Chapter 51
“Are you ready for tomorrow?” Jacob asks as he gently slides off my boots.
“You don’t have to do that, you know.”
“I want to,” he says and kisses the side of my knee before standing up. “You do have to answer that question.”
I roll my eyes but put my arms around him, pulling him close to rest my forehead on his stomach. Seriously, he must be genetically predisposed to abs. There’s no way he finds time to work out this much.
“I think so. Ready as I can be.” I lift the hem of his soft T-shirt and kiss his warm skin. “Are you ready?”
He strokes my hair. “No,” he laughs. “This is my sixth championship between Kilowatt and the Caltech team, and I still feel like I’m going to forget to put wheels on my bot and throw up in the battle box, every time.”
I laugh and pull him down on the bed with me. “I had a dream last night that I left my controller at home in Saint Paul, and I don’t have a spare.”
“Oh god,” he groans. “I’ve had that one. Terrifying.” He rolls over and brings his lips to mine. I let the warmth and comfort of him wash over me before we break apart, and I snuggle into his side.
“Jacob?”
“Mari?”
I pull away and onto my elbow to look at him. He does the same. We are equal now, even, balanced, harmonious. Even so, I worry.
“No matter what happens tomorrow, we’ll be okay?”
“Yep. If you win, I will be so proud of you.”
“And if you win, I will be so proud of you.”
“Even if I obliterate Zeta?”
“Hah!” I scoff. “Fat chance.” I can’t stop smiling.
My nerves settle as I take in every inch of him.
The strong slope of his nose, the black arch of his eyebrows, the perfect bow of his mouth, the angle of his jaw.
I catalogue them in my mind and sort through the database of my memories, exploring them and trying to find one that still hurts.
I come up empty. Even the spots that are sore feel soothed.
There’s no active pain. I can view those moments through a different lens.
The only thing I feel when I see him now is love.
“I love you.”
He grins at me. “I’ll never get tired of hearing that.”
“Even if I say it while holding my trophy?”
“Your trophy? You mean my trophy when I let you hold it? Yeah, I’ll still love it, like I’ll still love you.” He kisses me through my laughter, which only makes me giggle more.
His fingers tangle in my hair, holding me perfectly to explore and claim me, and electric heat bubbles through my veins. “Say it again,” he begs in words whispered against my lips.
“I love you.”
His hand slides up my ribs under my shirt, and he palms my large, soft breast. I arch into his hand, molten on my skin. “Please, Mari. Say it again.”
“I love you.”
It’s a steady stream of words, like the pulse of our hearts as he peels off my clothes. First, my shirt. “I love you.” Then my bra. “I love you,” I gasp as he sucks my nipple into his mouth.
“I love you,” he says, sliding my pants down my legs. “I love you,” he says, shucking his own clothes as he crawls into bed beside me, bare and bared to me.
Our expressions are mirrored. Heated, passionate, gentle, and only for each other. He lays me back smoothly and teases each of my nipples until I’m squirming and begging underneath him.
“I’m going to cum untouched if you don’t stop,” I say, raking my fingers over his scalp. His thick black hair is so soft, I could do this forever and never love it less.
“Tempting, but I’d rather you cum on my cock,” he says as his fingers dip into my wetness. I let out a hoarse cry as he brings the slick to my clit. “Don’t cum until I tell you to.”
“Jacob,” I whine. His hand is gone, leaving me on the precipice. I whimper into the crown of his head as he goes back to my breasts, his hand settling over my pussy. Not enough pressure to give me what I need but just enough to drive me wild. “Jacob, please.”
“Not yet,” he says, kissing away my whining.
“Not yet, sweetheart.” His fingers circle around my entrance before slowly pushing into me, and I think I’ll fail him, but he pulls away a second before I can cum.
I sob, tears rolling down my cheeks. It’s frustrating and so mind-blowing.
I’m putty in his hands. I’m his to do with as he pleases.
“So fucking beautiful, so fucking perfect.”
“Please, Jacob.”
He drapes his body over mine. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
He pushes into me slowly, and every ounce of me goes blank with need. Each push and pull of our bodies sends a fresh wave of overwhelming desire through me.
“I love you,” he moans into my skin.
“Say it again.”
“I love you, Mari. Cum for me, sweetheart, please.”
I shatter around him. I can hear the wet sounds of my orgasm being fucked out of me, but I’m so lost to the bliss that all I can focus on is the blinding pleasure and the stream of declarations leaving his mouth.
My orgasm rolls through me over and over until he’s cumming, too, moaning my name into the shadows of the room.
He brushes the tears of pleasure off my face and kisses each cheek. “I can’t believe I let you out of my sight for so long, sweet thing. Never again. I’m keeping you.”
My mind is bliss-fuzzy as he tenderly cleans me up, herding me to the shower. I even let him wash my hair with warm water tonight as I let the afterglow of mind-blowing sex and love settle into my bones.
When we’re clean and wrapped in our comfiest pajamas, he slides into bed.
“Say it again?” I ask him.
“I fucking love you, Mari Williams.”