Burning Barriers (Barriers Series Book 3) (16 page)

I glance back at Jake, who is standing in the kitchen turning off the burners on the stove. He replaces the covers on the pots, wiping his hands on the dishtowel hanging on the front of the stove before coming back to my side with a bottle of wine he just grabbed from what I assume is the wine chilling fridge under the kitchen island.

“Everything should be ready in a little bit.” He hands me an empty glass before pulling the cork out of the already opened wine bottle. I reach out my hand, silently asking for a fill to hopefully warm my body and calm my nervous energy. He must sense my body language that suddenly screams
Oh my God! This night is going to happen!
and runs his fingers down my bare arm
.
“We’ll go sit outside by the fire pit and relax until we’re ready to eat and then I’ll cook the angel hair pasta.”

After he finishes pouring both of our glasses, he leads the way with me anxiously in tow. As we exit the house and walk down the stairs, the sight before me has me rendered speechless. I stop in the middle of the staircase and gawk at what I’m seeing.

“Little different than the last time you were out here, huh?” Jake declares as he flips a few switches on a wall, and everything comes to life.

“When did all of this happen?” As soon as the question leaves my mouth, I know how senseless it is. Stammering back, I say, “I mean… I know
when
, but seriously, this is gorgeous, Jake.”

The stone patio takes up half of the yard, and the earth-toned slate walls encircle the area creating a barrier between the yard and the trails off in the distance. Small evergreens surround the wall allowing for a more private atmosphere. The stone fire pit ring sits in the middle of the patio where a few Adirondack chairs are positioned with brown and green-striped cushions and pillows aglow from the fire.

Jakes places the wine onto a small table between two of the chairs and comes over to me. “You always had a vision for the yard, Luce. You used to say the house needed a fire ring and a….”

“… and a hot tub,” I whisper as my eyes wander to the other side of the patio. The tub lights enhance the steam that rises into the cool evening air, and the water bubbles inside the in-ground hot tub where the patio stones overhang the edges. A small basket with towels and bottled water sits on the edge of the tub. My vision begins to blur. “You did this for me?” I ask, pondering why he would surround himself with so many things that reminded him of me.

“I wouldn’t say it was all for you, Luce. The tattoo, keeping the pictures up in the house, all of this…” he says, waving his arm around the backyard. “They’re my constant reminders of you. You always had a way of walking into a room and setting me at ease. You made me feel as though I had a reason to breathe after everything happened with us back then. I went through a very dark and troubling time shortly after Dad died. As much as SJ will tell you he was the one to help me… in the end… it was
you
who finally sorted my head out.”

As I step down each stair slowly, I never stop looking into his eyes. When I stand in front of him and look at the fire that dances in those big, brown eyes, I can see the darkness that sits deep behind them without even having to ask. I know he is telling the truth, and my heart aches for what he must have gone through without me. A single tear rolls down my cheek as my hand cups his face, and I run my thumb gently over his cheek. He shuts his eyes slowly at my loving touch, and I rise slightly on my toes to avoid falling in my riding boots and spilling my wine all over him.

My lips hover over his, and I move them back and forth as I catch his lips part and feel his warm breath on me. Only then do I hear the music filtering through the back patio. Another tear falls, but not from my eyes, from Jake’s. Daughtry’s “What About Now” hits me with full force, and the next thing I know, I’m kissing Jake’s lips with tenderness and purpose. There’s no lust, only completeness, as we both finally realize we need each other to heal our pains. Just as much as he’s helped me this past week, he’s surrounded himself with things that remind him of me in order to wake up each day and smile.

Together, we are the water that extinguishes the flames around us. Apart, we will end up burning until there is nothing left but smoke in the wind.

When I pull away from Jake’s lips and look at his face, I see my true happiness. I see my future. But, the minute I blink, I remember everything else that is waiting for me in Massachusetts, and I know I’ll have to make one of the hardest decisions in my life soon.

Do I stay with the man whom I love more than my own life or head back to the girls who gave me life when I thought I was already dead?

I push this nagging decision to the back of my mind because right now I only want Jake. Call me selfish and crazy for wanting to pursue this with him, but I need to feel Jake’s warm arms around me. I need to feel his naked body pinning me down to his bed as he slowly pushes himself deep within me. The passion, the heat, and the release. Oh my God, yes, the orgasm. I need to feel that sensation with him soon. With my eyes still closed, I envision what that would be like, and I feel my blood tingle all over and my face suddenly on fire.

“Hey, are you okay? You look a little flushed, Luce.” Jake’s hands run over my shoulders and down my arms. The patio lights and the last of the evening sunlight must allow my face to give me away.

Leaving all thoughts of our writhing, naked bodies behind me, I focus on him standing before me. My cheeks must be candy apple red right now. The minute I get all hot and bothered, I begin burning up and looking like a court jester with red circles painted on my cheeks. A shiver runs over my body, even though my face feels as though it’s engulfed in flames.

The music, this moment… everything… it all overtakes my body, and I need to do something other than think about the future. I need to think about
now
. Right now, right here.
Jake.

I gently grasp Jake’s hand in my own and begin walking over to the stone fire ring. With his back to one of the chairs, I easily push him down to sit in front of me as I grab his wine glass and place it onto the small table next to the chair with my own glass. Jake’s body takes up much of the chair, but I’m able to still place one knee on either side of his in order to straddle him. The only sounds heard are the popping of the fire behind us, the gentle breeze that is whirling the aspen leaves in the woods, the bubbling of the hot tub, and the music sifting through the speakers.

I pull my lip under my teeth as I stare into his curious eyes just before dropping my head to rest on his. My hands hold on to the collar of his light fleece zip-up jacket and pull him closer. As I slip my fingers softly below the fabric of his collar, Jake’s strong hands slip around my waist, and I feel his fingers running along the waistband of my jeans. My tongue slips out and wets my lips before I take matters into my own hands. Our lips collide, and our tongues invade and attack with a feverish desire. I feel the heat warm my skin as our hands roam and skim.

Jake pulls me down further on his lap, and I feel his hard length between my legs. Rubbing my throbbing core over his jeans, I suddenly feel like I’m going to lose all control over my body if I let go of myself. Soft moans escape from my throat as I feel the wetness soaking my thong. It doesn’t matter. I won’t need them later anyway. My hands eagerly begin pulling at the messy locks of hair on the top of his head. Jake’s hands work their way inside my shirt and move quickly under my bra strap. When I feel one of his hands snake around the front of my chest and pull my breast from under my bra, I nearly lose it.

My body begins to shake with desire, and I know I won’t last much longer between the kissing, the grinding, and now Jake’s skilled fingers toying with my breast. As Jake’s fingers pinch my nipple, I instantly pull away from his lips, catching my breath as the throbbing and pulsing come at me all at once. My head drops back, and I feel his other hand pulling ever so gently on some of my loose blonde curls, giving him better access to my neck where he’s starting to lick his way up from between my exposed cleavage to my ear.

“Come on, Luce. Let it out,” he says in a breathy voice as he continues to trace his tongue along my neck.

My breathing escalates, and my hands fist his fleece. I see nothing but Jake’s face in my mind as my orgasm rips through me. His hand keeps pulling slightly at the ends of my hair. When my eyes flutter open, the image of Jake’s face in my head is replaced by the starry night sky above me. Jake lets go of my hair, and my hands loosen their grip on his jacket. The sight before me when my head drops back down to him is like nothing I’ve seen in the past seven years. I’ve gone so many years of envisioning what it would be like if this day ever came. Now that he’s finally here in front of me, holding me and loving me, I know if we don’t make this work again, I’ll be screwed for life. No man will ever stand a fighting chance.

I look into his eyes as I try to read his emotions. His hardness is still evident between my legs, and I know where I need this to go. “Jake, I need to feel you inside me, now.” He doesn’t say a word. He only stares back, and I see just how much he needs me, too. He kisses my lips, quickly pulling away with my bottom lip between his teeth before groaning softly. After letting out a long, slow breath, he grips me tighter.

He rises to his feet with me still in his arms, and I wrap my legs around his hips. My arms hold securely around his neck as he takes each step careful enough not to drop me. We make our way into the house, and it dawns on me that I haven’t seen Summit since I got here.

“Hey, Jake, where’s Summit?” I ask quickly.

“Really, Luce? We’re about to have sex and you’re wondering where my dog is?”

“What?” I ask with a raised tone in my voice.

“If you really need to know, Mom comes over to take her when she knows I’ll be busy with work or she just needs some company. Summit likes to run around on the trails behind the ranch, so it keeps Mom entertained. She calls Summit her four-legged grandchild.”

Jake continues down the hall past the kitchen where I’m sure dinner is now either cold or severely overcooked. Since nothing is burning, my guess is that Jake took care of turning off everything before we went outside. We stop short of his closed bedroom door, and he pulls back to look at me with nothing but love in his eyes.

“Now, can we stop talking about my dog and my mom? I’d really like to only have you in my mind right now.”

He drops one hand from holding me in his arms and slowly turns the knob on his bedroom door. As the door swings open, my smile drops from my face as I see what’s before me. Jake pulls me from his arms and places my feet onto the floor. I don’t have any words as I take in everything. I feel a tightness in my chest and a lump in my throat. I can’t form words if I tried.

The fireplace blazes in the corner. The mantle and tables are lined with lit candles as they cast fiery dancing flames along the wooden beams throughout the room. The floor is lined with lavender rose petals that make their way to the bed that is pulled down already with more silvery purple petals scattered across the black satin sheets.

Arms wrap around my waist from behind me as I feel him brush my hair over my shoulder. I tilt my head and stare ahead of me, allowing Jake to nestle his face next to mine. The deep sound of Depeche Mode’s “Heaven” carries itself through the open windows from the patio below.

My heart beats along with the bass. My breathing quickens with each beat, and I can’t help the feeling of knowing that years of dreaming of Jake will soon become reality.

And I’m ready.

I feel her in my arms breathing deeply as her heartbeat pounds through her chest, but Lucy is the one who grabs my hand from around her waist and leads me to my bed. Music continues to filter through the open windows from the yard, just as I had hoped it would. With the lights dimmed in the bedroom and the flickering candles scattered all over, everything turned out exactly as I wanted it. I would rather have waited until after dinner to finally have Lucy in my bed, but that went to shit pretty quickly the moment she started grinding over my dick. Then, the look on her face as she unraveled in front of me… I had forgotten how amazing she looks when she has an orgasm. God, after seeing that, I needed to get her into my bed fast, and if that means ordering pizza later because dinner is fucked, then that’s what I’ll do.