Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
Madeline
After everything that has happened over the last week, the car ride with Jesse feels like stepping out of a storm and straight into sunlight.
I didn’t realize how tightly my body had been wound until I kissed Jesse on the side of the road and every worry simply fell out of my head. He has a way of doing that. He flips some impulsive switch in me, and I find myself doing things that surprise me.
“Come on,” he murmurs when he parks in front of a cute little coffee shop. “Let’s get some caffeine before I take you to one of my favorite places.”
The bell jingles overhead as we step inside.
The scent of cinnamon, steamed milk, and warm chocolate hits me.
Instant comfort. Jesse slips my hand into his as we walk to the counter and place our order.
A few minutes later, we’re sitting at a corner table with two steaming mochas and a still-warm chocolate brownie between us.
Jesse sits back in his chair and tilts his head, eyes glinting. “Come here,” he says.
“Come where?” I ask, sticking my fork into the dessert.
“Here. You’re too far away from me. I need you closer.”
I laugh. “How much closer can I be? Our knees are touching,” I tell him, sticking the fork into my mouth, totally aware of his eyes on me.
He smirks, then in one smooth, quick move, he leans forward, grabs me by my hips and lifts me off my chair, settling me in his lap.
A startled gasp escapes me when his arms pull me back against his chest.
“Oh my God, Jesse—what are you doing?”
“Be a good girl, Mads,” he murmurs against my hair, arms sliding around my middle, locking me against him. “I’ve been in a car with you for half an hour without getting to touch you. Let me have you for a minute. I’m making up for lost time.”
I’m not sure how I’ll ever get over how easily he says things like that. From anyone else, it might sound ridiculous, but from Jesse, it just lands.
He runs his nose along the shell of my ear, and I giggle, the warmth of him seeping straight into my spine, outweighing the discomfort I feel at public displays of affection.
He kisses my neck and then he reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone.
“What are you doing?” I ask, suspicious, as he lifts his iPhone, angling us both into the frame, and snaps a photo as he presses a kiss to my jaw.
“What are you doing?” I ask again, sliding a hand over my face.
“Capturing the moment,” he says easily. “It’s a good moment.”
“What are you going to do with it?” I ask as he shows me the photo.
“Make it my lock screen, obviously.”
I whirl around to look at him. “Tell me you’re joking. Jesse, what if someone at work sees it?”
He shrugs one shoulder. “No one will see it,” he says, his tone unbothered and annoyingly sexy. “But I’ll see it, and it will make me happy. It’s me and my girl.”
I take a breath, nerves scraping up my spine. It occurs to me that this is one of those times where you either leap…or you run. And in this moment, at this little corner table in this out of the way café, I choose to leap.
“Jesse,” I say quietly, turning again so I can see his face. “I need to ask you something.”
His grin fades, replaced by a more serious expression. “Okay. Ask me.”
My pulse knocks hard against my ribs. “What exactly is this?” I ask. “You and me. Because it doesn’t feel like pretending anymore. And I don’t think I want it to be.”
For a second, he doesn’t speak. When I twist farther to face him, I find something soft and unguarded sitting right there in his eyes, like he’s been waiting for me to say those words. He doesn’t look away. “Mads…” he murmurs. “I thought you knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That I’m not faking a damn thing with you.”
My heart lurches. He shifts me a little closer, his arm tightening around my middle. “The gala, the hotel, the office these past couple of weeks, Ford’s place the other night…none of that was fake for me. Not one second. I’m not interested in pretending with you. I want the real thing.”
A tremor moves down my spine, a mix of want and relief all tangled together. “So, we’re…” I falter, not sure what to say next.
“We’re whatever you want us to be,” he says. “But yeah. I’m in this,” he adds. “With you. Not because we made up a story for your parents. Because I choose you.”
I swallow hard, my throat thick. “And if I choose you too?” I whisper.
His smile deepens, slow and sure, like he’s been waiting years instead of weeks to hear it. “Then, Mads,” he says, leaning in until his forehead touches mine, “that makes us real. That makes us together. I’m yours and you are mine.”
His eyes are dark and completely unguarded. He shifts forward, one hand sliding up my spine, guiding me gently but decisively closer. “Come here,” he murmurs.
There’s no teasing in it. No smirk. Just Jesse being vulnerable and wanting…me.
I tilt my chin up, giving him the permission his eyes are silently asking for.
I expect a collision, but what I get is his lips touching mine in a slow, careful kiss that’s so gentle it’s soft enough to break me open.
I chase the taste, licking into him before I force myself to pull back.
Jesse Winters can kiss. And when he does, he doesn’t hold anything back.
“I want to take you somewhere,” he says quietly. “Somewhere I go sometimes when I need to breathe.”
I nod. “Okay.”
“It’s just a short drive from here.”
He brushes one last quick kiss to my mouth then stands and offers me his hand. I take it, sliding my fingers into his without hesitation.
Outside, the wind carries that scent of ocean and pine that Deep Cove always has, and Jesse lifts our joined hands to press a kiss to the back of mine.
He shifts the sports car into drive and pulls back onto the road, looking at me with that soft, private smile he seems to save for me.
He turns into a small gravel parking lot at a trailhead and as soon as we’re out of the car he tucks me into his side.
We follow the path through the trees and eventually the view begins to open up around us: ocean mist drifting low over the water, the mountains faint and blue in the distance.
The farther we walk, the quieter it gets, like the world is dimming itself just enough for the two of us.
“Is this your favorite place?” I ask as the trail begins to follow the coastline.
“One of them,” Jesse says quietly. “When my mom died, I… didn’t know what to do with myself. I was angry all the time. I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it.” He exhales through his nose. “Ford and Noah dealt with it differently, but I’d just…explode.”
My chest pulls tight for him. He keeps walking, guiding me along the path that curves toward a small lookout framed by cedar trees.
“I used to take the bus here and I’d come sit for hours,” he tells me, nodding to a weathered, wooden bench overlooking the water. “It was the only place where my head stopped feeling like a pressure cooker.”
Jesse gestures for me to sit, then lowers himself beside me, elbows on his knees. “I still come here sometimes,” he says. “Whenever I need quiet. Or space. Or just…” He trails off and gives me a small, almost self-conscious smile. “Whenever I need to talk to my mom.”
“You talk to her?”
He nods. “Not out loud. I’m not totally unhinged,” he laughs. “But yeah. I tell her things. About work. My brothers. Life.”
“And you brought me here,” I murmur, realizing the weight of that.
He shrugs, but it’s the kind of shrug that means everything. “I’ve never brought anyone else,” he admits. “Ever.” His hand finds mine again, threading our fingers. “It feels different with you here.”
I squeeze his hand. Being here with Jesse, in this place that means so much to him, feels almost too much for me to handle. It’s so easy to catch feelings for this man when he opens himself up like this. “Thank you for bringing me,” I say softly.
We spend the next ten minutes sitting in silence, with Jesse’s arms wrapped tightly around me as we look out at the ocean. Eventually, the cool air sends a shiver down my spine. “Let’s go warm up,” he says, grabbing my hands and pulling me to stand.
The second we reach his Porsche, he turns and pins me against the door. My breath stutters. The way he looks at me makes everything else disappear. It’s just me and Jesse for now, but I almost forget that we’re in a public parking lot and that anyone can walk by us.
I tilt my chin up, giving him the answer he’s waiting for, and he takes my mouth instantly—tongue sliding between my lips.
“Can I touch you, Mads,” he murmurs against my mouth.
I seal my mouth to his, rutting my already throbbing clit against his thigh. “Don’t let anyone see us,” I breathe.
I watch the smile take over his mouth before his fingers trail down my body and stroke a slow, devastating line into my pants and along my slit. “No one’s gonna see,” he growls. “I promise, I’m the only one watching you.”
He presses my back against the cool metal of his car, his body shielding mine.
We’re both fully clothed, but it’s obvious what we’re doing.
If I’m honest, I don’t care. Wild horses, earthquakes, the apocalypse—none of it could make me stop this moment.
I need Jesse’s fingers on my clit, the way he keeps circling, retreating, then giving it back to me again and again.
My hips move on instinct, greedy for every tight circle of his fingers. My palms slide down his back, over the hard curve of muscle, until I’m clutching the round globes of his ass and pulling him into me. My head tips back against the car, a moan slipping out when he presses harder.
Our gazes lock right as my climax hits me and the world tilts in a sharp, fast, unstoppable free fall. Pleasure rips through me before I realize it’s happening, and I come on his hand in the middle of the parking lot.
Jesse’s forehead drops to mine, and he steadies my body with his arm around my waist. He pins me between the Porsche and the solid, warm, weight of his body. The thick, unmistakable press of his erection nudges my stomach.
“That was so hot,” he whispers.
“I can’t believe we just did that.” I bury my face in his chest as he eases his fingers out of my body.
“We did, and I’m not going to forget it anytime soon.” I feel him shift and the solid length of him nudges against me as he sucks his fingers clean.
“Jesse…” I start, but he’s already adjusting himself in his pants.
He catches my chin gently, making me meet his eyes. “Don’t worry about my dick, Mads.” A wicked grin curves at his mouth. “He’ll survive. I’ll deal with him later.”
I snort. Only Jesse can talk about his own erection like it’s a misbehaving pet. He presses a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Get in the car before I change my mind and take you right here on the hood.”
We climb into his Porsche, and he reverses out of the parking lot. His hand immediately finds mine on the center console, his fingers lacing with mine. The world outside blurs, but inside the car, everything feels warm and steady.
And in the quiet car, with his thumb brushing slow circles on my palm, one undeniable truth pulses through me: I’m falling for Jesse, whether it’s smart or not.