Page 104 of Hiding from Hope

“The animal or the gentleman?” His fingers curl around the edge of the G-string, pulling them slowly down my legs.

“I just want you,” I whisper in response, and it is his undoing.

The underwear discarded, his knees hit the floor, and his mouth descends on me like a beast starved. His tongue expertly licking the length of me before drawing in my clit and sucking.

“Oh my god,” I moan, my back arching off the table, gripping my fingers through his hair to hold him in place. I guess it’s the savage then.

With no mercy, he devours me, thrusting three of his fingers into me. “So fucking tight,” he grinds out, his hand picking up the pace while the other reaches up and tucks itself under my bra to flick and squeeze my nipples.

“Holy shit,” I groan, because, animal he is, with his tongue teasing my peak and his fingers curling to thrust against that sensitive spot, the orgasm hits me in no time and I convulse around him as he continues to lick me and tease me.

“This blue is exquisite,” he whispers, placing one more delicate kiss to my center before withdrawing himself, grabbing my hand and sitting me up so that our chests are together, bringing his lips to mine. “But the greatest gift of all was you letting me into your heart.” He kisses me passionately, tasting myself on his tongue, and I moan into his embrace.

“You’re not so bad at gift giving either,” I pant and he chuckles, his warm hands searching my bare back as he unclasps my bra from behind.

“And we’ve only just begun, stella mea. When I’m done, you won’t be able to walk out of here.” He punctuates with a nip to my neck and I gasp.

“I can only hope.”

Jessie and I broke the table. But he was adamant to continue our date, so we currently lay on a blanket from the back room by the fireplace, utterly naked and sated from an evening well spent. He wasn’t joking about not being able to walk. After my first gift, Jessie bent me over the table–hence it now being broken–the savage that he is, followed by a passionate declaration of love from the gentleman. I was four orgasms in for the night when he heard my stomach grumble and was adamant we should eat before he gave me any more.

“I have something else for you,” he says, dropping the plate of Scottish macaroons–yes, you heard correctly. For my birthday, Jessie got my family cookbook from my mom and spent the last twenty-four hours making some of my favorite recipes so he could feed them to me on my birthday.

“Jessie, if it’s your penis, can I have a nap first?” I groan as I pull the blanket around me tighter from my spot on the floor and he chuckles, disappearing for a bit.

After a few moments, I feel a delicate finger brush my cheek and my eyes are peeled open. I hadn’t realized I drifted off, but now, my head lays in Jessie’s lap, his stunning mixed-colored eyes staring down at me as he caresses my cheek. “I didn’t realize I had actually wrecked you.” The bastard is smug, but God, he is delicious when he looks at me like that. I chuckle and sit up slightly.

“Here.”

“What is this?” I say, but know exactly what I’m looking at. It’s a manuscript. Except it’s not the one I stole, it’s a different one, with his name on it and a new title. “Finding Home?” I read it and look at him. He scratches the back of his neck.

“The first one was therapy. An outlet, a way to get all the pain out. This one…” He gestures to the manuscript in my hand. “This one is a healing. This one holds my heart. Like you do. Do you think…” His eyes scan the ceiling, and I don’t miss the curse he mutters as I see the embarrassment and shyness over take him. Discarding the manuscript, I crawl toward him and climb onto his lap, straddling him as the blanket falls away, both of us still as naked as the day we were born, and feel him stand at attention immediately.

“I can give it to Rosie.” His eyes connect with mine in gratitude, and a light blush hits his cheeks.

“Your writing is truly incredible, Jessie. I can’t wait for people to read your words and know how amazing you are,” I whisper, and his hands land on my hips, slowly but lovingly grinding me down further.

“You haven’t even read this one.” I shake my head.

“I don’t need to.” I kiss each of his cheeks and then climb out of his lap. His grunt in disappointment has me giggling. “Relax, caveman, I’m getting your present, too.”

“That wasn’t all I got you.” He sounds chastised, and it makes me laugh more.

I quickly reach for my bag and grab the gift I got for him, and head back to the fireplace. I go to perch next to him, but Jessie isn’t having that. He pulls me into his lap, forcing me to straddle him again. “It’s your birthday, Ace. You shouldn’t have got me anything at all.”

“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to give you this one. It’s your Christmas present. It’s nothing, really.”

He watches me for a beat, but then takes the gift from my hand and starts unwrapping it. He pulls out the book I had bound, the black and silver canvas with his favorite blue foiling that reads the Odyssey. “I know it’s not much. But you were reading this when it all started. I wanted to make one for you. Plus, I also added this.” I pull out the small leather journal with ‘JJ’ engraved on the front. “I thought maybe you could use it as an idea’s notebook. So, while you’re working, you could write down anything you think of.” I shrug self-consciously and his eyes watch me, heavy with love and gratefulness.

“Ace, baby, this is… amazing. It’s too much, but I do love it. I love you,” he says, a slight croak to his voice as he admires the gifts again, discarding them and firmly wrapping his arms around me to nuzzle my neck.

“Thank you,” he whispers. We stay that way for a bit, something about the intensity of his emotions hitting me in the chest before he pulls back. “Last gift.” He hands me a box and kisses the tip of my nose as his big, warm hands gently tickle my lower back.

When I open the box, I see a journal almost identical to the one I got him, except larger, with a pale blue leather cover, and Stella Mea engraved on the front. A white ribbon bookmark hangs out the bottom, with a diamond star charm hanging from it, and I have to blink back the tears that sting my eyes.

“Jessie. It’s so beautiful.” He doesn’t say anything, but when I look up to his eyes, they shine with joy, and he juts his chin. “Open it.” My brows furrow slightly and when I do, I realize it isn’t a journal at all, it’s a book.

Every page has a different quote. All the quotes he recited from his classic novels, all the lyrics I’ve repeated to him. All the words written or sung by famous people that we had used to communicate our love for each other when we couldn’t find our own.

Tears drip down my cheeks and I can’t fight the smile as I feel his heart beat faster.

“Oh my god,” I breathe. “Jessie, it’s… it’s everything.” I close the book and hold it to my heart as I sob.

“Oh, sunshine, I didn’t want to make you cry.” He chuckles gently and pulls me to his chest as his hands comb through my hair.

“I love you, Jessie. So damn much it hurts.” I sob into his chest. He pulls back, his firm grip framing my face while his thumbs swipe away my tears.

“I love you, too, Casey.” He kisses me gently, then whispers over my lips, “So damn much it gives me hope.”

THE END