Fourteen
Nixon’s return was the talk of the village, so Charles had texted me. In respect of my relationship, I did brace myself for the usual interference from my family but luckily, they were so wrapped up in their own business, that they didn’t have the time to interfere.
My mum and dad were preparing for their holiday and had spent the last few days carrying out the necessary hand-over. This would allow Daniel, the Head Farmhand to run the business whilst they were away. He had done it so many times before, he knew the farming industry as well as my father did. His wife also helped in the office and would keep on top of the supermarket orders.
In respect of my siblings, I had hardly seen them. Only at breakfast and dinner. Mattie seemed to be hibernating in his flat, he didn’t even join us for supper and Chrissy was either out somewhere or hogging the cinema room with her friends. I didn’t see much of Amy, although I did catch her coming in late one night with her camera. She had been in her PJs which I thought a little odd. But trying to get your head around my sister’s shenanigans would be like trying to figure out an unsolvable crime.
On the day our parents left for the airport, we all waved them off. Mattie being the eldest was put in charge of us. I found that amusing, the thought of my brother overseeing us. Both Amy and Chrissy could wrap him around their little fingers. He was such a relaxed person.
Time at the farm without my parents was always so much calmer and less fraught and their absence gave me the opportunity to make things right with my marriage. I didn’t go out of my way to tell my siblings about Nixon and me as no doubt they’d work it out quickly.
I was still living at my parent’s house for the time being and saw Nixon every day .
Being together again was so refreshing. To be able to do normal things again, like a regular married couple. One morning we went into the village, shopping. I wanted to buy a new swimsuit for a beach party that Nixon and his brothers had been invited to. I only owned a one-piece suit and had decided that I wanted to become more daring and buy a bikini. I found the perfect one in hot pink. It was skimpy and purposefully designed to accelerate the heart rate, I was sure of it.
The day of the beach party, I was in my bedroom waiting for Nixon to come out of the shower, I checked myself out in the mirror, wearing my new piece of bold swimwear. I felt slightly nervous about showing so much skin but why not go for it? I had a decent body, but it wouldn’t be that way forever. Why not show it off now whilst I could?
“Fuck me, Jenna. That’s a big risqué. Not that I’m complaining of course,” Nixon coughed as he walked into my bedroom with a towel around his waist. I turned to look at his bronzed manliness, drinking in that chest and those mean looking arms of his.
“I could say the same. Towel boy,” I pointed out with a flick of my head.
“You can’t wear that,” Nixon stated, with his arrogant hat on. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me with a penetrative stare.
“The old Jenna may have allowed you to dictate what she wears, Nixon. But not the new one,” I shot back, straightening my shoulders and turning to view my backside. The bottoms were not a thong but they only just covered my cheeks. I felt adventurous for a change.
Quickly dying his hair with another towel, Nixon discarded it and strolled toward me with that cocky swagger of his, “Point taken, as long as the new Jenna, doesn’t mind her husband having a raging hard-on all day,” Nixon said with a lopsided smile.
I chuckled and padded over to meet him half way, throwing my arms around his damp shoulders. I then pushed to my tiptoes and placed a kiss on his lips. I could feel he was already hard beneath the towel and I loved that I had so much power over his body. He cupped my backside through the thin strip of material and pulled me more tightly against him. I inhaled as he ground himself against me. I couldn’t get enough of him.
Drawing back, I gave him a challenging stare, “You’ll just have to try and control yourself, Mr McKenna. Maybe look but don’t touch,” I suggested with a sultry smile.
“Yeah, like that’s going to work. If it gets too much, I’ll just accost you and take you in the sea,” he said with promising menace. Ooh yes, please! The thought of us having sex in the sea when no one else knew what we were doing was a total turn-on.
After planting a kiss on his hard chest, I moved away and pulled on a pink terry beach dress over my bikini.
“Better,” Nixon grinned as he started to pack our beach towels.
We drove to the beach in convoy, with his brothers following behind in Boyd’s Audi. It was so exciting being together again and going out for the day. It had only been a few weeks, but having spent so much of that time indoors, I had started to feel claustrophobic. I needed to be outside in the sunshine and being there with Nixon was a bonus.
We arrived around lunchtime. The beachfront was already packed and we found a spot away from the main section where the younger, more rowdier crowds were. Party-goers were dotted in groups around the beach. Some were already in the sea and others were playing beach games. I narrowly escaped a shuttlecock to the face; Nixon having caught it. He had amazing reflexes.
Wesley Bronson who used to live in our village moved to Cromer last year and had picked up the reins from a guy who used to organise this event. It was an annual thing and had been ongoing for years. The police had occasionally gotten involved in the past but Tom Bronson, Wesley’s father was well in with the mayor and so the authorities were much more accommodating. I remember his sister’s birthday party which had been hosted at the pub that night. That was the time when Nixon had chewed me out for ruining his night of sex with Scarlet. I could now recall that night without feeling utterly depressed. Nixon was mine now and Scarlet was very much out of the picture. She’d come to the house that night to explain why she was at Nixon’s and I had left it there. I had never accepted her offer of sharing a coffee sometime. That would have been much too hard.
I had heard Amy say that she and Alex were coming, but I hadn’t seen them and I was thankful for that. Nixon and I back together was not common knowledge yet. We had purposefully parked further down the beach, out of the way. My sister was shrewd and I imagined Amy had an idea I was seeing him, but she hadn’t said anything or given me that unimpressed look of hers. She had a boyfriend now which again in turn, took the heat off me.
The sun was still high in the sky and it was warm with a breeze from the sea as it slowly crept in. I loved the beach. Even though it was mega busy with people enjoying themselves a bit too much in certain groups, I felt relaxed.
We arranged ourselves on beach towels and blankets in a semi-circle and Boyd had brought a couple of uncomfortable-looking camping chairs.
Once we were settled, Boyd opened the cooler and handed out some drinks. I had brought a huge bag of crisps and passed them around.
Seth didn’t stick with us for long as he spotted some of his friends playing football further down the beach.
“Don’t get shitfaced,” Nixon barked as Seth turned to leave.
He gave his brother the middle finger, “Of course, I will ,” he chuckled full of sass.
Mason shuffled in his seat and cast an eye at Nixon who was sitting beside me on our blanket, “He gets more like you every day Nix,” he said with a smirk.
“That’s what worries me,” Nixon volleyed back, grunting .
After around an hour, Boyd managed to convince Mason that they should go and check out the local totty. At my frown, he translated this to pussy. Nice.
Mason finally relented and went with him, leaving Nixon and me alone.
I leaned my head against my husband’s shoulder. He had taken his tee off and was bare-chested. The sun had already started to turn his skin golden. I just seemed to go pink and then white again.
“Come here,” Nixon whispered, opening his legs, and raising his knees. He patted the floor between them. I did as he instructed and shuffled myself between his thighs.
Slowly pushing my hair forward, he exposed my neck and planted a few kisses against my skin. My nipples pebbled against the terry towelling of my dress. I had yet to take it off. I had felt too self-conscious in front of the boys.
“You need cream on,” Nixon stated in a firm voice. He rustled around in our bag and withdrew some suntan lotion before starting to apply it to my bare shoulders. His fingers massaged my skin, “Good?” he questioned.
I moaned, enjoying his touch, “Absolutely. Want me to do you?”
“That’s kind of a double-edged question Jenna, but I would say yes to both,” he groaned against the bared cuff of my ear, pulling me roughly back against his chest.
This had to be what heaven felt like.
“Mind if we join you?” a deep voice suddenly said from beside us. I leaned forward and shielded my eyes from the sun, staring up at a shadowed stranger. I couldn’t really see his face. There were two of them.
Nixon confirmed who they were with his reply, “Fuck me, Jax. I thought you were due back at the end of the month?” he grunted, pushing to his feet, and shaking hands with both men. I also stood, dusting the sand off my dress, and flicking my hair back over my shoulders. They were still wet from the cream and the strands stuck against my skin. Not pleasant .
Jax made the introductions as I stepped toward them, “Styles, Nixon, Nixon, Styles. Oh, and the lovely Jenna of course. Still as fit as fuck I see.”
“Easy,” Nixon said with a warning grin.
“What? My chances are fucked now I hear,” Jax blasted back as he leaned forward and took my hand in his, scrutinising my wedding rings.
“Congrats! Never thought I’d see the day this one would be caught,” Jax explained with a flick of his head, eyeing my jewellery with a profound expression.
“Thank you,” I replied in a shy voice as Jax drew my hand to his lips and planted a soft kiss there. I heard Nixon snort beside me but ignored him. The stranger aka Styles gave me a nod of his head and I smiled back.
Jax released my hand and returned his attention back to Nixon as he asked, “So, what’s the story? They kick you out for good this time?” I moved back as my husband handed them both a cold beer from the cooler. The boys then settled themselves and started to talk shop.
“Harrison can be a proper twat, but he knows the regiment wouldn’t be the same without me,” Jax replied with a supercilious grin before chugging his beer.
Nixon shuffled to the side to allow me to sit back beside him. He titled his head toward me, “Jax was infamous in his regiment for pranking the newbies. What was that ghost shit you pulled?”
“Oh yeah,” he began; leaning back in the seat he had taken. “Me and Matthews ‘haunted’ the boiler room to scare the crap out of the fire watch. We then recruited him to scare the crap out of the next fire watch and so on. It went on for days until word got out that it wasn’t really haunted. By then we had about twelve guys in on it. It’s a proper legend now.”
“Jax used to send new officers to the wrong place for basic training and hide their shit. Funny,” Nixon explained. “Didn’t you get the blame for crapping in the fire trench in Catterick? ”
Styles omitted a hoot of laughter. I pulled a face and Jax almost choked on his beer. He lowered the bottle and shot Nixon a whimsical look over the rim before pointing it toward us, “That was Frazer, the dirty bastard. Never leave your kit out when he’s around. That guy is one sick fuck.”
“So how come you’re home early?” Nixon questioned with a sniff.
Jax released a drawn-out breath, “The story is, I’m not back yet, not officially anyway,” he stated, resting the beer on his knee.
They all started to talk shop.
Leaning over as they carried on speaking about Jax’s return, I grabbed my purse and pushed to my feet. Nixon glanced up at me. I cleared my throat and they all stopped, “Sorry to interrupt, I’m just going for ice cream. Do you guys want anything?” I asked brightly.
The two boys glanced at each other before declining my offer.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Nixon questioned, squinting against the sun.
“No, I’ll be fine,” I replied, running my hand through his hair.
He nodded and his face became stern, “Don’t be long, Jenna. And if anyone gives you any shit, come and get me,” he stated in a possessive voice.
I rolled my eyes and went in search of the ice cream van. I was glad I had kept my beach dress on, although I was still stared at. As I made my way across the hot sand, with the grains between my toes I could feel the male interest. Boys gawped as I passed them, nudging each other in the ribs. One even wolf-whistled which made me smile. I didn’t make eye contact. If Nixon saw me talking to a group of strange lads, he wouldn’t appreciate it and everything was going so well with us. Why rock the boat?
I found a van and ordered a cone. Sitting on the side wall which led up towards the toilets, I cast my eyes around the beach. Looking for Amy, but didn’t spot her. To be honest, there were so many groups of people, that it would be hard to determine who was who .
After finishing the last of my cone, I nipped to the loo, washed my hands, and made my way back over to the boys with a light jog.
They were laughing, or at least Styles and Nixon were. Jax wore the strangest of expressions. I was intrigued.
“What did I miss?” I said, slightly out of breath.
“We were just discussing Jax’s depraved thoughts he’s been having about his new sister,” Nixon said with a taunting expression. I turned to Jax who shook his head with exasperation before rolling his eyes. He was obviously bearing the brunt of a wind-up.
“Whatever, dipshit. So, what if she’s fit? I wouldn’t touch that with somebody else’s dick,” Jax returned dryly, necking his beer. As he pushed the empty bottle into the sand he shot Styles a sideways look, “And you can stop fucking smiling. You’ve been trying to tap that since Martin’s party.”
“Hey, you can’t blame a man for trying. I haven’t gotten laid in six weeks. That’s what happens. No one’s off limits. I’d do her mother if given the chance,” Styles shrugged, totally unashamed by the amount of detail he was sharing.
“You dirty bastard. That’s my dad’s wife you're talking about,” Jax bit back with a horrified face.
“What?” Styles said with what I would describe as a stupid smile.
Jax huffed, “I’m surprised your dick hasn’t rotted off after being with Rachel Benton-Barker’s mother.”
“OK guys, tone it down. Lady present,” Nixon said with a definite edge to his tone—it was subtle but it was still a warning.
I appreciated his concern but ignored him; the story having become too interesting, “You had sex with someone’s mother?” I said, open-mouthed.
Styles leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, “Best I’ve ever had. Can’t beat sex with a MILF. They know exactly what they’re doing.”
“I imagine she’s been around the block a few times,” Jax pointed out .
Nixon also jumped on board, “That has STD written all over it, my friend.”
“And you wonder why it burns when you take a piss. That’s the risk when you go bareback with a MILF,” Jax laughed.
I chuckled. I’d heard Amy use the word MILF before and knew what it meant, “How old was she?” I questioned. This was a whole new subject for me and I was captivated.
“I don’t know, forty-something,” Styles replied, his eyes creasing in what was left of the sunshine. He then added in a small voice, “And it doesn’t burn when I piss.” Setting the record straight.
“ Forty -something. Dude, that’s gross,” Jax responded and I had to agree with him. Styles only looked to be in his twenties. That was some age gap.
I shook my head to clear it, recalling something about a sister being in there, “What did Nixon mean about you wanting to sleep with your sister?” I questioned Jax as I lowered myself in between my husband’s thighs again and leaned back against his chest.
I felt Nixon’s body shake as he snickered behind me.
“She’s not my real sister. She’s my stepsister and a fucking pain in my arse,” Jax informed me, dashing a hand across the stubble on his jaw. “My dad recently remarried, again.”
“Again? How many times has he been married,” I asked, resting my hand on Nixon’s thigh.
“Let’s see. This is wife number four,” Jax said, scratching his brow thoughtfully.
That was a lot of marriages, “Wow. And she has kids of her own?”
“Just the one.”
“Well, that’s not so bad,” I pouted.
Jax’s eyes widened as he looked at me, “Believe me, one is enough,” he said on an exhale .
Feeling a bit sorry for this strange girl whom I’d never even met I said, “Surely she’s not that bad?”
Jax released a groan of despair, “She just does my head in. She hogs the bathroom for hours on end, leaves all her girly shit everywhere and just gets under my feet in general.”
“Sounds like a typical female to me. What’s she like as a person?”
“Don’t get me started. Spoiled, uptight, and has nothing to say for herself. She always has her head in a book, like real life just takes too much effort. She’s also useless and has obviously spent her life with everyone waiting on her hand and foot. She almost set the house on fire with the microwave for fucks sake. She can’t even cook,” Jax grunted.
I puffed out a breath at how chauvinistic he sounded, bearing in mind my culinary skills, “So?” I said with a frown.
“She’s also stuck up and her boyfriend’s a complete cock,” Jax said in a gruff voice. He then emitted a huge sigh like he had exercised some type of demon.
“Sounds like little sister has gotten well under your skin,” Nixon put in with a chuckle.
“How old is she?” I had to ask.
“Seventeen, I think. She’s just finishing her A-levels. We don’t get to eat in the dining room as the table is full of her books and shit. We have to eat in the fucking kitchen,” Jax supplied moodily.
“Jax is a soldier and as you know, if there is one thing a soldier needs it’s routine. Messing with that is dangerous,” Nixon supplied.
“I just can’t be dealing with shit out of order. Mess. Stresses me the fuck out. Her boyfriend uses all my shit too and I swear to God, I saw him wearing my jeans the other day.”
Oh dear. Jax did not like his new stepsister, one iota, it appeared. Before I could say anything else, he continued with his rant, “She’s only a few years younger than me but acts all superior. Proper prissy. When she’s reading, she looks at me over the top of her glasses all judgemental-like. Makes me want to smash stuff. She needs someone to introduce her to what fun looks like.”
“Well, maybe you could be the one to do that. If her parents broke up, she’s probably feeling crappy about it too?” I suggested, feeling sorry for someone who sounded like a normal teenager whose parents had split up.
The boys all exchanged glances which reeked of totally not agreeing with what I was saying.
“I say mess with her, fuck her up. Either that or leave her to me. I could charm some of that ice,” Styles boomed, pulling a face.
“You’re to leave her fucking ice alone. As I said, she’s off-limits. She’d probably freeze your dick off anyway,” Jax warned his friend, with a sideways look. He then helped himself to another beer.
I wondered fleetingly about the name Styles. First name or second name, I had no idea.
As the boys recommenced the chatter, I ran my eyes over them from beneath my lashes. Both Jax and Styles could certainly give most of the half-naked guys on the beach a run for their money. They too were wearing board shorts and were bare-chested, and I noticed Jax had a nipple pierced and there was a silver bar through it. It was hard to determine as they were sitting down, but Jax appeared to be the taller of the two, and he was fit, well-muscled with defined arms and washboard abs, the whole ticket.
Looks wise, Styles wasn’t that remarkable but he had a good body. His chest was dusted with dark hair whereas Jax looked like he possibly shaved his chest. He had black hair and striking eyes, steely grey, I would say. They stood out against the dark tones of his skin. His nose was slightly crooked which suggested it may have been broken and he had wide lips and perfect white teeth. They flashed when he spoke. He had one of those smiles that could have been placed on a dental poster .
I shuffled in further between my husband's legs. He still had his knees up and was resting his bottle of beer on one. As I got myself comfortable my bottom pushed against his groin and my back was to his chest.
Once I was sorted Nixon wrapped one arm around my waist and rested his hand on my leg. Our closeness relaxed me.
“Fuck me, Jax. What the fuck are you doing here!” Mason suddenly boomed from behind us as he approached. I turned toward the sound. A section of his jaw was bright red. Boyd was behind him, with an annoyed look on his face. Had they been fighting?
“What happened to you?” Nixon said, shifting against me as Mason joined us. He dropped onto the sand and shot me a look, “Your sister fucking happened,” Mason snorted in my direction. He didn’t appear pleased but of course, he wouldn’t be if he’d had a run-in with Amy. At least she would have been there with Alex and her friends and so had backup. Amy never liked to tackle more than one McKenna single-handedly. She said it was a safety-in-numbers type of situation.
Boyd grabbed himself a beer and sat across from us next to Styles. I watched as they all fist-bumped.
I forced myself to ignore those alarm bells, “What did she do this time?” I questioned, running my hand up and down Nixon’s bare leg. I managed to stop myself from grinning like a lunatic. Amy and Mason’s battles could be quite amusing. I remember the time she’d let Mason’s tyres down on his car and he’d gone ape shit. Amy’s words, not mine.
The lines on his face hardened, “She’s a pain in my arse is what she is. She’s lucky her boyfriend is a pretty boy and not worth my time. Look, forget it, it doesn’t matter. Fuck me, I need a beer,” Mason groaned as he skilfully sidestepped my question. My gaze roamed over his jaw, surely my sister hadn’t made a mark like that ?
“How many of those have you had? Don’t forget you’re driving dipshit,” Nixon drawled. He had managed to make his two beers last most of the afternoon. The rest of the time he’d been drinking Diet Coke. I too was drinking soft drinks as I couldn’t drink in the sun, it gave me a headache. Plus, Nixon said he wanted me to have all my faculties for what he had planned when we got back to my place. Nixon would stay the night in my bed for a change that night. And I was really looking forward to it. My bed was just so much more comfortable than his. A trickle of excitement coursed through me at what we would do when we got home.
“Boyd is driving actually old man,” Mason bit back moodily. Oh dear, Amy really did get under his skin. I noticed how the tanned column of his throat moved when he drank.
“So, Jax. What’s your story? Chris said you were still on tour, so I take it you’re hiding? He’s here you know,” Mason grilled.
Jax clenched his jaw, “Yep, I know. I’m laying low, crashing with Styles for a while. My old man and his latest fling just got married,” he said, with a frustrated look on his face. He said the word ‘latest fling’ like he considered her to be some type of contagious disease.
“Ah, I see. I take it you haven’t filled your brother in then? He still thinks you’re in Helmand.”
Jax nodded his head at Mason’s statement, “Yup. Usually, he runs his mouth off about my every move, so I decided to keep him in the dark this time. He sees our new stepmom as a genuine mother-type, stupid fuck. We’re kinda not on the same page at the minute.”
“So, you’ve been fighting?” Boyd questioned.
“In a fashion,” Jax admitted. There was a guarded look on his face. Like he was careful of sharing too much with the boys.
For those of us who had already heard the story, a look was exchanged .
“So, he married again ?” Mason prompted, directing the story away from Jax’s brother Chris.
“He did,” Jax returned, giving Mason an ‘ obviously’ look. I studied his body language; he was more upset that he was letting on.
Boyd snorted, “So, who did he fall for this time?”
Jax rolled those beautiful eyes of his, “He didn’t fall for her. His dick did. Usual thing. Oh, don’t get me wrong, she’s pretty and sweet on the outside but she’s just like all the rest. It’s all about the money. You know the type, spoiled to fuck. Money grabbing hoes.”
“So, you think she’s just after his money then?” I questioned with a frown, leaning back a little further against my husband.
Jax shrugged his huge shoulders, “Yep, her last husband was loaded and she lost everything when he kicked her out. Saw my dad as an easy target I imagine.”
“He kicked her out when he caught her shagging your dad basically,” Styles interjected, filling in the blanks and giving me a wink. He was one of the cheeky ones.
“So, the story goes,” Jax added.
“So, the daughter is like the mother?” Nixon suggested, placing his hands lovingly over mine as they sat on his thighs, his drink discarded. My skin looked so pale against his.
“Yeah, but not in looks really. Win must get her looks from her dad,” Jax said, partly to himself. Win? What type of name was that?
“I think someone has a little crush. He blatantly wants to tap that,” Nixon whispered in my ear. I chuckled. I was gradually getting used to being one of the boys and understanding their boy code.
“Fuck you say?” Jax hissed with a stormy look. Picking up that we’d been whispering about him .
“Keep your knickers on princess. I’m just keeping Jenna in the loop with our suspicions.”
“And what are those?” Jax blew, his head jerked to one side as he cast a glance around our group.
Styles placed an arm around his friend's shoulders and gave him an overly affectionate squeeze, “The bit where you’ve got a hard-on for your sister.”
“For the last time, she’s not my fucking sister!”
Everyone laughed.
“So, is she fit?” Boyd chimed.
“She’s alright. If you like that type of thing,” Jax sniffed, shrugging off his buddy’s arm and rolling his eyes.
“It doesn’t matter to Boyd, he’ll go for anything with a pulse these days,” Nixon needled with a bark of laughter.
“Bite me, old man,” his brother slammed back.
The banter was fun and playful, I even joined in sometimes and didn’t feel like an outsider. The boys had accepted me as one of them now. We were family.
“Anyway, she has a boyfriend and they’re in love supposedly. Not the touchy-feely type though. I’ve never even seen them hold hands. They probably just do crosswords and shit. She’s probably as frosty as fuck in the sack.”
I smiled, “What’s her name, Elsa?” I suggested with a grin but none of the boys got it and all looked at me blankly, “Elsa, from Frozen, that Disney Movie.”
Nixon wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back for a hug, placing his chin on my shoulder, “Nice try gorgeous but the guys aren’t really big on Disney,” he pointed out. I knew he was pleased I’d had a go. Oh well, boy banter was odd anyway.
“Actually, I’ve seen that movie several times,” Boyd confessed without shame. Mason nudged him in the ribs for having watched something so thoroughly girly and admitting it .
“What? I was banging Stacy Lewis at the time; she liked having it on in the background. What can I say, ‘let it go’ has more than one meaning you know.”
“Her name is Winter,” Jax supplied when the titters from Boyd’s revelation had died down.
“But spelt funny,” Jax declared, adding to that huge bombshell he’d just unknowingly dropped.
OMG Winter, as in Wynter? There surely couldn’t be two girls with that name in the area, especially when I knew her mother Daisy, had remarried again recently. My mother had told us that before she went away.
So, Nixon’s friend from the army, was now my cousin’s stepbrother? What were the odds?
Past conversations with Wynter and Amy rolled around my head. Interesting.