Betrayed (Whiskey Nights #4)

by Suzannah Daniels

  “My sweet, sweet Jess. You are so ready for me.”

  I didn’t respond. My eyes were closed, and I was savoring every second of his touch. How long had I dreamt of this moment?

  “So ready,” he repeated.

  His fingers pressed against the fabric, stroking me while his other hand continued to squeeze and massage from behind.

  He brought his hands to each side of my hips and slowly began to lower my panties as if he were anticipating what lay beneath. I writhed with need, and he chuckled in response. He knew exactly what affect he was having on me, and he was enjoying it.

  Once he had lowered them enough, he paused, and I noticed that he was breathing hard, too, his eyes fixated on me. He continued pulling them down slowly until they dropped at my feet, and I stepped out of them, fully vulnerable now.

  His palms rested on my hips, and he centered me directly in front of him. One hand gripped my thigh, and he slid one finger of his other hand along my slit.

  I shuddered.

  He stroked again, this time applying enough pressure to enter my folds.

  “Damn, baby,” he breathed between gritted teeth. His hand continued to stroke, and I widened my stance to give him easier access. Releasing my thigh, he dropped to his knees in front of me and teased my nub with his thumb, building pressure with every touch.

  I tried to remember all the lonely nights that I had wanted him, but it was difficult to concentrate on anything but the pressure of his fingers. He rubbed and stroked and teased, and my breathing grew rapid as he brought me to the brink of pleasure. My lips parted, making it easier to breathe as I concentrated on the intense feeling he evoked at the apex of my thighs. He was a master of seduction, and he had entranced me with his skillful hands.

  The rhythmic stroking and swirling reached a crescendo, and as his tongue, warm and wet, flicked across my skin to taste me, a soft moan escaped my lips as my body stiffened in response to the climax that shook me to my core.

  Tremors shivered along my spine as my trembling hands reached for him. My fingers entwined in his silky hair, and he continued the slow sweet torture, coaxing me as I recovered from the intense pleasure that racked my body.

  When my breathing finally slowed, I pulled him to his feet, my need to touch him in return foremost in my mind.

  I turned us both around, mimicking his moves as I sat in the chair and unfastened his jeans. I glanced up to see him watching me, his eyes focused on my face. Nervous, I fumbled with the button until I was finally able to slide it through the button hole. I glanced up at him again, watching his face as I unzipped his jeans. His shadowed jaw was tense, his brow creased.

  When I reached for the waist of his jeans, his warm hands covered mine as he helped me lower them over his hips. He stepped out of them, his boxer briefs the only thing that stood between our naked bodies.

  I glanced at his face again as my fingers lightly touched the hard muscles of his abdomen. His muscles tightened, and he stood still, patiently waiting on me. I took a breath, lowered the waistband, and removed the last barrier between us. Desire flooded my body, and I reached out and touched his skin, soft as velvet. He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes, and knowing that he responded to my touch made me think that maybe he had thought of me over the years the way I had thought of him.

  I closed my fist over his hardness, stroking him until he finally latched his fingers around my wrist, forcing me to stop. He pulled me up, and once again, we switched positions as he sat down in the chair and reached for the condom.

  Neither of us spoke. We didn’t need to. In that moment, it was as if all the years that had separated us were gone, and the only thing we could focus on was our need to be together, to have our bodies united in a way that could only be understood by two people who had shared a great love between them.

  He reached out and stroked me one last time, his fingertip parting my flesh. Then, he pulled me onto his lap, positioning his tip at my entrance. He gripped my hips, pausing to brush a kiss against my neck. “It scares me how much I want you,” he whispered against my skin, his stubble rough against the tender flesh.

  “I want you, too, Paxton. I’ve always wanted you.”

  He groaned softly and undulated his hips, giving my body time to grow accustomed to him. I drew in a shattered breath as I closed my eyes and focused on my body, the feel of him entering me and my ravenous need for him. His hands cupped my buttocks and pulled me toward him, increasing his penetration. I released a moan, the pleasure of the moment taking over my body.

  “Damn,” he whispered, and I cracked my eyes open, taking in the set of his jaw, the desire in his eyes as he watched my face. “Being with you, Jess, feels so damn good.”

  I cupped his face in my hands and lowered my mouth to his. I wanted my every sense to be filled with him. I saw the yearning in his eyes, and I could smell his cologne, a masculine scent that drew me closer. Now, I wanted to taste him. He paused, his length filling me as he focused on the kiss, his tongue every bit as skillful as his fingers. At first, his motions were slow, methodical, as if he was savoring me, but then our hunger for each other took over. Our tongues entangled in a frenzied moment of passion, and when the kiss finally ended, we were both breathless. The distance between us closed as my palms slipped downward, along the slope of his muscular shoulders, slowly following the length of his back. I felt his muscles contract every time he lifted my body and thrust, filling me to the hilt.

  He whispered my name, his voice low and hoarse, and a tiny thrill pierced my heart. He spoke of fear. I was afraid, too. I had never allowed myself to believe that this moment could ever be mine. Now that it was, I knew my heart would want to hold onto him forever.

  But what if he left me again?

  Paxton

  Her nails dug into my back as our bodies pounded together. A sheen of sweat covered my skin as I lifted her over and over again, driving into her with my insatiable need to make love to her. I’d seen the way she looked at me, and it had fueled my own desire to possess her, to make her want me the way I wanted her. Despite everything that had passed between us, I had never wanted a woman the way I wanted Jessica.

  I’d been the one to take her virginity, and I could still remember the look of trepidation on her face when she first lay naked beneath me. I whispered words of love, words that I had meant, and she had given herself to me freely.

  And damn, she was giving herself to me now, and I wanted her too much to hold back, too much to wonder if I should have waited. When I had seen her crying, I had lost all self-control, overwhelmed by my need to comfort her, to love her.

  It scared the living shit out of me.

  I closed my eyes as my body tensed. I slammed her against me and held her there, needing to bury myself deep within her. Fierce pleasure violently racked my body as every muscle contracted in response to our lovemaking. My fingers gripped her hips, and I didn’t want to let her go. Her breasts brushed against me as she hugged me to her and squirmed against my lap. One last tremor ricocheted through my body. I gathered her breast in my hand, and she thrust it toward me. My tongue flicked across her breast, and my mouth drew in her nipple, gently sucking, as my palms smoothed across her buttocks and squeezed.

  Her hands reached for my jaws, and she tilted my face toward hers and pressed a light kiss to my lips.

  “Pax to the max,” she whispered breathlessly. It was the same thing she used to whisper to me after we made love, and nostalgia washed over me. We had been good together, and I had missed the closeness we once shared.

  I nuzzled her neck. “You’re an enchantress.”

  She giggled. “Not a very good one apparently.”

  I looked at her, and the smile dropped from her face. She swallowed and continued, “I couldn’t keep you.” Her lower lip trembled. “And I wanted to, Max. All those years ago, I never wanted us to be apart.”

  Max. It was her pet name for me when we were together, a reference to our lovemaking, and just hearing it from
her lips now made this moment even more intimate than the fact that our naked bodies were entwined.

  “I wasn’t through loving you,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

  “Jess.” There was so much I wanted to say, so many thoughts going through my head.

  “Shh. It’s okay.” She laid her palm against my chest. “I know you don’t feel the same, and I’m not asking you to. I just wanted you to know.”

  She shimmied out of my lap and stooped to pick up her clothes. I wanted to demand that she come back to me. I wanted to tell her that I did feel the same, that I had never stopped loving her, but I remained silent, instead, watching her walk away from me. She was even more beautiful now than she was before, her eyes wiser, the globes of her breasts heavier, the flare of her hips fuller. Maybe my attraction to her had less to do with her physical beauty and more to do with the fact that she was my first love. Even now, she held my very soul locked somewhere deep within her heart. I’d been with other women since she and I had separated, but none of them had ever appealed to me the way she had. Hell, who was I kidding? She’d cast her spell over me a long time ago, and it was obvious that she still held the same power over me.

  But then I thought of her sitting naked in my lap, and my jealousy forced me to wonder if she and Cade had ever shared an intimate moment such as that. They both swore they hadn’t, but as much as I wanted to believe them, an ugly rage tore through my body at the mere thought.

  After our hot lovemaking session, I needed a cool-down. I pushed myself out of the chair, cleaned myself and dressed, hearing her whisper Max over and over again in my mind.

  I was conflicted, torn between storming into my bedroom and taking her a second time and storming out of the apartment and never touching her again.

  Instead, Joseph cried out, and I walked over to the playpen where he watched me with the same azure eyes as his mother. He looked frightened as if he had awoken from a nightmare, and I bent down and scooped him up. “It’s okay, Baby J.” He rubbed his face on my chest. “I got you, little man.”

  As if things weren’t confusing enough, I was reminded that she had a baby now, too. I had no intentions of being a father, and maybe this was the exact kind of cool-down I needed.

  “Da, da, da, da,” he muttered sleepily as he laid his head down against my chest. Shit, he was just like his mother or maybe he had inherited some of her spellbinding capabilities.

  I knew he was just babbling, but damn if hearing him say that didn’t appeal to something deep within me, making me think for just an instant that I might enjoy having a son.

  Jessica

  After getting ready for work, I was shocked to find Paxton, his eyes closed, lying on the couch with a sleeping Joseph on his chest. For the briefest moment, I let myself imagine that Joseph would have a father figure in his life. It was the one thing I wanted even more than finding someone who could make me happy. My baby deserved everything that I didn’t have as a child, everything that I couldn’t offer him.

  I dared to let myself hope that Paxton Mayfield could be what we both needed, even if I didn’t really believe it to be true.

  Approaching the couch, I bent over and whispered, “Paxton.”

  His chest rose and fell, taking Joseph with it.

  “Paxton.”

  His eyes opened, and he focused on me, his hand protectively on Joseph’s back.

  “I need to take him to Cade and Seren’s. I’ve got to be at work soon.”

  Pax glanced down at Joseph, still sleeping soundly. “I’ve got him. Just leave him with me tonight.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. If it gets out of hand, I’ll call Seren. But, right now he’s good.” He glanced down at Joseph as if he were double-checking.

  My heart swelled. Seeing Joseph’s tiny body cradled against Paxton’s large muscular frame tugged at my heartstrings. They were the two people I loved most in this world, even though I knew my love for Paxton was unrequited on some level. I knew he still cared for me, but things had changed for him. The love that we once shared would never return full force, and I had to accept that and take our time together for what it was, a temporary bonding that would hopefully at least let us part as friends this time.

  “Okay then. I’ll call them on my way to work and let them know.”

  “What time are you getting off tonight?”

  “It’ll probably be around midnight before I leave work.”

  He nodded. “Be careful.”

  I smiled, touched by his concern. I loved that despite the fact that we had just made love for the first time in years, things were comfortable between us. It was almost like our relationship had picked up where it left off, but I wasn’t so naïve to think that was really true. “I will.”

  His eyes closed again, and I left the apartment, closing the door softly behind me.

  When I arrived at Mandy’s, the parking lot was nearly full. I had two weeks to save the remainder of the money for my attorney, and I hoped that it was an indication that tips would be good tonight.

  And everything was going well, at least it was until Rachel Cambridge decided to grace me with her presence yet again.

  “Hi, Rachel.” I took the order pad from my apron pocket. “What can I get for you?”

  “A ticket back to wherever the hell you came from.”

  I paused, contemplating the best way to handle her. “I’m originally from here. Just like you.”

  “He’s never going to be with you. I mean, you were with his brother. How the hell could he ever forgive that?”

  I pursed my lips and gave her the best bored gaze I could muster. “I can start you off with a drink if you’re not ready to order.”

  “Not to mention he’ll want nothing to do with that bastard child of yours.”

  My mouth clamped closed, and I tucked the order pad back in my pocket. I leaned over the table, gripping it until my knuckles were white. “You can say what you want to about me, but don’t you ever talk about my child like that again.”

  She cocked her head and stared at me with her too-pretty face. “I’m just trying to save you some heartache. I know Paxton. He would have a hard enough time warming up to his own child, but there’s no way he would ever raise another man’s baby.”

  Her words scared the hell out of me because my greatest fear was that she was right.

  She leaned in closer as if she were telling me a secret. “I heard Cade’s the father. Does Seren know? I might need to have a little chat with her.”

  “Leave Cade and Seren alone, and while you’re at it, stay out of other people’s business.”

  “That’s just it,” she said, examining her perfectly manicured nails. Her eyes flipped open, and she stared at me. “This is my business. Pax and I were just fine until you came in the picture. He’s mine, and I refuse to let you and your little bastard child take him away from me.”

  I had a flash of Paxton’s mother in my mind, and I suddenly felt a strong kinship with her. I’d been kind enough to warn Rachel once. A surge of anger boiled through my body, and I reached out and slapped her. “I told you not to talk about my son like that.”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock, but then she quickly slid out of the booth and came at me. “What did I say that wasn’t true?”

  “Just keep your mouth shut.” I didn’t need any trouble at work, and I held my hands out to calm her down. “All I’m saying is don’t talk about my son.”

  “And all I’m saying is get the hell out of Creekview. No one wants you here. Paxton doesn’t want you or your son.”

  I arched my brows. “Are you sure about that? Because when I left home, Paxton was feeling pretty damn satisfied, and he was laying on the couch with my baby asleep on his chest.”

  Rachel swung at me and hit me square in the jaw, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her get away with it a second time. I lunged, tackling her to the cold, tile floor. She tried to shove me off her, but I hauled my fist back and
punched her.

  And that was when my boss snatched me by the shoulders of my hideous work shirt and tugged me backward until I landed flat on my butt several feet away from Rachel.

  Mandy helped Rachel to her feet, apologizing profusely and asking if she was okay. I rose to my feet, noticing the stares of the customers around me.

  Rachel turned and left the diner, and Mandy glared at me. “You’re lucky she didn’t want to call the police.”

  “She started it.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized how lame they sounded. I wasn’t a twelve-year-old on a schoolyard playground. “She insulted my son,” I added as if that would make my behavior justifiable.

  “I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you,” Mandy said, “but I can’t have it going on in my restaurant. You need to get your things and leave, and don’t bother coming back.”

  I muttered a contrite apology, and she followed me to the break room to get my purse. Then, she walked me out of the diner.

  Ashamed and embarrassed, I strode to my car and drove out of the parking lot, angry at Rachel for antagonizing me and angry with myself for making it so easy for her.

  Now how was I going to come up with the money for my attorney?

  I dreaded going home and telling Paxton what had happened.

  When I drove up to our apartment building, anger flowed through my body all over again. Rachel’s car was in the spot where I usually parked, so I had to park a few spots down. I wondered why she had come and whether Paxton had invited her over.

  I took a deep breath, warning myself to retain control this time.

  When I pushed the front door open, I saw Rachel holding my baby. Where was Paxton?