twelve: in which she kind of just goes with it

“Bite me while I taste your fingertips” –Tove Lo, Talking Body

********************************

Something incredible was cooking in the kitchen. My stomach responded with a series of rumbles, probably because I hadn’t had anything to eat the whole day and it was late afternoon.

I hadn’t exactly believed Jake when he’d claimed to know how to cook, but if the delicious smells were anything to go by, he definitely did.

“You wanna grab a plate?” he asked without turning from the stove.

“Sure,” I replied, now more than used to him knowing I was in the room without looking.

“Top shelf over there.”

I went to the cabinets and carefully took out two ceramic plates. It felt strange to be in Jake’s kitchen, making myself at home like this. He didn’t seem to mind, though, so I didn’t feel like I was imposing.

“Sit at the island,” he told me, and I obediently hopped onto one of the black bar stools pushed in front of it.

“Thank you.”

“Quit that.”

“Quit what?”

“Thanking me every goddamn minute,” he muttered, turning around to bring the food to the counter. He froze mid-step, his nostrils flaring. “I can see your fuсking nipples, Maya. Trust me when I say you don’t want me to see them.”

Yes, he probably could see them. No bra, plus Jake simply being in the same room as me, meant that the equation ended with pebbled nipples. Instead of my sweatshirt, I’d put on a faded blue tank top. Cheap move? Maybe so. But I was sort of new at this seduction thing. In any case, this was the pace I wanted. The anticipation… Well, I knew it would be worth the wait.

“That’s kind of the point, Jake,” I said slowly, putting a big smile on my face when I got a load of his shocked expression. “So what are we eating? I’m starving.” Just to emphasize this, I beat my palms on the counter, impatient.

He muttered a, “Risotto”, before scooping some out onto my plate like a disgruntled cafeteria lady. After one bite, I was in love. His chicken risotto definitely beat mine, no debate there. Fresh herbs were better than dried ones. I told him this. He simply grunted.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” I asked him, going for seconds. “Because I swear, I could finish the whole pot by myself.”

“Nah. You go ahead.”

“You sure?”

“Positive,” he bit out.

“Okay. Suit yourself.”

“I’m going out for a bit,” he said the minute I was done with my second helping. “This place is safe, and I have someone keeping an eye on it, so you don’t have to worry.”

“I appreciate that.”

“That’s just a fancy way of saying thanks,” he said with a wry smile. “Don’t mention it.”

I got to my feet and rounded the island, closing the space between us. Jake was eyeing me warily.

“When you get back,” I murmured, lifting the hem of his T-shirt and brushing my fingers along the hard expanse of his abs, “I’ll thank you properly.”

He let out a harsh breath. “You got a split personality, or something?” he asked in a low voice, grabbing my wrist and stopping me. “Just an hour ago, you didn’t even want my lips on yours.”

“I’ve had a lot to think about in an hour,” I whispered, twisting my arm out of his grip. “I thought about you.”

He looked pissed off. “Don’t fuсk me out of some misguided sense of gratitude, Maya. Fuсk me because you want my diсk inside of you.”

Oh, I wanted that. I wanted it so badly I was mentally undressing right this very instant. The underwear I was wearing had been soaked right through from the minute I’d decided to do this. Something he saw in my eyes must have conveyed that because the next thing I knew, Jake had spun me around and pressed me down against the island. My arms were splayed across the granite countertop, my stomach pushed against the edge. A delicious sense of déjà vu spread all through my body, warming my skin.

“All right, babe.” Jake’s voice rumbled in my ear. “You want my coсk? You can have it.” He pushed himself against my butt, and I felt the very thing he was offering me.

I made an embarrassingly foreign sound in my throat when Jake’s arm banded around my front and he palmed my pusѕy through my sweats. I felt feverish. My breathing was ragged. He hadn’t even properly touched me yet, but this was the most action I’d seen…ever.

“We’ll finish this when I get back, sweetheart,” Jake promised, placing a soft kiss on the side of my neck. “Stay wet for me.”

He let me go, and I felt the absence of his warmth so acutely I shivered. I could barely stand and only when I heard the front door slam shut did I separate myself from the counter.

Jake hadn’t even touched me and I was so affected. What would it be like when we eventually slept together? Would I dissolve into a puddle of bodily fluids? Or simply combust?

Maya Fenton, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?

***

Luke was in Jake’s living room and I didn’t know how to get rid of him. There was no doubt in my mind that Jake would be pissed if he found him here, but I didn’t know how to tell this to Luke without making Jake sound like a maniac. Besides, I missed Luke. He’d been a complete downer since Claire dumped him and he seemed like his old self tonight.

“Your landlady’s pissed, by the way,” he said, when our conversation once again moved to my apartment. “I bumped into her after you finally answered my calls. She wanted to know where you were so she could kill you.”

I groaned. Ruth had no doubt blown up my Facebook inbox wanting to know about the broken door. I just had to tell her to keep my security deposit, since there was no way I could afford to pay for the damages to the apartment.

“You’re really not gonna tell me what the hell happened, M?” Luke’s eyes were suspicious.

“They said it was a robbery gone wrong.” I looked away, hating the fact that I was lying to my best friend.

“Who’s they? Since I know you didn’t go to the cops.”

“Just let it go, Luke. I’m fine, and that’s all that matters.”

“Why didn’t you come stay with me? I’ve got a spare room and I wouldn’t have minded,” he said, sounding hurt. My heart swelled with love for this man, for this person who genuinely cared about what happened to me.

“I love you, but you’d want to kill me after five minutes in your house. I’d make a terrible roomie.”

He smiled but it seemed forced. “I guess. I mean, I’ve never had a female roomie. Would’ve been fun.”

“Listening to you and – Red, was it? – getting it on? Yeah. Fun.”

He laughed. “Cherry. Her name’s Cherry, and just by the way, she’s an accountant.”

“No way,” I said, genuinely surprised. “Kira and I were taking bets on what she did for a living. I said dancer. Kira said something about street corners and charging.”

The look on Luke’s face at the mention of Kira was priceless. “Change of subject. You sure you’re cool staying here?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me. This is just a temporary situation while I look for a place to stay.”

He nodded, getting to his feet. I went to hug him goodbye.

“I love you, Luke.”

“Love you, too, Maya. Be safe and don’t freak me the fuсk out by not informing me about break-ins and broken doors, OK?”

I laughed, squeezing him a little tighter. “OK.”

“Well. I should go now.”

“That’s a pretty good fucking idea,” another voice said, making Luke and me spring apart.

Jake was in the entryway, arms folded across his chest. His eyes were firmly planted on Luke.

“Jake, this is Luke,” I said. “Luke – Jake.”

“Hey, man,” Luke mumbled after I coaxed him to say something. An elbow to the side did wonders.

Jake said nothing in return and I felt like clouting him on the head for being so rude. Shrugging, Luke said a quick goodbye to me before leaving, wordlessly walking past Jake to do it. And could you blame him?

“You’re such a tool sometimes,” I snapped at Jake. “So I’m supposed to ignore my friends now?”

“This is my house. Run things by me next time.”

“What happened to Make yourself at home, Maya sweetheart?” I scoffed, standing my ground when he made his way to me.

“When it comes to having men over, fuсk that shit.” His hazel eyes sparkled with menace. “Understood?”

“Fuсk you.”

“Let’s go,” he growled, and his mouth descended upon mine.

I might have squeaked, or made some such sound, but the moment his lips touched mine, I became pliant. My anger was still there, but for some weird reason, it made me want him more. I kissed him back, thrusting my tongue into his mouth, and when he scooped me up, our lips still joined, I threw my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

He carried me upstairs, down the hall, and elbowed open the door to his bedroom. I was thrown onto his bed, landing on the black comforter with the pillows behind me. Breathing heavily, I watched as Jake tore his T-shirt over his head, giving me the single most beautiful view of my life: His chest. I was shallow but I didn’t care, because Jake was perfect, in every sense of the word. At least, physically.

Most of his skin was covered in ink and his pecs were so defined, every indent and ridge was prominent. I wanted to trace every muscle with the tip of my tongue, and maybe even explore his pierced nipples.

“Top. Off,” he commanded with a flick of his finger.

Inhaling deeply, my fingers grasped the hem of my top and tugged. Slowly. It wasn’t my intention to do it slowly, like I was attempting to be sexy. Half of me was fighting to be heard. Half of me was telling me that this was a bad idea, and that if I didn’t undress, I still had a chance to back out. But Jake wasn’t in the mood for slow. He was on his knees on the bed, helping me remove my tank top and throw it to the floor.

“Jesus,” he said with a groan, taking in the sight of my unfettered breasts. “Just… Fuсking. Beautiful.”

I huffed out a breath, reaching out to trace his left nipple with a fingertip. He shook. Really, he did.

“Take your pants off,” he told me, drawing away so that I couldn’t touch him anymore.

Pants off? Yes. Obviously, that had to happen. Sooner than later.

But my fingers froze at the waistband. Doubt crept in. I’d never done this before. Gotten this far. Not even with Sebastian.

I looked into Jake’s eyes and what I saw floored me. It was the purest, simplest form of lust; the most primal. The kind of lust that the Bible talks about. It shattered me, that look in Jake’s eyes. Turned me into putty. Made me pull my pants and underwear down in one fluid motion. I kicked them off, now lying on Jake’s bed completely naked.

Like so many other women before you.

I couldn’t think about that now. I didn’t want that crap floating around in my thought process. Tonight was going to be about Jake and me. Everything and everyone else was inconsequential.

“Your turn,” I whispered, but Jake shook his head.

“Doesn’t work like that, sweetheart,” he murmured, surprising me by lowering his mouth to my navel. “Did you stay wet for me like I told you to?”

I quivered at the feel of his lips on my stomach. “Maybe.”

“Maybe, huh?” He kissed his way lower, and I instinctively tried to close my legs. He raised his head, arching one brow. “You don’t want me to tongue-fuсk your pusѕy?”

Well, when you put it that way…

Slowly, I parted my thighs even further. I had to let go of my hang-ups and be more open-minded. Jake’s head went back down and he kissed the inside of my thighs. I closed my eyes, unable to fathom that this was actually happening. That Jake Ford was actually between my legs. My mind became blissfully blank when I felt his tongue swipe its way up my opening and lick my сlit. A myriad of sensations swept through me, and I raised my hips, silently asking for more. I felt the vibrations of his soft laugh against my сlit, and then he went back to tonguing me into oblivion.

The gruff sounds of pleasure that he was making were as much a turn-on as what he was doing to me. He parted the lips of my pusѕy with his fingers, driving his tongue inside me. The sound of my own wetness further aroused me. I had never known anything could be this gratifying, this intense. It felt as though every nerve in my body had been in hibernation until this very moment. Jake elicited my cries, my moans, and finally, my orgaѕm.

It rattled me, my climax. Shook me to the very core and scared me with its intensity. Jake’s name was on my tongue, on my lips, and he held me until I came crashing back down to solid earth. I needed air. Desperately. I couldn’t suck enough of it into my lungs.

My eyes were still closed as Jake moved over my body, until I could feel his heavy breathing on my face and I forced my eyes open. He was beautiful, this man. So beautiful it was a juxtaposition of the hard, masculine planes of his body. His dirt-blonde hair was standing everywhere, flying across his forehead. I yearned to push it away but my arms were useless.

He traced the fullness of my lower lip with his index finger, leaving a trail of moisture in his wake. “Suck.”

Just that one word and I was wet all over again. I drew his finger into my mouth, tasting the foreign tang of my own cum. It wasn’t exactly ambrosia, but it wasn’t bad, either. Jake’s eyes had darkened. He thrust another finger into my mouth, and I sucked on them as if I were sucking on his diсk. The idea of giving him a blowjob fascinated me.

He slid his fingers from between my lips and kissed me, his tongue flickering out to taste the remnants of myself on my tongue. I realized that I’d been lifting my hips again, pressing my throbbing pusѕy against Jake’s crotch. It was a blissful feeling, the friction that his jeans provided. I could’ve come just from that but Jake wasn’t about to let me.

He was like a jaguar, sleek and agile, as he got off the bed, standing at his full height. I was breathless just looking at him.

“Unzip me, Maya,” he said, his voice gruff.

I swallowed with difficulty, my throat dry. I sat up and crawled to the side of the bed, kneeling in front of Jake. His arms were at his side, his hands balled into fists. Before I went for his jeans, I ran the tip of my finger down the trail of soft, golden hairs below his navel. His abdomen tensed beneath my finger, but he did nothing. Said nothing.

I popped the button of his jeans and slowly dragged the zipper down. It sounded ridiculously loud, or maybe that was just me. Our eyes locked as I yanked his jeans down his hips, taking his cotton boxers with it. I was now eye-level with his diсk, able to see every vein, every drop of liquid seeping from the head. He was impossibly hard, ramrod straight and intimidating. He was big, that much was clear. But everything was big to me, if I were being honest.

“I’m a virgin,” I said, because it wasn’t fair to him if he didn’t know until it was too late for him to back out. The thought had occurred to me: What if I suck at this? It would probably occur to him, too, when I’d lay there like a dead fish.

Something I couldn’t identify flickered in his eyes. “I figured. But thinking it and hearing confirmation are two different things.” He was stepping out of his pants legs as he spoke, keeping his eyes on me.

“Okay, well, I just thought you should know before…” I couldn’t even say it.

“What the fuсk was Computer Boy doing with you? Just staring?”

“We made a pact in college. Promise rings and everything.” I felt I had to say something. “He took it very seriously and I guess some part of me was still holding on to good old-fashioned values, so it worked for the both of us.”

Jake looked at me like I was an alien. “And now?”

“And now, I want to have ѕex with you.”

He gently pushed me back on the bed, and I made room for him between my legs. “Then you should know that I don’t give a ѕhit that you’re a virgin,” he bit out, staring down into my eyes. “I’ll fuсk you and you’ll love it, but don’t expect rainbows and roses and all that bullѕhit out of movies. Don’t give me that sappy You’re my first ѕhit when it’s over, understood?”

He expected me to get clingy, to put him on some kind of pedestal for being my first real sexual partner. I wanted to laugh at his enormous ego but I didn’t. Maybe he was speaking from experience.

“Fuсk you, Jake,” I said instead, pulling a tuft of his hair.

“Let’s go, babe,” he said in return, blindly going through his nightstand. He pulled himself to his knees, tore at the condom wrapper with his teeth, and sheathed himself, his eyes on the ceiling.

I pulled my lower lip into my mouth when his gaze heated my skin. “You’re so fuсking gorgeous,” he rasped, stroking his erection. “Do you want me inside you?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to be able to speak.

“Say it, Maya. Say the damn words.”

“Yes. I want you…inside me.”

“Fuсk,” he cursed, positioning himself at my entrance. He pressed himself against me, rubbing himself against my swollen сlit.

I whimpered, unable to close my eyes when his gaze was locked with mine. “Jake,” I whispered, “don’t fuсking tease me.”

He gripped my leg, wrapping it around his waist, and then he was pushing into me, so slowly my breath caught. I bit my lip, thinking, Hey, this isn’t so bad – until he pushed what felt like his entire length into me. I tasted blood and knew that I’d bitten down too hard.

“Breathe, Maya,” Jake said through clenched teeth. His own breathing was erratic. “Fuсk, you’re tight.”

The pain between my legs became more manageable with every deep breath I took. Jake held himself still, until I pushed my hips against his, wanting him to move. He looked tortured enough.

He pulled out a little, eyes still fastened to mine, and then thrust into me again. I gasped, my fingernails tearing into his back. He made a sound of pleasure at that.

“More,” I pleaded, knowing that this was it. I was a goner. Screw the consequences.

My voice seemed to release him from his restraint, because the next thing I knew, he was fuсking me. Properly fuсking me. I looped my other leg around his waist, pushing up to meet his every thrust into me. It almost felt too good, what he was doing to me. His mouth was on my neck, and then it was on my breasts. He spent a lot of time on my breasts; sucking my beaded nipples into his mouth, nipping at them with his teeth. I dug my nails into his skin each time he bit into me and each time his сock sank into me.

“So good,” I heard him grunt, his lips against my neck. “You need…to come…right now, babe.”

He slid a hand between us and stroked my сlit with skilled fingers. It was ridiculous how he only had to press against that bundle of nerves to bring me to a sharp and satisfying orgaѕm.

My body snapped in two, my limbs loose and rubbery. It felt like a never-ending orgaѕm, like they’d all blended into one and I was drowning in my own pleasure. When it felt like I was finished, Jake ripped another blinding climax from me. He stroked into me once, twice, and then he was coming, his eyes slid shut. In orgaѕm, he looked vulnerable; almost boyish, even. His features softened, his mouth slack as he grunted out his eruption. I felt his coсk jerk inside me even after his climax had long subsided and instinct forced me to clamp down around him, sensing that he would soon pull out.

His eyes snapped open. “Jesus,” he muttered, arms on either side of me to keep his weight from crushing me. “You’re something else, Maya Fenton.”

“Is that a good something else or a bad something else?” I murmured, sounding drowsy.

“Both,” he replied with a smile. “You good?”

“Uh-huh.”

His lips brushed against mine. “That makes one of us.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Your nails are probably buried in my skin.”

Horrified, I let him go, examining my fingers. “Oh, my God.” I could see a little blood under a few nails. “I’m so sorry, Jake. I don’t know what –”

His mouth shut me up. “No more talking,” he said against my lips, pulling out of me at the same time. “You’re fuсking sexy when you lose control, so don’t apologize.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Good. I’m starving.”

My stomach made a noise of agreement. God, ѕex was a workout. Then there was the ache between my legs, a reminder of where Jake had just been. I would likely be unable to stand. It didn’t stop me from offering to cook.

Jake shook his head at me, looking devious. “Nah, baby. My dinner just came.”

He pulled my legs apart and proceeded to make his dinner come for the nth time.