Strictly Business (21 page)

When Jake walked out onto the beginning of the deck, he saw
her immediately. She was wearing a tank top and shorts, with a tool belt around
her waist. She was currently swinging a hammer with three more nails in her
mouth. And she didn’t look like an amateur. She did, however, look incredibly
sexy. She didn’t see him right away, so he took the opportunity to watch her.
His heart raced, his body ached. He wanted her more now than he had before
they’d made love. So much for getting her out of his system. He cleared his
throat.

She looked up, and the look of concentration changed,
flashing first to pain and then to anger. “Did you need something? Mike can
take you through the house if you want to look.”

He could feel the temperature drop a few degrees from the
ice in her voice. “Nope, I’m here to work. What can I do to help?”

“Leave?” She shrugged her shoulder, then turned back to her
work.

All of a sudden Jake was furious. What the hell was wrong
with her? He’d walked her to her room, he’d hugged her. It had taken everything
in him to let go. He was trying to give her space, a chance to recover. He had
been trying to do everything right, for fuck's sake!

“Nope, I’m here to stay. I live here, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. I also remember you basically avoiding me
for the last two days. Sure, you've been nice enough, but you're treating me
like a stranger, or worse yet, a friend. In fact, other than your minor lapse
in judgment, which I’m attributing to the storm, you’ve been mostly avoiding me
for over a week! So, why don’t you just stay true to your behavior and get the
hell out of here!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” He had spent the week
trying to be pleasant, trying to make her see how easy he was to be with.
Trying
to make her stay
.

She spun around, dropping her tools. “I’m talking about last
week, about you trying to slide me into the ‘friend’ category. Agreeing with
everything I said, holding my hand, patting my head like I was a good puppy!
Why don’t you just spit it out, Jake? Why don’t you just tell me you don’t want
me anymore? And why, why did you have sex with me if you want to break up? Was
it just to make sure I wasn’t a virgin anymore? Some sort of a pity party?”

She’d been walking toward him the whole time she’d been
yelling and now she was standing toe to toe with him. If she’d been taller,
they would have been nose to nose.

Jake was so pissed he couldn’t even think, he couldn’t
process what she was saying, he couldn’t hear the pain behind her words. All he
could hear was her saying he didn’t want her. Nothing else registered.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” He yelled right back,
heedless of anyone that might hear. “I was doing everything I could to keep my
hands off you. And you think that I don’t want you? I’ve been hard since you
walked into my office with your ugly suit and your prissy little attitude. Pity
party, my ass. I have never, never needed anyone as much as I need you."

“What?”

“I need you!” He shoved his hands through his hair, trying
to make the words come out a little calmer. “God, you idiot, I’m so in love
with you I can’t even remember my own name.”

“You what?”

The words came out on a whisper. She was staring at him, her
eyes round as saucers, her mouth slightly parted, the lower lip trembled
slightly. Jake took a deep breath, making his hands into fists to keep from
grabbing her.

“I love you.” There was so much more to say but he stopped,
leaving the words hanging there, almost a tangible entity in themselves.

He had handed her his heart, now he waited to see what she
would say. She didn't
say
anything. Instead, she jumped, wrapping her
arms around his neck, her legs around his waist. She pressed her mouth against
his.

Jake caught her, wrapping one arm around her waist, the
other under her ass, pulling her to him. His mouth was on hers in what was
almost a battle of wills. As the pain and fear of loss rushed out of him,
desire, raw and hungry, rushed in, clawing at him, driving him to take her here
and now. He pulled his lips off hers, trying to calm his body long enough to
get her home.

One deep breath, then another. He made the mistake of
glancing down at Jess. Her eyes closed, lips parted and swollen from his
kisses, had his already hard cock surging against his zipper. Remembering
gratefully that Mike had said they were calling it quits for the day, Jake took
a quick glance around to make sure they were alone. No one was around and there
was no more construction noise coming from the house. Thank God.

He dropped down onto his knees, never letting go of her, he
simply lowered her onto the deck. As soon as she was lying down, he yanked off
the tool belt, throwing it behind him, hearing nails spill onto the deck. He
grabbed the waistband of her shorts, yanking them and her panties down and off.
Then he went back to ravaging her mouth.

She reached between them, unzipping his jeans and shoving
them and his boxers down before he could even react. Jake felt the air against
his pulsing cock, felt her cool hand wrap around him. He couldn't stop the
groan when he felt her wet heat graze the tip. All thought fled as he plunged
into her, one long thrust. He heard her cry out and prayed he hadn’t hurt her
again. There was no way he could stop. He was beyond that capability, beyond
reason. When he felt her hips push against him, he slid back and thrust again,
harder, faster. Harder still. He felt her nails scraping down his back, heard
her cries and knew she was with him, feeling the same hunger he felt. She met
him thrust for thrust. He felt her teeth sink into his shoulder as she climaxed
and he followed her into heaven.

* * * * *

Jess had no idea how long they lay there. It could have been
minutes or days. When she finally surfaced, she opened her eyes trying to see
his face. This was what she'd been hoping for, been wanting.

Jake lifted his head, rolled off her, propped up on one
elbow. “God, Jess, I’m sorry. I did it again. Did I hurt you?”

He looked truly worried. “Did what again?”

“Attacked you. I didn’t even get my pants off this time. And
we’re outside. Again!” He ran his hand through his hair.

“Wait, is that why you were so weird last time? Because we
were outside?” She felt the laugh beginning to bubble up.

“Well, yes, no…not exactly.”

Now she did laugh, softly. “I never would have guessed that
you were a prude. Especially not growing up on a ranch.”

He looked utterly indignant. “I’m not a prude. I have no
problem being outside, I just…it was your first time. I couldn’t even wait to
get you to a bed. And I was…a little…rough. So, did I hurt you?”

She rolled over, climbing on top of him, straddling his
hips.

He could feel her, pressing against his still hard shaft. He
groaned when she twisted a little, rubbing against him. She leaned up to kiss
him, whispering against his mouth, “You didn’t hurt me. I wanted to be out in
the storm, Jake. I wanted you there, with the rain all around us. Just like I
wanted you here, needed you here. Just like I want you again right now.” She
pressed backwards, feeling him slide into her. She sat up, taking him deeper.
“In case you can’t tell, I love you too.”

It was a couple of hours before they made it back to the
house. They walked in, holding hands just as everyone sat down to lunch. Jess
glanced over to see Mike smirking and felt her face get hot. She had no idea
how much he’d heard before he left the house. She smiled back at him, looking a
bit chagrined. He kicked out the chair next to him, silently indicating she
should sit down.

After she grabbed some food, she sat next to Mike, waiting
for the expected ribbing to begin. When he merely leaned over and whispered, “I
sent everyone home,” she glanced back, startled.

He smiled at her. “When the arguing escalated, I kicked
everyone out. Immediately. We were all cleaning up anyway. You were alone.”

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

Jake sat down next to Jess. “Hey, I get the kisses, not
him.” He was obviously teasing, not acting like a jealous ass. Going with the
flow, Jess leaned over, planting a noisy kiss on Jake’s cheek as well.

“That’s better,” he said, grinning.

Mike, being Mike, couldn’t seem resist teasing
someone
,
so he turned to Jake. “So, how’s that deck looking out there? Did you guys make
any progress?”

Jake looked back, smiling unapologetically. “Oh yeah. We
definitely made some progress.”

As Jess listened to the friendly banter between the two men,
she couldn't help but smile. When she glanced up, she saw Martha watching them
with a grin of her own. She patted Jake on the shoulder, smiling softly at Jess
as she walked out of the kitchen. If Jess understood correctly, she had
Marsha's approval.

* * * * *

That afternoon, Jess helped Jake out in the barn, checking
on the new colt, milking cows. He showed her how to do things she was
unfamiliar with. Jake found that, in addition to learning quickly, she was
willing to work. He was beginning to understand why Mike and the crew respected
her as much as they did.

After dinner they sat on the porch, watching the sunset.
Jess’s favorite part of the day. When Jake stood, announcing that he needed a
shower, Jess followed him upstairs, heading toward the bathroom she used.
Outside his room, Jake tugged her hand, pulled her in after him and shut the
door behind her.

“I was thinking we could shower together. I’ll wash your
back if you’ll wash mine.”

Jess laughed, following him into his bathroom. “It’s always
good to save water. Conserve our natural resources.”

The shower quickly turned into a session of discovery rather
than simple cleansing. They each took their time learning the other’s body.
Discovering hidden pleasure points along the way. Jake found that Jess reveled
in him washing her hair. Her body reacted as if he were making love to her,
just from that simple task. She discovered that his ears were super sensitive,
sending shivers through his body at the lightest of touches.

She gently washed his chest, running her hands over the
light bruise where she’d bitten him. She apologized, pressing small kisses over
the mark. His answer had been a steamy kiss. He didn’t mind the bite at all.

By the time they stepped out of the shower they couldn’t
even take the time to dry off before falling onto each other and into bed.

Later, as they drifted off to sleep, Jake pulled Jess
closer, still half afraid this was a dream. It occurred to him that he hadn’t
gotten around to buying that ring yet. He’d have to get out on Monday and get
that taken care of. Now that he had her in his bed, there was no way he could
let her go.

* * * * *

Over the next few weeks they fell into a routine. Jess felt
like she was living in a dream. The house was coming along really well. Walls
were up, doors in place, windows installed. They were working on the inside
now. They did finally get that deck done. The fireplace was done. The walls
were being textured and painted. And the cabinetry was being delivered
tomorrow. The counter tops would go in by the end of this week. She couldn’t
believe how fast time was going. She had to leave in just a few weeks to get
home for Dana’s baby. She’d missed the shower, sending a gift and her
apologies. Dana had called to say thank you and to tell her she understood. Her
mother, on the other hand, had called to tell her what a horrible daughter and
sister she was. Her ‘little job’ wasn’t nearly as important as the first
grandchild.

It occurred to her then that her family would never
understand her. She wondered why she had spent so long trying to please them.
It had taken love and seeing a real home for her to realize that she needed to
please herself, not her family. She loved them, she always would, but she was
once again making some changes in her life. Their approval was, finally,
unnecessary.

One of those changes had just walked through the door. She
turned at the sound of Jake’s voice, her heart melting at the sight of him.

“Hey you.” She sidled over to him with a sexy little sashay,
giving him a big kiss.

He picked her up, pressing her tighter against him. “Hey
you, back at ya,” he said as he set her down.

* * * * *

Jake had taken to coming by the house and helping out
whenever he could. He was there most days for at least an hour or so. Jess had
told him it wasn’t necessary, things were moving along ahead of schedule, but
he wanted to be there, wanted to have his hands involved in building their
house, their home. He wondered if it had always been their home. If it wasn’t
at the start, it definitely was now. He enjoyed seeing her working, building,
sweating. Just as he enjoyed putting his own sweat into it.

At the end of each day, they would shower, usually together,
and spend their nights locked together in both passion and in sleep. In just
these few weeks he’d gotten used to her sleeping in his arms. He was used to
her being there when he woke up in the mornings. They had adjusted their schedules
again. She rose earlier, he stayed in bed a bit later. Most mornings they would
wake, aroused and ready. He had figured after the first few nights that the
intense need would ebb. It hadn’t. He hadn't felt this way in his adult life.
Making love to her hadn't taken the edge off at all, it actually seemed to make
it worse. Even now, watching her sweating in the summer heat, wiggling cabinets
into position, he was aroused.

He couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He had the most
amazing woman in the world. And, if things went well next weekend, she would
officially be his. He’d made reservations in Evanston for next Saturday night.
He remembered her mentioning a spa weekend, so he’d reserved a room at Hotel
Terra. A part of him wanted to propose now, but he wanted it to be special, a
romantic weekend for two. And he was leaving town Sunday morning, so it would
have to wait a little longer. By Friday afternoon, the cabinets were all in
place. The plywood was in and ready for the counter tops. They had paid extra
for a Saturday delivery, but Jess really wanted to see this kitchen completed,
so Jake didn't mind the cost. Mike had given everyone else the day off
tomorrow, so the house would be empty for the delivery. Jess would meet them
here at eight, and by early afternoon the kitchen would be all but done.