Sugar Shack

by Paisley Scott

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah.” His chuckle was low and intimate, but his eyes remained closed. “Wow.”

  “Who would have thought we’d still have that chemistry?”

  “Chemistry?” He squeezed her hip and drew her back down to him. “The whole damn lab exploded.”

  They laughed at their impromptu joke, the easy humor of lovers comfortable with each other. It was odd how quickly they fell back into step, as if they’d picked up exactly where they left off here at his maple farm. Like time had never spanned a decade-old rift.

  “How did we go so wrong?” she asked quietly.

  The smile died on his face. His lashes lifted and he looked at her, pain shining in his eyes before he blinked it away. “You tell me.”

  Catherine sighed and rolled to her back, staring at the ceiling. “I honestly don’t know what happened. All I know for sure is I was young and immature and thought I needed to spread my wings.”

  He remained quiet.

  She turned her head to look at him, the shadows from the setting sun making it hard to read his expression. “All I can say is I’m sorry, Luke. I never meant to hurt you.”

  “Let’s move past that for now, Cat. I accept your apology. I just want to know what you want from me now. After all these years.”

  It was a fair question. But she honestly didn’t have a good answer for him. “I don’t know what I want. I just know I had to come here and try to figure out what happened. What might have been. What could still be.”

  He nodded, still avoiding her eyes. “But tell me. Would you have had that overpowering urge to come here had the weather not gotten so bad you couldn’t drive to your folks’ house?”

  “I honestly don’t know.”

  He rolled off the bed and grabbed his jeans, sliding them on quickly. “I’ve got to feed Sapphire. I’ll be back in a while. You know where everything is if you get hungry.” He left without a backward glance.

  Catherine fell back on the bed as tears slid down the sides of her face, dampening the quilt beneath her head. She didn’t want things to be so strained between them, but what the hell had she expected? She’d walked out of his life with no real explanation and then just sauntered right back in. If the tables were turned, she’d be just as wary of him.

  ****

  Luke stroked Sapphire’s thick mane while the horse chewed on hay. A part of him didn’t want to go back inside and listen to any more of the fragile excuses Cat gave about her disappearance. He didn’t want to hear she’d broken the engagement because she was young and immature. Of course, he didn’t want to hear her say she’d fallen out of love with him, either. But another side of him wanted to charge back inside the house and throw her on the bed and fuck her until they both passed out from carnal pleasure.

  He sighed, the heat of his breath frosting the air. “Why did she have to come back now? When I finally thought I was over her?”

  Sapphire didn’t answer, just kept chewing hay.

  He thought about Hannah, but no smile touched his lips. He liked Hannah. She was a good person. She was pretty, smart and used to working a farm with her family. It made perfect sense they would wind up together. They’d been seeing each other casually for the past five years. Hannah knew all about Cat.

  He sighed again.

  But knowing about a person and suddenly meeting them face-to-face were two totally different things. Hannah wouldn’t understand. He nearly choked on his own thoughts. “Of course she wouldn’t understand the whole sleeping-with-the-old-girlfriend part, you dumb ass!”

  Sapphire neighed.

  Hannah was a good match for him. Nothing unexpected. No flashes of temper. No spontaneous sex. He looked down at his pecker, bulging at his zipper. “And no sudden hard-ons just thinking about her.”

  A warning voice sprang to life in the back of his head at that last thought. Shouldn’t he be worried if he wasn’t getting a woody thinking about the woman with whom he was supposedly going to spend the rest of his life? Shouldn’t thinking of Hannah make him hard as a rock?

  “Fuck!” He kicked the side of the stall. The noise sent Sapphire scurrying backward.

  “Sorry, girl,” he soothed, stroking her neck softly. “I’m a little high-strung tonight.”

  The horse nuzzled his hair and went back to happily munching her hay.

  He had no idea what he was going to do with Cat in his house. He only knew was he was stuck with her until this damned storm blew over. And it looked like it was going to be a doozy. The weatherman was talking white-outs and blizzards this time. Thank God he had the generator gassed up.

  “Night, sweetie,” he told the horse, rubbing her nose before he hurried out into the cold and barred the door behind him.

  Chapter Six

  After a quick shower and change of clothes, Catherine wandered downstairs. It was amazing how everything still looked the same, for the most part. There was new furniture in the den, more pictures lining the wall behind the sofa. She smiled when she spied a photo of a snaggle-toothed blond kid. It was Luke at about six years old.

  She studied all the pictures. Young Luke and his little sister Beth grinned back at her from the wall. Beside the couch, a collage frame held six recent photos. Catherine picked it up and recognized Luke’s parents. Older, but they still looked as she remembered them. There was a picture of Beth in her wedding gown beside a handsome man. So this is the ex, Catherine thought. She nodded. Not bad. Kind of looked like a player, in her opinion. More the type of guy you sleep with and hang out with. Not really the marrying kind.

  Her gaze scanned the rest of the photos in the collage. Pictures of horses, pets and holidays took up most of the frame, but it was the couple in the lower right hand side that captured her attention. Luke and a pretty blonde. The woman was beaming from ear to ear with her arm looped around his waist. They were both dressed up, he in a tux and the woman in a floor-length red evening gown. In the photo, Luke was smiling. He looked pleased. He looked content. They made an attractive couple. Two dressed-up blondes.

  She set the frame down. Why had she come here? Luke was no longer part of her life. After all these years, of course he’d have another love. What did she expect? For him to wait on her? A curt laugh blew from her lungs. Who was she to swoop in after all these years of silence and expect him to be the same guy she’d left behind?

  She flopped on the couch and held her head in her hands. What had she gotten herself—and Luke—into? They hadn’t been together twenty-four hours and already they’d had sex. Catherine groaned. And why did it have to be such great sex?

  “Hungry?”

  She looked up to find Luke standing in the doorway, bootless as usual. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  He shrugged. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you.” He turned his back and headed toward the kitchen again. “I’m going to reheat some pot roast if you want to join me,” he tossed over his shoulder.

  Like a puppet, she rolled to her feet and followed him. She had no idea what the future held for the two of them, but since she’d started this snowball, she might as well ride it down the mountain.

  ****

  They ate in silence, even though Catherine was dying to know who the pretty blonde in the picture was. It was none of her business, but if she wanted to completely close this part of her life, she should at least make sure he was happy, right?

  Her reasoning might be a little skewed, but it was enough to give her permission to delve where she really shouldn’t go.

  “So Beth’s been married and divorced, huh?” she asked, spearing another carrot with her fork.

  Luke nodded and took a sip of milk.

  “What about you? Did you ever want to get married? Have kids?”

  “Once,” he said, lowering his glass and looking at her.

  Hot blood rushed to her face. “I don’t mean us, Luke. I meant...you know. After.”

  He wiped his mouth, his paper napkin lingering over his lips longer than necess
ary while he contemplated. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah. I’ve thought about it.”

  The small bite of carrot she swallowed seemed to lodge in her throat. With a lift of her eyebrows, she asked, “Recently?”

  Another nod.

  She gulped down a large sip of water and washed away the carrot.

  Luke dropped his napkin on the table and pushed his chair back a few inches from the table. “If you want to know the truth, it took me a long time to get over you leaving me, Cat. It wasn’t so much that you left—it was that I never saw it coming. Trust was a difficult thing for me after you.”

  Her fork fell from her numb fingers and clattered against her plate. “Luke, I’m so sorry. I—”

  He waved away her apology. “It was a long time ago. I don’t need to hear you tell me you’re sorry.” He cocked his head to one side. “I just wish you’d talked to me. We could have figured something out.”

  Catherine nodded. That was so true. But she’d been a nitwit with a college degree, thinking she was missing out on the world’s greatest secrets. And that they lay just beyond the Vermont border. “I don’t have a good excuse for what I did. But I’m not that same person anymore. It’s not the old, flighty Catherine sitting here. I’m different. More mature.”

  His smile was slightly sad. “Who are you trying to convince? Me, or yourself?”

  Another hot flush flooded her face. “Who knows?” she muttered.

  “Since we’re being upfront and honest with each other, I should tell you I have been seeing someone for a while.”

  Even though she’d seen the picture and surmised as much, hearing it from him made it real. She had to swallow a few times before she could. “Must be serious then,” she said, sounding as nonchalant as she could.

  Luke picked up their plates and stood. “Want some coffee? I put on a fresh pot.”

  Catherine shook her head. She couldn’t swallow anything over the growing lump in her throat. She hadn’t expected him to be in a committed relationship with a woman. And why not? He was still young, good-looking, owned his own place, made good money. He was a hell of a catch. She watched him saunter away, noting the tight curve of his ass and his powerful thighs through his jeans. The muscles under his shirt bunched as he moved to put the dishes in the sink. She groaned to herself. Yes, he was quite a catch. And the snowball was picking up speed as it careened downhill.

  Black coffee in hand, Luke sat back down at the table. “What about you? Divorced? Engaged? Kids?”

  The questions took her by surprise, although she didn’t understand why they should. She’d better get used to taking as well as she gave in this dialogue. “No, no and no.” She smiled.

  He leaned back in his chair and crossed his long legs at the ankles beneath the table. His soft cotton sock brushed beneath the cuff of her sweat pants, sending goose bumps skittering up her leg. God, just the faintest touch from him made her hot. How was she going to stay overnight without wanting to jump his bones?

  “That surprises me,” he said, taking a slow sip of his coffee.

  “Why?” She held her chin up a little higher. “Because I’m a woman and that’s what women are supposed to do? Get married and have babies?”

  He looked confused for a second, then shook his head. “No. It’s just natural to assume a beautiful woman like you would have a husband and kids.”

  Catherine covered her burning cheeks and rested her head in her hands. “Sorry. And thank you. I don’t know why I’m so defensive. Maybe I’m a little paranoid...being here with you after so long. I don’t know how I’m supposed to act.”

  Absently, he rotated his cup by the handle. “I don’t want you to act any way. I want you to just be yourself, Cat.” He glanced at her and their gazes locked. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you.”

  She sighed. She didn’t know how she’d envisioned this going, but it definitely wasn’t this difficult in her fantasies.

  “Can we start over?” she asked, reaching out her hand to him. “I’m Catherine Bennett, thirty-four years old, and I’m a journalist for Off the Beaten Path magazine. I’m recently estranged from my boyfriend, Lewis. I’ve never been married, have no kids, no pets, and live in Chicago. You?”

  His laughter caught her by surprise, and warmed her heart. It was a good sound, a welcoming sound. It made her feel comfortable and secure.

  “Okay, I’ll bite,” he said, taking her hand in his and shaking it.

  Tiny electric sparks shot up her arm at the contact. Just touching the man made her forget about everything but making love to him. She blinked and tried to focus on what he was saying.

  “I’m Luke. Lucas Mackenzie. Owner of this place, my family’s maple farm. I’m, uh, thirty-five until January. Don’t have any kids. Pets? Well, I guess that’d be Sapphire. Not married, but I’m seeing someone casually. Her name is Hannah Owens.”

  The lump returned, bigger this time. “Oh? How long?”

  He shrugged. “A few years.”

  “That’s a pretty long time.” Still leaning across the table, she pulled back her hand and cupped her chin. “So what does casually mean, exactly?”

  Another chuckle rumbled from his chest. “It means we just have fun together.”

  “So you two just get together for sex?”

  Crimson tinged his cheeks. “Damn, Cat. You just say it like it is, don’t you?”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “I’m just being myself. That’s what you said you wanted from me, right?”

  He nodded, thoughtfully stroking the five o’clock shadow along his jaw. “True.”

  “So?” The question wasn’t going unanswered if she could help it.

  Luke shifted in his chair. “Why do you want to know so badly?”

  He’d hit the ball right back in her court. And all she could do was be honest. Bite the bullet, Bennett. “Because I don’t want a jealous girlfriend barging in on us while we’re having sex later on.” God, she couldn’t believe she’d said that. Out loud!

  A wicked glint entered his amber eyes. “Oh, really?”

  She’d laid it out there, might as well back it up. “Yeah. Really.”

  “And what makes you so sure that’s going to happen?”

  Bolder than she’d ever been in her past life with him, she answered, “Because I enjoy fucking you and I’m pretty sure you enjoy me riding that thick cock of yours, too.”

  His eyes widened and he stopped playing with his cup. Silence reigned in the small, intimate kitchen. “Damn,” he said, exhaling the word as their gazes remained locked.

  “Is that going to be a problem?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows.

  A slow grin curved his lips. “No, ma’am,” he said, his voice low and sexy. “This is certainly something new from you, Cat. I like it.” His smile widened.

  “A lot has changed over the past ten years, Luke. Like I said, I’m not the same person you remember.”

  “I’m discovering that.”

  “What I need to know, though, is how serious your relationship is. I don’t want to start anything if there’s more between you two than simply sex.”

  He rubbed his lower lip. “And what exactly do you want to start, Cat? Besides more mind-blowing, bed-scorching sex, I mean.”

  Just the thought of that made her wet. She leaned forward and trailed her finger down his forearm. Clutching the last remnant of rational thought before she fell completely under his amber-eyed charm, she urged, “Tell me it’s nothing more than just sex between you and her.”

  His hand covered hers as it moved up his arm. Tenderly, he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed the knuckles. He turned her hand over and pressed his lips against her palm. She gasped when his tongue made soft, wet circles against her skin. Heat shot through every vein in her body and pooled between her legs like molten lava.

  “No.”

  “No?” she repeated, confused.

  He didn’t look at her, just murmured against the skin of her palm. “No. The relationship isn’t anything
more than sex.”

  A thrill rushed through her at light speed. As much as she loved hearing those words, she had to make sure it was real. “Does she know that?”

  His tongue grazed her palm again, making a languid figure eight. “Probably.”

  That didn’t sound good. As much as she didn’t want to leave his seductive lips, Catherine drew her hand back. “Luke, you can’t assume she knows. Haven’t you guys had the talk?”

  He looked irritated by the sudden change of mood. “I’m pretty sure she already knows about the birds and the bees, Cat.”

  “Not that talk,” Catherine grumbled, shaking her head. “Women need to know where they stand with guys. If you’ve been with her for a few years, I’m pretty sure she thinks there’s a payoff at the end of this ride.”

  “Why don’t you let me worry about what Hannah and I talk about?”

  Ouch. Catherine stood and took his empty cup to the sink.

  Outside the window, one shutter was still closed from the earlier storm. The panes of glass were frosty with shelves of snow stuck to them. In the distance, the sun was setting, a blaze of orange painting the white landscape. Flakes floated faster past the window and great gusts were shaking the nearby trees, sending globs of snow plummeting to the ground. Everything outside looked untouched. No tracks in the snow, no sign of dirt or grass, and the mounds of white had crept up to the second bar of the wooden fence.

  She’d lived in New England long enough to know bad weather from really bad weather. This was the slight calm before the storm, so to speak. A blizzard was brewing and she was lucky to have found refuge when she did.

  Luke came up behind her. “Why are you so interested in my love life anyway, Cat?”

  “I guess I want to see what happens.” In the backlit reflection of the kitchen window, she met his gaze. “If you’re game?”

  His arms wrapped around her and pulled her against him. She could feel his arousal push against her buttocks. He leaned over and nuzzled her neck. “Hell, yeah, I’m game.”

  Every time he touched her, it sent electric vibrations darting through her to her pussy. Within seconds of his hands or lips on her, she was wet. How could she deny herself the ultimate pleasure of fucking this man? At least for now, regardless of his so-called casual relationship.