Authors: Tamsyn Bester
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #New Adult & College, #Contemporary Fiction
If I thought about it, he hadn’t done anything, but it was the buildup of brush-off after brush-off that had been percolating, and tonight was the final straw. Between worrying about why he wouldn’t have sex with me, and thinking about Stella, I felt discombobulated. Confused. All over the fucking place.
“Until I what, Jade? Why are you so upset?”
I threw our clothes across the room, and he had to sidestep before I hit him with them. I didn’t feel like treading lightly for his benefit anymore, no matter how crazy I was about to sound.
“I am upset because you won’t have sex with me!” I yelled, throwing my arms out. “I’m upset because you touch me, and kiss me, and then when I want to take it further, you oh-so-politely reject me. And I’m fucking upset because I actually don’t know what the fuck I’m feeling.”
He stared at me like I’d lost my mind, and I was starting to think I had.
“You love me, but I want to feel like you
want
me,” I added, but the more I spoke the more foolish I sounded. Even I could admit that my behavior was not only absurd, but also right out of left field. One minute I was calm, and happy, and the next I was yelling at Reid for something asinine like his lack of desire to screw me.
But was it really asinine? Was I wrong for wanting to feel desired?
Reid’s expression remained stoic, but his eyes flashed with something unnamable and his nostrils flared.
He
was angry? Why was
he
angry when I was the one having a damn –
All thought stopped when he crossed the room in three strides, and crashed his mouth to mine. He wrapped his hand around my neck, and pulled. Hard. I gasped at the force of it, and braced my hands on his stomach.
“You’re so fucking sexy when you’re mad,” he murmured. I could hear the indignation in his voice, but couldn’t tell if it was directed at me or not. “And even sexier when you’re pregnant.”
My heart tripped in my chest at those words. I’d needed to hear them, and I only realized how much, once they’d passed his lips.
His hands cupped my butt and tugged me into him with delicious roughness. God, I’d missed this. I’d missed how wild he made me, and how he made my body heat with ferocious intensity.
He broke our kiss, and I opened my eyes, only to find him glaring at me.
“How could you think I don’t want you?” He asked in a harsh whisper. “Goddamit Jade, I
always
want you.”
Before I could respond, and possibly explain, his lips found mine again, and his hands slid down to my thighs. He lifted me up, and turned us towards my bed. With little effort, he climbed to the middle of my mattress, and held me against his body.
“Reid.” My voice sounded so...breathless. Apparently the lack of orgasms and the way Reid was looking at me turned me into a puddle of incoherence. I was not this woman – desperate and wanting. I was a strong, confident mother-to-be, and...oh fuck it. I was too turned on to care about that shit. I wanted Reid to fuck me already. His gaze was heated and I’d been waiting for him to look at me that way again for so long that when he did, it knocked me off kilter.
“I’m thinking you’re overdressed,” he said between gritted teeth. “As much as I like you in my shirts” – he lifted his Henley, his fingers brushing against my hot skin, and pulled it over my head – “You look so much better without it.”
His gaze dropped to my breasts, and a smirk played at his mouth. “No bra?”
“No,” I croaked out. “I was uncomfortable so I took it off.”
His head dipped, and he sucked a taught nipple into his mouth. I lifted a hand and threaded my fingers through his gold locks while he continued licking at my sensitive flesh.
“Hmmmm,” I hummed between the breathless wisps of air escaping my mouth. He moved to my other breast, paying it equal attention until I was squirming in his lap. His jeans were tight, and when I slipped my free hand between us, I could feel how hard he was.
“I need you naked,” he rasped, digging his hands into my hips. He moved me so that I was lying on my back with my legs on either side of his thighs. With deft hands he had my Uggs off my feet, and my cotton shorts down my legs, leaving me completely exposed to him. He licked his lips, his eyes trained on the apex of my thighs.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “You’re going to kill me.”
I gave him the best smile I could manage – because really, who the fuck could smile properly when they were so eager to have their brains banged out? – And lifted my feet so that I could nudge his shirt with my toes.
“So impatient,” he said, lifting his shirt.
“Shut up,” I replied. “Or I’ll be coming without you.”
His answering grin was salacious, filled to the brim with dirty promises.
“You’ll come when I tell you to,” he states, stepping off the bed to remove his jeans. I’d almost forgotten what Reid was like in bed. He liked to be in control, but only got it right some of the time. Other times it was a constant battle between us, and it usually ended up in a heated physical showdown that left us breathless, sweaty, and sated. Thinking about that made me shiver.
I watched with bated breath as Reid stripped, exposing his gloriously defined body. He crawled over me, holding his weight on one arm while rubbing the head of his erection between my wet lips.
“Tell me if you get uncomfortable,” he told me, gently thrusting his hips forward. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
I shifted lower, resting my thighs against his, and held on to his biceps as he pushed all the way in.
I closed my eyes, and moaned, savoring the feeling of him inside me.
“Fuck,” he grunted, his hot breath hitting my neck. “You’re already close.”
The room filled with my whimpers, and Reid’s hoarse murmurs, and before long it was joined by the steady strikes of our sweaty skin.
“Harder,” I begged without shame. I writhed, and fisted the comforter in my hands.
“I’m not going to last if you keep squeezing...Fuck, Jade.” I managed a grin when I did in fact tighten my muscles around him.
“I swear to God, do it again,” – he groaned loudly – “and I’ll have no choice but to,” – I squeezed again – “Fuck!”
I giggled, watching him closely, but it was cut off when he lifted his arm, and brought his hand between us.
“Two can play at that game,” he said, his voice thick with wicked intent.
He brushed his thumb over my clit, and increased his pace, hitting me deeper than before.
I sucked in a breath, and with one final brush of his thumb, my body bowed off the bed, and I screamed. I reached for Reid’s thighs, and dug my nails into his flesh while I shook, almost violently. He fell forward, and dropped his head to my chest, thrusting twice before I felt his teeth sink into my breast to stifle his loud groan. He was careful to keep his upper body off my belly, but the feel of his hot, sticky skin against mine felt magnificent.
“Finally,” I sighed, trying to reign in my rapid heartbeat. My limbs felt like jell-o and I couldn’t quite remember ever having an orgasm of that intensity.
Reid pushed off me, and the movement sent aftershocks through my legs. “Shit.”
Reid chuckled, and I opened my heavy eyelids. “That was....” he said, shaking his head.
“Yeah,” I laughed, my chest still heaving.
We were quiet for a few moments, and when Reid had caught his breath he lowered his face to mine and held my chin. His touch was gentle, but his eyes were hard, and resolute.
“I don’t want you to
ever
think I don’t want you, Jade.”
I wanted to look away, maybe hide the fact that I was starting to feel embarrassed by my behavior, but I couldn’t. I wanted to Reid to see the array of feelings as they flitted across my face – love, lust, embarrassment, confusion. All of them. I’d never hidden anything from him, and I didn’t want to start now.
“I just -” He pressed his finger to my mouth to silence me.
“Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. I thought I was doing the right thing by taking things slow, but I realize now that ‘slow’ doesn’t work for us.”
“I’m sorry I acted the way I did,” I replied, talking against his finger. I moved his hand, and held it against my chest. “I just thought...” My words fell away when Reid shook his head.
“I know what you were thinking, and you’re wrong. I want you, always, in my bed, at my side, even when you’re behaving like a sex-starved, certifiably insane woman.”
His deep, throaty chuckle relaxed me, and my lips lifted into a sheepish smile. “It’s your fault I’m sex-starved.”
He let out a sigh, and replied, “I wanted us to do things right this time,” –
like Kennedy had said,
I remind myself, - “I’m not losing you again, Jade.”
“You won’t. I’m yours, and I’m pretty sure I always have been. It just took a while for us to get here.”
I sat up, and Reid’s hands held on to my hips as I moved to straddle him. We were both exhausted, but I wasn’t quite ready to let him go just yet. A sharp movement in my stomach made me jolt, and I brought Reid’s hands down to where our daughter stirred.
“Someone’s awake,” I said, smiling. Reid’s mouth tipped up, and he moved his hands in circles, caressing out growing baby. “I can’t believe she’ll be here in a few short months,” he mused. “I hope she looks like you.”
“I hope she has her daddy’s green eyes,” I replied, stroking Reid’s face with reverence. “And his blond hair, and his smile.”
“I already love her.” His voice lowered. “And we haven’t even met her yet.”
“It’s weird isn’t it? To love someone so much it hurts?”
“Not at all,” he replied. “That’s how I’ve loved you all my life, Jade Matthews, and I will love you that way until I take my last breath.”
He was staring into my eyes with such deep adoration that I felt irrevocably tethered to him. How I loved him was soul-deep, and I knew he was and had always been my other half.
Jade was fidgeting anxiously in the passenger seat beside me, and I had to smile. She had a blindfold on and wore one of my U of B hoodies with jeans and her favorite Ugg boots. She looked adorable, but more importantly she looked happy. Excited.
After last night I decided that we weren’t going to ‘take things slow’ anymore, simply because it wasn’t what we’d ever really done. We might have rearranged the order in which we did things – like have a baby
before
we graduated, got jobs and got married – but I’d finally accepted that we were exactly where we
supposed
to be.
“Reid,” she whined. “How much longer?”
“We’re here,” I replied, stopping outside the house that was going to be ours. “But you can’t take the blindfold off yet.”
I jumped out and shut my door before I could hear her complain, but still laughed at her impatience. She was impossible to surprise, but I was hoping I’d get it right this time.
I opened her door, and took her hand as I helped out of the car. “A few more minutes, baby,” I told her. I led her up the driveway, and stopped at the front door so that I could fish the keys from my pocket. I’d collected them early this morning when Jade was still sleeping, and couldn’t wait to show her where we’d be moving into in just a couple of weeks.
I unlocked the door, and pushed it open. “You ready?” I asked her, nudging her into the foyer.
“I’ve been ready all morning,” she huffed. “Can I look now?”
I moved in front of her, and lifted the blindfold from her face. She blinked a few times, and then looked around with curiosity, and maybe a little confusion.
“Where are we?”
I watched her face carefully, and tried to squelch my own nervousness. “This,” – I looked around – “Is our house.”
“Our house?” She repeated, her brows furrowed.
“Yes,” I replied, swallowing anxiously. “I found it yesterday.”
Her mouth dropped open, but when she shut it without saying anything I started worrying that this wouldn’t be what she wanted after all.
She stepped away, and I followed her through the house. She stopped in every room, and because it was the first time I was seeing it all with her, I could feel my own excitement starting to escalate.
Jade stopped in the last bedroom, and did a slow turn before stopping in the center to face me.
“Say something,” I said, hoping that she liked it. If not, we’d have to find something she
did
like, and soon.
With her eyes fixed on me, her mouth started turning up, and she smiled. “I think this would be perfect for a nursery.”
I exhaled, relieved that I’d made the right choice. I crossed the space, and came to a halt in front of her.
“You like it?”
She wrapped her arms around my neck, stretching onto the balls of her feet. “I love it. You did good, Mr. Cole.”
I circled her waist with my arms, pressing her as close as her growing belly would allow, and spun her around. Her laughter rang through the room, and nothing sounded better in that moment.
“Welcome home, baby,” I murmured into her hair, feeling my chest expand. I dropped her back onto her feet, and she was smiling when I looked down at her.
“When do we move in?” She asked, doing nothing to hide her exuberance.
“Two weeks,” I replied, cupping her face in my hands. “Two weeks, and we’ll be home. You, me, and Peanut.”
“And where are we going to sleep?” Her brow lifted.
“In a bed,” I deadpanned. “It will all be taken care off. You won’t have to lift a finger.”
Her lips twisted into a pout. “But I want to help.”
I shook my head, and rubbed her nose with mine. “No. No heavy lifting while you’re carrying such precious cargo. There is
one
thing you can help with though, once everyone else has left.”
“What’s that?”
I lowered my head. “We’ll have to christen the rooms, and I’ll need your help.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Screaming,” I replied. “Lots of it. And a lack of clothing perhaps.”
Jade grinned, her eyes alight with so much
life
it consumed me.
“I think I can be persuaded.”
I pressed my mouth to hers again, feeling her smile against my lips, and held her to me.
God, I loved this woman.
To the end of time.