It surprised Astrid to find out that Jonah had any candles in his house, but when he presented her with a bubble bath, soft music and the dark room lit by candlelight, the surprise was a welcome one, as was him joining her in the bath.
His libido relaxed, and now he was just holding her in the bath, seeming completely at ease. There were so many more facets to this man than she ever imagined or realized, and Astrid was enjoying getting to know every one of them. She wasn't sure which main two were her favorite; sweet or sour Jonah.
"You happy?" He asked, nuzzling into her neck before placing a soft kiss against her skin.
The simple answer would be 'yes', but there were so many damn words that described what she was feeling in that moment, and she somehow had forgotten every one of them. "I'm happy."
"But you're still thinking about it, aren't you?"
Although she hadn't been thinking about it, she knew exactly what 'it' he was referring to, making it once again fresh in Astrid's mind. "How's this going to work between us?"
Behind her, Jonah sucked in a breath, long and slow, and took his time releasing it a few seconds later. "On Monday, I'll visit a lawyer and find out what I have to do to transfer my part of the business over to your dad. Then I'll head over to the real estate office and see about putting the house on the market. There's only a few houses for sale right now in this town, so it should move quick since it'll be the only affordable one that isn't a one bedroom shack.
"You and I can look at places in the nearby towns; ones that need a repair shop, and I'll come clean with your dad. It shouldn't take more than a month. Two tops. When it's time, I'd love for you to come with me."
Despite the warm water surrounding Astrid, she watched as the hairs on her arms stood up from his serious comment delivered in such a casual tone.
"Are you asking me to move in with you less than twenty-four hours into the relationship?"
Jonah let out a soft laugh behind her. "I mean, by the time you actually move in, it'll be a more reasonable timeline."
While she supposed that was true(ish), he wasn't asking her a month or two from now; he was asking in that moment for her to move in once the time came. It was all happening so quickly, Astrid had trouble believing any of this was real.
The sexual chemistry seemed to have come out of nowhere, but was undeniable. What also came out of nowhere and appeared in an instant was the love she felt for Jonah. Astrid didn't believe in instant love, but also knew that all the things that built love they'd mostly already experienced through their years of friendship. So was this really an instantaneous love, or had they only now just opened their eyes to see something that'd been years in the making?
Jonah said she was made for him, and Astrid couldn't help but feel like he was made for her. He seemed to be forever in her head, knowing exactly what she wanted and pushing Astrid to her limits without bulldozing through them.
It was like two instruments with unique sounds coming together to create perfect music without rehearsal. And fuck if he didn't play her like a fiddle.
"What are you thinking?" Jonah asked behind her. Astrid turned her head to look up at him. "You got this real serious look for a full minute, then it turned into this goofy smile."
The thought had only just formed before the smile must have taken over. "How many orgasms have you given me so far?"
The question seemed to have taken him aback, but a leery smile slowly tugged at his lips. "Assuming you haven't faked any of them?" Astrid nodded, despite every inch of her wanting to screw with him. "Six or seven. Why?"
"Six or seven orgasms in less than twenty-four hours. You've already doubled the amount of orgasms I've ever gotten from all men before you. I guess I just found that interesting."
That smile of Jonah's grew, and his body seemed to ease against hers. "You've been dating men who put themselves first. That's not my style."
"Clearly," Astrid responded with a smile. "By the way, you may have broken my vagina in that last round, and stabbed through my pancreas. There's also a slight chance I suffered brain damage."
Jonah let out a laugh that shook his body behind her, causing waves in the tub. "Hey, you wanted rough, and I delivered. How else are naughty girls like you supposed to learn their lesson? Besides, I've seen those erotic books on your shelf and know a bondage title when I see one. If my baby girl fantasizes about a hot, hard fuck, that's exactly what I'll give her."
Astrid had kept those books on the shelf of her bedroom closet, hiding them away from prying eyes, so she wasn't sure how Jonah spotted them. Maybe it was better not knowing. "Does that mean you plan on tying me up next time?"
She wasn't sure if the idea scared her or if she secretly desired being helpless to his touch.
"Tying you up... maybe," Jonah answered before he placed a soft kiss just below her ear. "But no sex toys."
Many of her books had a theme, but Astrid had never been interested in the hardcore stuff. Still, she wondered why he wasn't either. "Bad experience?" Astrid guessed.
Although Jonah had been nothing more than a friend with a title in her life for years, she wouldn't lie to herself and pretend he hadn't always been the man she was just coming to know behind closed doors.
The 'dirty talking, no apologies, taking what he wants' man. A far cry from the quiet, disinterested man he always seemed to be with women who approached him at the bar.
"I just don't need them. I've got my dick, two hands, and a mouth that doesn't get tired."
He had a point.
"However, we'll take it easy for the rest of the day. I don't want to risk breaking your pussy and making it useless."
While the word was deceptively hot during foreplay and sex, it made her cringe when she heard it outside of play time.
"You can't say the word, can you?"
"I can," Astrid argued. She just chose not to.
"Say it."
She shook her head.
"Say it," Jonah pushed.
"No."
Jonah's hands came out to squeeze her bare breasts. "Tell me how much you love when I finger fuck that tight pussy of yours, how good it feels when I fuck you so hard it makes your pussy and everything around it raw. Say it, baby. Say how much you crave all the things I do to that sweet pussy. How dirty you feel when I lick your pussy clean."
"Hell no." Astrid knew exactly where those words would get her; tied up in his bed and fucked to the brink of blissful death.
"You might be too big a pussy to say it out loud, but that's exactly what you feel, isn't it?"
"Maybe. You'll have to introduce me to all these personalities of yours soon if I'm going to be dating all of you. Every time things heat up, you turn into a filthy mouthed porn star. Who woulda thought all that was hiding behind that quiet persona."
Jonah's hands came down and tickled her sides in the way that always caused her body to spasm. At least as an adult, she could control her bladder when he did this. Young Astrid hadn't been nearly as fortunate.
"I'll move in with you," she shouted to make the tickles stop. When Jonah stopped, she spoke again. "When the time comes for you to move, I'll come with you."
Arms wrapped around her and held her body against his own. "You're serious?"
Astrid nodded. "I know this is all going fast, but I feel like we've been taking baby steps toward this our entire lives and just never noticed until it became unavoidable. Like you said, I think we were made for each other. My dad will hate both of us, but I'll hate myself if I let that stop us."
"He could never hate you, sweetheart. It'll feel like hate, but his anger will fade. You won't lose him for long, and I'll take good care of you in the meantime. Me and all my other personalities."
It would be the most painful thing she faced; destroying her father. If there was any other option besides walking away from Jonah, she'd choose it. But she couldn't live her life trapped away with him in the dark, hiding their relationship from the outside world. She wanted to love him in the light.
"We'll all take care of each other."