Chapter 295 Book 2 ~ Chapter 60
Chapter 295 Book 2 ~ Chapter 60
Poppy’s POV
When I told Jake I was ready to seal our bond, I expected him to go into a frenzy. To be overjoyed, or even relieved. What I didn’t expect was his eyes to fill with uncertainty and his body to go rigid, as if I’d just suggested we do something horrific, like burn his textbooks.
He doesn’t push me away, but he doesn’t pull me in either. Instead, his hands hold me in place whilst his eyes search mine.
“Poppy… I…” he stops, his eyes flicking towards the window and back again.
“I’m sorry, I thought…” I start, trying to back away, but Jake doesn’t loosen his grip.
“Don’t apologise. Goddess. Never apologise for this.” His voice is strained, and his gaze travels down my body, lingering on the place where our bodies connect before his eyes meet mine again.
“Then what? Because you’re kind of giving me some really mixed signals right now.”
Jake’s jaw tightens slightly, and before I can overthink the look on his face any further, one of his hands slides from my hip to the back of my neck. Firm and possessive. My breath catches instantly.
“You think I don’t want this?” His voice comes out rougher now, lower, the control in it somehow making the quivering desire low in my stomach even worse.
His grip tightens just enough to keep me exactly where he wants me.
“Poppy,” he says quietly, staring up at me like I’m both temptation and torture wrapped into one person. “I have wanted this for so long that it physically hurts sometimes.”
The honesty in his voice hits me harder than I expect. His eyes flick down to my mouth briefly before he forces them back up.
“You climbing into my lap and telling me you’re ready?” He lets out a strained breath. “You have no idea what that’s doing to me right now.”
Oh... Heat rushes into my cheeks, but before embarrassment can fully take hold, Jake’s hand tightens again at the back of my neck, demanding my attention completely.
“But I need to know this is you.”
The words slice straight through the haze building between us. This was never rejection; it was fear of hurting me. Fear that whatever lives inside my head might somehow be pushing this.
Jake’s thumb brushes slowly along my neck as he watches my face carefully, like he’s trying to read every thought moving through my head.
“I need to know you’re not doing this because you’re scared,” he says softly. “Or because that thing inside you is making you feel like you have to.” His jaw flexes slightly. “And I need to know it’s really you sitting here with me right now.”
My chest aches so hard that I have to suppress a whimper. Because even now, even with the bond clawing at him and his body reacting to every movement I make, he’s still protecting me and putting me first.
Slowly, I lift my hands to his face, holding it gently between my palms.
“It’s me,” I whisper.
Jake’s eyes close briefly at the touch, like the sound of that physically hits him somewhere deep.
“I’m scared,” I admit quietly. “I think I will be for a while. But this? Wanting you? Wanting us?” I shake my head. “That part is real.”
His breathing roughens.
“You’re sure?”
Instead of answering with words, I lean down until my forehead rests against his. Then I kiss him. Slow, deliberate, and certain.
Jake makes a low sound against my mouth that nearly melts me on the spot, one hand sliding harder against my hip as his restraint finally starts cracking. When I pull back slightly, his eyes are more gold than I’ve ever seen them.
“There she is,” he murmurs, voice rough with relief and want. “That’s my girl.”
The words have barely left his mouth when he pulls me back in for a kiss that melts every remaining doubt inside me. Then everything becomes a blur of hands, lips, and desperate touches as the passion we’ve been holding back erupts.
Needing to feel his warm skin against mine, I grab at his shirt, yanking it open and sending the buttons flying across the cabin with sharp little cracks as they ricochet off the wooden floor.
Jake’s eyes go wide, and for a split second I think he might be bothered. But before I can apologise and offer to sew each one back on, he grins wickedly.
“That was hot.”
My pulse pounds in my ears as his hands slip under the hem of my T-shirt, and he pushes the fabric up. Just his hands on my skin send jolts of electricity through me, leading straight to my core.
The moment I’m topless, I can’t stand the distance between us a moment longer. I lean in, pressing my chest to his. The second my skin meets his, everything inside me shatters.
A sharp breath leaves me as heat rushes through me, it’s not just the physical warmth, but something deeper, something alive and familiar. Like my body recognises him instantly and finally stops fighting long enough to breathe.
Jake’s skin is warm and solid beneath mine, his muscles tightening hard under the contact, but it’s the feeling of relief that hits me the hardest.
The noise in my head quiets again, the constant pressure easing as if his touch is pulling me back together piece by piece.
My eyes flutter briefly as I slide my hands down his sides, and for the first time in days, maybe weeks, the lingering cold in my chest begins to thaw.
I cling to Jake as he stands, carrying me towards the stairs with my legs wrapped around his waist. His mouth ravages mine as he walks without missing a single step.
The hard bulge in his trousers rubs against me, and my hips grind against him without permission, making him groan into my mouth. Every step sends another rush of need through me, his heartbeat pounding hard against mine.
Jake kicks the bedroom door open, and it hits the wall softly behind us. Then he finally pulls back just enough to look at me as he lowers me carefully onto the bed, his hands lingering on my waist like he’s struggling to let go.
His breathing is rough, eyes gleaming gold and focused on me.
“Last chance to tell me to slow down,” he says quietly, brushing his thumb across my hip. “Because once I touch you again, Poppy, I don’t think I’m stopping easily.”
I place my hand over his and hold his gaze as I guide it to the waistband of my shorts.
“Touch me again, Jake.”