5. Jade
JADE
A hot shower never felt as wonderful as it did after an entire day digging through dusty boxes filled with junk, some less junky but still useless things, and a handful of surprisingly valuable antiques.
Thank God Grandma Charlotte came to my rescue, or I might’ve assigned the Meissen porcelain bird to the thrift store pile. I’d been secretly texting her pictures all day.
To my surprise, the summer I helped her shop for antiques had come in handy, too. I quickly remembered the most valuable rule she’d taught me: always turn an item upside down to search for a maker’s mark.
But perhaps the most surprising thing today was River.
I hadn’t expected him to be so involved in the process.
It was both a blessing and a curse.
The muscle was definitely the blessing. He spent most of the day traveling up and down stairs, hauling out trash to the dumpster he’d rented, loading his truck with the items destined for the thrift store, and moving the rarer, possibly valuable items to a smaller bedroom down the hall.
I’d be here until next year if I had to carry everything myself.
But the curse?
Besides him nearly catching me consulting with my grandma on numerous occasions, he was a helluva distraction. I almost dropped a Flora Danica serving dish when he stripped off his flannel shirt. Grandma Charlotte would’ve disowned me for that one.
Did I have a teeny tiny crush on my employer? Maybe.
Did I allow a naked fantasy or two to play out in my overactive imagination while I was on the clock? Also, maybe.
It’s not my fault that Marty showed me the bedroom last night.
Dammit, I’m wet, and it has nothing to do with the shower I just took.
Would touching myself violate my don’t-sleep-with-my-boss rule? Technically no.
But would I be able to look River in the eyes tomorrow if I made myself come tonight picturing him with his face buried between my legs as I did? Also, no.
Frustrated, I decide the safest course of action is to redirect my dangerous lusty thoughts.
I reach for the phone on my nightstand, about to give Grandma Charlotte a call after texting with her all day. But a loud, boisterous moan catches me with my finger hovering over the call button.
“For crying out loud,” I groan.
Natasha promised me the sexcapades would be over before I wrapped up at the main house each day. Because things had been quiet when I first returned, I assumed Josh was passed out and Natasha was writing up a storm.
That assumption just got shot to hell.
Suddenly craving nature and a late-night dessert, I slip my phone in my back pocket along with some cash and head out the door. Hopefully my bestie will have her fill of orgasms by the time I return with a belly full of sweets.
With the sun now below the mountains, I head down the steep driveway covered in dusk. Destination: Sugar Moon Bakery. I spotted the cute little shop when we arrived in town last night, but I didn’t have a chance to check it out before River showed up.
I’m only halfway down the driveway when I hear a distinct snap of a twig. I only notice it because the rest of the world has gone eerily quiet.
Shit.
This can’t be good.
I search the immediate area, but I can’t find the source of the noise.
“Hello?” I call out, my voice unmistakably shaky. That’ll show the bad guy I mean business.
I hate that I’m afraid, but I’d be stupid not to be scared, right?
Before I can answer my own question, a large bear the color of midnight steps out into the driveway.
Though I’ve never personally encountered a bear that wasn’t in a zoo, I’ve never in my life seen a black bear the size of a fucking elephant. I thought only grizzlies got this big.
I try to remember the sign at the airport. One that explained what to do during a bear encounter. But the damn thing was color-coded. Do x for a black bear, and y for a brown bear. Or was it a grizzly? I think cinnamon was on the list. Or maybe I’m thinking gummy bears.
Dammit!
“Back away slowly.” It’s River’s voice, low and firm. A full-body shiver travels through me, but I have no idea if it’s sheer terror or lust. Probably a little bit of both.
“It’s a bear,” I say, as though that weren’t obvious.
“Go slow,” River says, moving me behind him. “Don’t turn your back to the bear.”
I shuffle backward up the driveway at a snail’s pace, ignoring every instinct to run. I trust River. I trust the man completely. Which doesn’t make any sense considering how little I know about him. It’s a knowing deep in my soul that promises he’d protect me from any threat no matter the cost.
I watch as he raises his voice to the bear, not quite shouting, but definitely a firm warning to leave. He lifts his arms above his head, as though to make himself appear larger. I think that was on the airport poster.
To my utter surprise, the bear turns and stalks down the driveway, as though the whole thing annoyed him.
I stand, paralyzed with fear as the creature fades into the growing darkness.
“Hey, you okay?” River asks when he reaches me.
“We, uh, just don’t have a lot of bears in Indiana.”
River is so close I can feel the body heat radiating off of him. Or maybe it’s pure, fiery adrenaline I feel. Whatever the source of warmth, I step into it, ignoring all the warning bells going off in my head in the process.
“You shouldn’t go walking at night alone,” he says, his tone firm with a hint of scolding. “It’s not safe.”
Fuck me, it’s sexy.
Too sexy.
I step closer, and suddenly my palm is flat on his chest. How did that happen?
“Jade,” he says, my name a pure growl escaping his lips. Or maybe I’m imagining that part, blurring my earlier dirty fantasies with reality.
“Thank you,” I say, licking my lips as our gazes catch and hold.
“It was just a bear,” he says, one corner of his mouth lifting. Oops. Guess I’m staring at that now. “It’s not like I had to fight it.”
“But you would have?” I ask.
“If that’s what it took to keep you safe, then of course. But I’m not—”
River doesn’t have the chance to finish his sentence because my lips cut him off.
I don’t know how it happened—how my arms ended up around his neck or my mouth fused to his.
He’s so tall. How did I ever reach his mouth?
My fingers run through his beard, and I open my mouth to invite his tongue in for a delicious tango.
A series of sharp barks breaks us apart instantly. We both turn to find Marty charging down the driveway toward the black bear.
“Marty, halt,” River orders.
The dog obeys instantly.
The bear who had apparently considered returning disappears into the tree line instead. And within seconds, we’re left alone with nothing but the awkwardness of reality. Fuck, I just attack-kissed my boss.
“Um, I better go,” I say, speedwalking toward my cabin.
“Jade, wait—”
“Thanks for saving me from the big, bad bear. Goodnight!” I rush into the guest cabin, closing the door and sinking down behind it.
Well, shit.