by Violet Paige
“There is definitely something you’re not telling me.” He paused. “No one can just cook like this.”
I let out a deep breath. “Oh, my cooking. Right.” I didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed that he had guessed the wrong secret.
“I used to own a restaurant in Seattle.”
“You did? Well I guess that explains a lot. Why haven’t you mentioned it?”
“Because it burned to the ground. I don’t have it anymore.”
His eyes widened. The gold flecks intense. “What happened?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “They ruled it an electrical malfunction in the breaker box. I lost the entire building.” I reached for the wine.
“Wow. I’m sorry, Olivia. I had no idea.”
“It happened right before I got the news about Elliot. He didn’t even know about it yet.”
“What did you do?”
“I ended up here.”
“It shouldn’t have happened. You didn’t deserve any of this.” His voice grew louder. He clenched his fork.
“Between the insurance nightmare with the restaurant and this place falling down I think I’ve been hiding out.” God, it felt good to talk about it. I had felt guilty talking about the restaurant, as if that somehow diminished Elliot’s death. But Jake seemed to get it.
“You’ve been doing this all on your own.”
“Until you showed up,” I whispered.
This could be my chance. The moment when I told him that since he appeared on my porch my life had started to come back together. There was warmth. There was happiness. There was a future if he wanted it.
“Did you used to serve this in your restaurant?” he asked, twirling more noodles on his fork.
Ok, maybe not the moment.
I shook my head. “No. It wasn’t on the menu.”
“You could charge a hundred dollars a plate for this.” He walked to the kitchen island and added a second serving to his plate.
I blushed, loving how much he was enjoying it.
“Have you thought about staying here and opening a new restaurant nearby?”
“No. I can’t think about work until I get the house taken care of. Besides, you’ve seen the hardware store. It’s not like there’s much here. I don’t think there are enough people to get a business up and going. It’s so remote.”
“True. But I bet people would drive hours just to taste this.”
I giggled. “Well if I do open another restaurant I will make you my marketing manager.”
“You should do it, Liv.”
The way he said my name sent chills along my arm. My skin prickled. He had never used my nickname before. It sounded casual. It sounded intimate. How did he know?
“Since I lost the last one I haven’t been able to think about it. The house. Elliot.” I could go on with the list of things that had happened since the restaurant fire.
“You’ve had a lot on your plate.”
I nodded. Things had crumbled around me, but suddenly there was something O wanted. It had come out of nowhere. Out of a cloud of grief and confusion. But he was sitting across from me.
Two months ago, I never would have believed I would have something to look forward to, but the longer I was around Jake, the more I wanted him to be a part of my life. I had a purpose. A reason to smile. A reason to cook. A reason to let my heart take another chance. He had been healing me for the past month and he didn’t even know it.
He broke the comfortable silence. “I thought tomorrow I could try to make a plan for the bathroom in the apartment.”
“Really?”
“If you want me to. I think it would be easy to finish it.”
I wanted the bathroom to be finished. It would help with selling the property, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy Jake’s daily shower stops downstairs. I was running out of excuses to catch a glimpse of him in his towel every morning.
“Oh sure. I think it would be great to have it finished. That was the plan.” I placed my wine glass next to my plate.
“If you want to look at some pictures and pick out a shower and sink, that would help. I can order anything you want.”
“Oh. Ok.” I watched him continue to devour everything on his plate.
“I don’t know how long it will take to get here, though. They don’t exactly have express service at the hardware store.”
I laughed. “No. Definitely not.”
He stood from the table. “Thanks for dinner.” He took the plates to the counter and started his nightly ritual of loading the dishwasher.
“You’re welcome.” I sat while he rinsed the plates and scrubbed the pans.
“I think it was my favorite dish so far.” He smiled, closing the dishwasher with his foot. “I’m going to call it a night.”
“Ok. Good night, Jake.”
“Good night.”
And then he was gone. The house felt colder. The kitchen quieter. I finished the last few sips of wine. Damn. Once the bathroom was finished, that would be it. There would be nothing left keeping him here. I had to do something to change that.
12
Jake
I ran my fingers through my hair. I was losing it. Four weeks was a lot to ask. But I was trained in self-control. I was trained in patience. I was trained to wait for the target. I had to fucking wait. This was not the time to get complicated with Olivia.
One month with her had almost made me forget the mission in Kiawai wasn’t over. I still had to go back.
The bathroom was the last project. I had tried to find more things to do at the house, but I had tackled everything on the list Olivia had given me.
I paced in the apartment. There was no way I could sleep. I jogged down the steps to the workshop below. I was finished with my project, but it could use another sanding. I wanted it to be perfect.
I flipped on the light over the workbench, reaching for sandpaper.
I peeled back the sheet and started working, smoothing out the grooves and rough spots.
I looked at my phone. It was after midnight. My hair was full of sawdust. It was caked under my fingernails, and stuck to the stubble on my chin. Olivia would be asleep by now. I walked to the house and slipped into the bathroom. I washed the sawdust down the drain before heading back to the barn.
I looked over his finished project. I smiled and turned to cut off the light when I heard something behind him.
My neck stiffened and my chest tightened.
“Hey.” Her voice was soft and light.
I turned. Olivia was standing in the barn door. Her hair was down on her shoulders. She was wearing a T-shirt barely covering her ass. I swallowed hard.
“You ok?” I was afraid to take my hand off the workbench. It was the one thing keeping me from dragging her up to my bed.
She shook her head. “Not really.” She walked in the barn, closing the door behind her.
“What happened?” I had just been in the house and everything seemed fine.
She leaned against the wall. That’s when my hand let go of the one thing anchoring me in place. I walked toward her, faster than I meant to.
I stopped close enough I could smell the wine on her breath, the shampoo on her hair, the rain on her skin. The T-shirt clung to her chest where the rain had pelted her. I could see the outline of her nipples through the thin fabric.
My breath hitched. “What’s wrong, Liv?”
I couldn’t stop. Mu hand reached for her neck. Her skin was warm in my palm.
She raised her eyes, holding my gaze in place. Her teeth raked over her lip.
“I heard you in the shower. I walked downstairs but you were already gone.”
“Did you need to tell me something?” I asked. Her breasts were bobbing as her breathing quickened.
“Mmmhmm.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” My voice was husky and deep.
“You,” she whispered.
“Me?” My fingers began to massage the back of her neck.
I couldn’t stop the pull I had toward her.
“I had to finish an entire bottle of wine to walk over here.”
“Why?” My other hand landed on the soft curves of her waist. God, she was so luscious and sweet.
“Because I want to know why you haven’t made a single move.” She leaned closer, pressing her breasts against my chest.
Fuck. “Made a move?” I leaned down, inhaling her sweet breath. My lips dying to kiss her. To touch the curves of her mouth.
She nodded, her eyes widening. “You’ve been here a month. What’s wrong? Do you think of me as Elliot’s little sister? Is that it?”
“Hell, no. Is that what you think?”
She nodded, her lips full and pouty. “Yes.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what?” she whispered.
My lungs seized with air. I wanted her. I needed her to help me take my next breath. She was gorgeous and sexy. She was soft and warm. Innocent and kind. All the things I wanted.
I pressed my forehead to hers, wanting every piece of her.
“I can’t explain it, Liv,” I groaned. “I’m trying to protect you.”
Her hands slipped up to my neck. “Protect me from what?” Her fingers rubbed along my skin.
“From getting hurt.”
“I’m hurting right now. Every day you don’t kiss me hurts.” She breathed. “I came over here to tell you I want you to make a move.”
I was beyond restraint. There was nothing I could do to calm down, or convince myself to keep things in check. She was offering herself, and as far as I was concerned, I should take what was always meant to be mine.
My mouth landed on hers, hot and rough. I cradled her face in my hands, drawing her close. I could taste the wine as my tongue twined against hers. I drew a moan from her throat as I sucked and bit at her lips.
My hands slid to her hips, snaking the T-shirt over her generous ass. She raised her hands in the air, and in a swift tug I yanked it over her arms and threw it near the pile of sawdust.
“God, you’re fucking beautiful.” I stared at her breasts, ripe and round. Pink and soft. Puckering for him. Begging to be sucked.
I gripped one before my teeth landed on the nipple. I tugged and toyed, while my tongue flicked against her skin.
“Ohh,” Olivia cried, fisting her hands at the back of my head.
The nipple perked under the heat of my mouth. I blew across it. I kissed between her breasts, then moved to the other side, sucking hard until I heard the moans from the back of her throat. My teeth raked against her skin as I sank to my knees, kissing and licking against her flesh.
I wanted to cover every inch of her. Taste her. Suck her, and fuck her until she was screaming my name. I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. Four weeks was too long to wait. What the hell had made me wait this long?
My eyes flashed to hers. Her gorgeous brown eyes misted with lust and want. It was all I needed to see. In an instant I peeled the panties from her hips, dropping them to her ankles. She stood before me, flat against the wall. Her head reeled back. Her legs spread wide.
I didn’t ask. I knew exactly what I wanted. What I wanted to taste. My hands moved between her legs, spreading her slick folds wide. My tongue slid between her petals, slow at first.
“Ohh,” she whimpered.
I grinned. God, she tasted sweet. I dipped his tongue against her again, my hands prying her thighs. I began lapping at the bud, relentless with thirst for her. With each moan and rock of her hips my cock few more solid.
“Olivia,” I breathed between her thighs.
She whimpered. “You do want me.” Her head rolled to the side.
“Let me show you. I want you more than you know.” I eased one of her legs over my shoulder so her hips tilted forward.
My tongue plunged against her entrance. I worked in and out, wickedly flicking over her throbbing nub before dipping into her sweet spot.
I felt her began to quiver around me. I pressed my palm to her stomach, pinning her to the wall while my tongue continued to lick and tease her.
“Ohh,” she moaned. “It’s so much. I can’t…I can’t…” Her words said one thing, while her hands pressed my mouth deeper between her legs. She rocked rhythmically against my tongue.
“Feel it. Feel what I can do to you.” I sucked hard against her, and the vibrations quickened. My tongue dipped deep, loving the feel of her clenching against me. Her hands flattened against the barn wall, and her hips thrust forward into my face.
I growled low, letting it rumble between her legs while I lapped against the sweet sugar she gave him. If she could come like that with my tongue, I could only imagine what she would do with me buried deep inside her. I growled again, knowing I was going to find out.
Her quivering quieted as she began to open her eyes. I kissed along her stomach, inching my way to standing.
I looked at her beautiful face.
“I want you even more than that,” I whispered.
“More?” she asked. “There’s more?”
Her fingers reached for the hem of my shirt, dragging it over my chest.
My mouth crushed against her. Her lips parted as I kissed her hard. I felt her nipples pebble against my chest as the friction between us heated.
I jerked her leg to my hip, wrapping it around my waist. My cock was hard, straining against my jeans. Her eyes flashed. I looked at our surroundings. Sawdust. Nails. The barn wall. I could do better than this.
“You want this?” I kissed the base of her throat, sliding my hand between her legs. She was so wet and ready.
She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered. “Please.”
I picked her up, throwing her over my shoulder and marched up the stairs. I was finally getting what I wanted.
13
Olivia
His lips were on mine and then suddenly I was looking at everything upside down. Jake climbed the stairs, kicked open his bedroom door, and then laid me on the bed. His eyes were on fire, brimming with lust and hunger.
My core melted from the inside out. I had never seen blue eyes blaze like that before.
Jake unbuckled his belt, shoving his jeans to the floor.
My mouth dropped when I saw him. The moonlight streamed through the window, landing on his wide pulsing cock. I whimpered, wondering if I would be able to handle it. It was thick, long, and perfect.
On the walk from the house to the barn, I had convinced myself this was it. I would throw myself on him and blame the wine. I’d tell him I had a bottle, when really I had stopped before the second glass. It was a full-proof plan. But now I was naked. And he was naked. But holy shit he was huge. More than I could have ever imagined.
He climbed on the bed, crawling toward me. His chest was broad. His shoulders like boulders bracing his frame above me. I reached toward his skin, desperate to trace the hard ridges on his abs where muscle met more muscle.
I had pictured him a hundred times in my dreams. How he would look in my bed. How his mouth feel against my breast. How he would sound in the dark. But nothing prepared me for this.
He kissed my neck and throat. His hand roaming over my body, stopping to squeeze and press into my skin.
“I’ve wanted you since I saw you on that porch,” he growled into my neck.
“You have?”
I wanted to talk about it. Ask him why he hadn’t tried a single move. Why he never kissed me. But suddenly his fingers were between me legs and I couldn’t think.
“Mmmhmm. Wider, baby,” he urged, spreading her legs.
“Ohh,” I moaned, doing everything he asked. I was his to command.
I bucked forward when I felt him slip two fingers inside my pussy. It was intense and strong the way he strummed against my inner walls.
His mouth covered my nipple, sucking until I thought I couldn’t take the sensations. I could feel the warmth between my legs, coating his fingers as he plunged in and out of me.
My head thrashed to the side. The bu
rning was taking over my blood again. I was going to come like this while he fucked me with his fingers. I gripped at his shoulders, needing him to ground me to the bed.
“Tell me what you want.” He nipped at my neck, before grazing his teeth over my shoulders. “Do you want me to make you come like this?”
I’d never said the words before. I’d never asked anyone to fuck me. But it was there on the tip of my lips. I didn’t know why, I only knew I needed it. I wanted it. My body was on fire. Fueled by his tongue. By his fingers. By the weeks of dreaming of this moment.
I pushed off the mattress enough to roll on my stomach, my ass grazing his stomach.
“I need you to fuck me. Please.”
“Fuck,” Jake groaned, gripping my hips. “Olivia…”
“I’ve wanted it every night.”
I couldn’t hear. I couldn’t think. I only knew I needed his cock buried deep inside me. So deep I wouldn’t know my name. Or his.
I wiggled my hips toward him, my tits bouncing underneath, draping over the pillows. I pressed my palms against the wall, bracing myself for him.
His finger ran between my legs, massaging me with my own hot juices.
“So wet,” he groaned. “Spread your legs for me.”
I moved my knees wide, hoisting my hips for him.
“You are so fucking perfect.” His tongue licked against me, lapping at my bud until I panted. “You taste like sugar.” He sucked the nub between his lips and I rocked my hips toward him, pressing harder against his tongue.
If he didn’t take me I would burst into flames. If his tongue felt like this I could only imagine what his shaft would feel like sliding in and out of my pussy.
The desperation was clawing at me. For weeks, this was all I could think about. I’d wake up with thoughts of him between my legs.
“I want to bury myself inside you. Hard and deep.”
I swallowed, forcing myself to keep breathing. “Yes.”
“Fuck you so hard you forget any other man.”
“Oh, yes.” My muscles clenched. Each word made me wetter.