by Locklyn Marx
***
He kissed her awake, his mouth tracing soft kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, her neck. She stretched lazily.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Ten o’clock.”
“At night?’
“Yup.”
“We slept all day.” She thought briefly about how her sleep schedule was going to be all messed up Usually, she hated that. Anna had always been an early to sleep, early to rise kind of girl, ever since college. If she didn’t get a head start on the day, how was she supposed to get things done? But she was having a hard time getting worked up about anything right now. In fact, she felt more relaxed than she’d felt in a long time.
Jaxon was tugging the blanket down her body. She could feel his hardness against her back, and the fact that he was so turned on got her turned on.
She rolled over, and this time, he slid right into her.
She moaned as he began to move inside of her, biting her lip to keep from getting too loud. He kissed her, his tongue probing against hers, his hands in her hair. He was more insistent this time, like he knew what he was missing and couldn’t take another minute of going without it.
He continued his steady, intense rhythm, sliding his finger down over her breasts and over the curve of her stomach until he found her clit. He stroked her as he continued to fuck her, moving faster and harder.
“Oh my God,” she gasped.
It was the wrong thing to say, and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew it. He immediately slowed down, his finger moving in smaller and smaller circles, his cock stopping almost completely.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you come that fast, did you, Princess?” he asked huskily.
“Please,” she gasped. “Please, don’t stop.”
He began to move again, so slowly she thought she might go insane. She tried to move faster on him, but he held her hips firmly, controlling the pace.
Every time her orgasm built to the point she thought she wouldn’t be able to hold back, he would stop, like he had some kind of direct connection to her body that was telling him to slow down.
Then, finally, he began to quicken the pace, his fingers and cock working to create a storm of pleasure that started between her legs but radiated through her whole body.
They came at the same time, her orgasm ripping through her as he filled her with his come, their bodies completely in sync.
“Oh my God, Anna,” he said as he kissed her. “You are amazing.”
They laid back against the sheets, sweaty and satisfied, not saying anything, just holding each other, lost in the moment of contentment. The moon shown through the skylights over the bed, giving the room an ethereal glow.
“Are you hungry?” Jaxon asked. His fingers moved up and down her back, stroking her skin. She closed her eyes and imagined him writing something on her back, the way she used to do with her friends when they were kids. “I LOVE YOU” she imagined him writing.
“I’m starving,” she admitted.
They ordered Thai food from a hole in the wall delivery place. When the food came, Jaxon pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, then handed Anna one of his Bruins shirts. She pulled it on, trying not to be obvious about the fact that she was inhaling the scent of his laundry soap, wanting to feel that connection to him.
They padded downstairs and opened the containers of food, spreading them out on Katie’s big maple table.
“That’s a lot of food,” Anna said, surveying the spread.
“I’m an amazing orderer,” Jaxon said. He pulled down two plates and instructed her to sit down.
She did as she was told, taking a long sip from the glass of cold iced tea he’d set down in front of her.
He fixed her a plate, piling rice and pad thai and curry and dumplings into a spectacular, scrumptious mound.
Anna dug into the food, suddenly ravenous. The long day of sleeping and sex, combined with the stress of last night’s unexpected trip to the hospital had left her hungry. The food was piping hot and filling, and Anna savored each mouthful, enjoying the rich food.
“This is delicious,” she said.
“It’s all in how you put it on the plate,” Jaxon reported.
“Oh, really?”
“Really.” He took a bite of rice. “It wouldn’t taste the same if it’s not arranged just so.”
“Well, thanks,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
They lapsed into an awkward silence, both of them eating, the only sound the clink of their silverware against their plates.
“Anna,” Jaxon said finally, “I need… I mean, I know it might not make any difference, but I owe you an apology.”
Her heart sped up and her pulse quickened. “You don’t owe me anything,” she said. It was a canned response. Of course she wanted him to apologize, wanted him to say he was sorry, wanted him to tell her that leaving her had been the biggest mistake of his life, that he couldn’t believe he’d ever let her go, that his life hadn’t turned out the way he’d wanted it to because she wasn’t in it.
“No, I do,” he said. “That night, I just left you waiting there. It was inexcusable.”
“We were just kids,” Anna told him. She reached for her iced tea and took another long sip. The cool, sweet liquid slid down her throat, and she hoped it would bring down her body temperature. She felt like her face was flaming.
“I know,” he said. “I know we were just kids.” He was looking at her, waiting for her to say something.
There was a moment, an opportunity, a second chance right there, waiting for her to grab it. She felt something pass between them, and she had the feeling that if she could just admit to Jaxon how hard it had been for her when he left, how much she had wanted to go with him, how much she had missed him, how she’d spent her last year of high school crying herself to sleep on the weekends, missing his kisses, his touch, his arms around her, that they might have another chance.
It was right there, on her lips, the confession she’d held from everyone all these years. The unspoken words that she’d never told Jaxon, or Katie, or anyone, ever. That she’d loved him all these years, that she’d never forgotten about him.
She looked across the table at the man she’d loved, the man who had just made love to her upstairs, the man who had moved inside her and whispered her name and told her she was beautiful.
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly how she felt. And that’s when she saw it. In his eyes. The little flick of indecision, the little spark of fear that let her know that wasn’t what he was looking for. He wanted forgiveness, yes. But it wasn’t the kind of forgiveness that allowed you to ride off into the sunset, making up for lost time.
He wanted to be let off the hook. He wanted to be told that it hadn’t mattered to her, that even if it had been upsetting at the time, she’d moved on. Maybe it would make him feel better for sleeping with her, maybe he just didn’t want to have any more guilt hanging over his head when it came to the two of them.
Either way, she couldn’t tell him how she really felt.
And so all she said was, “Jaxon, we were kids. You were an eighteen-year-old boy. I forgive you.”
He kept his eyes on hers, and she held her breath, hoping he was going to tell her that’s not what he meant, that he’d thought about her all these years, that he wanted to make it up to her.
But the moment brushed by them, and after a second, Jaxon smiled. “Good,” he said. “I’m glad.” He pushed the carton of pad thai toward her and put more on her plate.
The rest of the meal was spent making small talk about their jobs and people they’d gone to high school with. Anna swallowed her disappointment, and was even able to manage a laugh when Jaxon told her about Laney Battle’s plastic surgery addiction.
“She looks like the cat woman,” he said as they cleaned up the dishes.
“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Anna said, smiling.
“It is that bad,�
� Jaxon said. “Trust me.”
They worked and talked, moving through the kitchen in a well-choreographed dance.
“So,” he said when the last of the dishes were put in the dishwasher. “Should we watch a movie or something?”
Anna glanced at the clock on the microwave. The green numbers flashed twelve forty-seven. “It’s after midnight,” she said.
“What are you, Cinderella?” Jaxon leaned back against the counter and grinned.
Anna felt her knees go weak.
“No,” she said. “I just … It’s getting late. My parents are probably wondering where I am.” She’d called them earlier, before they’d ordered the food, to tell them she was helping Katie with some things and would be home later. They’d probably gone to bed by now.
“If they were that worried, they would have called you.”
He moved toward her like a cat going for its prey, his steps long and slow, and when he got to her, kissed her hard and deep.
“Jaxon,” Anna said, pulling back. “I don’t think we should –”
“Shhh,” he said. He put his finger to her lip, trailed it down over her collarbone, burning a smoldering path on her skin. “Princess, haven’t you learned by now that sometimes you just need to be quiet?”
He picked her up and sat her down on the edge of the counter. She was wearing a pair of panties and his t-shirt, no bra, no bulky sweater or jeans to deaden her senses to his sensual assault.
Pushing her legs apart, he slid his body in between her thighs. The hardness of his cock rubbed against the thin material of her panties. She felt herself getting wet, felt her breath coming in short bursts, felt her pulse speed up at his touch. But she’d learned a thing or two, and so she stayed quiet, knowing that to protest or even worse, beg, would just make him tease her more.
“Good girl,” he said, laying his body down on top of her.
She wrapped her legs around him as they kissed, feeling the strength of his body, the narrow V of his hips, the way he hardened against her. Finally, he pulled his pants off, then slid his hands up under the shirt she was wearing.
“God, Princess,” he said. “I want you so bad.” He rubbed himself against her, on the outside of her panties, teasing her, getting her so wet that she cried out. She thought he was going to tease her some more, but before she knew what was happening, he reached up and pulled her panties down and off, then entered her in one fluid movement.
“Oh, God,” she cried. He didn’t stop this time, not even once, letting the wave of pleasure build and build, until finally, it engulfed her.
Only then did he pull out of her.
Anna sat up, then slid off the counter and got onto her knees on the floor of the kitchen. She gave him a wicked grin, then wrapped her hand around his hard shaft, running her tongue around the head of his cock.
He moaned, and she sucked him into her mouth, her hand still stroking. She loved the feel of him in her mouth, the way his hardness felt as she licked and sucked.
His eyes met hers, and she savored the way he was looking at her, the way she was affecting him.
She sucked him until he came, hot and warm down her throat.
He pulled her up to him, and kissed her softly on the lips. “God,” he said.
“You’re amazing.”
He convinced her, somehow, to spend the night. They’d only been awake for a few hours, but they were both spent from the food and the sex. Anna watched as Jaxon reached over and set the alarm for seven the next morning.
“We’ll get up early, okay?” he said. “Adam’s probably going to want to come back to the house at some point, and… ” He trailed off, but the intent of his words was clear.
Adam couldn’t find them here together, couldn’t know they’d been together.
“Okay,” Anna said simply, pretending it didn’t bother her. Her instinct was to push him away, to run, to get out of there. But when he pulled her close, tangling his legs with hers, she immediately felt her body relax. And before long, for the third time that day, she drifted off to sleep in Jaxon’s arms.
Chapter Six
“Okay,” Katie said the next morning when Jaxon came strolling into her hospital room. “What the hell is going on?”
“Nice to see you, too,” he said. He set the basket of purple violets – Katie’s favorite – that he’d brought on the bedside table. “Where’s my nephew?”
“He’s in the nursery,” Katie said. “Adam’s down there learning how to swaddle him.”
“Swaddle him?”
“Yeah.” Katie picked up the remote and turned off the television that was bolted to the wall. She’d been watching The View, and Jaxon hadn’t been about to give her shit about it — the woman had just had a baby, after all – but he said a tiny prayer of thanks as the screen went black. “You know, learn how to wrap him up in a blanket so that he can’t move his arms and legs.”
Jaxon looked at her in horror. “So he can’t move his arms and legs?”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Babies like it.”
“Whatever you say.” He sat down in the corduroy chair.
“Where’s Anna?” Katie asked, peering at him suspiciously. Ever since they’d been kids, she’d had a sixth sense about when he’d been up to something. She’d look at him exactly the way she was looking at him now, her eyes narrow, her head tilted.
“She didn’t call you?” Jaxon asked innocently.
“She called me,” Katie said, the look of suspicion still not leaving her face. “She said she was going to come by, but I told her to do it this afternoon, that it would be better for her to come then, since Adam was going home for a while and we’d be able to chat.”
Jaxon nodded. “Good thinking.”
“And then you don’t call, but you suddenly show up here.”
“So?”
“So you don’t think that’s a little strange?”
“What is?”
“That you show up here right after I tell Anna to come this afternoon? Like maybe you two don’t want to be here at the same time?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jaxon leaned back in his chair and did a big fake yawn.
The truth was, he’d had coffee with Anna this morning, and then he’d dropped her off at her house. They’d decided it would be better for them not to go to the hospital together. Actually, Anna had decided that. Jaxon didn’t give a rat’s ass who knew they’d been together. But he also knew that women could get weird about these things, and he wanted to respect Anna’s privacy.
A small smile tugged at his lips as he remembered how she’d looked this morning, waking up, her hair a tangled halo, her cheeks warm with sleep. They’d stayed in bed as long as they possibly could, but now he wished he’d convinced her to stay a few more minutes.
“You slept with her.” Katie’s mouth dropped open and she looked at him in dismay. “Oh, Jaxon, I can’t believe you slept with her.”
“Who’d you sleep with?” Adam asked, walking into the room. He was holding a bundle that Jaxon could only assume was Tyler. As promised, the baby’s arms and legs were invisible, held tight to his body with a blue blanket.
“Anna!” Katie said. She threw her hands up in the air. “Why the hell would you do that? You know the doctor said I’m not supposed to have any undue stress!”
Jaxon rolled his eyes. “Stop being dramatic.”
“You slept with Anna? Nice!” Adam held his hand out for a fist bump, but Jaxon shook his head slightly. Even he knew that was completely inappropriate.
“No, it’s not nice!” Katie said. “Jaxon, Anna’s a good girl. You already broke her heart once, you can’t do it again.”
“I didn’t break her heart,” Jaxon said.
“How do you know?”
“She told me.”
“And you believed her?” Katie snorted. “Of course you broke her heart!”
“She told you that?”
“No.” Katie shook her head and took the baby from Adam,
holding her new son in her arms and smiling down at him. “But it was pretty damn obvious. The poor girl didn’t even date anyone for two years after you left!”
“Anna’s a big girl,” Jaxon said. “She can take care of herself. Now let me hold my nephew.”
Jaxon spent the next hour holding Tyler. The baby slept most of the time, only stopping to open his dark eyes and blink a few times, or to give a big yawn, like he was already exhausted from the wonders of the world.
Jaxon chatted with Katie and Adam, talking about when Katie and the baby would be coming home, and about how exciting it was that Tyler was finally here.
But the whole time, Jaxon’s mind was somewhere else. He was thinking of Anna, and what Katie had said about her heart being broken. Was there any chance it could be true? He thought back to last night, to the two of them sitting at the table over Thai food, when he’d apologized for standing her up that summer.
There’d been a moment where he’d been sure she was going to tell him that her feelings were still there, that she loved him now just as much as she’d loved him all those years ago. He’d waited, holding his breath, not saying anything. Anna had been quiet for a moment, and in that second it had suddenly occurred to him that maybe he’d read the situation wrong. That Anna hadn’t cared. The thought had sent a shard of fear through him, cutting into his soul sharp and deep.
And then a second later his fear had been confirmed, as Anna told him that he didn’t have to apologize, that they’d just been kids.
He’d pushed down his true feelings, had pushed down the fact that now that she’d come back into his life, he couldn’t imagine ever letting her go.
Stop thinking about her, Jaxon told himself. You’re flying to California tomorrow for your meeting with Cuban. And by the time you get back, Anna will be gone. And you’ll never have to see her again.
The minutes turned into hours, and before long, Jaxon realized it was noon.
“I should go,” he said, standing up. He handed the baby back to Adam, who took Tyler and stared down at him like the proud papa that he was.
“Will we see you again before you leave?” Katie asked.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll stop by tomorrow morning on my way to the airport.”
