“I know. Believe me, I remember. But that’s the thing. This didn’t feel like those times. It didn’t feel like the empty promises he used to make. It felt real.”
“But?”
“But I’ve been fooled by him before and I’m not going to fucking fall for it again. I’ve got a good thing going at The Pit. And I have Annabelle, and if I get her mixed up in—”
Mav grabs my wrist, knowing the road I was about to let my mind go down.
“For starters, you are a grown-ass man who is smarter than the kid you were when he wrapped you up in his shit. Everyone knows you wouldn’t have done that willingly. So even if he were in that shit again, you are too smart to get involved in it.”
That he’s right about. “But what about Annabelle? I can’t put her in any danger.”
He sighs. Abigail’s death hit everyone hard, but Maverick took it especially tough. I think he always had a thing for her when they were kids. But I’d never call him on it.
“Annabelle is a smart and capable woman. But because you’re going to make sure that Stan is keeping his nose clean, you’ll have nothing to worry about.”
“So you think I should give him the job?”
He finishes his beer and stands up. “I think you’ve already made up your mind. You just needed me to help you talk it out.”
He’s right. He’s 100-fucking-percent right.
“Mav?”
He turns back to me, handing me our abandoned pool cues. “Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
It might only be two words, but they’re wrapped with a lot of meaning. He knows. We both know.
“Yeah, yeah, now let’s play some fucking pool before your woman calls and you go running out of here with your tail tucked between your legs.”
I chuckle, rack the balls, and think about what just transpired.
Never in a million years did I think I’d ever speak to my father again, let alone offer him a job. But somehow I feel like this is the right thing to do. And I don’t know why, but I feel like Abigail would want me to do this. She was always trying to find the good in people. This would make her happy.
And even in death, I’d do anything for my baby sister.
31
Annabelle
I can feel his tongue between my legs, and damn, even in my dreams Jaxson knows how to elicit pleasure from every inch of my body.
His new favorite thing to do is rapidly flick his tongue against my clit while working two fingers inside me slowly. The combination of varying speeds drives me wild, which in turn drives him insane.
My hands find the top of his head and I hold on to him as he has his way with my pussy. My orgasm is coming fast and hard and—how can I be orgasming from a dream?
Except the clench in my center jolts me awake, and I realize I’m not dreaming. Jaxson was very much having his way with me as I lay sleeping in his bed.
“Jaxson, baby . . . oh God . . . don’t stop!”
And he doesn’t. He sucks my clit while moving his fingers in and out of me, and soon I’m screaming his name and my legs are shaking with my release.
I open my eyes to see the man of my dreams kissing his way up my body. I knew he was going to have beers with Maverick tonight, but I was feeling inspired to paint. So I used the key he gave me and spent the evening working on a piece I couldn’t wait to show him. But I lost track of time and it got to be so late, I decided to stay the night, hoping he wouldn’t mind.
Considering how he just woke me up, I’m guessing he didn’t mind at all.
“I must say, seeing you in my bed was quite the surprise,” he says, continuing his trail of kisses.
“I was painting late into the night and was too tired to go home. I hope you don’t mind,” I say as I snuggle into his arms.
He kisses the top of my head. “Baby, there’s not a night I don’t want you next to me or in my arms. You can stay here every night. In fact, I think you should.”
Is he asking me what I think he is?
“Jaxson, are you saying what I think you are?”
He rolls me off of him and we lie, facing each other. “Yeah, you’re here all the time anyway. Your art studio is set up here. Plus, I would feel much better knowing you were safe here with me. So why not? Move in with me, Annabelle.”
God, I want to. The last few months have been more than I could have ever imagined. And if I want to rationalize it, his place is a bit closer to the art gallery than my apartment is.
“Do you think it’s too soon?”
“Too soon?” he asks while threading his fingers through mine. “Annabelle, I would have moved you in here the day you gave yourself to me that first time. You make me . . . I’m a better man because of you. You’re it for me. Please, move in with me.”
I roll on top of him, wanting to be as close to him as possible. At one point, I thought I could never talk to Jaxson. At another point, I thought he’d be too much for me. And now I look at this man who has given me his heart and wants to share his home. How could I say “no”?
I lean down and kiss him with everything I have before I give him his answer.
“Yes, Jaxson. Yes, I will move in with you.”
He grabs me again and our lips clash together. This might be the most passionate, intense kiss we’ve shared, knowing we are about to enter uncharted territory for the both of us.
His hands reach for the bottom of my T-shirt, and we separate only long enough for him to strip it off me. He grabs my ass and rubs my center over his denim-covered cock. The friction is amazing, but I need more.
I need this man inside me.
“Jaxson, I need you.”
“Baby, I always need you.”
He sits up and I lift his shirt over his head. He flips me so I’m underneath him, and he kisses me one more time before he quickly loses his clothes and rolls on a condom. God, I can’t wait until the day I can feel him inside me with nothing between us.
His lips find mine again, and if I didn’t need this man inside me more than I needed my next breath, I’d be content. But I need him. I need more.
Reading my thoughts, Jaxson sits us both up on the bed, and my legs instinctively wrap around him.
Never breaking our kiss, he lifts my body just enough to position himself below me, and I easily slide down his length. Our bodies are fused together at every point, and I’ve never felt closer to him than I do right now.
This is a new position for us, and he feels so deep inside me, I can’t take it. I arch my back, which pushes me in even farther as I continue to grind on him. He takes this opportunity to turn his attention to my breasts, sucking on one and then the other so hard he might leave marks.
I don’t care. I’m his. He can brand me any way he wants.
He releases a nipple and laps it with his tongue as he brings me back up to him. At first I was just slowly taking him in. Now? I’m riding him like he’s a damn bull.
And I love it.
“Baby? Are you up for something new?” he whispers into my ear, sensing that we’re both in the mood for something a bit more playful tonight.
“Whatever you want, Jaxson. I’m yours.”
He lies back on the bed, making sure he stays inside me the whole time.
“I want you to spin on my dick. Make sure I stay in you, but slowly turn yourself around. Make sure I don’t come out. Then when you’re facing away from me, ride me like you just were so I can watch your ass as you do it.”
The hunger in his voice spurs me on, and I do exactly what he says. I slowly maneuver myself around, so I’m facing away from him now.
“That’s it. Now, ride me like you just were. Take what you want from me, because I want you to have it all.”
God, this man. His words light a fire under me and I ride his cock like I never have before. We are both so turned on and hungry for each other that this is without a doubt the most intense sex we’ve had to date. But I do as he asks, and I ride him until I feel my orgasm starting to build
in me.
The angle is so different, but I love it just the same. And, obviously, he does too since he’s now gripping my hips and guiding me in and out of him, while still letting me control the pace.
I look back over my shoulder and see the fire coming from his eyes, and that’s enough for me. I’m done.
“Jaxson!”
“Annabelle. Yes. Now!”
We come together for what seems like forever before I fall face-first onto the bed. Before I know it, he’s on top of me, trailing kisses down my back.
“You make me so happy, Annabelle, you don’t even know it.”
But I do. Because this man is everything I wished for, but never thought I’d get.
32
Jaxson
There are a lot of uncharted waters for me when it comes to Annabelle.
I’d never been a boyfriend before. I’d never even stayed the night with a woman after sex.
I’d definitely never made an art space for someone or went to a damn farmers’ market.
So meeting the father of my now live-in girlfriend is definitely something that could be classified under the “who am I and what the fuck am I doing?” category.
The only thing I know for sure is that I’m making Annabelle happy, and that I’d do just about anything to see that smile I love so much on her face. And when I said I’d go with her to meet her dad, the smile she gave me was worth wearing this button-down shirt.
Yup, Jaxson Kelly—former street fighter and ex-con—is now wearing a button-down shirt and is about to meet his girlfriend’s dad. If Kalum saw this, he’d keel over.
I roll up my sleeves as I leave the bedroom to see Annabelle fixing her hair in our bathroom. Ours. I know this was the right thing to do, because seeing her in my space, and having her here all the time, doesn’t freak me out in the slightest.
I come up behind her and pull her back into me, leaving a kiss on her cheek.
“You look gorgeous.”
She smiles at me in the mirror. “You don’t look so bad yourself. I didn’t know you owned a dress shirt.”
I didn’t. I might have gone and bought it yesterday. She doesn’t need to know that though. And neither does Kalum.
I give her one more kiss on the cheek before I let her go. I love it when she wears dresses, and if I stay behind her too long, we’ll be cancelling the trip to see her dad and instead be spending the day with that dress on the floor. She realizes it too, because she finishes up quickly and we make our way to my truck. I don’t drive it much, but I didn’t want to take the bike today.
I might not know much about meeting fathers, but I know better than to show up for the first meeting on a Harley. And honestly? It’s going to be nice spending this time with Annabelle, even if it’s just in the cab of my truck for the two-hour drive. Although she’s been living with me for a few weeks now, our schedules have been conflicting, so we haven’t seen each other as much as we’d like.
“How have your classes been going?”
The mere mention of her students makes her face glow.
“It’s going better than I ever imagined.” She turns toward me in excitement. “The students are so creative—so much better than I was at their age.”
“I doubt that,” I say as I link our fingers together. “I’m sure you were amazing.”
“I mean, I wasn’t bad, but these kids . . . Jaxson, I swear sometimes they’re teaching me things. But just being able to give them a space and an outlet where they can create their magic and be around other kids who are also creative—it’s such an amazing experience. Thank you again for everything.”
I kiss her hair as she rests her head on my shoulder. We sit in comfortable silence for a while. It wasn’t long ago that I preferred silence because it meant I didn’t have to let anyone in. Now it’s because I can just enjoy being with someone.
“How are things going at the gym with your dad? I hate that I haven’t been able to come in as much as I used to.”
“They’re actually going pretty well. He’s been a real help.”
After my talk with Maverick, and of course, after clearing it with Reggie, I brought my dad on board at The Pit. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to. It’s a lot of grunt work, but small things like that keep the gym running smoothly and customers happy.
“That’s good, isn’t it? You sound . . . I don’t know . . . surprised?”
“It’s because I am. I don’t know if he’s ever had a legal job in his life until now. And honestly? When I see him around the gym, doing the jobs I’ve asked him to do, I have to blink a few times to make sure it’s him. It’s like I don’t recognize him. Since he started, he’s never missed a shift, he’s been getting along with the members, and he and Reggie were even shooting the shit the other day. It’s kind of mind-blowing.”
Don’t get me wrong: just because Stan has been a good employee so far doesn’t mean we’re going to go out for father-son beers anytime soon. I’m still hesitant, but each day he’s proving himself to me a little more.
“Well, I’m glad it’s working out. I know it doesn’t make up for . . . well, anything that he put you through. But it’s good to see he’s actually putting in the effort.”
As we arrive in Annabelle’s hometown, she points out different spots that hold memories for her—the diner her dad eats at every Saturday morning, her high school, and the park where she and her mom would paint.
Before I know it, I’m pulling into the driveway of her childhood home. It’s the definition of the suburbs. Thank God I bought this shirt, or I’d stick out like a sore thumb.
I put the truck in park and sit for a second in silence. It hits me how big of a moment this is—for both Annabelle and me.
“Don’t worry. He’s going to love you.”
I look over at my girl, who is looking at me like I hang the moon.
“I’ve never done this before and I . . . I don’t want to mess this up.”
She leans in and places a kiss on my cheek.
“You won’t. It’s not like my dad is waiting at the door with a shotgun.”
I let out a breath. I can do this. I used to fight guys who made a living trying to kill people. I can meet her retired bingo-loving father.
“All right. Let’s go.”
33
Annabelle
I did my best to try to calm Jaxson’s nerves about meeting my dad, but honestly, I was just as nervous as he was.
I had never brought my ex, Marcus, to meet my dad. It just never felt right, and then when I had finally decided that it was time, well, that was around the time I found out he was cheating on me.
But now that they’ve been sitting for about an hour in my childhood living room, and the two of them are wrapped up in an in-depth discussion about the greatest boxers of all time, I’m wondering when they’re going to realize that I left to get dinner started. The answer is: about 20 minutes ago.
“It’s Ali. He’s the greatest, and I can’t believe you’d even debate it.”
I hear Jaxson’s frustrated sigh all the way in the kitchen. “Yes, Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest and he’s an icon. But how can you take him over Sugar Ray?”
I knew they would get along, but this is going better than I ever expected. I didn’t tell Jaxson that my dad and his buddies would get together to watch the fights when they were on cable. I’d hoped that they would discover that about each other and have a bond.
As much as I love them getting along, I can’t help but miss my mom a little bit right now. While they would be in the living room talking about how boxing just isn’t the same anymore, she and I could be in here sipping wine and getting dinner ready together. She would’ve loved Jaxson. At least, I hope she would have.
“That boyfriend of yours needs some history lessons,” my dad says, startling me. I was so caught up in my daydream that I didn’t even hear him come into the kitchen.
I turn to face him and he’s wearing a huge smile on his face—a smile I have
n’t seen much since my mom died. It’s nice.
“What?”
“He’s a good man, Annabelle. Or at least he seems to be, but I think I’m a pretty good judge of character.”
Now it’s my turn to smile. “He is, Daddy. He makes me so happy, in so many ways.”
When Jaxson turned his spare room into my art studio, I called my dad the next day. I had told him I was seeing someone, but I don’t think he knew how serious it was until then. I probably didn’t either. Then when I told him about my new job at the gallery, I could hear him smile through the phone.
“Any man who made my daughter find her love of art again and put a smile like that on her face is okay in my book.”
He brings me into his side and places a kiss on my forehead while I hug him. I should come back here more often and visit him. We spent so much time together after Mom passed; I’d forgotten how much I got used to him being around every day.
“Do you think Mom would have liked him?”
“Oh, Pumpkin,” he squeezes me a little tighter, “your mom would have loved him. The second you told me about him making that space for you to paint again, I knew that was her watching out for you from above. I truly believe she sent him to you.”
His words make me tear up. We’ve never been a very religious family. We attended church a few Sundays throughout the year, so that way we weren’t just “holiday-goers” as Mom used to say. But after she passed, my dad and I clung to the fact that she was still with us, in whatever way we needed her to be. In our hearts. In my paintings. In his memories.
Some may call it silly, or say that there’s no afterlife. But for us, it’s how we coped and grieved. And no one should judge anyone else for how they deal with the loss of a loved one.
I lean up and kiss his cheek. “Okay, no more tears. I have a dinner to finish up and you, sir, need to get out of my kitchen.”
He laughs. “You sound exactly like your mom.”
He smiles and walks away as a I take the pork chops out of the oven, because since I was coming over here and making dinner, Dad asked for—actually demanded—I make Mom’s pork chops.
Damaged: South Side Boys Book 1 Page 12
