by Hayden Wolfe
“Yes.” Blaine flashed a wide smile. No laugh lines showed this time, however. Her eyes didn’t brighten either. “Jack was just volunteering to take me house shopping tomorrow. I want to find my own place to stay at while I’m here.”
When had he agreed to play Realtor? Jack glared at this woman who’d put words in his mouth. “I was?”
Blaine held up a hand. “Trust me. It’ll be best for everyone. Unless you think Wyn would enjoy being woken at daybreak to my regimen of vocal exercises.”
“You know, Ronnie’s dad’s place would be perfect. It overlooks the lake. It’s close. It’s just sitting empty too.” Wyn pulled out his phone and texted. “I’m sure Ronnie will be good with it, and Jack can help you move some stuff up there tomorrow.”
“Oh, that is perfect.” Blaine grabbed Jack’s forearms and leaned over the counter. Her shirt gaped, giving him a peek of her deep cleavage. “Thank you so much, Jack. You’re a sweetheart.”
Blaine linked her arm with Wyn’s. They walked to Iona. A few words were exchanged, then the three of them slipped from the bar.
Jack stared at the door for a long time. The anxiety from earlier finally made sense. He had faced a threat. And lost. Blaine Zima, the famous singer he’d never heard of, had weaseled her way into his life. Too bad he wanted nothing to do with her. Even a quick fuck would be too much.
Blaine had “predator” written all over her. So did he, though. If they came together, they’d both walk away wounded.
Chapter 2
“Country living really does offer the best views, doesn’t it?”
Jack paused on the steps leading to the cabin overlooking Sander’s Lake. He adjusted the load of boxes he carried and glanced over his shoulder. Blaine stood at the bottom of the porch with her gaze locked on him, or, more specifically, his ass.
He grunted and climbed the rest of the stairs. After stacking the boxes near the door to take in later, he followed the wraparound deck to the back of the cabin and leaned on the railing. Once Blaine rounded this side of the cabin, he motioned to the valley with a jerk of his chin. “What part of it do you like the best?”
Blaine gasped. She made her way to him, then stared at the valley for several minutes. Finally, she closed her mouth. “It’s beautiful.”
“What? You sound shocked. Wasn’t this the view you were talking about?”
Biting her lip, Blaine dipped her head. The smile she fought to hide brought a nice flush to her cheeks. “Of course it was. I just didn’t realize there was an even better view from back here.”
“Liar.”
Blaine’s eyes widened. Her mouth formed a small o.
“Look at you.” He laughed. “You can’t even hide your lie. Your face is an open book.”
“I did not lie.” Her perfectly articulated words sounded as fake as her shocked expression. “And my face is not an open book. I act too, don’t forget. I can lie with the best of them.”
He shook his head. Maybe Russian acting had different standards than American. Her little show wouldn’t even cut it in a high school musical. “You were checking out my ass, not the scenery.”
She gave a half shrug, then rested her elbows on the railing. “Well, you do have a nice ass.”
Jack chuckled. “Thanks.”
“And it was right in my face. I couldn’t miss it.”
“I was carrying your shit up here. Of course it was in your face.”
Blaine glanced at him. “And I appreciate your willingness to help me.”
“I’m not here willingly. You volunteered me for the job.” He’d be sleeping in right now if he had a choice.
“You could’ve said no.”
Sure. He could’ve. He hadn’t been able to speak, let alone refuse her. Blaine’s manipulation had been a thing of beauty, despite him being the one manipulated. “You had a point about getting out of Wyn’s place. They need this time together.”
“Iona’s going to marry him and stay here.”
The sadness in her voice drew Jack’s attention from the valley before them to Blaine. She’d rounded her shoulders and dipped her head as if studying the hill below. His fingertips itched with the need to touch her, maybe comfort her somehow. The desire struck him as odd. So what if her friend moved here?
“Is that a bad thing?” Jack couldn’t comment on whether being with Wyn was good for Iona. He didn’t know her well. For Wyn, however, Iona was the best thing that had happened to his little brother since he got his job at the garage in town.
“Eh…” Blaine linked her hands and leaned over the railing. “That’s Wyn’s house at the base of this mountain, right?”
She was changing the subject. He shook his head. Fine by him. Her opinions meant nothing to him.
“Yeah. Mine’s there.” Jack pointed to his place. “Kyle’s is directly across the lake, and the one at the far end belongs to my twin, Levi. The big old farm house at the top of the road leading back here belongs to our parents.”
She looked behind her in the direction where they’d left the modified Jeep he and his brothers used for off-roading. “Is there a better way up here? I’m not sure any rental car I get will be able to handle the potholes in that trail we followed.”
“Yeah. There’s a dirt road over the mountain. It connects to the highway leading out of town. We took the shortcut.”
“That’s a relief. Avery wanted me off the grid, but this was feeling a little extreme.”
“Avery’s your brother?” He didn’t know why he asked. Jack couldn’t care less about Blaine’s life. At least he shouldn’t care. He couldn’t stop the curiosity from seizing him, however.
People didn’t willingly agree to fall off the grid unless they had a reason. Especially not women like Blaine. She was used to a faster paced lifestyle than Sander’s Valley offered.
“Yes. He’s also the head of security for my shows and the owner of an international security group that’s very active in your country.”
“Is that so?”
Blaine nodded. “Avery will offer up his services to the highest bidder. Lately, that’s been various American corporations and nonprofit organizations. He’s very good at what he does.”
“So good he got himself shot?” The second the words left his mouth, Jack cursed. “Look, I’m sorry. That wasn’t right. I don’t know the details. I shouldn’t be running my mouth.”
A long moment passed before Blaine sighed. “Avery’s beating himself up over the slip. That’s why I’m here. My brother feels guilty and incompetent. The man who shot him was recommended by Avery’s fiancée.” She glanced at Jack. “Actually, his ex-fiancée now. But she swore this man was the best of the best. He was in the military. Held several badges. Top of his class. That sort of thing.”
“Let me guess. Avery never did a background check on him to see if all this hype was for real. He just took this girl’s word.”
“Well…” Blaine scrunched her nose. “His ex is an agent. Her word carried a lot of weight and…”
“He loved her?” Which was why Jack avoided the emotion. The level of trust involved in loving someone was too much for what a person got out of it.
Sex was a fleeting moment of relief, and a good dog offered a deeper level of companionship than a girlfriend. Better, even. Dogs didn’t need constant attention. A head scratch as you walked by was enough. Too bad there weren’t any pups left from the last litter his parents’ boxer had. Wyn had snagged the last one.
“He was going to marry her.” Blaine’s statement didn’t hold the same awe she’d used when talking about Iona and Wyn.
“People don’t always marry for love.”
“No, but they do move halfway across the world for love.”
“Is that a bad thing?” He repeated his earlier question. Maybe this time, she’d answer instead of changing the subject.
Blaine swept her hand in front of her, encompassing the valley. “If Iona hadn’t followed her half sister here, she never would’ve met Wyn.”
“If Wyn hadn’t been the right man to heal her, she never would’ve ended up in his bed either. An American mechanic and a filthy rich Russian businesswoman are about as opposite as one can get.”
“They are, aren’t they?” Blaine chuckled. “They don’t even look like they’d fit together. Iona is tiny, and Wyn is—”
“A giant. He towers over all of us. You should see him with our mama. She’s shorter than Iona.”
“Eliza is very sweet.”
“You’ve met her?” Last he’d heard, his mother had been up to her eyeballs in final preparations for Kyle and Ronnie’s wedding this weekend.
“She called me this morning.” Blaine leaned a hip against the railing. “Chatted with me for what seemed like forever, then invited me over for dinner on Thursday. Dinner, Jack. This woman I’ve never met invited me for dinner.”
Didn’t surprise him one bit. Blaine was Iona’s friend, and Iona belonged to Wyn. That was close enough to being family for Jack’s mother. “What did you say?”
“That I’d come, of course. Anything else would’ve been rude.” Blaine rubbed her arms. “But I must admit, I’ll feel a little awkward. Iona and her sister will be with their boyfriends, discussing the wedding preparations, and I’ll be there making small talk with whoever happens to sit next to me.”
The vulnerability in Blaine’s voice was real. He’d swear by it. Damn if he understood where it came from. “But isn’t small talk something famous people like you excel at?”
Blaine smoothed her hands over her thighs and faced the valley. “Your mother invited a stranger to dinner. She deserves better than for me to fill the night with empty chatter about the weather or how nice her home looks.”
Here he thought Blaine would’ve preferred a situation like that. Famous people didn’t get personal with nobodies like the Sander family. Or at least they weren’t supposed to. Then again, Blaine had cared enough about Wyn and Iona to give them the privacy they needed.
Jack cleared his throat. The sudden lump bothered him. “You can talk to me.”
She peeked at him. “You’re coming?”
He hadn’t planned on it. Didn’t mean he couldn’t, though. Owning a successful business allowed him the luxury of taking a night off whenever he wanted. “Sure. I’d be a fool to pass up my mother’s cooking.”
“Thank you.” Blaine threw her arms around him and kissed his jaw.
Even standing on her tiptoes, Blaine couldn’t reach his cheek. She wasn’t small, though. Her curves fit nicely against him. He settled his hands on her hips, then slid them to the top of her ass and drew her closer, fitting her between his thighs. Damn if he could help it. His body knew what to do when a gorgeous woman touched him. He was just along for the ride.
Blaine’s eyes widened. “Jack, I—”
“You can back away. I’m not stopping you.” His palms might be on her ass, but he wasn’t holding her in place.
She moved her hands from around his waist to his chest. “And I could scream too. I’m sure one of your brothers would hear me.”
“Yeah. Sound travels.” Jack drew her even closer. His cock stirred to life with her stomach pressed against him. “They’d make sure I couldn’t move for a damn long time too.”
Blaine linked her hands behind his neck and leaned back, forcing him to hold her up. “I doubt your brothers would beat you. Aren’t they as protective of you as you are of them?”
“If they thought I was forcing you into a situation you didn’t want to be in, they’d make sure I never got the chance to do so again.”
She urged him to bend his head closer, then brushed her cheek over his beard the way she’d traced it with her fingertips last night. His skin tingled. Anticipation gripped him. He held his breath as she touched her lips to his ear. “Would you ever force a woman, Jack?”
“I don’t have to.” He flexed his hands on her ass and fought the urge to take this further. He hadn’t planned on fucking anyone today. Least of all Blaine Zima. “If a woman doesn’t want me, all I have to do is call another.”
Blaine smirked. “Do you have a little black book too?”
“Something like that.” Though, his list of go-to lovers had dried up. At thirty, he’d fallen into the lifetime bachelor category. The only women looking at him for a good time were usually on the bad end of a breakup or hoping to snag a baby daddy. He’d rather use his hand.
Blaine wasn’t on the rebound, though. She wasn’t sticking around either.
Jack slipped a hand into the mass of Blaine’s hair to cradle the back of her head. “You know how to stop this if you don’t want it.”
“Yes.”
An odd expression passed over Blaine’s face. Awe, maybe? Excitement? Jack couldn’t tell. Nor did he care. She wasn’t telling him to fuck himself. He bent closer and kissed her.
Blaine sighed against his lips. The soft noise could’ve been from contentment. It was a sweet, gentle sound. The kind people in love made when they were cuddling. They weren’t in love, though. And he didn’t do gentle. That sound had no place here between them.
Jack fisted Blaine’s hair and deepened the kiss. She opened to him on another soft sound. This one reminded him of surrender. Her body relaxed. Only his hold on her kept her upright. She was giving herself to him. Her trust enflamed him.
He devoured her. She tasted of cinnamon and sweetness. Delicious. He couldn’t get enough.
Taking control of this moment, he twined his tongue with hers. So good. She matched him, stroke for stroke, following the pace he set. He couldn’t have asked for a better response. He kissed her deeper, harder. If he could’ve crawled inside her, he would’ve. Blaine’s lips were the softest he’d ever touched.
She skimmed shaky fingers over his face and beard. The trembling of her fingertips against his neck tore a rough groan from him. He dragged a hand down her back to her ass and squeezed. She made another soft sound, almost a little mewling noise. The rawness of it jacked up his lust. He slid his hand under her loose shorts.
The lace edge of her underwear teased his fingers. Jack traced it. The contrast of her soft skin to the material covering her ass intrigued him as much as her taste did.
Blaine widened her stance, giving him better access. He slipped a finger between the crotch of her shorts and the barrier of her underwear. Dampness greeted him.
She was wet.
His dick jerked. He tightened his grip on her hair and turned his head, breaking the kiss. This had to stop. If it didn’t, he’d be inside Blaine. Without a condom. Because he hadn’t thought to bring one.
“Jack.”
His name in her breathless, rough voice threatened his control. Who the hell knew his name would sound so damn sexy coming out of this woman’s mouth?
He eased out of her embrace and ran a hand over his head. “Let’s get the rest of those boxes in. We might be able to get your luggage up here too before your new mattress is delivered.”
Hopefully, the manual labor would knock some sense into him too. Otherwise, they’d be trying out Blaine’s new bed today. Somehow, he didn’t think finding release inside this woman would end well, even if it eased the ache in his dick.
Chapter 3
Her lips tingled. Blaine touched a trembling finger to her mouth.
Last night, the rugged American bartender had been adorable with his protectiveness flaring. She’d liked the harsh glint to Jack’s eyes and how he’d lowered his voice, compelling her to move closer.
Teasing him today so she could experience his dark, judging looks again had been her goal. Kissing Jack, however, had not been part of her plan. He’d shown her a different side of his personality. This one made her hungry for another taste. She’d get it too.
Today.
The sound of a window opening drew her gaze to the cabin. The curtain danced with the breeze blowing in. She caught a glimpse of Jack moving in front of another window. It opened with a groan of wood on wood. She hurried around the front of the cabin and
slipped through the front door.
The large open room appeared empty, with only a chair by the fireplace. Boxes and burlap-wrapped paintings formed a pile in the center. Darker rectangles on the whitewashed walls hinted at the life that had once filled this room.
Blaine pivoted, surveying the space, and smiled. This cabin was an blank canvas, ready for the right person to turn it into a sanctuary.
“Kyle will be back later today to get the stuff piled out there. Ronnie’s shipping all her stepdad’s artwork to her gallery in Virginia.”
Jack’s statement came from the back of the cabin. Blaine followed the sound of his deep voice to a large bedroom. Without looking at her, he stepped over the rails of a bedframe, then moved a couple of empty dresser drawers from the middle of the room to the wall.
After having been in his arms and feeling the strength he’d held in check, she couldn’t help noticing how the shirt he wore clung to his body, showcasing his muscles. Although not ripped the way bodybuilders conditioned their bodies, Jack’s frame conveyed power. He was raw beauty, sculpted in its purest form. This was what a real man looked like, shaped by his life, not cut out of some preconceived notion of beauty.
She’d never kissed anyone sexier. Her gaze slid to his strong hands. They’d been rough against her skin but not hurtful. Shivers of awareness skipped down her spine. The spots he’d touched still tingled. This was a man who knew what to do with a woman. How to make her crazed. How to pleasure her. She was sure of it.
Lust warmed her belly. Hungers rose. She licked her lips and took a step into the bedroom.
“The guides for the dresser drawers are broken. Must be why the bedroom set is still here. Unfortunately, the rest of the furniture already went to the secondhand shop in town. Between me and my brothers, though, we should be able to set you up with enough other pieces of furniture to make it comfortable for you up here. Table, couch, that sort of thing.”
“That’s sweet of you.” Blaine stepped over the rails of the bedframe, following the path Jack had taken and closing the distance between them. Each step intensified the warmth in her lower belly.
