Ridge Creek Reunited (Ridge Creek Duology) (25 page)

My dress is a crowd pleaser too. Short, black and covering my back fully to my neckline, it’s not until I turn around and present the front that the shock factor kicks in. A plummeting neckline at the front keeps on going and going almost to my belly button. Covering my back and displaying my
frontal assets, it’s one of my best online buys yet.

Moving back to the bedroom and to my suitcase that now lies open on the bed, I can hear Jake out in the main room on the phone to someone. He sounds solemn but every time I look at him he grins at me and cocks an eyebrow so I figure all is okay.

Jake looks
more
than hot.

For the first time since I’ve met him, he’s in a suit. To say it was a surprise when a man arrived at our door to hand Jake a black suit with a light gray button down shirt and dark gray tie would be an understatement. Gawping as Jake had casually taken the suit and sauntered across the room to hang it in the closet, I was also rendered speechless when he gave me a cheeky grin and remained silent.

Now, mostly dressed (he has yet to put on his tie and jacket), I’m having trouble keeping my eyes off him. Peering back over my shoulder, I watch as his eyes darken and his gaze travels appreciatively from my butt down my now stocking covered legs. His eyes finish their trip by locking on my shiny black high heels and I watch as he licks his lips.

Deciding there’s no time like the present; I stand up straight and turn to give him his first glimpse of the front of the dress. Wondering if he’s going to like it, I watch his face.

His response is instantaneous.

Jake’s eyes flare, he hits a button on his screen and his phone flies across the room to land on the couch. His feet then start moving and in a blur of movement, he crosses the room. Keeping up his momentum, he grabs me by the elbows and flings us both backwards onto the bed. I land on my back with an, ‘oof’ and he comes down softly on top of me, most of his weight on his arms.

“We’re not goin’ out,” he growls as his lips hit mine and for about the tenth time this afternoon he kisses me senseless.

“Did Jim cancel?” I mumble against his mouth as he keeps kissing me.

Lifting his head away, he stares hard at me for a moment. “Nope, let me rephrase that. We’re not goin’ out till you change.”

Huh?

“Why?” I ask annoyed that I’ve gone to all this effort and now he wants me to change.

“Pretty sure you can
feel
why,” Jake growls looking at me with dark eyes.

And that’s when I realize I
can
feel why. I can feel a very hard
why
pressing up against my groin. Which is a surprise because I actually thought that after what we’d been up to all afternoon, it would need some down time.

Literally.

“How did
that
happen?” I ask innocently blinking up at Jake. “Don’t you need time to umm… recover.”

“Apparently not,” Jake chuckles as he thrusts his hips hard against mine sending a cold shiver down my spine.

“But why do I have to change? Don’t you like the dress?”

Dropping his head to press his forehead against mine, Jake sighs. He then lifts his head again and starts talking. “Arianna, I always figured you’d be a knockout in a dress, but fuck me; in
that
dress you’re spectacular. Do you really expect me to walk around with a boner
all
night?”

“You don’t have to walk around with a boner all night,” I correct him immediately. “We’ll be sitting for a good portion of the evening. You can hide it under a serviette or a tablecloth or
something
.”

“Don’t be a smartass, women,” Jake’s eyes darken dangerously as they move to my lips.

“I’m not,” I grin up at him. “I’m also not getting changed. I don’t have another dress.”

“Wear jeans.”

Rolling my eyes upwards as if I’m thinking, I pause briefly before saying, “I’m
not
wearing jeans to a fancy restaurant while you wear a suit. Get a grip.”

“Then we’re not going out,” Jake says as if it’s final.

“Are you fucking serious?” I start to hear the screech in my voice as I take a more serious look at his face. “You can’t possibly be serious can you?”

Shifting his eyes from my lips and back to my eyes, I see Jake’s face soften. Sighing, he rolls sideways and off me. “No, I’m not serious but shit woman, try to keep the full frontals to a minimum until we get back to our room.”

Grinning I roll sideways and press my lips to his. “Sure. So you like my dress?”

Mumbling against my lips he gives me the answer I was fishing for. “I love your fucking dress.”

*****

Walking into the restaurant, Jake keeps me close.

Real close.

So close in fact that I start to wonder if he’s actually trying to use me as a human shield and we can expect his friend Jim to
pull out a machine gun and start shooting at us.

“Are you okay?” I decide to ask because seriously, he’s acting
wired.
Not only is his jaw tense, but his hand is clamped down so hard on my elbow I think I’m going to bruise.

“I’m fine,” he grunts out as he continues to guide me through the restaurant and towards a table on the far wall.

“Jake!” I hiss and stop suddenly. “You’re starting to hurt me.”

Looking instantly mortified I feel his hand drop from my elbow. “Fuck. Sorry.”

“Seriously,” I ask him again. “Are you okay?”

Chewing at his lip for a moment he seems troubled. Then he sighs and takes me by the elbow again. Softy this time. “To be honest,” he murmurs, “I saw more boners in the lift on the way down here than I’ve seen in my entire lifetime. I think I’m gunna go blind.”

“What?” I screech turning to face him as I see several patrons turn their heads to stare at us. Ignoring them I lean in close to Jake’s ear and whisper. “Are you fucking with me?”

Pushing my elbow to start propelling me along again, Jake scrubs a hand across his face and rumbles an annoyed, “Unfortunately, no.”

“Shit,” I mutter softly as the weight of his words finally sink in.

Dear Lord.

Grinning like a fool, I lean forward as we walk to whisper in his ear. “Best dress, ever.”

Not stopping to respond, I hear Jake let out an unhappy growl just as an elderly man in a well-tailored gray suit lift
s from a table directly ahead of us. His eyes lock on Jake and he starts smiling broadly. His eyes then shift to mine briefly before they start traveling straight down my front.

“Not you too Jim,” Jake growls angrily as he propels me straight past his friend and pushes me into a seat at the table. “Sit
. Cover your front with a napkin and fuckin’ stay.”

“That’s no way to speak to such a
magnificent
woman my friend,” Jim chuckles amused at the reason behind Jake’s bad manners and foul mood.

“I told her take the fuckin’ thing off,” Jake grumbles as he turns to embrace his friend in a huge man style bear hug.

“Personally, I’m glad she left it on,” Jim replies winking a crystal blue at me over Jake’s shoulder.

I decide instantly that I
like
this man. Even knowing he’s Victoria’s father, I can immediately sense that he is
nothing
like his daughter and that he cares deeply for Jake.

“He wanted me to wear
jeans,”
I roll my eyes at Jim and he smiles back at me, his smile lighting up his eyes with amusement.

Finishing their man hug, both men separate and Jake slides into the seat next to me. Jim lowers himself slowly into the seat opposite mine and I notice he looks stiff and perhaps a little uncomfortable in his own body. Leaning forward conspiratorially, his words leave me speechless. “My daughter could have walked in here nude and he wouldn’t have cared less. You must be a keeper.”

Mortified, that he’s already mentioning his daughter, now Jake’s ex-wife, I gasp.

“Jim,” Jake growls a heavy warning.

Leaning back and grinning like a fool, Jim shrugs. “It’s true. Heard the divorce went through. Congratulations!”

Now aghast that Jim seems overjoyed that his daughter has divorced Jake, I widen my eyes as my mouth drops open and I
stare.

Leaning forward to grin at me, Jim places a finger under my jaw and pushes my mouth shut. “There’s no love lost between me and my daughter my dear. Stop looking so shocked.”

“Oh,” I mouth the word but don’t let any sound out.

Letting his hand drop down again, Jim leans back in his chair and settles hi
mself. “I’ve already ordered for us all, there’s whiskey and wine on the way and we’re eating seafood.”

Jake nods his thanks and looks to me. “Arianna, meet Jim. Jim, keep your fuckin’ hands and eyes to yourself.”

Jim lifts an eyebrow and turns his attention from me to Jake. “I’m about to turn sixty-four and arthritis is starting to kick my ass, can’t an old man enjoy the vision of a beautiful woman when one sits directly in front of him?”

“No,” Jake growls but I can see a small smile lifting the edge of his lips.

They’re just fucking with each other.

Realizing all their yabber is just that, I relax and lean back in my chair. Seeing me relax, both Jake and Jim smile at me for a brief second and then they get down to business. Introductions seemingly complete, both men update each other as if they haven’t conversed in months.

Fascinated, I watch in comfortable silence as they discuss everything openly. Jake explains the fourth house is up and running. Jim explains he’s found three more distribution points. Jake explains he’s added a whole new layer of security. Jim supports the changes fully. Jake explains that all distribution points will now be background checked. Jim agrees that all the new security measures are excellent and he supports them fully.

During all this
rapid fire conversation, our food and drinks arrive. Which means we eat, we drink, the two men joke around with each other and we laugh. Which also means that I have a good time. Which
also
means that it’s not until the end of the evening, when we stand up to bid our goodbyes that I realize a very important thing. Not once during the entire night did I spend one single moment thinking about Stephen, Patricia or one single event of my past.

The only thoughts in my mind have been of Jake, his business and the future. A future that I’m sure is going to be very different from any future I could ever have imagined before. But at least it’s a future. Which after the events of the past few weeks, is something I was seriously wondering if I was ever going to have.

Waving goodbye to Jim as we step into the lifts to head back to our room, I notice Jake’s mood darken slightly. Suddenly he looks detached and broody. “Are you okay?” I ask as the doors close in front of us.

“Fine,” Jake rumbles flicking me a small smile as he reaches for his phone in his jacket pocket. Glancing at the screen, I notice a look of concern shoot across his face so I ask again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine Ari,” he sighs as he shoves the phone back in his pocket. “Just worn. Conversations with Jim can be intense.”

“I can understand that,” I murmur as we watch the numbers on the lift light up as we travel skywards to our room. “Do you not have phone conversations between meetings?”

“Not often. They add too much risk. That’s why we have these cram meetings face to face. As you heard, there’s little time for more than business when we get together like this. Which is sad because I like Jim, he’s a good man. It would be nice to spend some time relaxing with him now and then. All we ever seem to talk about these days is business. Sadly, because I am no longer married to his daughter, even meetings like these will need to be few and far between.”

I nod my understanding as Jake’s hand slides around my waist and he pulls me closer. “It was nice to have you there tonight. It was nice to do business and still have my pleasure at the same time. You make
everything
better.”

“No Jake,” I disagree as I lean my head against his huge shoulder. “
You
make everything better. You haven’t stopped making everything better for me since the moment I met you.”

Feeling Jake sigh against me, I lift my head again and twist to search his face. He still looks dark and broody and it worries me. Seeing my concern, he relaxes and pulls me back hard his shoulder. His lips brush the top of my head and he sighs. “And I plan to keep making things better, for both of us.”

Fully trusting that Jake is capable of
anything
and that if he tells me everything is going to just keep getting better, I believe him. I believe him so much that within an instant, I know what I must do.

“I do believe I love you,” I whisper as I snuggle against shoulder.

“Glad to hear it,” Jake murmurs as he brushes his lips against my head again. “I was starting to wonder if you were ever gunna say it.”