"I did once I managed to fall asleep. You need to go shower." I gave him a quick peck as Seph came in, yelling at us to get a room.
"Are you joining me?" Jackson said quietly. "I can make sure you're all clean. Everywhere."
I shook my head. "We'll end up missing breakfast and possibly lunch as well. I'm going to sit outside with your mum and drink my latte, then have a shower."
He shifted closer to me again and inhaled deeply. "You still smell of me."
"You should probably get used to it," I said. "This is my new perfume, essence du Jackson. I may end up wearing it a lot."
His face lit up. "Does this mean you're moving in?" he kept his voice low but I knew Seph was listening for all he was worth.
"Yes," I said. "We still need to talk it through and look at the logistics. I might need a shoe cupboard."
"I'll build you ten," he kissed me again, still sweaty. "Come shower with me. I promise we'll be quick. We can talk details while we're getting ready. You mind if we tell my family? They'll figure something's happened."
"We'll tell them, not as a big thing, just as the day goes on," I said. "Let's play it down so we don't have to be the center of attention. A quick shower." I did need to shower and wash my hair, to try to look relatively presentable and make a reasonable impression.
"They may make a big deal of it though," he said, picking up the latte I'd made and carried it upstairs. "Any excuse for a celebration. God help us if we ever got married." I laughed and didn't allow myself to think.
Jackson stripped quickly and headed into the shower, he really was covered in sweat and on the verge of being revolting. I gave him five minutes and then joined him, making sure to soap myself down before he could start otherwise we'd have been distracted. I shaved my legs and he watched entranced, his cock hard. "I could do that for you."
"You could, but it'd never be finished. You'd get distracted by what's in between them and then the razor would slip and we'd end up in casualty," I said, my eyes kept glancing at his erection. I rinsed the razor and stood under the rain showerhead, wetting my hair.
"I'll wash it for you," he said, picking up my shampoo. He'd done this a few times already, the intimacy all most too much to bear. We were silent as his fingers threaded through, massaging my scalp slowly. He didn't touch me anywhere else, he didn't need to. He pulled out a showerhead and rinsed the suds, then used the conditioner. "I love the smell of this," he said. "It reminds me of you." After he'd rinsed any remainders from my hair, his hands moved down to my breasts then between my legs, finding my clit. He dipped his fingers inside me, finding my wetness and using it to bring me to a quick orgasm.
"Can I be inside you?" he said, his cock pressed against my back, hard and throbbing. "I'm not sweaty anymore."
I laughed as he turned me around, lifting me against the shower wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he thrust into me, keeping his eyes locked on mine as he found his rhythm. "You're sure?" he said. "You're sure you'll live with me and I get to have you with me every morning and evening?"
"I'm sure. I'm scared, but I'm sure." I gripped onto his shoulders as his thrusts became deeper and harder, rocking my core and realigning my world. He came as I did, crying out my name. I clung to him afterward, aftershocks reverberating through me, his breathing short and erratic.
"We should get ready," he said. "Otherwise someone else will be knocking on the door, probably Marie. I've no doubt that Seph's already spread a load of gossip. By now you'll be pregnant with twins and we'll be moving to the country and shortlisting nannies."
I laughed, quickly rinsing then turning off the showers, wrapping my hair in a towel. "Let's start to talk as we get ready. Rent, for a start."
"No rent," he said. "Contribute half to bills. No arguments on that. I own the house outright and I won't take the money I don't need."
I didn't argue. I'd save the rent money for holidays or for rainy days. "Furniture."
"I'll let you take me shopping," he said. "I have no idea where to start which is why it still is like it was when the interior decorators finished it for my father's friend."
We negotiated as we dressed, it sounds like a business arrangement rather than a romantic entanglement but it soothed me. When I moved in with Richard he wasn't interested in the finer details such as bills or furnishings, leaving me to organize everything. It was only after the fact he would disagree, when it was too late to change anything and then he'd complain to his friends while I was there, making me feel small and embarrassed. I wanted to stop comparing my experiences with Richard but the sheer difference between them made me confident with the choices I was making now.
"When do you want to move in?" he said. "Officially."
"After the retirement ball? Then my company has finished its contract with you. Although I may not have much left to move over," I said, applying highlighter to my cheeks. Jackson was now ready, his wet hair tied up messily.
He nodded, watching me in the mirror. "I think that's a good plan although I'd rather it be sooner. How will your dad take it?"
"He trusts me. I've told him about you, as has Gran. He'll be supportive," I said. "He'll want to meet you, if you're okay with that. He's nothing like your father."
Jackson stood and moved towards me, sweeping me into him and pulling me close. "Just because he's not been a workaholic lawyer for most of his life doesn't mean I won't like him. There have been a lot of days when I haven't liked my father."
I looked up at him, smiling. "Let's go see what Seph has told your family. Find out if it's boys or girls and how far along I am." For a moment, I wondered what it would be like to have that conversation with his parents and siblings, what Jackson's reaction would be.
Jackson dropped his lips to my head. "I'd crack a joke about it, but Marie would become so excited we'd have trouble breaking the news that she wasn't going to be a grandmother.
"Do you want kids?" I said, my heart rate rising. This wasn't a make or break; I hadn't considered it when I was with Richard, so why now with this man?
