An adult one.
Chapter 22
JADE
This is happening.
Oh, God.
I sink down on my bed and stare at the floor. It’s really happening between Hunter and me. Last night wasn’t a dream.
Even though I opened up about my feelings, the relationship feels new and like I’m sailing in uncharted waters.
Mila comes in, followed by Fallon and Hana. They shut the door behind them and then join me on my bed.
“Tell us everything,” Mila demands, wiggling her butt closer to me.
“You were there,” I argue. “There’s nothing more to tell.”
“Oh, no,” Fallon disagrees. “How do you feel? Are you happy? Are you sure about being with Hunter?”
I wait for her to stop rambling questions at me, then admit, “I love him, and I’m happy, but…”
“But?” Hana asks, her eyes widening at me.
“But… this is all so new,” I admit. “With Brady, it took three months before we kissed. A peck on the lips. Our relationship consisted of holding hands and hugs.”
Mila crosses her legs under her and glances at Fallon. “I have zero experience, so this is all on you.”
“Why me?” Fallon gasps.
Mila gives her a wide-eyed look. “I thought you’ve… you know, done the deed.”
Fallon grabs a pillow and whacks Mila with it. “I haven’t.”
“Okay,” Hana sighs, “Let me get in here.” She shifts closer then gives me a serious look. “What are you worried about?”
Mila and Fallon stare at Hana with surprise, but she ignores them, focusing all her attention on me.
I shrug. “What do I do? Do I hold his hand? When is the right time to initiate a kiss?” I cover my face with my hands and groan, “Don’t even get me started on the sex part.”
Hana reaches over to me and pulls my hands away from my face. “You hold his hand and kiss him whenever you want to, Jade. He's yours, and you are his. You don’t have to wait for permission.”
“What she said,” Fallon chips in.
“Are you ready for sex, though?” Mila asks the million-dollar question.
“I wasn’t really ready until it happened,” Hana admits, which has our heads snapping in her direction. “Let it just happen naturally. You can’t plan it, but if you do it with the person you love, everything will be fine.”
“I have a ton of questions about the bomb you just dropped,” Fallon says to Hana, then she turns her eyes to me. “Hana is right. If you feel you and Hunter are a sure thing, then just enjoy your relationship. Don’t over-analyze everything.”
“Yeah, I tend to do that,” I admit.
Mila glances at her watch. “We need to get going, or we’ll be late for class.”
“Oh, shit!” I jump off the bed and run to the bathroom. “I still need to shower. I’ll catch up with you all later.”
I rush through my morning routine, and out of time, I leave my hair to air dry. It’s going to be a curly mess, but I couldn’t care less at this moment. I grab a hair tie and shove it onto my wrist, in case I need it later.
Dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers, I dart out of the room. Remembering it was chilly this morning, I quickly rush back and grab a sweater from the back of my chair before hightailing it out of the suite.
I’m late for my first class, and with an apologetic glance at the professor, I sink down in the first open chair I can find.
My whole morning feels rushed as I dart from one class to the next. When it’s time for lunch, I let out an exhausted sigh as I use the hair tie to tame my wild strands into a messy bun on top of my head.
An arm wraps around my waist, and I’m yanked against something solid. My eyes snap up, and it’s just in time to see Hunter’s face before he presses a kiss to my lips.
Students scurry around us, and for a moment, I think about the fact that we just went public with our relationship.
Like you ever cared what people thought.
I wrap my arms around Hunter’s neck and pressing my mouth to his, I kiss him as if he’s the air I need to breathe.
Because he is.
When I pull back, he gives me a sexy grin. “I could get used to that.”
“Better than the hugs?” I tease him.
“Oh, way better.” He takes hold of my hand and pulls me out of the building and into the sunlight.
“Please tell me we’re going to eat,” I say as I link my fingers with his.
“I asked the restaurant to prepare a basket for us.” He smiles at me, and when he sees the question on my face, he explains, “It’s a nice day out, and I thought we could have a picnic somewhere quiet so we can talk.”
Talk? About what?
I’m still recovering from all the talking we did last night.
I don’t say anything and let Hunter lead the way. We grab the basket, which I hope is filled with a lot of food, and begin to make our way down the trail I ran this morning.
I try to peek into the basket, but Hunter catches me and blocks my view with his body. “It’s a surprise.”
I pout at him, but then a smile wins out.
We reach the lookout point, and I sink to my butt, ready to eat.
Hunter sits down next to me and opening the basket, he unloads a world of goodness. He hands me a bottle of water, and I take a sip.
“We can talk after you’ve eaten. I’m scared you’ll beat me up to get to the food,” Hunter teases.
“Me? Never.” I reach for a sandwich and take a huge bite. “Mmhhh…” I groan. “So good.”
“Yeahhhhh.” My eyes dart to Hunter’s, and I see that he’s staring at my mouth.
Wiping over it in case I have some crumbs stuck, I say, “Sorry, but you know I eat like a pig. I’m not about to become a salad girl.”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “I don’t expect you to.”
I shove the rest of the sandwich into my mouth and close my eyes as I savor the buttery goodness. Opening the water bottle, I take a sip and then look at Hunter.
There’s an intense expression tightening his features, his eyes locked on me.
“What?” I ask, placing the bottle on the grass.
“I wanted to talk first,” he growls, “but… fuck…” The next second, Hunter moves over me, forcing me to lie down with his body hovering over me, and his mouth collides with mine.
Okay, kiss whenever we want to… I guess Hunter wants to… and yeah, I’m all for it.
When his tongue slips into my mouth, my thoughts scatter away, and I bring my hands to his jaw. I kiss him back, matching his intensity until we’re both breathless.
When he breaks the kiss, he continues to lie half over me. His eyes drift over my face, and then he murmurs, “I wish you knew what you’re doing to me.”
Oh, shit. I thought we were in a good place?
Frowning, I ask, “Did I do something wrong?”
A slow smile spreads over his face as he shakes his head. “The opposite. You’re doing everything right.”
My frown only deepens as confusion sets in. “I’m not following. What am I doing to you, then?”
Hunter’s head lowers again, and he presses a tender kiss to my lips. Pulling back, he admits, “You’re driving me wild, Jade. It’s hard to not touch you… and Christ… I just want to kiss you all the time.”
A grin spreads over my face. “I’m not going to stop you.”
“Good.” He gives me a quick kiss before pulling me up in a sitting position, then he asks, “Are you really okay with us?”
I nod but still feeling apprehensive about certain things, I say, “I’m just not sure what to do. This is foreign territory for me.”
Hunter tilts his head, a questioning look on his face. “What do you mean?”
Not wanting to bring up Brady to Hunter, I skirt around the truth, “I just have to get used to the idea.”
Hunter’s eyes sharpen on me, and I can literally feel him
searching for the truth. “If you’re not direct with me, I won’t know what you’re comfortable with and what not.”
My shoulders slump, and I begin to pick at a blade of grass. “I didn’t want to bring it up because you must be sick and tired of it, but I’ve only dated Brady.” When Hunter doesn’t look annoyed with me, I continue, “We only held hands and hugged, Hunter. This past couple of days, I’ve done more with you than I did with Brady.”
I can feel my cheeks heating from having to admit how inexperienced I am to Hunter.
His eyes soften on me, and lifting a hand, he brushes a finger lightly over my cheek. “Then we’ll take it slow. I never want to pressure you into doing something you’re not ready for.”
“I know you won’t.” I give him a thankful smile. “But…”
“But?” His eyebrow lifts in question.
“It’s not that I’m not ready,” I admit. I lower my eyes to my hands and swallow hard.
Just say it, Jade.
“Take your time,” Hunter murmurs.
“It’s just…” I swallow hard and force my eyes up to his. “I’m sure you’re more experienced than me in a lot of things. I’m scared I won’t meet your expectations.”
Hunter moves closer to me and pulls me into his arms. With his hand on the back of my head, he holds me to his chest, and then he presses a kiss to the top of my head and says, “I have zero expectations, Jade. I just want to be with you. This isn’t a race.”
I wrap my arms around his waist, snuggling closer to him, and whisper, “I just never want to disappoint you again.”
He rests his chin on my head. “As long as we’re honest with each other, we’ll be fine.”
God, how did I ever get so lucky?
“You’re a freaking saint,” I admit, and it draws a chuckle from Hunter. “I make everything so damn hard.”
“Yeah, you have no idea,” he teases.
I pull back and playfully scowl up at him. “Now, you’re looking for a beating. You’re not supposed to agree with me.”
Hunter begins to laugh. “But I meant it. You make everything hard, and I mean everything.”
Oh shit. He’s talking about his cock.
Oh. My. God.
My face lights up like the fourth of July, and I shove it against his chest to hide, which only makes him laugh more.
HUNTER
She’s so fucking cute that I can’t resist teasing her.
Yeah, I was referring to my cock, and it took her a while to catch on.
I’m surprised by what she told me, though. I was under the impression Jade and Brady were hot and heavy, seeing as they were ready to take the next step. But after what she just told me, I now know Jade’s way more innocent than I thought.
With her leaning against my chest and my arms locked around her, I ask, “Just so we’re on the same page, what’s the furthest you’ve gone?”
Jade shoots up and turns her face toward the landscape, stretching out into the distance. “Oooh, and here I thought we were done talking about that part.” She lets out a chuckle, still not looking at me. “With you, Hunter.”
“We’ve only kissed,” I clarify for her unless we did something I’m not aware of. Which is not a possibility at all.
Letting out a miserable sigh, she turns her body toward me and finally meets my eyes. “You knowwwww.” Her eyes widen like she’s trying to tell me to read between the lines.
Shaking my head, I say, “I’ve got nothing. What else did we do?”
“When I was straddling you at the gym,” she whispers between clenched teeth, “You… uhm…” Shutting her eyes, she blurts out, “You got hard.”
Laughter bursts from me when I finally realize what she’s on about. “I wasn’t sure you felt that.”
“I did,” she blurts out.
“Is that why you went to hide in your room?” I ask.
She nods again and then admits, “I was so damn shocked, I ended up calling Mamma G for help.”
My mouth drops open. “You talked to Miss Sebastian about my cock?”
She lets out a burst of laughter. “That’s one conversation I never thought I’d have with her.”
Lifting my hand, I cover my mouth to keep from laughing. “Tell me what the two of you talked about.”
“Nope.” She shakes her head and presses her lips together.
“Tell me,” I say as I begin to move toward her.
“Never.” Her lips press shut again.
When I’m close to her, I lean in and press a kiss to her neck. “Please?”
“Huh-uh.”
I let a breath fan out over her skin and watch as goosebumps form, then drop my voice low, “Pretty please.”
“Oh shit, it’s getting hard to say no,” she groans.
I press another kiss to her neck and then trail my lips lightly up to her jaw, before breathing, “Tell me.”
“I just asked her if it’s normal for a guy to get hard,” she admits.
“Hmmm.” I keep trailing kisses over her skin until I reach her ear. “I only get hard when I see something I like.”
“Oh,” she gasps. “That’s good.”
I move back toward her mouth and stop an inch away from her lips. “What turns you on, Jade.”
“This!” she blurts, her breaths speeding up. “This is definitely doing it for me.”
“Yeah?” I groan.
“Definitely,” she mumbles, and then she presses her mouth against mine. I let her control the pace of the kiss until she pulls back, and then she says with awe, “You’re really good at it.”
I sit back and grin at her. “Well, now I know how to get you talking. I’ve been doing it wrong all along.”
“Arrogant ass,” she sasses me before she picks up her water bottle.
“We should eat,” I remind her and glancing at my watch, I say, “I have fifteen minutes before my next class.”
She leans over and checks the time on my watch. “Shit, me too.” Then she digs into the food like a starving person.
While we eat, we keep stealing glances at each other.
My heart is bursting with happiness. The picnic turned out much better than I hoped it would.
Chapter 23
JADE
As the days go by, I start to feel more comfortable around Hunter, and I can actually focus on my school work.
My life has done a total three hundred and sixty-degree turn. Thinking back to my first day at the academy, I never would’ve guessed just a couple of weeks later, I’d be in a relationship with Hunter.
Getting up from my bed so I can stretch my legs, I walk to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
“Are you almost done with your assignment?” Hunter asks from where he’s sitting on the couch, watching TV with Jase, Kao, and Noah.
“Yeah. I just need to read through it,” I answer. Taking a sip of water, I walk over to him. As I lean over the back of the couch, he tilts his head, and I press a kiss to his mouth.
When I straighten up again, he asks, “Can’t you read through it tomorrow? It’s getting late.”
I lean over him again and taking hold of his wrist, I check the time. “Crap, I didn’t realize it was one am already.”
It’s a Friday night, so the time doesn’t really bother me seeing as I can sleep in.
Hunter gets up and walking around the back of the couch, he takes hold of my hand. “Night, everyone.” And then he drags me to his room.
“Good night,” I call out.
Not that the guys are even paying attention to us. They’re all absorbed with the show they’re watching.
When Hunter shuts the door behind us, I begin to feel nervous. “I still have to brush my teeth and put my phone on charge.”
A slow grin spreads over his face. “Stop worrying. I just want to hold you while we sleep.”
“I still need to do those things,” I argue.
He opens the door again and leans against the jamb, crossing his arms over his chest. “Go do
them. I’ll wait.”
I rush over to my room and run through my night routine. Making sure I’ve saved the document, I shut down my laptop before I glance down at the t-shirt and sweatpants I’m wearing.
My eyes dart to the door, and seeing Hunter still waiting for me, I walk to the bathroom to quickly take off my bra because there’s no way I’m sleeping with one on.
Feeling a little self-conscious about not wearing one, I hunch my shoulders and cross my arms over my chest to cover myself.
Walking out of my room, I don’t bother closing the door and quickly dart into Hunter’s.
He shuts the door again, and this time locks it. “Finally, we get to sleep.”
I wait for Hunter to drop down on the bed. He pulls the covers back for me, and I quickly climb on the mattress and lie down.
We’re just going to sleep. There’s nothing to worry about.
I keep chanting the words, but then let out a squeak when Hunter wraps his arm around my waist and pulls my body flush with his.
My eyes widen when he reaches over me and switches off the bedside lamp.
Oh. Oh. Oh. Shit.
But then he just tightens his hold on me, and placing his hand behind my head, he presses my face into the crook of his neck. “Night, babe.”
A grin slowly spreads over my face.
Babe. I like that.
I wrap an arm around his waist and snuggling closer, I find a comfortable spot and close my eyes. Hunter’s scent drifts around me, calming the nervous feeling I had.
I take a deep breath and smile against his skin.
Yeah, this is nice.
“Are you comfortable?” he murmurs.
“Yeah, and you?”
“Yeah.”
There’s a moment’s silence, then Hunter asks, “Tell me what I missed during the past two years.”
“Nothing much,” I answer. I tighten my arm around his waist. “Just missed you.”
“I missed you too,” he whispers. “A lot.”
HUNTER
Just hold her, Hunter.
I want to kiss her and touch her everywhere, but not wanting to push her too fast, I force myself to just hold her.
Coldhearted Heir (The Heirs Book 1) Page 18