Chapter 7
Scarlet curled up on the sofa with a box of her favorite chocolates, thanks to Jax, and her favorite housewife show. She’d forgive him for the lack of communication. If the tables were turned, calling him might have been the last thing she thought of, especially if she didn’t have her phone. She even had to admit, if only to herself, that she could have easily elbowed anyone, including him, if they stood between her and her sick child.
Ding. Dong.
She jumped. The digital clock blinked nine-thirty. Who the hell would just stop by at this time of night?
Leaning over the sofa, she glanced out the window, relieved and annoyed, to see Jax’s car parked in the street. Her heart fluttered as if she were about to go on her very first car date. Her palms lined with clammy perspiration. But her mind tried to hold onto being angry just a little while longer.
Just to be safe, she peered through the peephole and sighed. On the other side of the door, Jax stood with a dozen carnations in one hand and a little fire truck in the other.
“Why aren’t you with Elle at the hospital?” she asked, taking the flowers he offered and bringing them to her nose. She couldn’t remember a time, other than her father, where a man had sent her flowers. The gesture was something she could get used to.
“They kicked me out. Something about me needing rest and Elle needing rest, and I wasn’t doing her any good being exhausted, hovering over her.”
She patted his arm, admiring his thick biceps. “They’re right, but how did Elle feel about that?”
“She rolled her eyes and agreed with them.”
“She’ll be fine. Why don’t you sit down while I put these in some water and get you a drink?”
“Before you do that, I need to say something.” He cupped her chin, leaning so close his hot breath tickled her cheek. “I’m sorry. I was just so scared. I had no idea what had happened other than an ambulance had been dispatched to my house.”
“It’s okay. I get it.”
“Do you want to know something crazy?”
“Sure.” She tried to tear her gaze from his dark eyes stained with the color of cocoa on a cold winter’s night, wrapping you with the warmth of a fleece blanket in front of a roaring fire, making you feel as though you were right where you belonged.
“I wondered why you hadn’t shown up at the hospital. When I was alone with Rusty, I kept asking him questions about what you’d done all morning.”
She cocked her head, deciding if she should get mad all over again, or if what he’d done had been sweet. “And what did he tell you?”
“Just that you’re the kindest, most generous woman that ever lived.”
“He said no such thing,” she said, letting out a slight laugh, until she realized that Jax meant the words. She cleared her throat.
He scowled. “Maybe not in so many words, but it’s true.” He fanned his thumb over her cheek. “Thank you for being there for Elle.”
They stood there for a long, awkward moment as if they were playing the staring game with flowers and a toy truck between them. His tongue parted his lips as he slowly licked them.
“Sit. I’ll be right back,” she said, needing a little space to calm her raging hormones. He didn’t need a chick throwing herself at him. He needed a friend to lean on, and she could do that. Actually, that was all she was going to allow. Didn’t matter that he made her all tingly inside, or that when she closed her eyes, she could see herself in his arms as she gently drifted off to sleep.
Stop that thinking.
She snagged a vase, filling it with water. After arranging the flowers, she turned and set them on the table. Out of the corner of her eye, movement caught her attention.
“Oh,” she whispered, staring at Jax as he sauntered around the table. “Have you slept at all? You really need to get some rest.” Her words staggered out of her mouth like a drunken sailor.
“I’ll sleep later,” he murmured, circling his arms around her waist. “Where’s Rusty?”
“Asleep in his room, why?” She leaned back, but that only forced her to grip his shoulders as his lips came closer and closer.
“Tell me to stop. Tell me that this is crazy. That we should stay away from each other.”
“Okay,” she whispered, breathing in his musky, pine scent that made her muscles turn to jelly. A faint moan glided across her lips.
“I need you to tell me.” His lips were scant centimeters from hers. His hot breath tickled her skin, sending messages to every erogenous zone she had.
She shuddered, digging her fingernails into his skin. He held her gaze, patiently waiting for her to tell him that she couldn’t, or wouldn’t be with him and as much as she knew she should firmly press her hands against his chest, pushing him away, telling him being together was not only a bad idea for...or was it? Lots of people with children developed long-lasting, loving relationships. It wasn’t like she didn’t understand Elle came first in his life, and Rusty in hers. They were two adults, needing adult companionship.
“I can’t,” she whispered, trying to take a deep breath, but her lungs were unable to fully expand. “I want you.”
He groaned as his lips crash-landed on hers, his tongue darting in her mouth, finding every crevice. His hands roamed her ass, squeezing gently before gliding down the back of her thighs. He hoisted her legs around his waist. “Where’s your bedroom?”
“Behind us. Second door on the right.”
“Does it have a lock?”
She pulled back. “It does, but I’ve never locked it in case Rusty needs me.”
“I won’t stay all night.” He pushed opened the door, gently setting her down on the small bed. “So, it will only be locked while absolutely necessary.”
As he attended to the lock on the door, she shook out her hands, waggling her fingers. Goosebumps lined her flesh. At twenty-three, she had very little experience sexually and as she watched the way he removed his shirt, she suspected he might be a master in bed. She swallowed.
“I just thought of something,” he said, his tall, broad body leaning against the door.
“What?” her voice squeaked.
“I don’t have any condoms.” He tossed his shirt on the desk in the corner and planted his hands on his hips just over where his jeans hugged his body.
Her stomach lurched forward like the finest BMW going from zero to sixty in five seconds flat. “I do.”
He arched his right brow, and the corner of his mouth followed in a sexy curve. “You don’t say.”
Embarrassment flushed her cheeks. “I bought them after I had Rusty as kind of a reminder of what happens when you have unprotected sex.”
“With a son like that, I’d want to toss the birth control out the window and have a dozen more.”
The moon shined through the window, casting a warm glow across his tanned skin. She reached out, touching the spot between his pecs where a trickle of hair gathered, fingering the curls.
“He is pretty perfect.” Kneeling on the bed, she kissed the side of his neck. “And you’re sweet to say something so nice, but—”
“Don’t worry. Condom it is. I’m just saying that you’re the kind of woman who could steal my heart.” He traced his thumb over her lower lip. “Then again, I might just hand it to you on a silver platter.”
“Do you always butter up the ladies when they’re already willing?” Before she lost her nerve, she slipped her shirt over her head. Her nipples tightened in the air-conditioning.
A deep growl echoed in her ears. “Do you always go braless?”
“Only when I go to bed.” With a shot of bravery, she took his hand and rested his palm over her breasts.
“Dear God, woman, you’re going to kill me.”
His thumb dragged over the tight nub, rolling gently.
She arched her back, biting down on her lower lip. A million firecrackers imploded over her skin with the promise of grand fireworks to light up her insides like the night sky on the Fourth of July. With every moist touch of his lips and tongue, her need grew. Desperation raced through her veins, pumping through her heart, demanding she take her fill for the very first time. She clawed and groped at his bare chest.
“Whoa,” she said with a heavy breath as he tossed her on her back and yanked her sweats to her ankles.
“Jesus, no panties either?”
“Not when I go…Oh my God,” she bit down on her hand as his tongue dived deep between her legs.
He knelt on the floor beside the bed, hoisting her legs over his shoulders, his hand gripping her ass, kneading her skin while his mouth did things to her she’d never imagined. It wasn’t that she’d never had oral sex before, of course, she had, but the few men she’d been with didn’t whorship her like a goddess. Jax moved over her with the same exultant desire she craved. Every stroke…every lick…every touch served to excite and satisfy.
Fisting the sheets, she dug her heels into his shoulders, pushing away only to bring him back in with a roll of her hips. His hot breath coated her like fudge dripping over ice cream.
His eyelids fluttered opened, his bourbon eyes filling her, making her drunk on his love. He reached up, covering her mouth with one hand while the other slipped inside, rubbing swiftly as he sucked hard on her swollen nub.
She pounded the mattress, thrusting her hips upward, groaning into his hand, fighting the urge to bite the soft swell of his palm.
The room spun, and she felt dizzy, like she’d been on the highest, fastest rollercoaster of all time, kicking her adrenaline into high gear, allowing exhilaration to take over her mind, body, and soul. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any better, he shifted slightly, changing the angle of his fingers and the pressure of his mouth, sending her into outer space at Mach five.
“Oh...oh…” She clutched his head with both hands; her stomach seized with tremors, jerking her forward. Warmth poured out of her body like a waterfall at a hot spring. She could feel the heat rise like steam, drenching them with pleasure.
She stared down at him, kissing her inner thigh while she urgently tried to catch her breath. Her lungs burned as if she’d landed on her back, knocking the wind out of her.
His hand flattened over her stomach. “Are you okay?” He kissed the space between her breasts.
She nodded like an idiot, heaving in breaths as if she were hyperventilating.
“I think someone liked that,” he mused with a wicked smile.
“Ya think,” she managed between pants.
“We can end there, if you want.”
“Hell no,” she said a little too quickly.
He chuckled. “I’m terrified I just set the standard too high, and I’ll never be able to make your body do that again.”
“We won’t know unless we try.” She slipped her hand into the front of his pants, grazing him with her thumb. “We need you out of these constricting clothes.”
“I’m not going to argue.” He stood and quickly dropped his pants to the floor, exposing his body in all its splendor.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful,” she mumbled, taking him into her hands. Sex had never been an empowering act before. It had been something she did, trying to seek pleasure. Her body knew it was there, she’d felt it when alone in the bath, but no man had ever given her the kind of gratification that made her want to do whatever it took to make sure they shuddered with the same bliss. She wanted to make him dizzy with desire. Drunk with need.
She took as much of him as she could in her mouth, her hands following, stroking tightly, then soft like a feather. Exploring every inch, she thought only about indulging his cravings. Forgetting about her inhibitions, she cupped him and clasped her mouth around him, letting her teeth graze against his soft, sensitive skin.
His groans and hisses filled the air, and she wanted more. She wanted to play his body like a fine instrument.
“Scarlet,” he said with a deep groan. “Where are the condoms?”
She slipped her mouth off him, still holding him tightly in her hands, licking her lips, smiling, feeling like the sexiest, most desirable woman that ever breathed.
“You are going to kill me.” He reached down, tilting her chin with his thumb. “Where are they before I explode right here?”
“Nightstand.”
He batted her hands away, gently pushing her back on the mattress.
Watching his muscles flex as he reached across the bed made her skin prickle with heat. She propped herself on her elbows, heels into the bed, legs slightly spread. Her wariness disappeared as she sheathed him with protection.
He growled as he nestled himself between her legs, biting at her lower lip. “You have no idea how mad with lust you make me.”
“Why don’t you show me?” She raised her hips slightly, letting the length of him caress her. “Oh, Jax,” she said with a moan as he slid himself inside her in one long, slow stroke. She raised her legs, clasping her ankles at the small of his back. Her hips rocked back and forth, meeting his every plunge deep inside her.
He raised up, his hand pressed on the bed on either side of her head. He stared at her with his pools of dark cinnamon swirls that carried the depth and desire that could only come from having loved so deeply that it took a piece of your soul.
She swallowed as he tenderly kissed her nose and cheek.
The rhythm of his lovemaking didn’t slow, but it did change. It shifted from raw energy to something akin to utter devotion. She clamped around him, letting her climax propel to the surface. She shuddered, drawing him in deeper, needing to feel him swell inside her and release his pleasure. She urgently needed to know she had the ability to give him the most decadent experience he could possibly have.
He thrust harder and faster. “Scarlet,” he whispered, still holding her gaze. “Beautiful Scarlet.” Burying his face in her neck, he sucking on her earlobe, pumping frantically.
“Yes,” she said, holding him tight.
He let out a guttural groan as he twitched inside her, sending a mini shockwave through her system. For the next few minutes, they rocked slowly against one another, her hand roaming his back, his lips kissing her neck.
She accepted his full weight, relaxing into the bed.
“You’re way out of my league,” he whispered.
“You’re way too sweet.”
“I have my moments.” He rolled to his side, pulling the covers over their sweat-covered bodies. Propped up on his elbow, he stared at her, tracing her lips with his index finger. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“I hope that’s a good thing.”
He laughed. “It’s a great thing.” He batted her nose. “I need to check my phone, just to make sure the hospital isn’t trying to reach me.”
While she completely understood, the gravity of the situation hit her full force. Others might be able to blend families, and it might work out just fine, but she wasn’t sure she could do it, and she knew Jax couldn’t. He was good with Rusty, but Elle was his flesh and blood.
“Go right ahead,” she said, expecting him to get out of bed and get dressed. But all he did was lean over the side and rummage through his jeans.
“No messages. That has to be a good thing.”
“Does she have her phone?”
He nodded, slipping his arm around her, pulling her head to his chest. “I feel like if I leave you right now I’m being a bigger asshole than I was earlier.”
She kissed his pec, forcing any negative thought she had to the recesses of her mind. “I need you to leave. It’s not about you, but about my son.”
“Believe me, I understand. If we were at my house, I’d be asking you to leave for the very same reasons. But it doesn’t make me feel any better about it.”
She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “It’s probably best if we say good-night now before we both fall asleep.”
“All right.”
They got dressed in silence, though he tried to convince her to stay in bed, but she needed to get up and lock up behind him.
Leaning against the front door, she watched his hips sway in a masculine swagger, his jeans riding low and loose. He turned once and waved, before sliding into the front seat of his car. She stood there for a good five minutes after he drove off before shutting off the lights and heading back to bed.
Her phone beeped on the nightstand.
Jax: Good night, Scarlet. Sleep well and dream of me.
She couldn’t let that go unanswered.
Scarlet: Right back at you. Call me in the morning and let me know when and where I can come visit with Elle.
Jax: Will do. XOXO
Scarlet: XOXO
She set her phone on the table, and curled up on her bed, hugging her pillow, inhaling the fresh scent of pine. He always smelled like a forest and she wanted to run wild in one with him at her side. She let out a big sigh. She was in way over her head, and she was going to get hurt. She could handle that, as long as Elle and Rusty were protected. She’d do anything for those children.