Chapter Twenty-Two #2
Axel inhaled deeply, loving Jenna’s succulent scent as it mixed with the sweet smell of hay and the fragrance of old wood.
He listened to the sounds of the barn settling, the occasional rustle of something wiggling around in the hay nearby, probably a mouse or a racoon or something else, the soft nickering of the horses below.
It all wrapped around him like a warm cocoon.
With Jenna warm against him and his hand resting over her belly, he felt something he hadn’t felt in years. He had hope.
Slowly he drifted off to sleep.
* * * * *
Nick watched Axel and Jenna as they slept. The sight hit him low in the gut. It was peaceful, intimate, a world he wasn’t part of and probably never would be. It was quite obvious at what had happened up here last night and he’d known it was coming.
He had harbored secret feelings for Jenna.
When he had come here, he had hoped he would have a shot with her. But his hopes were now gone.
She belonged to Axel and he had reclaimed her.
Nick should be devastated, so why wasn't he? The absence of heartbreak startled him. It was like expecting a serious wound and finding only a bruise.
He was glad for Axel, but sad for himself because he had lost both Axel and Jenna.
Damn, but they looked so good together.
He would have liked to have been a part of their reunion. Heat crept up his neck. That thought was wild and reckless, but it pulsed through him all the same.
“Mind if I join you?”
His heart lurched as the question slipped out of him like a secret escaping before he could cage it. His thought was supposed to be just a thought, but he had said it out loud and Axel's eyes suddenly opened.
He froze. His pulse hammered as he waited to see if Axel had heard the truth he hadn’t meant to speak.
He watched as Axel stretched and yawned.
“Hey, when did you get back?” he said softly.
It appeared Axel had not heard his question. A strange blend of relief and regret washed through him. He was safe from exposure, but he was denied the possibility he had dared to imagine.
He forced his voice to stay steady, clinging to the routine like a lifeline.
“Awhile ago. The horses are all out. Chicken coop has been taken care of so you’re off the hook on that chore. Fresh eggs for breakfast. Come on. Let's eat. Let Jenna sleep.” The words came out soft and protective, even though she wasn’t his to protect.
The flush on Axel’s cheeks tugged a smile from him. It was a reminder of the man beneath the hardness prison had carved. Any other time Nick would tease the man, but right now he needed to get himself distracted as he had one hell of a hard on.
* * * * *
Jenna was on fire. Nick’s question of May I join you, had lit her fuse. It had taken everything in her not to open her eyes and say yes, Nick, join us. The words replayed in her mind like a spark catching dry tinder. Reckless, impossible, and yet so achingly tempting.
Have mercy! Why did the idea of a ménage turn her on so much? The thought unsettled her. Not because it felt wrong, but because it felt too right, too natural.
Surely it had more to do than with pregnancy hormones and widow fire.
She was so grateful that Nick had suggested to let her sleep or she might have done something she might regret, like sleeping with Axel and Nick.
But did she regret sleeping with Axel?
Her heart answered before her mind could. No regrets. There was only the deep, bone-level relief of having him close again.
She had told him about her baby, and the memory of his reaction softened her. He hadn’t flinched, hadn’t pulled away, hadn’t said he didn’t want the baby. He’d just folded her into the warmth of his acceptance. He had said it was ours.
Could it be this easy to just get together and move on like nothing happened?
No, she still felt as if him going to prison was her fault, but he had been at fault too. His anger had caused a death. Had affected many lives.
She blew out a tense breath and realized the loft was quiet except for the distant hum of wind whispering through the areas between the slats of wood. It appeared to be cloudy today as no sunshine shone through the window.
She realized she was underneath a sleeping bag. The weight of it felt like a quiet promise. Axel had covered her, protected her, protect her baby, even while she slept.
The scent of sweat and sex clung to her skin. She could still feel the phantom press of Axel’s hands on her hips, the way his rough palms had gripped her as he pistoned into her with that hungry rhythm.
The memory triggered a naughty ache between her thighs.
She exhaled and rolled onto her side, pressing her face into the pillow where his scent lingered. The smell of leather, sweat, and man.
Her man.
His scent wrapped around her like a memory she didn’t want to let go. It was warm, familiar, grounding.
Yes, it had been too long since he’d made love to her. It wasn’t just passion. It was years of longing, of grief, and unfinished love crashing together in a single night. Way too long since having his heavy weight pinning her down with possession.
Prison had stolen so many years from them, but last night, it had been like no time had passed at all. As if he’d never left. How could that be?
Oh, how she’d loved the incredible way he’d pistoned into her, hard and deep, claiming her, while her nails had dug into his strong shoulders. He’d swallowed her cries as she’d climaxed.
He’d told her he loved her and said he would have gone and turned himself in no matter what she’d said. But she still felt guilty.
A moan escaped her as she shifted and felt the soreness between her thighs. It was a delicious reminder of last night. Her body ached in a way that felt like remembrance. It was a reminder of everything they’d reclaimed and everything still unresolved.
Her fingers trailed down her stomach, tracing the faint marks his stubble had left on her skin, yesterday morning. She could still hear the way he’d groaned when he came inside of her. The incredible way his cock had twitched and pulsed as he’d orgasmed.
Oh boy, she wanted him again.
Why had she fallen asleep? She did many times after sex. It was a curse.
And now the bed was cold and the space beside her was empty. The cold space beside her made her chest tighten. She’d spent so many years waking up alone, and she wasn’t ready to feel that again.
He’d gone off with Nick to have breakfast leaving her alone with the echoes of their night together and the ache of needing him again coiling with a delightful tightness in her belly.
Her thoughts drifted to Nick. His voice, his eyes, the way he looked at her. It all tangled inside her. It was a knot of longing and uncertainty she couldn’t quite unravel.
The memory of his voice asking if he could join them. His voice had been rough with arousal.
She’d been half-asleep, not wanting to disturb Axel because she’d thought he was asleep. Apparently, he hadn’t been sleeping because at Nick’s voice Axel had stretched and appeared to act quite normally. Acting like it was no big deal that Nick had found him in bed with her.
Her thoughts drifted back to their lovemaking last night.
Her vagina clenched as she remembered the feel of his cock stretching into her, thick and heavy, filling her quickly and perfectly.
Both of them coming together in unison and then the memory of her voice trembling in the dark as she’d told him she was pregnant with another man’s baby.
Part of her had expected him to pull away from her and to leave.
But a bigger part of her knew he wouldn’t.
The baby is ours, he’d said.
Jenna smiled and cradled her baby belly.
“You have a daddy,” she whispered to her baby. And just like that, a heavy weight lifted and it was replaced by something warm and happy deep inside of her. She imagined Tim’s baby growing inside of her. It was Axel’s baby now too.
The baby is ours.
Suddenly she felt cherished by Axel. Like she wasn’t just a woman who was carrying another man’s baby. She was giving Axel a future. Their future.
And then there was Nick.
Her breath hitched thinking about him.
He looked at her as if he loved her. The possibility made her breath hitch. Love was a dangerous word, especially now, especially between the three of them.
But how could he love her? He didn’t know her. She didn’t know him, but he could have gotten to know her through Axel. It would explain why she caught him looking at her all the time. Like he wanted her.
It wasn’t her imagination, was it? Maybe it was her pregnancy hormones? Widow’s fire?
She wondered if Nick was jealous. Or angry? The memory of his anger in the barn flickered through her. It hadn’t been rage, but something rawer, more vulnerable.
He’d seemed angry after catching the two of them yesterday morning while Axel had been doing oral on her. The two men had been quiet for a little while yesterday while working on the roof, but then everything had seemed okay again.
Would Nick be receptive to the idea of sharing Axel with her in bed?
The thought sent a beautiful shiver through her.
Not shame, but a startling sense of possibility she’d never dared explore.
Just thinking about both men making love to her had her nipples tightening into beads of aching flesh.
The idea of Nick’s hands on her, his mouth kissing her, his cock thrusting into her, made her moan.
A gust of damp wind howled through the cracks in the walls, and Jenna shivered, pulling the sleeping bag tighter over her shoulders. There was a naughty insistent heat between her legs just thinking of Nick.
She wondered how it would be between the two of them. Nick and herself. There was no way she could have sex with him. At least not without Axel’s permission and him being there too.
That she was even entertaining such an idea should make her feel horrified or feel like she was betraying Axel. But with everything she’d gone through over the years with Axel and then with Tim, it kind of made her think differently than when she was younger.
She’d always been a free spirit in the sexual sense.
She wasn’t ashamed. Desire had always been part of her.
A wild, honest part she’d learned to hide but never extinguish.
Although she’d never said anything to Axel, she did have naughty fantasies when they’d been together.
Their relationship had been solid in the past, and she knew nothing would hurt it.
Not even if there was a third in the picture. A third like Nick.
But now, after years apart, her fantasy was still alive and well. Both she and Axel had had sex with other partners while they’d been apart. Yet here they were. Together again as if nothing had happened.
Yeah, she wondered how it would be like with Nick.
Her hand slid low between her thighs, her fingers parting her folds. She was already slick with arousal just imagining being with him and having Axel watching.
Would Nick’s touch be rough and demanding?
His calloused fingers would leisurely circle her clit before plunging inside of her.
Would he flip her onto her stomach and take her from behind?
Would he say I love you, like Axel did? Would he whisper in her ear about her having another man’s baby made her more attractive to him.
A soft moan escaped her lips as she touched her ultra sensitive clit again, rubbing herself there. Her hips lifted off the bed as she tried for a firmer pressure.