They'd cut it short so the mystery wouldn't unravel itself, but Jonah clearly saw the uneasiness in his soon-to-be former friend. Maybe it would have been better to have just said he needed a change of scenery, or to lie and say he'd be moving to Florida to take care of his parents.

But the truth would come out whether or not Astrid chose him, and Jonah didn't want Scott to be any more blindsided than he already would be. A slight tear in their friendship from the uncertainty would make this easier for the two of them once the time came. The betrayal wouldn't be any less, but maybe the final shred after it was already strained would work in everyone's favor.

Jonah could only hope. Anything to make would make this easier for Scott would be welcome, except for never laying hands on the guy's daughter again, that is.

Even though he'd only showered ten hours ago, Jonah went straight up the stairs of his house and turned on the faucet. It took a little while for water to heat in the old house, so he always did that before grabbing something to wear. Except when he went into his room, a small woman's figure was laying in his bed, fast asleep with a tissue clutched in her hand.

It had always been Jonah's job to dry her tears and make her smile in the saddest of times, yet he just couldn't seem to stop causing them. Maybe it would be better to never touch her again, to just walk away from her, tell Scott the truth, and start over with his life. Except that briefest thought was enough for him to come undone inside that he couldn't imagine what the execution of it would do to him. Jonah could do a lot of things, but he was pretty damn sure walking away from this woman in any regard wasn't an option.

Jonah walked back out of the room, turned off the faucet, came back and stripped back down to his boxers and crawled into bed beside her. Watching her stir was like watching the greatest movie ever made for the very first time. Seeing her eyes fluttering open took his breath away in the cheesiest way imaginable.

How many times had he seen it all before and it hadn't fazed him?

"Hey."

Jonah smiled at the quiet tone of her voice and wiped a lock of blonde hair away from her face. "Hey back."

She snuggled deeper into his pillow, looking as if she belonged in this room. His room. His bed. His home.

"I need to know what last night was for you," Astrid asked in a tone even quieter than before. "And I need to know what you want from all this."

Jonah knew this woman better than his own reflection. When she got all meek and quiet like she was in this moment, it meant she was nervous despite her desire to try something. It was as if she was just begging for a push, and Jonah was determined to give that to her. "It would have been a lot easier if it'd been some drunken night and a mistake, but that's not what it was. Instead, it was something I gave up searching for a long time ago, and for some reason it only seems fitting that I found it with you."

He took her hand that rest on the bedsheet into his own. "As far as what I want... the answer is pretty damn simple. I want you, sweetheart. I want to fall asleep next to you at night and wake up to you in the morning. I want normal couple shit. Cuddling on the couch, having your feet or head in my lap while you read a book, making you dinner, ordering dinner after I've burned everything.

"I know this is happening a mile a minute, but I can keep up. What I want is to ask you out on a date, have my way with you as soon as that date's over, and not have to hide our relationship. I'm ready to make all of that happen, and if you aren't, I should let you know that I fully plan on fighting for you and pursuing you until you give in."

Astrid looked down at the hand covering her own and kissed one of his knuckles. "Sounds like you're up for a challenge. Do you like girls who play hard to get, Mr. Dawson?"

Jonah couldn't help but chuckle at the way she spoke his name, but the humor was quickly gone when he moved himself on top of her. "What I like is when a girl grinds against my mouth and takes what she wants. I like a girl who follows orders, and one who challenges them; plays with herself in front of me when I tell her to." Jonah kissed her lower neck, then dragged the tip of his tongue up to her earlobe. "Who says when she wants me nice and slow, or hard and rough. Who wears dresses," he added, moving his hand between them to her inner thigh, "so I can have what I want, whenever I want it."

Once he saw the sultry look in her eyes, Jonah couldn't take it anymore. He sat on his legs and pulled her forward until her ass was on his knees and her legs were on either side of him. The fabric of her underwear was flimsy enough where he could rid her body of them in a single rip, and he cast them aside to the floor. He pushed the skirt up to get the full vision, noticing how wet she already was for him. "I like a girl who's turned on at the drop of a hat, always ready for me," he told her as he inserted three digits.

The moan that filled the air was like music to his ears and he brought his fingers deeper into her, arching them to hit the spot that drove every woman wild. And it did. Her fingers moved to her hair, turning it into a beautiful mess, and she bit down on her lip and arched her back.

Astrid like this was easily the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his life. No longer hidden by the darkness of before, he could experience it all and knew right there he'd never get enough of it. Jonah continued moving his fingers in and out and watched her squirm at his touch. "Tell me, Astrid. What do you want from all this?"

Her scrunched eyes opened at his words, only to close yet again. "Right now, I just want you to fuck me."

A grin took over Jonah's face. She sounded breathless, yet so damn eager it was making his dick throb for her. "And then what? After this entire house smells like sex and you can barely move, what do you want?"

"Breakfast?"

She was screwing with him, but two could play that game. Jonah slid his fingers out of her, raised her hips off his lap, and licked her slit. She smelled like bath soap and raw, perfect lust. "If you don't tell me what you want for us later, I won't be giving you what you want now," Jonah told her before taking another lick.

"I want to be with you, and only you, for the rest of my life," Astrid answered as her body squirmed beneath him.

It was so much more than he bargained for. The answer caused his skin to feel chilled, leaving him covered in goosebumps, while his insides grew heated beyond compare to anything he'd ever felt. He knew she wasn't one to say such words casually, or at all. Whether she was ready to say those three little words to him or not, Jonah knew she felt it. A woman like her making a declaration like that could only mean love. And damn if those unspoken words didn't send him over the edge.

While Jonah would normally take his sweet ass time prepping a woman, all he wanted in that moment was to be deep inside her. He slid his boxers off, tugged the straps of her dress down, grateful there wasn't a bra to deal with, and shoved the fabric below her breasts, hearing a tear in the fabric.

This woman was magnificent, every inch of her made solely for him. The night before, he hadn't lasted as long as he wanted. Not only was he too damn turned on by the feel of her naked body and her taste, but he hadn't been with anyone that tight in years and before yesterday hadn't had sex in months. This time Jonah planned on fucking her thoroughly, repeatedly, until the sun went down and he could fall asleep beside her.

Since she could handle his length the night before, Jonah wasted no time entering her and filling her with every inch he had to give. Astrid clenched around him and her hands went to touch her bare breasts.

Every one of her heavy, heated breaths, Jonah sucked in as his own.

Every whimper and moan became a melody.

The very sight of her caressing her own body, watching him slide in and out of her, acted as his fuel.

And the way she looked at him with all that love she hadn't yet expressed put Jonah into major overdrive. He thrust into her at a rhythm while his hands explored every inch of her naked skin. Astrid was heaven; his heaven, at least. It was fucking wrong, but Jonah was done giving a shit. This squirming, whimpering woman was his goddess, and he was ready and willing to worship her until the end of time.

Once she succumbed to her orgasm, Jonah allowed himself to do the same, then fell to the bed next to her. It would be the first of several orgasms he planned on giving her that day, but would at least feed her and shower before the next round.

"Jonah?" Her voice was delicate coming out, like a fine silk.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

Astrid's palm rested against his naked chest and her head nuzzled against the crook of his neck. "This is love, isn't it?"

There it was. Jonah figured it would be awhile before she said the word and planned on being patient. As it turned out, he'd had to wait less than twenty-four hours. "I believe it is."

"It feels nice."

Jonah couldn't help but smile at that as he tugged her close. "Yes, it does."