Chapter 15
The morning air was sharp, crisp enough to make her cheeks pink, but Georgia didn’t care.
She tugged her scarf tighter and walked toward the tree line, heart skipping when she spotted Jake.
He was pacing along the frost-hardened dirt, a tool-belt on his hips, an ax in his hand.
His jacket was dusted with frost, hair tousled by the wind, and that scowl—the one that made her want to cross the field just to challenge him—was firmly in place.
“You’re really going to spend the whole day grunting at wood?” she called, trying to hide the thrill in her voice at the idea.
Jake glanced over his shoulder, smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Depends. Are you here to supervise, or to steal my hammer?”
“It depends on what else you have hidden in that tool-belt.”
“I’m a man with many tools under his belt. Just tell me what tickles your fancy, and I will be sure to cover all bases.”
“What base are you the most interested in covering?”
“I’m more of a show rather than tell kind of person.”
“Then why don’t you show me,” she said, brushing past him with a little push against his shoulder, just enough to make him stumble. He caught himself on the nearest tree, glaring at her with mock irritation.
“Be careful what you wish for.” He snatched her hand and spun her back around.
She walked into his space, going on her tippy toes to whisper in his ear, “I’m nearly a senior wish maker, so my wish standards are high.”
“Any wish you have, I can fulfill.” His hand slid around her waist, and he hauled her against him. Her body melted against his hard I-chop-trees-for-fun muscles. “What’s your deepest darkest wish, darlin’?”
You almost slipped out, and wasn’t that terrifying. But after last night, everything with him had become terrifyingly exciting—like a roller coaster threatening to fly off the tracks.
“It involves my mouth and your,” she looked down, “tool.”
“Funny, that’s my wish too.”
“Did I mention that under these impractical boots are freshly painted nails?”
“You’re playing with fire.”
“Who said I was playing?”
“It’s thirty degrees out here.”
“I like a challenge,” she replied, stepping closer, letting her hands rest briefly against a tree near him. “Keeps things interesting.”
And just like that, the air between them shifted. Something electric, subtle, dangerous, that made her stomach tighten.
“How interesting are you thinking?”
“How about this?”
Jake wasn’t sure what he expected, but it sure as hell wasn’t prim and proper Georgia dropping to her knees in the middle of the forest. Nor was it her sliding those dark, gorgeous locks to the side as she licked her lips.
Then, wishes of all wishes, her hands ran down his abs to gently play with his belt. She made a big show about slowly unfastening the buckle and when it opened with a clink, her eyes lifted to his, with desire and a hint of mischievousness.
Who knew mischievousness could be better than the actual act. It was the anticipation, he decided. To see where she was going to take this. He knew how much she loved the thrill of a little foreplay in a public setting. It had been one of the most shocking things about her when they started dating.
Making short order of his belt, she went on to the zipper, which she tackled in zero-point-one seconds.
And before he could compute what was taking place, she pulled down his jeans and the briefs off his hips and to the ground.
She gripped him by the backs of his knees and tugged him forward so that her lips were inches from his dick.
Eyes never leaving his, she wrapped her hand around the length of him, her fingers cool and sure, gently stroking and caressing him from base to tip and back down.
Watching her hands, he was fascinated by how one minute she could look so strong and the next elegant.
When her mouth joined the party, fascination didn’t even begin to explain what he felt.
“Darlin’.” His fingers ended up in her hair, fisting tighter with each lick. Her hands were magic, and her mouth…
God, that mouth.
If he wanted this to last longer than two seconds, he couldn’t even go there. She sucked him in hard and his hips bucked, driving him deeper. For every pump he gave she gave more. Sucking him so tightly, her cheeks hollowed out, and her breath tickled the skin just below his belly button.
He tried to take it slow, the gods knew how hard he tried, but then she grabbed his balls and squeezed and his erection doubled in size—if that was even possible.
He gently caressed her cheek, but the gentler he became the harder she sucked. Pulling back and then shooting forward, taking him all the way inside her pretty mouth. She did this over and over, gently playing with his sac. With the other hand she stroked the base, while she licked the tip.
He went to pull back, but then she grabbed his ass with both hands and yanked him so hard he heard her choke slightly. It seemed to turn her on more.
“I’m going to come,” he said hoarsely.
She released him with a pop and those heated green eyes looked up at him though her lashes. “That’s the point, cowboy.”
Any argument he had on the tip of his tongue died when she swallowed him whole. And then things got crazy. Her hands squeezed his ass, holding him still. And his went into her hair, fingers threaded between the strands, tugging just enough for it to sting.
She got even, using her nails on his ass, scratching what he was sure were marks that would last a week.
He liked her marking him, which was probably why, even though he never wanted this to end, his legs began to quake as his orgasm raced through his body.
Before he could even say her name, he was bursting in her mouth.
His orgasm seemed to last an eternity. Probably because she was stroking and licking him until the very last tremor.
When he could see again, he took her by the elbows and gently lifted her. He pulled up his pants and buckled his belt. With the smallest of grins, he ran his thumb over her still-wet lips and then pulled her in for a kiss. It was soft and welcoming, like a promise he didn’t know he needed to make.
When they pulled back, both of their eyes were glazed over. From lust or something deeper he wasn’t sure. But whatever it was, she felt it too. He could tell by the panic in her expression.
“Well, I’ll be,” Joy said, from the pathway, hands on her hips, eyes twinkling behind her glasses. “I don’t see any mistletoe.”
He watched Georgia’s face go Christmas red as she jerked out of his arms. “Um, we were just—”
“Kissing up a storm. It’s so hot, the icecaps in the Alps are melting.”
“Grandma,” Jake threatened, but he couldn’t hide his shit-eating grin.
He’d just gotten a blowie by the prettiest girl in Texas.
Twenty-year-old Jake wanted to clap Present Jake on the back.
Maybe give him a high five. But he didn’t want to embarrass himself even more. “A gentleman never kisses and tells.”
Joy waved a dismissive hand. “You don’t have to say a word. I saw it all unfold, even took a video of it for the socials.”
“Um, can you not post those,” Georgia said, panic making her voice raise an octave. “I am already in deep with my bosses and that will throw them over the edge.”
“Blackmail Book it is, then.”
Jake wasn’t sure what a Blackmail Book was, but by the horrified look on Georgia’s face she did—and she wasn’t happy about it.
“How long were you there?” Georgia asked.
“Long enough to see that lip lock,” Joy said with a grin that said she was already planning the wedding. “Why? What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” the words rushed out of Georgia’s mouth.
“Nothing sure has your face heated red enough to roast a coffee bean,” Joy said with a snicker.
“Guess we know why the barn hasn’t been finished. Too busy playing kissy face instead of hammering nails,” Rachel said, leaning against the frame, arms crossed and an exasperated look spreading across her face.
Jake shot her a glare. “Don’t you have something better to do?”
“Not when free entertainment shows up in the middle of my day,” she said, tilting her head toward Georgia. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Guess you like keeping busy, huh?”
Georgia froze, smoothing her hair back from her face. He knew she was trying for polite. “I was just helping.”
Rachel’s tone softened, but only just. “Sure. Helping.”
“Alright, enough,” Grandma said firmly, swatting the air like she could chase the tension away. “You two can flirt on your own time. Right now, I’ve got a barn that looks like raccoons had a square dance in there, and it needs cleaning. Chop, chop.”
Jake cleared his throat, grateful for the save. “Let’s head to the barn.”
They all walked single file, with Georgia hiding in the back. When they walked into the barn, the large space felt incredibly small with all of the various types of tension in the air.
Jake turned around and smiled. “You heard the woman. Grab a broom, Rach. Georgia, you take the paint cans. I’ll stack the boards.”
Rachel lifted a brow. “Oh, so now you’re in charge?”
Jake grinned, mischievous. “Somebody has to be. Lord knows you’ve been bossy enough for three people your whole life.”
Rachel gasped in mock offense. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Jake said, hauling a plank over his shoulder. “Bossy. Since the day you were born. Remember when you made me play ‘tea party’ with your dolls? In a fairy costume?”
Rachel’s lips twitched despite herself. “You looked good in pink. Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy it.”
“And the costume was your idea, Jackey,” Joy added.
Georgia pressed her lips together to hide a laugh, but Rachel’s sharp glance in her direction made her straighten and busy herself with paint cans. Jake noticed, and his jaw tightened.
“Back off, Rach,” he said evenly.
“I didn’t say anything,” Rachel replied, sweeping the dust with exaggerated innocence. “I just think it’s funny how fast things change around here.”
Grandma clapped her hands again, cutting through the tension. “Lord have mercy, if I wanted drama, I’d turn on one of those soap operas. Get to work, all of you.”
For the next half hour, the barn was filled with the sounds of sweeping, stacking, and the occasional muttered jab. Jake and Georgia worked side by side, and although their hands brushed more often than not, sending jolts of heat between them, Georgia did her best to keep her distance.
Rachel hadn’t just crashed their party. She sucked all the lightheartedness out of the room. Georgia was no longer laughing and flirting, she was head down, nose to the grindstone, doing everything possible to steer clear of him and whatever had just happened between them.
He’d grab a paintbrush and she’d move on to cleaning; he’d pick up a broom and she’d sneak to the other side of the barn. But when she made a bolt for the exit, he followed.
The frost in the late afternoon air slapped Georgia in the face the moment she slipped out of the barn. She wrapped her arms around herself, walking fast down the gravel path, the sound of her boots crunching loud in the silence.
Her cheeks were still burning, not just from Joy’s teasing or Rachel’s smirk, but from the way her mouth had been on Jake’s, well, on Jake only moments before his family barged in.
She’d wanted to do what she did—God, she’d wanted it—but being caught? That was a whole different story.
The barn door creaked behind her.
“Georgia.”
She froze, then kept walking. “You should stay and finish with the painting.”
“I’m more interested to see why you’re avoiding me.” Jake’s boots crunched closer, steady and unhurried, like he had all the time in the world. “Why’d you run out?”
“I didn’t run,” she said quickly, picking up her pace.
“Darlin’, you took off like the barn was on fire.”
Heat crept back up her neck. “I just needed some air.”
Jake caught up with her easily, long strides closing the gap. He moved in front of her, walking backward so she had no choice but to face him. His grin was infuriatingly calm, but his eyes were sharp, searching.
“So, let me get this straight. You don’t mind kissing me, but the second we get caught, you can’t even look at me?”
Her stomach flipped. “We did more than kiss.”
“Oh, I remember.”
“And that’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
She shook her head, frustration tightening her throat. “Remembering what Rachel said all those years ago. Seeing the same disappointment in her eyes now makes me wonder—”
“Ignore her.” His voice dropped, softer now. “She likes to give me grief no matter what. None of that matters.”
“It matters to me.”
Jake stopped walking, forcing her to stop too. His hands slid into his back pockets, shoulders loose, but there was nothing casual in the way he was watching her. “Georgia, talk to me. You keep pulling away like you’re afraid of something.”
Her chest tightened. She hated how easily he saw through her.
How much she wanted to lean into that steadiness.
“You don’t get it. Every time I let myself be vulnerable with you, it feels like the ground’s moving under my feet.
And when someone’s watching? It feels like I’m right back where we were a decade ago. Rachel judging me, blaming me.”
Jake’s expression softened. “She can judge all she wants. This is between you and me. Not her.”
She swallowed, trying to look away, but his hand came up, brushing her jaw lightly with his thumb, tilting her chin so her eyes met his. The touch was gentle, grounding, impossible to ignore.
“You don’t scare me, Georgia,” he said quietly. “Not your running, not your walls, not even that temper of yours. You wanna avoid me, fine. But don’t lie to yourself and say you don’t want this.”
Her breath caught, the gravel crunching under her boots as she shifted, suddenly aware of how close they were again. His thumb lingered against her cheek, his eyes steady on hers, daring her to deny it.
She opened her mouth—ready to deflect, to joke, to run again—but nothing came out.
Her phone blew up. Ping after emergency-sounding ping.
She opened her phone and saw a dozen text messages. From her boss, from Whitmore, from the guy in marketing. All asking what the hell had happened. Then a picture came in from Liz, and Georgia was truly speechless.
.