She reeled her thoughts back under control. She wasn't here to find a man. Besides, he was obviously way more man than she could handle. But she was puzzled at his blatant antagonism. This had to be Jackson Cole, and he must have been expecting her. Beau had said that everything was arranged, so why on earth did he look so furious?
"Mr. Cole?” She inquired hesitantly.
A brief nod was all the response she received as he continued to glare at her through narrowed eyes.
Satisfied that at least she hadn't somehow arrived at the wrong cabin by mistake, she stood up and held out her hand. “Mr. Cole, I'm Abby Montgomery. I think,” she paused and looked at him questioningly, “—I hope that you were expecting me?"
Jack stared in astonishment at the hand held out to him by the woman who had risen and was gazing at him in trepidation and honest bewilderment. Abby Montgomery? This was Aunt Abigail of the orthopedic shoes?
"You're Abigail Montgomery?” he asked, having a difficult time associating the woman he was speaking to with the picture he had formulated in his head. Abby nodded her head, letting her hand drop back to her side.
"Beau's Aunt Abigail?” he asked again, disbelief shading his voice. Again, she nodded, understanding wiping out the puzzled expression on her face.
"Oh, no. Damn that Beau. He didn't explain about me, did he? You were expecting someone more...” she smiled, eyebrows rising, “more mature, perhaps?” Her eyes invited him to laugh with her.
"Look, lady, I don't know if you're who you say you are..."
"Oh, I'm Abigail Montgomery, all right. Although no one calls me Abigail except for Beau. And the only reason he does, is because he knows it pisses me off,” she interrupted. “Beau was just playing a little joke on you—that's all."
Trying to make sense of the convoluted explanation he was hearing, Jack began to get the idea. “You're not Beau's aunt, obviously,” he stated, recognizing Beau's somewhat warped sense of humor in the situation. This woman standing before him couldn't be older than her early twenties while Beau was near his own age of thirty-one.
"Oh, I'm his aunt, all right. At least, I was his step-aunt. My sister Katherine married Beau's dad. They're divorced now, but Beau and I are still pretty close.” Jack remembered Raymond Dalton, a somewhat garrulous man in his early sixties who'd had a string of wives over the past twenty years, each one younger than the last. Abby's sister must have been one of the endless parade.
"You don't seem too surprised by this whole situation,” Jack observed after a few moments of trying to reorder his thoughts.
She shrugged. “This isn't a new game. Beau gets a kick out of shocking his friends by introducing me as his aunt. It
is
a bit unusual since he's older than I am. And no one ever accused Beau of having the most mature sense of humor."
Jack listened to her in irritated silence. Beau had placed him in an awkward situation, and Jack had no doubt that he had done it on purpose. It was just the kind of thing that Beau would do. He probably thought it would be hilarious, but Jack failed to see the humor.
Where he might have found it easy to ignore Aunt Abigail with the thin moustache and sensible shoes, the fuckable Abby might turn out to be quite a different story. Reluctantly, he acknowledged his raw response to her. Even now, though he'd tried to remain focused on what she was saying, his cock had stayed hard and strained behind the zipper on his jeans.
Jack's thoughts were disturbed by the sound of Abby's voice and he realized that she had continued to speak. “And I hope you don't mind that I sort of made myself at home. But you weren't anywhere around. I made myself a cup of coffee."
Jack's unwilling desire for her, and the knowledge that he would be unable to appease that desire, sharpened his voice. He raised his chin. “Would it matter if I did mind?” he growled, dismissing her apology and erecting a wall of irritation between them.
Abby's brow knit in consternation. His comment was rude, but perhaps he was still a little off-balance because of Beau's stunt. She could understand that since she herself had been the butt of Beau's jokes for years. So she smiled, determined to maintain a civil conversation with him. “No, I guess not. You know, Mr. Cole—Look, do you mind if I call you Jack? I'm afraid that I've never been very good with formality."
He shrugged, not responding to her friendly overtures. Abby tried again, undeterred. “Beau's been telling me about your mountain, Jack. I must say that I thought that he was exaggerating when he told me how lovely it was. But I can see now that he didn't come close to doing it justice. It's spectacular and..."
"I'll get you the key to the cabin,” Jack cut in and then turned and walked toward the kitchen doorway.
"Well!” Abby commented to Bear under her breath after Jack had left the room. “Not exactly the most outgoing guy in the world, is he?” She patted Bear on the head. “But I suppose it takes all kinds, right?” She was determined not to let Mr. Jackson Cole disturb her normally genial nature. She leaned over to whisper in Bear's ear. “He is quite a hunk though, isn't he? Not that I'm interested. But there is something about those eyes of his. Whenever he looks at me...” she shuddered, feeling trickle of moisture between her thighs, “man, oh man."
Abby was quite surprised at her immediate reaction to Jack Cole. She had always considered herself a somewhat asexual creature. Normally, she could take sex or leave it, and she usually chose to leave it. Now, for some reason, this man sparked something different in her. Something hot. But she dismissed the unwanted attraction. In addition to the fact that she had no clue how to handle a man like Jackson Cole, she didn't need or want a man, especially not right now. No matter how attractive he was. No, the two of them could just stay out of each other's way as much as possible. Beau had said the second cabin was pretty isolated so that shouldn't be very hard to do.
By the time Jack returned with the key in his hand, Abby had walked across the room and was gazing out the wide window. She turned at the sound of his footsteps on the hardwood floor, and his eyes speared her, sending a little shiver of awareness through her that she tried to ignore. He walked over with the key dangling from his fingers.
He dropped it into her outstretched palm. “This is the only one I've got so try not to lose it.” Still oozing annoyance, Jack spoke abruptly to Abby. When he turned to the front door, Abby saluted his broad back, but only Bear observed her childish action. Then she scrambled to follow him out the door, stepping onto the porch just as Jack reached his Jeep and climbed in.
Urging Bear into the Explorer, Abby started the motor and followed the disappearing vehicle. As they moved through the dense woods on an obviously little-used road, they were forced to a snail's pace. The uneven terrain and huge potholes made her glad her SUV had four-wheel drive.
They arrived a few minutes later at a cabin almost identical to the one they had just left. Jack preceded her inside and began turning on the lights. He gave her a brief tour and explained how the generator worked. When Abby revealed her ignorance in lighting a fire, he demonstrated reluctantly. Even though it was spring, some nights still got cool. Then he rose to his feet and walked out onto the porch. Abby followed.
He paused and turned to face her. “The mail is delivered at a mailbox down the mountain a bit, and I collect it every morning. If anything comes for you, I'll drop it off."
Abby nodded. “I am going to be expecting some things from my agent in a day or so."
Acknowledging her comment with a narrowing of his eyes, he continued. “I stocked up on a few basics for you, but you'll probably need to make a run into Stone Hill, that's the nearest town, as soon as possible to pick up whatever else you'll need."
Again, Abby nodded and smiled, ignoring the curt note in his voice.
As he was about to leave, Abby halted him with a question, strangely reluctant to see him go now that the time had come. “How far is it from this cabin to yours? We seemed to have traveled quite a distance on that road."
Jack's forehead wrinkled, but he answered her question. “It's about two and a half miles by road, but not quite a mile going straight through the woods."
"Is there a path?"
There was no mistaking his hesitation in answering her. “There is a path, but it's rarely been used.” He took a deep breath and his eyes stabbed into hers. “Look, Miss Montgomery..."
"Abby, please."
He didn't act as if he heard her. “I'll be blunt."
"What a surprise,” she muttered under her breath.
He looked at her suspiciously and then continued. “I like my privacy. And I don't like unexpected guests. Especially female ones. The only reason that I agreed to let you use this cabin is because Beau is a good friend, and I didn't think that some little old lady would be much trouble. But someone like you is an entirely different matter. Women like you are nothing but trouble."
Her lips parted to speak in her own defense, but he held up his hand. When she remained silent, he continued. “I don't want you here, but I promised Beau that you could use the cabin, and I always keep my word. However,” he stressed the word as he stared piercingly into her eyes, “I would appreciate it if you would keep to your own side of the mountain. I'm not here for your private entertainment. Write away to your heart's content but stay the hell out of my way. If you come nosing around, I'm going to assume that you're after a little fun and games.” His gaze raked over her breasts “You're very attractive, and I'll be the first to admit that it would be no hardship to spread you across my bed and sink between those sweet thighs of yours. But anything other than that is just not going to happen."
With that, he nodded a curt goodbye and strode to his Jeep. He'd climbed in and driven off before Abby could summon a suitable retort. Red-faced and stunned at his frank words, she watched as his truck disappeared back down the drive. The man was impossible. He'd acted like she had thrown herself at him just because she'd asked a little question about the path. Stay out of his way? Ha! She sincerely hoped she never saw him again
Abby woke slowly. Her eyes flickered open, and she felt mild confusion when she noticed she wasn't in her own bedroom. Then it all came flooding back—the long drive, the beautiful scenery ... and Jack Cole. A grin stretched her lips when she recalled how mad she had been when he'd left the day before. Later, she had decided that it would do her no good to stay angry. After all, it
was
his property. She'd just do what she had come to do, while ignoring his belligerent attitude and her own attraction to him.
She struggled out of bed and crossed to the dresser, determined to get started on her book as soon as possible. Pulling open a drawer, she reached in to grab a clean shirt and pair of shorts. When she heard a noise behind her, she looked up. Over her shoulder, her eyes met the melting blue of Jack's. He stood in the doorway to her bedroom as if he had the right to be there, hands braced against the doorframe. The skimpy tank and men's boxers she wore were no barrier against his hot gaze. Her breath caught in her throat. “Jack? What are you doing here?” she whispered around the sudden dryness in her throat. Inexperienced she might be, but she recognized that look. He wanted her. And she was very much afraid that she wanted him just as much.
He shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts. “I forgot to tell you about the pump. I knew you'd need water this morning. I knocked, but ... Fuck. I swore I wasn't going to...” His words petered out, and he stepped forward as if drawn by an unseen force. His gaze focused on Abby's body, which was reflected clearly in the mirror in front of her. The hardening nipples and the dark shadow at the apex of her thighs were visible through the thin cotton fabric. Her nipples tightened even more at the expression on his face. When he was close enough for her to feel the heat of his body, he stopped, not quite touching her.
Abby realized she should turn around, say something, anything, to break the silence, but she just stood there, knowing what was coming and helpless to stop it. He reached out to clasp her upper arms, almost tentative at first, sliding up and down and causing her to shiver at the touch of his callused palms. His hands moved higher and caught the thin straps of her shirt, pulling them down off her shoulders, inch by inch revealing her aching breasts and taut nipples. A whimper escaped Abby at the feel of the fabric moving across such sensitive flesh. Catching on the peaks for a moment, the neckline finally succumbed to the sharp tug Jack gave it and eased down to her waist, fully revealing the silky mounds and trapping her arms against her sides.
He took a step closer, his tongue wetting his lips as he looked his fill. With one hand still holding her shirt tight, his other moved up to twine her hair around his wrist, tugging her head to one side and baring the vulnerable line of her throat. Bending his head, his eyes held hers while his tongue traced a slow, wet path from her shoulder, up the nape of her neck, to stop finally at her earlobe where his teeth nipped sharply. Abby moaned in helpless arousal, unable to prevent her response. Her body arched back into his, and she felt his hard cock press against her.
Releasing his grip on her hair, his hand moved to her hip, tugging the shorts down and off, leaving her nude but for the shirt twisted at her waist. That, too, was soon dispensed with, and she stood before him, her nude body a pale shadow against his fully clothed form. His hands reached around to cup her breasts. He massaged them with slow movements and tweaked the peaks until they were stiff and red. Then he pushed her forward and down, and she found herself bent over, palms flat against the dresser top, with Jack's hand skimming across her back and down her crevice to test the wetness between her thighs. Her cunt throbbed with need as his finger probed the opening before easing inside. She could see in the mirror how his eyes followed the strokes of his finger in and out of her aroused body and she got even wetter. When he added a second digit, she pressed back eagerly against the movement of his hand.