Chapter 15 #3
My whole body tensed like I’d been struck by lightning, except this was way better.
Pleasure crashed through me in waves that would put a tsunami warning to shame, white-hot and all-consuming.
I broke the kiss to cry out his name, clutching his shoulders like they were the last solid thing in a world gone liquid as I came harder than I ever had in my life, spilling over his hand and onto my stomach.
The world went white for a moment, every muscle in my body seizing with pleasure so intense it bordered on pain.
Beneath the physical release, I felt something else—a connection deepening, strengthening, like an ancient bond reawakening.
That golden warmth seemed to pulse with my heartbeat, wrapping around both of us like invisible threads binding us together.
The honey-sweet scent reached its peak, filling the room completely, like we were in the center of some magical garden rather than Jaxson’s bedroom. It should have been overwhelming, but instead it felt perfect—a sensory complement to the pleasure still rolling through me in waves.
I was vaguely aware of Jaxson murmuring praise against my skin, his lips trailing along my jaw, my neck, but I was too far gone to process the words. It sounded like a language I should understand but couldn’t quite grasp—ancient and powerful and meant just for me.
When I finally clawed my way back to reality, he was pressing soft kisses all over my face—forehead, cheeks, the corner of my mouth—each one feeling like a cool drink after wandering in the desert. They felt like promises, though what kind, my pleasure-drunk brain couldn’t compute.
“You’re beautiful like this,” he murmured against my temple, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through me. Something in his tone made my heart do that weird stuttering thing that probably needed medical attention. “So beautiful, Lan. Mine.”
That last word, barely audible but unmistakable, sent another wave of that strange warmth through me.
It should have felt possessive, maybe even concerning, but instead it felt right, like a key turning in a lock that had been waiting to be opened.
Like he was claiming something that had always been his.
I buried my face in his chest faster than Wei diving for the last protein bar, suddenly shy despite what we’d just done.
Oh, now you’re feeling shy? Where was this modesty when you were begging him to touch you?
Like, hello delayed embarrassment, your timing is impeccable.
His arms wrapped around me though, creating this perfect little bubble where maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.
As my heart rate slowly returned to something resembling normal, I noticed the honey-sweet scent gradually fading, becoming subtler but not disappearing entirely.
It lingered like a memory, a promise of something more.
I wanted to ask Jaxson if he could smell it too, if he knew what it meant, but the words felt too heavy, too charged with meaning I wasn’t ready to face.
I could feel him still hard against my hip, his cock pressing insistently through the thin fabric of his pajama pants.
Part of me wanted to return the favor, to make him feel as good as he’d made me feel, but exhaustion was rapidly claiming me, my limbs heavy with satisfaction and that strange energy still humming between us.
“Sleep now,” he said softly, pressing one last kiss to my temple like sealing an envelope. His hand stroked through my hair in a gesture so tender it made my chest ache. “We have time.”
Time. The word echoed in my mind, full of promise and possibility. Time for what, exactly? For more lessons? For exploring whatever this was between us? I wanted to ask, but my eyelids were already drooping, the combination of physical release and emotional overload dragging me toward sleep.
As I drifted off in his arms, my brain tried to process everything that had just happened.
Wrapped in Jaxson’s warmth, still tingling from touches that definitely weren’t brotherly, I let myself believe that maybe dreams really do come true—even if those dreams involved falling for your stupidly perfect stepbrother.
Jaxson’s strong arms around me, his scent surrounding me like the world’s most addictive comfort blanket, the memory of his lips and hands bringing me to heights that would make Bree’s romance collection seem tame…
For the first time in forever, I knew I’d sleep better than Colt after completing his precious spreadsheets.
Everything was perfect, and if this was a game, I’d definitely hit the jackpot ending.
Though a small voice in the back of my mind wondered: what happens when the credits roll and real life begins again?
Would this change everything? Would Jaxson regret it in the morning?
Would I? And what about that strange scent, that golden warmth that had wrapped around us like a living thing?
Was that normal, or was it something else entirely?
But those were tomorrow’s problems. For now, I was exactly where I wanted to be—in Jaxson’s arms, his heartbeat steady beneath my cheek, his breath warm against my hair.
And somehow, the most surprising part of all was how right it felt, like my body had always known this was where I belonged, even if my mind was just catching up.