Valentine Wishes (Baxter Academy Book 1) (19 page)

He walks toward the bed. “Guys can’t be gorgeous.”

“The hell they can’t.” I open my arms and legs and he comes over me.

“Shit! The condoms are downstairs in one of the boxes.”

“I don’t have anything. They tested me when I got the IUD, and I haven’t been doing anything with anyone else, and hadn’t for months before you.”

He nudges against my pussy. “I’m good, and have been. I haven’t been with anyone else since my last test.”

I lift my hips and he teases me with the tip of his cock. “Then we are good.”

“Yes we are.” And with that he thrusts forward, filling me. I cry out with relief and clench around him.

Brett is over me, balanced on his hands, arms out straight. He pulls back and thrusts again, his muscles tensing. The power of him nearly sends me over the edge. My eyes meet his. The intensity is almost too much and his thrusts over and over and I lift and meet him, taking him as deep as physically possible as I coil tighter and tighter. I grasp his upper arms, holding on. Brett tilts, brushing against my clit and I’m hit with the strongest release in memory. I arch against him, crying out and he goes deeper, his head thrown back, cords tightening in his neck as he lets out a nearly primitive groan.

T
his was supposed
to be done right. Romance, wooing and seduction. I brought chocolate and wine! It was supposed to be all about Jackie and to make up for being gone for so long. But, when she wiggled that perfect ass in my direction, I almost had her against the wall. I had to take deep breaths to remain control, but when her clothes came off, I knew it would be impossible to seduce her slowly, heightening her pleasure and making her come at least three times before anything else.

Hell, I was barely able to make her come once before I lost all semblance of control. It had been too long or her walls clamping around my cock felt too good, or both, but I could barely hold off before she finally orgasmed.

I was no better than an animal the way I pounced on her. Taking her. Claiming as men have done since the beginning of time. Hell, I was no better than a caveman. There was certainly no finesse and I’d be surprised if she didn’t get dressed and asked to be taken home.

Jackie sighs and rolls over on her side, snuggling against me. “That was nice.”

Nice?

“Exactly what I needed.” She tilts her head and grins up at me. “Now, maybe I can concentrate on other things than just your body.”

I chuckle and pull her close, relieved that she’s not disappointed.

Well, a good fuck does go a long way in releasing tension and clearing the mind. And, it was a damn good fuck. One we both apparently needed. However, tonight will be different. At least I hope. I don’t want her to think I brought her up here simply to fuck her brains out, though I had planned on spending a lot of time in bed, but there is more to this trip than that. We need time alone, to get to know each other better, without all the craziness in our lives.

She stretches and rolls away from me. “Well, I guess we should finish putting everything away. I just couldn’t concentrate on what needed to be done with you standing there.”

“Me either.” Though it was really hard to remember that eggs and milk needed to go into the fridge when all I could think about was how soon we could go to bed.

“What’s behind that door?” She points to the one behind the loft.

“Closet and another bathroom.”

“Great!” She grabs a blanket and wraps it around her body. “I didn’t want to go all the way downstairs.”

I still can’t move, but she certainly has no problem hoping out of bed. She disappears into the other room and I wait for her reaction. I looked at all the photos for this cabin and picked it on purpose with Jackie in mind.

Then I hear the gasp. “Do you know what’s back here?”

I grin. “A bathroom.”

“Come see!”

I haul my ass out of the bed, not bothering to cover myself like she did and go through the door, past a walk-in closet and to the large bathroom at the end of the cabin. A deep claw foot tub sits beneath windows overlooking the stream and woods. A separate shower is beside it, two sinks and the required toilet. The bathroom could have been a cover photo for any decorating magazine, but I know that Jackie really only cares about the tub.

“It’s gorgeous in here.”

“Yep.” It’s also as nice as the pictures on the website. Pulling her close, I kiss the side of her neck. “I’ll get everything put away and dinner started while you enjoy that tub.” I nibble on her ear lobe. “I know you want to.”

She turns and wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m not going to laze about in the tub while you do the work.”

“I think it’s best that you do.” After kissing the tip of her nose I step back. “I’ll probably burn something if you are with me because I’ll be thinking about taking you back to the bed. We need the sustenance to keep up our strength for the next few days.”

Jackie grins at me and her green eyes darken.

I know that look and if I don’t leave now, I’ll be tossing her back on that bed. “Like hiking,” I blurt out.

Her smile slips and then she rolls her eyes. “Sure thing, Boy Scout.”

I swat her on the ass before I leave, closing the door behind me. I don’t want to think about Jackie, in that deep tub and naked. I’ll never get anything done that needs to be.

T
he temperature dropped
as the sun went down and I’m curled up at one end of the couch and Brett at the other. The fire is burning bright, we just finished dinner, and a there’s a quilt covering us. Only our feet are touching. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this content.

While I was in the tub Brett grilled steaks, made baked potatoes and threw a salad together. A basic meal, but it was delicious, as is the red wine he opened. I should probably get up and do the dishes, but I can’t bring myself to move. It’s not like they are going to go anywhere anyway.

We’ve drank half the bottle of wine and have been talking since I got out of my bath over two hours ago.

“You’ve met my family, but I know almost nothing about yours.”

Brett shrugs. “There’s nothing much more to know.”

Whenever someone answers like that, it’s clear there is a hell of a lot more to know.

“First, tell me about your sisters.”

“Two are married. The oldest, Paige, lives in Oregon and has a son. She and her husband run a renovated B&B near Canon Beach. The next oldest, Veronica, or Roni, lives in San Antonio.” He laughs. “She married my former sergeant. They live at Fort Sam Houston and she’s a nurse at Brooke Army Medical Center. They have a little girl.”

Wow, both places are far from New York. My brother, Tyler, is in Iraq, and far, but that is temporary. It doesn’t sound like his siblings will be moving home any time soon. Hell, all of my relatives, with exception of Tyler, are within driving distance. If they don’t live on Baxter Lane, they live in New York City. I can’t imagine what it would be like if either Tyler or Theo permanently lived on the other side of the country.

“The next one, Abigail, or Abby, is in Florida working at Disney World.”

I hitch an eyebrow. “A princess?”

This time he chuckles. “She assists the characters. I’m not sure exactly what she does, but loves the place and her job. I doubt she’ll ever leave.”

“It would be an awesome place to work.” I’ve only been to Disney once. It was the last place my parents took the family before they were killed. It was truly a magical place and I’ve always wanted to go back.

His smile slips. “It’s about making people happy. What better job is there than making people happy, she told me.”

“Why does that bother you?” I’m missing something. Unless, maybe just thinking about how far away his siblings are and it’s making Brett gloomy.

“I think she’s trying to make up for not being able to make everyone happy. Working at Disney isn’t going to fix that and she’ll have to come to realize nobody is responsible for another person’s happiness.”

There are deeper issues here, but do I pry?

Brett leans forward and refills our wine glasses and leans back. “Then there’s the baby of the family, Claire, who is off finding herself.” He shakes his head.

“Finding herself?”

“Yep. Graduated from college a year ago this past May and hasn’t really worked in her field.”

“Which is…?”

“Archeology.” He’s shaking his head again. “Claire wanted to travel the world, dig up relics, work at the Smithsonian or maybe at a museum in New York, but since she graduated, all she’s done is travel. First living with Paige, then Roni, then Abigail and now she’s with Dad.”

“In Buffalo?”

“New Orleans.” His jaw tightens as his eyes harden. “Dad retired and moved there last year.”

Brett has said nothing about his mom so I’m afraid to ask. He’d mention her if she was alive, wouldn’t he? Besides, discussion of his family is making him tense and I’m not sure if I should ask anymore. Maybe he’s pissed because none of his family stayed around.

“I’m just waiting for her to show up here. I’m the only one she hasn’t lived with since college, not that I had a place for her to stay.” He laughs. “I still don’t have a place, which I intend to rectify next week. I’ve got to get out of my uncle’s basement.”

I can’t really blame him on that one. If it wasn’t so important to be there for Theo and now watch over Grams, I would have never moved back home after I graduated. “I love New Orleans.”

“I’ve never been.” But he doesn’t act like he ever wants to go either. What happened between him and his dad? Not that I’m going to ask now, but I want to know. I’ll need to know if this relationship keeps going forward.

“I’ve only been to Disney once, as a kid, and would love to go back.” I change the subject.

He tilts his head a looks at me. “I’ve never been there either.”

“Oh! My! God! Are you serious?”

“Never had time.” Brett shrugs. “And, the family didn’t exactly have the money to take family vacations. Especially expensive ones like Disney. We were lucky to have a week in the summer where both parents were home and we went to the local water park.”

I knew he wasn’t raised with the same kind of money I was, but to not be able to afford a family vacation?

Not that I care about his financial status. Brett could be dirt poor for all I care. What matters is who he is, and he is one hell of a guy. “That’s where we should have spent your five days off.”

“We wouldn’t have exactly been alone, or been able to do what we did earlier.”

I lean in. “They have hotel rooms for that,” I whisper then lean back. “I am so taking you to Disney next time you are off work.”

“I won’t have vacation time again until March”

“I’ll make sure I’m free.”

R
unning
around Disney could be a lot of fun with Jackie. It’s easy to make plans for something like that while we are sitting on the couch, in front of a fire, thinking about the future, but she isn’t taking out a date book and scheduling it either. Not that I expect her to, but I will have to check on the cost, and budget. I make good money, but I also have school loans and I’ve been trying to save. But, how expensive can it be for two people to get a hotel and visit the different parks for a week? To do that with Jackie, I think I’d take out a loan. And, I’d get to visit with Roni.

Besides, I’ve wanted to go, it just never worked out, and it isn’t some place you go alone. And, a trip with Jackie would be a hell of a lot of fun.

“We’ll have to figure out when will be a good time and plan it,” I finally say.

“It’s got to suck with your family so far away,” she says after a moment.

That isn’t the half of it. “Once we graduated high school and went off to college, we kind of went our separate ways.” We all wanted to get out of that house and at the first opportunity of escape we took it and never looked back. Something I regret and I’m fairly certain my sisters do too. At least Roni and Claire, but it’s Claire I worry about the most.

Not Dad though and I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive him.

“I’m close to my Uncle Quinn.”

“Your mom’s brother?” She asks. “Just assuming because the last names are different. Or, is his wife your mom or dad’s sister.”

“My mom’s brother.” The last person I want to talk about is my mom. Not on a night like this when I finally have Jackie all to myself and there is no hurry to be anywhere. “How’s is your grandmother doing? All recovered?”

Jackie frowns at me. It wasn’t exactly a smooth change of topic, but I’m shutting down any further discussion of my family. She’ll find out the depressing details eventually. Just not now.

“She’s still weak and has to go to the doctor about every week. And, she’s been doing some therapy. She hasn’t moved back to her old room.” Jackie looks down into her nearly empty wine glass and swirls it around. “I don’t think she ever will. The surgery left her weaker and I don’t think she’ll be doing those stairs again.”

Shit. I didn’t want to be the bummer here. That was one of the reasons I changed the topic, but her grandmother looked pretty good when I stopped by to get Jackie.

“If anything needs to be upstairs, she gives the new maid explicit instructions.” She smiles. “I mean explicit so that it’s done right.”

“Like?” Why would a maid need such detail? They cleaned. How hard could it be?

“Packing, for one.” She’s grinning. “When I found out we were camping, grandma already had my clothing laid out on the bed. I know she didn’t do it, so I would bet that she made a detailed list for the maid, which included no makeup, hairdryer or curling iron. Instead, sunscreen and bug spray was on my bed with the appropriate clothing” She meets my eyes. “I didn’t even bring shampoo because I figured I wouldn’t have a chance to wash my hair.”

I’m beginning to see the drawbacks on not telling Jackie we’d be in a cabin. Not that I mind that she doesn’t have makeup with her. I really like that she’s not wearing any, and that her hair is pulled back in a rather messy knot. “I’ll share my shampoo.” I wink at her. Hell, I’d share anything she wants.

“Thank you.” She laughs. “But I could have packed on my own. Seriously, it’s not that difficult.”

I can’t help but laugh at her. Then again, I’d probably be a bit insulted if someone decided to pack for me like I was five-years-old. “Have you heard from your brother?”

The smile slips from her lips. Shit. I should not have brought up the brother who is sitting in one of the most dangerous places on this planet.

“Last week. He’s not much of a writer.”

“When does he get back?”

“January.” She drains the wine from her glass and I refill it. “I can’t wait until he is back in the States.”

I can’t really blame her there. “The camp going good? No pyros? Theo still taking pictures.”

This time she smiles. Finally a more pleasant subject. “We have had a great group of kids this summer. This is the last one before we close up until next year.”

“They haven’t agreed to the school?”

“I didn’t say that.” She chuckles. “Theo and grandmother have spent every spare moment researching and making plans. This time when they talk to
the Foundation
, they are going to have facts and figures and plans. Grandmother has even talked to an architect on designing the place and how much land it would take.”

“It won’t be possible for it to be done before Theo graduates though.”

“That’s okay. I’m just glad he has something to focus on. It’s the first time he’s been really interested in something besides photography since the accident.”

The fire is dying down and I’m not even sure how late it is, but it’s been a long day. I’m not exactly ready to sleep yet, but I’m ready for bed. Pushing the blanket away, I set my glass on the table and then go stir what is left of the logs and embers so it burns down more quickly. Jackie grabs our plates and takes them into the kitchen.

“I’ll get these washed up so the food doesn’t dry on them.”

Dishes aren’t exactly what I had in mind, but it needs done. “Do you mind if I take a shower while you do that?” I don’t really want to leave her with the cleanup, but I do need a shower. If I help her with the dishes and then take a shower, what if she falls asleep before I’m done?

“You cooked, I’ll clean.” She grins at me.

“Won’t be long.” I head up the stairs and intend to take the quickest shower in my life.