Chapter 10 #5
Jade felt a warmth spread across her body.
She shimmied her body on the mattress, and Maddox smacked the side of her hip, grabbing and adjusting her where she wanted.
She moved her hand from the curve of her hip to caress Jade’s inner thigh.
Maddox eased her way closer to her pussy while massaging her breasts.
Feeling Maddox on her lit up her body and she opened her legs wider, making space for Maddox.
Maddox rubbed her thumb along her pussy, playfully and lightly teasing her.
Jade rocked her hips up and down, begging for Maddox to finger her, but Maddox just maintained eye contact and kept grinning that wicked grin.
“Are you being good?” Maddox asked.
Jade nodded, still begging with her eyes.
Maddox let her thumb slip between Jade’s wet folds and barely enter her before she resumed rubbing. Maddox slipped her middle finger inside fully, and Jade sighed as she felt her entire body relax and open for Maddox. She added another finger, and Jade felt herself unravel slowly.
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the sensations inside build slowly.
When she opened her eyes, she found Maddox still staring at her, that grin and twinkle in her eye still in place.
Maddox removed her fingers and turned on the vibrator to the middle setting.
Maddox spread her lips, exposing her clit, and positioned the toy right on her clitoris, holding it steady.
“Oh my god, holy shit,” Jade said. She inhaled sharply and let the air hiss through her teeth as she moaned.
“When’s the last time you used it?” Maddox asked.
Jade narrowed her eyes. “With you.”
“Good girl,” Maddox said, her grin widening as she increased the toy’s speed and pressed it against her clit with more pressure.
Jade grabbed the bed sheets and twisted them in her fist as she tried to hang on.
She let out a low, guttural sound as she circled her hips.
The toy’s vibrations were over-sensitizing her clit, and Maddox must’ve realized because she started moving the toy in circles around her clit, then put more pressure before she eased up.
“Just like that,” Jade managed, doing her best to prolong the moment.
When Maddox inserted two fingers inside her again, she almost lost control and squeezed around Maddox tightly. Maddox curled her fingers upward, finding her G-spot easily, and pressed against it rhythmically, the toy still making quick work of her.
Jade felt her orgasm rise inside of her, building slowly until it consumed every inch of her, and when it crashed over her body, she arched her back and cried out, Maddox’s name on her lips.
Maddox kept circling the toy lightly on her clit, and Jade felt a second build-up swell inside.
When she thought it was done, it kept continuing until another wave moved through her.
Every muscle in her body tensed again, and she clamped hard around Maddox’s fingers.
Finally, her body went slack, and Maddox turned off the toy and took out her fingers, satisfaction written all over her face.
“Well, that was new,” Jade said with a soft laugh.
“Stop, you’ve had orgasms before,” Maddox said as she replaced the toy on top of the bedside table to clean later.
“Duh. I mean that second post-gasm ‘gasm. I’ve never felt it like that before.”
“That’s because I have magic fingers,” Maddox said, and it was enough explanation for Jade.
She wriggled under the comforter and pushed close against Maddox. They lay tangled together in the darkness, breathing hard. Jade's face was pressed against Maddox's shoulder and Maddox's arm was heavy across her waist. The room was quiet except for their breathing gradually slowing and settling.
Jade felt hollowed out in a way that wasn't entirely bad, like something had been released. She felt like she had space inside her body to breathe again.
"Feeling okay?" Maddox asked quietly, her breath warm against Jade's hair.
"Better than okay." Jade's voice was rough. "You?"
"Yeah, me too."
They lay there in silence for a while, and Jade could feel Maddox's heartbeat against her side, a calm and reassuring thrum that Jade let herself sink into.
"Last night," Jade said finally, "you told me you were falling in love with me."
Maddox went very still beside her. "Yeah."
"I didn't say it back."
"I know." Maddox's voice was measured. "You said you needed time."
"I did need time." Jade shifted slightly, propping herself up on one elbow so she could see Maddox's face in the dim light. "Not to figure out how I felt; I already knew that."
Maddox's eyes searched hers, dark and uncertain.
"I needed time to be brave enough to say it," Jade continued.
"Because my ex spent three years making me feel like my feelings were too much, like I was too intense, too needy, too everything.
" She paused, gathering her courage. "So when you said those words, I wanted to say them back so badly.
I was just terrified that if I did, you'd realize she was right. "
"Jade—"
"But tonight," Jade interrupted gently, "I told you about Marcus, the worst thing I've ever done, the guilt and shame I carry every single day, and you didn't flinch. You didn't try to fix it or tell me I was wrong to feel it. You just...stayed."
Maddox's hand came up to cup her face. "Of course I stayed."
"That's why I can say it now," Jade said, her voice steady despite the fear still sitting in her chest. "Because I trust you. Not just with the good parts, but with all of it."
She took a breath.
"I'm falling in love with you," Jade said, then laughed. "Maybe I’ve already fallen. And it's terrifying, but it's also the most certain I've been about anything in years."
Maddox's face relaxed. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Jade smiled despite the tears threatening to fall again. "So if the offer still stands—"
Maddox pulled her down into a kiss, fierce and claiming.
"The offer stands," Maddox said, her voice husky with affection. "For you, it's always going to stand."
Jade laughed, the sound watery. "Good. Because I'm all in. I’m scared out of my mind, but all in."
"Me too." Maddox pulled her closer, arms wrapping around her. "Terrified and certain in equal measure."
"Exactly that."
Jade felt the tension she'd been carrying all day finally ease into something that felt manageable.
"Can I ask you something?" Maddox said after a while.
"Yeah."
"Are we moving too fast?"
Jade considered it. They'd known each other for three months, been sleeping together for a few weeks, and now they were saying they were falling in love.
"Probably," she admitted. "But it also feels right."
"Yeah," Maddox agreed. "It does."
Jade pressed a kiss to Maddox's shoulder. "But I'd rather be scared with you than safe without you."
Maddox's arms tightened around her. "Same."
They fell into comfortable silence again, and Jade felt sleep pulling at her, the emotional exhaustion of the day finally catching up.
"Stay," she murmured against Maddox's skin.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
"I promise." Maddox's hand moved in slow, lazy circles on Jade's back. "Sleep. I've got you, baby."
Jade let her eyes close and sink into the safety of being held. Marcus's face still lingered in her mind, but now there was Maddox's steady presence and the certainty of being seen and chosen anyway.
"I love that you're falling in love with me," Jade whispered, already half-asleep.
"I love that you're falling too," Maddox whispered back.
Jade's last thought before sleep claimed her was that this—this vulnerability, this honesty, this terrifying leap into loving someone—was worth every moment of fear.
They'd both carry their ghosts, the ones they couldn't save. But maybe, together, they could carry each other too.