by Amy Burnt
“Good grief. No you’re not,” Jake nearly shouted. He jumped up and walked the few steps over to the sofa.
“You are sleeping over here whether you like it or not,” he told her as he picked her up along with the blankets that covered her. He carried her in his arms, holding her closely against him, and laid her in front of the still bright fire. Abby instantly felt pleasure from the radiating warmth.
“If you insist,” she lightly teased. She was way too cold to put up any sort of argument anymore. She felt his weight when he lay down beside her. Between the warmth of the fire and the nearness of Jake, Abby finally decided to let a little of her guard down. Jake had been nothing but the perfect gentleman, and even now, as he lay so close beside her, he didn’t try to make any type of move. Abby was surprised to find that she was sort of disappointed he didn’t at least try.
“Jake?” Abby softly whispered.
“Yes?” he answered her. She turned to face him, now that she was warmer. Her green eyes stared intently into his deep blue ones.
“Thank you,” she said with simple honesty. That was her way of sending an invitation, allowing him to get closer. She knew he understood and accepted when he leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. Although she knew she still felt cool to the touch, she welcomed his kiss and warmed beneath him, pressing her lips more firmly against his, wanting more. She raised her hand to caress his face, running her fingertips along the five o’clock shadow that had formed along his jaw.
Jake slid his arms around Abby, pulling her closer. For the first time in forever, she felt herself letting her guard down. She wanted this, and it felt right. Jake’s kiss was mesmerizing, and she entwined her fingers in his hair, trying to bring herself even closer to him.
“You’re so beautiful,” Jake murmured as he trailed kisses on her neck. His hands roamed over her body. His hands found their way beneath her shirt, cupping her breasts, and Abby softly moaned in reply. She pulled her shirt off and tossed it across the room, wanting more from him. Jake reached around and undid the hook of her bra, kissing her neck and along her shoulder while he did. Pulling the straps aside, he continued kissing down her body and over each breast, tenderly caressing first one and then the other. Abby thrilled at the sensations his skilled mouth sent all over her body. When his hands reached the waistband of her pants, gently beginning to tug them down, Abby lifted her hips to help.
Once her pants were off, Jake paused, staring down at her, now only wearing her sheer white panties. “Abby…Abby,” he said, at a loss for words.
The anticipation was killing Abby. She wanted him, very badly. She leaned up and pulled him back down on top of her, fumbling with his pants in her impatience.
Jake chuckled at her insistence, but assisted her with removing his pants. Kissing her again, his hand ran back down her body, over the rise of her breasts, down her stomach and stop at the top of her panties. After an agonizing pause, his hand continued its descent beneath the sheer panty. When his fingertips skimmed her sex, the feeling made Abby sigh in ecstasy. As he moved deeper and found a rhythm, Abby’s body moved with him in response. “I want you, Jake” Abby whispered in his ear, finding his rock, hard member with her hands, wanting to find her release with him inside of her.
Not needing any further encouragement, Jake finagled a condom out of his pants pocket nearby. Putting it on, he came back over Abby, meeting her eyes as his member found her sex, warm and ready.
As he began to slowly make love to her, she held him tightly against her, closing her eyes and thrilling at the feel of him. She never wanted this to end.
He picked up the pace, and she cried out in pleasure as he filled her deeply, arching her back and moving to meet his rhythm. He soon followed, and lay on top of her, spent and breathing heavily. Abby wrapped her legs around him, not quite ready for him to move away from her yet.
Awash in the blissful after-moments of their lovemaking, they lay there for several moments as their breathing began to calm down. Abby felt like she was on a high after having the most romantic lovemaking experience of her life. The scene felt as if it were out of a movie, it seemed so perfect. The only thing missing is a shower of rose petals,she thought to herself and smiled as she felt the stubble on Jake’s jaw against her shoulder.
“You’re amazing, Abby,” Jake said into the stillness. He moved from on top of her to lie against her side, pulling her into his arms and against his bare chest. Abby pulled the blankets back over the two them as she settled against him.
“So are you,” Abby replied, slightly shivering as she thought about what they had just done. Now that the passion had subsided, reality was beginning to sink in strongly for her. She had once again succumbed to a man who was planning to leave town soon.
* * * *
Jake could feel the complete change in Abby’s demeanor the moment it happened. Everything was going perfect up until she shivered. What had happened? He was holding her closely, but she might as well have been a million miles away.
“Abby, is everything okay?” he asked, knowing it wasn’t. He was hoping she would open up to him, though. He needed to get through to her. This was the real deal for him, and he would do everything in his power to make Abby see that.
“Just thinking” she whispered and sighed. He knew he wasn’t getting anywhere.
“I want you to know something,” he started, “Tonight meant a lot to me. Spending time with you is amazing. I’m falling for you, Abby.” He wanted to make her certain that she wasn’t just a one-night stand to him and that his feelings were genuine
“I’m so thrilled that you want to spend the couple of days you plan on being in Pinesville getting to know me,” she said with sarcasm.
“It’s not like that, Abby. I meant what I said. I care about you,” Jake explained, trying to work past her coldness. He wanted the warm and happy Abby of just a few moments ago to come back.
“Jake, I’ve unfortunately been down this road one too many times before. A wonderful guy sweeps me off my feet, promising champagne, roses and to keep in touch, only to drop off the face of the planet when his plane leaves the runway,” she said sadly.
“I am not going to do that, Abby, and I promise to prove it,” Jake told her, conviction in his voice.
“Why should I believe you? When your boss finishes with the sale, you have no reason to stick around,” Abby shot back.
Jake quickly tossed around the idea of telling her the truth. It needed to be done, but he decided that now was not the time to open that can of worms, when she was already so up in arms. He wouldn’t lie to her but would simply omit any telling details.
“Who knows? Maybe I will relocate to Pinesville. There is a lot to like about this place, and the airport will need to be overseen,” he told her.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I will be here. I had hoped, up until two days ago, to be the operations manager at the airport. Now, I don’t even know if I will have a job there at all. I appreciate your valiant efforts at trying to make me feel better, but let’s call this what it is,” Abby muttered pessimistically. Jake was growing tired of bearing the brunt of other men’s mistakes very quickly.
“Woman, you are so frustrating,” Jake said in exasperation. He turned her to face him and kissed her deeply. Pulling back, he cupped her face tenderly with his hands. “Look at me. I care about you alot more than you think I do. Let me have the chance to show you. Please,” he pleaded as he stared into her eyes. Her eyes couldn’t lie; he could tell in them that she cared about him too, but he also saw a great deal of fear, as well. “Let me in, Abby. I promise you won’t regret it,” he said with his forehead against hers.
“I’m scared, Jake,” she finally admitted in the smallest of whispers.
“I know you are, but I’ll show you there isn’t any reason to be.”
“I will try, Jake. I will try.” She finally nuzzled against his chest, closing her eyes.
Jake rested his cheek on her hair, succumbing to much-ne
eded sleep, so grateful for the chance he had with the woman he held so close in his arms
Chapter Four
When Abby woke up, she was a little disoriented and unsure of her surroundings. I’ve never slept on my living room floor before, she reasoned once she figure out that that was indeed where she was. After stretching her arms to relieve some of the stiffness the night on the floor had caused, she stood up. Wrapping herself in a quilt and stepping over a sleeping Jake, she peered out her living room window. I wonder what type of damage we’ll be dealing with, she thought as she pulled the blanket more tightly around her shoulders, trying to ward off the chill.
Pulling back her canvas curtains, she opened the blinds and saw that everything was covered in a fresh, powdery blanket of white. It didn’t look unmanageable to Abby—not like other storms that had already hit this winter—and the sun, already beginning to rise, would warm everything up considerably. The power had already been back on for at least an hour, so her house was getting nice and toasty again, too.
“We can get back to the airport in a couple of hours,” Abby quietly said aloud as she looked out. The snow would still need a bit of time to be cleared off the main roads.
“What’s the hurry?” Jake whispered as he came up behind her and encircled her in his arms. Abby sighed and leaned back against his broad chest, relishing in the strong, masculine feel of him. She could really get used to this.
“The hurry is that the airport needs as many staff members as it can get to report there as soon as possible. Some workers live in areas that may have been hit harder than this. We have to get there and get it back up and running as soon as possible for the out-of-town passengers stuck in Pinesville,” Abby explained.
“The new owner would be crazy not to keep you on and make you management. You’re so on top of things,” Jake remarked, nuzzling her neck.
“Thanks. Maybe he will. Do you want some breakfast? I can make a mean waffle,” Abby changed the subject, trying not to think about the possible upcoming changes to her life and her career. She pulled away from Jake’s embrace with the intent of putting on some clothes and heading to the kitchen, but he held tightly to her hand.
“That would be great. I’m starving. Do you want some help?” he asked.
“Sure, but I think we should get dressed first,” Abby said while trying to avert her eyes from a very naked Jake in front of her, and also while trying not to think about her own nakedness, concealed only by a quilt that kept wanting to slip off of her shoulders.
“I have every intention of getting dressed, but I have other plans for now,” he said as he pulled her close to him again, showing her with his passionate kiss exactly what those plans entailed.
“I guess breakfast can wait,” Abby murmured against his warm neck with a smile, her blanket pooling at her feet.
* * * *
“You weren’t kidding. That waffle looks mean,” Jake observed as he tried to keep a straight face. He wanted to laugh at Abby’s face, wrinkled with consternation.
“I promise this isn’t how I usually cook. I normally don’t burn waffles. I meant ‘mean’ in an entirely different way than this,” she replied as she poked at the blackened waffle sitting on a plate on the counter.“You’ve spent way too much time distracting me this morning!” Abby joked, lightly smacking his arm.
“Hey now, don’t go blaming this on me!” Jake teased right back, gesturing to their burnt breakfast. As Abby opened the pantry door, he admired the view he had as she reached up to the top shelf.
“How does cereal sound?” her muffled voice asked.
“Sounds pretty good right about now.” Jake couldn’t help himself. It was so much fun to get a rise out of her. She held two boxes of cereal in her hands and was looking at him with a narrowed expression.
“You better watch it, mister,” she warned, sitting the boxes on the counter and pulling a carton of milk from the fridge.
When they were seated at her small breakfast table with red cereal bowls in front of them, Jake realized how much he enjoyed sharing this simplicity with Abby. The no frills cereal at the kitchen table while they were still in pajamas was very foreign to his usual on-the-go business breakfast meetings or hotel continental provisions in at least three different cities every week.
“What are you thinking about?” Abby asked, breaking his reverie.
“I’m thinking about how much I like this,” he answered honestly.
“It’s just generic Raisin Bran, Jake,” she told him quizzically, spoon in the air.
“No, not the cereal.This.You and me. Eating breakfast together like we’ve done it a thousand times before,” he explained.He noticed that she blushed a bit at his words. He liked to make her blush.
“Oh. I like it too,” she replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.
He finished his breakfast and took their bowls to the sink. Abby poured him another cup of coffee.
“I’m going to jump in the shower. I will only be a minute, and you can take one when I get out,” she told him as she walked towards the bedroom.
Jake washed their small amount of breakfast dishes while Abby got in the shower. When he finished, he gave Will a call to make sure he was okay. So much had happened last night,he felt kind of badly that it had just now crossed his mind to check on his friend. He’s a grown man who knows how to take care of himself, though, Jake rightly reasoned.
“Hey Jake,” Will said into the phone after a couple of rings.
“Hey man, how did you fare during the storm?” Jake asked him.
“Pretty darn good. Scarlett and I made it back to the cabin just in the nick of time and have been holed up here all night. I’m not complaining,” Will told him.
“So you’ve been with Scarlett this whole time?” Jake prompted.
“Yeah man. She’s great. Where are you?” Will asked.
“I got stranded at the home of one of the airplane mechanics,” Jake said. He didn’t want to share too many details about his night with Abby. He had a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate it too much.
“Oh. Okay. Is everyone all right? I have a feeling we will be stuck up here until at least mid-morning,” Will explained.
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem too bad here. We are heading to the airport in just a little bit.”
“Well, as soon as we can make it down the drive, we’ll be there,” Will continued. “Scarlett said she had some work piling up, and with the flight cancellations and re-routings because of the storm, she said she really needs to get there as soon as possible.”
“It’s good to know she cares so much about her job and the airport,” Jake remarked. He had assumed Scarlett just wanted to marry a rich guy. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all. Will did seem to really be taken with her.
“Jake, I told you. She’s awesome,” Will said. Jake could detect a hint of worry in his voice, though.
“She still thinks you are buying the airport?” Jake ventured.
“Yes, I’m pretty sure. We don’t really talk about it, but she makes a comment every once in awhile that makes me know that’s what she believes,” Will worried.
“I get where you’re coming from Will. I think we should clear all of this up later today. I don’t want to come off as dishonest, and I’m going to need to clear some things up with someone else other than Scarlett,” Jake said, resolving to tell Abby everything.
“Sounds like a plan. I can’t avoid the truth with Scarlett much longer, and I refuse to outright lie to her. I’ll see you later,” Will said, seeming to be in a hurry to get off the phone.
Jake hung up just as Abby came into the living room, all dressed in a jumpsuit and boots, clearly ready for the day.
“You are hands down the sexiest mechanic I have ever met,” Jake said, staring at her appreciatively.
“Why, thanks. Now get in the shower; our ride will be here soon,” Abby replied as Connor bounded up to her from his comfy bed. His meds had worn off, and he was ready to be taken out.
“Your truck! I completely forgot,” Jake exclaimed as the realization hit him. “We need to call someone to pull it out.”
“No need. I already did. My neighbor two houses down is going to swing by and get us in ten minutes, so you need to hurry up. He is going to pull it out for us. I think it will be fine to drive, but if it isn’t, he’ll give us a ride to the airport, too.”
Jake hurried to shower and get dressed again in his now-dry clothes while Abby took Connor out and put out fresh water and food for him.
Half an hour later, Abby was behind the wheel of Jack’s—her neighbor’s—dually truck while he and Jake guided her truck out of the drift. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she had originally thought it would be. Nothing more than a couple of feet of snow now held it captive.
Once the truck was free, she hopped out and headed to see if it was drivable. Jack, one of her father’s friends who was pushing seventy-five but didn’t look a day over fifty, was unhooking her truck, and Jake was busy checking out the front end.
“Thanks, Jack. You’re a lifesaver,” she said and kissed his cheek as she passed him.
When she inspected her truck, it seemed as if everything was in order, and there was no real damage, save for a few light scratches. She hopped in and stuck her key in the ignition. The truck thankfully cranked right up. She caught Jake’s eye through the windshield and gave him a very relieved thumbs up. Rolling down the window, she shouted, “I think we are good to go! Jack, tell Martha you guys need to come over for dinner so I can repay you for your help.”
“It was no problem at all, Abby. You tell Jim I said hello,” Jack said as he placed his towing strap in the back of his truck, probably getting ready to go help other people stuck in snow drifts.
“It was nice to meet you, Jack,” Jake said to the older man before he got into the passenger’s side of Abby’s truck.
