25. Amber
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
amber
T he nerve of this man to show up at my front door and barge inside, demanding he’s my ride.
Especially after letting that girl paw all over him at the gym.
If I’m being honest, she’s the biggest reason I said yes to the date with Kyle.
Well, that and I want to see if what I feel with Jake is something I will feel with other guys.
With one more backward glance, I close myself in my bathroom and slump against the door.
What is it about him snuggling with my cat that looks tiny in his big arms that does it for me?
Don’t even get me started on the shorts that hug his tree-trunk thighs.
Thighs I have dreamed of having between mine.
He’s had his head between my legs, me on my knees, and he’s fucked me on a vanity, but I have yet to have this man in a bed, our bodies writhing together, with his heavy weight pounding me into the mattress. God, I want that.
The bell on Socks’s collar jingles from outside the door, and pictures of him playing with the cat fill my head. Trying to focus, I finish curling my hair and swipe on some mascara and eyeliner. I’m in ripped-jean shorts and a cute red tank top, so I swipe on a red lipstick to match.
With everything ready, I step from the bathroom to find Jake lying on the floor, playing with Socks.
It’s so stupidly adorable I stay rooted to the spot watching him swirl a feather around the floor while the cat chases and bats at it.
When he finally looks up, his eyes widen as he takes his time moving from my feet up to my face.
He lets out a low whistle, pupils blown wide, and sucks in his bottom lip.
“Damn, Whiskey. You look hot, but that red lipstick just makes me want to have it smeared on my cock later.” He lies there for another minute, taking me in with a mix of reverence and lust before he shakes his head and pulls himself out of it.
Pushing off the ground, he moves to the small kitchen island to grab the tray of my cookies, then brushes past me.
His lips meet my ear, and he whispers, “It’ll be the second time you’ve left red on my cock. ”
A shiver skates down my spine, and I gape at his retreating back.
The arrogant asshole—an arrogant asshole I wouldn’t mind smearing my lipstick for.
Shaking my head clear of the wayward thoughts, I grab my purse, give Socks a pet, and follow Jake out my door.
He’s waiting at the passenger door of his truck, holding it open for me.
I get a whiff of his cologne as I pass him and have to bite back a moan.
He smells so good, that earthy clean and masculine scent.
When he shuts me inside, it only makes it worse, being surrounded by all things him .
The ride to the James’ is silent, but I catch his subtle glances in my direction.
It’s hard to sit still when all I can seem to focus on is the way his shorts have ridden up, leaving his tattooed thigh on display and his bulge held tight.
Pair that with his forearm flexing every time he makes a turn, and I’m done for.
My panties are undoubtedly soaked, and I’m rethinking every boundary I set for myself with him.
While there’s no way we could work in a relationship, maybe we don’t need one.
Who says we can’t just sleep together? I’m sure he could teach me some things …
or a lot of things. I would happily learn anything from this man.
I’ve been a good girl for so damn long, why can’t I have fun, mind-blowing sex simply for the sake of having sex?
Right as I’m about to ask him if that’s something he would consider, we pull into Evelyn’s driveway.
Jake glares when I open my own door, but I snag my tray of cookies, and he grabs a pie and a baseball hat from the backseat, slipping it backward on his head.
Holy mother of God, he has to know what he’s doing.
He’s wearing a cocky smirk as we walk around the side of the house to the back where there are tables and chairs all set out.
Shadow races over to get her obligatory pets, then runs back to Lily’s side where they’re sharing a plate of snacks. Lily already has the whole mom thing down, knowing she will never be able to enjoy food alone again. Evelyn rushes over to give us hugs and shows us where we can put our desserts.
There’s one cushioned chair mixed in with all the random camping chairs and Adirondacks, so I immediately know it has to be for Jake’s dad.
The care this whole group has for each other is astounding and makes me miss Jana extra.
She would love this. Jake seems able to read me well because he gives my hand a quick squeeze before abandoning me to go check on his parents inside.
I make my way over to Lily and take a seat at her side, snagging a grape from her plate. “Where is everyone?” I ask, realizing it’s only us and David out here.
“The moms are taking their time finishing up the sides so Henry can sit on the couch a little longer. Thoren and Riv are off planning something special for later. Michele’s on her way, and you”—she turns to me with eyebrows raised— “came with Jake.”
Uhhh, yeah. How do I explain that when I don’t even know why he picked me up? “I’m happy for you. Whatever is or isn’t going on.” I give her a small smile and steal another grape. “ Okay, I might be happy for you, but I’ll still cut you if you keep stealing my food.”
“Don’t poke the bear!” River yells from across the yard as he strides over. “I asked to touch her belly earlier, and I had to borrow my mom’s frozen peas. They’re now nut peas.”
Thoren slaps him over the head before taking a seat on Lily’s other side with a fresh plate of snacks for her. “No, your exact words were, ‘so can anyone just touch your belly now like a free-for-all buffet of touches?’ I would say the ninja kick to your nuts was well deserved.”
“Same thing,” River gripes, moving to take the seat next to me.
As he goes to sit, Jake comes out of nowhere and snags the seat out from under him.
River’s ass hits the ground with an audible thud, and Michele cackles from where she walked around the side of the house.
“This day is the worst,” River mumbles, lying in defeat.
Jake leaves the chair he stole to help Michele, who is carrying a box filled with clinking bottles. “You owe me two hundred dollars,” she hollers to Riv, pulling out bottles of wine, tequila, whiskey, and mixers.
“Jesus, woman, you’re lucky I love you.”
“Love you more. Now, who needs a drink?”
After pouring us each a drink, Michele plops herself on the grass in front of Lily and me, snuggling into Shadow.
She picks a small dandelion, and it reminds me of what I discovered when I walked to the bakery this morning.
Those little pink flowers spilling from window boxes, that definitely weren’t there yesterday, match the pink of the Cedar and Sage logo and make the whole boutique look more inviting and pretty.
“Thank you, girls, for my surprise. I almost cried when I saw it this morning.”
They both wear a mask of confusion as they stare at me. “What surprise? ”
“The planter boxes on the storefront? The ones that appeared out of thin air last night?” Again, they stare at me like they have no idea what I’m talking about.
“That was me,” Jake says, taking a seat with an almost shy smile. “Thought you might like them.”
“Whipped,” River coughs into his hand, only to be smacked by Michele this time. They get into a slap fight, bringing in a whole round of laughter from everyone. Yet I can’t take my eyes off Jake. What am I going to do with this man?
Three hours later, everyone is sitting around enjoying burgers and drinks.
I love everything about this get together: the people, the food, the love between us all.
When Henry came outside earlier, I died with laughter.
He had on a T-shirt with Anderson’s Fine Furnishings new logo on front, and across the back was his bold “Get a load of this wood!” slogan.
Sonja was proudly telling everyone she ordered a few shirts to test out designs, and they would be distributed as Christmas gifts this year.
Jake has hovered, always taking a seat next to me, his gaze following me wherever I go.
While all these conversations have gone on around me, all I can focus on is the fact I want Jake.
He’s wearing me down, and I don’t want to fight our attraction anymore.
The man made me flower boxes after he heard me agree to go on a date with someone else, for god’s sake.
Our differences of opinions translate to explosive sexual chemistry, and I want to experience more of it. I want to feel him inside me, beyond a rushed and slightly painful fuck in a bathroom. I want to watch his piercings slowly disappear inside of me as he marks me as his again.
“Is it dessert time yet?” Lily asks, rubbing the smallest bump under her shirt. “I want some of the pie Jake made. ”
“I got you, sis.” River jumps up from his seat, and I see Jake flinch out of the corner of my eye. He lowers his head, and I’m about to ask what’s wrong when River yells, “What in the nightmare-inducing hell is this?!”
We all turn, seeing River holding up the pie, with the horrifying red face cut onto it. “Look, I tried to make a smiley face,” Jake says, rubbing at the back of his neck. “It didn’t turn out.”
“Never cut a face in a pie with red filling. It’s baking one-oh-one,” Sonja chimes in.
“Or at least make the mouth a circle,” Michele mutters.
“Oh, you sick fuck, I love it.” River laughs, having clearly heard her too.
“No! No one is sticking their dick in that pie, I’ve been craving it all day,” Lily huffs.
“But you already had my dick this morning, babe.” Thoren elbows her, and David chokes on his beer. Evelyn and David put their hands over their ears and yell, “Lalalala.”
Watching this all unfold is hilarious, so I rest back in my chair to enjoy it all …
until Jake leans over and brushes my hair from my ear.
“Don’t worry, the only place I intend to stick my dick is in you.
” I try to hide the goosebumps that scatter down my arm.
Getting up, I make my way over to the table and get a piece of pie as well.
As terrifying as it looks, it tastes amazing, and I discovered another thing Jake is humbly good at.
When Lily is happy with her dessert, River stands and whistles to get everyone’s attention.
“I have exciting news. Lily and Thor have given me the honor of knowing their baby’s gender first. This is honestly the second-best honor they’ve given me, and I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be a part of this with you guys.
Thoren left it up to me how to tell you all, but I figured it’s the Fourth of July, what better way than with fireworks? Are you guys ready?”
He moves to the edge of the yard and pulls out a lighter and firework.
When the fuse lights, he rushes back toward us, and it shoots into the sky.
An array of brilliant-blue sparks light up the sky above us, and everyone loses their mind.
Thoren jumps from his seat, pulling Lily into his arms, Evelyn is crying, and David wraps her in a hug, and Shadow, the devious little devil, is eating Lily’s discarded piece of pie, oblivious to the fact she’s getting a little brother.
“Congratulations, you guys!” I hug them both, then move to congratulate the very excited grandparents.
It’s such a joyous moment, and I want to be present and part of it, but it feels heavy.
No matter how much I love these people, they aren’t my family.
There’s no one left for me to celebrate my wins with or to cry over my losses.
Everyone here is on loan to me, but they aren’t mine.
I try not to get stuck in my emotional spiral and enjoy the rest of the evening with everyone.
More drinks are poured, fireworks are set off, and conversations flow.
Eventually, the evening starts to calm down, and the night air settles around us.
“You ready to go?” Jake asks with a hand on my shoulder.
“I am,” I admit. I was ready hours ago so I wouldn’t bring down the mood, but I don’t think anyone noticed.
We say our goodbyes and congratulations again before Jake leads me to his truck.
He opens the passenger door, like earlier, before slipping around the truck.
After backing out of the driveway, he glances over at me.
“Want to tell me what’s wrong?”
How does he always know? I’m not sure what to say. That being around happy families makes me feel resentful that I don’t have one? That I want to use him like every other woman and sleep with him without any attachment? I’m buzzed enough I decide to go with the latter.
“I have a proposition for you.” When he doesn’t respond, I continue. “Look, I don’t know how else to say this. Can we have sex?” He still doesn’t answer. “I don’t want a relationship, and I don’t want anyone else to know, but there’s obviously chemistry between us. We can help each other out.”
His jaw works, but he says nothing. The cab of the truck is eerily silent, and it puts me on edge.
I couldn’t have read this all wrong; he literally told me tonight he wants to fuck me.
Jake doesn’t say a single word as he drives me home, but instead of pulling up to my door, he parks his truck in the little lot.
Taking the keys from the ignition, he finally turns to look at me. “Let me get this right. You like me enough to fuck me but not enough to be with me?”
Anger and embarrassment heat my cheeks. “You don’t date, Jake. Plus, we would be terrible together. Couples shouldn’t fight as much as we do. And you said they sleep with you to claim they did. It’s not the same.”
His eyes narrow, and his voice drops as he growls out, “So I’ll just be your dirty little secret, then?” His hand shoots out and wraps around my throat, then brings my face an inch from his. “That’s what you want?” His warm breath skates over my skin as I struggle to nod.
“Get inside.” He releases me, and I slump back into my seat, disappointed.
When I grip the handle and step from his truck, so does he, and my adrenaline shoots back up.
Does this mean he’s agreeing, or is he walking me to my door?
I pull my keys from my purse but turn to face him when I get to the door.
He raises an eyebrow at me before looking around the alleyway.
“If you don’t want people to know, then I suggest you turn around and unlock that door because I will fuck you right here against this wall and make you scream loud enough for everyone to hear.
When I said get inside, Amber, I meant it. ”