Merry Mix-Up (Holiday Hearts)

27. Jade

27

JADE

T he music continued to play, but Newt and I found a quiet table away from the noise and lights. He picked a slice of chocolate cake for each of us and two forks, and we watched what was going on more than anything else. My body was antsy, nervous about being alone with him as if it were the first time we'd spend a night together. Obviously, it wasn't, but my nervous system was on overload for some reason.

Now I had no anonymity. There was no persona to hide behind. Of course, we'd had sex before, but only when he thought I was my twin. Now I was me, well and truly, right down to the purple streak in my hair which he didn't seem to notice or point out. Following some of his comments over the past few weeks, I wondered if he was riding the skirt tail of a fantasy he dreamed up about Amber or if he was really willing to give me a shot. He said he loved me, but I had doubts.

"It's good," he shouted over the din of music, and rather than make my voice hoarse, I shoved a bite of cake into my mouth and nodded. It was delicious, and I was glad Naomi and Jared had chosen to make at least some of the cake chocolate. It melted in my mouth and served as a good distraction from the way Newt's knees seemed to bump into mine on purpose under the table.

Amber was having a good time too, dancing with the rest of the wedding party and Derek. Jared and Derek weren't particularly close, but it would have made more sense for them to pick him over Newt. He fit right in while Newt stuck out like a sore thumb because of his age and his personality. Just like I would have.

"Want to get out of here?" he asked, shouting again, but I shook my head. I had to talk to Amber before I did anything with Newt. I knew what my voicemail message said to him, and I knew what I'd told him last night when I explained it all. But I didn’t know what Amber told him or how she'd feel about my really dating Newt.

"Gotta find my sis," I yelled, and then I stood. He grinned at me as I shoved the last bite of cake into my mouth and wiped with a napkin before sashaying off to find Amber.

She was flailing around to some upbeat tune and almost elbowed me as I approached, but I managed to grab her wrist and pull her away. She shouted something at Naomi but allowed me to lead her to the bathroom where the music was muffled and normal volume speech was possible.

"What is it?" she asked, and she turned to check out her appearance in the mirror. Red was a good color for her, though I always thought she looked better in green like me.

"Uh… I just need to…" I bit my lip. "I wanted to see if…" Why was it so difficult to talk to her now? After being around her friends posing as her, I learned a lot about what they thought of me, and even what she allowed, too. Maybe she even thought some of those things, and while I shouldn’t have let it get to me, it had.

"Jade, what's wrong?" Amber turned to focus on me instead of her own appearance, and I rubbed my face.

"Newt said he loves me," I blurted out. "He got us a room at the lodge tonight, which was probably meant for 'Amber', but I'm not Amber and I'm super nervous and?—"

"Babe," Amber said, taking my hands. "Don't overthink this."

I opened my eyes and let my gaze settle on her serious expression. Self-doubt had become my first reaction now, and I didn't know how to change that. How could everyone like me better as her? What if Newt felt the same way?

"Amber, none of your friends like me. I had to listen to all of them rag on how awful your twin is. They mocked me and criticized different things about me. But when I was you, they loved me. They thought the world of me. Newt only knows me as you…" My lip quivered, but I didn’t feel like crying. I felt like vomiting.

"Yeah, I understand that…" She let her shoulders drop. "I feel like maybe I didn't help that much. We're sisters and we bicker, and they're my friends so I complain to them. They used to just tell me that I was dumb, that I had a sister to do everything with, and they'd shoot me down. Now I guess they just got used to me complaining, but I swear I don't tolerate it anymore. I shut them up and defend you."

"Now, like after the twin swap?" I asked, feeling degraded. My own sister had to defend my honor. What sort of person did that make me or her?

"No, like the last few years." She leaned against the wall and sighed. "I'm really proud of you for doing what you're doing. That dress is amazing, Jayjay. Even Naomi admits it. You have a gift, and you're doing what you are created for. You make gorgeous clothes."

The compliment started to thaw that icy part of my heart that wanted to be angry with her. I totally understood how she needed someone to complain to. If I had friends, I'd complain about her from time to time too.

"Newt got to know you. He just thought your name was something different." She smiled and squeezed my hand. "Just trust that he will love you as much as I love you." Amber hooked her pinky around mine, and I took a deep breath to relax.

She was right. All I could do was be myself and hope that was good enough. I never hid my true personality. I only hid my true passions, which he knew about anyway. Any time he asked me questions about "my twin, Jade", I gave him straight answers.

"Okay," I sighed, and she hugged me.

"Go have fun. I gotta get back to dancing." Amber gave me a peck on the cheek and darted out the door. I was left in the bathroom staring at my reflection in the mirror. The purple in my hair was so subtle, but very pretty. Maybe I didn't have to be as out of the box of normal if Newt was averse. I could get used to being more traditional.

With a bit more confidence, I returned to the party. We had a few more dances then sent Naomi and Jared off to their honeymoon with some bubbles and a lot of cheering, and Newt swept me away to the elevators where a few other folks were clustered and ready to retire to their rooms. I never said goodnight to Amber or the others, but with Newt's hand in the small of my back, I was too jittery to care.

The bell dinged and the doors for the second floor opened, and Newt led the way. His tux fit so well it could have been a glove, though it looked simpler than his normal business suits. And his hair was slicked back, not loose and tumbling around his face like normal. I sort of liked it.

When he held his wallet in front of the lock, it turned green and clicked and he opened the door.

"After you," he said, and butterflies took flight in my chest.

I walked into the room to find it absolutely full to the brim with roses and poinsettias. Mistletoe hung from multiple places on the ceiling and in each doorway. I grinned as I turned around and thought I'd get a comment out about his creating a sex lair, but Newt was already on me, hands on my waist, lips on mine, backing me toward the bed.

"Mmm, don't you want to talk?" I asked, but I wasn't disappointed when he grunted.

"No, I need you, Jade. I've felt so many things the past four days, things I hated, things I loved. And the one thing I wanted to feel more than anything was this connection again." His lips covered mine, and I let him steal kiss after kiss. My arms hung around his neck, and his hands held me close.

"So it's not weird? I mean…" I didn't know why I felt the urge to talk it through. That niggling insecurity ate at me. I needed to know that we could just pick up where we left off, but I wanted to hear him say it. He seemed eager to just prove it with action, but those words were important to me.

His fingers found the zipper pull for my dress, and I heard it more than felt the zipper open. The strapless dress parted in the back, allowing his hands to find my skin. The sensation was welcome and comforting. I kissed him hard, but his mouth moved away from mine, trailing kisses down my neck to my collar bone.

"I mean, you thought you were having sex with Amber and?—"

His teeth sunk into my pulse point before he growled and it cut me off. I sucked in a breath when his hands shoved the dress down and it dangled around my hips.

"Amber, Maverick, Jade… It never mattered to me what your name was." Newt stopped and pulled back only slightly. My hands rested on his chest as he looked me in the eyes and made me whimper. "I love you, not a name, not a persona, not some ideal of what could be or could've been. You, Jade. I love your laugh and your smile, and I love the way you love color so much, you wear it like a badge." His lips brushed over mine.

"Your heart is what draws me back. The way I watched you care for my sister was incredible, but even more so now that I know the whole truth. You are an incredible woman, and I want to know everything about you. You." Newt's hands cupped my ribs as his thumbs pressed into my nipples and swirled. I hissed at the action and let my head arch back. The sensation had blood pooling in my groin, making me drip.

"I love you, Newt…" I breathed, and his lips were on mine again.

His kisses weren't slow or gentle. They were frantic and demanding, as if he couldn't get enough of me, either. His hands moved down to my panties nestled beneath the emerald fabric, and with a swift pull, they and my dress met on the floor. Taking my cue, I got to work on his pants. We both breathed heavily, our breaths mingling in the cool air of the room. I managed to free him as he removed the green bowtie and unbuttoned his shirt. With one tug over his shoulder, his shirt and tie joined my dress and panties, and he stepped forward, causing me to topple backward onto the bed with a giggle.

Newt shoved his tux pants down and kicked off his shoes, and I reached for the strap of my black heels to remove them, but his hand caught mine. “Leave them,” he said playfully as he stroked his dick.

He crawled on top of me, and I could feel his erection pressing against my center and it made me wetter. Newt kissed my neck, and I squirmed under him, knowing the moment he entered me, I'd be a puddle of goo on the bed. My arms wrapped around his neck as he whispered against my ear, "No more secrets now. Just you and me, raw and vulnerable.” He kissed me again, sliding his tongue inside my mouth in a mimic of what I knew was to come.

It. Was. Electric. The way he moved against my tongue, the way his body covered mine, even the way his breath puffed against my skin made my entire body hotter than the sun. His hands cupped my breasts and gently squeezed, thumbs rubbing around my nipples before he tugged lightly.

I moaned into his mouth, and Newt took it as an invitation to slide his hard length between my folds. His tip teased me, and I arched my hips to meet his. "I need you now," I whimpered.

His thrusts were slow at first, but as our bodies got more acquainted with each other, they increased in speed. His hands moved to my hips as he used them to hold himself up, but I couldn't get enough of his skin. I trailed my nails down his back, and I felt him shudder against me. Newt groaned and altered his pace. It was like he was searching my depths with his cock, hoping to find what made me tick, and my God, did he. His shaft ground against my G-spot so roughly, he had me whimpering.

“Please… oh, God, I’m so close.” My body was on the edge, teetering, begging to be pushed over, and Newt knew what to do. His thrusts were so slow but so perfectly positioned that when his thumb pressed into my clit, I was done.

A high-pitched sound escaped my lips as my orgasm washed over me, and my toes curled into the sheets. “Newt!” I cried out as my body shook with the force of my release. Spasms and convulsions shook me so hard, I couldn't breathe or even whimper. My mouth popped open, and my stomach twitched and clenched. My pussy hugged his length tightly as wave after erotic wave of pleasure flooded my senses.

I felt him grow even hotter and thicker inside me, and I knew he was close. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his jaw clenched. His thrusts now were erratic and hard as he tried to find his own release. But I slowed him, angling my hips and pushing his body back. His eyes met mine in a knowing look. No condom meant babies we weren’t ready for.

Newt backed away, and I sat up, stroking his shaft seductively as he did so. When my lips wrapped around his girth, he grunted, and when I started sucking, he moaned. His hands tangled in my hair and he angled my head so he could watch. I sucked and squeezed and pretty soon, his eyes were squeezed shut, and he was cursing a blue streak.

He came in my mouth grunting, "Jade," and I was surprised by how much he actually came and by how I swooned hearing my name on his lips while he shot his load in my throat. I swallowed it all down. The taste of him, the salt and musk, it was addicting.

Newt slumped over me. The weight of him was comforting, and I ran my fingers through his hair. His heart hammered against his ribs, but mine seemed to be slower than normal, calmer. It was so relaxing, I almost dozed off until he cleared his throat.

"God, you're amazing, you know that?" He tucked strands of my hair around my ear and kissed my forehead.

"I'm surprised you actually think that after everything." I wasn't taking anything for granted, and I hoped I didn't annoy him with my insecurity.

"It's because of everything that I think that, Jade." Newt held me tighter, and I curled against his chest.

I never expected him to even want to talk to me again after what I put him through, and here he was, holding me after the most incredible sex of my life. My heart felt so full and my body felt so relaxed.

"You live so far away, though…" I mumbled, thinking of how he'd have to go back to Chicago for his business after the holidays were over. How I'd be stuck here in Danville and he'd be so far away.

"Let's talk about that tomorrow… Okay?" He kissed my forehead and said, "Now, I want to ask you again. I'd like for us to be exclusive, Jade. No other people, just me and you and getting to know one another."

I smiled against his chest and kissed his breastbone. "You aren't hip on sharing." I snickered, and he tickled my side.

"I can share… my cocoa." His fingers dug into my ribs, and I laughed so hard, I thought I'd pee myself before he pulled away. "I meant, just me and you… What do you say?"

I looked up at him and admired the dimple in his chin. "I say yes. I'd love that."

Newt kissed me long and deep, then pulled me into his chest again and covered us with the blanket. My heart finally felt calm and hopeful again. It was Christmas Eve, we were together, and I didn't see any other reason for us to be separated. Not even Newt's mother, who gave me nasty eyes that morning at breakfast, could say a word. She knew Amber was dating, and I knew she didn't approve. Now everyone would be okay with us, and everything would work out.

I didn't see how I'd be able to survive a long-distance relationship, but I'd make it work. Newt was worth it.