by Jacobs, Ann
Laura scribbled another note on the pad. Then she sighed before shooting him a look that mirrored concern. As if she weren’t sure she should say anything, she hesitated a few seconds. “Jared, you need to spend more time here. Todd and the others get nervous when you’re gone too long,” she blurted out.
“Why?”
“You know how rumors can spread. When you stay away for weeks at the time, folks start thinking you might sell out.”
“As in sell out to one of the big software companies?” While Jared had a couple of standing offers to do just that, he’d never given the idea of selling serious consideration. “Everybody knows I wouldn’t do that.”
“Do they? You’ve spent all summer at that mountain cabin of yours. Before that, you walked around for months as though you didn’t know what was going on. At first we all thought you were missing Marcie—”
“It was never Marcie. I didn’t want her to resign, of course, but personally we weren’t right for each other.” He looked at Laura. He’d never realized she, or anybody else who worked with him, worried about his love life or lack thereof.
“But you’ve stayed away since you two broke up, as if it hurt too much for you to be here.”
Standing, he picked up a letter opener and shifted it from one hand to the other. “I’ve spent most of my life in Atlanta. I like the city and these offices. I’ve nothing but good thoughts about this company and the people who’ve helped me make it a success.”
“Then why? Why hole yourself up on that mountain in the middle of nowhere? Why make us all wonder if you’re ever coming home?”
Was that what everyone thought he was doing? “The middle of nowhere, as you call it, is less than two hours away, assuming there’s no traffic snarl along the beltway. I’ve been in touch every day, as much as I would have been if I’d been sitting at this desk.”
Laura reached out and touched his hand. “Tell that to your employees, then. Don’t let them worry. They have a right to expect to see you every now and then.”
Damn. He’d hoped to do the board meeting tomorrow, and head home to Althea as soon as it adjourned. No such luck. “Set a meeting for day after tomorrow. I’ll see what I can do to dispel whatever crazy notions the troops may have gotten in their heads.”
“For everybody, or just the programming staff?”
“Everybody. Thanks.” Jared made a mental note to call the payroll manager and have her add a good-size bonus to Laura’s next paycheck. Replacing Marcie had been easy, compared to what he imagined he’d have to go through if Laura ever decided to quit.
When she left, he glanced at his watch. It was already six-thirty. He picked up the phone and dialed the number for his land line on Big Bear Mountain. Already he missed Althea, and he’d been away from her less than twelve hours. He pictured her the way she’d looked last night, sitting by the fireplace as she worked on his quilt. Their quilt, he hoped.
“Answer the phone, sweetheart,” he said when he heard the phone ring for the third time. She had to be there. That’s where she belonged. Her presence was what made his house a home.
When he heard her voice, his tension eased. It felt good to hear her and to know she’d come straight there from her shop. He explained how he’d spent his day and let her know how much he wished they were together. “I should be home day after tomorrow,” he told her before he hung up.
Well, that was my Althea fix. Jared sat there staring at the silent phone. The fact that he’d let one woman matter so much in such a short time amazed him. It should also scare him half to death, but it didn’t. Caring for Althea—loving her—felt damn good.
He picked up a legal pad and began jotting down notes about things to address at the upcoming meetings. He figured he’d spend another hour here and then grab a pizza or some other takeout to eat at his condo.
He pictured Althea there, wondered if her sweet scent still lingered in the air and on the pillow where she’d laid her head. He wanted to know now, so he set his notes down, slid back his chair and strode out of his office. He could work just as well at the condo as he could here, and he was pretty sure he’d be less lonely.
▪ ▪ ▪
Stitch after tiny stich, Althea made her needle fly around the solid and patterned rectangles within each square motif. Unlike the piecing process, quilting occupied only her hands, not her mind. She had plenty of time to listen to the tick of the big Seth Thomas clock on the wall and wonder what kind of creature outside was making that plaintive shriek. Maybe, she thought, he'd just lost his mate.
An hour after he'd called, Jared's voice still echoed in her mind. She rethreaded her needle and began quilting around another square.
How would he look like in his office while he prepared his speech for the Atlanta bankers and businessmen who served on its Board of Directors? Was that office as devoid of personal mementos as the condo he called home? Would his executive assistant, the one who'd ordered the clothes he bought her, still be there helping him?
She imagined him wearing a suit and tie, impressing a room full of movers and shakers who sat around the massive conference table. The contrast between that image and the one she knew, Jared in jeans or khakis and a polo shirt that echoed the colors in his quilt, made her set down her needle.
The gentle man with nothing more important on his mind than picking blackberries, watching and listening to the stream or down Big Bear Mountain—loving her through the night— that was the Jared she knew. Was he real? Or was it an illusion that she loved?
The Jared she knew couldn’t be the real man. He was no simple dreamer, the man who had built a company from the ground up and achieved a level of success beyond simple hill folks’ wildest dreams.
The realization she had first had this morning slammed into her again Jared Cain was way, way out of her league. She knew it, and sooner or later he would realize it, too.
When he did, she'd lose the second man she'd ever loved. Dread filled her and a chill ran down her spine in spite of the warmth of the summer night.
He needed the peace of the mountains now, but he'd tire of slow-paced living all too soon. When he did, he’d leave. He'd go back to his world, where there was no room for a simple quilt maker whose wildest dream was to help mountain women like herself succeed by using simple skills they’d learned at their mothers’ knees. He'd have no room for her.
Blinking back tears, Althea turned to her quilting. She concentrated on keeping the stitches small and even. Controlling. She would control what she could, and try not to worry about the things she couldn't.
Part of her wanted to run as fast as she could, away from Jared and Big Bear Mountain before her love for him consumed her. But her heart told her it was already much too late to retreat.
The other part of her, the earthly sensuous side she hadn't discovered until she’d met him, wanted to rejoice in loving him body and soul. She yearned to explore every sensual avenue lovers could travel on their journey to the stars. To live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself.
Chapter Nineteen
The board meeting went well, and a lot faster than Jared had hoped. He glanced at his watch after the board members left. It was only three o'clock.
He stared out the window and watched Ben Trainor’s fire-engine-red Porsche roll out of the parking lot. He’d always thought the flashy sports car was a weird choice for the portly banker who had sat on the board at Cain Software since the beginning and who had risked giving Jared his startup loan.
He could check out things in the marketing department or try his hand at designing a new game. Nothing appealed. What Jared wanted was Althea, and he wanted her here, not miles away over mountainous roads.
“Jared?”
He turned toward the sound of Laura's voice and found her standing in the doorway. "You need something?"
She smiled. “Not really. I thought you might, though, because you haven't said a word since you adjourned the meeting.”
He shrugged. “Nothing mu
ch to say.”
“You miss her.”
“Who?”
“You tell me.” Laura paused, and then broke out in a big grin. “Is it the woman you had me buy some new clothes for not too long ago?”
Was he that transparent? “Yeah. Her name’s Althea Simmons, and you're right. I miss her. I had planned to go home tonight until you talked me into staying to meet with the staff.”
“Home?”
He guessed he had started thinking at this place on Big Bear Mountain is home, about the time he'd fallen for Althea. “My mountain cabin. The one you keep insisting is in the middle of nowhere.”
“Don't worry. You can go back to her as soon as you're finished with the meeting in the morning. If you want, I can move the schedule forward so you can start it right at nine o'clock.”
“I'd like that.”
Laura grinned. “In that case, you may want to look over the articles of incorporation Ross sent over, just to make sure everything's the way you want it for your co-op before he files the papers. I have to tell the realtor what name to put on the deed to that land.”
Russ Fields, his attorney, had apparently moved even faster than usual. Jared followed Laura to his office and sat on the leather sofa in the corner. As he read over the papers which established the Big Bear Mountain Craft Cooperative, a charitable organization, to which Cain Software would donate startup capital, he told himself he been sweating out Althea's reaction to this for nothing. She couldn't help but be ecstatic when he told her how he was helping her make her dream come true.
At least she thought she would.
▪ ▪ ▪
On the way back to the mountains next day, Jared decided to tell Althea about the land he he'd bought, and his plan to put up a functional facility where women could produce and distribute their mountain crafts. He got sidetracked, though, as soon as he stepped out of his car and found her waiting on his porch.
“Jared!”
She ran into his arms, plastered herself against him and kissed him as though she feared tomorrow would never come. The woman made him feel invincible, not to mention horny as hell.
He wrapped his arms around her. Her sweet, clean scent filled his nostrils. The tang of her joyful tears tickled his tongue.
“Love me.” She rubbed up against him like a friendly kitten, apparently unconcerned that they were outside where any unexpected guest could see them.
His nerve endings crackled, sending urgent signals to his brain. “I will, sweetheart. I do.”
She tangled her fingers in his shirt front then started working on the buttons. “Now. Please.” Her fingers scorched his skin as she slid the shirt off his shoulders while she bathed the curve of his neck with her tongue.
A gentle breeze played on his back. It cooled him for a moment, before the afternoon sun broke through nature’s umbrella of gum and hickory leaves and warmed him again.
Her floral scent surrounded them, mingled with the pungent smell of cedar and the decaying leaves beneath the trees. “Love me now,” she said again.
“Here?”
“Oh, yes. I don’t want to wait.”
Her cheeks were flushed, and he noticed a wild look in her eyes. He glanced down at the wood flooring and over at the rocking chairs. Not exactly comfortable surroundings. Finally he backed her against an inside wall and grasped the front of her skirt while ripping away the thin cotton panties that barred his way. “Wrap your arms around me.” Taking time to free himself, he gripped her buttocks, lifted her and lowered her onto him.
He loved how her tight, wet heat surrounded him, how she milked him with her inner muscles. She made him want to stay this way forever. The breeze cooled his bare butt, tickling him like a lover’s breath. Pressure built in his balls. He wanted to come but not until she did.
He braced her against the wall then pounded her harder and faster, oblivious to everything but her sweet flesh surrounding him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and her legs clasped him tighter. Soon her flesh convulsed around him and she let out a little scream, clenching him as tight as a fist while she wrung out his climax.
It seemed to last forever, the starburst of sensation and the spurting, throbbing feelings of completion. He leaned his forehead against the wall and savored the sensations as they washed over him.
“Althea?”
She stirred against him. “More?”
He wished, but she’d drained him. He needed some recovery time before doing it some more. It surprised him that he was getting hard again by the time he lifted her off him and set her on her feet. “How about we do it inside the house this time?”
“All right.” Her knowing smile stoked his fire.
▪ ▪ ▪
Loving him made sex just that much sweeter.
Althea sat across from Jared in the hot tub a few minutes later, lazily stroking his long, narrow feet and muscular calves.
Hot water swirled from the jets behind them. The surface of the tub soon became a froth of foam and bubbles that taunted the sensitized, swollen flesh between her legs. A minty, woodsy scent hung heavily in the damp, hot air, as sensuous as the satiny-slick surface of his skin.
She moved between his legs and cradled his sex in her hands until he turned rock-hard again. Smooth as velvet and silky skin over rigid flesh, he beckoned her lips, her tongue.
As if he knew what she wanted, he stood, a sculpted god obscured in a fragrant fog of man-made steam. She slid her hands down and cupped his heavy sac. Then she rolled his testicles between her fingers. He felt so good, she wanted to give back the pleasure he’d given her earlier. Leaning forward, she caught the tip of his erection gently between her teeth.
He shuddered when she snaked out her tongue and explored the blunt tip of him, so she went further, bathing his full length with openmouthed kisses and little love bites. The taste of him, slightly salty, a little sweet, all male, made her incredibly hot. Incredibly he lengthened and hardened more in her hands and mouth, groaning as though what she was doing made him feel too good. Too much.
Her insides clenched and her nipples tingled as she took one last taste. Then she stood and pushed him back on the seat. She sat on his lap, facing him, with her legs spread and draped across his muscular thighs. Feeling his flesh throbbing against hers, she wanted him now, more than she’d ever wanted anything before.
He looked into her eyes, his desire evident. “Take me, sweetheart.”
He gave her the courage she needed to lift herself up and take him in her hand again to show him the way. She slid down and took him inch by delicious inch, and when she could go no farther, she tightened her inner muscles around him. She’d never felt anything quite so arousing.
He seemed to know. He cupped her breasts, and then caught a nipple in her mouth. He suckled her for long, languid moments, then flexed his powerful hips and thrust upward to seat himself even deeper inside her. Then he took both her hands and slid them down his body until her fingers tangled in their pubic hair.
“Open up for me.”
At first she didn’t understand, but when he tunneled one of his fingers in and found her, she spread her legs to give him room. Now he stimulated her inside and out.
Pressure built low in her belly. She wanted to sustain it, but she was racing toward release. She rose until she caught the tip of him inside her straining flesh and came back down hard. She wanted all of him. He filled her completely. Shuddering at the incredible pleasure of his possession, she came, her climax enhanced by the strength of his own orgasm.
Spent, she fell against him, her breath coming in ragged spurts.
It was some time later when he spoke. “We’d better get out of this tub before we fall asleep.”
She tried lifting her head but found herself still weak as a kitten. “I don’t think I can move.”
“Hey sweetheart,” he said in a teasing tone, “I think it’s me who’s supposed to be limp as a wet towel about now.”
He didn’t feel at all limp to her. A
s a matter of fact, she got the distinct impression from the way he was twitching and thickening inside her that he could be enticed into making love again without a whole lot of trouble.
She couldn’t. It took massive effort to lift herself off him and climb out of the hot tub. When he joined her in bed a few minutes later, she gave his awakening arousal a playful squeeze. “I missed you.”
He laughed. “Me, or that?”
Embarrassed, she moved her hand to his stubbly cheek. “That’s part of you. A pretty impressive part.”
“I’m glad you think so. I missed you, too, in case you couldn’t figure that out for yourself.”
“Jared, I—” She couldn’t say it. Not while the very idea of it still scared her to death. But not saying didn’t make it any less true. “I love you,” she whispered so quietly she hoped that maybe he wouldn’t hear.
He pulled her so close his warm breath dampened the sensitive spot of skin where her neck joined her shoulders. “Good. I want you to love me, sweetheart.”
For the first time since they’d become lovers, Althea felt the last of the tension flow from Jared. For a long time she lay in his arms, listening to his quiet, regular breathing. How long would this idyllic interlude last before something happened? How long would it be before she’d suffer another gut-wrenching loss?
▪ ▪ ▪
Althea loves me. As Jared watched her drive slowly down the mountain the next morning, he wanted to shout the news to the world. But he was anything but certain she wanted the kind of commitment he envisioned between them.
Something about the way she sounded and looked made him think she'd give practically anything not to be in love with him. Grabbing his coffee mug, he went out on the porch and took a spot on the corner of the porch rail. As he listened to the water rushed down the mountain, he tried to make sense of the mixed messages Althea kept sending.