Free Letting Go by Madison Stevens Page B

say if she had actually done that. Thoughts of his firm ways being put to good use floated through her head. Yes, there were definitely ways that could be an advantage.
    Not that she had much experience with anything other than missionary and from behind, but her imagination worked just fine. Lance had been the one to initiate most of their sexual activities, and most of them had been spent with him worrying about if they had enough layers of protection and finding his own relief. She doubted that would be the case with Jake and groaned at the thought.
    Maybe it’s a good thing Lance broke up with me. Not like he even tried to be together these past six months. Doesn’t help that I’ve been thinking about Jake for most of the summer.
    Since her first day, she had been focused on Jake. The huge size of the man made it hard not to.
    Sarah sighed. She had thought about him for far too long. If her mother wasn’t so sick, she wouldn’t even worry about job security. Of course, if her mother wasn’t sick she wouldn’t have needed to leave school, and she would likely still be with Lance, the King of the Douches.
    “Eh hem.”
    Jake’s thick frame filled the door to the cooler, and the shadowed outline made him look even more dangerous than usual.
    She dropped her arms to turn and look at him face on. As she turned, she caught his eyes on her ass. The man of steel wasn’t impervious to everything. A slow smile crept to her face.
    “I, uh, thought you might need some help.” He sounded like a child who had gotten caught sneaking a cookie. When he shuffled into the room, she felt that pull once again. Her first thought was to avoid eye contact, but now that she’d had a taste of freedom, she just couldn’t turn back so quickly.
    “Sure,” she said. “Up there on the top shelf. I need that box.”
    He pulled the box down like it weighed nothing. The black sleeve covering his bicep rode up, revealing a vibrant slip of skin. Without thinking, Sarah slid the shirt higher so she could make out the tattoo. Jake went still at her timid touch.
    “It’s so bright,” she said. Her cool fingers slipped over his heated skin, tracing the ridges his muscle. A brightly colored phoenix stretched out over the circumference of the arm. As if the bird was ready to take flight.
    “Does it mean anything?” Sarah pulled her focus from the tattoo to Jake’s heated gaze. The muscles in his jaw ticked when she continued to trace the outline of the wings.
    “Got it when I bought the bar.” He turned slightly, causing her hand to fall away.
    “Well, it doesn’t seem like the kind of tat you get when you open a bar.”
    “Had some shit happen.” Jake sat the box on the floor. The bottles clinked together, punctuating the fact that he did not want to talk about what shit had happened.
    “It’s pretty,” she said.
    Jake turned to face her again. She couldn’t be certain what played in his mind, but one thing was certain, pretty wasn’t something often associated with him. Her eyes worked their way down his tense body. The observation had obviously set him on edge. When she reached his lower half, the evidence showed she had done more than just shock him.
    Sarah bit her lip to hide the smile that wanted to spring up.
    Mr. Stone Cold wanted her.
    As if nothing had happened, he turned and walked toward the front.
    “Call me if you need more help,” he said over his shoulder when he reached the door.
    Fuck Lance. Maybe today isn’t such a bad day.
     
    ***
     
    The place was packed when Jake came out of his office. Sarah scrambled to pass the beers around to the burly men and the occasional woman. Her pert little ass swayed in time to the music as she worked. More than a few took notice. A smile peaked at the corner of his mouth.
    “Better not let her catch you looking like that.”
    He could have picked that voice from a line up if he had to. Couldn’t serve two tours with a guy and not know him better than his own