Page 41 of A Lonely Road
“My friend Casey is in town and she’s going to take over bartending for a couple weeks until my full time guy comes back,” I said, my voice low. “I wondered if you’d like to go away with me for a few days?”
The tears had dried and her breathing finally evened out, so she tipped her head back to look at me. “Away where?”
With my fingertips, I traced the curve of her cheekbone, the arch of her eyebrow. “Not far. There’s this little bed and breakfast on the water, the Lakeside Inn. I think you’d like it. It’s usually booked solid all summer, but my friend Henry is the manager there. I got an inside tip that they had a cancellation this week and he’s holding it for us. I told him I’d let him know by tonight.”
Slowly, Nora nodded. “Okay. On one condition.”
I cocked a brow and waited, watching the way she first bit her lip and then offered a cheeky little grin.
She leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Give me enough warning before you do that thing thatmakes me scream, so I can muffle it with a pillow. I can’t handle the thought of your friend overhearing that.”
I let out a joyous laugh and kissed her soundly. “I solemnly swear I will warn you before I do that,” I said, then added with a wink, “Like . . . how about right now?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Nora
Asaresultofmy many travels, both as a child and an adult, I developed a longstanding love affair with maps. Paper maps, online maps, globes, phone maps—it didn’t matter the format, as long as I could study them to my heart’s content, tracing the lines of the rivers, hopping from one city dot to another, tracking my own path or sometimes my father’s as they zig-zagged across the continent.
Maybe it was a childish exercise, but it never ceased to center me when I started to feel that itch beneath my skin that told me it was time to move on.
Before settling on Spruce Hill, the maps had shown me the wealth of waterways nearby: Great Lakes, Finger Lakes, rivers, canals. They all played a part in my choice of location this time around. I’d been landlocked for too long, and after I mentionedthat fact to my father in one of our semi-frequent phone calls, he’d sent me a picture of Mr. Jenkins’ apartment ad.
Everything had fallen into place after that, but all that water around sealed the decision for me.
Maybe you’re just looking for a place to call home.
Now, with Jake at my side and Lake Ontario spreading before us, the words he’d spoken as we gazed out across his backyard echoed in my head. My fingers tightened on his for a moment and a soft, sweet ache in my chest receded as something else slipped into place, settling comfortably inside me.
“This is absolutely incredible,” I whispered. The deep blue stretched as far as I could see, bobbing with gentle waves under a beautiful, flawless sky.
Jake kissed my temple and tightened the arm he’d slipped around my waist, tucking me firmly against his side. “I thought you’d like it here.”
“I love it here, but I think we should go back in,” I purred against his ear a few minutes later. “I have something to show you.”
When his eyes widened, I simply gave him a sultry smile and tugged at his hand. Jake stumbled along behind me as we made our way back to the room, following willingly, his blue eyes sparking with heat every time I glanced at him.
Once we were safely ensconced in our charming little suite, he cupped his hand around the back of my neck and kissed me until I was wiggling impatiently against him.
“What is it you wanted to show me?” he asked hoarsely. “If it doesn’t involve you getting naked, I’m not sure I’ll survive to appreciate whatever it is.”
I stepped back and pulled my t-shirt over my head, revealing the lacy black bra I’d bought with Sam. As I tossed the shirt aside, his breath hissed through his teeth and he dipped his head for a closer look. The fabric was sheer, giving a glimpse of what hid underneath the swirling lace pattern.
“Oh, this is nice,” he drawled, straightening to kiss me again while his hands wandered.
His thumbs teased my nipples through the material until they hardened into tight buds, until I considered begging for his mouth to replace his fingers, but when he slid one hand behind my back to unfasten it, I remembered my plan and shook my head.
Jake groaned, but it was clear my teasing had him intrigued—and, pressed so close, I knew he was already hard as a rock. Still, the big reveal required a little more torment.
“Uh-uh,” I replied, the sing-song words a direct contrast to the husky note in my voice. There was no waynotto respond to the raw desire darkening his expression. “There’s more to see. You used to be so patient. What’s the rush?”
Jake tore off his own shirt and then pulled me snug against him, rolling his hips into mine and growling at the little gasp that slipped past my lips. After I unbuckled his belt, he returned the favor and slid down the zipper of my jeans. When he pushedthe denim past my hips and brushed his hands over the curve of my ass, however, his fingers met bare skin.
I almost burst out laughing as his eyebrows shot up before he turned me around, leaving the jeans tangled halfway down my legs.
“Holy shit,” he whispered when he saw the thong. “If my sister had a hand in this, I don’t need to know. Fuck, Nora, you are . . .” He trailed off as I turned back toward him and lifted a brow in challenge.
“What am I?” I asked. Slowly, so slowly I saw his fists clench at his sides to keep from reaching for me, I wriggled out of the jeans and kicked them aside.
