She had to be fucking joking. Did she understand what she was doing to him? She was waving the red flag in front of a bull. And that damned flag might as well be that lacy scrap of nothing he’d seen her in that morning.
Out of sight was most definitely not out of mind when it came to Jace Kilpatrick. Not for Adele. That wasn’t even a thing. Hadn’t been for six years. He might have gone upstairs, giving her a tiny—teeny tiny—reprieve, but she was constantly aware of his presence in the house.
It was like weights on her shoulders, going from twenty pounds to fifteen. Not in any way gone, and still very much felt. So much so, that she’d given up trying to work on her sketches about an hour ago. She couldn’t focus on anything.
How could she when she kept hearing Jace in her head, telling her red was her color? Kept feeling his hand on her wrist, the heat of his fingers moving back and forth across her skin. Kept seeing his aquamarine eyes focused on her…saw the heat in them.
Three of the five senses were already overwhelmed with him, so she might as well go for broke and make it all of them.
Ever since he’d mentioned almond sugar cookies, she had this ridiculous craving for them. One that she knew wouldn’t be satisfied until she had that flavor on her tongue. So she decided to make a batch, and therefore filled the cabin with the scent of them.
Because, why not? Why the hell not?
But it didn’t take very long at all for her to second-guess her decision, just long enough for the second batch to come out of the oven, and for Jace to come downstairs. She was in the middle of sliding the cookies onto a cooling rack with a spatula, when she heard the creak on the wooden floors. It was unmistakable even over the explosions from the movie playing out on the screen (she’d moved from the first Avengers to Captain America: The Winter Soldier).
The moment she looked up, she was pretty sure her heart stopped. Sure, she’d seen Jace shirtless before, but she was usually prepared for it. Knew it was about to happen. She wasn’t used to him popping up on her like this out of nowhere.
The man was sculpted to perfection, thick biceps, broad shoulders, and a wide chest. There was a light dusting of dark blond hair that progressively got darker as it arrowed down and over his eight-pack, disappearing beyond his gym shorts. All of it was highlighted by golden brown skin that held its warm glow year round. It might be a bit lessened in the winter months, but it never went away. He was also currently covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and damn if that didn’t just complete the whole freaking package.
Speaking of packages, she quickly—and forcibly—pulled her eyes away from the bulge that was by no means hidden behind the gray material of his shorts. If anything, the fabric seemed to mold to him.
It was all so unbelievably unfair. He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen in her life, and one glance had her libido going into overdrive.
No, no, no, no, no, no. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t a thing…wasn’t going to be a thing. Her battered, broken heart couldn’t deal with this right now. It was too much. Too damn much.
Adele kept her head down, continuing on with her cookie transferring. But eyes on Jace or not, she felt him getting closer and closer to her, coming into the kitchen and stopping a couple of feet to her left.
“What’s up with the cookies? I thought you were boycotting Christmas this year.”
“I am. Sugar cookies aren’t necessarily a Christmas thing. Besides, they aren’t in the shape of a tree…or Santa Claus…or ornaments. And I’m not decorating them.”
“So no icing or sprinkles?” he asked sounding disappointed.
“Nope.”
He leaned in close, almost as if he were taking in a deep breath of the cookies. Except he was much closer to her than he was to the rack on the counter. “Shame.”
The word came out on a whisper, vibrating in the air and trailing down her spine, like he’d just run his fingers down her back.
Adele couldn’t repress the shiver, and turned to look at him just as he moved off. It was then that she got a good look at the other side of him. Tight ass (with the fabric molding to him in the same tantalizing way as the front), muscular back, tattooed left shoulder. The black ink was of all four aces, starting with the club, then the diamond, then the heart, and ending with the spade card on top. His nickname on the ice had long been Jace “the Ace” Kilpatrick.
His muscles all bunched and rippled as he opened the refrigerator door and pulled out the water pitcher inside. How could something so simple look so good? Because he was doing it. That was why.
Again, she forced herself to look away from him. One, she didn’t want him to catch her staring. Two, if she kept looking she’d probably start drooling. She’d already embarrassed herself enough that day. She didn’t need to add on anymore.
The problem was, keeping all of her focus forward and off Jace, meant she wasn’t prepared for when he came up behind her, reaching around for the cookies. She reacted on instinct, slapping his hand away with the spatula.
“Hey!” He let out a manly bark.
“Hey yourself,” she spun around before she could think better of it. And just that quickly she was looking up into his face, his mouth just inches from hers. Good God, his lips were doing that wicked half-smile thing that made her brain short-circuit. He was so close to her that the scent of him filled her nose.
How in the world did he still smell good even when he was all sweaty? It was salty, like the ocean, but mixed with a freshly-scented deodorant and…him.
How was that possible?
“I thought we were done with the whole not sharing thing, Del. These should be a fair trade for me making you breakfast this morning…and coffee.”
“I…it is.” She somehow managed to speak even with a suddenly dry mouth. “Those cookies just came out of the oven. Take one of the cooled ones.” She gestured to the other wire rack with the cookies from the first batch.
His grin got bigger. “Oh, so you’re looking out for me?”
“Yes. I’d hate for you to burn your tongue.”
“Thanks, Del.” He reached up, gently tugging on a loose strand of her hair. And there was that heat again, flickering in his eyes. And that heat didn’t disappear as he let go of her hair, pulling back and moving to the side.
She was just able to take a proper breath when he stopped by the cooled cookies and took a bite of one. All of the air left her lungs again as he chewed around a long, satisfied moan, a sound that traveled through her entire body.
It took everything in her to repress the full body shiver that was begging to get out.
“Just like I remembered. Perfection, Adele. Absolute perfection.” He gave her a knee-weakening grin before he grabbed two more cookies and walked out of the kitchen.
Adele stared at the back of him, wondering for the umpteenth time what the hell was going on. And while she wondered, her eyes trailed down his muscled back again and to his ass. She couldn’t help it. He moved like a prowling cat or something. Panther-like ease, but ready to spring at any moment. God, she wanted to lick him all over.
Instead, she grabbed one of the cooled cookies and took a bite. The second the taste hit her tongue she knew what she’d said earlier was a complete and total lie. They did remind her of Christmas, and they’d also now forever be associated with Jace.
Chapter Six
Playing with Fire
Hot water poured down from the waterfall showerhead, hitting Jace’s head and shoulders before running down his back. He braced his hands on the tiled wall, letting the steady stream wash over his already heated skin.
It had taken everything in him to walk away from Adele in that kitchen. The second she’d turned around to face him he’d wanted to push her back against the counter and cover her lips with his. Thing was, it wasn’t the first time since she’d gotten to the cabin that he’d wanted to do things that were completely out of the norm.
He was wondering if he wasn’t the only one in that boat. For some reason he couldn’t explain, he’d
felt a need to push at those boundaries that had long ago been put up between them. The more he pushed, the more he saw that desire in her eyes. Hell, he’d caught it every time he’d pushed, and he was starting to push more and more.
Did she want him too? Was that possible? And what were the odds that they could fool around and then go back to the way things had been before? He was pretty sure those odds were small. Very small. Slim to nothing. But it didn’t change the desire coursing through him. Proof in point was the massive hard-on he was currently sporting.
It had started when he was in the kitchen, and only got worse when he ate the cookies. And no, he wasn’t a weirdo that got turned on by baked goods…usually. But in this case, all he’d been thinking about was what tasted better: the cookies or Adele. And this was where he would lay odds on the fact that the answer was Adele.
He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his erection wasn’t going to just go away if left unattended. He pulled back from the wall, grabbing the body wash from the ledge and squeezing a decent amount of soap onto his palm. Then he lathered up, took his cock in hand, and started to slowly stroke.
He tried to think of a fantasy that didn’t involve Adele, but that wasn’t going to happen. Naturally, his mind went to that morning, and walking in on her. He changed the narrative there though, instead of her yelling at him to leave, she crossed the room.
Her hands landed on his chest before sliding up and to his neck, pulling him down to kiss her while at the same moment her bare breasts pressed against his chest. He imagined her mouth moving over his, and the taste of her tongue…and the taste of her neck…and her breasts.
Breath now starting to saw in and out of his chest, he tightened his grip, moving his hand faster and faster over his cock.
Would she moan wildly when he sucked a nipple into his mouth? Grab onto his head and hold her to him while he nibbled and licked? And what would she do when he laid her down on the bed, spread her legs wide and buried his face between her thighs? That was the spot he really wanted to taste. Would she scream as he nibbled and licked here there?
Pressure started to build at the base of his cock, and he braced his free hand on the wall for support. The image in his head changing to one where he was moving over her, pulling her legs around his waist as he slid inside of her warm, slick body.
He couldn’t breathe, his chest was tightening, the pleasure building. He pictured her coming first, her nails digging into his back as she let go, his name on her lips as her body pulsed around him.
His release slammed into him, cock pulsing in his hand as he let out a long, low, satisfied groan.
It was just a moment of relief before reality hit him: it wasn’t enough. A few minutes of imagined pleasure with her would never be enough to satisfy him. It didn’t lessen the need growing inside of him. If anything, it had only magnified it. Made him want more.
He wanted the real thing, the whole thing, with her. In his bed. Skin to skin. Breaths mingling. Bodies moving. For hours and hours.
The thing was, it was way more complicated than all of that. She’d just broken up with her boyfriend, for fuck’s sake. Was she even looking for a rebound? Was that even on her radar? She was already hurting and he didn’t want to hurt her more. But what if she wanted a distraction? Well, that would be an entirely different story.
But above all, he needed to figure out if it was worth the risk of losing everything else. Of possibly losing her.
Once Adele finished with the cookies, she decided to keep her hands busy and make lunch. There was no point in even trying to attempt a grilled cheese masterpiece like Jace’s—she couldn’t live up to those standards—so instead she put together some pesto chicken with goat cheese on Ciabatta bread. Meanwhile, the stew from the night before was reheating on the stove.
It was close to one when Jace emerged from the hallway, hair all tousled around his head and wearing a pair of black sweatpants and nothing else.
Really? Really? Didn’t the man ever get cold? Or was he just a walking, talking furnace who didn’t wear shirts and looked like an effing Greek god? It was ridiculously unfair.
But, as she’d learned over the years, life wasn’t always fair…especially when it came to anything involving Jace Kilpatrick. Case in point, before she could look away from him, he caught her ogling his chest.
His eyebrows rose high and his mouth formed a lopsided grin, but before he had a chance to say anything, she spoke first.
“I made lunch. I didn’t think you’d have a problem with more stew and another sandwich.”
“Adele, I’d never turn my nose up at anything you make. But this makes us uneven again.” He stopped on the other side of the island, looking across at her.
Adele was just grateful that there was a solid four-foot barrier between them now and that he wasn’t standing right next to her…or behind her. What she wouldn’t give to be able to lean back into that solid chest of his…to feel his arms wrap around her…hold her close.
Not going to happen, Adele. Get. A. Hold. Of. Yourself.
Pulling back from that image, she cleared her throat and looked down, resuming her sandwich making. “Well, you can make dinner.”
Jace’s strong, tanned hands were suddenly in front of her, flat on the marble counter. She couldn’t stop herself from looking at him again, following the path up his arms and to his face. He was leaning forward, cutting the four feet between them in half.
“I can do dinner. But you’re in charge of dessert.”
“I made cookies. Are those not good enough?”
“While beyond delicious, those are a snack.” He shook his head. “And as you’ve had me watching that bloody baking show, I’ve been craving pie since this morning.”
“I can make a pie.” Honestly, there was no need to even fight this specific request. It was just another task to keep her hands busy, something that was becoming more and more necessary. “Any requests?”
“Surprise me.” He did that half grin thing again, the one that made her stomach flip.
“Fine. A surprise you will get.”
“Can’t wait. Anything you want me to do for lunch?” He leaned forward a couple of inches, the added pressure to his hands and arms making his muscles bunch and release.
“You can set the bar.” And for the love of everything good and holy put on a shirt.
“On it.” He pushed off the counter and rounded the island to her side. And just that quickly there was no barrier between them. And even less so because he was shirtless.
Had she mentioned he wasn’t wearing a shirt? Was it too early for a glass of wine? Probably. She really shouldn’t be adding anything to her impaired state at the moment.
Grabbing the butter knife from the counter, she sliced into the goat cheese and spread a generous amount onto three of the six slices of bread. Then she reached for the brand new pesto jar and tried to open it, tried being the operative word. The tiny little tin cap absolutely refused to budge.
Before she knew it, the jar was plucked from her hands. She automatically turned to the man standing next to her, like a freaking magnet. As was to be expected, there was no struggle for Jace to get the jar open, not even for a second.
“Here you go,” he said as he held out the glass bottom in one hand and the metal top in the other, looking just as smug as ever.
“I loosened it for you.” She grudgingly took them back from him.
“Sure you did.”
Jace moved away again, not that it did much good. Just being in the same room made her feel like he was on top of her. Her hands stilled from the task of pesto spreading as a very familiar image came to her mind, one of her underneath Jace, him moving between her thighs.
It wasn’t the first time she’d had that particular image in her head. Hell, it wasn’t even the thousandth.
It was Jace’s voice that brought her back to the moment. “I know it’s early, but do you want a drink?”
“Yes.” Her response was automatic and m
aybe a tad bit too quick and emphatic, so much so that Jace let out a low chuckle.
“You okay over there?”
“I’m fine, just fine.”
Fuck her no alcohol idea. She needed a drink…a lot of them.
“If you say so. What do you want?”
Him. She wanted him. “There’s a bottle of chardonnay in the fridge. You can have some.”
“I’ll take you up on that offer.” Jace moved to the refrigerator and opened the door. “And per our fair trade agreement, want do you want?” He asked as he grabbed the bottle and shut the door behind him.
Him! Dammit! “You can make me a whiskey sour later.” Because adding hard liquor to the mix would be really helpful for her.
He nodded as he opened the drawer next to her and pulled out the bottle opener. “Done.”
And she was done for.
Whether it was the hot stew, the glass of wine, or the mere presence of a shirtless Jace, Adele was feeling a little warm after lunch.
But as warm as she’d been inside the cabin, there was no warmth for her outside. She was standing on the porch, waiting for Katie to do her business, and hoping that the bitter winter air would help clear her head. And oh, was there a lot of cold air.
The snow was coming down again and the wind was blowing something fierce. All of the trees around the cabin were shaking with the force, swaying back and forth. It was a pretty ominous sight, especially with the thick, dark, gray clouds that were swirling overhead.
Adele pulled in another deep breath, filling her lungs with the frigid air, and subsequently triggering a full body shiver. Pulling her sweater tighter around her, she closed her eyes as she took another couple of deep breaths.
Something was changing between her and Jace…or more accurately, something was changing with Jace. Nothing had changed with her. She still wanted him as much as she always had. But Jace? Well, he was looking at her like he was still seeing her naked.
An Unexpected Christmas Page 6