Sidney’s eyes slowly opened. At first, she didn’t know where she was because the room was dark, though she noticed a sliver of light that fell from underneath the shades covering the window. Then she noticed something heavy across her leg, and that something heavy was attached to a male body snuggled up behind her. At just about the time she noticed the leg, she remembered exactly where she was.
Holy hell. She slammed her eyes shut and replayed the high points of last night.
Beck Jacobs’s mouth on her. Downtown.
His hands all over. Every. Single. Inch.
His body inside hers.
His dark eyes.
His slow smile.
The muscles in his shoulders.
The shape of his butt.
Carefully, she turned over so that she faced him, and now that her eyes had adjusted to the gloom, she was able to make out his features.
Beck was deep asleep, his breaths long and even, his handsome features relaxed. She saw a glimmer of the younger man he must have been, and then noticed a small scar not far from his right temple. Her fingers found themselves drawn to it, and she traced the faint line gently. He had great bone structure, could have been a model, and his mouth was to die for. She leaned up and swept her lips across his.
He was, quite simply, breathtaking.
Sidney watched him sleep for a long time, long enough for her body to liquefy and for that need he’d sated the night before to come alive again. She grinned and pushed at him until he was on his back. She took her time because she didn’t want to wake him just yet. Beck mumbled something unintelligible but didn’t open his eyes.
“You will, my friend,” she whispered, pushing the blankets back. The air was chilled, and goose bumps erupted across her skin as she kissed his torso and moved lower, and then lower still. Until she took him in her mouth and began to knead and suckle. It didn’t take long for Beck to harden, and once he was ready, she straddled him and sank onto his cock, groaning at the feel of him inside her.
He filled so completely. She sat there for a few seconds and tried to calm her breathing, because this feeling was one she wanted to remember. She enjoyed the sensation of him inside her, loved how it felt. His hands had crept up to her hip; he was stirring, but his eyes were still closed. His chest rose and fell, a bit quicker than before, but he was still caught somewhere between sleep and awake, probably dreaming about sex.
She began to move, her body awash with desire as she found the perfect rhythm, her senses inflamed at the guttural sound that came from deep inside Beck. He sounded like an animal.
“God damn.” His eyes flew open, and she saw the confusion at first, then the desire and the need he made no attempt to hide.
“Good morning,” she managed to say as she rose and fell above him. “Since we were already naked, I thought we could do the sex thing again.” She arched her back and bit her lip when his thumb found her clit and began to massage her. “You don’t mind?” Her words ended on a groan as the first ripple of an orgasm teased her.
“Not at all.” His voice was rough, his words clipped.
After that, there was no more talking. There were groans and moans and some swearing. When her orgasm built, when layers of pleasure wrapped themselves around her, his hands gripped her so hard, she was sure there’d be bruising. Did she care? Hell no.
This was, without a doubt, the best sex of her life.
Sid had him one more time in the shower, and an hour later, they walked into the kitchen, Jingle scampering along behind them, her little meows sharp.
“Coffee?” Beck asked.
She was starving, but she knew he didn’t have any food. “Sure.” She made a face. Or cream.
Jingle meowed until she picked her up and cuddled the kitten in silence, suddenly feeling vulnerable. In the bedroom, they’d been enveloped by a cocoon of shadows, but out here, the sun shone, and there was no hiding.
Beck handed her a mug and stood on the other side of the island, bent over with his elbows resting on top of it.
“Last night was incredible.” He said the words so quietly, so sincerely, that she was taken by surprise. Since when had she been with a man who owned such candor? Who wasn’t afraid to expose himself this way? The first time she’d been with Nick, he didn’t call her for a full week because (she found out afterward) he didn’t want her to know how much he was into her. This right here? This was refreshing.
“It kinda was,” she replied shyly, looking at everything except Beck.
“So,” he said, taking a sip of coffee. “What’s your story, Sidney Barrett?”
“My story?” She kept her voice light, even though this, the exchanging of history, was anything but light. Not after a night of the kind of sex and connection they’d shared.
“Why did you come to Crystal Lake?”
God, where to start?
“I came here to recharge my batteries. I’ve had a pretty intense couple of years, and things happened, some bad things, and I needed a break. I just…I wasn’t present, you know?” She glanced up. “My mind wasn’t working the way I needed it to for my business, and I was talking to Nate about a project and somehow spilled everything to him. He told me that Crystal Lake was the remedy I needed.” She shrugged. “The thought of being someplace where no one knew me, a place where I could kind of hide, was attractive, and then when Nathan sent me a picture of the stone cottage, I fell in love with it.”
“And your family?”
Jingle began to squirm. Beck reached for her and automatically cradled the kitten against his chest. Honestly. It should be illegal for someone as big and handsome and male as
Beck Jacobs to stand in front of her, looking all, well, big and handsome and male, while holding on to a tiny kitten.
She took a moment and tried to compose her thoughts.
“Sid?” His gentle tone tugged on all kinds of things inside her.
“I’m not used to this,” she admitted.
“Used to what?”
“This sharing thing.” With a man she’d just had sex with. A man she’d only known for a week.
“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to say anything.” He was giving her an out, which said a lot. As well as being honest and open, the guy was caring.
She toyed with her mug for a few seconds and then dove in. “I have a sister, Kylie. She’s crazy, though I love her to pieces in spite of how crazy she is. She’s like this big romantic, always looking for the grand gesture, and she’s been in love more times than anyone I know. She has a heart of gold and would do anything for me. She’s my best friend.”
Sid took a sip of the bitter brew but didn’t taste it, too caught up in thoughts and memories. “My dad died when I was sixteen, and my mom is remarried to a great guy. His name is Frank. He has this big scruffy beard and a handlebar mustache.”
“A legit handlebar?”
“You heard me correctly. A handlebar. It took some getting used to, and he’s nothing like my father, he’s more of a rough guy where my dad was polished. He was a partner in one of the biggest law firms on the West Coast. My dad was awesome, but he got sick and died, and Mom met Frank on holiday, a P.S. I Love You, kind of holiday. She was in Ireland by herself, driving along some winding road out in the middle of nowhere, and her car broke down. Frank wandered by, and she stayed in Ireland on an extended vacation. They got married the following year.” Her voice trailed off, and then she shrugged. “I don’t see her very often, but we FaceTime a lot.”
“Sounds like a good excuse to go to Ireland.”
She nodded. “It’s beautiful where they are.”
Beck topped up their coffee mugs. “What’s a P.S. I Love You holiday? I haven’t heard of that particular one.”
“It’s based on a movie, which was based on a book, and maybe someday, we can watch it together.”
Jesus. Mary. And Joseph.
Did she just say that? Did she just suggest a movie night? As if whatever this was they were doing was going to continue? As if a guy like Beck would sit and watch a chick flick with her? She hung her head, a little embarrassed, which was saying something considering they’d had sex more times in twenty-four hours than she’d ever had before with anyone. Nick included.
“I’m not much of a movie guy,” he replied.
Shit. This was it. The big brush-off.
“But I’d find it hard to say no to spending another night with you.”
Sid’s head shot up, and the look in his eye was enough to set her panties on fire. She squirmed a little, which was the wrong thing to do because it only made the friction between her legs that much worse.
How could she still want him so badly when it had been less than an hour since the last time he’d been inside her?
“So what are we doing here, Beck?” She held her breath, knowing that every single word that came from his mouth would be honest.
“We’re getting to know each other.”
“Okay.”
He rested his palms on the counter and leaned closer. “And the getting-to-know-each-other thing involves physical activities.”
“Physical is good.”
“And then there’s the other part.”
“What’s that, exactly?”
His smiled, that devastating wicked grin that made her heart melt. “That’s the part we’re figuring out. We’ve got the physical thing down pat.”
“And then some,” she murmured.
His grin widened. “We should maybe practice some of the other stuff.”
“Like what?” God, she loved talking to this man.
“How about dinner?” He grimaced and looked behind her. “I’m low on supplies right now, but I can grab something when I’m in town before I head back here.”
“Why don’t you come to the cottage?”
“I don’t like to leave Jingle alone.”
“That’s fine, just bring her.”
He watched her for a few moments. “Yeah?”
Sidney nodded and slipped from her stool. “Yes. She’ll be good company for me.”
“Okay.” Beck leaned closer and dropped a devastating kiss on her mouth. “Let me grab my coat and some tools I need for the day, and I’ll take you home.”
Sid stretched and smiled at the aches and pains she felt. They were the good kind. The Beck kind. She wandered over to the living room and spied a photo on the table there. A quick glance behind told her she was still alone, so she crept closer. It was Beck, a much younger version, with his arm around a woman’s shoulder, smiling down at her. He was shirtless—the photo looked like it had been taken down at the lake—and her head was averted so Sidney couldn’t see her face.
But it was the expression on his that made the photo. It was such obvious, unrestrained love that it made her ache inside. It was the kind of look every woman on the planet wanted. The kind that said, I love you. The kind that said, I give every corner of my heart to you.
For someone so young to have that? For a girl to inspire that kind of devotion and depth in a young man? It said a lot. Beck had loved his Cate something fierce, even as young as they were. It made Sid wonder.
What did it feel like to have someone look at you like that? To know you held their heart in your hands? To have that kind of power was scary, and to give it up was scarier.
Would she ever experience a love like that?
“You ready?” Beck’s voice echoed from down the hall.
She jumped and then got busy with her boots, which were at the front door. “Yes.”
He came up beside her and reached for the door. “Let’s go.”
She slid into his truck, and though they made small talk on the way over to the cottage, the only thing in her mind was that photo and maybe the feeling that she’d just stepped into something.
And that something was going to bite her in the ass if she wasn’t careful.