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I follow his pointed finger toward a wooded area to the far left of the competition rings, and dozens of memories come flooding back, threatening to drown me in a complicated mix of happiness and regret.
“Hi, Jax…”
He grins and crosses his arms over his barrel chest, making his massive biceps and pecs bulge and shimmer under the sun, covered with a sheen of sweat and my beer.
“Is this…” I scan around again, trying to place where we are after being gone for so long. “Is this your grandfather’s property?”
“It’s the backside. You always came up the main driveway near the house. When we started hosting the Lumberjack Festival, we decided to put it out on the back acreage, created the new turn-in and parking area. Though, I’m surprised you didn’t realize where you were going. You did spend a lot of time out here. But I guess a lot has changed…”
My mind spins as I stare at the first boy I ever kissed—a very long time ago.
And time has certainly changed him.
“Well, you certainly have”—I gulp as I allow my eyes to take in his thick mop of dark hair that he used to wear cut short to his head, chiseled powerful jawline, perfect chest and arms, and down over those jeans that fit just as perfectly in the front as they do in the back—“grown up.”
Jax leans in and brushes his lips against my ear, sending a little shiver through me. “I could say the same for you, Raelynn. I heard you were back in town. Hoped we might run into each other.”
“Oh, yeah?” I try to hide the way my body trembles at his proximity, but with his chest pressed almost against mine, he no doubt feels it. “Why is that?”
“Because you and I have unfinished business.”
* * *
Jax
The soft hazel eyes I’ve dreamed about staring into for years widen slightly, and Raelynn’s mouth opens and closes a few times before she swallows thickly. “What do you mean…unfinished business?”
I step closer, until my damp chest touches the swell of her breasts, and slide my hand around her lower back. Being this close to her again, seeing her after so long, has sent me spiraling back to that night as if it were just yesterday instead of over a decade ago. “That night at the bonfire…”
She trembles in my arms, hopefully for the same reason my body is vibrating.
“You walked right up to me and kissed me like you were trying to steal my breath, Rae, and then, you told me you’d always wanted to do that…and you walked the fuck away. Left the next day for college, and I’ve never heard from you again. I’d say we have some very serious unfinished business.”
Her hands come up and press against my slick skin, her nails scratching lightly across my abs, making my cock twitch. “You think so?”
Fuck, yes.
I pull back and lock my eyes with her, nodding. “I do. Unless your husband would object to us going somewhere more private to discuss it?”
The corners of her lips twitch. “No husband.”
“Your boyfriend, then?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t have one of those, either.”
Thank fuck.
If fate had dropped this woman back in my orbit only to yank her away because she’s already attached, I’m not sure I could handle it. It’s been hard enough not to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to my place since the moment I first laid eyes on her today.
“Good.” I grab her hand and tug it gently, leading her out of the tent and onto the festival grounds. “Come on.”
Her dark hair floats around her as we weave through the crowds. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Rae narrows her eyes on me suspiciously but allows me to lead her through the throngs of spectators waiting for the next event to set up. She motions toward it. “Don’t you need to be doing something with this?”
I wave a dismissive hand. “I’m actually not competing. I haven’t in years. I was only doing the chopping because one of the guys got hurt and had to bow out.” I grin over my shoulder at her. “Makes it more entertaining when there’s better competition.”
