Chapter 19

H e was so fucking proud of her. Liam held Jasmine in his arms, brushing and kissing her tears away, just letting her let it all out. He could feel the exhaustion in her body, her grip on him weak, but she refused to let go, as if she was worried he was going to pull away. Like he even could.

With his chest pressed against hers, he could feel her heart racing, then slowly calming as she cried it out. "You're okay, darling. I've got you."

When her cries softened into sniffles, and she seemed a little steadier, Liam tried to pull away, but she clung to him. "No. I don't want to let you go yet," she murmured sleepily, and, though Liam wanted nothing more than to fall asleep exactly like this—still inside her, cum leaking all over them both, panting and spent—she needed water, at the very least.

He kissed her forehead, her eyelids, the tip of her nose. "Let me take care of you first. We'll get ready for bed, and then I'm going to hold you all night. "

"But I want to fall asleep with you inside me," she grumbled, and, though it took Liam's brain a second to register the words, his cock picked up on them right away. Had he ever been hard again this quickly? Jesus.

Jasmine must have felt him, because she suddenly perked up, but, as much as Liam was already ready for round two (and three and four and beyond), they needed to rest.

"I promise we can still do that," he said, with one last kiss to her nose before pulling out. "But we need to get ready for bed first." Jasmine sighed and pouted, but didn't protest. She was so fucking cute.

His muscles protested as he climbed off the bed. He grabbed a warm washcloth from the bathroom and a glass of water, which he handed to Jasmine first, making sure she drank some, before turning his attention to the mess they'd made. Liam willed his cock to calm down as he took in the sight of Jasmine glistening with his cum. He took a deep breath and focused on the plug.

She whimpered when he tugged gently on it. "Deep breath," he instructed, and he heard her taking a big gulp of air as he slid the plug from her. He cleaned her up with the washcloth and she hummed in thanks, taking small sips of the water. When he was done, he rinsed the cloth and plug in the sink, tossing the cloth in the laundry basket and setting the plug aside to clean properly tomorrow.

As turned on as he was, sleep dragged him down. The temptation to just climb into bed and fall asleep beside Jasmine was strong, but they were too old not to know better. He knew he'd regret it if he didn't drink some water and take his vitamins before bed.

"You go get ready in the bathroom first," he said, offering a hand to Jasmine, who reluctantly took it and sat up. She looked dazed as he helped her to the bathroom, and who could blame her? Liam was floored after just a few weeks without coming. Ten years? He was surprised she could stand.

Jasmine was always beautiful, especially in the quiet moments she wasn't trying to be anything but herself; first thing in the morning, before he brought her coffee in bed, when she had sheet marks on her skin and her hair was chaos; when she took the first bite of something she loved, usually involving chocolate, and a flash of bliss crossed her face; when they were just lying on the couch together and she really relaxed into the moment.

But Jasmine post-orgasm was effervescent, and Liam was well on the road to getting hooked on making that happen. Perhaps he already was.

While Jasmine was in the bathroom, he stripped the ruined blanket from the bed and tossed it in the closet to deal with later. He wasn't entirely sure it was cleanable, but he'd give it a shot. He usually put a waterproof blanket on the bed, but he hadn't been expecting that .

He filled Jasmine's water tumbler and got a glass for himself, before turning off all the lights and making it back to the bedroom just in time for her to walk out of the bathroom, rubbing her eyes. She got settled in bed while he sped through his nighttime routine: teeth, vitamins, mustache oil, and moisturizer, so he didn't wake up with a face that felt like sandpaper.

He half expected her to be asleep when he finished, but Jasmine was sitting up, squinting at her phone screen. "What are you doing?" he asked, climbing in beside her.

"Booking a yoga class for the morning. I can already tell my muscles are going to be screaming. You want to come?"

Liam winced. "Definitely not. I can't imagine you still being attracted to me after witnessing me trying to do yoga." Jasmine snorted as she booked her class and set her phone aside. "Why yoga? Wouldn't a massage be better for your muscles?"

"I like yoga," Jasmine said with a shrug and a yawn. "And I don't want anyone else's hands on me but yours."

Before Liam even had time to blink at her words, she lay down, tugging the covers up over her naked body, hiding after saying something vulnerable. Liam lay down beside her, pulling her back against her chest and pressing a kiss to her neck. He didn't address her comment, but it sank into him, nestling nicely alongside his heart.

"Jasmine."

"Hmm?"

"I know you hate it, but can I have a free pass to say something praise-adjacent?"

She snorted, wiggling her ass against him. "Just this once, but I believe you made me a promise first."

"A promise is a promise." Liam tugged her closer and slid his cock inside her. She whimpered, her head dropping back against him, her pussy hugging his cock. "I assume asking if you're going to behave is a waste of time?" he murmured in her ear and she shivered as his breath tickled her ear.

She squeezed around him, and he sucked in a breath. "Aww, are you worried you can't handle me?"

He ran a thumb down her throat before wrapping his fingers around her neck and applying light pressure. She moaned, her breaths picking up. "I think I've more than proven I can handle your bratty ass, darling. Now behave and let me be nice to you for a second, for fuck's sake."

"Fine," she grumbled, but a smile fell across her face. Liam leaned in and kissed the very corner of her mouth as he released her throat.

"You let me in. You trusted me enough to let me in and to let go with me. I'm so fucking proud of you, Jasmine, but I'm also so honored and grateful that you could do that with me. Thank you."

He couldn't see her face—intentionally on his part, because he knew this would be easier for her to hear if he wasn't looking her in the eye—but he felt the sharp intake of breath that caught in her chest.

She was silent for a moment, and, when she answered, he knew she was forcing her voice to sound calm and collected. "Does this mean I've earned your cock in my mouth?"

Christ. "Behave tomorrow and we'll see what happens when we get home."

"Home from where? "

"It's a surprise," he said, nipping her earlobe. It was a surprise for both of them, considering he hadn't actually planned anything yet. But he wanted to take her out, needed to take her out. As much as loved being tucked away behind closed doors with Jasmine, he never wanted her to feel like this was all he wanted.

"Liam?"

"Yeah?"

Jasmine loosed a long breath. "I'm not used to believing people when they say nice things to me. Mostly, I think they're just saying it out of obligation and don't actually mean it. But you… I believe you when you say it. Thank you. You know Maggie will always be my bestest best friend, but you're a very close second."

Liam held her tighter, his heart thundering. He was constantly toeing a line of wanting to scream about how obsessed with her he was and playing it cool so he didn't scare her off. "I would never dream of trying to take Maggie's spot, but I'm happy to be next in line. Even if you hold my top spot," he added with a faux-dramatic sigh, and she laughed, kicking his shin and then gasping when it caused him to shift, his cock pressing deeper into her.

"I don't suppose there's any way that you don't think there's a correlation between me talking about my feelings and finally having an orgasm?"

"No, there's no way. It's one hundred percent that and we're going to keep talking shit out."

"Fuck. "

"I tell you what," he began, running his fingers through her hair. She'd brushed it before bed and his fingers glided straight through. "Before we have sex, every time, you tell me something, and I'll tell you something."

"Rule number five: conversing before coming."

Liam laughed, and Jasmine tightened around him as she felt the vibrations. "That certainly is a way to put it."

"I expect everything you share to be as cute as you being obsessed with Snoopy, for the record."

"I'll see what I can do. Now it's sleep time, darling. I've got big plans for you tomorrow night and I need you nice and rested."

"Promises, promises," she sassed, bringing his hand to her lips and kissing it.

Jazz rolled her neck and shoulders as she stepped out of the yoga studio into the streaming Seattle sunshine. God, she'd needed that; Liam had well and truly put her body through it the night before. If they were going to keep this up (and she really, really hoped they were), she was going to have to make Sunday morning yoga a regular thing. She just needed to convince Liam to come with her. She needed to see him bending over in front of her in tight pants with calming music in the background .

She glanced at her phone, checking the time and weighing her options. It was just before ten, and Liam had gone to his moms' for breakfast since she'd been at yoga. She was already counting down the hours until she'd get to see him for whatever he had planned—eight hours, thirteen minutes to be precise, and she was well aware that she was acting a little clingy and codependent, but as long as she didn't show it, what was the harm? She could manage a morning and afternoon without him. Besides, she had a lot to update Maggie on.

Her best friend answered on the second ring. "Hey, you're up early."

"I had an eight-thirty yoga class. Do you want to grab brunch this morning? I'm not far from your place."

"Brunch sounds amazing, but I can't. I'm just heading out to meet up with Nadia. We're getting breakfast and meeting a couple of her colleagues for an early matinee of some Italian play thing."

"I don't know what to say to that," Jazz said, dumbfounded.

"I know, I know. It sounds awful. Why do you think I didn't invite you? I'm only going because Nadia's celebrating starting her new business. Did you know she has three now? She has her realtor business, her website where she sells courses for other realtors, and she just opened this gorgeous online stationery store. You'd love her notebooks. They're beautiful. She's even in talks for a book deal. I don't know how she does it all. Just give me a sec to say goodbye to Cal."

Jazz rolled her eyes. If only everyone was as perfect as Nadia was. She started down the sunny street, the bag and mat slung over her shoulder knocking against her back. Though most parking in Seattle was free on Sundays, it was still a nightmare to find a spot. She'd gotten lucky finding one a ten-minute walk from the yoga studio, and there was a cafe on the way back to her car. Even if Maggie couldn't make it, there was nothing stopping her from getting breakfast by herself. She was great company.

She stopped between the cafe and a tattoo parlor, leaning against the wall just as Maggie picked back up and she heard her front door closing behind her. "Sorry about that. You know what he's like with goodbyes." Even if Jazz didn't know what Cal was like, Maggie being so breathless was enough to put two and two together.

"I'll never begrudge you making me wait so you can make out with your sexy ass husband," Jazz replied, just thankful they were no longer talking about Nadia and her laundry list of achievements, and Maggie laughed.

"Can you still call Cal sexy when you're sleeping with his son?"

"I would call Cal sexy to Liam's face. His moms too. Actually, I'm pretty sure I have."

"Poor guy. He really does have his work cut out for him with you, doesn't he?"

Jazz knew she was joking, but Maggie's words stung. "He says he likes that about me," she said, a touch more defensively than she would have liked. She hated how close to the surface the doubt was, that Liam was going to wake up one day and wonder why the hell he'd wasted so much time hanging out with her. It had been easier to hide from the inconvenience of insecurity before he'd been so nice to her.

"Obviously he likes that. It's you. What's not to like?" Maggie said, the words doing nothing to stop the dark cloud that had been creeping over her since Maggie told her about Nadia. "How are things going with him? Any closer to an orgasm?"

"Nope," Jazz replied, the word surprising her as it slipped out without a thought. She'd planned to tell Maggie over brunch. What difference did it make doing it over the phone? But something in the back of her mind told her to keep it to herself. "But it's going well. We're having fun."

Maggie hummed, concern clear in her voice. "Are you sure you shouldn't get a second opinion with another doctor? Maybe this has something to do with your awful periods."

"I'm not super worried, but I'll keep it in mind," she answered dismissively.

She knew that if Maggie found out that talking about her parents had been the key to helping her let go, she would have exactly one recommendation: therapy. It was a universal truth, in Jazz's experience, that whenever someone you knew started going to therapy and found it helped, they wouldn't stop until everyone they knew was in therapy and thriving. Sure, she'd seen the incredible changes in Maggie since she'd started seeing her therapist, but that didn't mean it was for everyone. She didn't even like talking about shit with Liam.

"Hmm. Well, as long as you're having fun and Liam's being—shit. Nadia's calling. I need to answer in case it's about breakfast. Can I call you tonight?"

"Liam and I are going out tonight, but we can catch up next week."

"Perfect. Love you, bye!"

The call cut off and Jazz let her hand drop to her side, clutching her phone with more force than necessary. It was fine. Maggie was doing better than ever. She had new friends—grown-up friends who did things like going to Sunday matinees, juggling incredible careers, and families. She was happy, and that's all Jazz wanted for her. Just because Jazz wasn't there yet didn't mean Maggie wasn't interested in her anymore. She didn't want those things anyway. She had plenty of time to figure it all out.

A buzzing sound caught her attention as the neon sign on the door of the tattoo shop lit up:

Open. Walk-ins welcome!

Jazz pushed off the wall, peering in through the window of the shop. Their work was beautiful—detailed portraits and color work to die for—but it was one little tattoo in the corner of a flash sheet that caught her attention. It was stupid and reckless and completely unhinged, but it had been a while since Jazz had done something like that. Truthfully, she was overdue a little chaos.

The bell above the door jingled as she stepped into the tattoo shop. A girl with bubblegum pink hair and a matching gemstone on her front tooth smiled at her from the desk.

"Hi," Jazz said, pasting on a smile. "Do you have any space for a walk-in? I'd love one of your flash designs from the window."