Chapter 8 Sloane
SLOANE
Imust doze off mid-morning after I don’t know what round it was, because I wake up to warmth.
Not just the warmth of the blankets or the fire still crackling in the main room, but the warmth of a large, solid body wrapped around mine.
Jax’s arm is draped possessively across my waist, his chest pressed against my back, and I can feel his steady breathing against my neck.
My entire body aches in the best possible way.
Holy shit. I slept with Jax.
No, that’s not quite right. Jax didn’t just sleep with me.
He absolutely demolished me. Multiple times.
In multiple ways. My thighs are sore, there are marks on my neck that I can feel without even looking, and I’m pretty sure I lost my voice somewhere around round three when he had me screaming his name.
I should feel guilty. Or confused. Or worried about what this means.
But instead, I feel ... satisfied. Alive.
Like I’ve been walking around half-asleep for years, and someone finally shook me awake.
Jax shifts behind me, his arm tightening, pulling me closer.
His dick presses against my ass, and heat floods through me even though we literally just finished a few hours ago.
“Mornin’,” he mumbles against my neck, his voice rough with sleep.
“Evening,” I whisper back, which makes him chuckle.
“Are you okay?” His hand splays across my stomach, warm and possessive. “Not too sore?”
My cheeks heat. “Define too sore.”
He chuckles, the sound vibrating through my back. “That good, huh?”
“Don’t get cocky.”
“Too late.” I can hear the grin in his voice. “You were very vocal about how good it was. Repeatedly.”
Oh God. I was, wasn’t I? I said things. A lot of things.
Things I’ve never said during sex before because Chett always made me feel like I was too loud, too demanding, too much.
But Jax ... Jax encouraged every moan, every gasp, every breathless plea for more.
He told me how much he loved hearing me.
How fucking sexy I was when I lost control.
“No regrets?” he asks softly, and I hear the vulnerability underneath.
I turn in his arms so I can face him. His hair is a mess, there are scratches on his chest from my nails, and he’s looking at me with those hazel eyes full of concern and residual heat.
“No regrets,” I confirm. “You?”
“Fuck no.” He leans in and kisses me, slow and deep. “That was incredible. You’re incredible.”
I smile against his mouth. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Not so bad?” He pulls back, mock offended. “I made you come four times.”
“Five,” I correct, and watch his eyes darken with male satisfaction.
“Five,” he repeats, clearly pleased with himself. “And I plan on making that number higher today.”
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely.” His hand slides down my side, over my hip. “But first, I should probably feed you. You need to keep your strength up.”
My stomach chooses that moment to growl, and we both laugh.
“Okay, food first,” I agree. “Then more ... fun.”
“Deal.”
Jax makes dinner, which is soup again, but this time he creates a cheeseboard to accompany it, while I steal his flannel shirt and pad around the cabin.
Everything feels different now. Lighter.
The storm is still raging outside, but inside, there’s a warmth that has nothing to do with the fire.
I grab my phone from where I’d abandoned it earlier and see messages from Riley.
RILEY: Tell me you haven’t messaged me this morning because that mountain man has you tied to the bed.
SLOANE: Actually….
RILEY: OMG. You didn’t?
SLOANE: I did. I’ve been occupied.
RILEY: I’m impressed. Please tell me it was good.
SLOANE: The best. Didn’t realize sex could be so…
RILEY: Good?
SLOANE: Better than good. Transformative.
RILEY: Holy shit. You’ve been dickmatized.
SLOANE: Dickmatized?
RILEY: When the dick is so good you lose your mind.
SLOANE: Could have also been the five orgasms he gave me today.
RILEY: In one day?
SLOANE: Is that not normal?
RILEY: No, babe, that is not normal. I think I’m going to have to slide into his brothers’ DM’s
That makes me laugh.
SLOANE: What’s normal then? Because he’s telling me he’s planning on giving me more tonight.
RILEY: Of course, you’re stuck in a blizzard with a sex god. Two or three is generally good.
SLOANE: Oh, he is most definitely above average. I was scared.
RILEY: Girl! That’s it, I’m DMing his brothers now. Whoever takes the bait is mine.
SLOANE: Stop. No.
RILEY: I’m proud of you, girl.
SLOANE: I’m proud of me, too. He’s so nice. Like I didn’t realize men could be like this.
RILEY: What, have a heart?
SLOANE: Yeah, something like that. I can’t believe how long I wasted with Chett. I’m embarrassed for myself.
RILEY: Babe. Don’t feel like that. You didn’t know. You were in love.
SLOANE: The thing is, I did know, but I was so scared to lose him because if I didn’t have Chett, then who was I?
RILEY: You’re fucking Sloane Winters, my best friend and the most awesome person in the world.
I love her.
SLOANE: I’m so glad I busted Chett cheating and didn’t marry his ass.
RILEY: Me too.
SLOANE: Guess the world is my oyster now.
RILEY: It is, babe. But don’t worry about having a plan, enjoy what the universe provided for you, the hottest rebound ever.
SLOANE: Does feel like divine intervention.
RILEY: Enjoy it while you can. The mess of everything else will still be here when you get home.
She’s right.
SLOANE: I love you.
RILEY: Love you too, Boo. Stay nasty, my girl.
“Everything okay?” Jax asks, sliding the bowl of soup onto the coffee table.
“All good. Riley was just checking in. Making sure you’re not a serial killer.”
“I thought I was an axe murderer. And what’s the verdict?” He chuckles.
“Jury’s still out, but you do make me scream bloody murder.” I joke.
This has him choking on his soup, which makes us both burst out laughing before we fall into a comfortable silence, eating our soup.
“Are you up for watching another Christmas movie?” I ask him.
“Hell yeah.” He grins.
“You really do like them? That wasn’t just a thing to, you know …” I ask him.
“Get in your pants?”
“Yeah.”
“No. It’s not a thing. I truly do like them,” he assures me.
“Are you close with your family?” I ask him, remembering him talking about his grandparents and his brothers, but not his parents.
“Yeah. It’s me and my brothers. We all work in a similar field, two are police officers, two of us are firefighters, and the other one is a helicopter pilot for Search and Rescue.”
“And they all live in town?” I ask.
He nods. “My entire family still does. My dad is the chief of police for the district, and my mom is the high school principal. My grandparents used to live just outside of town on their farm. It’s too much for my grandmother now, and she lives with my parents, terrorizing them.
I’ve inherited the farm. None of my brothers were interested except me. It means everything to me.”
“Oh wow. You farm?”
“Not anymore, it’s not a working farm, more of a hobby farm as I’m so busy with my job,” he explains.
“Who is looking after the farm while you’re stuck up here?”
“One of my brothers is. I texted the family chat and asked for some help.”
“That’s nice of them.”
“He’s going to call in that favor one day, he’s not doing it out of the goodness of his heart.” He chuckles. “What about you? You said you had a sister.”
“Yeah, Maggie, she’s older. The perfect child.
She has her shit together. The high-paying job as a lawyer.
The million degrees. The beautiful home.
My parents … are fine. Loving but distant.
They mean well, but they never really got me, you know?
They wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer, and I worked in marketing. ”
“Marketing seems like a pretty good job to me.”
I shrug. “Guess so, it’s not my love nor my passion. Stupidly, I let Chett talk me into the degree. I’m still working out what I want out of life now. It’s like someone has taken my rose-tinted glasses off and I’m looking around, wondering how the hell I got here.”
Jax’s jaw tightens. “He really did a number on you, didn’t he?”
“Nine years is a long time to let someone tell you who you should be. I think that’s the worst part. Not the cheating, but realizing how much of myself I lost trying to make him happy. How small I made myself.”
“Hey.” Jax turns to face me fully. “You’re not small. You’re fucking fierce. You drove yourself out here alone, in a snowstorm, to figure out who you are. That takes guts.”
“Or stupidity.”
“Bravery and stupidity often look the same.” He grins. “Trust me, I know.”
I smile despite myself. “Is that your professional opinion?”
“Absolutely.” He reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, the gesture so tender it makes my chest ache. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re incredible, Sloane Winters. And I feel lucky as hell that you’re stuck here with me.”
My heart does that stupid flipping thing again. “Jax ...” I start, not sure what I’m going to say.
But then his hand slides to the back of my neck, and he pulls me in for a kiss, and all thoughts flee. The kiss is deep, slow, and thorough, tasting like maple syrup and something darker. When he pulls back, we’re both breathing hard.
“So,” he says, his voice rough. “You ready for that movie?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll clean up, and you get it ready. I spied a bag of popcorn in the cupboard. I’ll put it on.” As he gathers up our plates and takes them to the kitchen, I feel bad that he is waiting on me hand and foot, but it also feels so good to finally have someone look after me for once.