He thought of the three-hour trip to Syracuse and knew he’d make the drive every weekend to see her. Problem was, he could hardly make it through a day without kissing her. How would he last an entire week?
A piercing anguish stabbed through his chest. He couldn’t walk away from his family business. From what little Jaye had said about working for her father, she couldn’t abandon her obligations, either. Their relationship would never work.
He was falling for a woman he could never have.
Chapter Eighteen
Jaye’s bed felt like a slab of marble. Her hip ached. She reached for the light on the nightstand and bumped into something solid…and warm. A shoulder?
Breath buffeted her temple. A warm palm slid up her back. “You okay, babe?”
The unfamiliar endearment kicked Jaye’s heart against her ribcage. In the inky darkness, she explored the nearby torso. How had David gotten so big? Her hand travelled up a thick neck and touched a pelt of ultra-short hair. Mitch.
She touched the shell of his ear, the rugged plane of his cheek, his straight nose. When her fingertips whispered over his closed eyes, she knew he wasn’t fully awake.
“I’ve got good news, pixie. You don’t snore.” He brushed a drowsy kiss against her temple.
She smiled. Even when Mitch was half conscious, he was a loving man. “I’m relieved to hear that. If I made too much noise, I was worried you wouldn’t want to sleep with me.”
“Fat chance.” He patted her rump. The playful spank transformed into a hungry caress. “I’ll be damned. There’s a gorgeous woman beside me. Wasn’t a dream, after all.”
Indeed, her body confirmed that last night’s activities were very real. Her lips were swollen from Mitch’s kisses, her chin tender from the graze of his sprouting whiskers, and her legs still felt weak from the intense orgasm he’d given her. Not knowing how to thank a brawny glassblower for making her toes curl without sounding flippant, she shifted her gaze to the window. The first blue light of dawn appeared. “I wonder how much snow we got.”
“Only one way to find out. Flick the switch by the window and look outside.”
She scrambled out of the sleeping bag’s warm cocoon and did as he suggested. The garage lanterns threw a sheet of light across a thick blanket of snow. “Wow. We got a ton of snow. It’s beautiful.”
On a cold morning like this, walking around in just her bra and jeans wasn’t smart. She tucked her arms across her sports bra and shivered.
The floor creaked. Mitch’s warm arm curled around her waist and pulled her back against his warm chest. “We got at least a foot of snow. Damn. I should go to the factory and plow the parking lot. I’ll never get this stuff off the pavement if it freezes.”
“Can I tag along?”
His mouth hovered near her ear. “It’s Saturday, Jaye. Don’t work. You haven’t taken a day off since you’ve arrived.”
“Work wasn’t what I had in mind. I wanted to take pictures of the meadow. Think of how pretty the sunrise will look.” As the dim dawn crept over the front yard, the snow took on a magical blue hue. She couldn’t wait to capture the image in her lens. “Besides, photography is fun.”
“As fun as football?” He smiled against her cheek. “Or as fun as sex?”
She squeezed his arm. “Nothing is as fun as sex.”
He laughed. “Where have you been all my life, woman?”
“Hiding behind a computer.” She turned to kiss the handsome indentation beside his smiling mouth. “Need help shoveling the driveway?”
“No. I’ll just put the blade on my truck and push off the snow.” He laced his hands at the small of her back and grinned. “Want to take a shower?”
“Yes. I won’t be long.”
He nodded towards his bedroom. “I remodeled the master bath three years ago. Put in a huge steam shower. Plenty of room for two.”
“I think we’d better use separate bathrooms.” If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up in his bed by evening—maybe sooner. She tapped the large male hand exploring the curve of her bottom. “I’ve got a feeling not much cleaning would go on if I showered with a glassblower like you.”
Mitch chuckled. “Glassblowers are very thorough. Every inch of you will be soaped and rinsed, twice.”
The memory of his lovemaking made her body go heavy and slick, but getting anywhere near his bedroom would be a huge mistake. After her debacle with David, she wasn’t getting into any co-worker’s bed again. She backed away, pointing like he was some overgrown, unpredictable puppy. “Stay.”
He folded muscular arms across his chest and watched her retreat.
The sight of him bare-chested in jeans made a smitten grin lift her mouth. She swept her gaze across the ragged scar along his collarbone, the impossible breadth of his shoulders, and the well-defined muscles flanking his flat stomach. “You are really good-looking, Mitchell Blake.”
His lowered his gaze to the floor and swiped one hand down his face. “How long will you work for your father?”
The grim tone of his voice surprised her almost as much as the question. “I’ll probably work at our company until I retire.” The notion felt like a life sentence, smothering the frothy happiness bubbling inside her with a heavy slap.
“I figured.” He turned abruptly and walked into the kitchen.
Jaye saw the resigned acceptance on his chiseled face and knew he understood. Being born into a family business meant she could uphold her father’s legacy, or live with the guilt if she didn’t. No choice existed. She’d been raised to continue what her father started…which meant she must leave everything else behind. Jaye listened to the sounds of water tumbling into a coffee pot for a moment. Rather than
