Page 52 of The Senator's Secret
Jake swirls his hips and drives up into me again and again. I couldn’t stop the climax that barrels down on me if I tried, and I twist the sheets in my hands at my sides and fall over the edge.
He drops my backside to the bed and follows me down, never skipping his stride as he thrusts harder and harder before he plants himself deep and calls out my name as he comes.
He glides slowly in and out as exhaustion sweeps over me. I can barely keep my eyes open, so I don’t. I let them fall closed and snuggle into Jake’s arms as he turns slightly to the side so he’s not squishing me. He touches a fingertip to the apple of my cheek. The gesture is so sweet and tender that words I know I shouldn’t say slip out of my mouth.
“I think I’m in love with you,” I whisper just before I fully succumb to sleep.
I’ll worry about the consequences tomorrow.
• • •
“WAKE UP, HONEY,” JAKEsays softly as he kisses my bare shoulder where it peeks above the blankets.
“No,” I grumble. “I don’t wanna.”
I feel his mouth spread in a smile against my skin. “You have to, sweetheart.”
“No. It’s Saturday,” I explain while keeping my eyes closed, but it’s too late; I’m awake. That rat. “Hi.”
“Hi, honey.” He smiles at me.
“Why am I awake?” I ask sleepily.
“Because we have to talk,” he answers. I don’t like the look on his face, and I know without a doubt what comes out of his mouth I am not going to like.
“I’m sure whatever is bothering you will be just fine,” I say, patting his cheek, and trying to avoid the conversation. Whatever it is, whatever is going on with us, I’m not sure I could take an “it’s me, not you” talk first thing on a Saturday morning.
“Last night, I went through your stuff in the bathroom, looking for a makeup wipe to clean your face off.”
“Okay…?” I hedge. I’m not sure what a makeup remover wipe could lead to for such a serious conversation first thing in the morning.
“And there was something I noticed you didn’t have.”
What? What don’t I have? Fake lashes? Lip brushes? Q-tips? What did I forget to pack? He decides not to leave me hanging, because he answers, rocking my world to the core in the process.
“Sweetheart, I didn’t find any birth control pills. And I looked. Grace, are you protected?”
No. The answer is no, I’m not protected. They were making me crazy and giving me headaches. I haven’t had a lover in some time, and even when I did, I always used a condom. So not only am I not protected against pregnancy, I’m going out on a limb and guessing I’m also the dumbest chick on the planet for being swept along in the tide of Jake-induced lust.
“No,” I whisper and have to stop and clear my throat. “No, I’m not. I didn’t—”
“I know,” he interrupts me. I wouldn’t do something so stupid on purpose. “But honey, I’ve taken you a lot, and we’ve never once used a condom.”
I wince. “I’m sorry.”
“Grace, you have nothing to be sorry about. This is all on me.” God, why is he being so nice? “I’m here with you no matter what.”
I mentally count on all my fingers. I’m good. I think I’m good. “I think I’m okay. I don’t think it’s the right timing.”
“Well, keep me posted,” he says gently. “And when the timing is right, we’ll go from there.”
“I think we should just go ahead and say the timing is not right, right now,” I murmur, making Jake smile his real smile, dimples and all.
“Message received, sailor.” Jake drops a quick kiss to my lips, and I let out a breath, thankful we made it through all of the awkward conversations for this morning. “Now, do you want to repeat what you said to me last night?”
I tick through in my brain all the things I might have said last night and can’t think of anything super important. I mean, I clearly didn’t have the “we should be using NASA-engineered condoms” conversation, so nothing life-altering happened… unless…
No, I couldn’t have said it. I was tired, exhausted really, and overwhelmed with life. I went to sleep after Jake made love to me again, and that was it. But a secret part of my brain whispers it wasn’t a dream that I admitted I’m falling for him out loud.