Body and Soul (Twist of Fate 3)

“I thought you said it was OB,” I said with a snort.

“Nah. Zoey shot that idea down because if we named it after the tampon, you’d have to use all cotton or risk upsetting the eco-feminists.” When he winked at me with a teasing smirk on his face, I realized with relief he couldn’t be that mad at me after all. I was surprised to realize how much it mattered to me. Had he been truly upset at being caught helping me this way, I would have surely gotten a case of insecurity.

I turned back to Xander’s crew. “Let me help him change and we’ll be right back.”

Ignoring Xander’s and Bennett’s raised eyebrows, I picked up some of the gown length and quickly accompanied Jake back to my room, making sure to stand directly behind him so no one got a free show of his gorgeous, muscular back and hot ass in nothing but cotton boxer-briefs.

By now, my room was almost as full of Jake’s dirty clothes as my own, since he just kept running across to his cabin to grab clean clothes, rather than us wasting any time doing laundry. Why wash clothes when you can fuck instead?

I helped him out of the gown and carefully laid it on my bed while he pulled on the sweats he’d had on earlier. As soon as he was decent, I turned to the door to return to our guests. Jake’s hand grabbed my elbow and spun me back around.

“Hey. You okay?” he asked, sliding his arms around my waist and nuzzling my neck.

I let out a huge whoosh of relief as he held me tightly. “Yeah.”

“Why were you so tense just now?” He pulled back and peered at me, brows furrowed in concern. It warmed my heart to know he’d picked up on something so subtle.

“I guess… I guess I was worried their arrival was going to break the spell. Send you running in the opposite direction again,” I confessed.

Jake’s brow furrowed even more. “I told you I was staying until February. And we could have as much or as little of this as you want until then. Remember?”

“I know. I just… I thought maybe you’d change your mind. I was a little worried you might feel crowded since I’ve barely given you a moment’s peace in three or four days.”

His face broke out in a smile. “You may not remember where I live, baby, but it’s not far from here. And, no offense, but you weigh about as much as Princess Cujo does. I could have gotten rid of you easily and escaped to my place if I wanted a moment’s peace. Surely you know that?”

I stepped back into his arms and laid my head down on his chest, squeezing him tightly with my arms. His neck still smelled like the spray starch I’d used on the collar of the gown.

“Thank you. I’ve had an incredible time here with you, Jake. Even if the road is clear… I kind of don’t want it to end.”

Jake’s hand came up to lift my chin so we could make eye contact. “Me neither.” He dropped his lips to mine and caressed them for a moment before kissing my cheek, my temple, and my forehead. “Let’s go see what that crazy crew is up to. If the road is clear, I’m sure you’re going to be itching for a trip into civilization.”

“I have to admit I wouldn’t turn down a latte from The Beanie if I could get to Haven right now.”

He smacked my ass lightly as he reached past me for the door to the bedroom. I wondered if we could play it cool in front of the three of them to avoid any ribbing they’d definitely give us if they knew we’d been hooking up.

Maybe it was because of how long we’d taken in there, just the two of us, or maybe it was just the mere presence of Jake in my cabin, but all three of our visitors stared at us with their jaws hanging open.

“What?” Jake asked, as cool as could be.

“Uh, that,” Bennett said, raising a finger to point to Jake’s sweatshirt.

Jake and I both looked at where he was pointing.

Hot Model.

It actually said Hot Toaster Strudel but the way they’d done the typography and graphics, it looked like it said Hot Model. Either way, the oversized sweatshirt that was comfortably big on me was just a bit too snug on Jake’s broad chest, so even if the words hadn’t given it away, our guests would have figured it out anyway.

Busted.

We packed up Boo and went into town for the night. Jake was worried that the road might be icy after dark and didn’t want to risk driving back after dinner. Since Bennett and Xander owned a lodge with plenty of guest rooms, it wasn’t a problem for them to put us up for the night.