by Piper King
“Can you just think one minute about what you’re doing?” I curl my hands into fists, not because I’m mad but because I’m afraid I’ll start pawing her again if I don’t do something to control myself. There’s a tension crackling in the air, and it’s at least seventy-five percent lust on my part. Maybe seventy-five percent anger on hers. But the lust is there on her side, too. Her earlier moan gave her true feelings away.
But I can’t go there. Not here. Not now.
I need to get my damn machines back. That’s the whole reason I came here in the first place.
“I have thought about what I’m doing,” she says. “You’re the one who started this whole war. I’m just retaliating as I see fit. My job is on the line here, Jack. If I don’t get the developer to sign the contract, I’m done. No job. No money. No food in my refrigerator.”
Well hell. I hadn’t known that. No matter how important this job is to my business, I don’t want Zoe to end up flat on her ass in the street. Not because of me. But I don’t see how we can move past this. My business needs the work. And she needs the win. Someone is going to have to take a hit, and I have more than just myself to think about. My brothers will be devastated if we have to close our company down. And I don’t have a clue in hell what other work they would do. Our place is their life. It’s all our lives.
“Is it really that serious?” I ask, wondering if there’s a way to salvage the situation.
She nods. “I was hired on a trial basis only. You weren’t wrong when you said I have no experience in construction. My degree was in design. Interior design. I’m not totally clueless, just partially. Anyway, I had a lot of trouble finding any open positions in the city, and I had rent to pay. Bills. So, that’s how I ended up at The Wilson Group. And my boss made it extremely clear that I have to land this deal in order to prove myself. Otherwise, I’m out.”
This is the most she’s shared about herself since we met, and I find I like knowing more about her life, even if it’s not all roses and rainbows. Even if it only confirms we have a serious problem.
“So, what are we going to do, Zo?” I ask. “I need this job just as much as you do. The renovation side of things is really slowing down. And besides, I do have other clients. Those machines are important for our business.”
Zoe lets out a long, tired sigh. I can tell she wants to stop this madness between us, but there’s something clearly holding her back. And I have a feeling it has something to do with the way I man-handled her a few minutes ago. I shouldn’t have done that, but my dick took over. It’s hard to think straight when she looks good enough to eat.
“I’m going to ask you a question, and I need you to tell me the truth.”
“Okay,” I say. “Let’s hear it.”
“Why did you just hit on me when you were talking about your tools?” she says, and she holds up a hand when I open my mouth in surprise. “Don’t look shocked. You were hitting on me, and we both know it.”
I love how straight to the point she is. No dancing around the subject or playing coy.
“Alright, I was. Guilty as charged.” I shrug. “Can you blame me? Look at you, Zoe. You’re sexy as hell.”
Her face turned a darker shade of pink, and she does that cute thing where she nibbles on her lip. Shyly and seductively, and dammit, I want to nibble on it, too. “Why did you do it?”
“Why do you think?” I give her long gaze up and down her body and shoot her a knowing look. “You’re fucking hot, Zo. I can’t stop thinking about the other night. It was the best damn sex I’ve ever had, and it kills me to know that it’s only led to this. And I swear it makes no sense, but the angrier you make me the more I want to screw you as hard as I can.”
That last part pops out of my mouth before I can stop it. But hell, might as well put everything on the table. I want her. There’s no shame in that.
She swallows hard, and I can see her neck tremble where her heartbeat picks up speed. “So, you weren’t trying to trick me? You didn’t come over here to seduce me in order to talk me into giving back your machines?”
My lips quirk. So, that’s why she’s acting so skittish. She’s worried my attraction to her is all for show. Which means…oh god. She wants me to want her. How the hell am I going to keep my hands to myself when I know that?
“Trust me, Zo. Nothing about my attraction to you is fake.”
She squeezes her little fists by her side, and her mouth parts. That gorgeous, pouty mouth. What I would do to feel that mouth wrapped around my needy cock.
The bulge in my jeans is back. Hell, I’m not sure it ever left.
“I’ll take you to them,” she says, her words coming out in a breathy rush. “But you have to promise me something.”
“For my dozer and my loader, I’ll promise you anything, sweetheart.”
She steps closer and holds out a trembling hand. “No more fighting. There’s nothing we can do about the fact we both need the same thing. But we don’t have to keep trying to tear each other down. Whoever gets the contract wins fair and square. And I’ll congratulate you if you get it. Is that a deal?”
“I’m down with that. It’s a deal.” I take her soft little hand in mind and give it a squeeze.
And I never want to let go.
15
Zoe
It’s official. Jack Hall and his panty-melting smile has completely fried my brain. Of all the things I should be doing right now, leading him straight to where Harper and I hid his bulldozer is definitely not on the list. Prep for tomorrow’s big meeting? Hell yes, that is right at the top. Do a quick search online for other job openings in case this one falls through? Ding, ding, ding. That’s another task I should start on ASAP. Find somewhere in this town I can buy a fresh pair of panty hose? Also a productive use of my time.
Give up the single piece of leverage I have over my enemy?
Well, what can I say? It’s impossible to say no to Jack Hall.
Plus, he kind of doesn’t feel like the enemy anymore. Despite being on opposite sides of a very important career-defining decision, it’s like we’ve finally taken a step back to understand each other and where we’re both coming from. I’ve seen a different side of my opponent, and he might not be as bad as I thought.
Does he care about his family? Check. Is he hard-working and ambitious? Double check. And is he only trying to make the best out of a bad situation? Is he trying to meet in the middle and put this behind us once and for all? Yep, the checkmark is big and bold on that one.
He came to apologize. He owned up to his mistakes. And it’s only fair that I own up to mine.
And stealing his trucks just miiiiiiight have been a mistake.
To be honest, I’m shocked he forgave me so easily.
“It’s just down here to the right. Turn onto this dirt road, and they’re in that field about half a mile from here.” I point out of the passenger window of Jack’s four-by-four, arching my finger at the dark path illuminated by the moon-filled sky.
Jack glances at me and barks out a laugh. “Seriously? They’re here? I should have known.”
“What do you mean?” I ask as he swivels the steering wheel to point the nose of the truck toward the dirt road.
“I should have realized that Harper would tell you to bring them here. If I had any sense about me when it comes to you, I would have noticed.” His grin widens as he shakes his head. “She put them right under my nose.”
When he catches the confusion on my face, he slows the truck and points to a house perched on top of a hill just off to the side of the field. I noticed it last night, mostly because it’s probably the most picture-perfect home I’ve ever seen. The kind of house I’ve appreciated when flipping through interior design magazines. It’s a two-story American Dream with light blue panelling and a wrap-around porch, the roof held up by spiralling white beams. It looks like the kind of place where you should curl up on the porch swing with a glass of wine and a romance novel, listening to the crickets chirp all evenin
g long.
And the view. The view is glorious. From the top of the hill where it sits, you would be able to see the expanse of fields all around the property and the foothills poking out of the ground in the distance. I bet whoever lives there watches the most beautiful sunsets every night. The kind of sunsets that are invisible in Manhattan.
“That over there is my house. I built it myself,” he says with a proud smile. “The field you’re talking about? My property. I haven’t done anything with it yet, but it’s mine. Might build a barn there one day, though I don’t know the first thing about plowing vegetables.”
A new spark of admiration fills my chest. Jack built that perfect place on the hill. I can just imagine him with his tool-belt hanging from his hips and the dirt caked to his knees, grunting as he hammered each and every beam into place with a passion I’ve never known. I wish I could watch him work. I bet he’s a sexy sight to behold.
And once again, I realize I’m remembering the way his rock hard body felt on top of me.
“Yours? But…Harper didn’t tell me it was your field.”
“No? Well, I suspect she had her reasons. Harper’s a lot like my brother. She likes to play games and screw the consequences.”
“This is a strange town.”
Jack nods and smiles. “In some ways, it is. But I would say the same damn thing about Manhattan. Why would you ever want to live somewhere like that?”
I blink, taken aback by his question. “I mean…why wouldn’t I? It’s Manhattan.”
“That’s not much of an answer, Zo. Surely you have a clear set of reasons why you live where you live. Otherwise, what’s the point? Especially when you could live somewhere that does inspire a mile-long list of pros.”
I don’t quite understand why, but his words make me feel a little uncomfortable, like he’s picking at a scab I didn’t know was there. Of course I have reasons. Lots of them. But my mind goes blank and words seem to fail me. I’ve never wanted to be anywhere else, but it’s hard to list the reasons why.
“It’s my city,” I finally say. “It’s the only home I’ve ever known. It has…Well, it has everything. How’s that for a reason?”
Jack falls quiet as he turns off his engine. He glances through the windshield and up at the sky. I can’t help but stare at him, at the calm and content look on his face, at the rightness I can tell he feels just by simply being in the exact spot he is, right here and now. He doesn’t yearn for anything else. He doesn’t wonder what’s beyond that next door. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt that content and secure in my life.
But I love Manhattan. I do. How could I not?
Right?
“Does it really have everything?” He flicks off his headlights and darkness fills the truck. “Fresh air that clears your heart and mind before a long day’s work. Open skies full of constellations so bright you can feel them in your gut. Soft grass and dirt underneath your bare feet. Freshly-brewed lemonade on porch swings. Sunsets that make your heart pound in your chest. Locally-grown everything.”
Certain words get more emphasis than others. Fresh, open, heart, local. I can hear the love in his voice. It makes me realize that while I do love my city in my own particular way, I’ve never loved it or anything else the way Jack Hall loves his town.
Redwater isn’t just a place to him. It’s home. The kind of home you feel deep in your bones.
“No, I suppose it doesn’t have any of those things,” I say quietly. “We don’t get a chorus of crickets in the city. Or rugged Connecticut Cowboys with tool belts.”
His eyebrows arch suggestively. “You saying you wish you had some of those around?”
“Only if they were like you.”
Why did I just say that? Bad, Zoe, bad!
But when he slides his hand up my shirt and caresses my nipple, all logic falls out of my brain. Oh my god, I think, though maybe I say it out loud. His finger flicks against my nipple, teasing me in ways that has me wriggling on his leather seat.
“Is this what you would want them to do?” he asks in a deep voice that thrills me to my toes.
I swallow and nod. “But I would also want them to do more than just touch.”
“Get on me. Now.”
I obey, climbing onto his lap and feeling his arousal as I rub my crotch against his. He lifts my shirt over my head and unclasps my bra. The cool summer air travels against my skin, but I’m not chilly for long. Because he leans forward and sucks hard, and there’s nothing else in the world but us.
“More.” I grind against him. “Suck me more.”
My breasts bounce against his face. I’m unable to control my body and my need to ride him like a bull, even though we’re both still clothed from the waists down. But he sure doesn’t seem to mind. He licks and sucks my nipple while squeezing the other in his rough palm. It feels so good that I think I might lose my mind.
“My god, you’re so fucking wild, Zoe,” he says when he pulls back to look up at my lust-filled face. “And you’re driving me wild. If I don’t get inside you soon, I think I might explode.”
“Then put your hard, thick dick in my pussy. I think you’ll find I’m very wet.”
“Oh. My. God.” He groans, and I have to smile. I’m making him as crazy as he makes me.
He unzips his jeans and drives his dick into my wetness. I delight in how well he fills me, already taking me so close to release that I nearly come right here and now. But he slows me down, gripping my thighs and setting the pace.
This is certainly not what I expected tonight would bring.
As we rock together, he grasps my face in his hand and presses a hot kiss against my lips. There is so much passion in his kiss. So much more than what I thought he would be. I kiss back, hungry for him, needy for him. All this time we’ve been fighting, I’ve wanted nothing more than to feel him again. To touch him. To fuck him. To lick him.
“What the fuck are you doing to me, Zo?” he asks in a gruff voice when we break apart. Staring into his eyes, I grind my hips against him. His groans fill the air, blocking out the crickets singing their song outside of the truck. The whole cabin smells of him. Of sawdust. Of dirt. Of man.
I drop back my head and moan.
Because whatever I’m doing to him, he’s doing the same damn thing to me.
Before I know it, I’m on the edge. I try to slow my hips, but I can’t. Just two more thrusts. Two more kisses. I don’t want this moment to end. His cock feels so good I could fuck him for hours, on every single night of my life. But nothing can stop the pleasure I feel, nothing can put it on hold. We crash together, grasping and licking and pulling together like we need to hold on to each other in order to make it through.
I fall on top of him. Spent, panting, and satisfied in ways I’ve never been.
“Well, that was definitely interesting,” he says with a smile. “I’m guessing that’s what you’d like those Connecticut Cowboys to do? The ones who aren’t in Manhattan yet?”
“Only if it’s you.”
16
Jack
Things are just a tad bit awkward when I drop Zoe off at Harper’s B&B after our little trip down my own dirt road. I don’t think either of us expected to find ourselves screwing in my truck after arguing all day and night. But something’s changed between us. We found common ground. And the way she opened her eyes to the place I call home made her that much sexier to me.
So, I went for it. How could I not? And she practically purred under my touch.
I don’t regret a damn thing, and I hope to hell she doesn’t either.
“Well, good luck tomorrow,” I say, acknowledging her upcoming meeting with the developer. That’s why things feel off. It’s strange, to say the least, wishing her well when it comes to stealing a contract I need to win myself, especially only moments after sucking on her exquisite nipples.
She tastes so fucking good it’s criminal. I want to lap up every last drop she spills and then some. We may have gone for round two, but it’s far
from enough to satiate my need for Zoe.
Our relationship is anything but normal.
Not that’s it a relationship.
We had meaningless sex, that’s all. Twice.
But never again.
It definitely did not mean anything. And when she gazed up at me with those wild and open eyes, I definitely did not feel a tug in my heart.
Nope.
It was just racing a little fast from the lust, that’s all.
Tomorrow, the deal will be done. Either she wins or I win. It doesn’t get less complicated than that. And then she’ll park her cute little ass in her car and drive back home to her noisy, stinky, starless city. The place she has a suspiciously difficult time defending.
And we’ll both go on with our lives like nothing ever happened.
“Same to you.” Her hair is wild around her shoulders, and it looks damn good on her. Good enough that it’s hard not to reach over and pin her onto the seat again. “I hope…well, I hope everything works out for your business.”
“And I hope you don’t lose your job.”
She gives me a sad smile because we both know that one of us will not get what we want and need. And it will be at the expense of the other. But whatever anger I felt toward her before is all gone now. Part of that definitely has to do with the fact we just fucked like bunnies. But part of it is because I know it’s not her fault she’s in this situation. Just like it isn’t mine. I wish there could be a way for us both to win. I’ve been wracking my brain for a solution, but there isn’t one.
“I leave Friday, which is…”
“The day after tomorrow,” I say quietly.
She nods. “So, I doubt I’ll see you again. I know it’s been pretty wild, but I want you to know that I’ve enjoyed meeting you, Jack. I mean, it’s definitely been weird, but…”
“It’s also been good,” I finish for her.