Chapter 11
I can barely concentrate during class on Friday, even though it’s my favorite class — Pastry: A Practical Application — with Chef Ingrid, my favorite of all my professors. My mind is on nothing but Jacob, as it has been all week.
I still don’t know where he’s taking me today. Part of me hopes we’re just going to his penthouse and that he’ll finally want to have sex with me, but the other part of me hopes that he has another one of his adventures cooked up. Getting a private tour of the Empire State Building had been amazing, and I have no doubt that Jacob is the kind of man who knows how to treat you to an unforgettable experience.
I just hope that whatever it is will be followed by another kind of unforgettable experience.
But, honestly, at this point, it’s been five days since I saw him, and I’ll be happy just to … well, see him.
Every time the thought strikes me, it takes me by surprise. But I’ll be damned if it isn’t true. I want to see him. Talk to him. Spend time with him.
By the time class is over and Chef Ingrid finally dismisses us, I wash my hands, dump my flour-covered apron in the communal laundry bin and practically sail out of the test kitchen. Once I’m outside, I look around for Jacob’s black Escalade, but I don’t see it anywhere. Immediately my shoulders slump and my heart falls. Maybe something came up?
I’m just pulling out my phone to see if he tried to get in touch with me while I was in class when there’s a tap on my shoulder. It’s a man in a dark suit and sunglasses. My stomach clenches.
“Yes?”
“Lily Prescott?”
“Yes?” I repeat.
“My name is Kristoff. Mr. Bradley asked me to pick you up.”
“Jacob did?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Where is he?”
“He said he would meet you there.”
“Where’s there?”
His brow furrows, though with the sunglasses, I can’t make out his actual expression.
“I’m sorry?”
I shift my books from one arm to the other. “I mean, where am I meeting him? Where are we going? Jacob didn’t say.”
“Oh. Upstate.”
“Upstate?” My mind is whirring. “How far upstate?”
“The Catskills. To Mr. Bradley’s chalet.”
His … chalet? I feel a rush of panic. It was one thing to go to his penthouse, but a chalet up in the Catskills would be remote. I’d be far away from Dad and from Sarah, all alone with an ex-criminal. And what if I wanted to leave? I couldn’t exactly just get a cab home from the Catskills.
“That’s hours away,” I say. “Friday traffic? Is he crazy?” I know I’m rambling but I’m so taken aback that I don’t know what else to say.
Jacob’s driver’s mouth twitches up into the ghost of a smile. “Yes, miss, I’m quite familiar with the driving conditions.”
“Right. Of course. So… really, you’re just going to drive me to the Catskills?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I shake my head.
“Let’s go,” I say, throwing my hands up in resignation.
—
Three hours later, Kristoff is pulling the SUV into a long, treed driveway. I’d tried to keep myself occupied on route by getting ahead on my class reading, but I couldn’t concentrate. I stared out the tinted window the entire time, watching the crowded city turn into highway and then into country. Not regular country though — rich people country. I shouldn’t be surprised that Jacob owns a place out here, but I’m surprised that he’s bringing me out here with him. We’d only gone on a couple of dates — if you could even call them that — and now he’s practically taking me on vacation with him.
So what the hell does that mean?
I’m still mulling it over when we finally come to a stop in front of the most gorgeous chalet I think I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s triangular, and the entire front wall is covered in windows that overlook a pristine blue lake. We’re surrounded by trees and I can hear birds chirping and insects whirring softly. What really gets me, though, is the smell. It’s fresh and green and nothing like the cloying asphalt scent of the city.
Kristoff leads me into the main part of the house, and then disappears. I wander around for a moment looking for Jacob. I don’t see him in any of the downstairs rooms, though, and I feel awkward creeping around by myself, so I grab a bottle of iced tea out of the fridge and take it outside onto the huge back deck to wait for him.
The deck overlooks the lake and there’s a gentle breeze coming in off the water that is incredibly soothing. I twist the cap off the bottle and take a long swallow, then gaze out at the water. I could get used to this life.
No, you can’t, my brain hisses. This isn’t my life, it’s Jacob’s. How do you know this is anything more than a fun fling for him? A temporary distraction? You can’t actually expect things to work out with a man like him — a man that betrayed your own father?
I don’t have time to dwell on that depressing thought, because just then I see a motion down near the water. There’s a dock jutting off into Jacob’s property into the lake, and a figure is standing on it now.
A very naked figure.
Even though I can only see him from the back, I’d recognize those broad shoulders anywhere. My heart skips a beat as I watch Jacob dive naked into the lake. He vanishes for a minute and then resurfaces a dozen or so feet from the dock, shaking water from his dark hair.
I get up out of the deck chair I was sitting in and walk as if in a trance to the edge of the deck, so that I can get a better view. He looks up towards the house just then, and he must spot me, because he waves his arm.
I wave back, and then he gestures with his arm again for me to come down to the lake. I hesitate for a second, but then take the stairs down off the deck and make me way down the wooden walkway that leads to the dock.
Every step sends a thud through my heart, as I get closer and closer to this beautiful man. He’s swum in closer to the dock again and is treading water as he waits for me. His arm muscles ripple in the water and I can’t help my mind from picturing all the parts that are hiding just below the lake’s surface.
I reach the dock and walk out to the end. Jacob is grinning up at me, and the sun is hitting his face in a way that makes him look more like a clean-cut teenager than a hardened criminal.
“Come on in,” he says. “The water’s fine.”
I laugh. “I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
That only makes him grin more. “What in the world would you need a bathing suit for? Do you see anyone else around here?” He gestures at the area surrounding the lake, and sure enough, we can’t see any other houses, except for the tip of one cottage roof, way off in the distance. It’s completely secluded out here.
“I’ve never gone skinny dipping before,” I admit.
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” His eyes darken and I wonder if he’s thinking about my other first time.
“Fine,” I say, trying to put on my bravest voice. I grab the hem of my t-shirt and shuck it off, and then shimmy out of my jeans. I’m standing in my underwear now. Underwear is kind of like a bathing suit, right? Maybe I can just wear this.
But Jacob shakes his head, as if he can read my thoughts. “All of it, Lily. Swimming naked is something everyone should experience at least once.”
I bite my lip. Part of me wants to do it — just strip off my clothes and dive in. I can already practically feel the cold water against my skin.
But I have twenty-one years of experience not being that person. Being the shy one, the inexperienced one, the virgin.
But Jacob is looking up at me from the water, and his eyes are dark and his lips are parted and he’s looking at me in a way that makes me think maybe I could be someone else for a minute. Maybe I could be the kind of girl who just goes for it.
I take a deep breath and reach my hands behind my back. I unclasp my bra and it falls away from my body, freeing my breasts. I don’t look away from Jacob, and he doesn’t look away from me. I slip my thumbs under my panties next, and push them down over my hips.
I pause just for a minute as I step out of the lacy fabric. Then I shake my hair out and look down at Jacob. He’s grinning up at me.
“Come on in, gorgeous,” he says. “The water’s fine.”
I close my eyes and jump.
The water is cold and hits me like a sharp shock. I pop my head back above the surface and shriek.
“It’s fucking freezing!”
Jacob laughs and swims over to me. He wraps his muscular arms around me, pulling me to him. His body, even in the cold water, is as hot as a furnace. He leans in and grazes his lips across my neck.
I shiver again, but this time it’s not from the cold water.
I cling to his hard body as we float together. My naked breasts are crushed against his chest and down below, I can feel his erection gently spearing my stomach. He groans as he keeps kissing my neck and then slowly raises his mouth up to find my lips.
I take in his face for a moment before he kisses me. His lashes are wet, making them even darker than normal, and his eyes are the same color as the bright blue Catskills sky. He looks at me in a way no one else ever has before and I lean in closer, parting my lips and letting out a tiny happy sigh.
He crushes his lips to mine. I think of the first time he kissed me, in his penthouse, when I was so scared and hesitant. It feels completely different this time. The force of his kiss is more welcome now — I want him to devour me. All of me.
I want to tell him I’m ready, but I don’t want to break off the kiss, so instead I wrap my legs around his hips, pulling his body closer to mine. His cock is pressed between us now, thick and hard against my abdomen. I want to feel him inside me so badly I can practically taste it.
Jacob groans. He reaches one hand down under my ass, pulling me closer to him, but then we stop floating and start sinking and then pull apart and we’re sputtering and spitting out water and laughing.
“Not here,” Jacob says, when he catches his breath. He shakes the water from his head. “I want to take my time with you.”
There’s a small ladder on the side of the dock and he leads me over to it, letting me climb up ahead of him. He gives my ass a teasing smack as I do, and then vaults himself up on to the dock beside me. When he stands, I sneak a glance at his body — it’s the first time I’ve seen him fully naked and it’s…
Wow.
I unconsciously run my tongue along my lip and Jacob grins.
“Come on, you wicked little girl. Otherwise I’m going to fuck you right here on this dock.”
I scurry up the path with Jacob right behind me.
This is finally going to happen.