“That’s it, baby,” he whispered against her mouth. “Let me feel you.”
And he did feel her. Everywhere. From her tight sex milking his cock to her nails scratching his back to her laugh still ringing in his ears and her entire presence taking up space in his chest. He felt her.
He was right there with her and couldn’t hold back. He buried himself deep and stilled just enough. He came hard, felt every lash of his release leave him, and twitched against the inside of her. She caught him. Held him. Arched and kissed him as if silently begging for more.
His skin pricked with goose bumps as he followed her over the edge of the abyss. He was pretty sure there was no going back.
Laura’s whole body moved as if she was experiencing an earthquake. She peeked one eye open just as she felt the warm blanket she’d been wrapped in untangle and leave her chilled.
But it wasn’t a blanket or an earthquake. It was Jacob unwinding his big body from hers. The camper swayed a bit as he put on his jeans, then his shirt.
“You’re leaving?” she asked, trying to clear the sleep from her voice. How long had she been out? She remembered melting into a puddle for Jacob and then feeling so safe in his big arms she just got lost in him.
“Go back to sleep, baby,” he said in a soft whisper. “I’m going to make coffee and I’ll come check on you here in a bit.”
She frowned, but she was exhausted. And her mind was already trying to churn out what last night had meant. Probably nothing—it was just sex, after all. First time they were lying down and more intimate, but that didn’t mean they were friends or more or . . . anything.
She needed to get her mind focused on something other than Jacob Lock. Otherwise silly questions, like Does he like me? and Do I like him? would start to creep in. And she already knew the answer to the latter, which was why his leaving was probably best.
“Rest up, you have a big day tomorrow.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Big day tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yeah, Monday. We get the lumber order in and you wanted to be my shadow, right?”
She nodded.
He bent and kissed her again, only this time on the mouth. And she couldn’t help but kiss him back.
“Then be prepared for some heavy lifting, baby.”
With a smile and a last playful smack on the lips, he walked out and into the dawn.
She had twenty-four hours to figure out what the hell she was doing before taking on yet another aspect she didn’t quite understand: the warehouse.
Before she could groan, her phone rang.
She reached for it on the bedside table and answered.
“This is Laura Baughman.”
“Hello, this is Jill with LA Marketing. I’m calling to schedule an HR appointment to go over the paperwork for your new job.”
Laura frowned. “I’m sorry, new job?”
“Yes, we sent you an e-mail with the acceptance letter and the hiring package last week. I wanted to call to follow up with you.”
Laura’s eyes shot wide. She’d applied for a few jobs in California last month, but after several interviews, she hadn’t thought she’d gotten any of them. LA Marketing was a huge firm near Los Angeles, and they were offering her a job!
She glanced toward the door, where Jake had just left.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been away . . .” She thought of the computer at the shop and had a sneaking suspicion that spam was the issue.
“Okay, well, if you’re interested, we’d like to invite you to come tour, go over paperwork, and get you started. Are you free next week?”
Laura couldn’t kill a bird in the bush or in her hand at this point. Her father was supposed to make a decision soon about the fate of the shop and Laura’s place around here. Since she didn’t technically have job security here, keeping her options open was smart.
“Yes, next week is great,” she said. It didn’t mean she’d take it. It meant she was keeping her opportunities close. Because she wanted to build a life here, and she was, but she was currently in the red. And if she failed and her father let Jake be the head honcho, and he cut off the warehouse money, she couldn’t keep the store afloat on its own. She either had to get some business, turn a profit, and land the big contract with Cal, or she might have no better option than going back to California and taking this job. A safety net was always wise.