Rated [M] for mature content.
Jay's POV
I'm standing outside Hailey's apartment waiting for her to come out so we can head out to the cabin. As much as I want to hammer the last nail in Tony's coffin, I know Hailey needs to be as far away from here as possible. After everything that has happened, it will be nice to get away, clear our heads. There will always be situations in our line of work that can make us miserable, and choosing to be miserable about it only makes a bad situation worse. This is us stepping back from the ledge and putting our energy into things we have control over.
Hailey's entire face lights up and a smile plays across her lips when she sees me. My chest stirs with contentment. She walks towards me, and I lean against the car, watching her beauty. It's like my vision is a tunnel. All the shapes around her are blurred – her face is the only thing I see clearly. As soon as she is within arm's reach, I lean out and pull her to me. I wrap my arms around her then lean down and kiss her. she eagerly wraps her hands around me too. Everything fades as I hold her. She is my center. All I need in life is her.
"You ready to go?" I ask.
"Ready as I will ever be," she says. I loosen my hold, but don't let go just yet.
"This will be good for us," I tell her. "And it looks like we might get good weather," I say kissing her smiling lips.
We get in the car and with the warm spring breeze in our faces, we drive in comfortable silence. When the road allows it, I exceed the speed limit eager to get there. More than once we glance at each other at the same time. When it happens again, Hailey reaches over and runs her fingers through my hair.
"You know what?" she says. "You should let your hair grow out some."
I blink. "What? No, that's not happening."
"Just to see what it would look like."
I look at Hailey, roll my eyes, and have to fight the urge to get lost in her smile. It is radiating and I don't want to take my eyes off of her, but I need to concentrate on the road. "It won't look good. I can tell you that."
"So, you've grown it out before?"
"Yeah," I tell her embarrassedly. "All the time when I was a teenager."
"I want proof. Where are those pictures?" she says and her laugh is soft and warm.
I'm smiling despite myself. You know what? I will show her all my embarrassing pictures. I will even print huge posters of my freckled self, looking like I'm the lead singer in a boy band if it means I get to see her smile this big all the time.
"I think they are all in storage, but I think I might have a couple at my apartment," I tell her. "You just have to promise to show me yours. I want to see what little Hailey Anne looked like."
She smiles and shakes her head. "I had a perm, braces, and a string-bean frame. So you might want to rethink looking at something you can't un-see. The image will be burned in your head. Forever."
I chuckle and take her hand in mine over the center console and kiss it. "I bet you were still cute."
x
We finally arrive at the cabin late in the afternoon. The sun is slipping towards the horizon, casting its sunset colors over the still water of the lake. We are tired from the drive and from everything. But finally it's just us, Hailey and me, and the rest of the world is in silent darkness. It'll be waiting for us in a few days, but until then we can ignore it.
I unpack the car and have an idea. "Babe, want to meet in at the hot tub?" I grin and nod to the French doors. "Right out there."
A smile of relief mingled with happiness crosses her face. It almost undoes me. "Yes. Let me change."
She disappears towards the bedroom and I gather two wine glasses and a few candles to put around the tub that sits on the deck.
Hailey comes out minutes later wearing a thin, satin robe. She opens it and it slides past her shoulders, exposing a lot of soft radiant skin. As it falls, she catches it and gives it a playful toss. She's wearing this frilly red bikini and my breath catches, and suddenly my heart is skipping a few beats. I smile. It's all I can manage. She's just so perfect. Pink tints her cheeks as she takes slow steps towards me, smiling timidly. I don't know why she's suddenly shy.
"C'mere," I say extending my arms to her.
She climbs up and slowly steps inside the gurgling hot water. Candlelight flickers across her features, and the steam that rises makes the tendrils of her hair around her face curl. If it's possible, she looks even more beautiful now than ever before.
"This is romantic," she says with a smile. And what a smile it is. Sweet, lighting up her blue eyes. Her happiness seems to overflow and I'm smiling like an idiot too. I hand her a glass of wine and watch as she takes a long sip.
She settles into a spot across from me, and I can't take my eyes off her – her flushed cheeks, the rise and fall of her breasts just above the water. I clear my throat. "To happiness," I say and lift my wine glass. She looks amused, tips her head back, and laughs delightedly. "What? Too cheesy?" I ask.
"Totally." She chuckles and adds in a soft, sensual voice. "But I love cheesy."
I reach for her. "You're too far away."
"Is that so?" She sets her wine glass on the edge and swims the very short distance to me. I pull her onto my lap, and she straddles me, wrapping her legs behind my back. "That better?" she asks.
"Much better."
She shifts her hips and settles against me and I groan. I kiss her softly, nibbling at her lips and sliding my hands into her hair. My chest fills with a tenderness I can't handle, and I deepen the kiss, knot my hand into her hair pull her even closer to me, if that is even possible. She moans sweetly and I let my hands roam. I can't stop touching her. Unhurried, I graze over the red triangles covering her breasts, up the smooth column of her throat. When I find the tie of her bikini at her neck, I pull it, baring her chest to me.
I cup her breasts in my hands and dip my head giving attention to each nipple, laving one, then the other, before I return to the first and suck it between my teeth. Her hands are in my hair and she presses my face to chest, as if silently begging for more.
She rocks her hips against me, and even though it's torture, even though she's pushing me to skate on the edge on my control, I push back and slip my hand between her thighs, dragging the tip of my thumb along the front center of the bikini bottoms. She releases a small sigh and her head falls forward, on my shoulder. When she says my name, I can feel her lips move against my skin and I hold her tighter.
I continue to arouse her with my fingers and her moans turn desperate, louder, and the rocking of her hips turn to grinding as she climbs towards her orgasm.
"That's it," I say breathless. "Come for me, babe."
"Yes." Her voice light, almost getting lost in the breeze that billows over us.
She bucks her hips to the rhythm of my teasing strokes against her. I continue to tenderly kiss, lick, and suck until she spams, at once arching towards my touch and away. She breaks, falling apart in my hands, her moans echoing off the trees around us.
I kiss her shoulder, her neck, and her temples. She catches her breath against my chest, circling her hips every few seconds as she rides the receding tide of her orgasms back down. Then, her feet still locked behind my back, I wrap my arms around her, lift her out of the water, and carry he inside.
I lay her down in front of the fire, watching the light of the flame flicker in her eyes and make her skin glow. She reaches for me and I lower myself to the floor next to her. She tugs my boxers down my legs and I don't fight her. I want her too much. One hand on my chest pushes me flat on my back while the other strokes my thigh. I can hardly catch my breath and my whole body shivers at her touch, both rough and soft.
Dazed, I watch Hailey's mouth trail kisses down my throat. Soon her teeth are at my nipples. I take in a hiss of air as the edge of her teeth bites me. A little pain with a lot of pleasure. Then her mouth moves lower and I'm panting in anticipation. The light touch of her talented fingers make me shiver with waves of pleasure. When she bends down, I'm enveloped in the heat of her mouth. It's so good. Throwing my head back, I moan and thrust up for more. When I think I'm going to explode, her mouth pulls off me, and I inadvertently moan. She bites her lips innocently and looks at me from under her lashes. A brief second of sanity pushes its way through the fog in my brain and my lips crush hers.
I hover over her, and lean down and kiss her right breast. "You… can't… start… something and not… finish," I say between kisses. I take her nipple into my mouth and flicker it gently with my tongue. Hailey squirms beneath me.
"I just thought…" her voice catches. "You would want to finish inside of me."
She was only teasing me? The nerve! I smile, laughing quietly, then kiss her mouth and nose, down her jaw, kissing her throat and collarbone. My hands stroke from her shoulder across her left breast to her knee. I wrap my hands firmly around her leg, hitch her knee up, and tug her red bikini bottom down her leg.
"Hold on tight," I tell her with a wink.
She wraps her arms around my neck and strokes the back of my head. "I'm holding on tight," she grins. "And I may never let go."
I sigh, bend my face down and kiss her urgently. "I'm counting on that."
Hailey grips the back of my head and kisses me back. She draws in a sharp breath as I slowly enter her. We rock back and forth in this sensual dance. I hug her so tight and kiss her so hard I lose myself. Minutes later we collapse together, spent. We cuddle close and she falls asleep in my arms, breathing slowly and contentedly. I watch her for hours, memorizing the shape of her face, the flat of her stomach, the curve of her hipbone. She's beautiful, and when she sleeps, all that beauty is raw and unguarded.
You know what? I'm going to ask her to marry me.
Hailey's POV
I wake up alone.
I roll onto my stomach, bury my head in a pillow, feeling deliciously spent and maybe a little sore. I hear a quiet sound, and twist around to find Jay standing naked in the doorway, holding a breakfast tray. A warm sensation fills my chest. My gaze strays all over his perfect frame. Everything about him is compelling – the way he moves, the things he says, his body. He looks downright edible in his birthday suit.
He sets the tray on the side table and creeps into bed. "Morning," he says with a small peck to my lips.
"Good morning," I reply, placing my hand on his bare chest. I'm having a hard time believing how lucky I'm to have Jay in my life. "Being here feels like a dream, like I'm imagining all of this."
"Your imagination must be pretty amazing, because I'm pretty sure this is about as good as it gets."
I chuckle. "Thank you. I really needed this."
He flashes me his boyish smile and I nearly melt. "I needed this too. It's been a chaotic few months for the both of us."
"Yeah," I nod. "But you stuck around despite everything. I know how lucky I'm."
"Come here, you." He reaches for me. "I'm the lucky one, okay?" he hugs me. "I love you, Hailey. Always have, always will and nothing will ever change that. Nothing."
I pull back and look at him. He is smiling, but his eyes are dead serious. "I love you too," I say.
A low, strangled sound escapes his throat. The emotion is too much. Jay kisses me as openly and unabashedly as ever. I lean back on the pillows, and draw him down with me for a little morning delight.
x
A while later, we find ourselves still in bed. Jay is laying with his head on my belly, looking up at the ceiling, when my stomach suddenly growls.
"Hungry?" Jay turns to me and wiggles his eyebrows.
I shove him a little. "Easy. It's not just me. And yes, I'm hungry."
He places a quick kiss on my stomach. "You're right, it's not just you," he says with a devilish grin.
He crawls to me and kisses me, then picks up the tray of food from the side table. We sit cross-legged, facing one another, wrapped in the sheets, and eat a very late breakfast. Outside the sun is high in the sky, and the spring air is warm and balmy.
We do absolutely nothing. We don't think, we don't worry, we simply appreciate the pleasure of being together. We spend every second pretty much intertwined and it only makes it more obvious that I won't bear the thought of spending a single second without him. I didn't know relationships could be this intense, this consuming. After everything that happened, being with Jay make me feel real, not some shadow of myself. He's different. I'm different with him.
Later in the day we go for a hike and when we return Jay pulls off his shirt and tosses it on top of the deck overlooking the lake. I'm blatantly staring at him and when I meet his gaze he is watching me too, and something sparks in his eyes. He turns his gaze to the lake. "Lake's all ours. I think we should cool off," he says, his voice excited as he rubs his hands together, his eyes promising sweet mayhem.
"I'm fine just like I am." I hold up a finger to warn him, but it's too late. He picks me up and the next thing I know, I'm over his shoulder. I squirm and jerk but my efforts don't faze him. So I pinch his butt. He stops and spins around like he wants to look into my face. But all it does is make me dizzy.
"If there's a bruise on my butt cheek, I'm going to give you one to match it," he says with a laugh.
I pinch him again because there's nothing else I can do. "Put me down, Jay!" I squeal. "Put me down!"
Suddenly, he bounces me off his shoulder. I close my eyes and hold my breath, because I expect to get a face full of water. Instead, I slide slowly down the front of him, his hands moving up to hold my hips and slowly slipping underneath my shirt.
"Jay," I complain.
I move to push from him, but he wraps his arms around me and we fall together in one heap into the lake. To say the water is cold is an understatement. It's early spring and even though the temperatures are around seventy degrees, the water must me in the sixties. All I can do is wrap my arms around his shoulders and hang on. When we resurface, I'm clinging to him with my legs around his waist and my arms holding him tightly.
"You're going to pay for this," I say, blowing water from my lips.
"I was hot and sweaty," he reasons.
He walks out deeper and deeper, until the water levels at his neck. I move to unwrap my legs from around his waist, but he catches my thighs and hitches them back up.
"I wasn't," I protest shivering. "I was just fine."
"Bet it feels good, right?" He laughs and I feel his lips graze my neck. "Salty," he says.
My heart stutters. A shiver runs up my spine, but it's not because of the chilly water. I really want to be mad at him, but he is making it so hard. He kisses me then. The whole lake rises to a simmer. His lips crush against mine, and his tongue enters my mouth. Despite being irked from being pitched into the freezing lake, I kiss him back, tightening my grip to absorb his warmth as much as possible.
He leads us away, where the water is shallow, over smooth sand, and lays me down. We kiss again, and Jay parts my legs, pulls down his shorts, and lets me feel his erection. I quiver in some very vulnerable places. He pulls my shirt and sports bra off and tastes my breasts, slick with lake water, and I squirm with anticipation.
He slides my leggings over my hips and slips my underwear to the side, providing just enough room for him to enter me, but only partially. The muscles in his shoulders and back quivers under my hands as he strains to hold himself in check. I lift my head and catch his right earlobe between my teeth, and he breaks. The thrusts are deep and so powerful that it takes my breath away, and God, he feels good.
I'm not cold anymore. In fact, there's a fire burning under my skin and it centers beneath Jay's hand roaming my bare back around my ribs, his fingers grazing the underside of my breasts. I arch into him and a low moan erupts from his chest—or mine? Who cares.
I'd thought I was exhausted, spent, with nothing more to give, but he soon proves me wrong. I rock forward to increase the friction because that's what he does to me, turns me crazy and love drunk. After half a dozen strokes, each one harder than the last, I come apart. It's only then that he lets himself go too.
Gradually, our breathing evens out and our heart rate slows. I'm plastered to his front, breathing in his scent like a drug, his arms locked around me, and I'm not sure I ever want to leave this place.
"So, how many girls have you brought up here?" I ask.
He laughs. I notice new freckles emerging on his sun-kissed skin. "You're my first."
"Really?"
"Yeah," he says timidly.
"So, I popped your cabin cherry?"
"Yes, you did." He laughs.
I don't know how long we lay, with the lake tide splashing over us, but we finally get out of the water when the sun's rays no longer provide any warmth. We collect our clothes and go back to the cabin. We slip into the bedroom and a new hunger takes over. I love this man…more than I ever thought possible. We make love again under the hot shower.
x
Jay makes us a simple pasta dinner that is beyond delicious. With every bite I try to figure out the recipe. There are onions and garlic, the sauce is not overpowering. Basil, I taste basil. He added something else that makes it rich, but not in a way that makes me feel guilty eating it.
"This is amazing," I say between forks full of pasta. "Why have you been holding out on me?"
He chuckles and looks bashful. He stares at me, then behind me, gazing around. I notice he isn't eating, but only pushing the pasta around his plate. Something's off.
"Where did you get the recipe?" I ask.
"My mom," he says. His gaze is intense for a moment. "This is nothing compared to hers, though." Jay looks wistful, his smile a tinge sad. "She would have loved you."
I smile, even as a piercing ache clutches my heart. "I wish I could have met your mom. She's got to be super proud, watching how well you've done for yourself."
A shadow crosses his face. He comes around the table and pulls me to my feet. He leans in and kisses me – a kiss so intimate and thorough, that communicates everything his words can't. I've pretty much spent the day kissing his lips, but this time it takes my breath away. He pulls back and looks into my eyes. If I didn't know better, I'd say he looked nervous. Or unsettled. Or anxious.
"Hailey…." He pulls further back and holds my hands in his. "I love you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. I was so broken when I met you, but slowly you helped me put all my pieces back together. I've never met anyone liked you. You're the woman for me. I'm the luckiest man."
Jay kisses my hand and gets down on one knee. My heart feels like it is trying to beat its way from behind my ribs. His hand moves to his pocket and he pulls a red velvet box. He pops the lid open and smiles. "This was my mother's ring." He looks up at me with love in his eyes and says, "I was going to wait for a more appropriate time to do this. But I think if ever there was a time, it's now. Hailey Anne Upton, I love you. And if you do me the honor of becoming my wife, I promise I'll spend every day from this moment forward, loving you, and only you. Will you marry me?"
My tears are instant, streaming down my cheeks. My vision blurs. My throat becomes constricted that I have to squeeze out my, "Yes."
"Yes?"
I bend down and press my lips to his quivering ones. "Yes, I will marry you," I murmur against his mouth.
He slips this beautiful ring on my finger and stands up, wrapping his arms around me. His lips cover mine; it is a long kiss, a desperate kiss, tasting of both our tears and our love for each other. He deepens the kiss, his hands going over my jawline and holding my lips to his for a moment, before he releases me. He runs his fingers through my hair and says smiling, "I love you."
"I love you too."
We kiss again and again and everything is right in the world because I'm going to spend the rest of my life with the only person I've ever shared myself with. My whole self, all my bullshit, my body, my heart.
Thanks for reading. I thought ya'll needed a bit of smut/fluff and sweet Upstead for a change. I know I needed it! I'm glad I have you guys during these crazy times. I hope this brought a smile to your face. Cheers!
