Page 66 of California Wild

Jesse didn’t move. Didn’t breathe too deep. Just held her, feeling the slow, steady rhythm of her breaths against his skin, the way she fit against him so effortlessly. She smelled like something light and sweet, citrus and vanilla, with the faintest trace of stage smoke clinging to her hair. The scent filled his lungs, curling around something deep in his chest, something that had been starved for too long.

His arm was draped over her waist, his fingers resting at the dip of her spine. Bare skin under his hand. Soft. Warm. He let histhumb move, the slightest stroke up and down, barely there. The sheets were tangled between them, thin fabric doing nothing to separate her from him, not really. She shifted in her sleep, pressing closer, her body molding to his like she knew him even in dreams.

Jesse swallowed hard.

God, she was real.

After all this time, all the distance, all the fucking wreckage they had left behind them—she was here. In his bed. Wrapped up in him.

And for the first time in years, Jesse didn’t feel a ball of dread in his stomach. He didn’t feel like his world was on tilt. He just felt… like himself.

He didn’t rush the moment.

Didn’t spiral toward what came next.

He just held her.

Fifteen minutes passed like that. Silent. Still. Just the sound of her breathing, the occasional shift of her body, the distant hum of the refrigerator.

Then, he glanced at his watch. 4:15 a.m. He had to head out soon. So, he leaned in, pressing his lips to her temple. A soft, lingering kiss, barely there.

Hayley sighed, shifting slightly, but didn’t wake.

Jesse smirked against her skin. Not yet.

He kissed lower, his lips trailing along the curve of her cheek, the edge of her jaw. The hand at her waist slid upward, fingertips grazing along the smooth plane of her stomach, the curve of her ribs until he felt the weight of her breasts.

She said something unintelligible, barely a breath of sound, shifting just a little, arching instinctively into his touch.

Jesse dragged his mouth lower, let his teeth scrape lightly against the delicate skin just below her ear.

She shivered.

Perfect.

“Morning, Rockstar,” he said, his voice rough from sleep.

Hayley made a soft, breathy sound, stretching against him, her body pressing into his in a way that made his pulse pound. Her eyes were still closed, lips parted slightly, a sleepy, blissed-out expression on her face.

And fuck, he wanted her.

Wanted her slow. Wanted her wrecked. Wanted to keep her here, like this, forever.

Her breath hitched as his hand smoothed down her hip, fingers tightening, pulling her even closer.

He kissed her again, deeper this time, hotter, more deliberate.

And just like that, she was waking up for him.

Just in time.

Jesse knew he had maybe twenty minutes left.

Twenty fucking minutes before he had to pull away, put on his gear, walk out that door, and disappear into a world where she didn’t exist.

And when that happened, he needed her to remember.

To feel him in her bones, under her skin, where she couldn’t shake him.

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