Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

SLOAN

I t was so unfair.

Rule number one. Don’t fall for your fake date.

Not going well. Maybe not falling yet , but holy mistletoe, I wanted to kiss him again. The way my sister’s eyes were darting between us and having a silent, yet so loud conversation with Annie, told me Hannah was thinking the same thing.

Not that she wanted to kiss him, but she was definitely giving me the nice one, sis , vibes. Jacob, to his credit, endured Ethan and Dad’s ribbing and semi-hostile comments. Eventually, he wore them down. And now, thirty minutes later, he had them almost eating out of the palm of his hand. My cousins and their kiddos ran around, and the volume eventually increased as the rest of my family showed up.

My attention kept creeping between whatever Hannah was going on and on about and the way that Jacob had set his plate on the table in front of us so he had a free hand that was tracing circles on my lower back.

My body was on fire, and I swear he smelled like some sort of mixture of a sexy non-flannel-wearing lumbersnack and a balsam fir. The urge to run my nose along his neck and other places even if it put me on the naughty list grew with every second. At first, I kept my eyes on his eyes, but the crystal blue made me squirm. Jacob looked at you like every word you said was more important than the last. So, I switched to his hands.

Wrong.

Because then I wanted to know how his hands felt on my heated skin.

When his thigh, muscular and thick, brushed against mine, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“It’s a good thing the snow held off, or you’d be snowed in,” Hannah said as she took a bite. Rather than having everyone sit down and be formal, my grandparents preferred to let everyone rove around the room. Talk. And talk, while eating. “At least the cabins are mostly empty. I think Grams said only one of the three are rented this weekend, and it's blacked-out for Christmas if the two of you need a little privacy.”

“Hannah,” I growled. I’d have just about enough of the whole check out the shiny new toy antics. Between Hannah and my dad, not to mention two of my cousins who were practically salivating over Jacob. Escape the crowd time. “We just started dated! At least let us get to know each other before you make a forced proximity situation happen! I think I see something over there I need to show Jacob before I get anymore embarrassed than I already am!” I stood, brushed my hands down my pants. As I grabbed my plate, Jacob went for it at the same time. Our hands touched, and a shot of electricity shot through my body like a live wire had connected with it. My eyes darted up to his face.

Total mistake.

Because it made every thought and that damn rule fly right up the chimney like Santa on Christmas Eve. Because if a simple brush of fingers felt like this, what would more skin on skin contact feel like?

And that kiss? On replay, over and over, as my cheeks heated with the memory. I could still taste the cinnamon on my tongue and the way his muscles flexed beneath my fingertips.

“Sloan?”

“Yeah?” I asked, my voice breathless.

“You wanted to show me something?”

Oh, God, did I. He looked at me expectantly as Hannah exchanged a glance with Annie across the room. “Could the two of you please, for the love of God, stop telegraphing your opinions back and forth?” I hissed. “And yes, please. I need to show you…something. Anywhere but here.”

Then, Jacob rose from the couch, both our plates in hand, and I became keenly aware of how tall…and big he was. All muscles, and that damn red beard?

Nothing like Jon. Which might be why I was blushing. Unlike my ex, this man took it upon himself to help me whenever he’d had the chance to.

He had to have flaws. I followed him, watching every movement as my grandmother took the plates from him and shooed us away with a huge grin on her face. With a smile of his own, he spun to face me and gestured for me to lead the way. The urge to get away from everyone staring at us made me grab his hand and drag him toward my grandpa’s office, off the hall where there was a guest room, the half bath, as well as the one room I’d spent hours playing on the floor when I was younger. The lights were off since everyone congregated in the living room.

But even so, I could make out every line on his face as I dragged him into the office, and shut the door behind him. The way his beard was closely trimmed yet made my fingers twitch to see how it felt beneath them. His lips stared back at me, daring me to give in to the one thing I’d been fantasizing about since that first kiss.

I studied him closely until he closed in, step by step. “Tell me what’s on your mind, Sloan?”

“You really want to know?”

“I asked,” he said, his voice low and intimate.

“I was thinking that you can’t be real and was looking to see if I could find any flaws.”

Closer and closer until my nose tingled as I breathed him in. The same scent, this time without the cinnamon, taunting me when he smiled. “Is that all?”

“No,” I whispered. My hand found his chest, either to stop him or make him closer. My fingers curled into his shirt, the fabric soft and expensive. Maybe not so lumbersnack. Definitely not flannel. My head fell back a little so I could look him in the eye. “I was also thinking about that kiss,” I admitted in the darkness of the room, hoping it hid the flush in my cheeks.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” he whispered and swept a lock of my hair behind my ear. The calluses on his hand delicious against my cheek. “I am, too.”

“But we shouldn’t,” I protested weakly. “Fake, right?”

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t kiss my girl when she wanted it? Fake or real, I don’t like letting people down, Sloan. And if your sister and Annie watched us come back here, chances are they’re going to get suspicious if you don’t look a little…mussed.”

“Mussed?”

He nodded. “Or disheveled.”

“Disheveled?”

“Kissed.”

“Kissed?”

“Are you going to repeat every word I say Sloan?”

“Only until you shut me up, hockey boy.”

He moved achingly slow, inch by inch until our lips almost touched. Our breath mingled, and just when I thought I couldn’t take it, his mouth crashed into mine. The force of it made me stumble backwards until I hit the door. Caged between Jacob and the door, I had no choice but to surrender to the moment. And God, what a moment.

The way he kissed me was like he was using every lick, touch, and second to learn me, what I liked, his hands taking full advantage of how badly I wanted to feel him. The darkness made giving in so much easier, to pretend like he was actually my boyfriend, and that he wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted to kiss him.

One hand slid underneath my sweater, hot on my stomach and I moaned into his mouth. He pulled back just enough that I protested, but then he said, “He was such an idiot to lose a woman like you, Sloan.” Jacob nipped at my bottom limp, and I whimpered. “But who you are isn’t defined by who you bring home, or your job. You are gorgeous, funny, and so fucking smart. Your family sees that, and that’s why they want to see you happy. Remember that.”

And then he kissed me until we were both breathless and wanting more.

“Sloan!” Ethan knocked on the door. “I hope you’re not making out on grandpa’s desk with the enemy,” he teased. “Jacob is a decent guy, but he still plays for the enemy.”

Jacob chuckled and rested his forehead against mine.

“We should probably go back to being tortured. But only if you want to.”

“I want to.”

I paused as he stepped back from me. “How do I look?” I asked, smoothing my hair.”

Jacob grinned. “Mussed. Disheveled. And kissed.”

My lips twitched as I fought a smile. “Thank you. For…”

He swept my hair behind my ear again. “You are more than welcome, Sloan. Always.”