Page 55 of Mr. Brightside

Yep. It’s official. I’m putty in Jake Whitely’s hands.

“Don’t we all deserve a safe word in life?” he asks earnestly.

I blink once. Then again. It takes me another second to realize he’s being sincere. Am I really being hit with philosophical truth bombs from my emotionally despondent fuckboy husband? How the hell is he so hotandfunnyandwise?

More importantly…how is he mine?

I shake my head and try to focus. What are we talking about? Safe words. Okay. I can do this. ??

“Fine. My safe word is lemonade.”

He cocks one eyebrow but doesn’t challenge me. He just shifts back a bit more, assesses me up and down, and smirks.

My whole body sparks with need from that one look. My cheeks flush under his gaze. I worry I might be spiking an actual fever. I feel like I’m about to internally combust when he finally bows his head to kiss me.

His lips hover just an inch from mine. He’s got this mischievous glint in his eye.

“Okay then. Mine will be Shirley Temple.”“You’re ridiculous,” I tease as I lean forward to kiss him.

“I brought two boxes of condoms, just FYI.”

My eyes go wide at his confession. I love that he’s prepared. But two boxes? Jesus Christ. I’ve been thinking about this since our date at the drive-in, but I hadn’t really made a decision until this moment.

“We don’t need condoms unless you want to use them,” I offer, putting the ball in his court.

His arms tighten around me as my words sink in.

“I’m clean,” I explain. “I got tested after my last relationship ended because my ex-boyfriend wasn’t faithful to me.” I deliver the information in what I hope is a cool and unaffected manner. Being in the arms of my husband has this heady effect on my confidence, I guess. “I have the results saved in my email if you want to see them.”

“I trust you,” he replies automatically. “And you’ve already seen mine.”

“I have. And you said you haven’t been with anyone since then?” I confirm, tilting my head to make eye contact. I wait with bated breath for him to confirm what he revealed earlier this week.

He shakes his head. “No one.”

I bury my face to hide my delight.

“I saw the date on your results,” I say into the side of his neck. I didn’t feel comfortable enough to say anything when I connected the dots at the drive-in. But now there’s part of me that desperately wants him to know what I know. “Jake… was I your last partner?” I keep my face hidden in the soft, warm dip of his shoulder and hold my breath as I wait for his reply.

His abs tense under me as he wraps his arms around my low back, digging into the muscles right above my ass. A super-charged tension thrums between us. I’m tempted to roll my hips forward or lean up and kiss him. But I’m just too anxious to hear his reply.

“Huh,” he finally murmurs, nuzzling his chin against the top of my head. “I hadn’t even thought about that, but you’re right. You were my last.”

Pride surges through me with his confession.

I was his last.And now I’m his only.

“We don’t need condoms unless you want to use them,” I repeat. I was pretty sure that was what I wanted before. Now I know with certainty I can’t settle for anything less than everything.

“I don’t,” he grunts. “I want to be as close to you as possible.”

I climb up his body and connect our lips in a searing kiss as the sun warms my back and my man heats me up from below. I let myself get lost in the rhythm of his mouth as my heart hammers out a confession I wasn’t expecting to feel.

I want to be as close as possible to him, too.

Chapter 25

Cory