Page 26 of Won't Let Go
“Jade.” I gently jostle her shoulders, and it does fuckall to rouse her.
Heels digging into the mattress, she bangs her fists on the bed. “Josh! Help! Please!” Tears drip down her flushed cheeks.
My heart cracks in two.
This is fucking horrible. She doesn’t deserve this.
Stupid tears well in my eyes as I lie down beside her in hopes that what I did yesterday fixes what’s broken. This time, I’m less gentle about it. I drag her to me, flip her onto her side, and spoon her from behind. I don’t care that my cock is hard, pressed against her ass, the one Viper pawed today. I lock my arm around her waist, and she sighs, relaxing against me. It’s instant. Her body sinks into the mattress. Claiming my arm, the same as last night, Jade stuffs it between her breasts. Only this time, they’re warm and damp and… bare. Fuck… they’re bare.
But I’m a gentleman. A fucking gentleman, you hear me?
Slowly breathing in, holding it for a million, and breathing out, I will my body to get with the program. Even if my heart isdamn near beating out of my chest, and my balls ache, it’s fine. This is fine. It’s not a big deal. I’m here for her.
To drive that point home to the base, Neanderthal part of my brain, I kiss Jade’s sweaty head and get drunk on her intoxicating scent—green soap and flowers—the best smell in the world.
“I’m here. I got you,” I whisper between kisses. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Jade hums in contentment and snuggles her ass deeper into my pelvis. I live in hell on earth as I try my damndest to fall asleep.
It evades me for hours as I listen to her sleepy little sounds with her warm and, oh-so-soft body in my arms—the perfect fit.
Because she is…for me.
The one.
Perfect.
10
JADE
Another morning,I wake with light streaming through my windows. Heat envelops my back as something thick and hard prods my ass. When I look down, not only am I naked, but there’s a hand gripping my boob. A familiar hand. I wait for fear to set in. The horror. The embarrassment. But it doesn’t. Josh’s clean, masculine scent fills my head as his sleepy breaths puff across my neck, both soothing and tickly.
I must have screamed again. Why else would he be here?
Lifting the random throw to my chest to conceal what I can, Josh’s finger grazes my nipple. On a sharp intake of breath, I shiver as my arm hair stands on end. It’s been over a decade since anyone has touched me there with care.
“So sexy,” he groans in my ear and grinds his thickness against my backside.
I stiffen and hold my breath. When his hand snakes down, down, down, to cup me… there… I gasp. It’s loud and squeaky, and it wakes Josh right up. Ripping himself away from me, he falls off his side of the bed, onto the floor, in a mess of limbs.
“Fuck. I’m sorry,” he croaks, shoving his back against the wall, beneath a window.
“It’s okay,” I soothe, knowing he didn’t do it on purpose.
He shakes his head hard. “No. No. It’s not. I didn’t ask permission.”
Wait.
“What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t ask to touch you, there. Christ, Jade. Can you please cover it up?” He eyes my bare chest, and I yank the blanket up to my neck.
Heat singes my cheeks. “Oh. Sorry. I…”
“No. No.” He waves me off, closes his eyes, and pinches the bridge of his nose. His forehead wrinkles like he’s in pain. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Fuck. I…Look. It won’t ever happen again. I must’ve been dreaming. I don’t know. But I’m sorry.”
“Josh. It’s okay.” He needs to calm down.
