Anna and Jackson

by Tigris Eden

  At that, I think all the women in our group let out an audible gasp. But that doesn’t stop Rachelle from following after him when he storms away. I turn to my cousin and her girlfriend and shrug. But Indi’s not done.

  “Lyriq, you and I are not serious. We had this conversation.”

  “I’m sorry, Indi, but he was an asshole.” Her hands are on her hips, and her eyes express her earlier thoughts. She’s still looking after Rudy as he rounds the corner.

  “That may be so, but I don’t need you asserting yourself on my behalf. I’m a big girl, I can take it.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have to take his bullshit.”

  That was true. I want to wade in, but now they’re at odds, and this is not my area of expertise.

  “That’s for me to decide, not you. I like you, Lyriq, I really do, but this isn’t going to last. You’re not serious about me, and I have too much going on right now to be in a serious relationship.”

  Well.

  There you go.

  I think, seconds later as we head towards the car, neither Rudy or India has any clue that they’re just prolonging the inevitable. They have it bad for each other, and eventually, things will come to a head. The drive in the car is awkward. I choose not to talk, it seems easier that way.

  By the time we arrive at Joey's, my heart is beating fast. Jackson. He's here, inside somewhere. I can't run to him, but God do I want to. I grab the shopping bags, say goodbye to Lyriq and India, and with a little pep in my step, make my way inside. Joey and Treat are in the kitchen.

  My brother is laughing. He has a great laugh.

  “What's so funny?"

  Joey looks over and smiles.

  "Your brother has a way with words."

  Treat winks at me before walking over and pulling me into his arms and kissing the top of my head. He's been doing it every day. Although it’s appreciated, I get the feeling he's being overly protective—or he just wants me to know he cares.

  "I love you, sis."

  It’s the first time he’s said it. I'm speechless and have no idea how to respond. Treat keeps talking.

  "I know our dad’s a dick and I haven’t really had the time to talk to you about him, but I think we should confront him. He deserves to know he didn’t get away from this. That you're not someone he can ignore."

  I squeeze him back because I know he cares and wants to make the wrong, right.

  "It's not necessary, Treat. I don’t want anything from him. Honest."

  "I know, beautiful lady."

  There's a loud cough off to my left, and Treat and I both turn to see Jackson and Ava. He has Ava on his hip, her arms wrapped around his neck.

  "Honey, look, Daddy's home." Ava giggles.

  "I see, Ladybug."

  Jackson whispers something into Ava’s ear that makes her giggle and nod. She slides down her dad and runs towards me and Treat. She crosses her arms, and with a devilish grin announces, “You trying to make a play for Honey?" Ava’s trying to sound serious, but is highly unsuccessful.

  Treat and I try hard not to laugh but fail.

  "Darlin’ Ladybug, Honey only has eyes for your daddy. She's already my girl ‘cause she’s my sister."

  "Oooh," Ava says loudly before turning to me. “Honey, can I have"—she holds up both her hands and spreads them wide—"this many sisters?"

  I try and bend down to Ava's height but I am a little stiff from today's PT.

  "We'll see, Ladybug. I can’t make any promises, okay?"

  "M’kay."

  I look up at Jackson and take him in. He needs to shave; there are scratches along his forehead and cheek. I can see his ribs are wrapped because the shirt he’s wearing is hugging every part of his toned physique. His golden-amber gaze studies me, as I study him. Neither of us blink. I’m the first to look away, but only because I’m slowly taking in all that is him.

  “You gonna stare at me, Annabelle, or come and give me some sugar?"

  "Sugar, is that what you want?" I joke.

  “Yeah." His voice drops an octave, and I swear I can feel it down to that place inside that's severely neglected. He doesn’t move, and neither do I.

  "Come here, Anna.”

  "Oh, boy," Joey whispers before saying, “Treat and I are taking Ava to dinner and out to the movies. We’ll be back in a few hours."

  Just like that…it’s just him and me.

  Everything gets quiet. Too quiet. I can feel the blood rushing through my veins, and my chest is doing its best to contain my rampant heartbeat. The intensity in Jackson's stare has increased the temperature in the room, but has also removed what little oxygen is left.

  I can’t move.

  But somehow, and I swear its almost magical, I’m now standing in front of him. When had he gotten so close. Or was it me? I stare up into the molten gold eyes that caress every inch of my face. Neither of us speak. It’s not necessary.

  I hope we don’t speak for hours.

  Until Her: Chapter 10

  He was going to consume Annabelle Macon, soon-to-be-Storme. But first, he just wanted to look at her. Jackson’s hands framed her face and he watched breathlessly as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, exposing the beautiful column of her throat. Such a delicate, small throat, Jackson thought. He eased forward and nuzzled the skin there, making her groan. He kissed his way to the underside of her jaw, then up again, moving to the corner of her mouth. It was a ghost of a kiss meant to entice. Anna leaned up on her toes and latched onto his mouth, taking control.

  Soft. Plump. Delicious and wet.

  Anna's taste took every good intention he'd originally had and slam dunked it into a part of his brain marked Delete. His hands dropped to her waist, and if he could have lifted her, he would have. Damn injuries. But Anna had other plans. She was careful of his wounds and bruises as she backed him into a wall, never once breaking their kiss.

  She stepped back for a moment to catch her breath, and he allowed it. Barely. He needed the moment himself. His jeans were damn uncomfortable, and he didn’t do snug-fitting jeans. He was sure at any moment the rapid beating of his heart was going to throw him into cardiac arrest. He moved forward again, and against her lips, he asked, “You okay?”

  Her eyes opened, and the love he saw staring back at him would have brought him to his knees had he not been resting against the wall. She was fucking up his equilibrium.

  “I’m good, are you?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m more than good.”

  They kissed for what seemed like hours, and Jackson didn’t understand how they ended up back in the room she’d been sharing with Ava, but there they were, on the bed. He was still clothed, and Anna wore only her bra and panty set with lace edges. She was a temptress. His utter demise. And he was ever the willing subject as he stared down at her beautiful form.

  He didn’t ask permission, nor did he tell her he was going to eat her pussy until her legs gave out. He just went about the business of showing her. He kissed a path down her neck to her collarbone, where he only lingered for a moment. He used his teeth to unhook the front clasp of her bra; it was much faster than his hands would have been. They were too busy going south, to the waistband of her panties, where he skimmed his finger beneath the elastic, making her suck in a sharp breath.

  “You’re gonna sing tonight for me, baby. Loud and long,” Jackson rumbled against the hot flesh of her skin. He tugged a nipple into his mouth, sucking and biting, taking complete pleasure in the sounds she made as he tasted her flesh. Her breasts were firm and full as he played with both nipples.

  The slight hitches that caught in her throat fueled his already inflamed libido. He was grinding into the mattress, when really, he wanted to be grinding into her. Jackson made his way south, kissing a path down her belly. He made sure to kiss each of her surgical scars. Her tale of survival a scary yet humbling one. When he kissed his way to her thighs, he made sure to take a deep breath of her intoxicating scent.

  Heaven.

 
; But feasting on her pussy was going to send him straight to hell. He was that gone for her. He’d visit every fucking day if need be. If it meant her happiness over his, her pleasure in place of her pain, he’d gladly accept the duty. Jackson sat back on his knees and looked his fill. Anna lay back, warm, eyes open and mouth swollen from his kisses. Her skin held a beautiful, red flush that covered her entire body, evidence of her arousal. The fabric between her legs was wet. As she tried to close her knees, Jackson stopped her with a hand. Her eyes were at half mast shielded by her thick lashes as she stared down at him. Not able to stand it any longer, Jackson grabbed hold of her hips, and gripping the sides of her underwear, he yanked. In one swift move, he tore the fabric, causing Anna to squeal.

  “Jackson! What the hell!”

  “Quiet, Anna, or better yet, don’t be quiet.”

  The time for talking was over. Jackson pulled her legs open wider, took one calf in his hand, and tasted her from her ankle to the inside of her thigh. Anna did not disappoint. She sang; it was a low greedy sound at first, but when he made his way to the heated core of her, she cried out. She was a woman with intense needs. Wounded even. Jackson flattened his tongue, and with slow, deliberate, broad strokes, set a pace he knew would have her hitting all the high notes.

  She didn’t let him down.

  The flavor of her was sweet, with hints of a woman on the edge of a cliff, who, at any moment, would fall over. Her legs tried to hold him in place, and he had to use his shoulders to keep her positioned as he sucked her clit into the heat of his mouth.

  “God, Jackson, please, please, don’t you dare stop,” she moaned.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it darlin’,” he said against her swollen lips.

  Her first orgasm came quickly after he’d used his fingers to gently hold her labia tighter to massage her clit. He watched as the tremors shook her body. It was only the first. He needed at least one more. Her legs weren’t shaking. He needed them to quake, wanted to feel the vibrations against his skin. Fuck, but he was one lucky man. To have someone so open and loving was something Jackson had never experienced before. Anna didn’t do what she thought he wanted, she reacted to how he made her feel. Her emotions were genuine. He was obsessed with pleasing her, if only to see her reactions to his touch.

  He would have never pegged himself as the sort of man to be whipped. But he was. Truly, and exposed in a way that left him open and accepting of all she had to give. He was going to be the only man she woke up to and fell asleep with. Anna had branded him in such a way, there was no undoing the marks she’d placed on his heart or soul. He looked down into her eyes; they were heavy, and her brow was dotted with perspiration.

  “Your voice is sexy when you sing for me, love, but I need one more.”

  “Jackson, I need you,” she pleaded.

  “I know darlin’. I need you, too.”

  Jackson pushed his hands beneath her ass and lifted her until the lips of her pussy were at his face. Like the heart of a peach, wet and red. Soft and sweet as he sucked her lips into his waiting mouth. Her legs fell open farther as her body went limp with pleasure, and Jackson went about eating her until her legs did quake. She also sang for him.

  Two more times.

  Her head fell to the mattress like dead weight. She had to be exhausted. He felt like he could do it all again when she rolled from the bed and tried her best to undress him.

  “Baby, what are you doing?”

  “Undressing you, duh.”

  He was pretty sure he knew what she had in mind, and he was trying to stop her when his pants were removed along with his shoes.

  “Baby, we can’t.”

  “Shut up, Jackson.”

  Her nails raked his thighs, and it sent a chill from the tips of his toes all the way to the base of his neck. All that did was make his dick come to attention. Get excited. Too excited. He was already in pain and had plans to handle himself accordingly. But now, Anna was between his legs, looking up at him from underneath her thick lashes, a beautiful siren. A wanton vixen, who had nothing but one thing on her mind. The hungry minx, Jackson thought to himself, as he watched a smile lift the corners of her mouth in a way that would brighten his life on his darkest day.

  “Do you sing, Jackson?” Anna asked in a playful, husky voice. She was staring at his dick, and yeah, he was totally getting off on that alone. The head of his shaft, aching and already wanting to be inside of her, jerked when she blew hot air over his skin.

  “Men don’t sing, Anna.”

  “You will.”

  There was mischief in her eyes, mixed with desire. Jackson ran his knuckles down the side of her face, and she leaned into his caress. She was just as hungry for his touch as he was hungry to touch her.

  “Anna, you are amazing.” He felt overwhelmed with emotion. When she looked up at him with so much trust, he knew he was never going to let anyone or anything hurt her again. He was about to tell her, but the words got stuck in his throat when the heat of her mouth surrounded his cock. Hell, forget the words, his eyes rolled into the back of his head when she proceeded to work him into a fucking frenzy. She was waking up all sorts of feelings he thought dormant during these types of situations. He needed to own every inch of her skin. Mark her deeply, and infuse her with his scent. Dark, primal desires rose up in his mind then. Anna on her knees as he sank deep inside her mouth. Body splayed over the arm of a couch as he fucked her ass, her taking whatever he wanted to give, no questions, no concerns, only trust.

  Anna. Anna. Anna.

  She was bringing out his darkest desires.

  She swallowed his cock, took it all the way to the back of her throat, and held it there for a half a second before pulling back all the way to the tip before repeating the process over and over. Jackson dug his fingers into her hair. She had it up in a loose ponytail, and he made quick work of taking out the hairband so he could fully grab hold of the silky strands. He guided her until the need to come was at the base of his dick.

  “Baby, you gotta stop. I’m right there.”

  All this did was make her suck harder and take him deeper. He tried hard to hold back, but when he tensed, he couldn’t help it. His entire body tightened, and the next thing he knew, he was coming so hard, he was momentarily blinded by flashes of white light. Anna crawled up his body, a content smile on her face. She yawned and demurely said, “And that, ladies and gents, is how you make a man sing.”

  “You have jokes?” Jackson grumbled, pulling her up to his face where he kissed her. Her taste, mingled with his, wasn’t bad at all. If any other woman had done what Anna had done, he wouldn’t have kissed them. Jackson wasn’t the type to go down on a woman either. It was something he reserved for someone he planned to court long-term. So eating Anna’s pussy was permanently marked on his to-do-list.

  “Now what?” Anna asked as she placed her head on his shoulder.

  “Now we hold each other, and in about oh, three minutes, maybe four, we start all over again.”

  Anna was quiet for long minutes. Jackson opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, when she gave him her concerns.

  “We’re going to talk about this at some point, you know. You can’t come home, love me up, and expect me not to have questions or concerns.”

  “I know, Anna, and we will talk. I just need you now.”

  He’d always need her. She deserved to know what was happening. He just couldn’t tell her everything. Not yet. Not until it was over. Jackson pulled Anna half over his body and sifted his fingers through her thick hair. He didn’t really need four minutes. All she had to do was be near him, and he’d go hard.

  “I need you too, but I also need reassurances, answers. If something happens..." Her voice hitched, and when she peered up at him, her eyes were bright with tears. "I can’t lose you, Jackson.”

  “You won't, baby, not now. I don’t know what will happen. I could get hit by a car, or not wake up tomorrow. That's not something any of us can promise. But what I will promise is t
hat every day for however long we have on this Earth I'll love you. Protect you and make sure I do my best to come home to you always, for the rest of our lives."

  "Fair enough, and the same goes for me. I'll always come back to you."

  Jackson kissed her gently, and if he'd never been sure before, he was now. Annabelle Macon was his strength. Knowing he had her to come home to was a powerful motivation. She was his beacon of light. Nobody he'd ever been with saw him the way she did. In her eyes, he was invincible. Even when she was younger, she looked to him to protect her. He wondered if someone could ever love as much as she said she loved him. Maybe they could, but no one would ever love him as much or as hard as Anna.

  He was complete.

  "I know, darlin’. I know," he whispered against her lips. He meant to kiss her slowly. Tease her lips until she opened up to him. But the moment she did, Jackson let loose a growl of desperation and almost crushed her to him. Her scars, dumbass. She didn’t seem to mind. He pulled back slightly while maintaining eye contact.

  "Crawl up on my face, darlin’. I think those three minutes are up."

  His Anna smiled and did as he asked. This time, he made her sing three times, and she was successful in making him sing twice.

  Three weeks later.

  The last of the boxes were gone. A year ago, if someone had told him he'd move out of his house, he would have given them the finger. But his home was no longer safe. He was making a new safe haven for his family. Ava was still with them. Vivian had not asked to see her daughter. Not even once. She was a completely different person now, and he didn’t know if that was a good thing or a scary thing. He'd gone to his mother's to visit. Vivian had come down the stairs in a silk robe, and all she kept talking about was the two of them and how they needed to work things out. She was completely delusional. She even tried taking a walk down memory lane.