Page 70 of California Wild

It was too much, too good.

She moaned, her movements turning frantic, her hands gripping his arms, her body moving like she was chasing something she didn’t even know she needed.

Jesse lost it.

He flipped them suddenly, pinning her beneath him, hips driving forward, thrusting deep and hard, chasing his own unraveling.

Hayley gasped, her fingers clutching at his back, her nails digging in, her head tilting back as she let him take, take, take. He fucked her harder, harder. Again and again. His mouth moved over her throat, biting, sucking, marking her.

This wasn’t just about control.

This was about leaving a fucking piece of himself with her.

Her name ripped from his throat as he came, hard and shuddering, buried deep inside her, his entire body trembling.

Hayley held onto him, her fingers stroking through his hair, her lips pressing soft, lingering kisses against his temple as his body slowly, finally, stopped shaking.

For a long moment, they just breathed.

Jesse stayed inside her, over her, surrounded by her.

Then, reality crept back in.

She felt it, too.

He could see it in her eyes when he finally lifted his head, the way her gaze searched his like she was looking for something solid, something safe.

But Jesse had never been that for her.

And they both knew it.

The weight of everything they weren’t settled between them.

Hayley swallowed. “Jesse…”

He exhaled slowly, smoothing her hair back, pressing one last kiss against her forehead.

Then, with every ounce of strength he had left, he forced himself to pull away.

Because this was the problem.

This was always the problem.

They could have this. The heat, the desperation, the raw fucking intensity.

But they had never been able to have anything else.

And Jesse wasn’t sure if they ever could.

Jesse moved fast.

Five minutes now. That was all he had left.

He was out of bed and into the bathroom before his body could argue, before his mind could trick him into staying just a little longer.

The water was scalding, a shock to his system, but it didn’t burn as much as the thought of leaving her. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, forcing himself into the present, into the motions.

Soap. Rinse. Done.

---