The Right Bed?: Your Bed or Mine?

“Tell me,” she said. “What did you imagine?”

It was so dark inside the boathouse that they couldn’t see anything, but she could feel his heat against her body, his warm breath against her cheek. The lack of sight seemed to heighten all her other senses and she shivered as she felt his lips brush across her cold cheek.

“I imagined that you’d stand in front of me and slowly take all your clothes off. And then, I’d finally be able to touch you. And I’d be able to see if it felt as good as I dreamed it would.”

Caley unzipped her jacket and let it fall to the floor behind her. Then, she pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it aside. She wore a thin T-shirt beneath, barely enough to protect her from the cold. But strangely, she didn’t notice the temperature. Her heart was beating so fast that her skin didn’t even prickle into goose bumps.

Jake reached out and ran his hand down her bare arm, then grabbed her hand and kissed the center of her palm. “Wait here,” he murmured. “The circuit box is in the closet.”

He disappeared into the darkness and Caley leaned back against the door, her heart pounding. She heard him fumbling around on the far side of the room and a moment later, a match flared. The flame illuminated the interior of the boathouse, casting wavering shadows on the walls. Jake lit a lantern and set it down on the bedside table. Then he turned to her, motioning her closer.

Caley rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling the cold along with a rush of nerves. It was easier in the dark, like a dream, two bodies connected only by touch. But now that she could see the bed, could look into Jake’s eyes, it had all become very real.

“Let me see if I can get the heat going,” he said. He walked past her to the opposite wall and leaned inside the closet. A switch clicked. A moment later, he bent over the radiator and nodded. “It’s working.”

Jake moved back toward her, taking off his jacket along the way. He was the boy she’d always known, every feature still there—the dark lashes and brows, the penetrating pale blue eyes, the straight nose and sensuous mouth. But with age, his features had become even more captivating, more compelling. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

When he stood in front of her, Caley reached up and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his skin to her touch. “What are we doing here?” she murmured, pressing her lips to his chest.

“I have no idea,” Jake replied, “but I don’t want to stop.”

He smoothed his hands up her back and Caley shivered at the sensation of his touch. “This is going to be impossible,” she murmured, nuzzling her face into his neck.

“We’re in the same state, living minutes apart. How is that impossible?” He pulled her along to the bed. “We have heat and light and a comfortable bed. What happens here is just us, no one else. I promise.”

“This could change everything,” Caley said as he kissed her neck.

Jake grabbed her waist and they tumbled onto the bed, the covers cold on her bare skin. “I’m counting on that,” he said.

Caley reached up to run her fingers through his dark hair and smiled. “You know, I really don’t think we should do this. You’re not ready and it wouldn’t be right and I just don’t think of you in that way.”

He frowned, pushing back. “You don’t?”

“I just don’t have those kinds of feelings for you, Jake,” she murmured, deepening her voice to make the imitation more obvious.

She watched as a slow smile broke across his face. He’d said those same words to her that night on the beach. “I lied,” Jake said. “Believe me, I did have those feelings.”

His admission stunned her. “Really?”

“For a long time.”

“How long?”

“Remember that red striped bikini you had? You were fourteen that summer.”

Caley nodded.

“Since then. I remember I saw you in that bikini and later that night I was thinking about you and your body and how smooth your skin was and how perfect your breasts were and then I—well, you know.”

“I do?”

“What? You want me to say it? I pleasured myself as teenage boys do on occasion. Hey, grown men do it, too.” He chuckled softly. “All I remember is, from that summer on, being around you was pure torture.”

Caley smiled, satisfied with the admission. So the infatuation hadn’t been unreciprocated. Oddly enough, that did make a difference. Why not make both of their fantasies come true? “So what else were you thinking about?” she asked as she dropped a line of kisses across his chest.

He pressed his mouth to her shoulder, gently biting as he kissed her. “I wasn’t very experienced back then. I was still technically a virgin. But I thought about what you’d look like naked.” Jake pulled up her T-shirt and trailed a line of kisses from her belly to a spot beneath her breasts.

Caley sat up and straddled his hips, then slowly pulled her T-shirt over her head. She remembered doing the same thing eleven years ago. But then, she’d been so nervous her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Now, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world, to crave his touch, to offer him more.

Jake smiled as he reached out and cupped her breast in his hand, teasing at her nipple with his thumb. And then, in one easy motion, he sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his mouth against her neck. He trailed kisses from her collarbone to her breasts as he unhooked her bra. Finally, he drew the hard nub of her nipple into his mouth.

She arched back, holding her breath as he pulled her back down with him. Caley remembered how fascinated she’d been with his body, watching it change from summer to summer as he slowly became a man. She was as desperate to touch it now as she had been then. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she worked at the remaining buttons, then brushed it off his shoulders until his chest was completely bare.

She drew back, staring at him as she tossed aside her bra. Her fingers lazily following the line of hair that ran from his collarbone to his belly. Now he was fully formed, his shoulders broad, his body lean and hard, a body only a woman could appreciate.

Caley bent forward and pressed a kiss to his chest, then gently sucked on his nipple. What began as curiosity had now taken on a very intimate feeling. He groaned softly, then murmured her name. A shiver skittered over her exposed skin. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“No,” she lied.

He chuckled softly, grabbing her by the waist and pulling their bodies together in a warm embrace. They kissed for a long time, hands touching, mouths tasting. It was everything she’d always thought it would be, yet more. It wasn’t just about sex, it was about … trust.

He ran his hands through her hair, then pressed his forehead against hers. “Spend the night with me.”

“Not here.”

“Where then?”

“At the inn. We’ll have more privacy there.”

“What about Emma?”

“Her room is on the second floor and mine’s on the third. There’s a back stairway. I’ll let you in and no one will know you’re there.”

Jake kissed her forehead, his lips warm and damp. “Have you talked to Emma yet? I mean, about the wedding.”

Caley shook her head. “No. I told her I’d meet her for lunch tomorrow and I thought we’d have some time then.”

“What do you think about this marriage? Do you think they’re ready?”

“No!” Caley frowned, pushing up on her elbow. “Not at all. They’re so young. I thought I was the only one who had concerns. Everyone is just so thrilled that our families will finally be related. But no one is even thinking about what will happen if the marriage doesn’t work.”

“I agree,” Jake said. “I don’t think they’re ready.”

Caley crossed her arms over his chest and stared into his eyes. “You started that fight between them on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Someone has to shake some sense into them.” He paused. “We need a plan. A coordinated effort between the two of us. If we go at it from both sides, maybe we’ll be able to convince them to wait.”