31. Chapter 31
Jake
I fell with her onto my bed, covering my body over hers, and pulled the sheet up, not giving her the space to overthink it, or letting her slip away from me that easily.
“You’re so beautiful.” I hummed, pressing a slow kiss to the delicate skin of her neck.
My dick hadn’t fully gone down since the balcony, probably wouldn’t ever go down around her again, but I wasn’t pushing for more. I was content just feeling her, being in her presence.
Nipping my teeth along her ear lobe, she giggled, whole body wriggling underneath me. I fucking loved hearing that sound almost as much as I loved her breathy moans.
“Oh my god, I’m ticklish there.”
I did it again, just to hear that sound come out of her one more time. “Right here?”
“Jake, stop.” She laughed, trying to twist away, her hands pushing lightly at my chest.
My hand slowed its pace, tracing the line of her shoulder, down her arm, and across her side like I was figuring her out one piece at a time.
Her breath caught when I hit her ribs. “Are you ticklish everywhere, mama?”
Another laugh threatened as her lips parted. “I’m not telling you that.”
“Mmm.” I bit my lip with a smirk, not willing to accept that answer, and continued pushing that boundary.
She jerked with a soft gasp, her hand catching mine. “Jake—”
“Uh-huh?” I said innocently, my focus roaming all over her.
“I have many tickle spots, okay? Is that what you need to hear before you torture me?”
“Torturing you isn’t what I had in mind.” I pressed my lips against hers in a firm kiss. “I’d much rather learn you.”
I paused, watching her face, waiting for a pinch to tell me no. But she subtly nodded instead.
“You’ve done a pretty good job at that already,” she said, breathless.
“I can do better.”
My fingers resumed their keen exploration, following the curve of her collarbone, down the line of her arm again, then back in across her side. This time, she didn’t squirm as much. But I felt her breathing change to a shallower rhythm.
Her body was moving with me, not against me now.
“See,” I murmured, my mouth ghosting near hers, not quite kissing her this time. “This is way more useful.”
Her lips twitched, but she didn’t answer, her eyes locked on mine like she was waiting to see where I’d go next.
So I showed her, sliding my hand lower, moving my mouth from hers and letting my breath peak her nipples.
I wanted to lick them, suck them, see if I could make her come just by doing this…
but my gaze snagged on the silver lines I’d been obsessed with, and my dick throbbed against her leg. There was no way she didn’t feel it.
A possessive growl rumbled in my chest. “I love your body,” I whispered against her skin, as though I could speak the words to somewhere deep inside her.
Her legs began to curl in on one another, and her hands covered her stomach. Tension stiffened her movements.
“I don’t know why. I hate how soft it all still feels,” she muttered under her breath, but I’d heard them loud and clear. No woman of mine was going to feel that insecure with a body like this.
“Please don’t talk about my second favorite person like that.”
Her eyebrow quirked. “Second favorite?”
“Well, yeah,” I said easily. “Me and my boy Cai are locked in. You’re a close second.”
She snorted a laugh, loosening the hold on her belly. “Oh, I see how it is.”
Shifting higher so I could be level with her lips again, I whispered, “Baby, I don’t think you do see,” I breathed. “Because you’re talking trash about your body, and I don’t wanna hear it.”
Her throat worked on a swallow, eyes darting between mine.
“You have the most beautiful body I’ve ever seen,” I went on, no hesitation as my hands traced the stretch marks again, fluttering over hard-earned muscle and softness combined.
“It’s soft and it’s strong at the same time.
It tells a story. It tells me you grew a baby boy I adore. It tells me you work hard.”
I kneaded her skin in my palm. “This body is beautiful,” I said. “It made something from nothing. And I’m not gonna let you treat it like it’s anything less than incredible.”
Her fingers curled into the sheet beside her, her body still a little tense, like she didn’t quite know what to do with being seen like this.
“Hey,” I murmured, dipping to nudge her nose against mine. “Look at me.”
When her eyes lifted, the green was so multi-faceted I was sure I could spend the rest of my life looking at her and still keep finding new shades to ruin me.
There was an eternity hidden in her eyes. I didn’t know what that could look like, but in that moment, I knew she held the key to something I was looking for.
“Repeat after me—”
“Jake—”
“I am beautiful,” I went on, waiting. When she didn’t answer, I pinched a nipple, eliciting a gasp from her. “Come on, I’ve got all night.”
She sighed loudly. “I am beautiful.”
“One more time with less sass, please.”
She reached down and pinched my nipple then, making me yelp.
“I am beautiful.”
Soothing my skin, I looked at her again. “I am strong.”
Her head fell back, and she covered her face. “I am strong.”
“And for anyone sat way in the back?”
She dragged her hands down her cheeks, peeking at me through her fingers like she couldn’t decide whether to laugh or kick me out of bed. “Jake, this is ridiculous.”
“Maybe you feel that way,” I agreed easily, not moving an inch, not giving her an escape route. “But you’re still gonna say it.”
Her mouth twitched, a reluctant smile flirting with me. “I am strong.”
“There she is.” I beamed, pulling her on top of me, rolling onto my back.
Her hair fell forward, cloaking us in our own little bubble.
“I am worthy of good things.” That one might’ve been a little personal and pep-talk-esk for me, but we both needed to hear it.
Her tongue wet her lip as she said, “I am…worthy of good things.”
I tipped my head forward, pressing my forehead to hers, holding her there because I needed her to feel it, not just say it.
“I am amazing…”
“I am amazing…” she repeated, and my heart did something I wasn’t prepared for, like it tripped over itself, trying to catch up with how easily she’d said it that time. She wouldn’t understand the admiration I had for her, and how easy it was to be with her.
My hand slid up into her hair, fingers threading through it, holding her there while I let out a quiet breath against her mouth. Then, because I could feel things getting heavier…
“…at giving Jake head.”
“At giving…Hey now.”
Her head snapped back to look at me properly, her expression hovering somewhere between scandalized and amused.
“What? Who said that?” I looked around the room.
Her laugh burst out, free and laced with a snort that made her sound a little unhinged. “You are really something else.”
But she was still smiling, still here, still leaning into me instead of away.
Exactly where I wanted her.
“Come on, mama, let’s get some sleep so I can forget about the fact that I want to fuck you into next week.”
Except, I’d likely never forget that.