Sweet Hill Temptation (A Short Story) (3 page)

She slapped her palms against his torso, his hard muscles jumping beneath her hands. She wanted more. Damn herself later, but right then, she wanted him so badly it was a physical ache. One she’d pushed aside for too long.

The loud sound of another four-wheeler approaching snapped her out of the moment. She pulled away from Luke before the rider came upon them.

“Hey, boss,” Will Upton said, getting off the machine and walking toward them. He was sixteen and worked summers and after school on the Jacobs land. When he caught sight of Annie, he stalled.

“Uh, hi, Annie.” He looked a little frightened of her. Great. Just great. Will had actually come into her café a few times and seemed to like her food. Probably another patron now lost to her flying-fist rumor.

Fortunately, Will caught sight of the box on top of the other four-wheeler and smiled. “Ah, sweet! These are the best sandwiches.”

“Help yourself, Will,” Luke said, then he returned his attention to Annie.

“I’ve got to go,” she announced loudly, and a bit shakily.

Luke grabbed her hand, but she yanked it away. He didn’t say anything. Just let her leave. Which was smart, considering she was so wired she wasn’t sure if she was about to jump him or hit him. Her body was extremely confused, and her mind was in worse shape.

“Thank you, Annabelle,” he called as she walked to her car. “For the sandwiches.”

The fact that he felt the need to clarify exactly what he was thanking her for caused a fresh dose of confusion and embarrassment to rush through her.

She couldn’t speed out of there fast enough. With her heart racing and her stomach in knots, she left Luke in her dust and wondered if this was how he’d felt when he was the one doing the leaving.

“Shit!” Luke kicked the gravel and watched as Annie drove away. So close. He had been so close to convincing her they were perfect together. Something he had figured out a bit too late, it seemed.

He saw the look on her face when he pushed into her. Felt how her body instantly molded to his. Felt her give in. There was hope still. And he wouldn’t give up.

“Got the whole north block picked, and the crates are on their way up to be loaded,” Will said around a mouthful. He was chowing down on his sandwich and didn’t seem to have a clue as to what had just happened. “Man. Annie sure is amazing,” he said, staring at his turkey sub in appreciation before taking another hefty bite.

Got that right. The woman was all sass and vinegar, but when she showed that softer side, it made a man melt. Luke knew this from experience. Which, if he was honest with himself, was a reason he’d left the way he did.

There were no secrets between him and Annie. He’d told her he was going, and that the job offer was a great opportunity. He got to develop a piece of land that, while still attached to the family name, was all his own.

“If you go back east to harvest, can I come with you?” Will asked.

The kid was ambitious, and Luke liked that. “There’s already a crew there. And there aren’t any trees on the land quite yet.”

Before he left, he hired a staff and a right-hand man who would oversee the planting and maintenance. That would allow him to live in Sweet Hill and make trips only a couple times a year, to check in on things. The profit from the new farm would secure the Jacobs legacy, which his grandfather had built. A legacy Luke himself had helped with.

“Well, maybe someday,” Will said. “If you go back?”

Luke loved his town and his family and had always planned to grow old in Sweet Hill. But after that night with Annie, he’d realized there was even more to come back to. Realized what kind of woman she really was compared to what kind of woman she let people see.

“Maybe someday,” Luke said. “Finish your lunch and help the crew load up when they bring the crates. Then call it a day, Will.”

Will gave a small salute.

Luke wanted to curse again, his thoughts refusing to turn from a tall redhead with pouty lips. He knew how most of the men in town saw her. Annie wasn’t her mother, a fact that seemed lost on many of them. She wasn’t the kind that made a man run away; she was the kind that made him stick around.

Luke grabbed a sandwich. He needed a clear head and cold shower if he was going to go another round with Miss Annabelle Thompson.

A
nnie threw the covers back and huffed. Her skin was too hot and her mind was racing. All thanks to Mr. I-Don’t-Believe-in-Shirts.

She glanced at the clock. Three a.m. and she still couldn’t sleep. The afternoon had been a nightmare. All day she’d walked around with a clouded head. Ever since she saw Luke at the bar, she couldn’t find her balance. She got up, walked to the bathroom, and splashed some cold water on her face.

“You just stood there, like a moron,” she said to herself in the mirror. There was no way she could let that happen again.

No. He couldn’t get the last word. It couldn’t be that easy for him to just waltz into town, back into her life, and kiss her. And it was time he knew that.

She threw her hair up in a pile of curls on the top of her head, yanked on her boots and leather jacket, and grabbed her car keys.

Two right turns and a couple miles of apple trees later, she pulled in front of Luke’s place. It was the same small cabin he’d had since turning eighteen, despite his fortune, and she respected his simple lifestyle.

She banged on the door. From inside, she heard a small crash followed by Luke’s low cursing.

Luke opened the door. Great, shirtless again. Only this time, instead of jeans he was wearing only black boxer briefs, and Annie almost forgot why she was there. She reminded herself to stay strong—and for God’s sake, to stop staring at his package.

“What the hell are you doing, Lucas Jacobs?”

He rubbed his eyes with one hand and said, “Sleeping.”

“No, I mean what the hell were you doing earlier today?”

Fully awake now, his gaze roamed the entire length of her body, and a hot flush was left on every inch that those intense greens graced. He smiled, apparently liking what he saw, and rested his forearm against the edge of the open door, doing all kinds of yummy things to his muscular chest and torso.

“I like this look on you, baby.” He winked, taking in her outfit again, which consisted of small pink pajama shorts, matching cami, boots, and jacket. Oh, crap! She had been so focused on giving Luke a piece of her mind she hadn’t thought about her appearance. “And if I had known you made these kind of house calls, I’d have ordered a hell of a lot more than a few sandwiches.”

“Oh no you don’t,” she snapped. “Don’t think you can throw that charm around, top it off with a sexy smile, and assume that’ll work on me.”

“You think my smile is sexy?”

Now she really wanted to scream. “What happened today is not a good idea. I already had a shitty afternoon at the café. No one came in, because everyone thinks I’m some unhinged woman who goes around socking men.”

“Aren’t you?” He was teasing, but she wasn’t in the mood. Because between her lack of judgment when it came to Luke, and how the town perceived her, more than her feelings were at stake—her business was in jeopardy. And that wasn’t acceptable.

“I’d like to keep a distance between us. I don’t need any more scandal. And I don’t need people refusing to come back to my café, thinking I offended the town’s golden boy.”

“How can I help?” he asked with such conviction it startled her.

“I don’t need your help. I just came here to—” She took a breath to yell. To tear him a new one. Tell him that she could fix things on her own. Tell him how much she hated him and that she didn’t care and hadn’t thought of him. Instead, as if the wind around them had stilled, so did her heart.

There was only one thing she had really come here to say, and it was a question.

“Why did you leave the way you did, Luke?” Her voice sounded softer and more vulnerable than she liked. But there it was. The truth. The one question she asked herself over and over. How could he have just snuck off in the middle of the night after what they’d shared? “Did you take off early because you were ashamed of me?”

“No.” He frowned hard and looked appalled by her question. “I’ve never been ashamed of you, Annabelle.”

“Then how come you didn’t say good-bye?”

He let out a long breath and dropped his arm from the door. Judging by the expression on his face, he was mulling over what to say.

“I didn’t know how to say good-bye to you. I had an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, so I just took it. I thought we said everything we needed to that night.”

The words stung more than she was prepared for. But it was the truth, just like she’d asked for. So now it was her turn.

“You asked me if I thought of you since that night.”

His eyes zeroed in on hers, and she held his stare. She wouldn’t be weak. She would tell him exactly what she thought.

“I did, a lot. But mostly I thought of myself.”

He frowned when she said that, but she just continued. “I thought of how I was so stupid. Thought of what an idiot I was. Did you know I actually believed that you cared about me? Believed we connected on some level that no one has ever—” She stopped because, damn it, her voice cracked.

Luke moved to touch her, but she just straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I came here to let you know I won’t make that mistake again.”

She turned to leave, and Luke grabbed her hand.

“We did connect, Annabelle.” He coaxed her to face him. “You can be such a hard-ass, but that night, I finally saw a side of you that not many get to.”

She wanted to scoff, because it was more like
no one
. Because that side he was referring to had a kind of vulnerability that terrified her. The kind that hurt.

“You don’t scare me in the way you think you do,” he said with a small smile. Her body let go of an ounce of tension. He pulled her a little closer. “I know what you’re capable of, know there’s more to you than you let on. And I know you hate that.”

She did hate it. So much. Because growing up with Luke Jacobs was hard enough. He was pulling her pigtails one moment, then wiping her tears the next when some kid at school made fun of her. Somehow, he’d crossed enemy lines and become her confidant. That, and she’d threatened to kick him in the shins until he bled if he ever told anyone he saw her cry. And he never did.

For a man who seemed to have everything, including the respect of the town, a good name, and success, he had always treated her like an equal.

“The truth is, Annie, we connected long before that night.”

He pulled her so close now that his breath fanned over her forehead and they stood in his doorway with the hot August night and crickets surrounding them.

“Remember when I found you in my tree house?”

Her gaze snapped to his, and she nodded. She was upset because her mother had just left again, and at eight years old, she was still learning how to handle it. It was also the day Luke’s father left and never came back.

“You just hugged me,” he said. “When everyone else was trying to give me an explanation, to make sense of things, you let me sit there with you, hide with you, and just be.”

That annoying sting behind her eyes was back. They had been kids. Scared. Unsure. But in that moment, they had each other and understood what the other was going through.

“I knew then that there was more to Annabelle Thompson than a tough girl with no fear.”

She gave a half scoff, half smile and said the only thing she could when someone challenged her toughness. “Well, I think you’re full of shit.”

He laughed and cupped her neck. “And you’re the only one who calls me on it.”

Damn it, she was caught again. He smelled like spice and summertime, and all male. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man. Actually, two years, to be exact. Largely due to the fact she’d been busy building her café, and also because no other man made her feel like this. Like losing control. Like giving in.

“I couldn’t face you,” he said so low she almost missed it. Looking up to meet his eyes, she saw an ounce of pain there. “I didn’t know how to tell you good-bye. And I didn’t call because I knew if I heard your voice …” He shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said. “And you’re right, there was something between us.” He kissed her palm. “I think there still is.”

She swallowed hard, wanting to deny it, deny him. But she couldn’t deny something that was so horribly obvious. Luke Jacobs had always been, and probably always would be, special to her.

“Damn it,” she sighed.

He smiled. That megawatt country boy grin that made her panties instantly wet. “I’m wearing you down, aren’t I?”

She shook her head.

“Liar.” He nipped her fingertip, and a flare of pleasure shot through her body.

“How long,” she managed to get out before losing herself even further. “How long are you here this time?”

He looked at her for a long moment. “I came back for harvest, but I have no intention of leaving.”

“Good enough.” With that, she pressed against him, pushing him into his house, and snagged his bottom lip between her two.

He groaned and returned her kiss. “There’s the mouth I’ve been missing,” he said, kicking the door shut and instantly pushing her against the wall.

All thought was gone, except for Luke’s warmth. His body was a furnace, constantly drawing her in and burning her up.

“I wasn’t kidding before when I said I like this look,” he said against her mouth. He peeled off her leather jacket while she kicked off her boots, leaving her in nothing but her flimsy pajamas.

“I kind of like your outfit too.” She reached between their bodies and gripped his erection. “It’s accessible.”

“I aim to please.”

His lips were on her neck, licking and biting his way down. When he grabbed the hem of her cami, she raised her arms and he tugged it up and off.

“Jesus,” he said on a long breath. “You’re fucking perfect.”

Delivering a few small kisses along her collarbone, his mouth traveled down to nip along a breast, then circle the peak with his tongue.

“Yes, Luke, more.” She wound her fingers in his blond hair and arched, willing him to deepen contact.

“You know I’ve dreamed of you”—he licked her nipple and she inhaled sharply— “dreamed of your body”—he bit down on the bud—“your legs wrapped around me while I buried myself inside of you.”

She moaned, and he sucked on the entire rosy tip of her breast. He splayed out his hands on her sides and pulled her closer. Deeper suction made her skin break out in goose bumps and her entire body tingle. Releasing her from his mouth with a popping sound, he moved to the other breast and repeated the delicious torture.

“I want you,” she said, admitting it out loud for the first time since the last night they were together.

“I want you too, baby.” Delivering a few lingering licks over her now exceedingly sensitive breasts, he moved lower, sliding his tongue down her middle until he reached the waistline of her skimpy shorts. “But I’ve waited a long time to have you again, and I want to reacquaint myself properly.”

The wicked promise in his voice caused her spine to shiver with shuddering anticipation. When he gripped her shorts and began pulling them down, it was all she could do not to thrust her hips out and beg.

“No panties?” His breath hit her dead center just as her shorts dropped and pooled at her feet.

She stepped from them, and Luke stayed on his knees, simply staring.

“Can’t wait,” he said, and he clutched her thigh. Throwing her leg over his shoulder, she gripped the top of his head to steady herself, and he dove home.

His tongue snaked over her most sensitive spot once, twice, flicking faster with every sweep. Need climbed in her belly, lighting her up from the inside out.

“God, yes!” She threw her head back.

He devoured her, licking and sucking the little bundle of nerves until she was panting. Only when she was right there on the edge of release did he let up. She was just about to beg him to go on, to ask why he’d stopped, when he drove his tongue into her core.

“Yes! Luke!” She pulled his hair and rocked her hips, meeting every thrust of his tongue and crying out for more.

“Come for me, baby,” he rasped.

There was no way she would argue with him. She gave up control and let him take her however he wanted. Her body soared, so high and so intense she thought her knees would buckle from the pleasure.

But Luke was there to catch her.

Jesus Christ, Luke had never been so hard in his whole life. The woman he’d been thinking about for what seemed like an eternity was finally in his grasp. And there was no way he was letting go now.

“Just like I remember,” he said, rising to face her.

Actually, if he were being honest, it was better. No one would guess Annie Thompson was so passionate. So expressive. She had the sweetest little moans when she came, and it was like tasting honey and wildfire—everything she was. Sweet and unpredictable. And Luke got her all to himself.

“Now,” she said with a powerful kiss.

She bit his lip while tugging on his boxer briefs, and fumbling to get them off.

“Now,” she said again, pulling the elastic band down just enough so his aching cock shot free, and damn if the thing didn’t twitch trying to reach her.

Reality hit hard.

“Wait … we can’t.” Luke hated having to say those words, especially when he was on the brink of keeling over with desire for the woman before him.