The friction between their bodies ignited an explosive kiss. Her fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck as she rocked against him. Lips and tongues met in a primal dance as their inhibitions disintegrated into the darkness. Without the gift of sight, his other senses heightened as he grew hard, wanting to devour every inch of the woman in his arms.
He pressed her back to one of the stone pillars that supported the well’s worn wooden roof, then kissed a trail to her earlobe. “You taste like blackberries and sweet cream,” he said, his voice a low gravelly rumble.
She bucked her hips, grinding into him as her smooth skin and soft curves sent his pulse racing. He thrust his hips in rhythm with her and pressed his hard length against her in the hottest session of dry-humping he was positive this well had ever seen.
Natalie’s soft sighs fed his desire, but he hungered for more. More of her scent. More of her touch. He ran his tongue along the shell of her ear, tasting her, and she moaned his name.
“Jake.”
The syllable hung hot and heavy in the air, dripping with a deep yearning that echoed his ravenousness, unbridled drive to toss aside that damn skirt, tear off her panties, and thrust his cock into her sweet heat.
“I want to feel you. I want all of you,” he rasped.
“Then, take me. I’m yours,” she said, gasping as he continued to piston his hips.
He stilled and pressed his forehead to hers. “You are?”
She ran her fingertips along his jawline. “I think I was a goner from the moment you threw me over your shoulder to make our flight. That feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?”
But she had him before that.
The image of her, standing across from him after they made it through security, flashed in his mind. The world had blurred around them, binding them together as if their fate had already been sealed, their destinies merging right there a few steps away from the TSA screening line where their lives had intersected for a second time.
His breaths grew ragged. Of course, he wanted her, but he didn’t want this moment to end with a quick and dirty screw against a stone pillar. Carefully, he set her down, then kneeled in front of her.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he slid his hands down her torso.
“How much do you like this skirt?” he asked, twisting a string of fabric.
“Even less than my panties,” she answered, playfully twisting a lock of his hair.
“Good answer,” he replied.
Natalie gasped as he slowly removed the luau costume, then slid her panties down her slim legs. Gripping her ass in both hands, he kissed a line from her hip down to the apex of her thighs, then hooked her left leg over his shoulder and tasted her sweet center.
“You’ve risen to the challenge,” she moaned as he worked her into a frenzy.
Her body trembled with the promise of release. Her gasps and tight breaths sent a heated charge through his veins. And then she was there, balancing on the edge of sweet release. Twisting her fingers in his hair, she succumbed to her desire.
“Jake, oh, yes!” she panted, winding down.
But they weren’t done yet—not even close. If this was their chance to break the Kiss Keeper Curse, he was not about to half-ass it.
Prowling the length of her body, he kissed his way up, pausing to give special attention to the delicate skin below her earlobe. Natalie hummed her gratification, and the sound went straight to his hard length. With her taste on his tongue, their mouths met in a fury of feverish passion. He needed to have her right there. Curse or no curse, she was his.
With her chest heaving, Natalie broke their kiss then turned in his arms. Her ass brushed against his hard length, and he was done holding back. Unclasping his pants, he shrugged out of them. When he reached for her, his hands met her hips. She’d hinged forward, presenting her perfect ass.
He caressed the soft flesh. “You’re beautiful.”
Positioning himself at her entrance, he drove into her wet heat. One hand on her hip and the other reaching around to caress her tight bundle of nerves, he took her from behind in slow, deliberate strokes, savoring each delicious thrust. But the urge to let loose and allow his lust to take over prevailed. Their bodies met in a punishing rhythm that quickly had them gasping, balancing on the tightrope between two worlds—one where they were two bodies and the other where their souls became one.
She cried out, tightening around him. He tore off his blindfold and then hers. He had to see her, had to look into her eyes when they met their release. She arched her back and turned her head. His fingertips pressed into the soft flesh of her hips as their eyes met in the darkness. He let go, spilling into her, shedding the past and promising himself he’d be the kind of man who deserved a future with her. Pistoning his hips and working her sensitive bud, they journeyed into oblivion together, their bodies writhing as they rode out wave after wave of pleasure.
He pulled out and gathered Natalie into his arms. She rested her head in the crook of his neck. She was warm, so warm in his arms as she melted into his embrace.
“Do you think it worked?” she asked, her breath tickling his neck.
Did they break the curse or was what he’d held back—the truth of his connection to her and this place—still a threat?
He tightened his hold on her. He’d make it work. He had to. He’d figure out a way to get Charlie off the scent and keep Camp Woolwich intact.
He tilted her face up and pressed his lips to hers as a chill ran through him. “One more kiss, just to be sure,” he said, praying that somewhere out there, the spirit of Otis Wiscasset would relinquish his hold and lift the Kiss Keeper Curse.
10
Natalie
Natalie picked out a cowgirl hat and placed it on her head, then checked her reflection in the mirror and could hardly recognize the woman who couldn’t seem to wipe the smile from her face.
Over the past three days, she and Jake had decided not to leave anything to chance when it came to the Kiss Keeper Curse. And, to be on the safe side, they agreed not to limit their kissing to just the well.
He’d kissed her in the boathouse, in the dining hall, in the art room, in the lodge, behind every cabin, in the garden, along the coast at sunset, along the coast at midday, and at the old crumbling Wiscasset lighthouse. He even kissed her in one of the camp’s Sunfish sailboats. Granted, it was tied to a piling on the waterfront, and her real boyfriend—oh, how she loved the sound of that—had one foot in the boat while the other was firmly planted on the dock. But after learning what had happened to his parents, she knew it was a big step for him.
This new life was a big step for both of them.
The buttoned-up, stone-faced man with his phone blowing up and every hair on his head perfectly in place had disappeared. In its place was her Jake. The Jake, true to his word that set her body on fire every night with his touch and held her close until morning.
“Tell me why I have to wear this get-up?” he asked, coming out of the dressing room and looking like cowboy sex on a stick in snug-fitting jeans, a plaid shirt, and a Stetson hat.
Her heart fluttered at the sight of him. “Did the bazillion tiny paper cowboy hats you hung from the rafters in the barn not clue you in?”
Tonight, her grandparents had planned a good old-fashioned barn dance with fiddles and square dancing to boot. While everyone had gone into town earlier to purchase western wear, she and Jake had offered to stay behind, haul out all the sports equipment stored inside the barn, and set up for the event. It only made sense. The camp was going to be their responsibility soon. A thought that a week ago would have terrified her. But with Jake by her side, it felt right. With her background as an educator and his business and real estate knowledge, everything seemed to be fitting into place.
He came to her side next to a display of belt buckles and looked her up and down.
“What?” she asked, checking her little denim skirt and red plaid cowgirl top.
“You bette
r step into the dressing room so I can fix your shirt,” he replied with a twist of a grin.
“What’s wrong with it?” she asked, darting into the tight space. Had she missed a button? Was her bra showing?
She tied the tails of the shirt into a little bow in the front and thought she’d nailed barn dance casual.
“It’s on,” he said, his gaze darkening as he pressed her back against the dressing room mirror and undid her top button.
“Slow down, cowboy. We have a barn full of people to get back to. And there’s no way I’m missing out on dancing in these,” she added, kicking up her heel to reveal a cowgirl boot.
He turned his attention to her footwear. “Do you remember how I said that your stilettos were my favorite?”
“Yes.”
“Now, I have two favorites,” he answered, then leaned in to kiss her when the brims of their hats bumped.
“That’s a sign,” she said with a chuckle.
“That you need to be wearing nothing but those boots?” he threw back.
She adjusted his hat. “No, that we need to get back to camp. We’ll save the boots for later tonight.”
“I like that plan,” he replied with a wicked grin, then glanced down at his outfit. “Should I change back into my regular clothes?”
They’d driven into town, but they were a good twenty minutes away, and the barn dance was due to start in half an hour.
Natalie glanced at her watch. “No time. We should wear them back and head straight to the barn.”
Jake paid for their outfits, and they stepped out onto the small town’s Main Street, where they got a few odd looks.
“Not too many New England cowboys,” he said, tipping his hat to an elderly couple who hurried past them.
She hooked her arm with his. “Luckily, the one western shop in the area isn’t too far from us, and it is a Camp—”
“Woolwich tradition,” he finished as they strolled back to the camp van.
“It’s not such a stretch that the same place that hosts a lobster bake luau could also put on a western barn dance night,” she countered.
“We could add a pirate night when we take over. Who doesn’t love a pirate? Or an alien night,” Jake offered.
“An alien night?” she questioned.
He shrugged. “Yeah, everyone could dress up as little green men. We could get a laser machine and put on a show at the waterfront. It would be great!”
She tightened her hold on his arm. Her boyfriend’s arm. Her partner’s arm. She was about to embark on a life-changing endeavor, and she wasn’t alone. She leaned into him, and he wrapped his arm around her. Her string of terrible Jakes had led her to the one good one out there.
“We’ll see about the lasers,” she said when a familiar voice called out from behind them.
“Look, it’s Adam, the cowboy!”
They turned to see the retired sisters from the convent who’d come to the camp for the art lesson.
“It’s lovely to see you. What brings you to town?” Natalie asked the women.
“Gin,” Sister Evangeline, the sassy nun who had a thing for Jake, answered as she swallowed him up with her eyes.
“Gin! Wow, I didn’t think nuns drank,” Natalie replied.
The little nun shook her head. “Nobody bats an eyelash at a bunch of drunk monks brewing beer, but when a nun has a hankering for a nice gin martini, people think that the Savior himself should send a swarm of locusts to stop her.”
“When we’re in town, we sometimes enjoy an alcoholic beverage, in moderation, of course,” Sister Anne said, then leaned in. “And it keeps Sister Evangeline from getting too cranky and too handsy with the gardener. Poor, Dominic,” she said, then made the sign of the cross.
“I can feel Dominic’s pain,” Jake said under his breath as he blushed under Sister Evangeline’s penetrating gaze.
“Will you be leaving Maine soon? The anniversary celebration is set to conclude in a couple of days, right?” Sister Anne asked.
Natalie grinned as a wave of excitement laced with trepidation coursed through her body.
“Actually, Jake and I are staying. We’re going to be taking over the camp for my grandparents.”
Sister Anne made the sign of the cross again. “I’m so glad to hear that. It would have been a shame if they’d had to close. Your grandparents do so much for this community.”
Natalie shared a look with Jake. “Why would you say that?”
Sister Anne’s features grew pensive. “We were very worried and kept your grandparents in our prayers. It was touch and go about a year ago.”
“What was touch and go?” she asked, completely in the dark.
Sister Anne cocked her head to the side. “When your grandfather had pneumonia.”
Pneumonia? This was the first she’d heard of that. But that could explain his thinner frame and lingering cough.
“I didn’t know that my grandfather had been sick.”
The nun patted her arm. “He was quite ill. I believe he spent a week in the hospital. I visited him and your grandmother a few times.”
“I don’t understand why they didn’t tell me or anyone in the family,” Natalie replied.
The nun smiled sympathetically. “I don’t think your grandparents wanted to burden any of you, dear. They got through it, and your grandfather seems to be doing much better now. It must be such a relief for them to know that they’ll have some time to relax and enjoy life. They work so hard.”
Natalie’s mind was reeling when Sister Evangeline piped up.
“I’d like some time to relax, too! We just finished volunteering at the library, in the children’s area of all places. The polar opposite of relaxing!”
“How about we go in and have that drink,” Sister Anne suggested, biting back a grin as the women entered the tavern.
Natalie shook her head. “What do you make of that, Jake?”
“Six nuns walk into a tavern? It sounds like the beginning of a pretty bad joke,” he offered, but she wasn’t in the mood to laugh.
“No, my grandfather’s illness, and how they didn’t tell anyone in the family.”
He took her hand and threaded their fingers together as they continued down the sidewalk. “Not everyone is an open book, Natalie.”
“Yes, but if my grandfather was sick, I could have done something to help.”
He squeezed her hand. “You are doing something to help. You’re taking over the camp. They’re lucky they have you.”
She glanced up at him. “You mean us. They’re lucky to have us.”
He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah, that’s what I meant. But, Natalie, your grandparents are getting older. There are probably things they’d like to do while they can. Maybe this bout of pneumonia made them realize that.”
Jake opened the passenger side door to the old camp van and helped her in, then settled himself in the driver’s seat.
She took off her cowgirl hat and set it on her lap. “I can’t believe I missed the signs. There was a time about a year ago when I couldn’t get ahold of them. I figured that they were busy with summer camp preparations. But it wasn’t that at all. It’s so hard to believe. My grandparents always seemed larger than life to me. It’s hard to think of them as…”
“Just people?” Jake offered.
“Yes, and the notion that the camp might have become too much for them,” she added.
He started the van and merged into traffic. “It’s good that they have options.”
She stared at his profile. “What do you mean, options?”
“Well, if you and I weren’t taking over, they could always sell. Your grandpa did mention that he was considering it.”
Heat coursed through her veins. “Yes, maybe for a second, but I don’t think he’d do it. This place is too important.”
“Natalie, don’t get angry. I’m only saying that there are always options—especially when you have to take into account someone’s health,” Jake re
plied gently.
She nodded and forced herself to take a breath. Jake bought and sold property for a living. It made sense that he’d take that possibility into consideration, but that didn’t mean it didn’t shake her to the core.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to Camp Woolwich,” she said.
The responsibility already weighed on her, but now the true magnitude of what she—and Jake—had volunteered to do hit home, and it hit home hard. If she failed, her grandparents most likely wouldn’t be able to swoop in and help.
“We won’t let it fail. You’re not doing this alone. You’ve got me,” he said, lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm. “And you could probably get Leo on board to do just about anything you needed if you showed him your feet every so often.”
She shook her head and chuckled. “You’re probably right, but ew.”
“Look at that! A Jake ranks higher than a podiatrist,” he teased.
She sat back and drank in his beautiful face. “You’re not just a Jake. You’re my Jake.”
He glanced at his watch. “A Jake who needs to hit the gas if we don’t want to be late.”
She stared out the window as they traveled the familiar roads. “And don’t forget, you need to take the next turn—which you’d know if you had a phone with GPS. The Maine roads can be tricky.” She still couldn’t believe he’d thrown his cell into the ocean. She turned her attention back to him. “Are you sure you don’t want to get a new phone? We could always head into Portland tomorrow and pick up another.”
A muscle twitched in his cheek. “I’m not ready to deal with that world yet.”
“You’ll have to eventually, though, right?” she asked. He’d been reticent about his work, but he was technically on vacation. Still, the way his phone had pinged and chimed before he’d sent it to a watery grave made her think he’d had quite a bit going on.
“I’m still working a few things out in my head, Heels.” He reached over and squeezed her knee. “It’ll be fine.”
It wasn’t long before they exited the main road and headed down the camp’s bumpy drive. Jake pulled into the makeshift parking area. The gravel lot was empty when they’d left, but now several cars squeezed into the small space.
The Kiss Keeper Page 16