by Nana Malone
She gasped. "I—I'm naked."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yes. I did notice."
I didn't exactly mean to draw her attention to my raging hard on, but the moment she wiggled, she gasped again. "Oh!"
I licked my lips and squeezed my eyes shut. "I'm sorry. That is purely biological. You're just naked and wet. Fuck, sorry."
I was anything but sorry. Anything at all. I wanted her to know exactly how much I wanted her. I wanted her to know exactly what I felt like. I wanted her to picture me beneath her naked and get creative on exactly what she was going to do to me. I wanted it all.
Her hands that had been pressed flat against my chest now went to cover her face. "Oh my God! Oh my God! What is wrong with me?"
I chuckled low. "Well, there is nothing wrong with you. Trust me on that. You're perfect."
I meant to keep that light and fun, but she just kept moaning. "First, I nearly stick your dick in my mouth by accident. Then I say the most inappropriate things around you. And now this. I swear to God, I'm not trying to sexually harass you. I'm just clumsy and unlucky."
"The last thing I feel is harassed, but I think you can tell that. So, towel?"
"Yes. Um, towel sounds good."
I reached for the one that had fallen closer to my arm. I grabbed that and then I expanded it to cover her butt. I brought her around so she could wrap it under her arms, but I realized that no matter what she did, I was going to catch an eye full the moment she sprang up.
"I'm not sure how this is going to work. Maybe if I roll over on top of you, then you can adjust the towel how you need without me seeing anything."
Her voice went high pitched. "Okay. Fine. Great."
I had to try not to laugh.
Gently, with one hand braced on her lower back and one on the back of her head, I rolled us to the side. And what do you know, my dick was lined right up to her heated center, and I could feel every inch of her. I couldn't help the moan. I really couldn't.
She adjusted her hips to get more comfortable, and of course, that brought those sweet lips into full contact with my dick. I hissed. She choked. "Oh my God! I swear to God, I'm not doing this on purpose."
"No, but I'm doing this on purpose. I've wanted it from the moment I saw you. So, if you don't want me to kiss you, now is the time to tell me."
Her eyes went wide and if possible darker. She didn't say anything, but she nodded slowly. She wanted me to kiss her. And I groaned. "Then you better hang on."
Seventeen
Neela…
His lips were shockingly soft. I don't know what I had expected. Maybe that he’d be brutal, harsh. He was big, and he looked like he knew his way around a kiss. Like he knew his way around sex. He practically oozed it.
But the kiss was feather light. Explorative. As if silently asking for the permission that I'd already given him verbally.
I kissed him back, and he opened his eyes, meeting my gaze. The ice blue in his eyes picked up more color as if they were going darker. Those thick lashes lowered again, and the next kiss he gave me was one that said he meant it. He was more explorative and more, well, possessive.
His lips glided over mine, coaxing, insisting that I play along. Then his tongue slid into my mouth, licking inside, demanding that I respond, and I did. He moaned. I could feel the length of him pressing into me as if begging for entry. Instinctively, I raised my hips.
He growled. Before I knew what was happening, he was pushing away from me but still refusing to let go of my lips. He went to his knees and picked me up beneath him, his hands on my ass.
My bare ass.
He held me against him and I locked my legs behind his back. He turned us and placed my back against the wall. And then he unleashed pure sexual energy.
As his lips owned mine, I realized I had never been kissed like this in my life. The clash of teeth, lips, desperate hands roaming free.
His hair was silky soft, the places where it was cut short like the softest purr. I raked my nails through, and he shuddered. His hips rolled into me, hitting me just where I needed it.
With a groan, I tried to climb closer, but I wasn't in control. He had me easily. His hands kneaded my ass, holding me firmly, digging into my flesh, possessing me. He hitched me up higher, and I gave a low moan of approval as the ridge of his erection ran over my clit. "Jax..."
He tore his lips from mine, kissing along my cheek down the column of my throat. "Yeah?"
"Bed."
His chuckle was low. "Oh, we'll get there. Eventually."
Oh, Jesus. This was not a man who made love in bed. This was a man who fucked wherever it was damn well convenient.
And where the hell have you been my whole life?
Everything I'd ever done had been safe and convenient. But I didn’t want safe and convenient. Not anymore. Not after tasting Jax Reynolds.
And then his lips went back on mine, and his hips bracketed me in position with his hands sliding up my torso. One sliding and caressing all the way up my side to my hair and then digging in at the root. The other, sliding up and cupping my breast, his thumb gently sweeping over my nipple. Oh my God.
I arched my back, needing more contact. “You’re so fucking soft,” He muttered against my lips.
“Jax…” I couldn’t think. How could I string words together? Could I just pant and have him know to keep doing whatever the hell he wanted to do to my body?
He tore his lips from mine, kissing along my jaw, the hollow of my neck. “I’ve been so fucking desperate to get my hands on you.”
And touch did. He kissed along my jaw. Nipping, sucking, licking my collarbone. I was on fucking fire, and he wouldn’t put me out. He just kept stoking the fire, adding more accelerant.
“Oh my God.” My mind spun. How was this happening?
Jax palmed me with one hand, while his lips wrapped around my other nipple, and I moaned.
He sucked, tugging deep. Jax released my breast, sucking the other nipple. He traced his hand down my belly to the juncture of my thighs. I wanted his touch all over me. My thighs were locked together, the tension coiling in me so tight.
“Open,” he said in a guttural tone, more growl than actual words.
My head lolled back and forth as I tried to force my body to comply. “Jax,” I breathed.
He growled. “Open, Neela. I’m going to make it feel so good.”
“Please, please, please.”
“Shh.” Suck. “You want this?” Lick.
How could he ask such questions? I was melting. Couldn’t he see me melting? “God, yes.”
“I know. You just want to feel good. So open for me, darling.” While his words still carried a desperate raw edge, he softened his tone. “Please.”
My legs shaking, adrenaline coursing through me, I did as he asked. He rewarded my compliance with the tease of his fingers over my clit.
The quick feathered slide of his fingers preceded his mouth kissing down my body. He slid his fingers deep inside, curling them as he watched my response, his gaze meeting mine.
I was half-way to O-town, so I had no idea how I looked. But I supposed it didn't matter because, then he was sucking on my clit and I couldn’t think about a damn thing. Suck. Suck. Lick. Slide and retreat of his fingers, pressing over the G-spot.
He was going to make me come. And it was going to be screaming and uncivilized, and I didn’t give a shit who heard.
If he just... I arched my hips into his mouth. I wanted more. I needed more. I tried to get him to press harder, to give me just the touch that I needed to…
There was a buzzing. The door opened downstairs, and then there was a buzzing sound.
Actually, two buzzing sounds.
Jax tore his lips from my clit, panting. "Shit. Someone’s in the house." Quickly but gently, he eased me back. "Get dressed."
His tone was harsh, brutal, and I hated it. Just like that, he'd gone from being on the verge of giving me a much-needed orgasm to ordering me around. "What
's happening?"
"In the bedroom. Stay up here until I call you."
What the hell?
He moved so fast I barely even noticed he'd already gone. But then I was clutching the towel to me and doing as I was told.
I ran into the bedroom and put on underwear, some sweatpants, a bra and a T shirt. In case I had to run fast, I didn't want to do it braless.
I found my bag, grabbed my phone, and ran for Mayzie. Just as I was about to open the door, the phone buzzed in my hand. It was Jax.
”Yeah?"
"False alarm. Do you know a Jane MacKenzie?"
"Yeah. She’s Willa's mother. I just saw her yesterday."
"Yeah, well, she's here, and she's insisting on seeing the baby."
”Oh my God. I'll be right down." I swear to God, that woman had kept me from having an orgasm. I was going to kill her myself.
But instead of coming up with a proper murder plan, I turned away from Mayzie's door and headed down the stairs.
Jax…
Holy hell.
I couldn't think.
I couldn't breathe.
What the fuck were you thinking?
I hadn't been thinking. She'd been naked, under me, and smelling so... my dick swelled.
Yeah, not a good idea.
And going down on her in the upstairs hallway. That was a good idea?
I’d slipped.
You more than slipped. That was one hell of a slip. One that almost had me turning her around to face the wall, then my dick sliding home.
Dick: Maybe next time you get her to slip, trip and fall on me?
No. No. No. No. None of that. I had a plan. I was going to get back to the Royal Guard, and screwing the client was definitely one of Ariel's no-nos. I forced myself to take another deep breath and then jogged down the stairs.
I would have preferred to have my weapon on me, but it was stashed in my bedside table. My other one was stashed in Mayzie’s diaper bag. All I had was a knife strapped at my ankle, but luckily, the intruder was busy announcing herself. "Yoohoo! Neela, are you here? Your security let me in. I just—"
She stopped talking when she saw me. "Can I help you?"
"Who the hell are you? What, so Neela has just taken over my daughter's life? My granddaughter? Her house, her men?"
I raised a brow. "Oh, so you must be Mrs. MacKenzie?"
"Yes, Jane MacKenzie. Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Jax Reynolds. I'm Mayzie’s nanny... manny... whatever."
Her brows popped. "What? She is letting a man look after my grandchild? I will have her ass. I don't know who you are or what kind of man you think you are, but you are not appropriate to watch my grandchild."
"I guarantee you ma’am, I'm well qualified. Let me call Neela." One quick call and Neela verified the old lady was who she said.
Behind me, I could hear Neela scrambling down the stairs. "Jane." She came tumbling past me. I almost had to catch her, but touching her was not a good idea. Luckily, she caught herself. "What are you doing here, Jane?" Neela asked.
"Well, you said I could come by and see the baby."
Neela shook her head. "I meant you could arrange a time with me when Mayzie would be awake. She's sleeping. It's eight o'clock at night."
Jane glared at her. "I can see my granddaughter whenever I please."
Before Neela caved, I stepped in. "No, you may not. Given the way her mother died and all the upheaval, we have to keep Mayzie on a strict schedule. You can see her during the day. She's awake from morning until eleven. Goes out for a two-hour nap. You could also visit between one and three. She goes down for another two-hour nap after that. Any of those available times will work. Eight o'clock at night does not work for Mayzie or her schedule."
Jane looked like she wanted to blow a gasket. Her face went red, and I could see her working her molars back and forth. And if human beings could actually have steam come out of their ears, that would be her.
"How dare you tell me what is appropriate for me and my granddaughter."
Neela stepped between us. "Jane, if you keep shouting, you will wake that baby. And you are not seeing her tonight. Do you understand?"
The older woman blinked at her as if she couldn't believe that Neela was standing up to her. What the hell was their relationship? I’d read in the files that Neela had been raised by the MacKenzies after her father's death, but I didn't look too closely into the details. Was there animosity there? It certainly didn't seem friendly.
"Why you ungrateful little b—"
Nope. Not acceptable. I stepped forward, placing myself between Neela and Jane. "That's enough. I promise you, you will become persona non grata if you don't watch your language toward Ms. Wellbrook. If this kind of behavior continues, I will have you blocked from the property."
She glowered at me, derision in her glare. "You’ll what? Under what authority? You're just the manny." She leaned around me to raise a brow at Neela. “Clearly, you're screwing him, and on my beautiful baby's furniture, no less. Tell me young man, were you one of Willa's? Neela has always been one to take Willa's secondhand things, you know. From clothes to toys, to books, to boyfriends."
Behind me, I could feel her stiffen. "Jane, that's enough."
Jane laughed then. Straightening up, she added, "Oh, she didn't tell you? Willa had this boyfriend in high school. He was just a plaything for Willa, you understand? Girls will be girls and all that. But ooh... Neela was jealous. So jealous. When the two of them broke up, Neela dated him for a while. Not like Willa wanted her leftover scraps anyway."
I made a mental note to ask her about that later. "It doesn't matter. It's time for you to go."
"You can't just kick me out. This is my house."
Neela stepped around me. Damn it. Why wouldn't the girl stay put? "No. It's my house. And right now, you aren't welcome."
"Well, I never—"
Neela shook her head. "Yes, you did. If maybe you'd shown me an ounce of kindness when I lived with you, I'd be more inclined to let you stay the night, as you have clearly been drinking. But as it is, I'll call you a cab and you can wait for it outside the security gates down the hill."
Jane teetered backward. "What has gotten into you?"
"Nothing. I'm just finally standing up for myself. It's time for you to go. If you want to see Mayzie, you can make an appointment. But until then, goodnight."
It was bad that I wanted her even more now. That little spark of fire, the refusal to let someone else walk all over her, it was hot. Very fucking hot. And sure enough, all my blood just headed south.
I shook my head to clear it. Nope, not going to happen. Instead, I marched around Jane to the door, opened it for her, and waited.
Jane sauntered out eventually, her shoulders stiff and straight, as if we'd been putting her out. But she was the one who was out of line. When I closed the door behind her, I immediately hit the intercom. "Hey guys, can you make sure Mrs. MacKenzie gets down the hill? She's clearly been drinking, so call her a cab. And in the future, she doesn’t enter the property without an appointment."
The response was immediate. "Yes, we'll take care of it." And then I turned my attention to Neela. "Are you okay?"
She met my gaze levelly, straight on, direct, and then she drew in a shaky breath. "I don't think so. I'm going to go get that shower then go to bed and maybe just erase this whole day."
I swallowed hard because I was something she wanted to erase. What had happened upstairs, she wanted that out of her head.
That's for the best.
Sure, the best, but it still sucked. I’d lost my bloody marbles kissing her, touching her. Another ten seconds and I would have been shagging her up against the wall, oblivious to anyone that might have been in the house or anything else that was going on in the world. This was smart. Backing off was the best option because I had a plan, and touching Neela Wellbrook was only going to get in the way of that.
Eighteen
Neela…
I’d b
een about to embark on the most epic night of my life, and Jane had clam jammed me. Maybe it’s for the best.
Jax had gone back to pretending as if none of that had happened, as if none of my world last night had been real. It was like that fifteen-minute span had been a complete anomaly or I’d imagined the whole thing. His smiles the next morning were at odds with my desires and also at odds with the face he gave when he had complete and total focus, the one that made him look like a stone-cold killer. Then he'd helped me feed Mayzie and sent me off to work.
It had become the routine now. Mayzie got to see me go to work and I got to kiss her goodbye. That morning, she even let me feed her, which was astonishing because normally, she threw food at me. I’d become accustomed to needing to wear a shower cap to feed the baby.
It was as if last night had never happened. As if I'd imagined the whole thing.
Even Mayzie was in a better mood, like I was in some alternate reality where only I could remember the bad, insane, bizarre things.
But if he could pretend, then so could I.
Before I was out the door, he called out, “Any meetings today?"
"I'm supposed to go to a lunch meeting. But Ariel said she'd pick me up."
"Okay. It might be one of our new guys. Ariel will let you know."
"Okay." Then with a smile, he was off to do his thing with the baby. No hug. No sly remark. No sexy nothings whispered in my ear. Just goodbye, have a good day. And I wanted to say something. I was desperate to say something, But I couldn't muster up the courage to speak despite my level of frustration. I couldn't find any words to say.
I was a wreck when I stepped into the office. Bex and Adam exchanged glances. It was Bex who was brave enough to say, "Are you okay, boss?"
"Yeah. Fine. Why wouldn't I be okay?"
She stood and followed me into my office. "Well, I don't know. You seem, uh, wound a little tight."
"I'm fine." Wound tight didn't even begin to scratch the surface. I was so frustrated I could scream. I want to call Jane and whack a club over her head. But likely, that would not solve my problem.
