The Right Bed?

A change of possession put Jake on offense and he took a handoff from Brett and headed down the field. He saw Caley coming toward him and he knew she was prepared to hit him hard. That’s what he liked about Caley. She never backed off from a challenge. But instead of running away, he waited, slowing his run until she caught up.

Jake feinted to the left, then the right, but Caley surprised him by countering his moves. When Jake realized he wasn’t going to shake her, he bent over, grabbed her around the waist and carried her toward the end zone with him. But Caley knocked the ball out of his hand as he ran.

“Fumble!” she shouted.

Teddy was right behind them and he picked up the ball and started toward the other end zone. Jake turned and dropped Caley into the snow, then ran after Teddy, but Caley grabbed his leg and pulled him down. When he was lying on his stomach in the snow, she crawled on top of him, straddling his hips, and watched as Teddy scored.

She bounced up and down as she cheered for her brother, the movement causing a definite reaction on his part. Cursing softly, Jake rolled over and dumped her into the snow, picking up a handful and rubbing it in her face.

“You are such a bad sport,” Caley cried, grabbing a fistful of snow and throwing it at him. She wrestled him to his back, pinning his arms on either side of his head.

“Kiss me,” he murmured.

Caley frowned. “Not here. Everyone will see.”

Jake brushed the snow out of her hair. “Where? When?”

“Later,” Caley said. “After dinner.”

“Meet me at the boathouse,” he said.

Caley shook her head, then got to her feet, running back to her team. She turned around and looked back at him once, smiling, teasingly taunting him. “You’re gonna lo-ose,” she sang. “You’re gonna lo-ose.”

She did a little dance, wiggling her backside, and Jake chuckled. God, she was sexy. As he watched her walk away, he thought about what it would be like to have an entire night alone with her. To have all the time in the world to seduce her. To slowly undress her and touch her body and make her moan with pleasure. She’d been the stuff of his adolescent fantasies. But now, the things he dreamed about doing with her—to her—weren’t things he could have even imagined back then.

“Jake!”

He glanced up to see Brett staring at him. “Look alive,” his brother shouted. “Keep your head in the game.”

They played for exactly an hour and, in the end, the trophy went to the Lambert family on a last-minute touchdown pass from Evan to his wife, Marianne.

As they walked back up to the house, Jake lagged behind, his gaze fixed on Caley. He wondered how things might have been between them if he had accepted her offer that night eleven years ago. Would they be here, in the same place, still lusting after each other? Or might they look at each other with embarrassment or regret rather than anticipation and excitement?

Maybe things had worked out exactly as they were supposed to that summer. But what happened between them this week was still in the hands of fate. And it would either begin or end in the boathouse tonight.

DINNER WAS A BOISTEROUS EVENT with both families sharing chili and corn bread in the Burtons’ huge family room. After dinner, Jake and Caley joined Sam and Emma in a game of Monopoly, but Caley could barely concentrate. Jake had taken to playing a game of footsie beneath the table, running his stocking foot over hers in a very seductive manner.

Caley kept her gaze focused on the board, trying to control her wildly beating heart. There had been men in her life who had touched her in the most intimate of ways and she’d barely reacted. All Jake had to do was rub her foot and she felt like tearing his clothes off and jumping his bones.

“Park Place,” Sam said as Emma landed on his property. “Let’s see. That will be twelve hundred dollars, please.”

Jake chuckled as he scrutinized Sam’s stash of cash. “Looks like you almost have enough for that motorcycle you want to buy.”

Sam shot his brother a cold look and Emma immediately frowned. “What motorcycle?”

“Sam’s going to buy a motorcycle after you get married,” Jake said as he straightened his property cards. “Our mother wouldn’t let him, but once he’s married, she can’t say anything since you’d be in charge.” He fixed Emma with an inquisitive gaze, waiting for her response.

Caley thought it was an odd turn in the conversation. She sent him a frown and he just smiled and began to count his money.

“You can’t get a motorcycle,” Emma said. “They’re dangerous. I won’t let you.”

“But, Em, it would be practical. We can’t afford two cars. And the gas would be cheap.”

“No,” Emma said stubbornly. “I won’t allow it.”

Sam straightened, his expression growing petulant. “What is that supposed to mean, you won’t allow it? You’re not my mother.”

“Sam should be able to make his own decisions,” Jake murmured.

Caley gave him a swift kick beneath the table and he winced.

“Ow!” he cried. Sam and Emma looked at him and he forced a smile. “Cramp. To much football in the snow.” He snatched up his money and handed it to Caley. “I’m going to cash out now.”

Caley looked back and forth between the glowering expressions on Sam’s and Emma’s faces to the smug smile on Jake’s. He’d started this argument on purpose. “So am I,” Caley said.

“Jake is right,” Sam countered. “I’m an adult. I should be able to do what I want.”

“Who’s going to pay for this motorcycle?” Emma said. “Not me. And if you think you’re going to use any of our wedding money, you’d better think again.”

Caley quickly stood and followed Jake to the kitchen. He set his glass in the sink, then called out to his parents, who were playing cards with Caley’s mother and father. “I’m going to go down to the boathouse and see if I can get the heat going. We’re going to need the extra room.”

“And I’m going to head back to the inn,” Caley said. “I have to make some calls. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Their mutual exit caused no undue interest. Jake helped her on with her jacket and they walked out the front door together.

When they got outside, he grabbed her hand and drew her along with him, toward the path down to the lake. “Jake, maybe we should—Where are we going?”

“The boathouse. I could use some help getting the heat going. You can hold my tools.”

Caley laughed, then fell into step beside him. The crisp night air heightened her senses and she felt her heart skip, knowing what would happen once they were alone. Caley had never considered herself a very passionate woman. She’d always been able to control her desire. But with Jake, she seemed to be constantly fixated on sex.

Though she had good intentions of playing it cool, everything fell apart the moment he touched her. Her rational side could come up with an entire list of reasons why she shouldn’t sleep with Jake. But then her pulse began pounding and she felt a tiny bit lightheaded and her brain stopped working entirely. It felt good to just let go, to feel something so strongly that it completely consumed her. She hadn’t felt like this since that night with Jake on the beach eleven years ago.

But was she really ready to do this? For the past few months, she’d felt an emptiness inside her, as if her life had ceased to make her happy. It would be easy to fill that emptiness with Jake. And maybe she would feel better for a while. Still, Caley didn’t want to believe that she needed a man to be happy. She probably just needed really good sex.

At least she was now old enough to know the difference between desire and love. If she did surrender to physical attraction, Caley would be able to control her emotions. Jake was the last person she would allow herself to love. In truth, he was the only man she’d known who had the capacity to break her heart. And that made him dangerous.

And yet, she wasn’t afraid. Instead, she felt liberated. She could finally act on her desire for Jake and explore just how deep it ran. She didn’t have to pretend anymore. He wanted her and she wanted him, and neither one of them had to deny it.

The shadow of the Burtons’ boathouse, built into the slope of the shoreline, loomed at the edge of the lake. The lower level held the Burtons’ small sailboat and their vintage motorboat, but the upper level was a small apartment that they often used for guests. It was fully furnished with a bed and a sofa and a small kitchen and bath. The windows had been shuttered for the winter, giving the place a cold and uninviting look.

Jake held her hand as she carefully climbed the snow-covered stairs. Caley glanced back over her shoulder to see the trail of their footprints in the moonlight. “They’re going to know we were out here together,” she said.

“I just asked you to give me a hand,” Jake said. “It was a perfectly innocent request.”

Caley took a ragged breath and clenched her fingers inside her jacket pocket. Just the thought of running her hands over his body, of having the freedom to touch him, to undress him, made her mind spin. She knew what would happen when they were alone and she wasn’t afraid. All she could feel was an overwhelming anticipation.

When they reached the landing, Jake pushed the door open and then walked inside. She followed and heard the door shut behind her. The moment it did, Caley felt his hands on her face. His lips met hers and a heartbeat later they were lost in a deep and stirring kiss.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he murmured against her mouth.

“What were you thinking?” she asked, her breath coming in quick gasps.

“About what would happen once we were alone again.”

“Tell me,” she said. “What did you imagine?”

It was so dark inside the boathouse that they couldn’t see anything, but she could feel his heat against her body, his warm breath against her cheek. The lack of sight seemed to heighten all her other senses and she shivered as she felt his lips brush across her cold cheek.

“I imagined that you’d stand in front of me and slowly take all your clothes off. And then, I’d finally be able to touch you. And I’d be able to see if it felt as good as I dreamed it would.”

Caley unzipped her jacket and let it fall to the floor behind her. Then, she pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it aside. She wore a thin T-shirt beneath, barely enough to protect her from the cold. But strangely, she didn’t notice the temperature. Her heart was beating so fast that her skin didn’t even prickle into goose bumps.

Jake reached out and ran his hand down her bare arm, then grabbed her hand and kissed the center of her palm. “Wait here,” he murmured. “The circuit box is in the closet.”

He disappeared into the darkness and Caley leaned back against the door, her heart pounding. She heard him fumbling around on the far side of the room and a moment later, a match flared. The flame illuminated the interior of the boathouse, casting wavering shadows on the walls. Jake lit a lantern and set it down on the bedside table. Then he turned to her, motioning her closer.

Caley rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling the cold along with a rush of nerves. It was easier in the dark, like a dream, two bodies connected only by touch. But now that she could see the bed, could look into Jake’s eyes, it had all become very real.

“Let me see if I can get the heat going,” he said. He walked past her to the opposite wall and leaned inside the closet. A switch clicked. A moment later, he bent over the radiator and nodded. “It’s working.”

Jake moved back toward her, taking off his jacket along the way. He was the boy she’d always known, every feature still there—the dark lashes and brows, the penetrating pale blue eyes, the straight nose and sensuous mouth. But with age, his features had become even more captivating, more compelling. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

When he stood in front of her, Caley reached up and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his skin to her touch. “What are we doing here?” she murmured, pressing her lips to his chest.

“I have no idea,” Jake replied, “but I don’t want to stop.”

He smoothed his hands up her back and Caley shivered at the sensation of his touch. “This is going to be impossible,” she murmured, nuzzling her face into his neck.

“We’re in the same state, living minutes apart. How is that impossible?” He pulled her along to the bed. “We have heat and light and a comfortable bed. What happens here is just us, no one else. I promise.”

“This could change everything,” Caley said as he kissed her neck.

Jake grabbed her waist and they tumbled onto the bed, the covers cold on her bare skin. “I’m counting on that,” he said.

Caley reached up to run her fingers through his dark hair and smiled. “You know, I really don’t think we should do this. You’re not ready and it wouldn’t be right and I just don’t think of you in that way.”

He frowned, pushing back. “You don’t?”

“I just don’t have those kinds of feelings for you, Jake,” she murmured, deepening her voice to make the imitation more obvious.

She watched as a slow smile broke across his face. He’d said those same words to her that night on the beach. “I lied,” Jake said. “Believe me, I did have those feelings.”

His admission stunned her. “Really?”

“For a long time.”

“How long?”

“Remember that red striped bikini you had? You were fourteen that summer.”

Caley nodded.

“Since then. I remember I saw you in that bikini and later that night I was thinking about you and your body and how smooth your skin was and how perfect your breasts were and then I—well, you know.”

“I do?”

“What? You want me to say it? I pleasured myself as teenage boys do on occasion. Hey, grown men do it, too.” He chuckled softly. “All I remember is, from that summer on, being around you was pure torture.”

Caley smiled, satisfied with the admission. So the infatuation hadn’t been unreciprocated. Oddly enough, that did make a difference. Why not make both of their fantasies come true? “So what else were you thinking about?” she asked as she dropped a line of kisses across his chest.

He pressed his mouth to her shoulder, gently biting as he kissed her. “I wasn’t very experienced back then. I was still technically a virgin. But I thought about what you’d look like naked.” Jake pulled up her T-shirt and trailed a line of kisses from her belly to a spot beneath her breasts.

Caley sat up and straddled his hips, then slowly pulled her T-shirt over her head. She remembered doing the same thing eleven years ago. But then, she’d been so nervous her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Now, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world, to crave his touch, to offer him more.

Jake smiled as he reached out and cupped her breast in his hand, teasing at her nipple with his thumb. And then, in one easy motion, he sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his mouth against her neck. He trailed kisses from her collarbone to her breasts as he unhooked her bra. Finally, he drew the hard nub of her nipple into his mouth.

She arched back, holding her breath as he pulled her back down with him. Caley remembered how fascinated she’d been with his body, watching it change from summer to summer as he slowly became a man. She was as desperate to touch it now as she had been then. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she worked at the remaining buttons, then brushed it off his shoulders until his chest was completely bare.

She drew back, staring at him as she tossed aside her bra. Her fingers lazily following the line of hair that ran from his collarbone to his belly. Now he was fully formed, his shoulders broad, his body lean and hard, a body only a woman could appreciate.

Caley bent forward and pressed a kiss to his chest, then gently sucked on his nipple. What began as curiosity had now taken on a very intimate feeling. He groaned softly, then murmured her name. A shiver skittered over her exposed skin. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“No,” she lied.

He chuckled softly, grabbing her by the waist and pulling their bodies together in a warm embrace. They kissed for a long time, hands touching, mouths tasting. It was everything she’d always thought it would be, yet more. It wasn’t just about sex, it was about … trust.

He ran his hands through her hair, then pressed his forehead against hers. “Spend the night with me.”

“Not here.”

“Where then?”

“At the inn. We’ll have more privacy there.”

“What about Emma?”

“Her room is on the second floor and mine’s on the third. There’s a back stairway. I’ll let you in and no one will know you’re there.”

Jake kissed her forehead, his lips warm and damp. “Have you talked to Emma yet? I mean, about the wedding.”

Caley shook her head. “No. I told her I’d meet her for lunch tomorrow and I thought we’d have some time then.”

“What do you think about this marriage? Do you think they’re ready?”

“No!” Caley frowned, pushing up on her elbow. “Not at all. They’re so young. I thought I was the only one who had concerns. Everyone is just so thrilled that our families will finally be related. But no one is even thinking about what will happen if the marriage doesn’t work.”

“I agree,” Jake said. “I don’t think they’re ready.”

Caley crossed her arms over his chest and stared into his eyes. “You started that fight between them on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Someone has to shake some sense into them.” He paused. “We need a plan. A coordinated effort between the two of us. If we go at it from both sides, maybe we’ll be able to convince them to wait.”

“I don’t think they’ll consider waiting. Everything is moving so fast and I’m sure they feel they’d be disappointing the families.”

Jake reached out and brushed her hair away from her temple, his gaze skimming over her face. “I talked to Sam this afternoon and he’s just going along with what Emma wants.”

Caley gasped. “You think she talked him into this?”

“Maybe. I can’t imagine he really wants to get married. What guy in his right mind would want a wife at twenty-one?”

“Well, he’s the one who asked her,” Caley said. “If he didn’t want to get married, why did he ask?”

“She probably pressured him,” Jake said.

Caley pulled out of his embrace and sat up, stunned by his comment and eager to defend her sister. “Emma wouldn’t do that.”

“I’m just saying that usually women are the ones who press for the wedding,” Jake said.

“And you come by this knowledge how?” Caley asked. “Have you been manipulated into an engagement recently?”

“No, just the opposite. Every woman I’ve ever met has had marriage in the back of her mind. Come on, even you’ve thought about it. Wondered what it would be like if you and I … you know.”

Caley scrambled off the bed. Marrying Jake was the last thing on her mind! And if he thought she had any designs on his future, he was sadly mistaken. “I think this was a mistake,” she murmured, crawling off the bed. She searched the floor for her bra and T-shirt.

“Come on, Caley, don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to imply that—”

“No, I understand,” she said as she pulled the shirt over her head. “You just assumed I wanted more than just … sex.” She drew a ragged breath, shoving her bra in her back pocket. “See, that’s why we shouldn’t do this. Unless we’re agreed on the reasons, it’s bound to get very messy.”

“Is it?” he asked.

She snatched up her sweater from the floor and tugged it back over her head. “I have to go.”

Jake sat up and reached for her, but she avoided his grasp. “Caley, come on. I was just teasing. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

She shook her head. “I do agree about Emma and Sam. They’re too young. You and I don’t even know what we want. How would they?”

Jake grabbed her hand. “I know what I want,” he said.

She stared down at their fingers, intertwined so tightly that she couldn’t tell his from hers. Caley fought the temptation to strip off her clothes again and just forget her fears. But if she jumped into bed with Jake tonight, there would be no going back. “I’ll talk to Emma.”

“When will I see you again?” Jake asked.

“You’re going to see me all week.”

“You know what I mean.”

Caley bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. Maybe we ought to forget this. It just makes things too complicated.”

“I’m not sure I can,” he replied.

“Try, Jake,” she murmured. Caley walked to the door, then turned back to look at him. “Try really hard.”

3

JAKE STEERED HIS SUV around a sharp curve on West Shore Road, his mother’s grocery list clutched in his hand. He had an appointment for his tux fitting and then his mother wanted him to buy three “nice” chickens. He wasn’t sure what qualified a chicken as nice, but he’d figure it out when he got to the grocery store.

The truck skidded and he took his foot off the accelerator, startled out of his thoughts. He’d gotten about two or three hours of sleep last night. The rest of his time in bed was spent trying to figure out just how he’d managed to screw things up with Caley.

Maybe the forces of the universe were sending him a message—don’t mess with Caley Lambert. But though he’d considered heeding the message, his body didn’t want to listen. Every time he came within ten feet of her, he found himself lost in another sexual fantasy.

This was his penance for keeping all his desire bottled up so long ago. It had increased over the years, like pressure in a simmering pot, until he was left with a need for Caley that threatened to boil over. He wanted to kiss her and touch her, to strip off her clothes and enjoy the pleasures of her body. He’d waited years and now that she was with him again, he wanted to make it happen.

But could it just be casual sex? Would he be able to enjoy the act and then walk away, no strings attached? From the moment he found her lying next to him in bed, he’d felt it. A deep-rooted connection, not diminished by time, but strengthened. She could never be just a physical release for him. Sex with Caley would have to mean something. But what?

Jake groaned, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “It’s just too complicated,” he muttered, repeating her words. But it didn’t seem at all complicated in his mind. In truth, seducing Caley felt like the most natural thing he’d ever done.

How long had he been searching for a woman just like her, a woman he could feel entirely comfortable with, a woman who didn’t try to make herself into something she thought he wanted.

Jake had seen it all—the sexpot, the girl-next-door, the doting wife, the perfect mother of his children. They’d all tried to be something they weren’t. He’d known Caley so long that she couldn’t hide behind a facade. And if she tried, he would see right through it.

“Just take it slow,” he told himself. He’d been able to resist her when he was younger and far less experienced with the opposite sex. It shouldn’t be that difficult to bide his time.

His mind flashed back to an image of Caley, straddling his waist, tugging her T-shirt over her head. Jake’s fingers twitched as he recalled the feel of her flesh beneath his hands, the taste of her skin, the scent of her hair. He drew a ragged breath and tried to banish the image from his mind and focus on something else.

He noticed a car ahead of him on the road and slowed, but the sedan wasn’t moving. Instead, it was tilted at an odd angle. As he approached, Jake realized the car looked familiar—as did the figure standing at the front bumper. He carefully pulled over, then hopped out of the truck.

The moment Caley saw him, she turned away and shook her head. “Don’t even say it,” she muttered.

“Who taught you to drive?” he teased.

A reluctant smile broke across her face. “You did. Remember? You took me out in that old Cutlass you bought, then proceeded to yell at me for the entire lesson.”