Hard as Stone(88)

She walked out on his low groan.

Walking lightly down the stairs, she headed for the kitchen, flipping the lights on and locating the bag of cookies easily. Smiling as she pulled one out of the bag, she had to admit that after her crying jag a month ago, Jacob Stone had learned phenomenally fast. The man was never without at least two kinds of cookies. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, she carried both toward her favorite room in the house.

Entering his den, she hit the light switch with her elbow and looked around the room. It was one of the few areas in the house that was completely decorated. The walls painted a soothing taupe while the floors were hardwood. Thick scatter rugs were placed throughout the room, offering it a homey feel. He’d invested in a sumptuous brown leather couch and armchair that called to a person to sit down and stay awhile; an oversized plasma television dominated one entire wall. His heavy oak desk sat at the back of the room, facing a set of French doors that led to the back deck and offered a fantastic view of the mountains.

Wandering toward the doors as she chewed on a cookie, she felt her shoulders relax. Even in the dead of night, the view of the snowcapped mountains was stunning, and she felt the tension seeping from her body just looking at it. Reaching behind her, she pulled Jake’s desk chair toward her, plopping her ass in the seat and resting her head against the pillowed headrest.

This wasn’t bad, she assured herself. Falling in love was supposed to be scary, right? She could love Jake and still remain with her feet planted firmly in reality. She didn’t have to be one of those women that lost herself in the act of doing it. No. She was a McKinnon woman, dammit. Strong, determined, and self-reliant. She didn’t need a man. Having one was a choice she could make.

She could also un-make the decision at any time, she reminded herself firmly. She was just going to take things one step at a time, enjoy the walk she was on, and remember that she could turn around and go home any time she wanted.

Yeah, that would work, she told herself as she spun around in Jake’s desk chair and prepared to rise. Frowning, the manila folder on the corner of his desk caught her eye. Narrowing her gaze on it, she squinted her eyes and tried to see the name on the tab. It wasn’t really snooping if he left it in plain view, was it?

Extending her arm, her fingertips had just grazed the corner of the folder when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

“Babe?” Jacob called, rounding the corner and filling the doorway before she could blink. “I got lonely,” he admitted with a grin when she met his eyes. “You comin’ back to bed willingly or am I gonna let my inner caveman out to play?” he questioned, his lips tilting up in a wicked grin.

“Wellllll…” she hedged, rising from his chair.

“Caveman, it is,” he declared with a shrug, suddenly charging toward her like a bull and gently pulling her over his shoulder.

Upside down, Harmony braced her hands against his hips and giggled. “This really isn’t necessary. I was going to come back all on my own,” she argued as he began to round the desk, carrying her like a sack of potatoes.

“I don’t know. I kind of like the view of you from here,” he said, palming one globe of her ass and squeezing as he turned his head and nipped her satin clad hip.

Lifting her head, Harmony caught a fleeting peek at the file she’d been trying to see before she was interrupted as he walked around the side of his desk. Unfortunately, she could only make out one word on the tab: McKinnon. Opening her mouth to question it, she gasped as she felt Jake’s hand slide underneath her nightgown and up her bare thigh.

Then, all thoughts, questions, and musings fled for a very long time.





Chapter Twenty-seven



Pacing the length of Jake’s wraparound front porch nine hours later, Harmony chewed on her thumbnail and kept an eye out for her sisters’ cars. She’d activated the McKinnon phone tree an hour ago; she knew they’d show up. If there was one thing she could count on, it was that. They’d always show up if they were called. It’s what they did for each other.

Turning to stare at Jake’s locked front door, she bit her lip. She was about to do something bad. Very bad. Awful, if she was honest about it.

But she didn’t have much choice – not if she was going to remain sane. And since she had a kid, sanity wasn’t optional; it was necessary.

She’d stayed up all night after he’d fallen asleep, doubts plaguing her as she remembered the file she’d seen on the corner of his desk. After she’d let him distract her – two more times- her thoughts had automatically gravitated back to his den and that damn file.