Page 55 of Most Likely to Deny Love (Yearbook #2)

MIA

I woke slowly, stretching my pleasantly aching limbs across the massive bed.

My body hummed with a delicious soreness that brought memories of last night flooding back.

Jack’s hands in my hair, the sharp sting of his palm against my ass, the relentless rhythm of his hips against mine.

How hard he fucked me. Heat pooled low in my belly at the recollection, and I rolled over, seeking his warmth.

But the sheets beside me were cold and empty.

I sat up, pulling the luxurious duvet around my naked body as I glanced around the room. No sound of running water from the bathroom, no sign of him anywhere. Stretching again, I cataloged the various pleasant aches and couldn’t find it in me to regret a single one.

With a contented sigh, I decided to get up and find him.

Maybe see if he wanted to take a walk, get away from all the weird tension in his family before we sat down for lunch.

Then drag him back here and go for round two.

Wondering how good the weather would be for a walk, I threw back the covers, slid out of bed and walked to the window.

Pulling back the heavy curtains aside, I gasped at the view that greeted me.

A frozen lake stretched before me, surrounded by snow-dusted pines and backed by the majestic rise of the mountains. The morning sun glittered off the ice, turning it into a vast mirror that reflected the cloudless blue sky. It was pristine and perfect. Utterly breathtaking.

Movement caught my eye then, drawing my attention to a solitary figure gliding across the ice. Even from this distance, I could tell it was Jack. His powerful body cut through the morning air with fluid grace, each stroke of his skates leaving trails across the glassy surface.

I watched him for several moments, mesmerized. This wasn’t casual recreational skating; this was someone who’d spent years perfecting their technique. Another piece of the Jack Sullivan puzzle I hadn’t known existed until now.

But underneath the admiration, something twisted in my chest. I knew exactly what he was doing out there. He was burning off the anxiety that being in this house, with these people, stirred in him. The same way he used the gym at home, pushing his body to exhaustion to find some measure of peace.

My heart ached for him, for the little boy who’d learned to cope this way, for the man who still needed to.

Honestly, fuck these people. Making a snap decision, I turned from the window and hurried to dress.

I pulled on jeans and my pale pink, woollen coat, thankful I’d thought to bring my heavy winter boots.

Finding my way through the big house was challenging, but I managed to slip out a back door that led toward the lake.

The cold air bit at my cheeks as I made my way down a neatly shoveled path. As I reached the edge of the lake, I paused, watching Jack’s solitary figure cutting perfect arcs across the ice, moving too fast to notice me standing there.

Until he wasn’t. Mid-turn, he caught sight of me and his rhythm faltered for just a moment before he redirected, gliding toward me with his hands shoved into his pockets. Honestly, he was hot enough to melt the entire goddamn lake.

He stopped at the edge of the ice, sending a small spray of shaved ice with his skates.

“You’re up early.” His voice was softer than usual, intimate in the crisp morning air.

“Woke up alone,” I replied, smiling up at him. “The bed got cold.”

“Shit, I’m sorry. I should have waited?—”

“It’s fine. I understand you had to… “ I gestured towards the skates. “I just wanted to come down and see that you’re okay.”

“Better now that you’re here.” He leaned down, cupping my face in his gloved hands. His lips were cool against mine, the kiss gentle and sweet, so different to the raw hunger of last night.

When he pulled back, he studied my face. “Do you skate?”

I shook my head. “Not unless you count hanging onto the rail and inching around the rink at the Christmas carnival once when I was twelve. If I got out there now, I’d spend the whole time on my ass.”

“That’s easily fixed.”

Before I could ask what he meant, his hands moved to my waist, then lower, cupping my ass as he lifted me clean off the ground. I yelped in surprise, instinctively wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Legs around my waist,” he instructed, his voice a warm rumble against my ear. “And hold on tight.”

I did as he said, locking my ankles behind him, my thighs gripping his hips.

“What are you doing?” I laughed as he stepped backward onto the ice, still holding me securely.

“Skating with you,” he answered simply, beginning to glide backward with surprising steadiness despite my added weight.

The initial fear of falling melted away as Jack moved with confident strokes, carrying me across the ice as easily as if I weighed nothing.

Wind rushed past my ears, cold and exhilarating, as we picked up speed.

I let out a giggle, tightening my arms around Jack’s neck.

His answering smile had my heart fluttering.

“So this is very clever of you, but I’ve got a challenge for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Can you kiss me and not fall over?”

“Now?”

“Right now.”

For answer, Jack slowed our momentum just slightly, his eyes locking with mine for one heart-stopping moment before his lips found mine.

The kiss was gentle at first, then deeper, more insistent, all while he continued to glide effortlessly across the ice.

I felt the cold air whipping around us, creating our own little bubble of warmth as his mouth moved against mine.

His strong arms kept me pressed firmly against his chest, not missing a single skating stroke even as his tongue worked its magic.

When he finally pulled back, just enough for us to catch our breath, a small, satisfied smile played at the corners of his mouth.

His voice was low and husky when he murmured, “Challenge accepted. And I believe successfully completed.”

“Yeah, you win.”

Jack glided back toward the shore, his arms still wrapped securely around me as if I weighed nothing at all. The warmth of his body against the winter chill made me want to burrow closer, to steal more of his heat, and maybe steal a few more kisses too.

When we reached solid ground, he carefully set me down, steadying me as I found my balance on the snowy bank.

“Should we head back to the house?” he asked, his breath forming little clouds between us in the cold air. “You must be freezing.”

I glanced at the pristine winter wonderland surrounding us. The snow-dusted trees, the morning sun glinting on the ice, the absolute stillness that seemed to wrap around us like a blanket.

I tugged my scarf tighter. “Actually, I’m not quite ready to go back yet. Would you mind if we walked around the lake for a bit? It’s so beautiful out here.”

I didn’t add that I wasn’t ready to give up this time with him, this version of Jack that seemed softer around the edges, so much sweeter than the stern businessman I’d first met. The man who’d just kissed me senseless while skating backward deserved a few more minutes of my undivided attention.

It was maybe an hour later that we returned to the house, hand in hand, with our cheeks flushed from the cold.

As we approached the house, I spotted Nan sitting on the covered veranda in a rocking chair, a thick plaid blanket draped over her knees and a woollen scarf around her neck.

Despite the cold, she seemed perfectly happy to watch some of Jack’s cousin’s kids building snow people in the yard.

The moment she saw us, she smiled. “There you two are! I was beginning to think you’d eloped to escape this circus.”

“If this were real, that’s exactly what I’d do,” Jack murmured, just loud enough for me to hear.

If this were real… Okay, let’s just ignore the weird flipping of the heart and give Nan a big smile.

We climbed the steps to the veranda, and Nan immediately patted the chair beside her. “Mia, come sit with me. I’ve been hoping to have a proper chat without Victoria circling like a shark, waiting to tear you to pieces.”

“Oh, um, okay.”

I glanced at Jack helplessly as I took a seat next to Nan, but he just shrugged. What Nan wanted, Nan got.

“Are you hungry? I didn’t see you at breakfast.”

“I am a little, yeah.”

“Excellent. I’m due for my second coffee of the day.” She rang a small silver bell that sat on the table beside her. Not thirty seconds later, a woman appeared.

“Martha, would you be so kind as to bring Ms. Harris some breakfast? And I’d love some coffee, the French roast Jack brought me.”

“Certainly, Ma’am.”

“Thank you. And as for you, Jack. You can leave us for now.”

Before Jack could reply, a little girl with dark pigtails came bursting onto the veranda. She was maybe six years old and as soon as she saw Jack, her eyes lit up. “Jack! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Oh, well, wasn’t this just adorable?

“Uh, have you, Cindy?”

“Yes, because last time we were here, you helped me build a snow girl and can we do that again? Victor says I’m too bad at it and won’t help me.

I want to build a whole family. I’ve got carrots and everything.

” True to her word, Cindy pulled a bunch of carrots from inside her coat, holding them out proudly.

“That’s certainly a lot of carrots. Yeah, I can help you build a snow girl. If it’s alright with Mia?”

Nan didn’t give me a chance to answer. “Of course it’s alright with Mia!”

Jack looked at me, a silent question in his eyes. “Go. I’ll be fine with Nan.”

“Okay, but you let me know if she picks on you.”

I laughed. “I will.”

With one last glance at me, Jack let Cindy pull him over to where the other kids were playing in the snow.

I couldn’t drag my eyes away as he got down on his knees and helped the little girl start her snow family.

Holy fuck, this was so cute. Professional, brooding, Jack Sullivan was suddenly sweet and playful in a way I never would have expected.