had just offered me but at the same time I was crazy excited. My mind was already reeling with possibilities, ideas, and tons of questions I wanted to ask him.
He came back out and refilled my glass. “I have a condition Freckles.”
“What’s your condition?” I asked smiling at him.
“You can’t start for a week. I need a vacation, and this is about the only time of year I can take one and I want to spend it with you.”
I watched him walk around the table and sit down across from me. He reached out and grabbed my hand across the table. As far as I was concerned, there was too much distance between us. “So, you are saying you want to spend a week with me doing nothing?” He was staring at me intently.
“Oh, not nothing, pretty girl—I can think of plenty of things I want to do with you. Just not farm business. Not yet.”
I blushed. “I guess I can wait a week to start. Does this mean I can’t ask you to start explaining to me the finer points of soybean production?”
He started laughing, “Is that really what you want to talk about tonight?”
Part of me did. The whole idea of starting this project excited me. But what I really wanted was for him to put his hands on me. He needed to make a move soon or I would have to. I cleared my throat. “I guess not.”
“What other questions to do have? Ask me anything. I told you I wanted to answer all of them tonight. I don’t want you to have any doubts about me.”
I thought about it for a second. “Tell me about this house.”
He had a wide grin on his face and he was staring at me like he wanted to rip my clothes off. I wanted him to and I couldn’t figure out why he was waiting. “What do you want to know about it?”
“Well, obviously it’s new and it’s the size of a small hotel and it’s just you here. It’s hardly even furnished. It’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong. I know I don’t know everything about you yet, but it just seems extravagant.” I watched his face drop for a second. Oh god, I think I’ve insulted him. “Jack—I’m sorry that was rude. It’s beautiful. I didn’t mean for that to be insulting…”
He rubbed his hands over his face. “Stop apologizing.” He interrupted me. “It wasn’t rude at all. You think you don’t know me, but in a l
ot of ways, I think you know me better than some people I’ve known my whole life know me. It is extravagant, it’s ridiculous even. I don’t want you to feel weird about this, but I promised I’d be honest with you. The truth is, I built it for Tiffany. I did it before I proposed to her. It was supposed to be a surprise, but she never saw it. Well, I take that back, she showed up here once, after we had broken up, but I didn’t let her inside. It’s crazy, I thought if I built this place, she would want to stay on the farm. But eventually I realized that no matter how much I gave her, it would never be enough. I hate this place. I think it’s why I spend so much time at the fishing cabin. The size of it embarrasses me. I wish I could just move to parents’ old place, but I let Ted and Sarah move there. I can’t exactly move anywhere else or tear the place down, so I’m stuck here.”
I gave him a sympathetic smile. I knew it took a lot for him to admit that to me. Whoever Tiffany was, she must have been a complete idiot to give up on a man like Jack Colton. I won’t lie, there was a small part of me that was jealous. He must have really loved her to build this house for her. I laughed a little. “Jack, look around you. I’m pretty sure there are worse places to be stuck. You might have built it with her in mind, but it was never hers. It’s yours. You put all the work in. You should make it your own. It’s practically a blank slate. Do you still have any of your parents’ things?”
“Yeah. When Ted and Sarah moved into their place, I put it all in storage in one of the barns. Why?”
“You should move some of their stuff here. If the cabin is any indication, I’ll bet there are all sorts of treasures packed away. Buy yourself some new furniture that you like. Mix the old with the new. Fill it with things you love. Make it home.”
He looked at me smiling. He squeezed my hand and rubbed his thumb across my palm. “I think I’ve already started doing that tonight.”
My stomach dropped at his words. Did he mean to say that? ‘Fill it with things you love.’ That’s what I said to him. He said he had already started tonight. Did he mean me? I could feel a blush cover to my face. I know I was bright red. I didn’t know how to respond. I looked up at him and he looked down. My guess was that he wished he hadn’t said it. I cleared my throat and tried to think of the best way to reply. Then all the sudden, I hear a new song playing in the background. I jumped on the opportunity to change the subject. “Oh my gosh, I love this song.”
He laughed and stood up holding out his hand, “Dance with me Freckles.” I took his hand and he pulled out of the chair and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. He backed us up a few steps making room for us to move. He spun me around and I burst out laughing and he laughed with me as I twirled under his arm a few times. He brought me in close again and then dipped me. I should have known that he’d be a great dancer. He was great at everything. He pulled me close again and then kissed me playfully as I giggled against his lips trying to catch my breath. He pulled his phone out his back pocket and held it up. “Smile pretty girl.”
He snapped a picture of us. I kissed him on the cheek and he took another one. I laughed, “What’s with all the picture taking?”
He shrugged. “I just always want to remember this day.” I knew that I’d never forget it, pictures or not. He leaned down to kiss me again, he wasn’t playing anymore. A new song started to play. It was ‘Fade Into You’ by Mazzy Star. He pulled back from the kiss and took my hand in his and put the other around my waist pulling me tight up against him. We swayed to the music. I laid my head against his chest, resting my free hand against his shoulder. I could hear his heart beating and I could feel my own pounding in my chest. It was hard to figure out where mine started and his began. Butterflies were wreaking havoc in my stomach.
His hand caressed my bare back. “Claire, you are so beautiful. You look stunning tonight.” He whispered. I answered him with a kiss. It was slow and soft at first. Our mouths and tongues exploring each other. The more I kissed him, the more my body ached for him. I could feel his erection against me and I pressed my body tighter into his. I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged on his bottom lip gently with my teeth. His leg moved between mine as I shamelessly rubbed myself against his thigh. He pulled back for a second and looked at me. “Fuck.” He whispered. “I want you so bad.”
I moved my hand down his chest and stomach and rubbed his hard dick. I wanted more. I needed more. I felt his hands under my skirt squeezing my ass. Then he pushed me back a little so that he could put his hand between legs. “You’re so wet. That’s so fucking hot Claire.” He said as he put his hand down the front of my panties. His touch wasn’t gentle. It was needy as he pushed a finger inside me. “I don’t think I can wait baby. I need to be inside you.” His breathing was hard as he pulled his finger out of me and wrapped his hands around the sides of my panties and pulled them down. I quickly stepped out of them as I fumbled with the button on his jeans.
I finally managed to unbutton and unzip them. My hand was down his pants, rubbing, needing more. “Jack please.” I begged breathlessly as he continued to move his fingers in and out of me. “Now.” He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me over to a wooden table that was against the wall of the porch. He sat me on it and pushed my skirt up over my hips. I reached into his pants again as he pulled them down. I couldn’t get close enough to him. I wrapped my fingers around his hard length and ran my thumb across the tip, wanting to feel the droplets of come that had oozed out. I had never been so turned on. “Jack. I want you inside me.” I said breathlessly. His mouth descended on mine as he pushed himself inside me. I could feel him throbbing inside me as he remained still for a second, kissing and licking my neck. I pressed myself closer against him by wrapping my legs tighter around his waist. He started thrusting in and out of me. We were so close that my clit rubbed against him each time in he moved into me. The friction was causing pleasure to course through my body in a way I could never have imagined.
“Jesus, you feel so fucking good.” He whispered. “I don’t know how long I can last.” He picked up the pace, his body rubbing against my clit each time he thrust himself inside me. He moved faster and faster as I got closer and closer to the edge.
“Don’t stop Jack. It feels so good. I’m going to…I can’t…” I couldn’t even form a sentence. I couldn’t stop myself. I moaned as I came. I could feel my body pulsing around him.
“Fuck. I can feel you coming on me. That feels so good.” I could feel him coming inside me as I continued to come. It was the most intense orgasm I had ever had. My thighs were trembling, and I was out of breath. He was out of breath too.
He held me there for a few minutes. I loved feeling him inside me. He rested his forehead on mine as we caught our breath. “Damn Claire. I’m sorry. I wanted to take my time tonight. I just couldn’t wait.”
I couldn’t help but laugh and he smiled against my lips. “Obviously, I couldn’t wait either. That was incredible.”
“Yeah? Well give me a minute or two and I’ll be ready again.” He pulled out of me and pulled up his pants. “Jesus, we couldn’t even make it inside the house.” He shook his head and laughed.
I giggled as I hopped down from the table. He picked up my panties and handed them to me. “It’s a good thing you don’t have neighbors.” I said as I put them back on.
He laughed, “Yeah. Because I wouldn’t have cared. I have wanted you all day long.” He kissed me again. “Let’s move this party to the bedroom.”
I began to collect the dirty dishes and carry them in the house while Jack stayed behind on the porch to take care of the fire and turn off the heaters. I was standing at the sink when he walked up behind me with the last of the dishes. He ran his fingers down my back. “Leave these. We’ll do them in the morning.” He whispered. “Meet me upstairs. I’m going to lock up.” He kissed me on the cheek and I turned to walk upstairs. “Claire.” He called out to me. I turned around. “Leave that dress on. I want to take it off.” I blushed and nodded
my head.
Chapter Twelve—Jack
I watched her walk up the stairs. God, she was sexy and so beautiful, the fact that she didn’t know it made me that much more attracted to her. The sex out on the porch was hot as fuck. I really didn’t intend for it to happen. I had never lost control like that with anyone. It was if I couldn’t wait another second to be inside of her. There was no doubt in my mind that I was falling in love with her and I was seconds away from blurting it out earlier, but I caught myself. I knew it was too soon and I was terrified to scare her away.
I locked up and grabbed the wine and two clean glasses and headed upstairs, my dick was straining against my jeans in anticipation of being close to her again. When I walked into the bedroom, she was standing barefoot by the bed with her back turned to me. I put the wine down on the bedside table and went and sat down on the edge of the bed to take off my boots. “Jesus Claire. That dress is so fucking sexy.” She turned towards me and smiled.
“This is the first time I’ve worn it.”
“Good.” I smirked. “Don’t ever wear it for anyone else.” I began to unbutton my shirt.
She took a step closer. “What are you doing?”
“Getting comfortable.” I took off my shirt and tossed it on the floor and stood up and slid my jeans off leaving them in a pile. I left on my black boxer briefs and I walked over to her and leaned in to taste her soft lips. I spun her around and moved her hair that was covering her back. Kissing her gently along her spine, I slowly unzipped the zipper of her dress that dipped from her lower back down her ass. I reached up and moved the fabric off her shoulders and watched as the dress slid down her body into a puddle around her ankles. She was wearing nothing but that black lacey thong.
