Leslie Kelly, Jennifer LaBrecque

by Blazing Bedtime Stories Vol. V (lit)

  “Wow. I didn’t want to distract you before, but now…” He wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled at her neck, sending a rash of shivers coursing through her.

  She was caught between the counter and him and there was definitely a growing ridge pressing against her buttocks. “You think that might distract me?” She wiggled against him.

  “Maybe.” Jake reached around and cupped her breasts in his hands, catching each nipple between his thumb and forefinger, tugging. “Or this might.”

  She dropped her head back to his shoulder and pushed her chest harder into his hands. “It’s a definite possibility.”

  “How long do the eggs take?”

  “About another three minutes.”

  “I think we both need a little longer than that.”

  “I think you’re right. Why don’t you grab two plates and some silverware?”

  “I like what I’m holding on to better, but in the interest of eating in three minutes…”

  Jake made her laugh. He was a rare mix of seriously sexy with a great sense of humor. So often seriously sexy, seriously handsome men took themselves…well, too seriously. Jake seemed to be an exception, although he had the handsome, sexy part down pat.

  He let go of her breasts, which he couldn’t possibly regret more than she did, and then surprised her by slapping her on the bare butt. “Serve me my breakfast.”

  “If you don’t watch it, you’ll be wearing your breakfast,” she shot back without rancor, in the same teasing vein.

  A few minutes later they were seated at the breakfast bar. Jake was eating as if she’d put a gourmet meal before him instead of what she’d cobbed together from the cupboard.

  “So, what’d you think of the hike up here yesterday?” he said as he tucked into the eggs and beans.

  “The first part was great, right up until it started to pour. After that, I knew I was going to arrive for the business meeting looking like a drowned rat.”

  He smirked at that. “I bet you’ll check the weather next time.” She wrinkled her nose at him and he laughed. “There are some great hiking trails up here. If the rain stops we could check them out…if you want to. I usually take my camera along but it’s being repaired.”

  “I’d love to. But if we actually find my shoes, they’re going to be soaking wet.”

  “Damn. I hadn’t thought about that. Crazy raccoon.” He glanced down at her feet. “What size shoe do you wear?”

  “Nine or nine and a half, depending on the brand and cut. Why, do you have a closet of spares?” She couldn’t help but wonder, quite unhappily, if he kept various sizes for the different women he brought up to the cabin.

  “Hardly, but we may be in luck.” He hopped up. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared down the hall.

  Goldie peered around the corner, noting that he went into Scott’s room rather than his own.

  He returned in a few minutes, a pair of low-cut hikers in hand. “Today’s our lucky day. Size nine and a half. One of Scott’s former girlfriends left them behind. They sat in the den for a month before he finally tossed them into the back of his closet.”

  “Does that ever get awkward?”

  “What?”

  “Bringing girlfriends up here. Do you each take rotating weekends or how do you work that?” She strove for a neutral tone but inside, she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of the women who had sat where she was sitting now, having a morning-after breakfast with Jake. And that was just silly. She had no proprietary interests in Jake Malone.

  He picked up his fork, shrugging. “It’s never been an issue. Sheila’s the only woman Scott ever brought and they were damn near engaged. Chad occasionally plans a working weekend like the one he’d set up for Friday.” His eyes held hers. “I’ve never brought anyone here.”

  His answer left her ridiculously, dangerously relieved. It shouldn’t matter one whit to her whether he kept an entire harem on the property. It shouldn’t, but it did. “And now I’ve invaded your space.”

  His voice was low and soft. “Do you hear me complaining?”

  Yet another response that set her foolish heart singing. “Those are your photos in the den?”

  “Yeah. They’re mine. I love it up here and I like capturing it with my camera.”

  And somehow what should’ve been a fifteen-minute breakfast turned into an hour and a half. They discussed hiking and photography, travel, movies and the wine business. He was smart and funny and a good conversationalist. Her last boyfriend had been fond of his own voice, for sure. Not that Jake was her boyfriend. He was just…well, a mistake she fully planned to get out of her system in the next day or so.

  Together they stacked the dishes in the sink. “Let’s not waste water on the dishes,” he said, once again trapping her against the counter and nuzzling her neck. “Since there’s only enough hot water for one shower, I suggest in the interests of conservation that we shower together.” He slid his hands up beneath her T-shirt and stroked the already-wet channel between her thighs. “I can get any of those hard-to-reach places for you.”

  She rocked against his questing fingers. “I am all about conservation…and a useful man.”

  7

  “THAT WAS A BAD IDEA,” Goldie said, but she was laughing. Jake wrapped a towel around her and then snagged his own. She had beautiful eyes. Her lashes were long but a light brown.

  “You were all for showering together,” he said.

  “Yeah, but we wouldn’t have run out of hot water if we’d stuck to just showering.”

  He blotted a wet spot on her shoulder with the end of his towel. “I had no idea how easily distracted you were.”

  She sputtered in mock outrage. “Me? I think you’re talking about yourself, mister.” One side of her towel dropped, revealing the smooth globe of her left breast.

  He could look at her naked body all day, any day. And he was never ever going to see her again at the office without thinking of her this way. Those would be hard times, in more than one way. Knotting his towel about his waist, he leaned against the doorjamb. “I have to say, that’s pretty distracting.”

  Goldie yanked her towel back up into place with a smile. Glancing over at him, she hesitated, her glance sweeping over him, lingering on his bare chest and belly, the low-slung towel. “You’re pretty distracting yourself.” Her voice had taken on a husky quality.

  As gratifying as it was to have her look at him that way, he wasn’t superstud. His business wouldn’t be good to go again for another little while. “I’m curious about something,” he said.

  “Yes?” She stood in front of the bathroom mirror finger combing her short blond hair into place.

  “Goldie’s an unusual name. Is it a family name?”

  “Nothing so sentimental. And it’s not short for anything like Golda or Goldina. My mother always liked Goldie Hawn so I was Goldie from the day she found out she was having a girl.” She pulled the T-shirt she’d worn earlier over her head. The towel dropped out from below. “When I was a kid, I hated it. I hated it all the way through high school. Kids just want to fit in.” She shrugged, hanging the towel on a wall hook. “But I like it now. I certainly don’t run into other people very often with the same name.”

  “It suits you. You’re unique.” And she was. He’d never met anyone else quite like her. And it wasn’t one single thing he could put his finger on—it was just her.

  She planted her hands on her hips, humor glinting in her eyes. “Are you saying I’m weird?”

  Jake laughed. It was nice to be around a woman who was both sexy and possessed a sense of humor. Not to mention she hadn’t complained even once about the lack of electricity. And the sex had zoomed to the top of his Best Sex I Ever Had list. Plus, she could carry on an intelligent conversation. Most beautiful women weren’t as interesting as Goldie Dawkins. And last, but not least, she seemed to get him. Excepting her matrimony requirement fatal flaw, she was the perfect woman.

 
He bridged the space separating them and pulled her close to him. He couldn’t get it up so shortly after their shower bout, but he could at least hold her close. “By no stretch of imagination did I call you weird. Unique is good, weird is weird.”

  She smiled and linked her arms around his neck, “I’d say you’re pretty unique yourself.”

  “I am?”

  Laughing, Goldie pressed a kiss to his lips. “You are.” She leaned back in his arms and cocked her head to one side. “Do you hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  “The rain’s stopped.”

  She was right. There was no patter against the cabin’s tin roof. “So it has.”

  “Maybe we can track down Fester’s hiding place and snag my clothes.”

  “Let me get dressed and I can do that.”

  She looked down at the too-big T-shirt she was wearing. “Did Sheila happen to leave any clothes behind?”

  They headed into his bedroom together.

  “Sorry. Only the shoes.” Not that he was really sorry. He liked seeing her wear his T-shirt, almost as much as he liked seeing her wearing nothing at all. He smiled at the thought.

  “What’s so funny?” she said.

  “Nothing really.” He pulled on a pair of clean underwear and blue jeans.

  “Uh-huh.” She picked his pajama pants off the foot of the bed where they’d wound up last night and stepped into them.

  What the hell? If she really wanted to know…. “I was just thinking that I like seeing you wear my T-shirt, almost as much as I like seeing you wearing nothing at all. You wear nothing well.”

  “Oh.” A hint of color crept up her face as she pulled the drawstring waist tight and secured it. She eyed his bare chest and unzipped jeans. “It’s a good look on you, too.”

  All she had to do was glance at him that way and he wanted her all over again. “If you don’t quit shooting me those looks, we’re not going to make it outside until much later.”

  She laughed. “Then you’d better put on a shirt because the scenery is nice from where I’m standing.”

  Tugging a T-shirt over his head, he couldn’t help but grin. “Better?”

  “In the interest of finding my clothes, I guess so.”

  As he’d told her earlier, he’d never brought a girlfriend to the cabin. It had always been a private retreat he’d never cared to share. Even though he hadn’t brought Goldie here either, he realized he wanted to show her the surrounding area. He had a feeling she’d appreciate the peace and beauty. There was, however, one thing she needed to know up front. “You know, there’s no guarantee we’ll find all of your clothes. And there’s no telling what state they’ll be in.” He tossed her a pair of socks. “You’ll need these for the shoes.”

  “Thanks.” Perching on the mattress’s edge, she put them on and pulled on his hoodie. “Okay, let’s go round up my clothes.”

  She should’ve looked ridiculous. Instead she was incredibly sexy and inspiring. She made him want to slay dragons or some other equally ridiculous heroic feat just to look good in her eyes. And that was just plain misguided. Because despite the great sex they’d shared, they both knew he was the wrong man for her.

  GOLDIE STARED AT THE sodden mess that was her clothes. They’d found them in the second place Jake had checked.

  “Wow, I didn’t think Fester would have washed, dried and folded them, but I didn’t expect this either.”

  Jake sent her a sympathetic look. “He’s a wild animal with sharp teeth and claws.”

  She really hadn’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about her clothes—she’d been too busy with Jake—but now she considered the implications of having her clothes stolen by a raccoon. “Do you think he might’ve…well…marked them? Do raccoons do that?”

  “I’m no expert, but probably.”

  Ew. She picked up a stick and lifted her T-shirt. There was a rip down the front and it was covered in dirt and leaves. Her panties were beneath the T-shirt. Even without picking them up with the stick, she could see that the crotch had been gnawed through. “Well.”

  Jake chuckled from behind her. “Fester’s a raccoon of discriminating taste.”

  “Very funny. Those were my favorite panties.”

  “Apparently he liked them, too. Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” He sobered. “Do you want me to take them to the cabin?”

  “Even if I washed them several times, I don’t think I’d ever feel comfortable wearing any of them when I think of that marking business.” She dropped the T-shirt back onto the pile and tossed the stick to the ground. “I’ll have to borrow your clothes to get home.”

  “Not a problem. It’s the least I can do since Fester destroyed yours. I guess it really isn’t funny, is it?”

  “Actually, it is, sort of. I can’t say I’ve ever had my clothes stolen by a raccoon before. And I’ve learned an important life lesson—never leave your wet clothes on the front porch in the middle of the woods.” She shrugged it off with a laugh. “So, how about that hike you were talking about?”

  “There’s a clearing northeast of here. You can see for miles from there.”

  “I’m following you.”

  They set off and a comfortable silence developed between them. On a steep part of the trail, several times he turned around and offered her a helping hand. At one point he stopped, his fingers against his lips in a quieting motion, and pointed through the trees. A white-tailed doe and her fawn stood grazing in a thicket. The wind shifted and the mother looked up, startled. Quick as a flash, they were gone.

  Goldie realized she’d been holding her breath. “That was awesome.”

  “It was, wasn’t it?” The trail had widened and Jake reached out and caught her hand in his. “This was part of an old logging road. We’re almost there. Just a little bit further.”

  It felt so right, so achingly romantic to walk through the woods together holding hands. A few yards up the trail, Jake led them past the trees to an outcropping of rocks. “Watch your step and don’t get too close to the edge. The rocks will be a little slippery from the rain. Hold on a sec.”

  He released her hand and climbed up to a particularly large boulder. Leaning back down to her, he extended his hands. “Here, I’ll help you up.”

  Within seconds, she was on top of the boulder with him. A vista of rounded mountains, some of the oldest in the United States, was spread before them. Brooding thunderclouds loomed in the distance. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, his solid warmth at her back, his cheek against her hair.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, moved by both the mountains and the man.

  “I knew you would like it,” he said, his breath warming her cheek as he tightened his arms about her.

  “I love it.” And I love you.

  For one heart-stopping moment, she was afraid she’d spoken the words aloud. How had this happened? She wasn’t prone to fancying herself in love. In fact, while she’d really liked Brett, she’d never felt this way before. Then again, she’d felt something from the very first moment she’d met Jake. It was as if she’d found what she’d been looking for, but didn’t want to acknowledge it. She’d run; she’d kept her distance until this weekend had made that impossible.

  She wished she could freeze this moment in time, that she could stay right here in his arms. Only that notion was as foolish as falling in love with him was.

  From their vantage point, she could see the rain in the distance, heading their way. Melancholy washed over her and she impatiently brushed it aside. Time enough for that later. For now, she intended to cherish every second.

  “Ready?” Jake said. “We probably need to head out now if we’re going to beat the rain.”

  “Sure. Thanks for bringing me here.”

  “It’s one of my favorite places,” he said. He leaped down from the boulder, landing on his feet. Goldie peered over the edge and her knees felt all wobbly. It seemed a whole lot farther looking down than it had going up.

  “J
ump and I’ll catch you,” he said. She hesitated. “I promise I won’t let you fall.”

  She jumped and he caught her, laughing at her evident relief. “See, I told you I wouldn’t let you fall.”

  Little did he know it was far too late for that. She’d fallen, all right. She’d fallen hard.

  8

  JAKE LAUGHED FROM sheer happiness as they reached the porch right ahead of the rain. “That was a close call.”

  Goldie rubbed her hands over her arms. “It’s hard to believe May is this chilly. But then, I don’t spend much time in the mountains, either.”

  “It’s the mountains and the cold front bringing the rain.” He opened the door for her. “Let’s build another fire.”

  “Good idea.”

  Hmm. Another good idea would be lying in front of the fire with her naked. They went in and it was cozier inside than he could ever remember it being before—maybe it was the dampness outside, the sound of the rain on the roof, or having Goldie here with him. Thunder rumbled in the distance and she jumped slightly. He knew now how she felt about tornadoes. He couldn’t control the weather, but he’d do damn near anything he could to keep her out of harm’s way. “Are you okay?” he said, putting his arm around her.

  She looked up at him and smiled. “It startled me but I’m fine. I feel safe with…well, here.”

  Jake had the impression that she’d almost said she felt safe with him. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Let’s get that fire started.”

  She eyed the dwindling supply of wood on the hearth. “Do you have more logs?”

  “They’re on the back porch—”

  “I didn’t even know there was a back porch.”

  “The door’s sort of tucked into the back corner of the kitchen, past the table.”

  “If you want to bring in more logs, I’ll lay the kindling.”

  They worked efficiently together. Jake hauled in varying sizes of firewood and Goldie had built an excellent fire. “Wow. I’m impressed.”