by Karen Booth
She tore open the foil packet in her hands and kissed the top of his head. “I want you, Jake. I want you inside me.”
He smiled and leaned back, resting his elbows on the bed and watching as she rolled on the condom. She planted her hands on either side of his hips and kissed him. They both took that kiss as deep as it would go, mouths hungry for each other, tongues winding and playing. Jake scooted back on the bed. Sophie took the invitation and climbed onto the mattress, straddling him. Jake guided himself inside her. Sophie’s eyes clamped shut as she felt him fill her completely.
Jake hummed his appreciation. “You feel perfect.”
“You do, too.” So perfect. So unbelievably perfect.
They were both already a little breathless, nothing more than soft moans and gasps. She lowered her torso and kissed him while rocking her hips forward and back. His thrusts were strong but careful, every pass hitting the right spot. Again, she was speeding toward release. His kisses, hot and reckless, only made the pressure coil faster.
Jake clamped his hands onto her hips, curling his fingers into her bottom like he couldn’t get enough. It intensified the pressure, and that brought her right to the brink, her breaths now choppy and desperate.
“Are you close, Soph?” he asked, burrowing his face in her neck and kissing that sensitive spot beneath her ear.
“So close.” She could practically see it in her mind, a swirl of intense colors she wanted to become a part of.
Jake took a thrust and flipped her to her back, straightening his arms and using his considerable strength to drive all the way inside her, then nearly all the way out. Sophie arched her back and gave in to the pleasure as it rocketed through her. She wrapped her legs around Jake’s waist and muscled him closer with her feet, studying his incredible face while he, too, reached his peak. A smile stretched across his lips as the subtle tremors shook his body. He collapsed on top of her and rolled to his side, pulling her against his chest. He smoothed back her hair with his hand, gently and lazily.
Sophie relished the afterglow and tried so hard to stay in the moment. Was this really happening? Was she really in his arms? It was real, with no reason for her to feel anything but happy and satisfied. There was no reason to let doubt creep back in. There was no reason to wonder if he’d started things simply because he wanted to keep her under his control.
Five
Jake woke up the next morning wondering if he’d messed up. Sophie was not in her bed with him, and the disappointment registered square in the center of his chest, an emptiness that was deeply uncomfortable. That alone scared him. Had he made a mistake by taking her to bed last night? He didn’t have the best track record. It was difficult for him to trust, especially a woman.
He’d allowed himself the pleasure of Sophie only after she’d promised not to cut a deal on Eden’s with anyone else without first speaking to him. In that moment, he realized that she did still value their friendship. She was still loyal Sophie. And that made him want to trust her.
He rolled to his side and checked her side of the bed for warmth. Whatever had been there was gone, but her sweet smell wafted into the air when he rubbed his hand across the sheets. They’d had the most incredible night, making love for hours. They’d even managed to use up Sophie’s condom supply. It had to have been nearly four in the morning before they drifted off in each other’s arms, which made her absence this morning that much more confusing. How could she be up and about on so little sleep?
He decided to investigate, climbing out of bed and putting on his jeans and the T-shirt he’d been wearing under his sweater. Through Sophie’s window, he saw the back of the property covered in virgin snow. The sun was out, and apparently the storm had passed. Surely the process of clearing the roads was already under way.
He was starting down the hall when he heard a terrible racket coming from what sounded like the kitchen. He followed the noise through the house, shuffling into the room. “Are you sure you should be walking around on that foot of yours?”
“It’s fine. Swelling has gone down.” Sophie glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled. Wearing formfitting black yoga pants with a pale blue sweater that dipped temptingly off her shoulder, she had a vast array of cooking supplies out on the counter.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Getting ready to bake Christmas cookies.”
“Cookies? It’s just the two of us.”
“Not back at home it isn’t. I’ll bring a bunch back to the city. Take them into the office. I’ll freeze some for Christmas Day, too. Want to help?”
Jake saw that the coffeemaker was on. He was going to need caffeine before grappling with the idea of holiday baking. He’d been hoping he’d talk Sophie into coming back to bed. “May I?” he asked, gesturing to the carafe.
“Oh, yes. Of course. I’m sorry. I should have offered. I’m just scattered this morning.” She handed him a carton of half-and-half from the refrigerator, watching him as he filled his mug and stirred it. “By the way, I spoke to Barry, our caretaker, and he said the driveway will be clear by night. He checked with the state highway patrol and they’re expecting the roads to be fully passable by morning.”
There was his answer about how long he and Sophie had together. Once they were headed back to the city, he’d have the unenviable task of telling Sophie that although this was fun, it probably wasn’t a good idea considering their opposing viewpoints on a multibillion-dollar deal. “Thank you for the coffee.”
“Good?”
“The best.”
She smiled and cocked her head to one side. “Last night was the best.”
He couldn’t believe how relieved he felt to hear that from her. He really had been thrown off his game by her absence this morning. He set his mug down on the counter and pulled her closer, kissing only the tip of her nose since there was no telling how bad his morning breath was. With his hand, he swept tendrils of her hair from her face. “It was amazing. I was hoping for more. There must still be a few dozen positions we haven’t tried.”
A beautiful pink blush rose in her cheeks. “You sure? I’m pretty sure we went for a world record last night. Plus, we’re out of birth control.”
“There are other things we can do to make each other happy.” He bounced his eyebrows at her.
She nodded. “I know. And that sounds awesome, but I have to get through my to-do list today. Cookies. Decorating.”
He had to admire her dedication to upholding family traditions, even if it was getting in the way of what he considered to be a markedly better time. Plus, the entire idea of baking and cookies and decorating for a holiday was a foreign concept. The only long-held practice in his family involved cruel words muttered under one’s breath. “Whatever you want to do, I’m good with.”
“Really? You’ll help? I would’ve pegged you as the guy who would much rather sit on his butt and watch football all day.”
“Football is on Sunday. And I’d still prefer that, but we should probably honor your grandmother’s traditions. I never met her, but I’d like to think she’d want us to.”
A melancholy smile crossed Sophie’s face. “She absolutely would want us to. She’d be horrified if she knew that I ended up going home without a tin of cookies in the back of my car.” She drew in a breath that made her shoulders rise. “The butter is probably soft by now, so we can get started.”
“Put me to work.”
Sophie began the Christmas cookie operation by directing Jake to follow her into a large pantry at the far side of the kitchen. She handed him a stack of metal sheet pans, then piled flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder on them. “One more second. I need to find the cookie cutters and the sprinkles.” Sophie pulled out a small stepladder.
“Why don’t you let me do that?” he asked.
“I’ll be fine.”
“So says the woman who
dropped a ten-pound doorstop on her foot.” Jake ducked back into the kitchen, put the supplies on the counter and returned to the pantry. Sophie hadn’t listened. She was up on the ladder, reaching for items on the top shelf. “I really don’t want you to hurt yourself again. I’ll feel responsible this time.”
“Just come here and let me hold on to you.”
Jake stepped closer and Sophie placed her hand on his shoulder. He was facing her side, and if he looked up, he could see the lovely curve of her breasts as her top stretched tighter across her chest. It brought back some very hot memories of last night, and that only made his jeans start to feel much snugger below the waist. Looking straight ahead was no help—he either had to look at the rounded perfection of her backside in yoga pants or the sweet scoop of her lower back as her top shifted up and revealed her creamy skin.
“Here are the cookie cutters.” Sophie handed him a large plastic jar filled with silver metal shapes.
Jake took it from her and set it on a lower shelf, returning his sights to her.
“And here are the sprinkles.”
“Gotta have sprinkles.”
“Lots and lots of them. There is no such thing as too much sugar in this scenario.”
All Jake could think was that Sophie was the real sugar in the room. She was so sweet and mouthwatering, it would be a struggle to stay focused on the task at hand, especially when he didn’t care about silly things like cookies.
They returned to the kitchen and Jake helped Sophie get out a large stand mixer. He studied her as she worked. She was still limping but otherwise getting around just fine. Her face was both happy and content, but there was something even more mesmerizing about her, something he’d just realized. She was comfortable in her own skin. That was the biggest change between now and when they’d first met. Back then, she’d had this coltish quality—all unbridled beauty. But she hadn’t seemed to know that she was, in fact, beautiful. She was a wallflower of sorts, shying away from compliments and always deflecting.
Now was different. She owned her movements, much more comfortable with herself. When they’d made love last night, Sophie was confident in a way she hadn’t been before. She wasn’t shy about taking pleasure for herself, which he loved. Having her in his arms, her sweet taste on his lips—it was like revisiting the most perfect memory, only better. He and Sophie hadn’t been perfect together all those years ago, but he had to wonder if it was all his fault that it hadn’t lasted. He’d thought he’d been protecting her. He’d always thought it was so much better to have a little bit of something beautiful than ever risk it getting ugly.
“Have you talked to Mindy?” he asked as Sophie cracked eggs into the mixing bowl.
“She sent me a text this morning. She’s not coming, but I get it. The roads are terrible.”
Jake nodded. If he and Sophie hadn’t come to their agreement, the news of Mindy might be disconcerting, since he’d counted on an audience with her to seal the deal. Now he was glad that she wasn’t coming. It meant he had Sophie all to himself. At least for a little while longer.
She stared down into the mixer, then flicked the switch off. “I think that’s good. We need to wrap up this dough and let it chill for an hour before we bake.”
“We have to wait for cookies?”
She grinned so wide her cheeks were like little apples. “Afraid so. But you can help me with all of the house decorating until then.”
“I was hoping to get cleaned up. Maybe take a shower? Together?” He tugged on Sophie’s sweater until she was in his arms again.
She returned the embrace and settled her head against his chest. “That sounds amazing. But no.” She straightened and patted his shoulder before returning her attention to the cookie dough, wrapping it up in plastic.
“No?”
“As tempting as you are, not right now. Later. I promise.”
Grossly disappointed, Jake helped Sophie clean up the kitchen, and then they moved into the sitting room, where cardboard boxes and plastic crates were stacked against one long wall.
“When you come up here for a weekend by yourself, what do you do the whole time? Read? Watch TV? I think I’d go stir-crazy.”
“This is actually the first time I’ve come by myself. Normally, either Gram and I would come or we might drag Mindy along or my mom, although she and Gram never got along.”
“How is your mom?” Jake had met her at business school graduation.
Sophie shook her head. “Not well. Erratic. Losing it. Honestly, she just hasn’t been herself since our dad died five years ago.”
“I was sorry to hear about that.”
“Thanks. It was so hard on Gram. No one wants to see their own child die before them.”
“Of course not.” Again, Jake was struck by how tight-knit her family was. He knew, of course, that many families were. He simply hadn’t had such a bird’s-eye view of it.
Sophie began opening the boxes and inspecting the contents. “We’ve always spent Christmas in this house. It’s all Mindy and I have ever known. Gram always came up from the city one weekend in December to decorate the house, so it would be all decked out for celebrating. When Mindy and I got old enough to help, we came up with her.”
“An entire weekend devoted to decorating for Christmas. Who does that?”
Sophie shrugged, fishing smaller boxes out of the large ones. Judging by the quantity of decorations, they were going to be busy with this for a while. “The queen of England travels to Sandringham Estate a week before Christmas just to prepare for everything.”
“The queen of England and about fifty members of her staff. I realize you come from a lot of money, but unless I managed to miss something, you aren’t royalty.”
“Of course not. But it’s still a nice idea, isn’t it? The tradition. The devotion to getting the details right. And most important, wanting that family time to be special.”
“I guess. But you’re just going to have to take it down later. It seems like a lot of work for nothing.”
Sophie turned to him with brows furrowed in confusion. “How do you accomplish anything with that attitude? You’re a developer, Jake. You build things. You turn a piece of property into something better or different. How can you have that kind of vision and still be so pessimistic?”
He shrugged. “One person’s pessimism is another person’s practicality.”
Judging by the look on her face, she remained unconvinced. “Let’s get started. The sooner we finish, the sooner we get to take that shower.”
As distracted as Jake was by the promise of soaping up Sophie’s beautiful body, he still felt as though he had to come clean about his disinterest in this exercise. “There’s something I need to tell you before we start. A confession of sorts.”
“What’s that?”
“I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I hate Christmas.”
* * *
Sophie could hardly compute what Jake had said. Honestly, it was crushing. How could she be so hopelessly attracted to someone who hated her favorite time of year? “You don’t hate it. I don’t believe that for a minute. Maybe you think it’s too commercial or overhyped or something, but I don’t believe that you hate it. That’s such a strong word.”
Jake held up his hands and shrugged. He was somehow extra handsome when he appeared defenseless, even when she knew it wasn’t real. “Fine. Then don’t believe me. But it’s the truth.”
“So you aren’t enjoying this?”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I’m just here for the shower.”
Sophie was excited by the prospect, but she couldn’t fail at this family tradition. Plus, she was still sorting out how she felt after last night. It had been absolutely incredible, and Jake wasn’t showing signs of retreat, which had been her greatest fear, but what would happen tomorrow when they left their snowy hideaway? She ne
eded to prepare herself for the worst. He could easily tell her he wasn’t interested and she’d have no choice but to accept his decision. After all, she’d known very well what the possibilities were. She’d known all along that Jake might hurt her.
But she couldn’t allow herself to think about that now. It would ruin one of her favorite days of the year. She reached for one of the bins. “We need to put the lights on first. Before anything else.”
“If you say so.”
Sophie wrinkled her nose. It was as if Jake had never done this before. Perhaps he was merely letting his attitude and actions demonstrate his dislike for the holiday. She pulled out several strands of lights, which had all been carefully wound around pieces of sturdy cardboard. She handed Jake the plug end of one. “Let’s test these before we put them on the tree.”
“Good thinking.” He crouched down near the outlet. One by one, he checked to make sure they all still worked.
“Gram was always adamant that only white lights went on the tree. What about your family?”
Jake didn’t make eye contact. “I don’t really remember.”
Sophie decided to accept that Jake simply hadn’t taken note of his family’s Christmas preparations. Even with her admittedly persnickety placement, they had the tree strung with lights in no time. “You know, plenty of people say that stringing Christmas tree lights is the ultimate test of a relationship.” As soon as the words crossed her lips, she knew she’d made a mistake. She and Jake had the strangest, most tenuous of relationships right now—a long-gone friendship only recently rekindled, an apparent weakness for the other, especially when naked, and a business deal Sophie didn’t want waiting off in the wings.
“I’d say we did pretty well,” Jake said. “But then again, we’ve always made a good team. We’ve always worked well together.”