Cedar Ridge

Muffled sounds of someone at work drifted down from above. She glanced up, spotted the loft, and her eyes traced a line along the graying floorboards to an aged wooden ladder affixed to the wall on the far side of the barn. She went to it and took hold of the rung just above eye level.

The sounds of movement and a low, cheerful whistle grew louder as Jessica climbed higher. As she arrived at the top, a persistent shaft of sunlight lasered through the cloud cover outside. It sent a sudden burst of light through a narrow window on the wall close to the roof’s pitch, there one second and fading the next. In the dwindling illumination, she took in the dim surroundings. A few ancient, rusting tools hung on the walls; bales of hay were stacked three-deep to the ceiling along one side of the loft. Mountainous mounds of straw sat piled here and there, and fragments of the gold-colored chaff littered the floor.

Jessica turned toward one of the straw heaps, taking silent, careful steps. Outside, a brilliant flash from the growing storm lit the sky. She held her breath and counted as she peered around the nearest pile. The crack that should have accompanied the lightning was slow to sound. The worst of it must be miles off yet, but she was more absorbed with the fact that the space behind the mound was empty. How odd. Hadn’t the whistling come from this direction? As Jessica turned toward another straw heap, the delayed gunshot sound from the lightning exploded, and a hand caught her arm. She cried out as she was spun around and found herself pressed against Jared’s bare chest, gaping up into his sterling eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his tone a low growl.

“I … Faith … she sent me to find you.” Jessica pushed a palm against the hard wall of muscle but was unsuccessful in shoving Jared away.

With one hand gripping her elbow, he clamped the other around her wrist. “I’m not the one who’s lost.” Jared’s voice remained low, almost accusatory, but it wasn’t anger burning in his gaze. “Maybe there’s another reason you came.”

Jessica’s hand curled into a fist, and she attempted to pull away from him. She may as well have been trying to break free from steel handcuffs. Another roll of thunder growled nearby.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She winced when the indignant tone she was aiming for came out in a breathless whisper.

A gleam sparked in Jared’s eye and he smiled. Leaning in, his lips hovering near her ear, he said, “I think you do.” He let go of her elbow to glide his hand up her arm, cupped the back of her neck, bent toward her.

She gasped, her eyes sliding shut. His warm touch tingled on her skin and made her stomach flip—more than once. “I … I might have a small idea,” she murmured as Jared nuzzled the sensitive spot below her ear. “But we’ve hardly spoken …” her words faltered when he started nibbling his way across her collarbone, causing her to suck in another quick breath. “Even when we’re in the same room, you keep your distance.”

When he moved up the other side of her neck and reached her jaw, Jessica turned her head, let him catch her mouth with his. The kiss started out slow but soon progressed to hungry and passionate. Jared nipped at her bottom lip and pressed his tongue into her mouth, licking at the softness inside.

He came up for air, half chuckled, half panted, “Darlin’, I have to keep my distance. I knew if we said more than two words, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you.” He let loose of Jessica’s wrist to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her closer. She ran her hands over the six-pack scaling his abdomen, then up his chest, taking her time to savor every hard, muscular inch on her way to wrapping her arms around his neck.

Again, a bolt of lightning flashed and, this time, a deafening crack accompanied it. Outside, the storm had become torrential, but Jessica barely registered the sound of massive raindrops crashing onto the roof. She leaned into Jared’s kiss, causing him to take a step backward, and they tumbled into a soft mound of fresh straw. He shifted, sliding beneath her to break her fall, then rolled her onto her back, continuing to devour her as they went. Gliding her palms across his back, she let out a blissful hum of appreciation.

“Jess,” he spoke in passionate puffs of breath between kisses. “If you don’t want this … ”

A helpless purr pulsated in her throat. “I’ve wanted this ever since you hopped out of your truck and offered me a ride.”