Chapter Twenty-Two Mo
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mo
Mo’s heart clenched in the most exciting way. He’d begun the process of emotionally resetting after the photoshoot by focusing on the calm he always gained from cleaning up the smithy. Once he’d gotten his hands clean and checked his phone, her message had made him blush as he laughed out loud. And now that she’d come to his house, was in his room, and on his bed looking at him like that…he couldn’t get out of his jeans fast enough. Jess laughed and slid up higher as he scrambled up to join her, laughing, too. She wrapped her legs around him as he settled between them and propped himself up with his forearms on either side of her head. Her delicious vanilla fragrance rose around him like a welcoming cloud. He started to compliment her about it, but he didn’t want to invite any sadness the connection to Cassie might provoke. Instead, he returned to what she’d just said.
“I don’t know if my bed can handle anything,” he said, nuzzling her neck.
“Come on, Hephaestus,” she whispered. “Let’s find out.”
He began to chuckle as he pulled back to look her in the eye, but she cut him off by catching his mouth with hers. He kissed her back, deepening the kiss, shuddering at the sparks that rained down on his skin as she dragged her nails down his shoulders. She moaned, and her kisses became more desperate as he massaged her scalp with his fingertips. She pulled her legs tight, trying to bring him closer. A flash of worry cropped up, forcing him to break the kiss.
“I don’t want to crush you,” he breathed. She was warm and soft and inviting underneath him, but he needed to be careful.
“Haven’t we discussed this?” she panted, eyes dark, cheeks flushed. “I want you to crush me.”
Watching her carefully for any discomfort, he slid an arm forward to let a little of his weight down. Her head fell to the side, and she groaned with her eyes closed. The worry slammed back into his chest until she slanted a glance at him through her eyelashes and nipped at his biceps, then licked the spot. Shock stole his breath and froze his every muscle for a moment, then he let himself fall into wanting her, plunging into the side of her neck, kissing, scratching with his beard, sucking, biting. She moaned deep, tightening her legs, grinding against him and forcing a moan out of him. He needed to taste every inch of her skin. He pulled back to work his way down her chest, to the rise of one of her breasts. He glanced up at her to check that it was okay, her open-mouthed nod freeing him to pull the cup of her bra down and graze her with his beard. She shuddered. He alternated licking around her hardened nipple with beard strokes, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He freed the other breast and did the same, letting his eyes close as he drowned in the comforting fragrance of vanilla and her. She let out a breathy chuckle.
“You’re teasing me.” She sighed.
“Am I?” he breathed back, stroking again, opening his eyes to wink at her.
She looked down at him.
“Mo,” she said, her voice deeper, sultry. “I want you to take my nipple into your mouth now.”
He obeyed, sucking hard. He pushed his own arousal to the side so he could watch her reactions out of the corner of his eye. She groaned, her head tilting back. Lacing her fingers into his hair, her legs fell slack as he flicked her nipple back and forth inside his mouth and slid two fingers along her panties. Her hips snapped up.
“Yes, Mo,” she gasped. “Please.”
Getting up onto his knees in a flash, he pulled the waist of her panties along with him. He jerked them off her feet, and before she could bring her legs down, he yanked her thighs over his shoulders and bent his head to taste her.
A slight whisper of concern passed through his mind, that he was trying something ridiculous, that trying to please her in that way, in such a position—her shoulders resting on the bed, her back supported by his thighs—was maybe too ambitious. His want, his bone-rending need of her was too great to listen to the critical voice that often arose from his innate HSP “pause to check” response to novel situations. Right then, all he wanted to concern himself with was observing Jess’s reactions so that he could drive her out of her mind.
Her eyes darted back and forth, the shock of finding herself in that position leaving her mouth agape. She pulled in a sharp breath, focusing her gaze on his for a brief second until he caressed her with his tongue, making her eyes roll back. He did it again, faster, pressing harder, binding his forearm tight around her stomach as she shuddered and squirmed. He sped up, kissing, stroking, sucking.
“Oh, God, Mo,” she shuddered, her thighs tightening, bringing her closer to his lips. She grabbed onto his comforter with one hand, the other scratching down his thigh. His heart racing, he narrowed his eyes, focusing on hers as he angled his head to the side and began gently sucking her clit.
“Mo…,” she panted, writhing. Her face was flushed, the skin on her chest and neck turning a deep pink, as her pants morphed into high-pitched sighs. He held her tightly against him, increasing the intensity as his heart tried to race out of his chest.
“Mo!” she gasped. “I’m gonna…”
Come, Jess.
He winked at her.
She cried out, grinding hard against his face, her eyelids sealed shut. He rode the wave with her, continuing to lick her with softening strokes as her breathing calmed. Feeling her legs slacken, he gently guided them to rest on the bed.
“Oh, Mo.” She sighed. The satisfaction in her voice was a warm glow that nestled deep in his chest as he watched her come back to herself. She rested an arm on her forehead and blinked a few times, looking up at the ceiling. He softly caressed her stomach before stretching out next to her.
“Mo,” she said again, licking her lips. “That was incredible. I’ve never done that before…” She sighed. “Not like that.”
Proud, but shy, he felt his cheeks heat. He cleared his throat.
“I try to do quality work,” he said, running his hand along the silken sheet of her hair spread out between them.
Her laughter made him grin, but he was stuck on her hair. He adored the depth of her shade of brown, but the warmer, lighter portions mesmerized him, too. Especially how the varying colors were reflected in the shades of her eyes—an enchanting warm brown most of the time, but deep and intense when she was on the cusp of an orgasm.
“I would give you a Yelp review, five stars,” she said. “But I don’t want anyone to know about that particular skill. I don’t plan on sharing.” She smiled at him.
He chuckled.
“Let’s just say you inspired me to be a bit creative,” he said.
“Mmm.” She sighed. “Well, I am one lucky lady to be with someone so creative.”
To be with…
There was a difference between dating someone and being with someone. At least from his perspective. If she was phrasing it that way, she might see their relationship as…a relationship. He ran his fingertips through her hair again. Maybe it was time to actually put the boyfriend-girlfriend thing on the table. His heart rate picked up a little.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, turning on her side to face him. “You look very serious all of a sudden.”
He looked her in the eye. He could do this. He could bring it up. Why was he hesitating?
“You aren’t doubting that you satisfied me, are you?” she asked.
His cheeks heated, and he chuckled.
“No, I’m not.” He watched his hand, sliding along her hair again. “It’s…I…Well, something Rick said. Right before our photoshoot,” he said, still focused on her hair.
“Okay,” Jess said, taking his hand. He looked at them woven together and pushed himself to smile, in spite of the very unpleasant hammering in his chest.
“He called you my girlfriend. I told him to knock it off, since we…we haven’t talked about that, and I don’t know if it’s too soon—”
She cut him off, releasing his hand to place hers on his cheek. He made himself meet her gaze.
“You’re my boyfriend, and I’m your girlfriend,” she said. She leaned forward and kissed him.
He hadn’t allowed himself to fully contemplate how he might feel if Jess became his girlfriend. He’d made it a point to push those anticipated sensations away, knowing that they would have been so addictive that he would have had trouble focusing on his everyday life. But right then, as the barrier against those emotions disintegrated, an intense but comforting warmth radiated out from his racing heart, flooding through him. It brought a pleasing kind of tingling across his skin. While positive, the sensations were still quite a lot and he tucked his chin, taking a few breaths to try to return to a more balanced state.
“Aw, Mo,” Jess said, tipping his face back up with a cupped hand under his chin so he’d look her in the eye. “Are you okay?” She smiled at him.
He nodded.
“Just really happy you want to be my girlfriend,” he said, smiling back. She kissed his nose.
“Thank you,” she said, letting her eyes close as she rested her head on the bed. She squeezed his hand.
“For what?” He leaned in and kissed her forehead, letting his lips rest there.
“I had…a frustrating conversation with my mom after I left the smithy today. I didn’t realize that I’d still been holding some stress. You made it all disappear with your acrobatic achievement just now. Becoming your girlfriend is the cherry on top,” she said.
The happy warmth he’d been floating in plummeted. Worry tightened his throat. He must have seen her text and replied not long after that frustrating call. Then she’d suggested coming over. They’d ended up naked in bed about half an hour later.
She is initiating after upsetting feelings. She’s running to me to escape.
“Are you okay?” she asked, snapping him out of his growing worry.
He wasn’t sure what to say. It was a sensitive conversation to have. And maybe one better dealt with when they were both clothed and less likely to feel vulnerable. But waiting seemed like a bad idea.
“Um,” he croaked. He cleared his throat. “You remember the first time we slept together?”
She grinned and snuggled close, tucking her head into his chest. He wrapped an arm around her, and she slid hers over his waist. He hoped she couldn’t hear his heart.
“Of course,” she said. “It was wonderful.”
He attempted a smile, but it was tight. He was glad she couldn’t see it.
“It was,” he said. “I was a little worried, though. Remember? It was after a difficult call with your mom. When I went home, I talked to Khalil because I’d been worried that I took advantage of you when you were in an emotional state.”
“Yeah,” she said, voice a touch wary. “But I told you that you hadn’t. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I remember you said that. And I know that’s how you felt. I just…I wanted to be careful.”
“Of course you did,” she said. He could hear the smile in her voice, which was a good sign.
“Khalil suggested that I pay attention to the next time. To see if, when you came to me, if you…” He swallowed to push down the nerves pricking in his throat. “If you seemed to be turning to sex to get away from difficult feelings.”
She was very, very still. He couldn’t even tell if she was breathing. While being in that position had made it easier to voice his concerns, it kept him from reading her face to gauge her reaction. Which dramatically increased his worry.
“Do you feel like I’ve been using you?” she asked softly.
He rapidly scanned his own emotions. He’d been so concerned about hers that he hadn’t checked in with himself about it. Feeling used in a sexual way hadn’t crossed his radar before. Perhaps because he’d never been one for sexual encounters outside of more solid relationships. He gave himself a quick scan again, and the only thing he could come up with was that because she had shown that she saw him as an HSP, that she’d respected his needs and had accommodated his quirks, he didn’t feel at all like she was using him. He was more concerned that she wasn’t respecting her own needs by running away from them. He squeezed her in a quick hug and told her what he was thinking.
“Hmm…” she said, snuggling even closer to squeeze him back. “I don’t think I’ve been running away from anything. I’m just really happy to be with you. And…” She sighed. “It’s been a long period of unhappy. ”
Mo could get that. In the marrow of his bones.
“It has,” he said. He could have pressed, tried to move the conversation a little bit deeper, encourage her to really think about the possibility. But he knew that sometimes, for heavy subjects, the best approach was to look at in small parts, a little bit at a time, and let them digest. They could return to it later. He kissed the top of her head.
“The call today, what was it about?” he asked.
Jess sighed.
“She wants me to go visit. So we can all talk. I don’t think she’ll stop pestering me until I do go.”
“Do you think you will?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Alice and Steph have been nudging me anyway. We messaged about it a little this morning when I let them know that I’m okay after getting so upset about my doctor wanting even more tests and them both being so…worried.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll have to go home eventually. But…”
Mo sensed that there was more behind the “worried.” He’d felt she didn’t tell him everything that had been said in their conversation when she’d called him over, but it certainly wasn’t the moment to pry about that, either.
“But?” he asked.
“It’s strange. It didn’t feel like home the last time. Honestly, I haven’t felt like I’m home since I came back. Maybe I was just gone too long.” She sighed again.
“Maybe,” he said.
She shifted a little, draping one of her legs over one of his. Pressing her body against him, she kissed his chest. Then his collarbone. Concerned about the path she might be heading down, he pulled back a little.
“Let’s just snuggle for a bit,” he said, moving gently to nudge her to spoon with him.
She nodded, scooting until her back was pressed against his chest. She hugged his arm close when he wrapped it around her. Once they settled, she laughed a little.
“Funny,” she said. “Feels a little more like home in Hephaestus’s arms.”
He chuckled, kissed her crown, and squeezed her tight.