Complicated Love_A Black Light Novel

by Livia Grant

  “I’m here.” Her volume had increased, but it only made it easier for Jaxson to hear the warble in her voice.

  “Is everything okay, Mom?”

  The ultimate southern politician’s wife, he expected her normal bullshit assurance that life was grand in the Davidson household just as she always did. When it didn’t come, he became alarmed.

  “What’s going on? Where are you?” he pressed.

  A long sigh greeted him. “I’m in New York with your father.”

  “Where in New York?”

  “Where is not important. It’s the why you should be asking about.”

  “I’ll bite.” Alarm bells were going off. “Why are you in New York?”

  He waited for her answer. It was almost a minute in coming. He could hear her sniffling on the other end of the phone, as if she had been crying. “Your father, against my wishes, is here to meet with the party leaders to explore the possibility of another run for the presidency next year.”

  Jaxson had been so sure he’d put the final nail in his father’s dreams of living in the White House that it took him a few long seconds to understand what his mother was saying. “Who in their right mind would be encouraging him to run again?” Jaxson asked, incredulously.

  His mom chuckled sadly. “Oh come on. You know how this works. As long as there is money to be stolen or deals to be made in backrooms, men like your father will flourish. Until the American people wake up and elect people who want to serve the country instead of their own personal interests, they will continue to get more of the same.”

  Jaxson had never heard his mother talk like this. While he agreed with her new sentiment completely, she had never broken her strict politician wife’s code of unwavering support for her blowhard husband.

  “Are you okay, Mom?” When she didn’t answer, he added, “Has he hurt you?”

  “He’s hurt me every day for the last twenty years. Oh, not physically. He’s too much of a gentleman to do something as unsavory as physically hurting a defenseless woman, well, unless you count forcing himself on me in the bedroom. The only good thing about his multiple affairs over the last few years is that he’s finally stopped pretending to be attracted to me. No, he’s moved on to forcing himself on innocent personal assistants, campaign volunteers, and cronies’ wives.”

  “Mom, you need to get out of there. I’m going to buy you a plane ticket to come to California. You can stay with us and we’ll figure out what comes next.”

  Her manic laughter frightened him. “Oh honey, it’s too late for me. There is no saving me. Your father has made sure of that.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Her anger was dissolving. He heard her crying at the other end of the phone instead. He suddenly wished for her anger back instead. “He’s a real bastard, you know that?”

  “Yes, Mom. I’ve known that since I was eleven and I watched him throw grandmother into a nursing home against her wishes so he could sell off the family homestead to finance his first senate race.”

  “He broke her.” She sobbed. “He broke me.”

  “That’s it. You’re leaving.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Of course you can. You can start over. We’ll help you.”

  “I tried to leave once already.”

  “You did? When? Why didn’t you come to me?” Jaxson questioned.

  “Because he is evil. He made sure to have dirt on me. His wife. Now he’s blackmailing me into staying through the next damn election. The problem is, there will always be another election.”

  “Screw that. You’re a saint. What could he have on you anyway?”

  Silence.

  “Mom?” he questioned.

  “I was so lonely, Jaxson,” she cried.

  “Ah shit. Listen, who cares if he has proof that you cheated on him? We’ll get proof that he cheated first. And anyway, you cheating looks worse on him than it does on you. He couldn’t keep his wife happy. He’ll never go public with that story.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Of course it is. Or what? Is the guy someone famous himself?”

  Her answer was slow in coming. “It isn’t a guy,” she whispered.

  “Then…” Jaxson’s mind raced, trying to read between the lines of the disjointed story his mother was reluctantly sharing with him.

  “I met Marjory at the country club. She’s the tennis pro.”

  Mind blown. It was rare that Jaxson Davidson was left speechless. Ironically, it had happened several times on this super confusing day. “Okay, I admit. That was a bit unexpected, but I stand by my advice. Who cares if it comes out?”

  “You aren’t scandalized?” she asked incredulously.

  “Mom, have you forgotten that I am in love with both a man and a woman and we are living our lives as a trio? If anyone can understand that love is love, it’s me.”

  “Oh Jaxson, I don’t know what to say. I’ve dreaded you finding out and being disappointed in me.”

  “Are you kidding me? This is the first smart thing you’ve done in years.” He then realized what he’d said and hurried to add, “Sorry. No offense.”

  He relaxed a bit hearing his mother chuckle between her tears. “No offense taken. But, I still can’t leave. He’ll demonize me with this information. I’m not strong like you are. I can’t take the negativity that would swirl around me if word ever got out.”

  “How does Marjory feel about it all?”

  “I haven’t a clue. We haven’t spoke for over three months now. And before you get upset about that, I’m fine. She was just someone who helped me through a rough time in my life. We were good friends first and foremost. She needs to find someone permanent. And I need to play the role I signed up for when I married your father.”

  “Bullshit. You deserve your own happiness. And he deserves to go to jail.”

  “That will never happen and you know it. He has too many connections.”

  “You know what they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. If he makes it too hard on you, we’ll just have to find something big enough on him to make him back off.”

  “I’ve dreamed of that day. I even have a few secrets tucked away in a safety deposit box in downtown D.C. just in case I ever needed it. But, I’m too old to change now.”

  Jaxson’s mind raced for anything he could say in that moment to change his mother’s mind. She’d never been this close to getting out before. He knew he only had a limited time before she’d get sucked back in fully again.

  He smiled, realizing the universe had surely had a hand in all of the complex things in his life coming to a head all at the same perfect time. His mother would never leave his father for herself. Hell, she wouldn’t even leave him for her son. But just maybe…

  “I haven’t told you yet why I called.”

  “It wasn’t just to say hello?”

  “Sorry, but no. We’re in California and I’m buried trying to get the club ready to open on time next week.”

  “Then why call?” she asked sounding a bit brighter.

  “I have some exciting news of my own.”

  “That’s wonderful. I could stand some good news.”

  “What would you say if I told you that… you were going to be a grandmother?”

  Jaxson had to hold the phone away from his ear. He’d never heard his mother squeal like a teenage girl before.

  “You aren’t teasing me, are you?”

  “Why would I tease about something this important?

  “I don’t know. To try to cheer me up?”

  Jaxson chuckled. “Sorry. I love you but getting Emma pregnant wasn’t on my radar for this year.”

  “Well planned or unplanned, it’s no matter. It’s wonderful news, Jaxson.”

  “Thanks, Mother. But there’s more.”

  “More? Are you getting married to Emma too?” she guessed.

  Why does the older generation think marriage is a requirement?

  “No. That isn�
�t in the cards for the three of us. But it looks like twins are.”

  “Oh my! Two babies? That’s fabulous news.”

  “It’s news, alright,” he deadpanned.

  “Jaxson Andrew Davidson, don’t you dare make light of this. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with you. It was one of the best days of my life.”

  It felt weird to talk about emotional things with his mother. They’d never had that kind of touchy-feely relationship like most families.

  “I have to admit. The last week has been pretty memorable for me too. I might have officially bit off more than I can chew.” If there were anyone on the planet who would understand his fear of parenthood, surely his mother would get it. “I mean, with my old man as my role model, how the hell am I going to be a good father?”

  “Jax, you are going to be a wonderful father. You know how I know?”

  He could hear the passion in his mother’s warbling voice. His own throat felt like it was closing up as his emotions threatened to get the best of him. He’d be damned if he was going to cry like a fucking pussy. He managed to grunt enough to encourage his mother to continue.

  “You are the most honorable, loving man I’ve ever met. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I realize I gave birth to a natural born leader like you. I couldn’t possibly be more proud of you. Trust in yourself and learn to lean on Emma and Chase more.”

  Jaxson couldn’t have answered her if he’d had a gun to his head. He swallowed again and again until the lump in his throat dissipated enough that he could finally grunt out, “Thanks, Mom.”

  A heavy sigh broke the silence. “I hate it, but I should probably get back inside before your father sends one of his lackeys to look for me.”

  He cleared his throat and spoke. “Pack a bag. Call a cab to take you to the airport. Get on a plane for Los Angeles. I’ll pick you up at the airport. We have more than enough room for you here.”

  Even as he said it, he cringed, remembering how much having his mother around would inhibit their sexy times. But it didn’t matter. If there was any possibility of getting his mother free of Gregory Davidson, he needed to help make that happen.

  “I’ll think about it,” she waffled.

  “I’m going to call you every day and badger you until you agree to leave.”

  “You do get that stubborn streak from your father you know.”

  “Don’t remind me, please.” He didn’t want to have anything in common with his sperm donor.

  The sliding door to the patio opened, letting the cool air-conditioned air out into the warm California afternoon. Robert let himself back into the house, looking a bit shell-shocked from the conversation with his wife.

  “I need to run, Mom, but I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Congratulations, daddy.”

  “Oh Christ, let’s not start that already.” But he smiled to himself when he realized instead of sounding sad or upset, he’d cheered his mother up. “Bye.”

  Robert collapsed back onto the couch like a deflating balloon.

  Jaxson stifled the smile trying to erupt at the elder man’s expense. “I take it that didn’t go well.”

  “You could say that.”

  “Need another beer?” Jaxson offered.

  “You have anything stronger?”

  Jaxson chuckled. “Sorry. All the good stuff is up at the mansion waiting for opening day next week.” When Robert didn’t so much as smile, he got more serious. “You want to talk about it?”

  “Not really, but since there is zero chance you aren’t going to get dragged into this, I guess I better let you know that Linda found my note faster than I expected. She hopped a plane right behind me and is already back at the house with Emma and Chase.”

  It looked like they were about to have another unexpected houseguest.

  “Okay. I guess that’s a good thing, right? You both get to see Emma.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Robert grimaced as if he had swallowed something sour. “Seems my lovely wife has forbidden me from stepping foot into your house or seeing Emma until I, and I quote, ‘get my head out of my ass and apologize to all three of you’.”

  Jaxson’s first instinct was to rib his unofficial father-in-law for letting the woman in his life call and speak to him like that, but considering there was a pretty good chance he was going to fuck up fatherhood a time or two, who the hell was he to cast aspersions?

  Instead, he pushed to his feet and offered an olive branch. “What do you say we head on up to the mansion? I’d love to show you around. I need to check in on a few things and we’ll see about getting you a stiff drink.”

  “I’d say that sounds like the best idea of the day

  Chapter Twelve ~ Emma

  Emma woke to the incessant beep of an alarm clock. Exhausted, she hugged the torso she was presently using as her pillow while throwing her right hand up to cover her exposed ear.

  The chest under her rumbled, “Poor baby. You don’t like my alarm?”

  Jaxson struggled to sit up enough to roll over Emma and reach his cell phone on the nightstand, finally getting the blasted noise to stop before plopping back down between his lovers. She snuggled back into the crook of Jax’s arm as Chase threw his leg over them, weaving the trio together like a tight knot.

  “I can only snooze one time and then I really do need to get up. You two can sleep in, though,” Jaxson offered.

  It was tempting, but Emma felt guilty. “It’s still dark outside. You’ve been working so hard. You need to let us help more,” she mumbled, secretly hoping he’d take her up on her offer, only later in the day. She was not a morning person.

  “You are helping.”

  Chase was even less of a morning person than she was. “I thought we were gonna snooze again,” he groused before adding, “And babysitting Emma’s parents doesn’t count as helping.”

  She should be offended by his description of the last three days, but considering how accurate it was, she couldn’t object. Her parents were sleeping in the bedroom next door, but only after her father had spent one rather uncomfortable night on the couch. He’d finally relented and apologized to the trio for being so old-fashioned the next day, earning him a spot back in his wife’s bed.

  Jaxson disagreed. “Honestly, keeping them over here instead of underfoot at the mansion is a big help. Robert almost caught me heading down to Black Light to meet with the new dungeon master yesterday. I would prefer not to have to explain that to him. But don’t forget, today is the day that Ted is ready to start on the pool house. I’d like you two to meet him over there at ten. I’m going to try to make it, but if I’m not there, start without me.”

  Emma hated that idea. “We’ll wait for you. It’s going to be your home too.”

  “I’ve got a meeting with Connor and I’m expecting it to go long. He flew in to finalize some things we’ve been working on. We have a shit-ton of topics to cover. And since he bills a goddamn fortune by the hour, it really is okay. I trust you guys with the decor completely. Get what you want.”

  “Now can we snooze?” Chase begged.

  The room was still pitch dark. It had to be before six, and she was worried that Jax would be tired all day since they’d stayed up late, talking and groping into the wee hours.

  “You two make it hard to get up, you know that?” Jax chuckled.

  She could hear the smile in Chase’s cheeky reply. “I can make it even harder.”

  Jaxson’s tortured groan was followed by Chase’s naughty addition, “Oh, I see you’re already nice and hard. Need some help with this bad boy?”

  Emma giggled, loving the easy banter between her lovers.

  Jaxson’s breath caught before he bucked his hips off the bed, taking Emma with him. “I don’t have time.”

  “Of course you do. There’s always time for a quick…”

  Chase’s last word was cut off by the hard cock that slammed into the back of his th
roat. Emma could just make out the shadow of his head bobbing up and down on their Dom’s morning hard-on. Through experience, she knew that her men were usually hard as steel when they woke.

  The gurgled choking mingled with Jaxson’s grunts of satisfaction as he chased his orgasm was better than any alarm clock. Emma may be sleepy, but her girly parts were definitely waking up early. She couldn’t resist latching onto Jaxson’s right nipple, sucking on it as hard as she could. His instant groan as he bucked his hips off the bed made Emma feel powerful. Empowered, she groped his hard chest and found his other nipple, pinching it as her teeth grazed the nub in her mouth.

  Chase and Emma knew every button to push on their Dom’s body to propel him to the edge of ecstasy within minutes. As Jaxson’s hips thrust higher off the bed, Chase had to reposition himself on his knees. As soon as he did, Jaxson reached out to grab onto his lover’s shoulder-length hair, using it as a handle to control the action. Submitting to the face-fucking, Chase threw his arms behind his back and allowed Jaxson to use his mouth, controlling the depth and speed of the blowjob.

  “Fuck, yeah. You’re gonna get an early breakfast in about twenty seconds and I want you to slurp down every drop, you got it?”

  Chase could only hum his approval around the flesh in his mouth.

  “Christ, hum again. That’s it.” Low vibrations mingled with wet gags until Jaxson erupted in a loud release. Emma did her part to ride the wave with him until she felt her lover relax beneath her and the weight of Chase’s body bounce slightly as he collapsed onto his side to recover. She wasn’t sure which man was gasping for air harder after their impromptu exertion.

  The threesome lay tangled together until Jaxson’s alarm filled the room with the sharp beep Emma hated. As she was closest to the nightstand, she rolled to grab the offending gadget and hit snooze.

  “That was an unexpected wake-up call,” Jaxson chuckled.

  “Yeah, well it’s better than the damn alarm,” Chase replied, his voice a bit scratchy thanks to his early morning fun. “Now can we snooze?”

  Jaxson patted Emma as he extricated himself from their pile of limbs, maneuvering until he was able to stand. His departure made the bed feel too large. Like magnets, Chase and Emma rolled together until they were on their sides, spooning each other in the warm spot as Jaxson pulled the thin sheet they slept under over them. They had learned early on that three bodies could produce a lot of heat.