Lumberjack Love Read online

  “No. You didn’t hurt me, Jackson. You were perfect. For someone who was a virgin, you sure do know how to use that thing.” A tiny laugh left my lips and that seemed to ease some of the tension that poured from Jackson.

  He was so perfect, and he had no fucking clue. He was a real man, waiting for the right woman to give his virginity to. He wanted real love, the kind that you found in books.

  “I’ve learned a thing or two watching porn,” he confessed, his cheeks growing a smidge red as he did so.

  He slipped his jeans back on, though they were a bit wet, and handed me my discarded dress.

  “I’m sure you didn’t learn how to rip dresses off women like a crazed cave man from watching porn, did you?” I lifted an eyebrow in question, as I glared at the dress in my hands. I would have to walk back up to the house in nothing but my bra now. Not that it mattered, since there was never any company here, but it did take me half the morning to make the damn dress.

  “I’ll show you what I can do with my tongue later tonight. As for the dress, I’m sorry, sweetheart….” He seemed sorry, but the smirk on his face said he was more than happy about how he shredded it, ripping it from my body like it was nothing.

  “Mhm. I’m sure you’re sorry, the smirk on your face totally gives you away.” I didn’t feel like a piece of me had broken away when Jackson and I were done having sex. Instead I felt fuller, more at home than I ever had before.

  “Get on up to the house and get to making me some damn muffins.” The rough exterior he had showed me on my first day here shone through again, and it made both of us burst out in laughter.

  “Sure thing. Though I’m not sure I have enough berries.” I looked at the basket that had been thrown to the ground in the haste we made towards the showers.

  “I’m kidding, sweetheart. I’m not an asshole. I don’t expect you to make me anything, except now that I’ve sunk deep inside you…” He rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip with lust in his eyes. “I do expect you to have that pussy warmed up for me every once in awhile.” The dirty words coming out of his mouth already had me turned on again.

  What was wrong with me? I hadn’t wanted to have sex with a man in months, yet Jackson had me feeling all sorts of things. My body came to life when he touched me.

  “It’s always warmed up when you’re around…” I gave him the same look he had given me. The story he told me about his grandparents was all I could seem to think about. I wanted a love story like that, and maybe, just maybe, Jackson was the one I would get to enjoy it with.

  “Don’t tempt me, sweetheart. My cock’s tasted your pussy, and now that the damage has been done, there ain’t nothing standing in the way of me claiming you every second of everyday. Now run along before my patience snaps and I keep you held up in the shower all day at the mercy of my tongue, fingers, and cock.” He was so brash and confident for a man that had only had sex once, but I loved it. I loved that he oozed this self worth. He believed in himself.

  “Whatever you say…” I taunted, shaking my ass a little as I strutted past him. He rewarded me with a hard slap to the ass cheek. A squeal slipped from my lips, and I ended up picking up the basket and jogging like there was a fire behind me up to the cabin. Once inside, I watched through the kitchen window as Jackson got back to work splitting the logs.

  I was mesmerized by his movements and the way he swung the axe. It was as if he was one with it. As if they were one in the same.

  Snap out of it. Stop staring, Lola.

  I repeated the words in my head, forcing myself to step away from the window and instead go find another of Jackson’s shirts to destroy. I gripped the banister of the staircase and walked up the wooden stairs. I didn’t know if Jackson would be mad at me for being in his room, but I would take my chances.

  The second my eyes landed on his king size bed, I knew I had to at the very least con him into letting me sleep in the bed at least once or twice. It was mammoth, and definitely more than big enough to accommodate the two of us. There were matching nightstands on each side of the bed and a large dresser with a mirror to the right of the bed.

  BINGO.

  I slid across the smooth wooden floor, grabbed the steel drawer handle, and pulled out the first drawer, which contained sleep shorts and pants. I went to the next and found jeans, and on the very bottom were shirts. I sifted through them, stopping on an all white t-shirt. I slipped it on, and laughed as it came down to my knees. Holy hell, Jackson was huge. The other shirt I had taken was laying on the back of the leather couch in the living room, and I didn’t even try it on at the time.

  Once the shirt was on and I had covered my lady bits, I took the very small basket of berries and placed them in a bowl so that I could rinse them off. When that was done, I walked over to fridge, where I noticed a recipe had been hung by a magnet. From the looks of the worn paper, I was sure it had been a very old recipe. I read over the ingredients and started searching through the small pantry for the items I needed.

  When I was sure I had everything ready, I got the mixing bowl out and measured the ingredients, pouring the dry ingredients in first and then the wet. I had always enjoyed baking, but that was before Roger had sunk his evil claws into me, ripping me from my family.

  My parents would never forgive me for running off with him when they had warned me of the type of person he was. I shoved the negative thoughts away, reminding myself that I had Jackson now and I was sure that he would never let anything happen to me again.

  He worshiped me. Protected me. And maybe even loved me?

  I poured what was left the berries into the bowl, and mixed until everything was thoroughly combined. Then I sprayed the muffin tins, and scooped just the right amount of batter into each spot.

  Then I popped the tin into the oven that I had preheated and sat on the leather couch in the living room, but not before I grabbed what looked to be a family photo album.

  I was obsessed with Jackson’s grandparents’ love story. It was sweet, and so unlike anything that you found nowadays. People didn’t love or care for each other like they did in the olden days. The love that his grandparents had was one that couldn’t be reproduced or copied.

  Still, I wanted what they had, and I wanted it with Jackson. I was so caught up in the photo album, my eyes scanning over every single photo like it was a memory I could live vicariously through, that I didn’t hear Jackson come in through the front door. I didn’t startle until his large shadow fell over my small frame.

  “I’m sorry. I swear I wasn’t trying to snoop…” I was worried that he would think I was trying to uncover something, and I wasn’t. I was just interested in his grandparents’ love story.

  “For fuck’s sake, Lola. I ain’t going to hurt you for looking at a photo album.” Jackson sounded enraged, but I knew whatever venom, that fueled his words wasn’t directed at me.

  “I just saw it sitting there and I wanted to look at it…” The sound of the timer going off saved me any further embarrassment. I shoved from the couch and ran into the kitchen, plucking the hot muffin tin from the oven. Jackson was hot on my heels with curious eyes.

  “Is that what I think it is?” His eyes filled with wonderment as he sniffed the air like a wolf on the hunt for his prey. The smell of freshly baked muffins was what he smelt.

  “If you mean muffins, then yes…” I started, loving the look that had taken over his facial features. I wasn’t really sure what was so awesome about these muffins, but if he looked at me like he was right now every moment of my life, then I would be happy. He plucked me up off the floor and right into his sweaty arms. The smell of sex, sweat, and the heat of the sun radiated off of him.

  “These aren’t just any muffins, Lola. This is my grandma’s recipe, and I haven’t tasted muffins made from this recipe since she died nearly ten years ago.” Tears formed in his dark brown eyes and it hit me then directly in the center of my chest. This could be the man that I fell for, the man I would marry and have children with. I could
have a love story as great as his grandparents with him.

  “Oh, Jackson,” I mumbled into his chest, as I wrapped my arms around his torso as much as I could. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I just saw the recipe hanging on the fridge and I wanted to make you something nice for helping me so much.” I was overcome with emotions, and tears started to form in my eyes, even when I tried to blink them away.

  “Never be sorry for doing something that comes from the heart, sweetheart. This is a blessing…. fate even…” The words came out in a whisper, as he pressed his lips fully against mine. Butterflies filled my belly and I gripped onto him tightly, never wanting to let go.

  Fate. Was it possible the one thing that had been my nemesis also brought me to Jackson? Maybe it was fate. Maybe I was meant to be here all along, and I just had to get through the bad in my life to find this place.

  Either way, Jackson was my saving grace and I would do whatever I could to bring him even a fraction of the happiness he brought me.

  Chapter Five

  Jackson

  7 days later

  I had never felt so much happiness, or been so thankful for one person. Lola was a blessing in disguise. I gobbled down the muffins she made me, and then I begged her to make me more, which she did without even blinking. Days had passed, and I was getting more and more protective of her.

  She wore my clothes, ate my food, and when she wasn’t making me muffins or cooking something else delicious, she was outside sitting underneath the big tree distracting me from my job.

  “What were your grandparents’ names?” Lola asked me, as I brought the axe down on another piece of wood. I was moving slower than usual and it was all because of her smooth, toned legs, which I could see out of the corner of my eye.

  “Miles and Jane,” I answered, out of breath, as sweat dripped down my face. I thought it was hard before I had sex with her, but it was harder, literally than it had been before. I couldn’t focus on anything but her presence and when she wasn’t around, I was thinking about what I wanted to do to her and when she would come back. She had the same photo album in her hands that she was looking at the other day.

  “I feel like I know them just from looking at their pictures,” she sighed, her eyes still on the photo album, while my eyes were eating up the space that separated us. I could use an afternoon snack.

  “I know you said you’ll be making more muffins later tonight… but…” I placed the axe on the ground and stalked over to her.

  “Jackson…” she huffed, sitting up from where she was resting against the tree. “You’re lucky you have such a fit job otherwise you would turn into a muffin,” she scoffed, clearly not getting what I was saying.

  “If you’d let me finish my sentence, darlin’, then you would know I wasn’t talking about no muffins you make, but the one that is begging for me to take a bite of out it.” I winked, dropping down to my knees in front of her. There was no one out here to see us, so hiking up her homemade dress and devouring her pink frosted muffin wouldn’t be a problem. Or so I thought….

  “Oh, you want my muffin…” Her cheeks grew pink, and I wondered if she was a virgin in that territory, where I was the full-fledged kind, or was previously, at least in the usage of my cock.

  I tipped my head up and down, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip. My cock was rock hard and my hands shook with need as I gripped the bottom of her dress. I was just about to sink into my dessert, when the sound of tires against gravel met my ears. Every desire inside of my fled, and instead of following through with eating Lola out, I was helping her up off the grass and ushering her behind the large willow tree.

  “Stay put. Don’t move, and whatever you do, don’t run,” I whispered, before placing my lips against her forehead. The fear of who could be coming consumed me. What if it was a traveler in need of help and I was worried for nothing…? Then again it could be Lola’s ex hunting the woods for her.

  I grabbed the axe from the ground and rested it against my shoulder as I waited for the vehicle to come into view. It was a blacked out Mustang and I knew then that whoever it was had no business being out this far.

  I gripped the axe tightly in my hand. I would do whatever I needed to do to protect Lola and I. She was mine, for now, for always.

  The door of the Mustang opened and my eyes narrowed to slits as I stared down the man that had gotten out of the car.

  “Hi there… I hate to bother you, but I’m on the hunt for a little lady named Lola.” The way he said her name implied he knew her and I hated that. It made me uneasy. I wanted to check and see if Lola was actually hiding behind the tree properly, but didn’t want to chance him seeing her.

  “Hunt?” I questioned sternly.

  “Yeah. She uhhh… Is lost out here in the woods. Her family’s looking for her and I told them I would help.” I narrowed my eyes at the man. He was a skinflint with no muscle. I’m not even sure he would know what manual labor was if it smacked him in the face with a two-by-four.

  “Sorry, but ain’t nobody, especially a woman, gonna survive out here in this woods by herself.” Anxiety filled my belly as he closed his car door and walked over to where I was standing.

  “I know…” The creep removed his sunglasses as soon as he was right in front me, his ugly ass eyes boring into mine. “That’s why I stopped here. Your house is the only one for miles….” I could see him looking at something over my shoulder and I prayed like hell it wasn’t Lola.

  “I ain’t seen no woman by that name and I got loads of work to do, so if you don’t mind moving along with your search somewhere else, that would be great.” I tried to sound bored and less furious with the fact that he had come back to claim something that no longer belonged to him.

  He licked his lips and narrowed his eyes at me before handing me a scrap of paper. I took it between my two fingers, ready to burn it with my eyes.

  “If you see her, give me a call, please. She means the world to me,” he lied. I knew he was lying, and not just from what Lola told me about the sleazebag. The words weren’t spoken with heart by a man that was truly miserable about losing the love of his life.

  He didn’t look at Lola as a lover, or woman. He looked at her as a possession and even though I said I wouldn’t get involved, I knew I couldn’t send Lola back to a man like that. He walked back to his Mustang, kicking up dirt as he did. I held my breath, unmoving until he backed out of the driveway all the way. Once I knew it was safe, and I couldn’t hear the roar of his engine anymore, I made a signal to Lola to come out from behind the tree.

  There were tears swimming in those sea blue eyes of hers and I hated that he had gotten a rise out of her. That he could still hurt her, even when he wasn’t around to see the pain he caused.

  “You didn’t have to lie to him, Jackson. He’s a criminal and he’ll be back. He knows I’m here,” she sniffled. Fear radiated from her throat as she spoke.

  I took her in my arms, carrying us both up to the cabin. I slammed the door and locked it. Never in my life did I think I would have use the lock on the front door this far out here.

  “You’re right, I didn’t have to lie to him, but you’re mine and if he thinks he can come on my property and order me to give you back, then he’s got another thing coming. I protect what is mine.” I cradled her against my chest. The last week of my life had been the best, and I wasn’t going to give up my happiness for some asshole that couldn’t treat Lola how he was supposed too.

  “And you’re mine, Lola.” I had to know who the man was though, so I knew the hard stuff that was coming.

  “As you’re mine…” she whispered against my skin. I sunk my nose into her hair, taking in her sweet floral scent. She smelt like wild flowers mixed with my scent and I loved it. It made my blood sing with joy.

  “I don’t want to ask, sweetheart, ‘cause I don’t want to make things worse for you, but I gotta know why you left this man in the middle of nowhere, and why he’s all the way out here looking for ya.” I soothed
a hand over her dark hair.

  This wouldn’t be the last time the creep would show his face here and next time he did, I wanted to make sure I had all my facts straight.

  “It’s okay. I want to tell you. I’m just scared.” She was a ball of emotions, her eyes swollen from the freshly dried tears she had been shedding.

  “There ain’t nothing to be scared of here. I’ll protect you. I’ll devour you. I’ll kneel at your fuckin’ feet and treat you like the queen you deserve to be treated like, but I can’t do anything if I don’t know what the hell is going on.” I spoke calmly but on the inside I was screaming from the rooftops in rage.

  “He’s an ex, as you know. I ran away from home with him, thinking that it was love that we both had for each other. I was wrong, so wrong…” Tears started to fall, and I did everything in my power to swipe them away before they stained her cheeks.

  “It’s okay…” I soothed her.

  “We needed money, so I got into modeling, which lead us down a really bad road. Roger got involved with a gang that was selling drugs and did some human trafficking.” Fire filled my belly.

  “Please tell me he didn’t hurt you like that, because if he did, I will burn down this whole fucking forest to find him and when I do he’ll wish he never even batted an eye at you…” I seethed, my fists clenching and unclenching as I tried to find an outlet for the rage I was feeling.

  “No. He didn’t do anything like that… But that’s because I never gave him the chance. We were supposed to be out here doing a shoot and we got lost. Between trying to find our way back to the site and being lost, he got on the topic of me selling my body for other things…”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, and ground my teeth together. He wanted to sell her body and use it to make money for himself.

  What a sick, disgusting, bastard.

  “I swear, I’m going to kill him, Lola.” I was on the verge of exploding. Had I known all these things about that piece of shit, I would’ve knocked his ass out right then and there.