Chapter 10
Istretched out in bed, and even though I was more than aware I was alone in said bed, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
My body was deliciously sore in the best way possible.
How Jason had fucked me, played my body like a master cellist, had been life changing.
What if it was just for a night? What if he’s not what he seems?
The pessimistic side of me tried to intervene, but I was too amped up on endorphins and dopamine to give it a second thought.
Someone knocked on my door, and I got up, tossing the hoodie Jason had left behind over my body and grabbing a pair of clean undies. Hopping on one foot as I slipped into them, I looked down at myself once I was clothed and had to bite the inside of my cheek.
It was huge on me.
The memory of how he covered my body as he fucked me rushed through my head. I shook the dirty thought away and caught a glimpse of my reflection in the full-length mirror by the small closet in my room.
I was covered, the hoodie longer than the dresses I wore, but somehow, I felt like I was covered with his mark all over me.
I felt like a whole other person.
A new woman.
Geez, no wonder women’s heads got messed with after really great sex. I opened the door, assuming it was Tere to wake me up for my hike, but my eyes widened at who was leaning against the door.
“Jason?” I licked my lips, and he smiled before leaning down to kiss me.
“Morning, baby.”
“Morning,” I whispered, stepping back to let him into my room. That’s when I noticed the drink carrier in one hand and a white bag in the other.
“What’s all that?”
“Breakfast. Sorry I had to leave. Had an early practice.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I, umm…” I picked up my cell, and my eyes widened.
“Shit! I’m going to be late!”
“To where? You don’t have work today.” My movements stuttered as I turned to look at him.
“How do you know that?”
“What?” he asked, feigning not understanding my question.
“How do you know I have the day off?”
“You mentioned it during pizza.”
“I did?” I mean, it wasn’t a secret and sounded like something I would totally do. “Right, sorry. I hate being late to places. I’m supposed to go for a hike.”
“A hike?” He looked me over like he was seeing me for the first time, which, I mean, was close considering we’d just met yesterday. Holy crap, we’d met yesterday, and I’d slept with him!
“You know we live in the desert, right?” he snapped my out of my slut-shaming thoughts.
“Right.” I laughed softly. “And you know that the school has more than a baseball field and gym, right?” The gym was a guess on my end since he was more ripped than any guy I’d ever seen on a romance novel cover.
“Smart-ass.” He leaned in and kissed me.
“Better than a dumbass,” I whispered back, loving the way his deep chuckle felt against my lips.
“How did you sleep?” he asked after pulling away, his warm eyes focused on me like he still couldn’t believe I was real.
Same, honey, same. My face heated up, and I knew I was blushing.
Shit. This was going to take some time to get used to.
Wait, did anyone ever get used to being with a man like Jason?
“Like a baby. You?”
“Great. Just kinda sad.”
“Why’s that?” My head tilted imploringly. But then that strong hand of his touched my face, cupped my jaw with such tenderness my breath hitched in my lungs.
“I was kinda hoping I’d find you all snuggled in bed.”
“I mean…”
“But a hike? I can do that. Get ready.” He kissed me and patted my ass, letting his hand roam under the material of his hoodie to get a good squeeze of my panty-covered cheek.
“Jason, wait, you wanna go with me?” He was athletic—anyone with one bad eye could see that—but I didn’t see him hiking in the desert.
“Baby, you gotta know there ain’t no way I would let you go alone. Haven’t you ever seen Dateline. Hiking alone is dangerous.” My lips pursed. Damn, he was cute. Who knew baseball players could be so protective?
“I’m not going alone,” I shared, and something by the way his brows narrowed told me he didn’t like that.
“What do you mean, you’re not going alone?” His eyes were trained on my face.
“The school has a club,” I shared. Don’t get me wrong, hanging out with him would be fun, but I didn’t want to drag him into anything he didn’t want to do.
“They do?”
“Mhm... Actually, you know Dave Ferguson? From the Omega house? I think he might play baseball.”
“He does.” His hand dropped from my face and his arms crossed over his chest.
“Anyhow, he’s the leader of the club.”
“Then I’m definitely going with you,” he huffed. My lips twitched. “Go get ready.”
“I need to shower.”
“No, you don’t.” His voice gentled, and before I knew it, he pulled me back into his embrace, those powerful hands were back on my face with a gentle touch as they brushed my hair back, carefully tucking it behind my ear. “I want me on your skin.” Speaking of that, I swallowed.
“So, about that… last night.” I swallowed hard. I hated being confrontational, but we needed to have a talk about it.
“Yeah?”
“We didn’t use anything,” I reminded him and waited for some kind of reaction. Like an oh-shit moment from his end, a freakout of some sort. Or a Jason-shaped cutout on my door as he ran to the pharmacy for a Plan B.
But nothing happened.
Jason simply stared at me like he was waiting to hear what the problem was.
“I’m on the pill and I’m clean… I haven’t, well, like I told you, I hadn’t had sex in a while but—“
“I’m clean, baby girl.” My shoulders relaxed, but as he kept talking, my whole body did, doo. “Whether you were on the pill or not, I take care of what’s mine.”
“Do you usually go, umm, bare?” I needed to know. He took my hands in his and pulled me to my bed, sitting and making me take a seat on his lap.
“Last night, things got out of hand, and I know I’m moving fast and can get a little… intense. But I promise you, Sadie, on everything that’s holy, I’ve never done that before. Never. Only with you have I gone without a condom.”
“Only with me?” I repeated, my heart thundering in my chest and yet oddly calm all at the same time. Yeah, good sex really fucked with your brain.
“Only with you.” Maybe it was na?ve of me, but I believed him. And I liked knowing I was the only one who had him that way.
“Okay.” I swallowed. “But I would appreciate it if the moment you start seeing someone new—“ His finger landed over my lips, and my eyes narrowed.
“Don’t finish that sentence, little bird,” he warned. “There will be no one else. Not ever again.”
“Ever again,” I whispered, trying to process what that meant. “Jason—“
“Trust me. I don’t say anything I don’t mean, and I don’t do anything I don’t want to.” God help me, I believed him.
I had to believe in him and take a risk or walk away and more than likely regret it for the rest of my life.
“Okay.” I bit down on my lip. “I’ll get ready and we will head out for a hike.”
“Good,” he said, sealing our plans and maybe our future with a kiss.