Chapter 24 #3
He tilts my chin and looks at me through piercing emerald eyes. It feels like he’s seeing past all of my barriers, unsettling and comforting all at once. When he responds, his voice is as soft and reverent as his touch. “Never. I could stay like this all day.”
I set the book down on the blanket and slide into his lap, facing him. Atticus settles at the other end of the blanket, as though I’ve just inconvenienced him.
“What’s going through that pretty head of yours?” I ask.
“Wondering how I got so goddamn lucky.” He glances from one of my eyes to the other. “Your eyes are green today.”
“So are yours.”
“Mine never change. Yours are like magic. I swear they’re never the exact same shade twice.”
“Clio used to say my eyes were like mood rings.” My mouth goes dry as the confession comes out unbidden. I never talk about my sister to anyone—not even Mo—but it’s too late to take it back.
“Clio?”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “My sister.”
“But I thought—”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because she left me when I needed her most.”
“I’m so sorry.” His fingertips ghost over my cheekbone. “Do you want to talk or forget?” he asks, echoing something he’d said to me once before, back when I didn’t really know who I was talking to—when confiding in a stranger felt easier than reaching out to form a connection with someone real.
My first instinct is to bury my memories beneath the remnants of my past, but that would make me a hypocrite. If Jaxon can open up to me about his loss, I can tell him about mine.
“I think… I think I want to talk.”
“Are you sure? You’re not just doing this because of what I told you?”
“No. That is part of it, but it’s more than that.”
Jaxon clasps his hands behind my back and studies me intently. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
I inhale a deep, steadying breath and blow it out slowly. “Clio was five years older than me, but we were best friends. Not was, I suppose. She still is, she just isn’t a part of my life anymore.”
“She was more of a mom to me than my own mother was. We didn’t have it easy growing up, but she protected me. Then, one day, she just… left. She packed a backpack full of things, and she was gone.”
He fingers a lock of hair near my jaw, and a shudder runs through me. His hand drops away instantly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
I interrupt with a subtle shake of my head. I could tell the truth then, explain why I cut my hair short in the first place, and why it’s been that way ever since, but just talking about Clio feels like a bridge too far as it is, so I deflect. “No. It’s fine. It’s just hard to talk about.”
He gazes at me with such tender affection, it gives me the strength to keep going.
“She promised she’d come back for me someday. Someday came and went more than a thousand times, but I never saw her again. Eventually, I followed in her footsteps and left on my own. It was the only way I knew how to survive.”
His forehead presses to mine as silence stretches between us. He doesn’t have to speak for me to know he cares, maybe more than he’s letting on.
Swallowing down a well of unwanted emotion, I whisper, “I’d like to forget now.”
My eyes drift shut as he presses a soft kiss to my lips. But it’s not enough. I flick my tongue out, and he opens for me, allowing me to take the lead. His tongue glides along mine in ardent strokes as I grip his hair and pull him closer.
As his hand slides up my inner thigh, I shiver, and goose bumps skitter across my sensitive flesh.
He chuckles against my lips.
“Don’t laugh at me. Your hands are like ice cubes.”
“Mmm. Maybe you can warm them up for me.” He slips his fingers beneath the waistband of my panties. “That’s better.”
I draw in a ragged breath as he dips into my wet center and comes back up to circle my clit. My back arches on instinct at the barest touch from his deft hands. “So, fucking responsive for me, Bluebird.”
My mind barely has time to register the new nickname as he slips his middle finger inside of me. His thumb finds my clit again, and he works me faster.
I rock my hips against him, desperately seeking more friction. He takes my cue and slides another finger into me. “Is that what you want, dirty girl?”
I nod frantically, chasing my release. It’s just barely out of reach.
“Jax.”
“What do you need, baby?”
“Talk to me.” The words come out like a prayer, and Jaxon’s nothing if not faithful.
“You want my words?”
“Yes.”
“I’m gonna stretch this pussy out so good. Get you ready to take my cock.” Pleasure ripples down my spine at his filthy words. His fingers pump in and out of me, driving me closer to the edge. “Mmm. Is that what you want? Does my girl want to be fucked and filled?”
“Yes.”
“That’s my good girl.”
My pulse quickens and my movements become erratic.
“Come for me, Callie baby.”
His hot breath ghosts over my ear, and my body responds instantaneously. I plummet off the cliff, headfirst into the best orgasm of my life. My body convulses as I cling to his neck. I might actually fall to pieces in his arms. Nothing has ever felt so good—so right.
His movements slow as I come down from the high. I rest my forehead against his shoulder, struggling to catch my breath.
He bands both arms around me and holds me there. “Are you ok?”
Boneless and sated beyond measure, I offer him a weak smile and a nod.
He brushes his lips across my cheek in a whisper of a kiss. “How do you feel?”
“Good. So good.”
Atticus chooses that moment to pounce halfway across the blanket, making himself known. In my defense, I got caught up in the moment and forgot he was here.
He pounces again, and it’s then that I notice the large spider crawling rapidly toward us. I squeal and scramble away from the scene. Jaxon doubles over laughing as Atticus pounces a third time, capturing the spider.
“Good job protecting your mom, buddy.” Jaxon holds out his hand, and Atty places his paw in his upturned palm.
My mouth drops open on a feigned gasp. “When did he learn to do that?”
He shrugs, pulling a treat out of his pocket. Atticus flops onto his back and presents his belly. I stand there slack-jawed as my cat falls in love with Jaxon Hayes, and I’m pretty sure I’m not too far behind.