Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
I see the rosebush up ahead, the burst of bright red pulling me in like a magnet. It’s huge, a picture of English beauty amid the overgrowth of the woodland. Slowing my pace, I see the crisp white of a piece of paper nestled amid the thorns and flowers, waiting for me. I come to a stop, taking a minute to wonder what this note might say. The blooming scarlet blossoms are ripe with an intoxicating scent that makes the urge to caress one and bring it to my nose too hard to resist. I inhale and breathe out, closing my eyes. I’m warm through, calm and serene. Releasing the rose, I reach for the paper, being sure to watch for thorns. The note catches on a few as I tentatively pull it from the foliage until I can read his words.
This place is my safe haven. Now it’s yours, too. Everything I have is yours.
I love you. More than I imagined I could ever love someone.
Take a rose and put it in your hair. Then follow the trail until you find the beautiful red Acer tree.
Jake. x
I bring the paper to my nose and inhale deeply, like I could breathe his written words into me. He loves me. Everything he has is mine, but the only thing I truly need and want is his heart. His peace.
I carefully reach forward and gently pick the biggest rose I can find. It comes away from the stem with ease, as if wanting to help me out. Tucking some loose strands of blonde around my braid, I push the bubble of ruby petals behind my ear.
Then I circle to find the trail and begin to follow it, smiling the whole way. I weave through trees, sometimes even coming back on myself a bit, but I stick to his order and keep to the path. The huge red tree it leads me to takes my breath away, the leaves as red as the rose tucked behind my ear. Pinned to the trunk is another note, and for the first time, I wonder how many notes there are. I’m growing impatient. I hurry over and detach the paper.
Whatever you decided to wear, take it off. Take everything off.
A quiet hitch of breath spills, my body tingling with life.
There’s an opening past this Acer tree that will lead you to me. Hurry.
Jake. x
I swallow and drop my bag, releasing the paper, too. Then I check around me as I kick off my shoes and reach for the hem of my dress. It’s a crazy thing to do. There’s no one here. No one can see me. It doesn’t make Jake’s demand feel any less forbidden, though. It’s warm, the evening sun still low and bold beyond the treetops, and the night time chill hasn’t yet spiked the air.
But my nipples still harden as I pull my dress over my head. Letting it tumble to the ground, I bite my lip as I start pushing my knickers down my thighs, instinctively looking around as if someone could be watching me. I giggle to myself. I bet the squirrels and the birds are wondering what the hell is going on. Who’s this human stripping in our woodland?
Stepping out of my knickers, I leave them at my feet and look beyond the Acer tree for the opening through the mass of bushes and trees. I see it and smile. Re-securing the rose behind my ear, I start toward the clearing, my breathing quickening with each step.
I’m sure to be careful as I breach the gap, the green foliage around me still dense and threatening to scrape my naked skin as I pass through. I shimmy and skirt past bushes and branches, until I see sunlight, not just scattered now, but bursting more freely up ahead. My pace quickens, and I hold my breath until I break free of the woodland that’s held me in its enchanted clutches for too long.
“Oh my God,” I whisper as I move into the clearing. I’m still in woodland, except it’s more open. The trunks of the trees are thinner, smooth, and spaced generously in neat rows. I look down and smile, absolutely mesmerized by the sight. The ground before me is a sea of blue. English bluebells. I take it all in. Or I try to. It’s beyond beautiful, this hidden haven.
Something stirs behind me, and I spin, forgetting momentarily why I’m here. My hand comes up to my chest on a small whimper when I find Jake.
He’s standing behind me, his lean body naked, too, a smile on his handsome face.
Chapter 25
JAKE
She’s like a mirage. Like something that only your wildest imagination could dream up. I feel like I’ve been waiting here for eons, my temptation to go hunt her down nearly getting the better of me. I’ve imagined this all afternoon, from the moment I drove her down the long lane to my safe haven. This part of my land is like something out of a picture book. It matches my angel perfectly and seems to have come alive, like it’s been waiting all this time for her to arrive.