An Unnerving Pain
A week into the working agreement that never should have happened, Amanda was actually settling in quite well. Unfortunately, Jason was not. He spent more and more time alone in the woods. Went for long swims in the creek in the middle of the night to cool his restless, heated blood.
He didn’t know what was wrong with himself. It was like he had contracted some kind of sickness that ate at him from the inside out. He felt… haunted. It was the only word he could use. Nothing helped the fire in his blood. The white hot heat seared him, day and night.
He couldn’t get a bead on Amanda. That day at the creek, he knew she was watching him swim. When he came out of the water, she wasn’t just embarrassed. She was turned on. She wanted him. It was written all over her face. And what the hell was he supposed to do about that?
Since going away didn’t help him, he thought maybe it would be better if she was at the cabin less. Which meant he had to find her something else to do. He came up with berry picking, since they were in season. He broached the idea to her and she was all for it.
Except the morning that he was supposed to take her out in his truck and show her where the berry patches were, she showed up at the cabin wearing a bright yellow sundress and a pair of flip flops. Her outfit, while cheery and oddly sexy as hell on her, was completely inappropriate for berry picking.
Jason thought about cluing her in, but he decided she should figure it out for herself. All he cared about at the moment was getting some peace of mind, even if it only lasted for a few minutes.
“Is there something wrong?” Amanda spun around from the dish tub where she’d been washing up breakfast dishes. She arched one flaxen brow in confusion.
“Nope.” Jason shoved back his chair. “Time to get going. I’ll show you where the patch is and how to get there. Take a couple pails.” He indicated the shelf where there were a couple tin buckets stacked up. “Fill those and call me and I’ll come for you.”
“You said you never have your phone on.”
“I can make an exception.”
“How long do you think I’ll be? An hour maybe?”
He very neatly choked back his scoff. More like a couple hours. Five or six? Those pails are huge. “Just call me when you’re ready.” He made a quick exit out of the kitchen. While she was gone, he’d walk around the place and find her some chores to keep her busy, out of his way and out of his sight. Maybe if he didn’t have her lush curves and sensual body providing constant temptation, he’d be able to act like a grown man and deal.
Amanda followed, close on his heel, buckets swinging happily at her sides. Her face was beautiful and carefree in the morning light.
He tried to ignore just how gorgeous she looked. How her skin, even without makeup, was absolutely flawless. How her lips were just the perfect shade of pink or how the swell of her breasts and the curve of her hips and ass filled out that damn sundress a little too well.
Flinging open the truck door, Jason nearly groaned in agitation. His skin had never felt so tight or uncomfortable. His cock ached. Having been in a constant state of arousal for days, he needed to do something to find relief. He couldn’t pass any more days like this or he was going to crawl out of his skin.
“Are we going far?” Amanda climbed into the other side of the truck. She thrust the tin buckets onto the bench seat and Jason was glad for the barrier between them. She shut the door and it echoed through the clearing with a loud metallic thud.
Not nearly far enough. “A couple miles. There are some good patches down the road.”
“Patches? I thought I was picking off trees?”
“Nope. Off the ground.”
“Blueberries don’t grow on trees?”
How the hell did you grow up on a farm? “No. They grow on small little bushes close to the ground.”
“Oh.” She considered that for a second. Her eyes drifted down to her flip flops. “Alright.” She said nothing. Jason started the truck and pulled out of the yard.
He knew she was going to get all scratched up and eaten alive. Good thing there was a can of bug spray in his toolbox at the back of his truck. He’d leave that with her. She was going to need it.
Amanda lapsed into silence. It wasn’t a comfortable silence though. The air in the truck felt charged, with what, exactly, Jason couldn’t say. If he was honest, and he couldn’t be honest because if he was, he wouldn’t be able to control himself, he would say that it was charged with sexual tension.
He knew Amanda wanted him. That day at the creek hadn’t been the only time she’d watched him. He sometimes caught her staring at him from lowered lashes when she thought he wasn’t looking. When she was outside dealing with the chickens, she’d pause, stand up and watch him split wood. He’d given her a lantern that used a candle inside for light and there were nights when that dancing flame burned into the early hours of the morning. He could tell because whatever she was doing in that little cabin, the orange glow threw shadows out the window that extended halfway to his own cabin.
Did she have as many restless nights as he did? Did she ache the same way? Was her body on the verge of implosion? Had she imagined fucking him…
Damn it. Jason cut that train of thought off before it even started. His hands tightened on the wheel, his knuckles turning white from the death grip.
“How will I find the berries?”
His head snapped in Amanda’s direction. She wasn’t looking at him. She stared out the window, eagerly watching the passing scenery. “Oh you’ll see them. They’re all over the ground. You can’t miss them.”
“What do they look like?”
“You’ve seen a blueberry before, surely.” Jason sighed in agitation.
Amanda turned slowly. “Well yes, but do they look different than the ones in the store?”
“I guess so. Smaller maybe.”
“How do I know if they’re ripe?”
“They’re blue. Dark blue.” Obviously. It took him a long minute to realize Amanda was just prattling off questions. She was as agitated as he was. He caught sight of her face and he realized the gleam in her eyes, that same hard, raw need that he felt in the very depths of his being.
He turned off one dirt road, onto another. He followed that a long ways, his knuckles still white on the wheel. Any minute now. Any minute and he would find that damn patch and he could be rid of Amanda and the torture that never ceased, at least for a few hours.
It was nothing short of utter relief when he spotted a good patch and pulled the truck over. “There,” he pointed. “You can see them from the truck.”
Amanda unrolled her window and leaned out. She let out a little cry of surprise. “Oh! You can see them!”
One would think, from the excited sparkle in her eye, that he’d just pointed out a field of gold. She scrambled out of the truck and leaned back in for her buckets. The top of her dress dipped low, giving Jason a full on view of the creamy swell of her breasts.
He managed to close his throat so that his sudden groan didn’t escape. “You need repellent,” he choked out. “Or the mosquitoes and flies are going to eat you alive.”
She paused, her hand still on the bucket which was pulled over to the passenger side of the truck. Her brow creased and a delicate line appeared between her eyes just above her nose. “Oh. I guess I should have worn jeans and a jacket or something.”
“It might have been wiser.”
“You could have told me that earlier while we were still at the cabin.”
A rush of heat surged to his face at her cross accusation. Jason actually found himself blushing. Blushing, damn it. He fumbled around with the door handle and turned, releasing himself out of the truck. He carefully didn’t meet Amanda’s eyes as he leaned over the side of the truck and popped the latch on the tool box. Luckily the spray was right at the edge.
He grabbed it, stalked around the truck and all but thrust it into Amanda’s arms, since her hands were full with the tin pails.
“Here. I trust that you know how to use it.”
She glanced down and made a face. “Yuck. That stuff is completely toxic. I guess I don’t have a choice. Will you spray me down? I know I won’t be able to reach my back.”
Oh lord, help me. He grunted a sound that he hoped passed for a yes. Amanda slowly set down her pails. She stood, arms outstretched at her sides. What breeze there was came up and ruffled the skirt of her dress. It swirled around her creamy, perfect, shapely legs before it flattened, providing full definition of that ass that was so round and hips that were utterly sensual.
The can of bug spray fell from Jason’s hand. It hit the dirt road, a muffled metallic clang and rolled a few feet before it stopped in the long grass of the ditch.
“What are you- oh…” Amanda let out a little shocked gasp as Jason’s hands closed over her hips. He couldn’t stop himself. He had no control left. None at all.
He spun her around violently. He stared into her eyes for a second, eyes that were suddenly filled with understanding and as hot and needy as his own. Her plump pink lips parted in shock right before he bent his head and claimed with all the pent up emotion he’d struggled with for so many days and even longer nights.