CHAPTER 71: GOODNIGHT, JAKE

Bella’s throat went dry. Every nerve in her body screamed yes, that she wanted him so badly and had dreamt of him every night, but her mind fought desperately to hold the line she had built for herself.

"Jake... you should stop," she whispered, but her voice was far too weak, trembling like fragile glass. Her voice betrayed her words and saw it.

Jake’s lips curved faintly, not in mockery, but in knowing. His hand slid down, brushing the side of her neck, his thumb tracing her skin there. Then, slowly, he leaned in, his breath ghosting against her ear, then lower—his lips brushing against the sensitive curve of her neck.

Bella’s breath hitched, her entire body prickling, her hairs standing on end. She tried to get a hold of herself but it seemed her body had a brain of its own.

"Are you sure you want me to stop?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous, vibrating against her skin. "Because if you say yes now, Bella... I’ll let you be. So, tell me, Bella. Should I stop?"

"Jake...." Bella’s voice came in a whisper. She wanted to tell him to stop but she couldn’t. Her body betrayed her, craving his closeness, melting under the intoxicating pull of his touch.

Jake’s hand slid to her shoulder, teasing along her arm, and she shivered violently. When she still didn’t say anything other than call his name, he let out a soft, dark chuckle. "I’ll take that as a no."

"Jake——" she was saying when Jake covered her lips with his in a passionate kiss.

It wasn’t soft, neither was it tentative. It was deep, hungry, almost desperate. The kind of kiss that made her forget how to breathe.

Bella gasped against his mouth, her body trembling as her hand instinctively gripped the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer. His lips claimed hers, over and over, until she thought she would drown in the sheer force of it.

Her hands moved without thought, sliding down his chest, curling around his waist, then lower, her palm brushing over his groin, her mind already thinking of having his warm body against hers.

Jake groaned against her lips, deepening the kiss, his tongue sliding against hers in a way that made her toes curl.

The car was filled with heat, with the ragged sound of their breaths, with the rush of emotions neither of them could contain. Bella’s head spun, her body burning, every part of her aware only of him.

When they finally broke apart, breathless, her chest rose and fell rapidly, her lips swollen from his kiss. For a moment, she almost forgot where they were. Almost forgot everything.

Jake leaned back to take her lips in another kiss when reality crashed back in. Timothy, asleep in the car just behind them. The secret she had kept for years and the danger of wanting what she couldn’t have.

She shouldn’t be doing this. She shouldn’t be enjoying this or even be dreaming of having sex with him again. Not until she’d at least resolved the outcome of the last.

Bella swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she pulled back. "I should get inside. Goodnight, Jake," she whispered, her voice shaky, almost breaking.

Without giving herself the chance to think, she opened the door, stepped out and opened the door of the backseat, reaching for Timothy.

But Jake, who’d quickly stepped out too, stopped her gently, his hand brushing hers aside. "I’ll carry him," he said softly, his voice rough from their kiss.

He didn’t wait for her to argue. He carefully lifted Timothy into his arms, cradling the boy against his chest as though he had done it a thousand times before.

Bella followed behind him, her legs still weak, her lips still tingling, her heart still racing wildly. She couldn’t stop staring at him—Jake, strong and steady, carrying her son as though he belonged in this picture, as though he was already part of them.

And for the first time, Bella felt the terrifying weight of how much she wanted it.

Bella was glad no one was at the living room when they got into the house. She quickly got in front to show Jake where he could drop Timothy.

After dropping him, Bella saw Jake off but didn’t even utter a word, not knowing what to say or how to look at his face.

The house was quiet when Bella stepped back inside. The air felt cooler after the warmth of the evening spent outside, and the silence pressed in against her like a reminder of reality. She closed the door gently, careful not to let it creak, and leaned her back against it for a moment.

Her heart was still racing.

She lifted trembling fingers to her lips, touching where Jake’s mouth had been not long ago. The memory of his kiss burned there—soft yet searing, a flame that refused to be smothered. Every nerve in her body still hummed from the way his hands had held her, the way his thumb had teased her lips before he claimed them.

Bella squeezed her eyes shut, trying to chase away the images flashing across her mind. But instead, they returned sharper, more vivid. Jake’s voice low in her ear, his breath warm against her skin, the way her knees had weakened when he brushed his lips along her neck.

It had been five years since that night. Five years since she had promised herself never to think of it in that way again. Yet tonight, with the weight of his kiss still lingering, she couldn’t deny it. The walls she had so carefully built around herself were cracking, if not broken.

Her gaze drifted to the hallway leading to her room where Timothy was.

Bella exhaled shakily, pushing herself off the door and moving toward the living room. The sofa welcomed her, but she couldn’t sit still. She paced, running a hand through her hair.

What was I thinking? Letting him get that close again? Letting him touch me like that?

And yet... she hadn’t stopped him. Even when she told him to stop, her voice had been too weak, too breathless. She hadn’t meant it. Deep down, she had wanted it. There was no denying that.