15. Alex
I move about the kitchen, humming along as Sam Smith plays through my phone speaker. And maybe I shake my ass a time or two as I fill a pot with water and place it on the stove. It won't take long for the water to boil, so I leave the burner off and stir the sauce simmering next to it.
Yes, the sauce came in a jar, but I added meatballs and seasoning. I wanted to make something resembling a meal and the only thing I can make is spaghetti. And frozen pizza, but even that is iffy at times.
Jaxon has done so much for me that I want to do something nice for him, even if it’s something as simple as a spaghetti dinner with garlic bread. I made sure to go light on the garlic.
The idea of Jaxon and I dating has started to seep its way into my subconscious. I find myself craving the nights where we sit and cuddle on the couch, or lie in bed talking about anything and everything. When I let myself dream of a future, he's always there, always off in the corner of my mind. But now, the idea of him is slowly coming into focus.
Driving me around when Trixie was in the shop for a week, giving me my own desk in the office so I can work, a roof over my head, all of those things he did not have to do, but that is just the kind of person Jaxon is. We joke that he's the daddy of our little found family, but it has nothing to do with his age. It all has to do with his need to take care of people, to look out for them. Which is why I don't want to ask too much of him.
But then there is Chester. I really want to bring him home. Under the right care he could have a few good years left in him. I’ve made up my mind, and after the fundraiser next week I’m going to ask Jaxon if Chester can stay with us. I want to take him now but I need to get supplies, and I don't want to leave him home alone his first week at the house. He’s spent most of his life in a shelter and will need to get acclimated to a home.
Marge mentioned Chester has been eating better since I started coming by the last few mornings. He still needs to get his strength up, but it’s a promising start. My heart can't handle him sitting alone at the animal shelter anymore. It reminds me too much of my own fear of growing old and alone.
“It smells fucking amazing in here!” Jaxon’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts. I feel a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth before he even enters the kitchen.
“Hey.”
“Hi, I hope you didn't eat because I made spaghetti for dinner,” I say, looking up with a giant smile on my face at Jaxon leaning against the doorway. Taking advantage, I let my gaze roam over his body. He pushes off and strides over to where I’m standing.
I could probably stop stirring the sauce, but I no longer have control over my limbs. God, he's hot! All I can do is stare.
“I’m starved. Do I have time to take a shower?” he asks, entering my personal space. And the way he said starved… Fuck me!
I swallow thickly, “Yeah, I was just going to start the wat…” My words are cut off by his lips on mine. And this is not a quick peck kind of kiss. It's deep and open mouthed with rolling tongues and a whimper that I'm pretty sure came from me.
He pulls back. “Give me 15 minutes?”
I just nod, which earns me a chaste kiss and a chuckle.
When Jaxon leaves the kitchen, all the air goes with him and I suck in a deep breath.
This is real, this is real, this is real… This time when the words echo in my head, I’m left with a giant grin.
I start the garlic bread, placing the store bought loaf in the oven. After lunch and purchasing some books at Dragonfly, I stopped at the grocery store, picking up what I needed to make dinner and a strawberry parfait type thing for dessert. After all the flirting that happened this afternoon I thought a little strawberries and whipped cream might be fitting.
By the time Jaxon makes his way back downstairs I’m draining the pasta, steam billowing in front of me.
I let out a small shriek of surprise when his arms snake around my waist.
“What can I help with?” he asks, kissing my neck.
I sink into the feel of him wrapped around me. Jaxon is always giving me little kisses and touches like he puts no thought into it. I’ve never dated someone that wasn’t just a wham-bam, thank you sir. I didn’t realize how much I missed having someone's hands on me until it was Jaxon’s hands doing the touching.
“Can you take the bread out of the oven?” I say, my voice thick and heady. I have half a mind to skip dinner and ask him to fuck me. It's sweet that he's moving slowly, but it's like edging to the nth degree. I’m no virgin and my ass has needs.
I grab two giant spaghetti bowls and start loading them up with noodles before ladling the sauce over it and adding one giant meatball each.
The air in the kitchen is filled with so much sexual tension that I can feel every shift he makes as he moves around behind me, like his body is a beacon and mine is drawn to it. We almost collide on my way back to the table, a bowl in each of my hands.
I look down at the basket he's holding, then up at him, and back down at the basket.
“What is that?” I say, gesturing with my head.
“What? It's a bread basket.”
“How old are you? Nobody uses a bread basket anymore?”
Jaxon leans in, whispering in my ear, “I’m old enough to know how to take you apart piece by piece with just my tongue.”
All the air leaves my lungs on a whispered, “Fuuuck.”
Jaxon places the basket on the table, and I clear my throat, willing my dick to stay down as I place the spaghetti on the table next to it. Sooo, that joke backfired . Or, not backfired per se, but it didn't land as intended.
Jaxon opens the bottle of red wine that was sitting on the table and pours us each a glass.
“This looks and smells amazing,” he says, setting the wine bottle down and taking a seat.
“Thanks, it's the only thing I can cook, so don't get your hopes up.”
Jaxon tilts his head and a spark of delight flashes in his eyes. “Why do I see a lot of takeout in our future?”
“I think that might be a smart idea.”
We fall into a comfortable silence, the only noise coming from the slurping and sucking sounds of us inhaling our spaghetti. I can't quite tell if the sound is sexy or like nails on a chalkboard.
Eventually we slow down the shoveling of food and slide into easy conversation.
“Oh my God! I forgot to tell you!”
“What?” My eyes go wide. “Did something bad happen?”
“What? No, it's nothing like that, but you will never believe who came in to get a tattoo today?”
“Who?” I say, leaning forward, the suspense leaving me on the edge of my seat.
“Ms. Cook!”
I cock my head, “Wait… Like, old lady Ms. Cook?”
“Yep, one and the same.”
“Why? Just, like… why? And what could she have possibly gotten?”
“Do you remember that mermaid I was working on the other day? The one with blue, purple, and pink hair.”
“Yeah, I thought that was for some college kid.”
“Nope!” Jaxon says popping the p.
“Wow. Do I even wanna know where?” I ask.
“Nope, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. ”
“Wait, hold on,” I say, quickly swallowing my food and washing it down with a gulp of wine. “Okay, I’m ready.”
“She got it in honor of Ms. Brandy… On her lower back. Like where one might put a…”
My face scrunches up, “Tramp stamp?”
Jaxon raises his fork, pointing it at me. “Bingo!”
“Oh God, you poor, poor man.”
“Right. Plus, I’m pretty sure it was all just a ploy to get town gossip on me and you.”
A light bulb goes off, “Ooooo. Now my conversation with Marge makes total sense.”
“Who is Marge?”
“She runs the local animal shelter, and the other day Marge told me that Ms. Brandy told her that she was fairly certain I had moved in with you.”
“Ms. Cook said she was seeking confirmation,” Jaxon says, chuckling.
“At least they seem supportive, I guess.”
“Yeah and Ms. Cook had some really nice things to say about your grandmother.”
I always forget that they were friends. She used to come over in the mornings and have coffee and they would be doing the same thing she is doing now, spreading the town gossip. I smile at the memory. My grandmother used to say it was her live version of the daytime soap, Days of Our Lives.
“Yeah, they were good fr…” My words are cut off when something catches the corner of my eye.
“Fire! Oh my God, fire!” I shout, pointing to the smoke and flames shooting out of the oven. My eyes dart to the empty bread basket sitting on the table.
Jaxon's eyes go wide as he turns and looks before hopping out of the chair and into action, grabbing the fire extinguisher from under the sink. The smoke detectors go off. The high pitched screech pierces through the air, making me wince.
I move to get up but he soccer moms me and throws his arm out, “Stay back, baby! ”
Frozen in place, I stand back and admire the sexy man as he quickly opens the oven door and sprays the extinguisher as white foam coats the inside, trying to snuff out the fire. I simply stare at the way his forearms flex as he squeezes the handle.
We are both breathing heavily from all the adrenaline when the last flame finally peters out.
“I really don't think I should be allowed to cook anymore,” I deadpan.
Jaxon slowly turns his head, looks at me then busts out laughing, which of course makes me lose my composure, laughing until my stomach hurts and I’m in desperate need of oxygen.
I have tears in my eyes as I survey the damage. “I’m so sorry,” I say, looking around.
Thankfully the damage is not too bad and mostly confined to the oven itself.
“Technically, I’m the one who forgot to take the bread out. It seems that someone was distracting me, but just to be safe, I don't think either of us should cook anymore.”
I hum in agreement.
“What should we do with…” I gesture my hand in the direction of the, stick a fork in it because it's done, oven.
“I’ll wipe it out and make sure it's unplugged just in case, but other than that, just shut the door and leave it, I’ll talk with Beckett to see if I should get a new one.”
Jaxon starts to clean and I grab our bowls, rinsing them off and putting them in the dishwasher. I can't believe that just happened. Seeing him jump into action like that was totally hot, and my half chub is asking to explore a firefighter kink I didn’t know I had.
I pause a moment, plate midair, looking back and forth between the dishwasher and the oven then looking at Jaxon.
He chuckles, “It's fine, they’re on different circuits and I don’t think the electrical components were damaged.”
I nod my head, “Whatever you say, daddy .”
Before I register what is happening, Jaxon has me pressed up against the sink, my back to his front .
“Mmmm.” He breathes me in. “I like the way that sounds coming out of your sweet mouth, baby boy.”
“Sweet, mother of daddy,” I whimper.
He chuckles, pulling away and slapping my ass. “Come on, we have a talk to be had.”
Jaxon sits on the couch and I sit on the opposite end. He gives me an incredulous look.
“What? How was I supposed to know?”
“Get your sexy ass over here.”
“Fine,” I say, crawling across the couch and not stopping until I’m straddling his hips. “Better?”
“Much.”
“Now, last night,” he says, giving me a stern look, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
He pokes my side, “Pay attention.”
I wiggle my ass, trying to shake the giggles out, but that does nothing except press my cock up against his through my thin track pants.
He groans, grabbing my hips, stilling them. “You're going to have to quit moving or we will never get through this.”
“Sorry, I’m ready.”
“Why didn’t you come to my bed last night?”
“I didn't know if you wanted me to.”
“I thought we were on the same page, but it looks like we need to work on communicating. When I told you I was all in, baby, I meant all in. I want you in my bed every night, and still tucked in my arms every morning. Is that not what you want?”
“No! I want! I want!… It's just that… we live together, you know? I wasn't sure how that all worked. I know we agreed we are dating, but when you date someone you don't normally see them every night. What if you needed space?”
“First of all, I don't need space. And you are right. This is a tricky situation because we live together. But I need you to listen to me when I say this.”
I nod my head and I’m rewarded with a soft kiss .
“I don't follow society’s made up rules when it comes to my life. And I sure as shit don’t give a damn if society deems this too fast. I’m choosing to live my life how I want, and I want you in my bed every night.”
No one has ever given me a declaration like that before. Every word out of Jaxon’s mouth is more surprising than the last. My chest swells and my heart feels like it’s lodged in my throat as my brain frantically tries to unfry itself and relearn how to talk.
Jaxon sighs, scrubbing his hands down his face. “I have to know, Alex, are you in this… All the way in this? Do we want the same things?”
I push past the lump in my throat. “Yes! I want all those things. I’ve been a little bit of a mess when it comes to you, and I’m sorry. This crush that I’ve had on you for a while, well, it's kinda hard to turn off.”
“Good, because I don't want you to turn it off.”
“No, not like that. More like everything that happened in my head before was never real, those kisses were never real. And now it's become a reality.” I lean down, proving my point with a quick kiss. “It's hard to wrap my head around sometimes. But I promise you I’m all in. I’m right there with you.”
I go in for a deeper kiss this time. Jaxon’s hips lift up in search of mine and I can feel his hardened length. I rock back into him and he moans before wrenching his lips from mine.
“Wait, there is one more thing.”
“No more things,” I whine.
He chuckles, “Yes, one more thing.”
“Fine, but I’m not sure what’s left to talk about.”
“Where have you been going in the mornings? You were gone even before I got up today.”
Ooohhh, I guess there's that.
“Nobody knows this, not even Spencer, so can we please just keep things between us?”
“Yeah, of course, baby.”
“When my grandmother died, I was feeling kinda lonely, so I went down to the local animal shelter. I had always wanted a dog, but my parents were assholes,” I say in a heavy sigh, “and at the time I barely knew where I was going to sleep, let alone have enough space for a dog. But spending time with the animals at the shelter, it did something for me. They were lonely, I was lonely.”
“And that is where you have been going in the mornings?”
“Yes. Before the flood of 2024, I would try to visit two or three times a week. I donated some money to help make repairs and add a large outdoor area. It still needs a lot of work but I fell in love with the animals and Marge is great. I have my own key, and sometimes if she has something going on I will open up for her.”
Jaxon arches a brow, “Alex, do you own the shelter?”
“I wouldn’t say I own it.” Scrunching my nose at the word. “I like using the words silent investor better. Marge handles the day to day. It's still her shelter. I just help out when I can.”
“Why don't you want anyone to know? It's a really great thing you are doing to help those animals.”
“I don't know, I guess there are two things really.” I sigh, “One… I did not want the whole town knowing that Marge was in financial trouble with the shelter. She works so hard and shelters do not make a lot of money. I’ve tried to talk to her about holding a fundraiser, but I think her pride is getting in the way.”
I lower my chin, hoping Jaxon doesn't notice the wobble.
“Two… I hated how I was feeling… alone, scared, weak, unlovable. I do not want my burdens to be someone else's. Spencer and Jules had already done so much for me. In the beginning it was something I did because I sought comfort in the animals who were like me, with no one to love them.”
I quickly wipe at the tear that falls down my cheek.
Jaxon curves his finger under my chin, lifting, forcing me to meet his gaze. His thumb brushing away another fallen tear.
“After a while, well, I fell in love with the animals. I wanted to make sure someone loved them during their in-between. And for some, their in-between can be forever.”
“Baby,” he says in a hoarse whisper. “There is not a day that goes by where I am not amazed by you. I think what you do for those animals is beautiful.”
The fact that I amaze him makes my cheeks heat and my heart flutter .
“Thank you,” I whisper.
His kiss comes at me slow but strong, almost desperate when his tongue sweeps against mine. I could kiss this man all day with the ways our tongues dance in a sensual exploration of each other's mouths, full of emotion.
Praise the lord. About fucking time! If he stops us again, we're going to rumble.
Still straddling his lap, my hips move on their own accord and my hands splay through the soft hair at the back of his head. His mouth continues to devour mine like it holds his last breath… and I willingly give it to him. I feel his fingers slip between my t-shirt and curve along my waistband, skimming the sensitive skin. My breath hitches against his lips and I moan at the sensation.
“Let's move this to our bed, baby,” Jaxon says, giving me a pointed look.
“Yes, ours,” I say, as my heart strings tug at the no longer distant fantasy.
He squeezes his arms around me and I let out an embarrassingly loud squeak of surprise when his tattooed forearms lift me up off the couch. Remind me to lick them later, okay? I immediately wrap my legs around him like a spider monkey. Jules would be so proud. Jaxon palms my ass and we kiss some more as we make our way to the stairs.
I pull back, “uh-uh, no… you will not kill me on these steps.”
He gives me a sexy pout.
“Don't look at me like that! Either I walk up them myself or…. I hold on for dear life and you keep your eyes open and focused.”
“Oh baby boy, I am very focused.”
“Focus on the stairs first and my ass second!”
“Fine,” he grumbles.
We make it to the top of the stairs with minimal banging against the walls.
“Now you may continue,” I say, not waiting for a response and plundering his mouth with mine.
His strong hand cups my ass, squeezing as he walks us down the hall to his room, kicks the door open and tosses me on the bed. I lean back on my elbows, biting my lip as I take him in, standing tall and looking all kinds of demanding .
When he lifts his shirt over his head, revealing abs just waiting for me to run my tongue over, I let out a very undignified moan like a needy slut who hasn’t been laid in months. I don't even care.
You would think that with owning a tattoo shop his chest would be completely inked, but it's not. He has a few small pieces and some writing in another language running down the side of his ribs.
“You keep looking at me like that, baby, and this will be over real quick.”
“I can't help it,” I say, my cock so hard I have to squeeze it through the thin material to try and stave off the immediate need to lose it in my pants.
Jaxon turns around and slowly lowers his pants, revealing a black jock, accenting his ass made of steel.
Studio applause goes off in my head because it's a thing of beauty. I have half a mind to hold up a scorecard, 10’s across the board.
When Jaxon turns back around and sets his sights on me, his eyes are like a fucking inferno, and I don’t even notice when he grabs the hems of my pants and pulls them off with the skill of a bull fighter.
Jaxon’s eyes never leave mine as he sets one knee on the bed and crawls up my body, with his skin inches from mine but never touching. His wandering gaze sets me ablaze.
“Are you sure this is what you want, baby boy?”
“God, yes, I’m very sure. I need you to fuck me, like yesterday.”
He chuckles, “You're sounding a little needy, Alex.”
“I’m so needy that if you don't fucking touch me already I might die,” I say, squeezing my eyes shut.
“Well, I wouldn't want that.”
I’m waiting for the weight of him to blanket my body, but it never comes. Instead I feel the softest touch of lips on my stomach, causing a sharp intake of breath and my skin to pebble from head to toe. With each wet and sloppy kiss my back wants to arch off the bed like the golden fucking arches.
His mouth makes it to my brief-covered cock and he trails his tongue over the fabric before reaching for my waistband. The thwack of my cock hitting my stomach echoes around us. The sound is so sexy and oh so dirty .
“Look at your pretty cock standing tall for me.” My cheeks heat and I melt under the praise while I also mentally add praise kink under the word daddy in the yes column of sexual kinks.
“Yes, so pretty,” I whine, “But please put your mouth on me, swallow me whole, make me see stars, anything, everything.”
“Oh baby boy, I don't think I could resist a plea like that even if I wanted to. Daddy’s got you.”
Fuck me, fuck me, fuck, me! It takes every ounce of my being to not come right then and there.
Jaxon swallows me whole, and the grip he has on my hips to keep me from bucking right off the bed is borderline painful in the best possible way.
My hand falls to the back of his head as I let myself relax into the feeling, enjoying the sensation. I need this… With the world falling apart around me I just need this. I know I need to make some long term decisions about my living situation, but right now it's just two bodies connecting on an otherworldly level. Because that is what his mouth feels like when he moans deep around my cock. He brings me right up to the edge, over and over, never letting me fall.
“P..P..Please… You're going to make me come.”
Jaxon pulls his mouth off my dick with a pop.
“Turn over, baby. Ass up for daddy.”
With as much sex appeal as I can muster, I turn over on all fours, face down, ass up, that's the way we like to… ahem.
Jaxon reaches into the nightstand, pulling out a bottle of lube and an unopened box of condoms, tossing them on the bed.
I look at the box and my heart beats in my chest. Unopened, as in he bought them just for us. My eyes flicker to Jaxon and our gazes catch. I guess we should have had this talk well before he was about to dick me down.
“I have not had sex in over a year, and I got tested after my last boyfriend. I’m also on PrEP.”
Jaxon nods, “Umm, it's been 3 years and I’m also on PrEP.”
My eyes go wide and my brows shoot up, before I quickly school my features .
“I’m good with no condoms, if you are?”
“God, yes! I wanna feel you bare.”
I nod then resume my position. I’m finally about to get fucked, and all that prep I did before Jaxon got home is about to pay off.
I wiggle my ass and he gives it a sexy slap. Not the painful kind, more of a jiggle kind of slap. I groan at the sensation.
I don't know what it is about this man, but he turns me into a needy slut who just wants to work the pole. What the fuck, me? Pull it together!
I let out a squeak of surprise when his tongue licks a strip from my balls to my hole, swirling around the sensitive skin. With all cylinders firing I turn into a puddle when he grabs ahold of my cock, pulling it down and milking it.
“Oh… F…Fuck!”
The dull sting from his tongue pushing past the tight ring of muscle puts me right on the edge of wanting more.
“Please, I need more. I don’t need a lot of prep. I just… need you.”
The feel of his lubed finger is both heaven and hell. I hiss at the cold, and burn white hot with the sting as he works it past the tight muscles. His lips kiss up my spine to that little patch of skin behind my ear that drives me wild.
“You will always have me,” he whispers against my ear, and my heart holds on tight to the words, daring them to be true.