Never Too Late (14 page)

He raised a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Nothing wrong with that.”

No, it was boring, and his was a polite way of saying it.

The trees thinned on one side and the road broadened. Jake brought the bike to a gentle stop near some steep wooden steps that led down to a wide stream below.

“This is it.” He waited for her to dismount first.

Without taking off her helmet, she scrambled off the bike. But as soon as her feet touched the packed dirt of the ground, the wobble in her legs threw her off balance and she stumbled.

He threw a quick arm around her, pulling her close to his side, steadying her. “You okay?”

He’d removed his helmet and she stared into his bright amber eyes and nodded, her legs no longer wobbling because of the bike ride, but the feel of being plastered against him again.

“You’re just not used to the bike yet,” he said with a smile. And with his free hand, he unclipped and removed her helmet. 

He looked her over as he held her, and her skin heated under his scrutiny. Suddenly he reached out and with a grin, pulled off the hairband that kept her hair subdued in its French plait before running his fingers through its length to free the curls.

She gasped, her hands flying to the giant frizz mop her hair at once bounced into. 

“Leave it. I like it better free. It suits you.”

He liked it? It suited her? With nothing on her face except a faint swipe of mascara and lipgloss and now her hair gone bouffant, the only thing she must look like was a pale stick topped with golden candy floss. If this was his attempt at flattery, he was failing miserably. 

Shooting him a prim look, she lowered her hands and stepped away, then busied herself with removing her gloves as he dismounted. 

“Thank you.” She handed the gloves to him. “I’d better have my jacket back. I wouldn’t want to ruin this one.” She opened the zip of the fine leather jacket, ready to take it off. Whoever actually owned it wouldn’t want her traipsing around in it either, no matter what he said.

“Keep it on. You’ll be more comfortable with it.” He looked her over again. “I’ll get you the rest of the gear soon. The jacket was easy to guess, but you’ll need to be fitted for the trousers and boots.”

Her jaw dropped. “You
bought
this for me?”

“I had it made. The stuff you buy off the rack feels more like battle gear. It’d crush a little thing like you in seconds.” He reached out and flicked open the sides of the jacket, exposing more of her cream camisole beneath, and her cheeks blazed. “This, you can wear even when you’re not on the bike,” he said softly, a golden gleam in his eyes.

She licked suddenly dry lips. The jacket gaped, showing the curves of her breasts and the dip of her waist beneath the silkiness of her camisole. It was no different to how she sometimes wore her suit jacket at work, but under Jake’s gaze, it was as if she was fully exposed. 

She fingered the edge of the leather jacket, resisting the urge to pull the zip back up. “It’s beautiful, Jake. But you shouldn’t have. I… I can’t accept it.” 

“You need the right gear when you’re getting on the bike with me,” he said with a shrug.

“But, I’m not—”

“Did I say this was a choice?”

She bristled, but his jaw set and his gaze raked over her once more. “I intend to keep you safe, Molly, so don’t bother fighting me on this.” And he turned away to pull something out of one the bike’s compartments.

She stood staring at his back, perplexed. She wanted to protest, but a flush of awareness shot through her at his concern for her safety. It was… sweet.

But surely he wasn’t planning on more bike rides with her? Even as the thought exhilarated her, cold logic fought back. He was taken. She shouldn’t be encouraging this, no matter how untroubled he was about two timing Lilayni.

No, there would be no more bike rides for them after today. She couldn’t keep the jacket. Every time she looked at it she would think of him and she didn’t need any reminder of him in her life. He may not accept it back now, but she’d keep it folded away and return it to him, maybe on the day he left Barrowdene.

But the thought of that day had her heart dropping.

He turned back then, his eyes locking with hers, a small smile playing about his lips. “Don’t look so worried. It’s just a small picnic.” He held up a bulging poppy print bag in one hand. It was one Nan sometimes used for shopping trips to the market. “Come on,” he said, taking long strides towards the steps. He descended two and then held a hand out to her. “Hold on to me. These are kind of steep.”

She stared at his hand. She could no doubt navigate anything in the boringly sensible flats she wore, but his very presence reassured her. And slipping a hand into his, she thrilled at his firm grip as she descended the raggedy old wooden steps after him.

He only released her once she was safely standing on the sandy clearing beside the stream, and she curled her fingers into her palm, missing his touch already as she looked around.

The small clearing was like a half-moon carved out of the bank and the only dry way of reaching it was down the steps they’d come. The stream flowed wide and fast in front of them, splashing and gurgling around the smooth tops of the rocks jutting out of it. A handful of people walked their dogs on the green fields opposite, and in another clearing further downstream, another couple sat with a picnic hamper and everything laid out.

The air smelled faintly of damp moss and was cooler on her skin than it had been up in the forest, and she was grateful for the comfort of her jacket.

But Jake shrugged out of his black leather jacket, revealing a plain white t-shirt beneath. It was similar to what he’d worn that first day at the pub and he looked every bit as delicious now as he had then. Her gaze stayed riveted on him as he pulled a red tartan blanket out of the bag and spread it over the dry sand. 

“I saw this spot on Saturday and knew it would be perfect.” His voice brimmed with glee and she had to smile. 

She indicated the familiar blanket. “Did you plan this little trip with Nan?”

“I told her I was planning on taking you to Halstead today and she suggested the picnic.”

But of course Nan did. Still, it was impossible to drum up any ire towards Nan; she meant well. No, it was Jake who needed to be set straight. She had no idea what he was playing at, especially with Lilayni away, but he needed to know that plans like this, involving her, were not okay.

But the words refused to be said, and she gritted her teeth at her own craving to prolong this stolen time with him as long as possible.

He pulled off his biker boots and sat down on the blanket, then patted the space beside him. After just a moment’s pause she slipped off her shoes and joined him. She’d tell him soon.

One by one he pulled containers out of the bag, opened them and arranged them on the blanket: little chicken and bacon pastries, golden cottage buns stuffed with ham and cheese, and a crumbly apple loaf. Last came a bottle of white wine and two glasses.

She groaned inwardly. This had all the makings of a romantic tryst. Nan had been busy.

“Your Nan is a rare jewel,” he said, nodding in satisfaction at the food before them. “She knows how to use food to fill a person’s soul.”

“She loves to cook, and it always shows.”

He opened the wine and poured it into the glasses, handing one to her. “I think it’s something you’ve inherited.”

“I’m nowhere to her standard, but I try.”

He clinked his glass to hers and raised it to his lips, watching as she took a sip.

The tangy liquid tingled over her tongue, releasing flavours that were peaches one minute, ripe berries the next. Her reaction was uncontrolled. “Ooh, fruity.” He laughed and took another sip from his glass, and her cheeks burned in embarrassment. “Sorry, I’m not much of a wine buff.”

“No, you’re spot on. It is fruity… also delicate, with many hidden flavours. It’s a Riesling, and I got it because it’s different. It reminds me of you.”

Flushing under his steady gaze, she shifted her attention to the food. “These do look good.”

“Tuck in then,” he said with a grin, and reached for a chicken and bacon pastry. 

His tone was relaxed, and she silently berated herself. It looked like everything he was doing was purely to set her at ease. Surely then, she could get through this little picnic without misinterpreting his every word and action? 

Throwing off her embarrassment, she followed his lead and reached for a pastry.

Their talk was pleasant as they ate. Jake told her more about his work, and she laughed at tales of the lengths clients sometimes went to in order to have their projects jump the company’s work chain. 

Being with him was fun. Had she been overreacting before? Since that one kiss and then Lilayni showing up, he’d made no further move on her. Maybe he was regretting the kiss they’d shared and wanted to rein things back to friend level between them. Wasn’t that what she wanted too? But the thought didn’t sit as well as it should, and she listened with increasing disquiet as his descriptions moved on to different cities she would likely never see. He’d travelled around the world, and knew so much. The gulf between them was palpable and she fell silent at the enormity of it.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asked as she absentmindedly bit into a ham and cheese bun. 

“Yes.” And at a sudden loss on what else to say, she held up the sandwich. “The cheese is Double Gloucester, in case you’ve never tried it before. Nan always buys it because it’s my favourite.” She was babbling, and she glanced at him, her face hot.

He grinned, and wrapping strong fingers around her hand, brought the sandwich to his mouth and took a bite. 

She gawped at him, her mind scrubbed blank in that moment, and as soon as he let go, she snatched her hand back and stared at him as he finished chewing. 

Amusement flickered over his features. “Delicious.”

She dropped her gaze to the sandwich in her hand, where the rough imprint of his teeth marked where a chunk had been torn out of it, and she longed to bring it to her lips, to taste where he’d just tasted. 

No. Oh no. She had to steer clear of that road. 

He leaned back and took another sip from his glass, watching her.

“Jake, this… we… it’s not right.”

“I don’t follow,” he said, his expression inscrutable.

Mortification crossed her. Was she reading his signals wrong? Well, if that was the case and she was about to make a ginormous fool of herself, then so be it.

She put the sandwich down, took a breath, and looked him in the eyes. “I like you. That is… I’m attracted to you, which woman wouldn’t be? But I’m going to ignore that because nothing’s going to happen between us. It’s impossible.”

“Explain that to me.” He placed his glass down, a deep frown on his brow. “You admit you’re attracted to me, and I’ve never made any secret of my attraction to you. Yet it’s impossible. How so?”

So he hadn’t changed his intentions since the moment he’d kissed her. She didn’t know whether to be elated or furious. “Isn’t it obvious?”

A fierce light entered his eyes. “It’s Brian Wilkins, isn’t it? I should have known, the way you were standing with him today.”

“No! I don’t want Brian! As a matter of fact, I was telling him to get lost when you showed up.”

“If that’s so, then what’s the problem?”

“Lilayni!” she almost shouted.

Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes, but her temper was on a roll. Leaning forward, she poked him in the chest with an indignant finger. “You’ve some nerve accusing me of trying to get with Brian, when you’re busy coming on to me while you’re dating Lilayni. Well, let me tell you, I’ll have no part in hurting her, no matter what I feel for you, and if you have any shame, you’ll stop playing around behind her back.”

With a laugh, he grabbed her hand and she gave a tiny yelp as he flipped her on to the blanket and rolled on top of her, straddling her and caging her in beneath his big body. Bearing his weight on his elbows on either side of her, he used his hands to pin down both of hers. 

She gasped, unable to move an inch. 

He loomed above her in gorgeous magnificence, faint rays of sunlight glinting off the gold in his hair and short beard, and her traitorous body yearned towards him.

His amber eyes twinkled down at her. “Is that what you’ve been thinking all this time?” He shook his head in disbelief. “But you’re a little spitfire all right. I love knowing there’s a hotbed of passion beneath that prim and proper exterior.”

“Let me go,” she bit out, straining against his hold.

“Molly, I’m not dating Lilayni.”

She went limp. “You’re not? But I thought…”

“She’s my cousin, but she’s more like the sister I never had.”

“Oh…”

“And now that’s cleared up…”

His mouth came down on hers, gentle but firm, the tip of his tongue sweeping across her lips, and on a low moan, she closed her eyes and opened to him, welcoming his possession, thrilling as his tongue dipped in to taste her.

He stroked the sensitive skin of her wrists with his thumbs, his fingers intertwining with hers as he kept her hands pinned to the blanket. She swiped the tip of her tongue against his in an effort to deepen the kiss and strained upwards, wanting to feel him against her from head to toe.

Shifting his weight, he pressed one knee against her thighs and she eagerly parted her legs, making room for him to settle between, loving the delicious weight of him as it came more fully on her. She gripped him with her thighs, and with a groan he pulled away from her lips and trailed featherlight kisses across her cheek to her ear.

He nipped her earlobe. “Do you know why I brought you here, Molly? I imagined you laid out for me, naked, like a goddess of nature, a fairy, all mine for the taking,” he whispered.

She shuddered at his words and he claimed her mouth again, releasing her hands to run one of his under her camisole. He pushed the flimsy material up and cool air hit the exposed mounds of her breasts.

Releasing her mouth, he levered up on his elbows and gazed at her pert breasts in their white lacy bra. Embarrassed heat coursed through her, and she brought both hands up to his shoulders as if trying to stop him looking.