by Jenika Snow
He continued to stare at me, a slight smile on his face. He wasn't pushing me, and although I felt like I was put on the spot, my nerves overtaking everything else, this thrill moved through me. I'd never felt anything like it before.
“Yeah.” My voice was so soft I was embarrassed by it. “I'd actually love to go out with you, Jakob.”
A smile spread across his face, straight white teeth flashing, blinding. “That's good. That's really good, Poppy.” I heard his hand smack a couple times on the hood of my car before he took a few steps back.
I forced myself not to look at his body, to not appreciate the masculinity that poured from him. He gave me one more blinding smile before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a cell phone. I was glad I was with it enough to grab my phone out of my purse, assuming he wanted to exchange numbers.
Afterward we stared at each other for a few seconds. I wondered if he felt as nervous as I did. Although he seemed calm and collected, for me, on the inside, it felt like chaos.
“How about I call you later, and plan on picking you up tonight to grab something to eat?”
I swallowed roughly and nodded.
“See you tonight, Poppy.”
I watched him walk away and get into his truck. It was only a moment later that Kevin climbed into the passenger’s side seat. He exhaled roughly, and I turned and looked at him.
“What?”
Kevin just shook his head, but I saw a small smirk on his face. It was clear he could see how flustered I was. And if he noticed, there was no way Jakob hadn't. I didn't bother to say anything else, just cranked the engine and pulled away from the jobsite.
I had other things to worry about, like how in the hell I was going to get through tonight.
3
Poppy
I heard Kevin and his girlfriend leave the house, and I felt this weight lift off my shoulders. Jakob was supposed to pick me up in about twenty minutes, and although Kevin seemed fine with me going out with him, I really didn't need the big brother act that Kevin would surely put on display.
I walked over to the mirror in the foyer and stared at myself. I didn't know what we were doing tonight, so I’d opted to put my hair in a messy but slightly classy-looking bun. I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and I felt like my heart would burst right through my chest for how nervous I was.
My cheeks were pink, the blush stealing over me from the anticipation and excitement of actually seeing Jakob. He’d called me about an hour after I got home from picking up Kevin to make plans for tonight, and just knowing that we were spending time together made me feel all kinds of good.
I didn't even care if we just sat in his car and talked. In fact, I almost wanted that so I could get to know him. Although honestly, I felt like I knew a lot about him already.
His parents were on the other side of town, and Jakob lived alone. He was known back in the day as getting into harmless trouble, but that would have been when he and my brother were both in high school. Hell, all the guys in town had pretty much been like that.
But now he worked hard and kept his head down, and I never heard of him sleeping around…never heard of him in any relationships at all. But even though I thought I knew him, I realized he kept to himself, and that was a quality that I really liked.
This was a small town, and he'd been living here just as long as I had, had even gone to school with Kevin. But our paths never crossed. I was so much younger than him, and I hadn't really realized how strong my emotions were until I felt them consume me.
I don't know how long I'd been standing there, my thoughts taking control, but I heard three hard raps on the front door. I turned and faced it, my heart stalling for just a second before beating fast and furiously. I walked over and opened it, then stood there and stared at the man I wanted for more than just a fling. Truth was, I had some deep emotions for Jakob, feelings I'd never felt before.
I was glad he wore a T-shirt and jeans as well. I was openly gawking at his appearance, at the way his body filled out the denim and cotton. He was a big man, well over six feet, with bulging muscles that came from working in the mines all day, every day.
“God, Poppy.” He cleared his throat after he said those two words, his voice thick, his gaze heavy-lidded.
He was looking me up and down, making me feel exposed, bared in the best of ways. I was wearing casual attire, but the way he looked at me made me feel like I wore the most expensive, sexiest lingerie imaginable.
“You look really damn gorgeous.”
I felt my face heat, knew my blush spread across my cheeks and down my neck. I looked away, never before feeling so vulnerable. I'd never felt this way after hearing someone compliment me before. Of course, high school guys had told me I was pretty, but when Jakob said these things to me, it made me feel something deeper, made me feel like he really meant them.
“Thank you,” I said but didn't look at him. I couldn't. And then I felt him lift my head up with a finger under my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes.
“Hey, you don't have to be shy or nervous around me.” He watched me so intently.
I felt him move his thumb along my jawline, which had chills racing along my spine. My nipples were hard, and I knew they were visible underneath my shirt, pressing against the material. I clenched my thighs together, my arousal so intense in this moment that I was half determined to just say forget about dinner and invite him inside and into my bed.
He removed his hand from my face, but he let his fingers skim along my flesh. I took a deep breath, my chest rising and falling as I tried to calm myself.
“I was thinking dinner and maybe afterward we can go somewhere and just talk, get to know each other?”
I smiled, thankful that this would be a relatively low-key night. Honestly I could've skipped dinner. I wanted to see if he felt the same intensity for me that I did for him.
“Yeah, that sounds really nice.”
He stepped aside. I shut the door behind me and followed him to his truck. I didn't know how things would go, but I knew by the end of the night I probably wouldn't want it to end.
I knew I'd never get enough of Jakob.
Jakob
I PULLED my truck into the empty parking lot that overlooked the lake in town. We'd just left the restaurant, and after I asked Poppy what she wanted to do, I was pleasantly surprised she'd suggested the lake.
I killed the engine, and for long moments we just sat there in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, though, not when I felt her body heat, or when the very scent of her made me feel drunk. I shifted in my seat and faced her, her body so much smaller than mine, so feminine. I could see she was twisting her fingers together in her lap, and knew she was nervous. I didn't like that, didn't want her to be anxious with me.
“Your brother had a heart-to-heart with me concerning you.” I figured I might as well tell her now, although I had a feeling she already knew. She looked at me, a small smile on her face.
“I figured, when he wouldn't come to the car when we were speaking.” She glanced away for a second and shook her head, but the smile stayed in place. “I'm sorry about that, by the way. I'm an adult, but he still thinks he has to look out for me.”
“He does still have to look out for you. He needs to protect you at all times.” She looked at me, a flash of surprise on her face. “If I had a sister, it wouldn't matter how old we were. She'd always be my first priority, and I'd always make sure she was safe and looked after.” I saw the way her cheeks turned pink. I curled my hand into a fist, wanting to touch her, wanting to kiss her. Hell, I wanted to do a lot more than that, but I was also not a dirty bastard.
She shifted on the seat now, her body twisted so she was looking at me fully. It took all my willpower, all my self-control not to take in the way her shirt formed to her chest. It wasn't that I was an asshole and just wanted her for her body. It wasn't like that at all. I could've waited forever if that's what it took to be with her.
She was gorgeous,
the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. I'd wanted her for a long time now, and having her so close, knowing that she wanted me too, had everything in me tightening.
“Tell me something about you that nobody else knows.” I wanted to know everything that made up Poppy. I wanted to know what her favorite food was, what her favorite color was. Hell, I wanted to know what time she woke up and what time she went to bed. There was nothing that she could tell me that wouldn't interest me.
“Honestly?” She smiled again. “I'm very boring. There's nothing special about me at all.”
I did reach out then, pushing away a piece a hair that brushed against her cheek. “That's where you're wrong, Poppy. You're all kinds of special and more.” She blushed for me again, and I loved the fact that I affected her so much.
“I bite my nails.” She glanced at me and smiled. “It’s my dirty, nervous habit, and I’ve just admitted it to you.” She laughed softly.
I grinned. I liked knowing that she bit her nails, liked knowing anything and everything. We stayed silent for long seconds, but I absorbed her presence into me like this soothing balm.
What I really wanted to do was grab her around the waist, haul her across the seat, and place her right on my lap. I wanted to hold her, wanted to press my mouth against hers, slip my tongue between her lips. I wanted to do a lot more than that, but I wanted to go slow, make it good for her.
We stared at each other for long seconds, the heat inside the truck rising, the electricity moving between us intensifying. I knew if I didn't put some space between us, I might move too fast for her, might cross a line that she wasn't ready to experience. I didn't want to push her away.
I wanted her to be mine. Always.
I cleared my throat and ran my hand through my hair. I tried to think of what to do, how to strike up a conversation that was neutral ground. Maybe just being out in the open would help us clear the air, so to speak. I opened the truck door and inhaled deeply, the fresh air hitting me like a punch to the face. I glanced over at her. “You want to go by the lake?”
She didn't answer me for long seconds. I could still see she was affected physically. Her pupils were dilated, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. I did look down at her breasts then, the large mounds pressed against the material, her nipples hard as rock. My cock jerked behind my zipper, lengthening, thickening. God, all I could think about was parting her thighs, pulling aside her panties, and feasting on her pussy, which was probably pink and wet.
“Can I be honest with you, Jakob?” Her voice was soft, almost hesitant.
I found my throat tightening, my mouth becoming dry. I had one hand still on the steering wheel, and I curled my fingers around the leather even tighter, the sound of creaking filling the interior of the vehicle.
“You can always be honest with me.” I cleared my throat, my voice gruff, strained. “That's all I ever want.”
4
Poppy
I took a deep breath, not sure if I was really about to just blurt this out. I wanted to sit and talk, really get to know Jakob. But the way I felt, the way he looked at me, made me want to forget about everything else and just press myself against his hard body.
He had the door partially open still, and I figured maybe it was smarter if we were outside, the fresh air around us, the space not making me feel so claustrophobic. I opened my door and stepped out, closing it behind me. He did the same, and soon we met at the front of the truck. I leaned against it and stared at the lake, trying to gather my thoughts and figure out how exactly I should tell him my feelings.
He stood right beside me, and even though I wasn't looking at him, his big body made me feel secure, safe. We stared out at the lake, a breeze moving through the trees that surrounded us, the light brushing of the leaves moving along the ground filling the air. My heart was beating a mile a minute, and my palms were sweaty.
Just do it. Say what you want to say.
I turned to face him and took a deep breath. I was just going to go for it. I wasn't going to beat around the bush. For once in my life I was just going to be bold and blunt, and express exactly what I wanted. And that was Jakob.
“I like you. I really like you a lot, Jakob.” I glanced away, feeling my face heat, my embarrassment rising.
“Hey,” he said in a soft, gentle voice. “Look at me, Poppy.”
I lifted my head, my breath stalling as he stared at me. He looked transfixed, mesmerized even. And then he moved closer to me, his body heat slamming into mine, making me feel aroused and excited. Dots of perspiration lined the valley between my breasts and went down the length of my spine.
“What I feel for you…” He stopped speaking for a second and reached out to cup my cheek. “What I feel for you goes well beyond like, Poppy.”
I felt that light touch throughout my entire body. My nipples tingled, and I became wet between my thighs. I wasn't a virgin, but the one time I did have sex had been at a party. Being tipsy and anxious to get it over with, I'd given it to a boy I'd gone to high school with. It had been less than memorable, and in fact I regretted every minute of it. And in this instant I wished I’d saved my virginity for Jakob.
He stepped even closer to me, and I felt his chest brush along mine. He was so much taller than me that I had to crane my neck back just to look at his face.
“What I want from you, Poppy, is for you to be mine in all ways.”
There was so much possessiveness in his voice when he said that to me that I knew this wouldn't just be a passing thing between us.
“Do you understand what that means? Do you understand what I want from you?”
I shook my head slowly, not trusting my voice.
“It means I want you as mine forever.”
My entire body was already on fire. My heart started to race once more. I loved that he’d taken me to the lake, that he’d wanted to just talk, to get to know me. But honestly, I didn’t want to talk anymore. I didn’t want to do anything but let the pleasure that I felt consume me.
I wanted to let Jakob know with my hands, mouth…my body, that I was his.
Blood rushed through my veins at an astounding rate. I slowly rose up on my toes. Our gazes clashed, held…ignited.
The air around us became thick, and I couldn’t breathe. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I didn’t know if I could push it to move forward. I saw the heat in his gaze, but didn’t know if he’d take this one step further.
I opened my mouth, not sure exactly what to say, if I could actually say what I wanted, but instead of the words spilling from my mouth, Jakob had me close to him. Before I even knew what was happening, he pulled me forward until my body slammed into his. My breasts pressed against the hard planes of his chest, and the air rushed out of me. I was wet, soaked clean through my panties.
“What’s going on?” I found myself whispering.
“You know what’s happening.”
Jakob was rough around the edges, but then again, he was a coal miner, did hard labor, was a man in all the ways that counted. He had a dirty job, worked with his hands, and it showed in the strength in his body.
I found it so damn attractive I couldn’t breathe from it all.
The low sound he made had me becoming wetter, my pussy clenching for him.
“You have to know how much I want you.” He lowered his head to mine. “You have to know that by the way I watched you all this time.” His warm breath slid along my face.
“I hoped but didn’t know for sure.” My words were whispered low, my focus on his eyes.
“I want to memorize your body with my hands and tongue.”
I shivered from his words, at the meaning behind them.
“But you want that, don’t you? You want me to own you.”
I felt myself nod, not able to form an actual word right now.
“Yeah, you will.” He moved in closer, his lips just a hairsbreadth away from mine now. I wanted him to lean in and kiss me, to show me exactly how good it could be, how muc
h I was actually missing.
And then his lips did brush against mine. I moaned softly.
“Just tell me you want it and it’s yours. All of me is yours, Poppy.”
“I want you,” I said harshly, my need coming forth. He crashed his mouth onto mine then, taking it in a bruising kiss.
I couldn’t think, couldn’t even move. I let him dominate my mouth, fuck me between the lips. I let Jakob control me, own me in every possible way. I knew I wouldn’t let this end, wouldn’t try and stop it.
I couldn’t, not because I was insane, but because I was sane enough to know that this was exactly what I needed.
5
Jakob
I only wanted to please her, to let her know that she was my priority, that she was the reason I did this. I didn’t want any other woman, hadn’t since the moment I saw her and felt this fire consume me. It had been years since I’d been with a woman, too damn long that I’d felt anything but a passing attraction. But with Poppy I felt like I needed to show her, tell her that I wanted only her.
I wanted her to know she was mine, not just by telling her but also by showing her. Her mouth was hot and sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted, but then again, I knew she would be. I knew she’d be the best damn thing I’d ever experienced.
“So good, baby. So damn good that I’ll never get enough.” I couldn’t hold the words in, didn’t want to. She was so much smaller than me, her body feminine, so fragile that I feared I’d break her if I went too hard, too fast.
I swept my tongue into her mouth, groaning at her flavor, at the way she gave in. She was pliant for me, her body molded to mine, pressed right up against me so that I felt her softness to my hardness. I stroked my tongue along hers, loving that she made this soft little noise.
I shifted us around so I could press her body to the hood of the truck. I didn’t want to take her here, but also not wanting to stop—and knowing she didn’t want me to either, not by the way she clung to me.
