SIN and HONEY: Seven Years of Longing

Chapter 4: Rachel

She felt his fingertips sweep aside her thick locks; his lips trailed feather-soft kisses across the nape of her neck. Rachel tilted her head back, her eyes fluttering between wakefulness and desire. But when a tree branch snapped somewhere in the distance, she pulled away, clutching her chest to steady her heart. She surveyed the grove, but all was silent. No one was there.

Jacob smiled at her, that teasing spark in his eye. He looked darker than he was when she saw him last, from spending these sunny days in the pastures. It made the carved, muscular shape of his chest that much more defined even beneath the layer of fabric that hid it from sight. She looked away, tempted by the mere thought of what lay beneath.

"Are you alright?" he moved toward her.

"We shouldn't," she said, extending her arm, creating a barrier between them."The wedding is so close, if we were to be seen ..."The most they could do was touch hands-even the most innocent, chaste kiss was a risk.

But Jacob took her hand and threaded his fingers in hers, pulling her close to him.

"I know," he whispered, his hand cupping her cheek. "But another two days is nothing. You're already mine."

"That's not true," Rachel said. She longed for him to close the gap between them; practically willed him to take her lips and wind his hands into her hair."Two days is a long time. You could still change your mind-"

Jacob curled his hand into her wild locks possessively. "Don't say things like that." His voice dipped lower as his other hand travelled down her body. She bit her lip and shivered. If only his hand was on my skin, without this cloth between us."I love you more now than I did the day we met. Don't you love me?"

She answered him with a kiss, pulling his rough, unbleached robe close to her heart. Her lips were more unafraid than her words dared to be.

"You smell like fire," he said, kissing her again. Rachel smiled against his lips, thinking of the cassia oil working its magic. Jacob's kiss was tart to the taste like cider. His steadfast hands gripped her curves recklessly. He was losing control as well."I have a gift for you, my bride."

"A gift?"

Jacob nodded and pulled from his pouch a strip of leather tied to a polished pink quartz stone. Rachel gasped. "A necklace?"

"From Sumer. I bought it off that ogre, Machol. I tried to haggle with him, but he smelt so ghastly I just bought it, price be damned!"He kissed her fingertips. "Do you like it?"

"I love it."Jacob's smile was eager. She turned around and his hands delicately lifted her hair and laced the ties behind her neck. "I don't know how you pay for these things,"she muttered, thumbing the beautiful stone resting on her chest. He was always surprising her with little tokens.

"It's not your job to know,"he said before leaning down to kiss her again. Though he was tempting, Rachel removed herself from him. She crossed to the other side of the well, her lips throbbing.

"Jacob," she gasped, "if we don't stop now, I ..."

He nodded, clutching his side of the well, his face beautifully flushed. "It gets more difficult to stop with each passing day. You live to torture me!"

"You're the one who found me here, need I remind you. I was innocently getting water when all of a sudden-"

"Just one more kiss," he begged, his hands in prayer. Rachel smiled and demurely walked back around the well where he waited, and tilted her cheek up to him in invitation.