by C. C. Piper
“Do it again,” I growled into her ear. “Now. Come again now.”
“Oh, God,” she sobbed out as she enthusiastically complied with my order. “Oh God, Jax.”
My name on her lips made my body erupt and spill into hers with the force of a freight train. I groaned more vocally than I’d meant to as it went on and on, draining me as I filled her. Once it ended, I blinked my eyes open, every inch of both of us dewy with perspiration as our hearts raced and our pulses pounded inside us.
Rolling off her, I tugged the scarf loose from her wrists and her face and gazed down at her. Her chestnut hair had become a tangled mess hanging down into her forehead and eyes, and her naked form felt delightfully warm as it continued to shudder against mine.
I thought back to the time when we’d first gotten together, to those initial kisses that evolved into couplings. We’d both been kids then, and I remembered thinking that Roxanne Miller was the most enchanting girl I’d ever seen. She’d trusted me, given her innocence to me, and when I’d introduced some elements into our lovemaking that I knew to be far from vanilla, she’d not merely gone along for my sake, she welcomed it.
Hell, she needed it as much as I did.
Back then, I’d told her not only that I loved her, I’d told her that she must’ve been created just for me. I told Roxy that I felt like I’d been given the best gift in the world, and it was her.
Now, as I smoothed those wild tendrils of hair back and lost myself in those seafoam eyes of hers, I knew I’d been mistaken. She hadn’t been created for me. And while she was definitely a gift, that wasn’t what being together was about either. We were here together because we’d chosen to be. Every moment we shared, both years ago and now, came from a decision to put all else aside and simply enjoy one another’s company.
When were first separated, I’d been so miserably furious at God or the universe or whatever cosmic forces had torn us apart that I’d lost sight of the most important truth. Love is a choice.
I could’ve chosen to never see Roxy again, and she could have chosen to keep me out of her life. She could have neglected to mention that Callie existed or claimed that someone else was her father.
What we’d just shared was a product of our decisions up to this point, and how things progressed from here would be a direct result of my choices and Roxy’s. As I rearranged us on the bed, slipping beneath the covers and spooning her from behind, I reminded myself that if I wanted her and Callie to stay in my life, every decision I made going forward should reflect that.
And as I kissed her temple and felt her relax into a deep slumber, I swore to myself that I would.
As I finished up a call with one of my distributors, I straightened the paperwork on my desk into neat piles, then bent myself to the task of answering my endless emails. It had been a week since Roxy had stayed over with Callie, and due to making preparations for Thanksgiving, we hadn’t had the chance to get together since. She’d invited me over to celebrate the holiday tomorrow, and I so looked forward to it that I had to force myself to stay focused on my work.
Still, when Roxy texted me a picture of Callie licking cake icing off of a whisk, her little bow-shaped mouth and teeny fingers covered in goo, I had to send her a return text.
Our child is way too adorable for her own good. It should be illegal how cute she is.
LOL. I agree. She sent back. Gotta go, tho. I’m at the bar.
Since our sleepover last weekend, we hadn’t been able to spend any time together due to her hectic work schedule. Not that mine wasn’t almost as hectic, but the sheer number of jobs Roxy held pulled her in so many directions at once. I hated it. At least she’d ceased working for the Wish Maker anymore. I believed her when she’d said her escort jobs didn’t involve sexual favors, but the idea of her going to these men’s homes still bothered me.
A lot.
Okay. See you tomorrow. I typed out, then jumped at a loud noise before I could hit send.
“The Lafayettes want to postpone their meeting for next week,” Trevor boomed as he slapped his hand against my closed office door, pushing into the space as if he owned it. He sounded pissed off.
“Christ. Ever learn how to knock, or did Americans lose all sense of etiquette and decorum while I was gone?”
My friend skewered me with a scathing look, his nostrils flared. “We need them onboard ASAP. That account is worth six million dollars.”
I clicked send before Trevor’s distraction made me forget. “All they’re doing is rescheduling. This time of year is busy for people. Family gatherings and so on.”
“Family gatherings,” he scoffed, blowing out a derisive breath. “The only thing I want to gather is the chick I saw at Fated’s skirt as I hit that from behind.” Ah. Good to know Trevor remained as classy as ever. “Who are you texting, anyway?”
I’d neglected to mention the developments between Roxy and myself to him. My personal relationships wouldn’t affect him either way, so I hadn’t seen the point. But now that things were becoming more permanent with her, I figured informing my friend and colleague might be the smart thing to do.
“I was texting Roxy.”
“Nice. That’s one long-ass hookup. How many others you got lined up after her?”
“No others, actually.”
“Thought you liked to mix it up back in London.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Liked” probably wouldn’t be the term I’d use, but I could understand how I’d given off that impression. “Look, I need to update you about something. When I left to go overseas, Roxy was pregnant. We have a little girl together. Callie. She’s awesome, and I want the three of us to be a family.”
Trevor fell silent for a protracted minute. “But…do you know if the kid’s even yours?”
“She’s mine. Roxy and I have been dating, getting to know each other again. It’s going really well.”
“And you think this is all on the up and up?” His features were pinched, wary.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because you’re worth billions, that’s why. Don’t you find this the least bit suspicious, Jax? The girl you used to have a thing for now works for the Wish Maker and oh so conveniently claims you knocked her up. How are you not seeing any red flags?”
Deep inside of me a burning sensation fired in my gut. I’d struggled with these feelings when I first saw Roxy, but that had all been dispelled now. Yes, there’d been women who’d attempted to get close to me for that precise reason while I was in London. One in particular, a woman named Julianna had nearly succeeded in ruining my life.
We’d engaged in some sexual play, then she’d claimed to be with child. My child, of course. After I demanded that she provide proof of her pregnancy and my paternity, she rushed off due to her dearth of evidence. Then, she went to the tabloids with her story. The catastrophe blew over eventually, but I had background checks run on every woman I considered inviting into my bed after that.
Well, except for Roxy.
Trevor knew all about Julianna. But there was nothing dubious about Callie being mine. Not only did she look like me, I could feel that little girl in my heart and soul. She belonged to me just like I belonged to her. I loved both her and her mother with everything I had.
“I appreciate your concern, Trev, but that’s not what this is about.”
“Oh, so you’ve had the kid tested to be sure?”
“I don’t need to see a test. Don’t worry.”
“Are you crazy, man? This could all be yet another elaborate scheme to rip you off,” he insisted. “Don’t let your dick make you stupid.”
And just like that, my blood boiled. “One, Roxy wouldn’t do that. We’re happy together. And two, this isn’t about my dick. I’m in love with her, and I always have been.”
“I suppose she’s declared her undying love for you, too?” he sneered, sarcasm so thick in his voice, it was a tangible presence in the room.
No, actually. Not since I’d return
ed.
But that didn’t matter. Much.
My blood still boiled, and my friend’s misgivings weren’t helping matters. “Get out of my office, Trevor.”
Narrowing his eyes at me, he glowered, then turned on his heel to leave. Right at the threshold, however, he turned back. “It’s your money and your life, Jaxson. But don’t be surprised in a few weeks when it all blows up in your face. Because when it happens, all you’ll hear from me is I told you so.”
With that, he stormed out, banging my door shut behind him.
15
Roxanne
“This is so good, Rox,” Jax told me with warm blue eyes, taking a bite of turkey and dressing.
“Raina is the real hero here,” I told him, though the woman herself was absent. “She stayed up late while I worked last night and prepared everything so all I’d have to do was toss the turkey in the oven at the proper time.”
He touched my hand. “You always were too humble. You’re the one who basted this until it melts in my mouth. You’re the one who found the time to bake the cake with Callie. It’s amazing, even though I’m concerned about you.”
“Concerned about me?”
“Yeah. You work way too hard.”
“You work hard, too.”
He shrugged. “Yes, but I work one job and have the freedom to step away sometimes. You go nonstop. And when you’re not working or taking care of our daughter…” He ruffled her hair as she stuffed a buttered roll into her mouth. “You’re going to school. I don’t know how you do it.”
The truth was that I’d had to do it. I’d had to secure a future for Callie somehow, and no matter how many hours of work this might require, I’d do whatever I needed to do to make certain that happened. The mantra I’d always used came to mind then.
Callie is worth it.
She totally was and forever would be. After lunch and dessert, our little girl spoke up, addressing Jax.
“Will you take us to the park, Daddy?”
“Which park do you want to go to?” he asked her, his features soft.
“The one with the unicorns.”
“There’s a playground a few blocks from here with a unicorn merry-go-round,” I translated for him.
“Well, we can’t very well do without that, can we?” he said, and Callie cheered.
Fighting tryptophan drowsiness, we meandered down the sidewalk to the park, our daughter between us. I kept taking peeks at the picture of the three of us walking hand in hand, trying to memorize the image. I’d gone years without letting myself imagine this scene ever coming to fruition, yet here we were, together and smiling on Thanksgiving.
It was a dream come true; one I’d been too afraid to even allow myself to have.
We watched Callie run around with a couple of other children, shrieking with joy. Everything went great until somehow our daughter’s feet got wrapped around another little girl’s and both of them fell down. The other girl jumped up and hopped on the nearby swing set, but Callie stayed where she was, her face crumpling.
“You okay?” Jax asked her, sitting beside her on the mulch and pulling her into his lap.
“It hurts,” she whimpered, pointing to her knees. With a gentleness that brought tears to my eyes, he carefully pushed up first one of her pant legs, then the other, inspecting the damage.
“It’s bruised but she didn’t break the skin,” he said quietly, aiming his words at me while continuing to focus on Callie. “You know, I think I have a cure for this, something to make it all better.” He leaned down and kissed each of her knees. “How’s that?”
“Still hurts,” she said. My daughter had never been anything but honest.
He kissed them again. “How about now?”
This time she smiled. “Can you kiss it again?”
“Uh huh,” he said, “This appears to be a difficult case. Let me try one more thing.” Then he lifted her shirt, exposing her stomach. Pressing his lips to the spot right above her belly button, he blew, making a loud raspberry. She squealed and giggled, and when he continued on, chortled out loud. “Are you cured yet?”
Her grin took up half her face, which was flushed with laughter. “No.”
“Oh, well, better try again, then.” He blew several more raspberries on her tummy. I’d never heard Callie express such unadulterated jubilance. Her laughter made the other parents smile. “Do your knees work now, or do we need to get you some new ones? Walk over to Mommy so we can be sure.”
She darted over to me, no worse for wear. “Okay, run back to Daddy,” I told her, going misty-eyed. He’d only known he was a father for a few months, and yet he was so fantastic with her. It took my breath away.
We allowed her to play for another hour, then Jax picked her up and plonked her on his shoulders, giving her a piggy-back ride all the way home. At the beginning of the ride, she hooted and hollered with elation, but near the end, her eyelids drooped.
“Someone’s ready for her N.A.P,” I whispered, wondering if she might drift off right there on his shoulders. And sure enough, by the time we entered the apartment, she was out. Jax put her in her bed deftly, not even waking her, and for several moments, we both stared down at her, soaking in the blissful expression on her features.
“I can’t believe we made something so perfect,” he said, his voice low.
“I know. When she was a baby, I used to just stare at her. At each of her teensy little toes and her skinny fingers. Back then, it almost felt like she wasn’t real.” I didn’t mention how sad I’d felt at the time. As much as I loved her, and as much bottomless fulfillment being her mom offered me, her looking so much like Jax had been an agonizing reminder. And as if my forlornness had somehow rubbed off on him, his next words echoed how I’d felt.
“I wish I could’ve been here with you. Seen her like that. Helped you with her.”
I looped both my hands around his right arm, leaning into him. “Me, too. But you’re here now.”
He took my hand and led me out of Callie’s room. “That’s right. And I’ll never leave either of you again.”
I kissed him as we stood there in the hallway, overcome by my need for him. Watching him interact with our daughter today made me want to show him what he meant to me. Taking his hand in mine, I pulled him toward my bedroom, but he paused as I stepped over the threshold.
“Are you sure we should do this with her right next door?” he asked, looking concerned, and I smiled. When we’d been at his place, the sweeping size had allowed us to put some distance between us and our daughter, but this apartment was too cramped to allow for such luxuries.
“Parents do this sort of thing all the time,” I told him, nipping sharply at his bottom lip. “The key is to be quiet.”
He hissed, his eyes darkening significantly. “So, can you be quiet, Roxy?”
“I can if you can.”
By some miracle, both Jax and I had the next day completely off. This already would’ve been the best thing ever, but since I also woke naked in his arms, I decided I must’ve died and gone to heaven. He’d spooned me from behind, one hand on my hip while the other was tucked possessively between my breasts, his steady inhales and exhales letting me know that he remained asleep.
Feeling naughty, I rubbed my backside against his front, and while he didn’t come fully awake, one part of his anatomy seemed more than ready to welcome the new day. He groaned but his eyes stayed closed, so I squirmed my body around until I faced him, moving the covers aside so I could see what I was doing.
Sliding my hand around his erection, I held one hand tight around the base of him while the other pumped him up and down, slowly at first, then with a much faster rhythm. One thing about my sexual proclivities was that I couldn’t come unless I saw his pleasure. It didn’t mean I had to see him come – though I loved doing that, as well – but I needed to witness some sort of evidence that I was pleasing him.
Still, doing things this way was tricky. Normally, he was in charge and made sure I met al
l of his demands, leading us both toward inevitable bliss. But I wanted to give him this, preferably before he realized what I was doing and stopped me halfway through. So I monitored my motions, slowing when I thought he might wake and speeding up as he settled back into a doze. He moaned continually as I did, the sounds giving me an indication of how to proceed.
He was so rigid in my hands as I fondled and rubbed, and I stared at him, watching as the tip of him grew visibly darker and harder. It was such a turn-on seeing him like this. It gave me a sense of empowerment, one I wanted to revisit again and again. I needed him to come now, I craved to feel him give me his release where I could not only feel the proof of his pleasure in my palms but also see it with my own two eyes.
I increased my pace, maintaining just enough pressure around him, then his moans deepened and he grunted, his body pouring itself on me, coating my hands and his lower abdomen. God, it made everything inside of me ache, it was so hot.
“Roxy?” his voice was gravelly with sleep and surprise. “Did you just—”
“I did,” I said, lifting up my hands to show him. I’d never done something as specifically wanton as this before, and it aroused me so much I had to clench my thighs together to try to instigate some friction. I hoped what I’d done hadn’t annoyed him or turned him off.
“Come here,” he told me, the bossiness of his tone making me comply immediately. Changing positions so I was beneath him, I noticed that he was still hard. Then, without hesitating, he took me in one quick stroke.
Guess it didn’t turn him off after all.
After sharing a lazy and lovingly satisfying morning together, we watched Callie play in the yard all afternoon. We’d bundled her up against the November chill, her pink fleece hood decorated with pointed cat ears. Her dark hair shone bronze in the sunshine and her round face seemed lit from within as she drew different shapes into the sand with her miniature shovel.
