Chapter 30 #2
“Bye, Ira.”
In more of a sombre mood after hearing about Harper, we crack open another bottle of wine and decide to just all have a sleepover and make a giant bed on the living room floor.
Around 2a.m., I’m woken up by a rattling sound.
I sit up, looking for Pumpkin, thinking she’s probably up on the counter, but I spot her lying up by Wren’s head.
I sit still and listen for the sound again, thinking maybe it was just a dream, when the distinct sound of someone walking on my back porch has my heart beating erratically and my body shaking.
I look over at my living room window, thankful the blinds are pulled down, and then peek over into the kitchen.
The blinds are shut on the patio doors, and I let out a sigh of relief before very quietly reaching for my phone on the coffee table.
On my hands and knees, I crawl to the bathroom and dial West while trying to regulate my breathing.
It’s late, but I know he will answer.
“Jade?” his sleepy voice rasps through the line, and my chin wobbles.
“West,” I croak out.
I hear him shifting and then his voice is clear. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“I need you.” My voice cracks, and I begin to cry. “Someone is outside my house.”
“Okay. Stay calm, Jade. Just breathe, baby. Are you safe?”
I can hear him moving around, and knowing he will come helps relax me a little. “I’m hiding in the bathroom, but Wren and Sarah are asleep in the living room.”
“I’m on my way, okay? I won’t let anything happen to you guys. Just stay on the line with me, okay?”
“Okay.” I hiccup through tears.
“Are the doors and windows locked?” he asks as I hear his truck start.
“Yes. Blinds are closed too.”
“Good.”
“I’m scared.”
“I’m going to get there and nothing is going to happen.”
I stay on the line with West until he tells me he’s here.
“I’m going to take a look around outside, okay? Stay inside and I’ll knock three times so you know it’s safe to open the door, got it?”
“Yes.” I end the call and crawl back out to the living room, rousing Wren and Sarah from their sleep.
After I fill them in, Wren wraps me in a hug, and then three soft taps come from the living room door. I bolt out of Wren’s arms and run to the door, swinging it open. The second I see West, I launch myself into his arms.
“Shhh. It’s okay, baby. I got you.” He kicks the door closed and carries me to the couch where he sits, and I remain clinging to him like a koala.
Rubbing my back trying to sooth me, he places a kiss to the top of my head.
“There’s no one out there. Whoever it was must have left when they couldn’t get in. ”
I lift my head from his chest and realize that this probably looks wildly intimate. I face my friends and feel my cheeks heat when I see the looks on their faces. I go to push off, but West’s large hands clamp down on my thighs, keeping me in place.
“Do you girls wanna come home with me tonight? I have plenty of room for the three of you, and I would feel better knowing everyone is safe tonight.”
“Yes,” we all say in unison.
“Okay.”
Fifteen minutes later, we are in West’s truck on the way to his house.
“If you girls wanna stay together, the room at the end of the hall on the left has a king bed,” West says, setting Pumpkin down so she can explore. “Or you can each choose your own. I’ll let you guys discuss it and decide, I’m going to get the rest of Pumpkin’s things from the truck.”
West leaves us standing in the entryway of his house, and I glance at the girls, thinking the king bed sounds nice. I really don’t want to be alone right now.
“So, I have an idea,” Sarah says conspicuously. “Wren and I will take the king bed with Pumpkin. Jade, you can stay with West.” Her eyes spark with mischief, and the corners of her mouth curve into a smile.
“Oh! Good idea, Sarah!” Wren says.
I roll my eyes at my friends. “You guys, be serious. I think we should all take the king bed.”
Wren bends down to scoop up Pumpkin, who was curving between our legs, and then gives Sarah a sly look before both take off running for the stairs, leaving me behind.
The door opens, and West comes in carrying the litter box and a bag of Pumpkin’s food. “Where did the other two go?” he asks, looking around.
I roll my lip between my teeth, feeling embarrassed. “They, uh, sort of ditched me.”
West’s eyes scrunch. “Why would they do that?”
Avoiding eye contact, I tell him what they conspired. “They wanted me to sleep in your room.”
“Do you, uh, do you want to?”
“I don’t want to be a burden. I’ll just take one of the other rooms.” I shrug.
West sets Pumpkin’s things down and pulls me into his arms. “It would not be a burden to have you in my bed, Jade.”
My eyes dart to his, and even though I’m nervous to share a bed with him, being close and having him hold me sounds really nice. “Okay.” I whisper, and he places a kiss to the side of my head.
“Let’s get this stuff put away and then we can go up to bed.”
I help West get Pumpkin’s stuff sorted and then, taking a deep breath, I follow him up the stairs to his room.
Once inside, I sit on the edge of the bed and watch with rapt attention as he begins to pull off his shirt and unbuckle his pants. My mouth goes dry as he pushes them down and I see the outline of him through his boxers. My eyes shoot to his as the air charges, making my pulse race.
“Nothing has to happen tonight, Jade. Get comfortable.” He tips his chin towards the bed, his voice husky.
I swallow, unable to take my eyes off the bulge in his shorts.
Very slowly, he walks over to me and tips my chin up with his finger. “All we have to do is sleep. Okay?”
God, this man. With him standing above me, our chests rising and falling in synchronization, I realize I have never felt so safe. It has been so long since I’ve been intimate with anyone, and I’m shaking, I’m so nervous, but I trust West. I want this. I want him.
“What if I don’t want to just sleep?” I whisper, my voice shaking with nerves.
West’s eyes flare, and he lets out a deep groan before smashing his lips to mine.
Our kisses are hungry and desperate, and as he pushes me back against the mattress, my back arches and I feel him hard against my centre.
My head tips back, granting him access to my neck, and when he kisses his way down, I wiggle against him, trying to get that friction my body craves.
“Can I touch you, Jade?” he whispers into my ear, voice like whisky.
A shiver runs up my body, and I tip my chin, not quite a nod, but a silent yes.
“I need you to say it, Jade. Tell me I can touch you.”
“Touch me,” I whimper.
His hand snakes to the waistband of my shorts, and I let out a gasp as his fingers reach their destination. He strokes my clit and brings his forehead to mine, our breaths mixing.
“Fuck. I haven’t even entered you and you’re soaking my fingers.”
I tilt my hips up at his words, and he chuckles.
“You want my fingers inside you?”
“Oh God. Yes!” I moan, tilting my head back at the ecstasy of the movement.
Bringing his thumb to my clit, he applies pressure and begins to rub circles that have me withering beneath him. I’m almost there when he plunges a finger into me, making me gasp.
“That’s it, baby,” he coaxes before adding a second finger and working them in and out in a tantalizing rhythm.
My eyes slam shut, and my body begins to shutter.
Our mouths slam together as he drags the orgasm out of me, and then he’s pulling his fingers out, making me whimper at the loss.
He tugs my shorts all the way down, and my body hums with anticipation as I watch his heated gaze graze over my centre.
When my shorts are off, he comes back up, tugging the edge of my shirt, and my body freezes.
I clamp down, holding my shirt in place, and shake my head.
He watches me closely, and I can see confusion line his face, but then he gently kisses my lips.
“What’s the matter, baby?”
“I just want to keep my shirt on, if that’s okay?
” My voice wobbles, and I feel the tears building behind my eyes.
He’s already seen my breasts the day at his parents farm, so he probably thinks I’m crazy right now.
The tears spill over because I’m letting my past and secrets ruin this amazing moment.
“Hey.” He swipes the tears away and kisses the bridge of my nose. “If you want to keep your shirt on, that’s okay. Or we can stop this. It’s all up to you, Jade.”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t want to stop, just, just keep my shirt on, okay?”
“Okay.” He nods. “You know you’re beautiful, right?
Every single part of you. I’m not sure why you want to keep your shirt on, but I’ll respect that, and I promise you, Jade, whatever the reason, I’m going to think your body is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I promise to care for and worship it. Always.”
The fissures he’s already placed in my walls shatter. In this moment, I know West is the one. He is so tender and loving, and there are no words for how he makes me feel. My heart is his, and I trust him fully. I’m ready to give West one of the biggest pieces of me.
My fingers play with the edge of my nightshirt, and I look West in the eyes. “I change my mind,” I whisper, swallowing down the lump of fear in my throat.
“Whatever you want, baby. I promise, you have nothing to fear with me, Jade.”
Slowly, I begin to raise my shirt. My hands shake, and I don’t take my eyes off West’s.
I need to see his face when he sees me. When the first piece of raised flesh peeks out, West sucks in a sharp breath.
I watch his body tense as I go higher, revealing more, and then he’s reaching out very carefully and with so much tenderness to brush his fingers against the scars and raised flesh.
His throat bobs, and then his voice cracks. “Baby,” he croaks.
“I’m okay. It was a very long time ago.” I look him in the eyes and tell him another part of my story.
“I’ve only ever shown one other person my scars.
It was a college boyfriend.” I suck in a breath before continuing.
“He told me that I turned him off.” My voice cracks, and tears spill at the reminder of how that felt.
“I’ll kill that fucker,” West growls. “Jade, look at me. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Scars and all.” He bends down, placing gentle kisses on each of my scars, and I know I made the right decision to trust him.
I’ve never been in love before, but I’m sure this right here is it. I love Weston Donovan.
“Thank you for giving me this piece of yourself," he says, bringing his face back up to mine and kissing me. “One day, I’m going to collect every last piece, Jade.”
Our lips meet, and gone is the desperation from earlier. These kisses are soft and tender, and my heart is cracked wide open. There is no going back from this. From West.
I gave him another piece of myself tonight, one of the biggest ones, and he didn’t cringe, he didn’t run away, he accepted them. Accepted me.
I know that someday, I’ll give him them all. I have never felt more safe or more cherished than I do when I’m with him. I trust him.
I have two more pieces to give him.
My name. And my story.