Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Her body tensed momentarily—a reflex that he recognized. Years of guardedness didn't dissolve instantly, but he was patient. Or rather, for her, he'd learn to be.
"There, now isn't this nice?" His voice was a low rumble against her ear. His arms encircled her, not to restrain, but to cradle and protect.
She fit perfectly against him. Her wet hair—still slightly tangled—brushed against his chest and neck. He could feel her heartbeat, rapid at first, then slowly synchronizing with his own.
"Yeah, it's nice." She sighed. Her body, which had coiled with tension again, began to relax. Millimeter by millimeter, she softened against him. Not quite a surrender but an understanding that he accepted as a victory.
The bubbles shifted around her, tiny white peaks breaking and reforming.
"We have to talk about Destini," she said quietly, her words weighted with emotion.
Chase's arms tightened almost imperceptibly. "I'm sorry it's me," he said. "I know you wanted him to be her dad."
"I'm not sorry you're her dad, Chase. That's not why I was crying," she said, leaning her head back against his shoulder. "Are you sorry that she's yours?"
"No, I'm excited. I've already been thinking about her like she's mine, like my soul knew all this time the truth of it. I'm sorry I missed all her firsts though, missed raising her."
The apology was genuine—sharp-edged with regret, soft with tenderness. He wasn't apologizing for the fact of his daughter's existence, but for the years of absence. The missed moments.
"If you're not sorry she's mine, then why were you crying?" he finally asked.
Jewel's fingers traced idle patterns on the porcelain tub's edge. Her silence spoke volumes—a landscape of uncertainty, of maternal protection so fierce it could shatter glass.
"When I saw her a few weeks ago, we had a few really tough conversations," she finally said, her voice catching. "When I told her about you and needing the DNA test, when I told her about how serious my Lyme was, she became… distant. Closed off. Like she couldn't wait for me to leave on Sunday."
Chase waited, not pushing, but just wanting to be present for her, the kind of presence that invited vulnerability without demanding it.
Her breath hitched. Not quite a sob. More like a dam preparing to crack. The bathroom's steam seemed to hold its breath, waiting to see if she'd cry again or talk through her feelings.
"Did you talk to her about it?"
"I didn't want to push and add too much information too soon, then demand an action. I'm terrified that if I push her to come to Crimson Creek, she'll push back. Hard. And it might break us for good."
Chase's hand moved, settling over hers, anchoring her in the present and offering his support like a lifeline. "What makes you think that?"
Jewel sighed, the sound heavy with a mother's heartache. "She used to tell me everything. Now? It's like talking to a stranger wearing my daughter's skin."
Her voice carried a tremor—part fear, part mourning. The grief of a mother watching her child slip away, not to distance, but to something more complicated. Emotional territory where love and resistance intertwined.
Chase remained silent, his breathing steady. A counterpoint to her turbulent emotions.
"If I force her to move to Crimson Creek," Jewel continued, "she'll resent me forever, and that's the thing that could break us. I—I don't want her to count down the days 'til graduation like I did, then leave without looking back. I don't know if I could handle only seeing her two or three times a year like I did with Dad and Gemma." Her voice cracked on the last word. "I can't—I won't—lose her. But I don't know how to get her to open up or how to move our relationship beyond this impasse we're at now."
The steam seemed to pulse with her vulnerability, with a mother's unbreakable love.
"Let's go see her," he said into her hair, running his hand up her arm. "Maybe her hesitance in coming to Crimson Creek has nothing to do with you."
Jewel snorted, "Yeah, I don't think so."
"Hear me out," he said, watching goosebumps pebble on her skin. "When I went to prison, I was scared out of my mind, shaking in my shoes so much I couldn't even talk. Maybe she's just scared of the unknown like I was. If I meet her, that's one less major thing that'll be unknown."
Jewel's nipples rose in the water, bubbles clinging to the little buds. His hand absently traced her shoulder and down her chest, making her breath catch in her throat.
"You—you really think it'll help?"
He hummed absently. "Yeah, I think if we both go down there and show her what life in Crimson Creek would be like, it would help fight the fear she must be feeling."
"And… what would life look like?" Jewel asked, her voice hesitant.
Chase settled both hands under her breasts, feeling her heartbeat racing as he thumbed her nipples slowly.
"Have you found a place to live yet?" he asked.
She jerked in his arms, whether from his hands or from the topic change, he didn't care. He groaned at the feel of her ass pressing against his dick.
"N—no, not yet. I told Destini we'd probably end up in an apartment," she gasped, her ass setting up a soft, gentle rhythm on his dick, trapping it between her cheeks and teasing him as much as it teased her.
"Fuck," he whispered into her ear, rubbing his nose along her jawline. Stay on topic, get her to agree to this outrageous plan.
"Chase," she whimpered.
"The thing is," he said, trying to maintain a casual tone. "I bought a house from Jade. The McDonald house on Tenth?"
She paused in her movements, processing his words. "The one that's several acres of woods behind the big Victorian, the back yard butting up against the green belt that is Crimson Creek?"
"Yeah, that one," he said, thrusting his hips shallowly and making her melt in his arms with a moan. With his hands on her rib cage, he adjusted her, sliding her down on his dick.
With each inch, they moaned together, her pussy clenching on him, her hands gripping the edges of the tub.
"Fuck, yes," she hissed, fully seated. He didn't move, but shifted his hands back to her breasts, this time rolling her nipples between thumbs and forefingers. "I—I wanted to look at that house, but it was way out of my budget."
"I know," he whispered in her ear. "I asked Jade which house you wanted the most, and I picked that one. Why don't you and Destini move in with me?"
"What? Are you insane?" she asked, partially spinning in his arms and starting to rise, the conversation taking her attention away from their lovemaking.
He pinched her nipples harder and thrust deeper, making her moan and sink onto him with a shiver. "Roll your hips, my Jewel. Use my dick for your pleasure, but don't splash the water, love."
He thrust on the last word, making her gasp and clench.
"Oh, God," she moaned, pressing her ass back against him and setting up a slow rhythm again, rolling her ass in a gentle circle so as not to slosh the water.
The steam swirled around them, creating a dreamlike atmosphere where their bodies moved together, and their conversation hung suspended between intimacy and negotiation. Chase knew he was taking a massive risk—proposing they all live together was bold, possibly crazy. But something in his gut told him this was exactly what they all needed.
"Think about it," he murmured against her neck, one hand sliding down to where they were joined, fingers exploring her clit and making her buck. "Destini gets an entire house with woods behind it. Space to breathe. A mom and a dad under one roof like an actual family. A home base while she finishes high school. And you get stability. Security."
He punctuated each short sentence with a thrust, and Jewel's breath caught with each one.
"Are you—" she gasped as he hit deeper, "—seriously discussing living arrangements while inside me?"
"Best time to negotiate." He chuckled, his hand rubbing circles around her clit and making her gasp. "When you're most agreeable."
Her laugh transformed into a moan as his fingers began to rub back and forth harder. "You're impossible."
"I'm practical," he corrected, his touch increasing in pressure.
Her hips stuttered in their rhythm. "You can't just solve everything with sex," she whispered, but her body was betraying her words, pushing back against him and taking him deeper.
"Who says I'm solving anything?" His fingers played her clit like an instrument and his other hand rolled her nipple, making her thrash on his dick and sending water over the side. He ignored it, for now, as her body began to shake.
She was close. The tension in her body spoke volumes—muscles drawing tight, breath catching, tiny whimpers escaping her lips.
"Let go. Trust me. I've got you. Come for me now," he whispered in her ear, his voice rough with desire, his touch precise and knowing.
Her orgasm crashed over her like a wave. She cried out, body convulsing around him, muscles clenching and releasing and gripping him so tightly he could barely move. Water splashed over the tub's edge, forgotten in the intensity of her pleasure.
As she came down, he held her close, just enjoying the feel of her body wrapping around him. His dick was still hard inside her, but he wasn't rushing. This wasn't just about his own satisfaction. For several long moments, they remained frozen—connected, breathless, suspended in the aftermath of their shared intimacy.
She finally sank limp into his arms, her breath coming in quick gasps.
He kissed lazily up the side of her neck. "Tsk, tsk, there's a mess all over the bathroom floor. I think I should spank you for not being careful like I asked."
At his words, she clenched around him, her breath catching in her throat. A thrill went through him as he cradled her tight. "Does my Jewel like the sound of that? Got a little punishment kink?"
She scoffed and eased forward, his still hard dick sliding out as she drew up her knees and turned to face him. He moved his arms to either side of the tub and watched her.
"I—I don't know about that," she blushed, but her eyes couldn't leave him. Her gaze caressed him, and he preened under her admiration. She licked her lips and reached for the wine. "Do you have any kinks? Or have you not had time to explore those, since you've only been out a year?"
He tilted his head, eager to explore everything with her and only her. "When I first got out, Hunter took me to a sex club in Dallas. I learned a lot about myself, but it was just educational. It was never like this, my Jewel."
Her eyes sparkled as they met his, and he searched for love there. There was a spark of something, and damn him, he was helpless against the hope that bloomed within him.
"Have you had many partners over the past decade and a half?" he asked, half afraid of the answer.
She licked her lips and shook her head. "Only five and none within the past ten years. When Destini got to school and started asking about her dad, I decided to not date anymore until after she graduated."
He kept his expression controlled but laid most of the cards on the invisible table between them.
"Move in with me," he said simply. "Destini will too. I don't know what will happen or where it'll lead, but I think we all need this chance to play family. I want to date you, but I want to get to know my daughter in a way that's only available by living with her. I—I'm tired of living alone, which is why I stay at the bunkhouse half the week instead of here. This will be good for all of us, Jewel, if you'll just say yes…"