Chapter 29

Despite knowing we didn’t have all day, I took my time with Jewel, savoring every inch of her and committing her to memory. She was incredible, and while I hadn’t expected this to happen when we’d come back to her place, I was more than ready to go when she pulled me down on the bed with her.

Harder than I’d been in a long time, I reached for my fly and yanked open the velcro, needing some space before I came in my pants simply because of the friction they were creating. Jewel moaned when she realized what I was doing. Her hands ran down the length of my back before she helped me push the pants off.

I kicked them away, glad I hadn’t put a shirt back on, but then I slowed things all the way down, catching her wrist and pressing a quick kiss to it when she tried to reach for me. She frowned, but when I moved my head to her neck and started placing open-mouthed kisses on her throat, she relaxed again.

“Not yet,” I murmured against her coconut-scented skin. “If you touch me right now…”

“I know what you mean,” she replied in a breathy whisper. A soft moan slid out of her as I ran my hand to the waistband of her bikini bottoms.

It turned out that hooking up fresh out of a lake was a pretty fucking awesome idea. Neither of us had been wearing very much, having rushed just across the street to her apartment to “get my hand cleaned up” without bothering to stop to put on the rest of our clothes.

Dipping my fingers into the fabric, I ran them along the space between her hips, relishing every moan and tremble as she started rocking slightly. I slid off her just enough to give myself the access I needed. Then I brought my mouth back to hers, taking it in a searing kiss that quickly turned us into a writhing mess.

Pleasure rocketed through me with every rub against her leg, but I flexed my thigh muscles and focused on her instead. I slipped my hands all the way into her bikini bottoms and tugged them off. I tried to brace myself for the moment I would finally get to touch her, but when it came, I realized that nothing I could’ve done would’ve prepared me for it.

As soon as my fingertips slid between her folds, I kissed her harder, losing whatever part of me had been holding back. Hot and silky smooth, she was perfect and so wet that I nearly tossed all my plans aside.

But no, if I did that and I thrust into her right then, this would all be over in a minute and I didn’t want that. I clawed back my self-control and dipped my fingers into her. She mewled. Her legs parted further as my hand moved in and out of her. My thumb found her hard clit and drew circles around it.

All the while, I kissed her deeply, using one hand to anchor her hips to the bed when they threatened to fly off. Her muscles started to contract around my fingers and I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut even tighter to stave off my own orgasm when hers hit.

She screamed into my mouth, spasming under me while her nails dug into my back. I kept going until she was spent. Then I slowed the kiss and waited for her to come back down to earth, but I never let go of her.

Jewel was still panting when she opened her eyes, flicking her gaze to her nightstand. “There are condoms in the drawer.”

Thank. Fuck.

Nodding tightly, I rolled over and grabbed one. I’d never been this desperate to get inside someone. My entire tip was shiny with my own wetness as I pinched the latex and deftly covered myself in it.

When I was done, Jewel’s eyes found mine. Her arms and her legs opened for me as I moved back to her. Her fingers pushed into my hair. She kissed me gently when she settled underneath me, angling her hips and lifting them to encourage me to sink into her.

Way beyond the point of needing encouragement, I propped my weight on my elbows and broke the kiss to look at her. Then I pushed inside. Since I didn’t want to hurt her, I didn’t thrust. I managed to slide into her slowly, even if it almost fucking killed me.

The condom did nothing to dull the heat of her. Her tight channel squeezed around me as I sank inside. I groaned and bit my lip as I watched her eyelids grow heavy and a shiver run through her. Once I was fully seated, she squirmed underneath me, pressing her lips to mine once more and whispering between tender kisses.

“I’m okay, Landon. Move. Now, please.”

I claimed her lips with my own, kissing her passionately as I finally allowed my hips to do what they wanted to. Withdrawing from her, I thrust in harder the next time, finding a rhythm and losing myself to it, but I never stopped kissing her.

With every deep thrust, I got so much closer. My spine tingled and my orgasm raced toward me. Thankfully, Jewel seemed to be right there with me, moaning into my mouth and shaking. Her muscles contracted around me once more.

“Oh, Landon! I’m—” She never finished her sentence.

I didn’t need her to. “Come for me, Jewel. Come all over my cock.”

As if she’d waited for me to say it, she went off like a shot. I slammed into her one last time before I surrendered and my climax exploded out of me. Groaning, I came so hard that my vision went black and my brain lost communication with my legs. I was spent.

We collapsed together on her bed, breathing hard as we clung to each other like we would somehow float away if we stopped. Immediately, I wished that we could just stay right there for the rest of the summer. I never wanted to leave her bed.

Despite the fact that I’d just had arguably the best sex of my life, we were probably going to have to leave here sooner rather than later. Just not this second. Her head was on my chest and my arm was draped around her. It felt right. She was something my life had been missing, and leaving the bed would be like walking away from heaven.

I indulged until the worried voice in the back of my head started shouting at me to move. I shut my eyes and groaned, then turned my head to face hers and planted a soft kiss on her hair.

“We should probably get going soon,” I murmured. “Not that I want to.”

She nodded against me but didn’t move at all outside of that. “In a minute.”

I chuckled. “Maybe two.”

Burrowing into me, she nodded again, sighing softly. I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a bunch of suncatchers against her ceiling. How did I miss that before?

Presumably because I’d been completely focused on her. It shouldn’t have come as such a surprise that I was only seeing her room for the first time now. The space was small but cozy, with her double bed against the wall and a wardrobe on the other.

Thin curtains hung in her window, and the suncatchers refracted light all over the place in rainbows and prisms. While her furniture was basic, antique-looking wood, and her bedding was a clean, crisp white, the suncatchers made the space seem almost magical, like I’d stepped into a secret, mystical world, and I fucking loved it.

I’d never imagined these little masterpieces when she’d called making them a simple hobby. Captivated by the detail, I found myself wanting to take a closer look, so I stood up to inspect them, buck-ass naked and not giving a damn.

Jewel chuckled and turned onto her stomach, propping her chin up on her elbows as her gaze tracked me around the room. “You just go ahead and take a look around. I’ll be here, admiring the view.”

I glanced at her over my shoulder and gave my ass a playful smack. “Ogle me all you want. I’ll even put on a little show for you. As long as you promise you’re still making Colten one of these.”

“I am.” She smiled and nodded at the dresser. “The one on the left is for him.”

Several unfinished suncatchers were on the dresser. I moved toward it, picking up the one she’d mentioned. As I looked at it, I realized that a bunch of the dangling bits were chess pieces and my eyes widened.

“Oh wow.” My voice was a little rougher than usual when I realized how much thought she’d put into it. “This is amazing. He’s going to love it.”

“I hope so,” she said.

“I know so.” I turned back to her, my gaze locking on hers, and I tried to speak past the depth of emotion within me at the thought of what she’d done for a boy she hardly even knew. “I know so because it will make him think of you every time the sun catches it.”

She giggled. “You’re a bit of a romantic, aren’t you, Mr. Big City?”

I shook my head, snorting as I tried to hold back laughter. After gently putting the suncatcher down on the dresser once more, I returned to her bed and sighed. “I used to be a romantic, but I lost that part of myself a long time ago.”

Those beautiful eyes searched mine for a moment. “Can I ask you something?”

I nodded. “Sure. Anything you want to know.”

After the sex we’d just had, I couldn’t deny that I felt more connected to her than ever before, and I knew it would probably wear off as the endorphins did, but for now, I was happy to answer any questions she might have.

“Did Colten’s mother have anything to do with that?”

Again, I nodded. I never liked talking about my ex, but with Jewel, no subject felt too heavy or too difficult. Especially not right then.

Looking right into her eyes, I didn’t blame her for being curious but I needed her to know that Kaitlin wasn’t in the picture at all. “I, uh, I’m not proud of this, but his mother was actually a one-night stand. Six weeks later, she called to tell me she was pregnant.”

Jewel’s teeth sank into her lower lip as sympathy softened her eyes. “That must’ve been one heck of a surprise.”

“It was,” I admitted. “I gave her my number the next morning in case she wanted to hook up again, not for, well, you know.” I blew out a breath through my nostrils and gripped the nape of my neck. “I dropped everything to be there for her and supported her through the pregnancy. We decided to give things a try for the baby’s sake, so I moved her in with me. I knew we didn’t have the most conventional start, but I figured we’d work it out.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t?” she asked, eyes moving from one of mine to the other.

“No, we definitely didn’t,” I said, the memory of that day rising like a dark beast from the compartment I kept it locked in inside my brain. It still made me sick to think about it. “Within a few weeks of Colten being born, she panicked and bailed. I came home from work one day to find him alone in his crib, bawling his eyes out and screaming.”

Jewel frowned deeply. “She left him there?”

“Yep.” I dragged in a deep breath, fortifying myself before I let slip how much anger I still felt over that fucking day. “With a note that said she was sorry but she just couldn’t do it anymore.”

Jewel looked like she might cry, but I forced a smile, taking her chin in my hand and shaking my head. “Don’t feel sorry for me. Colten is the best thing that has ever happened in my life and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m even glad she left when she did.”

“Still, it must’ve hurt at the time.”

“Hell, yes.” I let out a husky chuckle. “It was awful, but what hurt me most was that she didn’t want her own son. It’s a conversation I’m still going to have to navigate one day. I’m just hoping that me wanting him more than anything in the world will make up for it.”

“Does he ask about her?” she asked.

I shrugged, despite the rage that simmered in my veins every time I thought about what she’d done, leaving a defenseless baby all alone for God only knew how long. “He used to ask about her, but he knows the truth now. He’s a strong kid.”

“Because he has a strong father,” she agreed, sitting up and wrapping her arms around my neck. She scooted closer, slanted her lips over mine, and kissed me deeply. Sighing, she pulled away. “We should go back to the beach before anyone starts to worry, but thank you for sharing that with me. It means a lot, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that happened but I think you’re an amazing father. He’s lucky to have you.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I nodded anyway and then took her hand, helping her off the bed before we started hunting down our clothes. While I never enjoyed talking about Kaitlin, the rage didn’t hang around today like it usually did.

Jewel reverted to her friendly, playful self and smiled at me as she smacked my ass just before I covered it with my trunks. I couldn’t stay angry. This girl had brought out a light side of me I hadn’t even known existed anymore and it felt really fucking good to be getting back in touch with that guy.