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“In the car. Drunk and asleep.” He took her hand and pulled her along toward the door. When they got there, he glanced back at Jeff Winslow. The guy didn’t look happy, but he hadn’t tried to stop Caley from leaving. Then he looked at Emma. “She looks like she’s having a little too much fun.”
Caley nodded. “That’s because she’s had a little too much tequila. It won’t seem like fun in the morning. She’s dancing with some guy named Robert. He seems harmless enough.”
They stepped outside into the chilly night air and walked around the corner of the building. The moment they reached a private spot, Jake grabbed Caley, pressed her back against the wall and kissed her. It wasn’t an expression of lust or even affection. He needed reassurance that nothing had changed in the hours that they’d been apart. When she responded, Jake felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
“That’s better,” he murmured. His hand slipped beneath her jacket and slowly searched for bare skin. When he found it, he splayed his hand across the small of her back. “You’re so warm.”
Caley shivered, her teeth chattering. “Not for long. My car is parked over there. Let’s get out of the cold.” She handed Jake the keys and they hurried over to the spot where she’d left the rental. Jake let her in the passenger side and then hopped behind the wheel. He started the engine and turned on the heater. “It’ll take a while to warm up.”
“I’m starting to think this whole thing was a really bad idea,” Caley said, rubbing her hands together.
Jake took her fingers between his and blew on them. “Me, too.”
“What ever made us think this was the right thing to do?”
“Maybe we’re transferring our own fears about commitment to Sam and Emma. I mean, they seem to know what they’re doing and we haven’t had much success in that department.”
“Well, a little success,” Caley murmured, staring at her fingers as he kissed each one. “Just since we came home.”
Jake smiled and pressed her hands to his chest. “Yeah. A little. More than a little, I’d say.” He reached out and slipped his hand around her waist, pulled her closer. He’d spent the evening looking at naked women and he hadn’t been the slightest bit affected. But the moment he touched Caley, his desire warmed and his pulse raced.
“Do you think if we crawled in the back seat and took all our clothes off anyone would notice?” Jake murmured. “People make love in roadhouse parking lots all the time.”
Caley laughed. “Don’t you think it would be easier if we just went back to the inn?”
“Only if you do that lap dance you promised me,” he said.
“All right,” Caley replied. “I think I can do that.”
“We’ll go inside, get Emma, then dump them both in Emma’s room at the inn and let them figure this out for themselves.”
“Good plan.”
They both jumped out of the car and hurried back to the front door, but a small crowd had gathered outside. “What’s going on?” Jake asked.
“There’s a fight,” one of the girls said. “Some guy and his fiancée and a stripper.”
Jake groaned. “Oh, hell.” He turned to Caley. “You stay here. I’ll be right back.” An instant later, the sounds of a siren could be heard in the distance.
“Get Emma,” Caley cried. “Before she gets hurt.”
Jake pressed through the crush of people leaving the bar and when he finally got inside, the place was lit up and emptied of half the patrons. The band was lounging around the stage and a small group was gathered in the middle of the dance floor. Emma and Sam were sitting on the floor, Tiffany was holding her nose and arguing with Jeff Winslow and a guy that Jake recognized as Emma’s dance partner was laid out flat in front of them all, his hands clutching his crotch.
Jake strode up to group. “What’s going on here?”
“Just step back,” Winslow warned. “Everything is under control.”
“This is my brother and my future sister-in-law. I want to take them home.”
Winslow glanced over his shoulder at Jake and shook his head. “I’m going to have to take your brother and his fiancée in. They started this brawl. Assault, public intoxication—”
“They’re in a bar,” Jake said. “Everyone is intoxicated.”
“You can meet them down at the station. We’ll get things sorted out there.”
“Come on,” Jake said. “Don’t be a hard-ass, Winslow. No one was seriously hurt here.”
“She hit me in the nose!” Tiffany cried.
“She ran into my elbow,” Emma countered. “I was trying to help Robert up after Sam kicked him in the crotch. And she got in the way.”
“I didn’t kick him,” Sam said.
“Yeah, you did, man,” Robert groaned from the floor.
Sam shrugged. “It was a knee to the crotch, not a kick.”
“Isn’t there just a fine I can pay right away and we can take care of this mess without wasting any more time?” Jake asked.
“What’s going on here?” They all turned to look at Caley as she joined the group, a worried expression furrowing her brow.
“I’m breaking up with Sam,” Emma announced. “We’re not getting married.”
“You can’t break up with me,” Sam countered, “because I already broke up with you.”
Emma sent him a withering glare. “You have no reason to break up with me. I was just dancing with Robert. I wasn’t dancing on him like that stripper was doing to you.”
“I’m not a stripper,” Tiffany said. “I prefer exotic dancer.”
“You invited her to our wedding!” Emma cried. “Sometimes, I wonder if you even have a brain in your head.”
“And sometimes I wonder if you have a heart,” Sam shot back.
“Enough!” Winslow shouted. “There will be no more talking. Or I’ll throw all of you behind bars.”
“Can I go now?” Robert asked. “I’ve got to start packing up the van. I’m with the band.” He slowly got to his feet, wincing slightly as he straightened. “I’m not going to press charges.”
“Neither am I,” Tiffany said. She wandered over to Robert and smiled coyly. “So you’re with the band? I love musicians.”
The pair wandered off toward the stage and Officer Winslow started after them. Then he turned and pointed to Emma and Sam. “Don’t move,” he ordered.
Jake glanced over at Caley and shrugged. “Maybe you can talk to him. He seems to like you more than he likes me.” He watched as Caley tried to plead their case. Though he hated sending her back to Winslow, he was certain there’d be no chance she’d be leaving with him.
A few seconds later, Caley returned, a satisfied smile on her face. “We can take them home,” she murmured. “He’s letting them off, but only if they agree to stay out of trouble for the rest of their time here.”
“What did you have to promise him in return?” Jake asked.
“Nothing. He’s doing it as a favor to me.”
Jake cursed softly and looked down at Sam and Emma. “It would probably do them some good to spend a night in jail.”
Caley shook her head and held out her hand to her sister. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’ll take Emma back to the inn and you bring Sam.”
Sam also stumbled to his feet and brushed his jeans off. “This is all your fault,” he muttered to Jake. “We should have just stayed at the strip club. I was having fun there.”
They walked out to the parking lot together, Sam and Emma silent and sullen with Jake and Caley standing between them. As Caley started toward her car, Jake grabbed her hand. “I’ll see you later?” he asked.
Caley nodded then walked away, slipping her arm around Emma’s shoulders as they walked off. Sam stared after them, an enigmatic expression on his face.
“You’re not really going to call off the wedding, are you?” Jake asked.
“I think we are,” he murmured, before he turned in the opposite direction.
They didn’t speak during the ride home, Sam lost in his thoughts and Jake unwilling to meddle even further. Though he and Caley had achieved their goal, now that the wedding was off, Jake wondered whether they’d gone too far.
While his feelings for Caley ran deep, he knew that they were also very fragile; would they suffer at the first test or would they endure? He knew how he felt, but he still couldn’t be sure of Caley’s feelings. Now that he’d fallen, Jake was wondering if the risk was worth the reward. Losing Caley would be much more difficult the second time around.
WHEN CALEY FINALLY RETURNED to her room at the inn, Jake was asleep in her bed, his naked body twisted in the sheets, his hair falling in waves across his forehead. Caley stripped off her clothes and tossed them against the wall, crinkling her nose at the scent of stale beer and cigarette smoke.
She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and sighed softly. It was nearly 3:00 a.m. She’d spent the past three hours with Emma, trying to convince her to reconsider canceling the wedding and listing all of Sam’s good qualities over and over again.
She couldn’t believe Emma was so quick to dismiss her engagement. Caley realized that emotions ran much higher with all the alcohol that had been consumed, but Emma seemed perfectly lucid and determined to leave Sam and her wedding plans behind. She’d even called the airline to buy a ticket back to Boston on the first flight out in the morning.
Did anyone ever find a lasting love? Or was it all just an illusion, as shiny and clear as glass until something came along to shatter it? Did people stay in relationships only because they were too stubborn to admit defeat?
Caley knew her parents loved each other. They’d been together almost thirty years. And Jake’s parents often acted like newlyweds. So why was it so hard for her to believe in love?
She walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, then turned on the shower, ignoring the urge to crawl into bed with Jake. It would be so easy to find comfort in his arms. She felt safe with him. But were her feelings real or were they just part of a fantasy that she was only now having the chance to live out?
There was no doubt in her mind that everything between them had changed. He’d become a part of her life and not a part she could easily excise. In truth, she couldn’t imagine living without him. Yet, she couldn’t quite figure out how she could live with him.
How would it work? Would they call it an affair? A relationship? An arrangement? Friends with benefits, she mused. That’s what they had now, wasn’t it? But for them to continue, they’d have to give it a name.
A soft knock sounded on the bathroom door before it slowly opened. Jake stepped inside, his naked body beautiful in even the harsh fluorescent light. He slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead.
“Is everything all right?”
“I just needed to take a shower. I smell like smoke.”
“How’s Emma?”
“Still drunk, still furious with Sam and ready to go back to Boston in the morning.”
Jake took her hand and pulled her along to the shower stall, then opened the glass door. He stepped inside, the water hitting his naked body and sluicing over his skin. Caley followed him, stepping right into his embrace.
His fingers furrowed through her hair and he kissed her, his tongue slipping between her lips to taste her mouth. The moment their bodies touched, every doubt and insecurity seemed to vanish. Why was it so easy to believe in love when they were making love and so hard to understand it when they were apart?
Jake drew back and stared down into her eyes, then reached out to touch her breast. He cupped her warm flesh gently, running his thumb over her nipple until it became a stiff peak. Then he smoothed his hand along her hip, his fingers soft and teasing.
Caley reached out and brushed her fingers against his hard shaft. It had taken only a moment for him to become aroused and she found her power over him satisfying. Jake moaned softly as she wrapped her fingers around his heat.
Already, his body was so familiar to her. She knew how he’d react to her touch, the way his breath would catch in his throat, the sound of his voice whispering her name, the feel of his body tensing just before he reached his release.
Jake grabbed her waist and slowly backed her up against the tile wall of the shower. He kissed the curve of her neck and then moved lower, teasing at her nipple with his tongue. “Tell me what you want,” he murmured as he gently caressed her nipple.
“You,” she said. “Inside me.”
He dropped his hand to the soft curve of her backside and gently squeezed. “Tell me how.”
“First, you have to kiss me in just the right way.”
Jake gave it his best effort, kissing her gently at first and then with growing urgency, dragging his tongue along the crease of her mouth until she surrendered completely. Her knees went soft and she felt herself melt in his arms, the warm water rushing over them both.
“That’s a start,” she murmured.
Jake slowly trailed kisses over her shoulder and down her arm. When he knelt in front of her, Caley raked her fingers through his wet hair, pulling him away when his tongue tickled.
He was so beautiful, so incredibly sexy. She couldn’t imagine ever feeling this attracted to another man. There seemed to be electricity that crackled between them every time they were together. Just one touch of his fingers to her bare skin was all it took for the attraction to overwhelm them both.
Jake’s lips trailed lower, until he found the dampness between her legs. She was already aroused and the moment he touched her there, her body jerked in response. “I love that I can touch you like this,” he murmured. “That there’s nothing left to stop us.” He gently parted her legs, tasting her until she writhed against him.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Oh, right there.”
As he brought her closer and closer to her release, Caley murmured his name urgently, her fingers twisted tightly in his hair. Jake followed her cues, dragging her back from the edge when she got too close. It wasn’t enough. She didn’t want to experience this pleasure by herself.
She drew him back to his feet, tugging gently on his hair until he stood in front of her. Jake knew what she wanted without her even needing to tell him. He stepped back and gave her a crooked smile. “I have to go get a condom.”
Caley grabbed his hand and shook her head. “It’s all right,” she said. “You don’t have to worry.”
“Are you sure?”
Caley nodded. She’d been on the pill for years and it had always seemed like such a practical thing. But now, it was liberating. She trusted Jake and he trusted her. She wanted to experience him without any barriers between them. And if they had this one night together, this chance to possess each other completely, then it would be enough. Caley didn’t care what came later as long as this came now.
She turned off the shower, then pulled him along to the bed, their bodies dripping water on the carpet. She lay back on the mattress and Jake braced himself above her. Gently, she guided him to her entrance and he closed his eyes the moment they touched.
Slowly, exquisitely, he pushed inside of her, filling her inch by inch until he was buried deep. Caley felt the muscles in his body tense, but he didn’t give in. Instead, he began to move.
She closed her eyes and focused on the sensations that washed over her body. She was already so close, but this seemed to take her to a higher level, the need growing more intense with each stroke. This was paradise, she thought. There was nothing more perfect. Every year that had passed since that night of her eighteenth birthday had led them to this moment.
“I want you,” he murmured. “Come for me.”
He increased his pace and Caley felt herself dancing on the edge. And when her release came, it came so fast that it caught her by surprise. She cried out and the pleasure shook her body, stealing her ability to think.
It was enough to send him over the edge and Jake surrendered a moment later. It was simple, uncomplicated and pure, the two of them searching for release and finding it with each other.
He was like an addiction, a craving that she could only satisfy for a short time. Though she felt sated now, Caley knew she’d want more, each time searching for that certainty, that knowledge that this was something that might last. He rolled over, gathering her in his arms and nuzzling into the curve of her neck. “Can we stay here forever?” he murmured.
“I think the maid will probably discover us when she comes to make the bed and do the vacuuming,” Caley joked.
Jake pushed up on his elbow. “You’re supposed to say yes,” he teased. “Or I’ll feel as if you weren’t well satisfied.”
“I was,” she said.
They lay together, wrapped in each other’s arms, for a long time. Caley listened to his breathing. He wasn’t asleep and she wondered what he was thinking. But she was afraid to ask. They’d so carefully avoided the subject of the future, but it was coming at them quickly.
“What are we going to do about Emma and Sam?” she asked. “We’re going to have to figure out a way to get them back together.”
“I know.”
Caley nodded. “I think they might actually love each other. And if it weren’t for our meddling, this wouldn’t have happened. So we have to fix it.” She drew a ragged breath. “We have to.”
“All right,” Jake said, his hand slowly caressing her breast. “How are we going to do that?”
“I don’t know. We have to make them want each other, the way we want each other.”
“I don’t think there’s another man on the planet who wants a woman the way I want you,” Jake murmured.
“Don’t you wonder?” Caley said. “Is this unusual? Are we an … aberration?”
Jake answered before he even considered her question. “This is the way it was meant to be with us,” he said.
“What are we going to do when this is over?”
The question seemed to take him by surprise and this time, he didn’t have a quick and easy answer. “I don’t know, Caley,” he said. “I don’t want to think about that.”
“Promise me this,” she said. “Promise me that before either one of us begins a life with someone else, that we’ll meet back here and be together, just to be sure.”
“I promise,” he said. “We can come every summer and we can stay at Havenwoods. No one will know we’re here. And it’ll be just us. For as long as we’re both … free.”
Caley snuggled up against his body, pressing her face into his warm skin. It was enough for now, she thought to herself. She would have time to figure out how she felt, time to see if this need for Jake would fade with time and distance between them. And if it didn’t, then Jake would be there for her. He’d promised.
JAKE AWOKE WITH A START. Caley shook him again and he turned to look at her. “What?” he murmured, rubbing his eyes.
“Wake up. It’s nine in the morning. We overslept.”
Jake rolled over on his stomach and snuggled into the pillows on Caley’s bed. “I’m going to sleep in. I had a late night last night.”
“And what are you going to tell your mother when she finds you missing?”
“I’m going to tell her that I drove into Chicago early to check up on things at the office and then stopped for breakfast on the way home. So we actually have the entire morning to spend in bed. It’s a two-hour drive each way plus an hour at the office and another hour at breakfast.”
Caley smiled. “And what if they see your truck in the parking lot?”
“I parked in back,” Jake said.
“All right. I give up,” Caley said. “We can spend the morning in bed.”
Jake grinned and dropped a kiss on each naked breast. “Good. I knew you wouldn’t need a lot of convincing.”
She curled back up beside him, wrapping her arms around her waist. Suddenly, she drew in a sharp breath. “We can’t stay in bed. We have to fix Emma and Sam.” Throwing aside the covers, she stumbled to her feet, then searched the room for her clothes.
Caley’s hair was wild around her face. She’d gone to bed with it wet and it had dried into a mass of waves and curls. “Emma said she was going to leave this morning. She may already be gone. And Sam has probably spilled the beans to the family. We have to fix that first, then we’ll deal with us later.”
Jake closed his eyes, his mind skipping back to the events of the previous evening. He wondered how long it would take for news of the canceled wedding to work its way through the Burtbert grapevine. Sam was probably sleeping off his hangover, but once he got up, he’d inform everyone of the details—including the roles Jake and Caley had played in the breakup.
Jake tossed back the covers. “What do you suggest we do?”
“I was hoping you’d have an idea. We don’t have a lot of time left,” Caley said.
Jake smoothed his hand over her thigh, then moved higher, wondering if he might tempt her just a little bit. Caley closed her eyes and moaned softly. “Don’t,” she whispered.
“I have to,” Jake replied.
“You have to go talk to Sam,” she said.
He slid his fingers into her dampness. “I will, as soon as I take care of this.”
“We’ll have time for this later,” she whispered. “I promise.”
Jake was well aware of how much time they had left. A week had seemed like forever when he’d first found her in bed with him. But the days seemed to dissolve in front of him until he was faced with the fact that there would be an end to this fantasy.
“Not later,” he said. “Now.” He grabbed her waist and pulled her on top of him, then caught her wrists behind her back. “Tell me you want me.” Jake pulled her down into a long, deep kiss. “Say it and I’ll let you go.”
“I do want you,” Caley murmured. She shifted above him, his hard shaft pressed between her legs. “I do.”
Jake released her wrists, but Caley didn’t move away. Instead, she raked her hands through his hair and returned his kiss, her tongue teasing at his. It was as if she’d sensed his desperation, heard the clock ticking on their time together. It was the end of the summer again, Jake thought to himself. It had happened every year, the waning season stealing her away from him once again. But this time would be different. This time, he could ask her to stay.
Jake cupped her face in his hands and looked into her sleepy gaze. “What are we going to do about this?” he murmured. “Tell me.”
Caley reached for him and a moment later he was inside her. “We can do anything we want,” she said as she lowered herself on top of him. “We’re not kids anymore.”
They made love slowly, building the passion between them with soft kisses and gentle caresses. As he touched her, Jake memorized the feel of her body, the sound of her voice. After she was gone, he wanted to recall every detail. And when they finally surrendered to each other, it was as it had been from the start—perfect.
As she snuggled against his chest, Jake buried his face in Caley’s hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. There were so many things he had to say to her, but he just couldn’t seem to put them into coherent sentences. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him. He wanted to promise her that they’d be together forever, no matter what happened. But he was afraid that saying too much too soon might scare her away rather than bring her closer.
“If only Emma and Sam were doing what we are right now,” Caley murmured. “We wouldn’t need to fix anything.”
“Maybe there’s a way to get them there,” Jake said, toying with a strand of her hair. “If you wanted to plan the perfect seduction, what would you need?”
“You’d have to have a location where you’d be completely alone with nothing to disturb you,” Caley began.
“We have that. Havenwoods. What else?”
“Champagne, good things to eat, a fireplace.” Caley giggled. “Whipped cream, honey, chocolate syrup.”
“You’ve got to have sexy underwear,” Jake said. “I love those, what do you call them, they hold up stockings?”
“Garter belts,” Caley said. “All men love those.”
“Is there anyplace in town where you can get those? And black fishnet stockings. And one of those push-up bras. And a thong.”
“I can see your evening at the strip club has made you an expert. Most women think those things are trashy. They want something pretty, feminine … but sexy.”