by Piper Lawson
He’s thick and long and so hard it must ache. The bead of wetness at his tip has me swallowing.
“Because I’m always ready to where you’re concerned, Hales.” Jax’s response is easy and shockingly earnest. “You have no idea how hard it was not to follow you to Nashville.”
“Really?”
He nods, and I’m feeling less at a disadvantage every second. My gaze roams back down his body.
I shift on the bed, reaching for the foil packet at the corner as he watches. Somehow Jax’s gaze darkens more when I lift it. Hold it out.
“You want me inside you?” he rasps.
“Yes.”
“Say it.”
“I want you inside me.”
I reach for the covers over me and slowly push them to the side so I’m naked again. His gaze flares with heat as he takes me in.
“Shit, I want that too.”
I watch, fascinated, as he rips into the package and rolls the condom on. He’s efficient and confident, and I could watch him touch himself all day.
But that’s not his plan, because he settles himself between my thighs.
“Wait! Just tell me one thing first,” I say.
The concern is back, mixed with a little desperation some sick part of me loves. “Yeah?”
I blink up at him, all innocence as I tilt my head. “Do I get those tracks?”
He lets out a laugh that turns into a groan. “What’d I say about business and pleasure, Hales?”
“I don’t think we came to a consensus,” I murmur.
He brushes my entrance, and I swallow a moan.
I can’t tell who’s winning, but I love this banter. Almost as much as the sex.
“You win,” he decides. “Let’s talk numbers.”
For a second, I wonder if I’ve gotten the upper hand. But the knowing look that crosses his face makes me instantly suspicious.
When he rubs a slow circle over my clit, I can’t hold in the gasp.
“‘Redline’ as a single alone grossed fifteen mil.”
The second time has pleasure shooting down my legs, making my toes clench.
“Plus a tenth of touring on the album.”
My body spasms, arching up to him.
“I assume a tenth is reasonable given it was a ten-track album.”
I nod, my throat working soundlessly.
He settles into a rhythm that’s too slow and too intense at once.
It’s good.
It’s really fucking good.
And he knows everything. Everything he’s ever made for Wicked. The hits, the flops, the sales, the tours, the press. He’s like a damned encyclopedia of his career.
It’s sexy.
It’s maddening.
Combined with his touch, the addictive scent of him, I’m bowing off the bed, a storm building that’s as familiar as it is impossible.
“You have good hands,” I murmur.
His eyes glint. “I always thought they were too big.”
Then he presses inside me.
“God, how many fingers is that?!”
“One.” He grins, shifting to slide into me again. “Now it’s two.”
But I’m already gasping for breath.
“So, the unedited versions of three songs alone are worth eight figures. And that’s with the friends and family discount.” Jax looks up, a smirk on his handsome face as his damp hair falls across his forehead. “I assume you’ll be wiring the amount in full.”
All my twisted mind hears is full.
Because I want to be full. Of him.
I take it back. Wave the damned white flag on my naïve, careless vow to my roommate that I’m never having sex again.
I need Jax in me, or I’m going to stop breathing.
My heart will stop beating. Then I’ll be dead. The first human being to die from lack of sexual satisfaction.
Serena will have to give my eulogy with Scrunchie on a leash next to her, and…
“Forget the songs,” I beg.
“I thought we were making real progress.”
“I’m going to rip your balls off and sell them on eBay,” I mumble.
His chuckle dissolves into a grin as he shifts over me. “There’s my girl,” he murmurs, his lips rubbing mine and sending sparks everywhere.
I’m beyond ready for him when he presses against me, groaning.
The triumph in his eyes is overtaken by something more earnest when he nudges my legs wide.
He sinks into me.
Jax’s jaw goes tight. His eyes glaze over, and it’s like I’m watching a reflection of what’s happening inside me.
And I get it.
Holy God, I get it now.
He’s everywhere. In every part of me. My fingers, my toes, my lips, my breasts.
“Jax,” I gasp. “You feel—”
“Fucking incredible,” he finishes, his voice scraping along my nerve endings.
There’s some discomfort, but I don’t want him to go. It’s like my body wants that too, and it’s changing for him, around him.
Just when I think I’ve almost got a handle on this, he moves.
One arm bands around his body, needing to feel him, while the other fists the sheets.
I’m drifting in the sky and tethered to the ground at once.
Each thrust of his body’s the verse of a song, the chapter of a story. It builds on the last, bringing us closer, sending me higher, taking him deeper.
Jax changes the angle, and my nails dig into the muscles of his neck, making him groan.
Then we’re chasing each other and the feeling until I feel it build.
Or not really build, because it was there, waiting for me.
I murmur his name into his neck.
Again. And again.
My fingers dig into his shoulders because shit, it’s really happening.
It’s a detonation, starting in my core. Every organ’s part of it, every muscle.
The waves radiate outward with an impact that registers on the Richter scale and a blast radius that probably reaches China.
I cry out something. Maybe it’s his name.
I think I’m dying, and I don’t really care because life doesn’t get any better than this.
At least not until Jax goes tight everywhere, his back clenching beneath my fingers as he groans.
In twenty-one years, it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.
9
Two weeks. I’ve lived here two weeks but never noticed the pattern on the ceiling. Do all hotels have that? A big light fixture with little circles running around it?
I think I’m tripping. Every part of my body hums, from my toes to my lips. Lying on my back, my heart thudding, I catch my breath. The sheets slide under my skin as I roll onto my side.
Strands of dark hair stick to Haley’s face. I can’t bring myself to feel anything other than damned satisfied I made her that way. I’m pretty sure there’s no way this can get better, but her eyes open and she looks at me, all dark pupils and sleepy lids.
I swear I’m immortal.
At least until Haley bursts into laughter.
I clear my throat. “Not the reaction I was going for.”
But she keeps laughing. “Wow, Jax. I mean… wow.”
“That I’ll take.” I cut off her laugh when I pull her lips to mine. I kiss her long and deep, my tongue sweeping over hers. Reminding her of what we were doing a moment ago.
What I hope we’ll be doing again soon.
“You’re really good at that,” she murmurs when we part.
“Thanks.”
I stroke her from bare shoulder all the way to her waist. I do it again—because I can—and she makes a little noise in her throat.
“I bet you’ve never had to talk a girl off a cliff before sex.”
“I didn’t have to talk you off a cliff. We just had to discuss some things.”
She cocks her head, looking shy in a way that’s completely adorable considering I was
inside her five minutes ago. “Is that bad? Because I kind of liked the discussing part.”
“It was fucking perfect.” I can’t help grinning.
My hand skims down her chest, tugging lightly at the comforter she’s holding over her chest. She drops it, watching as I cup her breast, memorizing the shape, the feel.
Obviously there are things she’s more and less comfortable with, but the noise low in her throat tells me we’re definitely in green-light territory.
“You’re a boob guy.” But her teasing has a breathy edge.
“I’ve always thought of myself more as an ass man. But I could be having an epiphany.”
I press my lips to the underside of her breast, nipping lightly until she gasps. Then, because I can’t help it, I suck her.
Hard.
“Jax…” The catch in her voice has me half-hard again already.
First things first.
I get off the bed and stride to the en suite.
As I return to the bedroom, she’s like a deer caught in the headlights. All legs and eyes and innocence as she tries to slink out of bed.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I brought some work to do.”
“You came here to work?” I ask, incredulous.
“It’s four in the afternoon. We’re not staying in bed.”
“Um, yeah, we are.”
I think she’s going to say no, but I manage to convince her.
Because now that she’s already naked, I can take my time with her.
So I do.
I kiss her until she’s breathless.
I worship her tits—which are seriously gorgeous, by the way. Not too big, but they’re round and fill my hands. When I lick circles around their hardened tips, she makes the hottest fucking sounds.
Almost like when I press two fingers inside her.
This time I have more stamina.
This time, when I sink into her tight heat, I’m ready for it.
At least that’s what I tell myself.
“Fuck, Hales,” I groan against the soft skin of her throat.
Her arms go around me, tentative at first, then more determined. I change the angle, edging deeper, and her fingers dig into my back.
She can leave nail marks from my shoulders to my ass for all I care.
She’s going to feel me for days. I don’t mind her returning the favor.
I pull back to watch her face because I can’t get enough of that look. Flushed cheeks, like she just got off a stage.
Full, parted lips that make me even harder.
I tell myself this girl’s innocent, but the way her eyes cloud when she looks at me, when I’m inside her, I want to corrupt her.
I want to learn what she likes, then teach her every dirty thing I know and see where we end up.
When she gets close to the edge, which I can feel from the way she’s breathing, how tight she is everywhere, and the little hiccups coming from her throat every few strokes, I decide I am corrupting her.
“OhhhmigodJax.” The wonder in her voice makes it sound like I’ve just shown her a fourth dimension.
Hell, maybe I have.
That sound has my abs shaking as I run my mouth down her jaw, her throat. She arches into me.
“I fucking love seeing you like this, Hales. I love watching you come apart for me.”
I know she’s close, and hell, I am too, and I can’t put this off anymore. So I reach down between us and rub the spot that had her leaping off the bed earlier.
Haley goes tighter than the first string on my guitar. “Oh. Oh fuck, I can’t even breathe right now.”
Her hoarse whisper in my ear might as well be the filthiest confession for what it does to me.
She comes around me as I continue to thrust until I can’t take it anymore. I’m shaking and sweating, and the feel of her exploding around me shoves me off the edge.
I collapse on top of her and decide I want to add a new tattoo for every orgasm I give her.
“Well?” I ask when I can speak. “Was it a fluke?”
Her head swivels back and forth. “You’re legit,” she pants.
I can’t stop the chuckle that rolls out of me.
Eventually we get dressed and go out into the living room.
We order pizza, and I pop up On Demand on the massive screen. She clicks into the recently watched list. “Home reno shows?” Her voice lifts with surprise.
“Yeah. I’d like to work on my own place someday.”
“You want to build a house?”
“Maybe start with a shed. I’d be all rugged, with a saw in my hand.”
“I was picturing a paint roller, maybe some wallpaper.”
I’m starting to think I need to remind her of my masculinity when the pizza arrives.
She peers into the box, taking a sniff. “Whoa. What the hell is that?”
“Beef and Fritos. Best there is.”
“We’ll see.”
But she eats it, offering a deferential nod after the first bite. “Okay, you got this one.”
I grin as her attention goes back to the TV. “Well, if you’re going to fix your house someday, you need one to start with.”
She grabs her phone and pops up a new window with real estate listings. “How about this one?”
I glance at it. “Hales, that’s pocket change. If I’m going to buy a house, it better be big.”
“Right. Columns and a swimming pool.” She clicks away. “How about that one?”
I start to tell her no way, but my gaze locks on the picture. “It’s alright.”
She hits a few keys.
“What are you doing?”
“Emailing the realtor to see if he can show it tomorrow.”
“Shit. Any other parts of my life you want to fix while you’re here?”
“What else needs fixing?”
I start to brush her off but think better of it.
I tell her what happened with Grace, with her husband. Haley’s eyes get rounder and rounder, but she doesn’t interrupt.
“I’ve been trying to get Grace to let me see Annie,” I finish. “She said no.”
“Well, it has to be a change for Grace too. You’ve been gone—”
“And now I’m back. And I’m going to fix things.”
“Maybe she doesn’t think they’re broken.” I turn that over in my head, uncomfortable. The light on my phone, sitting on the coffee table, blinks at us, and Haley raises a brow.
“Knock yourself out.” I pass it to her, and she flips it open and scans the messages.
“How about this?” She types a message and holds it up.
* * *
When would be a good time to see Annie? I can pick her up.
* * *
I shrug. “Sure. But don’t get your hopes up, Hales.”
Her eyes shine. “I will do whatever I want with my hopes, Jax.”
The earnestness in her expression has me shaking my head. It’s cute that she’s so optimistic still about the world and her place in it.
“I don’t get why old guys date younger women. They can’t keep up.” I stiffen, realizing my mistake. “And by ‘date’ I mean hypothetically.”
“Dammit, and here I was going to invite you to meet my father.” She shoots me a look that puts me in my place.
I curse. “I deserve that. I just meant that I didn’t plan this, Hales. And you know I like being around you, but…”
“You’re not looking to settle down with someone,” Haley finishes. “I’m not either, Jax. I’m twenty-one. I’m just trying to live through graduation.”
The words should relieve me.
When the show ends, she picks out a wildlife documentary. As I try to lose myself in it, my stomach turns over.
Not because the idea of dating her is so offensive.
Because it isn’t.
I never thought of myself as the kind of person who’d want to date someone. I really don’t even know what dating means.
My guess is it involves being in the same place as someone else for more than a few days, which for years is something I haven’t been.
Plus, people who date have sex. It’s pretty much guaranteed.
But they also have this.
The pizza and the Netflix.
The long looks and the secrets and the inside jokes.
Haley seems like the kind of woman who’d go on dates.
As opposed to the kind who shows up at your house and seduces you.
Although she was scary good at—
“Whoa!” I jerk upright so fast Haley grabs the couch for balance. “Is that a leopard?”
The thing jumps into the lake and eats an alligator.
“I told you,” she says, triumphant.
10
“Nice ride.”
“It’s a Benny,” Annie chirps.
I glance toward the back seat of the car I bought between my last two tours. I’m surprised Annie remembers, but it’s cute.
“Actually, it’s a Bentley,” she corrects. “But when I was little, I couldn’t say Bentley.”
“That’s fair,” Haley agrees. “You like it?”
“I’d like it better in purple. Uncle Jax said they didn’t come in purple.”
“Maybe he’d paint it if you asked him nicely.”
Her gaze meets mine in the rearview mirror, and I raise a brow.
“What’s your favorite color, Haley?” my kid asks.
It’s the tenth question she’s asked since we picked her up, and I have no idea how she gets the energy. She’s tiny and bouncy, with hair like mine and brown eyes and freckles.
“Orange.”
“Uncle Jax’s eyes are orange.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
Last night, Haley and I ate pizza and binge-watched television.
Home shows. Planet Earth. Around ten, we switched to HBO.
Somehow, we fell asleep.
Not naked.
Not sweaty.
Not after I made her scream my name.
Just… asleep. I slept like the dead in a way I haven’t in forever.
It was so blissfully normal I can’t describe how good it felt.
I let Haley and Annie out of the car. I’ve been to my share of mansions. This one has a gate, a long driveway, and a dozen bedrooms.
But it’s hard to focus on the specs when my attention’s drawn to the way the denim shorts cling to Haley’s hips and leave her long legs bare. The T-shirt knotted at her navel teases me with the occasional glimpse of skin.
