They walked toward the tasting room, tucked into a converted barn with big open windows and a wraparound porch. A breeze moved through the leaves overhead, whispering through the trellised vines like a secret.
Jake ordered them a wine flight and a small cheese board, and they carried it out to the patio overlooking the vineyard. The view was breathtaking rolling hills, hazy and rows of grapes blushing deep purple under the setting sun.
Jake leaned back in his chair, glass in hand. “You always said this place felt like Europe.”
Kylee gave a quiet smile. “Still does.” They sipped, the wine dry and full on her tongue, and for a moment, there was peace. Jake reached out, his fingers brushing over hers where they rested on the table. “I miss this,” he said. “Just you and me. Without the chaos.”
She glanced at their hands, then out across the vineyard, where the last light of day pooled between the rows. The world felt quiet here. Still. But her mind was anything but quiet.
Rio’s voice, his smirk, the way he said live your life now, ask for forgiveness later it all echoed in her like a song she couldn’t turn off.
She swirled the wine in her glass. “Maybe we just forgot how to slow down.”
Jake nodded, watching her. “Maybe this is the start of something better.”
Kylee offered a soft, closed-lip smile. She wanted to believe that. But as she looked out over the vineyard, her heart ached in a place even the wine couldn’t touch.
The drive home from the vineyard was peaceful, almost too quiet. The golden hour had long passed, and soft music played through the speakers as the sky turned an inky navy. The gentlehum of the tires on the road, the occasional shared glance, and the brush of Jake’s fingers on the back of Kylee’s hand created a low, simmering tension between them.
It wasn’t loud or rushed, it was slow-burning, magnetic. Jake kept one hand on the wheel, the other resting on her thigh, his thumb absentmindedly drawing lazy circles against her skin just beneath the hem of her dress. She didn’t say anything, didn’t stop him. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to. There was something primal building between them, something familiar, but distant. Something she used to crave.
When they pulled into the driveway, the house was quiet. The porch light cast a warm glow across the front steps, and there was no sound coming from inside. Lillian had clearly done more than just babysit; she'd worked magic. Every light was off, the dishes done, the kids tucked in.
Kylee whispered, “She's a miracle worker,” as they walked in. Jake chuckled low in his throat, locking the door behind them.
They moved through the house in silence after Lillian left, heading upstairs like a couple who had done this dance hundreds of times. But the silence between them was thick, weighted with unspoken feelings, memories, regrets, and tonight… something more.
The bedroom door slammed shut behind them, and before Kylee could even catch her breath, Jake’s hands were on her. He spun her around, pressing her back against the wall, his body pinning hers in place.
His mouth crashed down on hers, hungry and insistent, and she gasped into the kiss, her hands instinctively gripping his shoulders for balance.
Jake’s lips were relentless, his tongue parting hers as he deepened the kiss. She could feel the heat radiating off him, the way his body moved against hers with a desperation that made her pulse quicken. But even as she kissed him back, her mind began to wander. Rio. The name flashed through her thoughts like a spark, igniting something deep within her. She couldn’t help it. His dark eyes, his low laugh, the way he had looked at her in New Orleans like she was the only woman in the world. She felt a pang of guilt, but it only heightened the thrill coursing through her veins.
Jake’s hands slid down her sides, rough and possessive. She shivered as his fingers found the edge of her panties, slipping beneath them with a practiced ease. “You’re so sexy,” he growled against her lips, his voice thick with desire.
Kylee bit back a moan as his fingers brushed against her sensitive flesh, teasing her entrance before sliding inside. She clenched around him, her body betraying her even as her thoughts spiraled. Jake is here, she reminded herself. This is real. But Rio’s face kept flashing in her mind his smirk, the way he’d leaned in close when they danced, his hand brushing against the small of her back.
“Fuck,” Jake muttered, his breath hot against her neck as he pressed his fingers deeper, curling them just right to make her knees buckle. She clung to him, her nails digging into his shoulders as pleasure coiled tight in her core. But even as her body responded to Jake’s touch, her mind was elsewhere. Sheimagined Rio’s hands instead of Jake’s, Rio’s lips on hers, Rio’s voice whispering filthy things in her ear.
The guilt was there, simmering beneath the surface, but it only made her arousal sharper, more intense. She let out a shaky breath, arching into Jake’s touch as he added a third finger, stretching her in the most delicious way. “That’s it,” he murmured, his voice rough with satisfaction. “Your body wants it so bad, doesn’t it?”
She didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, because she was too lost in the sensations both real and imagined. Her hips rocked against his hand, chasing the pleasure he was giving her, but in her mind, it wasn’t Jake she was thinking about. It was Rio’s smoldering gaze, the way he’d looked at her like he wanted to devour her whole.
Jake pulled his fingers away abruptly, and she whimpered at the loss, her body aching for more. He didn’t waste any time, though. In one swift motion, he yanked down his pants and freed his hard cock, stroking himself as he watched her with dark, hungry eyes. “Look at you,” he said, his voice low and thick with need. “You can’t wait for me to fuck you, can you?”
Kylee swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to say something, to reassure him that it was him she wanted, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she reached for him, pulling him closer until the tip of his cock pressed against her wet entrance. Jake groaned, his hands gripping her hips as he guided himself inside.
The stretch was exquisite, and she closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh as he filled her completely. He started to move, slow and deliberate at first, but soon his thrusts became harder,rougher, driving her body back against the wall with each snap of his hips. She felt every inch of him, every delicious friction that sent waves of pleasure rippling through her.
But still, her mind strayed. She pictured Rio behind her instead of Jake, imagined his hands on her hips, his breath hot on her neck as he pounded into her.
The fantasy was so vivid, so intoxicating, that she couldn’t help but moan louder, her body writhing against Jake’s. He took it as a sign of encouragement, growling low in his throat as he pinned one of her legs up against the wall, changing the angle and hitting a spot that made her cry out.
“God, you feel so good,” he panted, his pace quickening. “Tell me you want this.”
“I …I want it,” she managed to gasp, though the words felt hollow. You don’t mean it, a voice in her head whispered.
You want Rio.The thought sent a jolt of electricity through her, and she clenched tight around Jake, making him curse under his breath.
