His family had always been accepting of who he was, but it was when he could be that accepting that he’d felt like he’d truly grown up. Heartache had been part of that process and he couldn’t imagine making her hurt the way he knew he’d hurt other people when he’d broken things off in the past. He never wanted to see hurt that he’d caused in her gaze.
Whenever he’d been single she’d been with someone. And even when they were both single, he’d hesitated at moving their friendship into anything else. Because he counted on her. Jules would always be there when he needed her. She loved him and supported him and he didn’t think he could recover if he lost that.
Even if he did want her so badly it took all his energy at times not to change the tenor of a hug and finally kiss her for real. He cherished Juliet Lamprey. This thing with Gideon probably wouldn’t last. The others hadn’t, after all. Some day she’d find someone to settle down with. But probably not for a while.
She’d still be his friend even if she loved another man. And he’d have to deal with that. When it happened.
• • •
She showed up at eleven thirty, as he’d asked her to. She went to the main house, not knowing if he was there or elsewhere, but Patrick would most likely know.
It was Patrick who answered, a big grin on his face. “Hey there, pretty girl. Come on in. Gideon’s back in the kitchen.”
She entered the house, pausing to kiss Patrick’s cheek and squeeze his hands. “How are you today?”
He closed the door behind her and then smiled, taking the pastry box. “Better now that you’ve brought me one of these boxes. I do like something sweet in the afternoon with my coffee.”
She linked her arm through his and he led her through the house. “Clearly I’ve been remiss in bringing things by then. I’ll have to add it to my to-do list.” She didn’t tell him she’d made adjustments to the recipe of the turnovers she made him. Lowered the fat considerably and added some whole wheat to the pastry too. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
He grinned and patted the hand on his arm. “Good. I like the idea of a beautiful woman coming over here to bring me goodies. Gives me something to look forward to.”
Gideon turned at the sound of his granddad’s voice. He’d known Jules had arrived, but seeing here there, her arm linked with his granddad’s, made all his nervousness wash away.
“Juliet.” He dried his hands off and moved to her, taking her from his granddad with a wink. “I hope you’re hungry. I may have gone a little overboard with the food.”
“As it happens, I’m starving so it’s a good thing. Looking like rain out there though so I hope you didn’t have anything super picturesque in mind.”
“I remember that much about living here. I have backups in place.” He grabbed the ice chest with one hand and took hers in the other.
“Have a good afternoon, boy. Don’t rush back on my account. Mainly because I have a date with the game and some cherry turnovers and you’re not invited.”
“I put a pot of tea in the front room for you. It’s still hot. Hiram should be over soon. There’s plenty of snacks for him, even if you don’t want to share the turnovers.”
He led her out the back door and down the steps to the golf cart parked to the side. “I’m out at the creek house.”
“I haven’t been out there since, gosh, since I was twelve or thirteen I guess.”
He put the ice chest in the back and she got in.
“I’d planned a picnic. Forgetting how silly an idea that was for May. So when it was clear it was too rainy to have one outside, I shifted and decided to have one inside.”
The farm was large enough that the little golf cart was a necessary evil. But the cart had an electric motor so it was quiet enough and it was perfect for getting his granddad around.
The creek house was a one-room A-frame five acres away on the other side of the land from the house. It had been built as a place for Gideon’s father to live in while attending college. But then his dad had gotten married and moved to California. Gideon loved it out there though. Quiet solitude was often what he needed at the end of a long day, though given his granddad’s age, he’d have to move into the main house at some point he knew.
“You’re living out here now?”
He pulled up next to his truck and helped her out. “For the time being. It’s good to have a place to get away to at the end of the day where I can turn my music up really loud and not have to worry about it. It’s unlocked. Go on inside. I want to get this stuff.”
She raised a brow, but grabbed a blanket and one of the bags to carry into the house. He repressed an annoyed sigh, grabbing the ice chest and the other bag.
“I can hold a blanket and a grocery bag for ten feet. Just for future reference.”
She opened the door and moved inside, pausing as she took the place in.
He dropped the stuff in the small kitchen to the left and returned, taking the blanket and other bag from her hands.
“This is gorgeous.” She walked over to the wall of windows, looking out at the creek running just beyond.
“It’s quiet back here. I can hear the water, but that part is nice.”
He unfurled the blanket in front of the fireplace.
“Sit. Let me get the picnic laid out.”
“Are you sure you don’t want some help?” She toed her shoes off and left them neatly by his front door.
He made a mental note to pick up some slippers or something for her so her feet wouldn’t get cold when she was over.
“No. I’m good. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
She laughed and sat on the pillows he’d set out.
“This place still had the fireplace from when they first built it when my dad was in his late teens, early twenties.” He flipped a switch and the fireplace danced to life. “I had them take it out and put in this one. Energy efficient and really warm.”
“I like it. It goes perfect with this view. Wow.”
He joined her, looking out over the view. Trees surrounded the place on both sides of the creek, lending a lushness he loved to the whole space. “Granddad wrote this creek into a land trust so that it can’t be developed. I can make some internal improvements but I can’t make this place bigger.” He handed her a glass. “Warm pear cider.”
She took it from him, breathing in the spice on the steam. “Thank you.” She sipped as she watched him taking his shoes off before heading to the kitchen to push his sleeves up and wash his hands.
“This hits the spot. It’s not as cold lately, but the wet is a soaker today.”
“I’m still getting used to the weather here.” He brought plates over and a little basket of silverware.
She looked so perfect there, reclining near his fireplace, against his pillows. The firelight lit her just right. He brought the tray of cheese and the crackers over.
“Thank you.”
“You’re the kind of beautiful that lifts a man’s sprits just looking at it.” He brought the remaining plates and bowls over, joining her at last.
He clinked his glass to hers.
“You’re pretty good at this sexy picnic thing.”
It was impossible for him not to notice the easy grace with which she moved. “Now don’t laugh, but I learned how to pack a good picnic from all my trips to see my sister. She’s in Eugene and she’s got five kids. All boys.” He laughed and stole a slice of apple from her fingertips.
“Hey!”
He popped it into his mouth. “One of the things I learned is that you’ve got to be fast when you see what you like. Snap it up before someone else does.”
He paused, momentarily transfixed by the way one side of her mouth slid up just a breath.
She sat back a little. “When you look at my mouth like that it makes me sort of light-headed.”
He took a deep breath but all he got was more of her.
“Tell me about them. Your nephews, I mean.”
He smiled, thinking
of them. “My nephews are all nonstop tussling, wrestling, dangerous action. It’s insane. I don’t know how my sister does it. They’re great boys. A lot of fun. Super smart. And when I visit we all hang out by the pool and have picnics and play Marco Polo until all hours. It’s wild and crazy.”
She laughed. “Ethan’s got two boys and they’re so funny. One is four and the other is eighteen months. I try to get down to Portland at least once every few months to see them and we Skype and do FaceTime. They’re two of my favorite people in the world, but they’re rambunctious. Ethan jokes that everything in his house is broken. He’s not that wrong.”
“So really, that you’d enjoy what a seven-year-old boy thinks is awesome picnic food is a pretty big compliment. To me and them.”
She reclined and he did as well. A spring rain soaked the world outside as they lay quiet and warm, away from the cold.
“What did you like most about cattle ranching?”
“Hmm. I liked working with my hands. If I had to be in an office all day long I’d go crazy. The best thing about ranching and farming is that while there are lots of times I work behind a desk, I’m also outside. I’m all over my land all day long. I know what’s going on where.”
“You’re connected to it.”
“Yes, that’s true, I think. It’s my job to be sure I’m using the land in the best way I can. Some people describe it as a sense of freedom. But to me, it’s a sense of commitment. Of putting down roots and being connected, mind and spirit with the land. At the same time, this is a business. I have to remain relevant and solvent. It’s not just my life but the staff, my grandfather, the people we do business with and so on.”
To Jules that seemed like an awful lot of pressure. Even as she admired his ambition and commitment to the farm.
“I admire that. So many times people just go through life without ever feeling any real passion for what they do. I’m so fortunate to have that in Tart. I’m glad you do as well here at the farm.”
He waved her comment away and turned the conversation back to her. “What’s your favorite part of being a baker? Pastry chef. Whatever it is you call yourself.”
She finished chewing one of the little sandwiches he’d made. She doubted those boys of his were fans of watercress, but maybe they were. Either way, the sandwiches were pretty awesome.
“My friends call me the goddess of pastry.” She laughed. Gillian had been the one responsible for that one. “But you can call me Jules if you’d rather.”
He leaned in and kissed her and she couldn’t remember what they’d been talking about before.
She slid her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. He smiled, his mouth against hers for a brief moment and then he was gone again. But it wasn’t long before he was back. This time at the spot behind her ear. And down again to the nape of her neck, leaving her shivering with delight.
And again, he moved away and she opened her eyes to glare his way.
“If you stop again, I will hunt you down and maim you.”
• • •
He paused from where he’d been putting the glasses out of reach and then he laughed. “You’re vicious.” Which only made her sexier.
“I am when I’m being denied something I was promised. You need to get back up here and kiss me some more.”
He leaned in and kissed her chest, right over her heart. Her heart that sped when he touched her. His own kicked in response.
She sat up, pulled her sweater off before folding it and placing it a few feet away. So neat, even when she was partially naked and ordering him to sex her up.
He sucked in a breath and it didn’t help. “I’m trying to take it slow and you go and take your shirt off. How can any sane man be expected to not want his hands on those?” He indicated her breasts, mounded up perfectly at the top of a pretty navy polka-dot bra. “Can I confess something?” He played with the bow just between those two, perfect B cups.
“Yes. Especially if it has anything to do with sex and having it with me.”
“B is my favorite size.” He squeezed her breasts for emphasis and she arched into his touch.
She’d had a hand on the middle of his chest but she reversed her hold and sent it down. Down to grab his cock through his jeans. “This is my favorite size. Whatever size it is. I mean, it’s big.” She started laughing. “Sorry. I’m unable to make sense apparently. Your cock is in my hand and I want to have sex with you so bad it’s a little embarrassing.”
“The most sensible thing I’ve heard all day.” He got to his knees and she got to hers, her hands going to his shirt, which she unbuttoned quickly. “You sound like you want it as much as I do.”
“You can take your time. The next time.”
“Why do I get the feeling people rarely tell you no?” He shrugged from his shirt and then the T-shirt he wore beneath it.
“Because most don’t. And wow. This is way better than I imagined. And I can admit I did imagine a time or two.”
He pushed her back and she looked down her body as he slid her zipper south and pulled her jeans off, leaving her in her panties and bra.
His want for her was so powerful his hands shook just a little. He was barely holding back the impulse to jump on her, and when he took in all that bare skin it only made things worse.
He wanted to take. To gorge and take more until neither of them had breath. He gulped. “I want to kiss you some more.”
“Bring it.”
He did, resting his upper body against hers. Her arms encircled his upper body, her fingers digging into the muscles at his shoulders to hold him close.
Pears and cinnamon. He doubted he’d ever smell either and not think of that moment.
She tasted of pears and cinnamon. She was warm and solid and she kissed like she meant it.
The warm weight of her breasts in his hands when he popped the catch on her bra blew the last of his control. There was no turning back. Not with this woman.
He wanted Jules and all she had to give. He gave over to it and let himself want.
Jules reeled. Gideon was so . . . unexpected. He touched her so shyly at first, nearly reverently. But then he’d warmed up and those touches had grown bold and insistent.
He lavished attention on her breasts and she had no complaints. His fingers were work rough, adding to the intensity of the rolls and pinches of her nipples until she seemed to throb along with her racing heart.
She arched into his hands, wanting more and he gave it to her. Pinching harder, bringing a gasp of his name to her lips.
But that gasp turned into a snarl when he dipped his head, the cool softness of his hair brushing against the curve of her breast. His mouth, hot and wet, slid over the same nipple he’d teased. Arcs of electricity singed her nerves.
He kissed over to the other nipple, rendering that one equally tingly and hard once he’d licked and nibbled over it. While she contemplated hauling him back to her nipple when he wandered away, his lips cruised over her ribs and she sighed, melting against the pillows stacked behind her.
He continued to kiss and lick down her body. Over her hip bone and the seam where her leg met her body. He breathed warm over her pussy, through the material of her panties.
She was so wet she ached, so swollen and ready that each movement she made sent ripples of pleasure all through her system.
And it still wasn’t enough. She needed more. Of him.
“You’re so soft. You smell good. Damn.” He kissed against the edge of her panties, catching them between his teeth and tugging down.
“Taking off my underpants with your teeth. You have so many talents. I’m in awe.”
He tossed her panties back over his shoulder and loomed over her as he knelt between her thighs.
Where to look first? There was so much. He was so gorgeous her brain didn’t know where to settle in. He was shirtless, but his jeans were still on. His upper body was lightly covered in chest hair. Gold, like the hair on his head and his beard. She reached up
to run the pad of her middle finger over his nipple a few times. He grunted, pressing into her touch, so she figured nipples were in the plus column for them both.
This was unreal. He was so gorgeous and totally male above her. She swam through all his testosterone and held on as he took what he wanted, teasing, caressing, driving her wild with little fluttery kisses.
“I need you to understand I’m going to be masturbating to this exact moment a whole lot in the coming years.” Her tongue was thick, but she managed to get it out, wanting him to know what he did to her.
His intensity faded a little as a grin lit over his features. “I like you a whole hell of a lot, Jules.” He picked up one of her legs, kissing her ankle. Her breath stuttered from her lips.
“Thank God.” She arched up as heat rushed through her. Each kiss seared her in a totally different way. The barest touch of his lips at her ankle, but behind her knee he flicked his tongue at the end of the kiss and it shot straight to her clit.
“You seem to have responded to that quite positively. You should put your arms up over your head. Look at you all long and golden. Like a sunflower. Strong and vibrant. Large and bright. Lovely.”
She got to her elbows, moving to get close enough to steal a kiss. “The things you say.” She closed her eyes a moment. “They make me dizzy.”
“Wait’ll you see what I have up next.”
She giggled as he brushed his beard against her belly. Lower and then the giggle died on a moan as he dragged his beard against her pussy and then spread her open with his fingers, taking several long, quick licks until he drove her right up to the brink of orgasm before backing off again.
Her eyes snapped open as he backed away. “Hey!” She reached for him and he caught her hands in his, kissing them.
“Back up above your head.”
Hoo boy. She did and he lunged up to kiss her mouth quick and hard and was back at her pussy while her head reeled.
He caressed her belly and her sides and then back down her inner thighs, pushing them up and then out. She was wide open to him then, utterly bared to his gaze.
The rawness of the moment stretched between them, taut. Heat. So much heat between them.