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Ian
The following morning, I woke in the darkness. Instantly, Jane sashayed into my thoughts. I was so annoyed with how much I couldnotstop thinking about her that I kicked the covers off and stalked into the bathroom.
After another cold shower, I walked downstairs quietly and started coffee. When I flicked on the outdoor light that illuminated the area outside the kitchen, snow was falling heavily.
“Looks like we’re in for another snowstorm,” I murmured to myself.
I pulled up the weather app on my phone, confirming what I already knew. We had another nor'easter coming in. It would be snowing all day.
I groaned aloud and tossed my phone on the counter. I'd be bouncing around this house with Jane. I needed to get busy. That was the only way to stay sane. I didn't need to be thinking about her virginity and her absolutely ridiculous request.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I muttered to myself as I got coffee ready and tapped the start button.
It wasn't even six in the morning. I didn’t know when Jane would be awake. I didn't know her routine. She'd been up before me yesterday, but I'd been exhausted, and I hadn't been up most of the night with my mind spinning over the replay of our kiss. I didn't usually make mistakes, not with women.
Even before the blowup at work, I didn't have time for romance. I had a few casual relationships where I occasionally saw someone and had dinner to get things out of my system. It didn't interfere with work and didn't interfere with my peace of mind. Janedefinitelyinterfered with my peace of mind. I shook my head as I left the kitchen and walked into the area I'd set up for work. I had a stack of trim lumber in the corner and quickly scooped up the notepad where I had jotted down the measurements for the different rooms. For the most part, the windows were uniformly sized. However, there were some exceptions as this was an old house.
We had some small windows for decorative purposes. I decided to focus on cutting the trim for those. That would give me something to do for most of the day, and I’d manage to stay out of Jane's way. It would also keep me from giving in to the urge to check my work email.
I returned to the kitchen to discover the coffee was ready. I was pouring myself a cup when I heard the sound of the water turning on above the kitchen. Fuck, that meant Jane was already awake. Apparently, she was an early riser too. Just fucking great.
I bitterly wished she'd had as restless of a night as I had. Maybe she thought she could keep things uncomplicated between us, but I knew that kiss had been hot for her. Her responsiveness was part of my problem. There was a pure quality to her ardor. It was the way she threw herself into the kiss.
Forcibly kicking those thoughts away, I filled my cup of coffee and toasted a bagel. An empty stomach would only make me more irritable, and my baseline mood wasn’t that good to start with today. Only minutes later, I heard Jane's footsteps on the stairs as I was smearing cream cheese on the bagel.
I reflexively turned as I heard her enter the kitchen. Her hair was damp, the honey gold darkened. Her cheeks were flushed and pink from the steamy shower. My entire body revved like a race car engine at the sight of her. Her fleece leggings hugged her shapely hips and was paired with a loose fluffy sweater with a V-neck. I instantly recalled the feel of her nipple, the taut peak under my touch. I forcibly nudged my thoughts off that track and cleared my throat.
“Good morning, you’re up early,” I commented.
She pressed her finger on the center of her glasses, pushing them up on her nose slightly. “So are you. Good morning.”
“There's enough coffee for you,” I offered, gesturing toward the coffeepot.
“Thank you,” she said politely.
The tension between us felt thick, only adding to the heavy desire flooding my body. I willed my arousal to dissipate. I didnotneed to be acting like a randy teenager around her.
“You're welcome to have a bagel too. Looks like we're in for another snowstorm today.”
That was safe. We could discuss the weather and food, and maybe I’d forget her insane proposition last night. Insane and wildly tempting.
“I'm going to work on cutting the trim for the windows,” I added.
Jane stopped beside the coffeepot, opening the cabinet above and pulling out a mug. She glanced toward me and then at the windows. “Oh, it's already snowing. I didn't even check the weather this morning.”
“We'll probably get another foot. I'm glad we have plenty of groceries for now.”
She nodded. “Thank you again for getting groceries.”
“Of course. We both need to eat.” Nothing like stating the obvious to try to kill my distraction at her presence.
She filled her coffee cup, her cheeks tinged with a wash of pink as she watched the dark liquid pouring. “We do,” she agreed. “What kind of cream cheese did you get?”
I felt my lips curling into a grin. “The good kind. Smoked Atlantic salmon. That's a special at Haven’s Bay Grocery. I got a few other options too.”
“I forgot how much I loved their cream cheese selection,” she offered with a smile.
“I forgot they even had one.”
