“Let me go, Jake! There is no reason to manhandle me like this,” she complained, hitting his back, although it wasn’t doing much good, and truthfully, she should know better. He paused, and for a brief nano-second, she thought he was going to put her down. But then he took a step back away from the door, shut it, and finally sat her down on her feet. “What the hell?!” With that, she turned around and yanked the door back open, the quick gust of wind smacking the cold and the snow right into her face. Her eyes glanced upward at the darkening clouds and she gasped.
“We won’t make it back to the hotel,” Jake said and she rolled her eyes. ‘No shit, Sherlock,’ she thought to herself.
“Did the forecaster have any idea how long this might be?” Jake lifted a brow at her question and she just shrugged. She might have issues with her ex, but she wasn’t always dumb not to buy the things he said. She also saw those clouds, knew how they could be, and knew that was a blizzard rolling in.“No, there was no time limit,” Jake muttered.“Great,” she said, the back of her head hitting the door, “I don’t want to be stuck with you! My brother would be better than you!” He crossed his arms and stared her down.“You think this is fun for me? To be stuck in this place with you and your snooty ass? News flash Rachel, I don’t want to be here anymore than you do, got it? I came up only at the request of your brother but it’s not like I did this on my own.” Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. Sure, she had her issues with Jake, and had them since way before high school, but she still thought he might have given a damn about her, not just because she was his best friend’s younger sister.“I get it, Jake; you hate it here as much as I do. I’m sorry I didn’t leave when you wanted me to, but we still wouldn’t have made it back to the hotel. That storm moved in way too fast and we would have been stuck out in it before we even got back.” He rolled his eyes and walked back into the living room to sit down.“I saw the firewood was full, did you do that?” he asked after a few moments of silence. ‘Oh, that’s right,’ she thought, ‘he didn’t do well with silence.’“Yeah, I cut some as soon as I got here. My parents don’t usually leave a lot in case it gets damaged. And we hadn’t bought any logs to replenish those either.” She twisted her lip and then looked around the cabin. “Might as well turn a lot of the lights off, not like we’re going to be using them and if that blizzard is as bad as it’s saying, we’re going to lose what little power we have anyway.” She walked over to the kitchen, making sure the connection for the backup generator was okay for the refrigerator, and then flicked the lights off in the kitchen.Rachel glanced out the windows at the clouds and shook her head. She didn’t want to be stuck here any more than he did. Well, no, she did, she just didn’t want to be with him. And she wasn’t a fool; she knew he didn’t want to be here with her. He never wanted to be around her, she knew that well enough. She wrapped her arms around herself as she took a steadying breath. What sucked all the more is that the house wasn’t ready for more people. Three of the four rooms were crammed with stuff and only one bed was ready to sleep in, one fireplace in the bedroom ready to use. She wasn’t expecting company so she hadn’t thought she would need the room. And as nice as the cabin was, Jake couldn’t stay in the living room, not with a blizzard rolling through; it would get too cold for him.“I take it the rooms aren’t open yet, huh?” he asked.“No, just mine.” She chuckled and turned around to look at him. “Which you’re more than welcome to join me in.”“Sleep with you? Thanks, I rather drink acid.” Rachel once more narrowed her eyes at him. He was good with his angry darts to toss her way but she could never quite figure out why he hated her so much. Besides all the times in high school he protected her, or even that one time they got drunk…up here. She blew out a breath and nodded. That one time could be why he was pissy.“Look, I don’t want to play nice with you any more than you want to play nice with me, Jake. We both dislike each other, it’s clear, but for as long as this storm is here, we both have to be here. I’d rather not spend all the firewood using two fireplaces. And it’s not like the fireplace would keep you all that warm at night if you slept in the fucking living room. But, please, do whatever you want, it makes me no never mind to me. I sure wouldn’t mind telling Jay that his best friend froze to death because he wanted to be the biggest numb nuts possible.” With that, she went to her room. She needed a moment to breathe and to process. Not the fact of the blizzard, she knew what to do there, but being here with Jake for any length of time.On a whim, she walked over to her landline and lifted it, hearing the static. Great, the storm had already buried the towers enough that the landlines weren’t working. Of course, she was smart enough to know they wouldn’t have been, but it was still a hope. And since the cell service was spotty at best, she knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything now but check her time. And if they lost power, she had no means to charge her phone. Which meant that Jake didn’t either.With that thought, she hung her head for a moment before going into Jay’s room to grab both an extra charger and a blanket. She made her way to the living room, seeing Jake up and looking out the window in the living room. He had opened one of the blinds on the floor-to-ceiling windows and leaned against it as if he was watching the snowfall. She cleared her throat and he quickly turned around, glancing at the stuff in her arms.“The landline is already down so I know the power won’t be on too much longer. The generator is set up for the fridge, but that’s it. I brought an extra cord so you can try to charge up your phone before you can’t anymore. And some extra blankets because it won’t stay too warm in here.” She offered him a small smile but when he didn’t say anything she just sat the stuff in the chair. He was an adult; he could do what he needed to. Rachael turned to walk out but his voice stopped her.“How many blizzards have you handled?” Was that a trick question? Because there wasn’t an answer she could give honestly, that he would like. As far as her family knew, and she would assume Jake knew this too, she had only ever come up with her ex. What she hadn’t mentioned to them, or anyone was that all but one time, had he come up. If they ever found out that she had more than a dozen trips up here solo, they would be livid with her.“Uh, I can’t....really say, Jake.” She watched as he tilted his head to regard her and he knew he was thinking.“No, that can’t be. Because Jay has only ever talked about being in a blizzard twice. And Rachel, you don’t come up unless it’s with family.”“Not true, I was up with Tim quite a few times!”“And I repeat my question. You’re handling this blizzard like a champ, knowing what to do, what’s going to happen, not being worried, and there is no way you can be like this after just a couple of blizzards.” Well, he had a point there, she figured. The first time she came up alone, the cabin was stuck in a horrible three-day blizzard and she had a freakout. Thankfully, she managed to calm herself down to do what needed to get done and she had sworn she wouldn’t be alone again. But sure enough, the next time Tim asked, she came up and he ditched her, and she was stuck dealing with a lighter blizzard.“I can’t tell you that, Jake.”“Why? Something you don’t want to share?” Rachel shook her head and wrapped her sweatshirt tighter around her. Just from the blinds being open, she could feel the coldness creeping in. “Rachel, I won’t tell if that’s the problem.”“Yeah, right,” she snorted at that. He had told her that before and then went and told her parents. She never trusted him after that.“Promise this time.” He moved away from the window, grabbed a blanket, and sat on the couch, patting the spot next to him. She finally sat down, her eyes glued to the light falling flakes and she was glad he left them open.“I’ve probably experienced a good half dozen, alone.” She dropped that last word and turned to look at him. He wasn’t dumb; he could work that out in his mind. And she watched as he did and once he got to the conclusion that he did, his jaw clenched and his eyes burned with anger. She couldn’t deny what that look stirred up inside her, or how she felt a wave of desire wash over; neither being a good thing given how those feelings are what caused their previous issue.Jake wanted to believe he had come to the wrong conclusion, that he wasn’t possibly hearing that she got ditched by the man who was supposed to love her? Because he knew his extended family, and no one came up alone, there were just too many variables that could happen. So, unless siblings came up, or couples did, that was it. And he could have seen her coming up with Tim. He just didn’t think Tim was that much of an asshole to let her come up alone. And yeah, he could see Jay flipping out on this one and he could see her parents demanding she give the cabin key back and she wouldn’t be allowed to come up unless it was the family. “Rachel, that’s a lot, anything could happen while up here.” She curled her legs up under the blanket and rested her head there. “I know, Jake. I managed them just fine though. Sure the first one had me freaking out, but I’m not a little kid and I’m not dumb.” “Want to explain why he wasn’t up here the first time?” She c
She watched Jake as he sat there for a few minutes, quiet before he got up to go to the kitchen. He needed space, she knew that, and she was going to give it to him. But she wasn’t going to let the question go without an answer. He had pestered her then she can pester him. He claimed they weren’t friends, but that wasn’t quite true either. They maybe didn’t always confide in each other, but they did talk and they did care about one another, even on a low level. Finally, she got up, tossed the blanket down, and made her way into the kitchen. She crossed her arms as she leaned against the doorway and watched him. He was such a good-looking guy and she often wondered what kept him from having a decent relationship. “What?” he grumbled, causing her to smile. “You don’t scare me, Jake, so the big bad wolf can happily trot his little ass away.” She almost smiled as his lips quirked up at that. “Funny reference because the bi
The silence was loud, buzzing in his ears, and he hated it, always had. But after the question with no comment, not that he needed it; he wasn’t sure what to say. The cabin was sufficient enough to stay for months, it was another home, but it wasn’t done, it wasn’t stayed at for that long because of blizzards or other things, it just wasn’t something anyone had done before. And because it was so secluded and everything was so spotty in service no one stayed more than a couple of days. But if Rachel had every intention of staying longer, that meant she really needed time away and that went just beyond her relationship with Tim. Jake turned his head and looked at her. She sat with her legs curled under her, her elbow resting on the couch, and her head on her hand. It was a peaceful look, but he knew her, and she was probably far from peaceful right now. God damn did he want to ask more, but the look in her eyes when she talked about Tim really drew him up short and he wasn
Rachel let her mind run over Jake’s words again and again as she made their lunch, which she wasn’t even certain why she was being that nice to him. She figured since she was probably making one of their last hot meals, might as well make enough to cover both of them. But, still, he was being an asshole and he didn’t need to be. She also hated, with the biggest passion she could manage, when he acted like that. So, after he tossed those cruel words out, she tossed her blanket on the couch, grabbed her book from the room, and left him to deal with the silence while she stayed at the kitchen table. Or, well that was until about twenty minutes ago when her stomach wouldn’t let her not eat anymore and she was forced to get up and make something. Again, she didn’t have to be nice, but she wasn’t a bitch either. Maybe that was her problem? She had come to the cabin to lick her wounds, to heal from the heartache she was given. And she didn’t get the tim
Jake got up, stormed away from the table, and shook his head. What had he been thinking when he did that? The truth was nothing. Or well, he was. He was thinking about the look he saw on Rachel’s face, how she thought she was odd, and fuck if he didn’t want to change it. He wanted to convince her that she wasn’t odd, that she was beautiful, and that any man would be lucky to have her. So, he kissed her. However, the fucked up part of his mind was also speaking up and he was using all of that as an excuse. He kissed her, in part, because he wanted to. There was no denying that, just like he couldn’t deny that even a simple kiss, like what they shared, got his blood going. And damn it all to hell, he wanted more. But when it came to that woman, he knew better, he always wanted more. He stormed to the living room and ran his hands through his hair as he stared outside. Right now, after something like that, he would love to be outside, taking in
She stared at him, her eyes round; she knew that because she had no clue what she was doing. Well, no, that’s a lie. She knew perfectly well that she wanted to kiss him, and she did. And she figured if she did that then he couldn’t stop her. And he didn’t, which spoke volumes. However, it wasn’t something that should have happened and the look in his own eyes said that. But why, was the question? She really couldn’t believe it was all Jay. She ignored pretty much everything her brother told her anyways about the guys she had been with. She moved back to her side of the couch and grabbed her cell, surprised to see that a text had even made its way in. Out here, that was so uncommon. She opened the screen and saw the message from Jay hoping that she was okay and that Jake was with her. And that to be smart, wait out the storm, and not do anything stupid. Rachel glanced up at the bars, noticed her signal was gone, and that she couldn’t respond. Well, what w
Jake saw the look in her eyes, the hurt, and the anger. And damn did he want to do nothing else but tell her about a promise that a stupid hormonal teenager made to his best friend and then got constantly reminded of it as they grew up. He wanted to open up about a comment that was made by him and a prom date that she had and a wish to take her to prom instead. He wanted to say he knew about the first guy she slept with him and how he punched him a couple of times after school because he wanted to be her first. Yeah, there were a lot of things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t. Why? Because he also promised Jay that that promise would never come up, not any time that Jake was talking to Rachel. And because of that fucking promise, he had to pull away from her. Especially that night because had Jay ever walked in on them; ever seen them in an embrace other than friendly, Jay would have killed him. He had already gotten that run down and he didn’t care to
She closed her eyes as she lay against him, sucking in his warmth and giving him hers. She should have climbed off of him, she knew that. Should have grabbed a blanket and given him that rather than use herself. But she didn’t want to move. She could also feel what being this close was doing to him and she was having her own issues. If she shifted, she could rub against him, but she knew that wouldn’t stop the ache, it would only make it worse. And she was smarter than that; she didn’t need any more issues than she was already having. So, she started to sit up to pull away but his arms locked around her even tighter and she turned to look at him. Rachel watched and smiled as he shook his head slightly. “I don’t want to give up your warmth yet. And even if you move for the blankets, that’s too long and too cold. Just stay here for another moment.” She nodded and laid her head back down and covered him once more. She could feel the change in the cabin, cou
Jake sat up as well, his brows pulled together in confusion. He wasn’t sure how she got into her head, but she did, and he could feel the moment she pulled away. He wanted to pull her back in his arms, but he knew her well enough, she would just refuse, and it would lead to an argument. And as he watched her pull his shirt on, he wanted to comment on how sexy she looked in his clothes, but he knew that wouldn’t work either. So, with quite the effort, he wrapped the blanket around his bottom half and crossed his arms. “Okay, you have my shirt, what am I going to wear?” She jumped at the sound of his voice, and he knew right away she was far into her head and her thoughts and pulling her out was about impossible, at least for the moment. He was going to have to give her time and that was the one thing he didn’t want to do. The time between them without talking never led to anything good. “Hey,” he softly said as he grabbed her arm lightly and drew her near. “Talk to
She couldn’t say her favorite position had ever been on top because it wasn’t. Not that she didn’t like the control, because she did, what female didn’t, right? But for her, she always felt like it wasn’t good like she failed in pleasing any man this way. But the way Jake stared up at her, the way his eyes roamed over her body, set her own desire skyrocketing. She had never seen him look at her like that, and she loved it. Hell, she wanted a lot more of it. And if that meant that being in this position was going to get looks like that, she would fucking do it all the time. Her nails scored along his shoulders as she rocked her hips slowly, his soft moans making her legs shake even more. She couldn’t say any of her lovers were ever as vocal as Jake, and she had to admit, it was a serious turn-on to her. Not that he needed to cry loudly, or even scream, but his moans, his kisses, and his pinches let her know that he always seemed to enjoy something she did. Even wit
Jake watched as Rachel glanced downward and he knew what she was seeing. But he had no urge to stop or deny it. Those images that flashed through his mind when she was talking were hot as fuck and she knew that. He knew her well enough that she was having problems just like he was. He wouldn’t dare be the ass and let her think she was alone in that department, wanting something that she couldn’t have. So, he gathered up his wits and walked over, knowing what she was doing. Fuck, he even agreed with her, the coldness was bound to help the fire and flames right? Or maybe not given that it was worse knowing she was in the same fucking boat. His hand reached out and cupped her cheek, his thumb running along her cheekbone. Of all the ladies he laid eyes on, this one before him was the one he always found the most beautiful and enchanting, and she didn’t try. That was one of the best features about her. Her face was rounded, her eyes mysterious but capturing, her lips
She closed her eyes as she lay against him, sucking in his warmth and giving him hers. She should have climbed off of him, she knew that. Should have grabbed a blanket and given him that rather than use herself. But she didn’t want to move. She could also feel what being this close was doing to him and she was having her own issues. If she shifted, she could rub against him, but she knew that wouldn’t stop the ache, it would only make it worse. And she was smarter than that; she didn’t need any more issues than she was already having. So, she started to sit up to pull away but his arms locked around her even tighter and she turned to look at him. Rachel watched and smiled as he shook his head slightly. “I don’t want to give up your warmth yet. And even if you move for the blankets, that’s too long and too cold. Just stay here for another moment.” She nodded and laid her head back down and covered him once more. She could feel the change in the cabin, cou
Jake saw the look in her eyes, the hurt, and the anger. And damn did he want to do nothing else but tell her about a promise that a stupid hormonal teenager made to his best friend and then got constantly reminded of it as they grew up. He wanted to open up about a comment that was made by him and a prom date that she had and a wish to take her to prom instead. He wanted to say he knew about the first guy she slept with him and how he punched him a couple of times after school because he wanted to be her first. Yeah, there were a lot of things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t. Why? Because he also promised Jay that that promise would never come up, not any time that Jake was talking to Rachel. And because of that fucking promise, he had to pull away from her. Especially that night because had Jay ever walked in on them; ever seen them in an embrace other than friendly, Jay would have killed him. He had already gotten that run down and he didn’t care to
She stared at him, her eyes round; she knew that because she had no clue what she was doing. Well, no, that’s a lie. She knew perfectly well that she wanted to kiss him, and she did. And she figured if she did that then he couldn’t stop her. And he didn’t, which spoke volumes. However, it wasn’t something that should have happened and the look in his own eyes said that. But why, was the question? She really couldn’t believe it was all Jay. She ignored pretty much everything her brother told her anyways about the guys she had been with. She moved back to her side of the couch and grabbed her cell, surprised to see that a text had even made its way in. Out here, that was so uncommon. She opened the screen and saw the message from Jay hoping that she was okay and that Jake was with her. And that to be smart, wait out the storm, and not do anything stupid. Rachel glanced up at the bars, noticed her signal was gone, and that she couldn’t respond. Well, what w
Jake got up, stormed away from the table, and shook his head. What had he been thinking when he did that? The truth was nothing. Or well, he was. He was thinking about the look he saw on Rachel’s face, how she thought she was odd, and fuck if he didn’t want to change it. He wanted to convince her that she wasn’t odd, that she was beautiful, and that any man would be lucky to have her. So, he kissed her. However, the fucked up part of his mind was also speaking up and he was using all of that as an excuse. He kissed her, in part, because he wanted to. There was no denying that, just like he couldn’t deny that even a simple kiss, like what they shared, got his blood going. And damn it all to hell, he wanted more. But when it came to that woman, he knew better, he always wanted more. He stormed to the living room and ran his hands through his hair as he stared outside. Right now, after something like that, he would love to be outside, taking in
Rachel let her mind run over Jake’s words again and again as she made their lunch, which she wasn’t even certain why she was being that nice to him. She figured since she was probably making one of their last hot meals, might as well make enough to cover both of them. But, still, he was being an asshole and he didn’t need to be. She also hated, with the biggest passion she could manage, when he acted like that. So, after he tossed those cruel words out, she tossed her blanket on the couch, grabbed her book from the room, and left him to deal with the silence while she stayed at the kitchen table. Or, well that was until about twenty minutes ago when her stomach wouldn’t let her not eat anymore and she was forced to get up and make something. Again, she didn’t have to be nice, but she wasn’t a bitch either. Maybe that was her problem? She had come to the cabin to lick her wounds, to heal from the heartache she was given. And she didn’t get the tim
The silence was loud, buzzing in his ears, and he hated it, always had. But after the question with no comment, not that he needed it; he wasn’t sure what to say. The cabin was sufficient enough to stay for months, it was another home, but it wasn’t done, it wasn’t stayed at for that long because of blizzards or other things, it just wasn’t something anyone had done before. And because it was so secluded and everything was so spotty in service no one stayed more than a couple of days. But if Rachel had every intention of staying longer, that meant she really needed time away and that went just beyond her relationship with Tim. Jake turned his head and looked at her. She sat with her legs curled under her, her elbow resting on the couch, and her head on her hand. It was a peaceful look, but he knew her, and she was probably far from peaceful right now. God damn did he want to ask more, but the look in her eyes when she talked about Tim really drew him up short and he wasn