Chapter Fourteen
Ash
My fingers card through Jax’s light brown hair, scratching lightly at his scalp to untangle the knots he made when he aggressively towel-dried it a few minutes ago.
Jax’s head rests over my heart. His hair is still damp from our shower, the wet strands cooling the skin of my chest, but I really don’t care.
He melts into the touch, letting out a soft sigh.
I press my nose into the crown of his head and take a deep breath.
He smells amazing. Like my body wash and his own natural scent, a warm, sweet boyish musk that I’m getting seriously addicted to.
“I was looking at some of those program sites today,” Jax mumbles, his breath.
“Yeah?” I keep my hand moving through his hair, massaging the back of his neck. “Find anything good?”
He shifts, throwing one leg over my thighs to get closer. “Maybe. I was looking into the forestry stuff. Park ranger types of jobs. Being outside makes sense to me, you know? It’s what I liked doing before everything went to shit with my family.”
“Environmental science,” I tell him, nodding. “That’s a great route. A couple of those community colleges we toured have solid two-year transfer programs for that. You could get your core classes out of the way and transfer to UW or somewhere similar for your bachelor’s.”
Jax hums, his thumb tracing idle circles on my stomach. “Sounds like a lot of school.”
“You’re smart,” I say. “You’ll handle it fine. Plus, you need to get outside more anyway. You’ve been cooped up in the city since you got here.”
I catch his chin and tilt his head up so he has to look at me.
“There are a ton of good trails I want to take you on. Washington is basically a giant playground for outdoorsy guys like you. We should go rock climbing, too. There are some huge indoor gyms in the city where we can practice, and once you get a feel for it, we can take you out to the actual crags near North Bend.”
His eyes light up a little at the prospect. “You rock climb?”
“Occasionally,” I smile. “Ryker’s the one who really goes hard at it when he’s stressed. Aiden’s too bulky to be good at the technical routes, but he loves showing off on the bouldering walls.”
Jax laughs, resting his chin on my chest. “I’d love that. I miss the mountains.”
“Then it’s a date. Honestly, Jax, you need to cut back your hours at that retail job anyway. Stop picking up extra shifts. Let us take you out. Have some fun.”
He starts chewing on his bottom lip. “I just don’t want to be a freeloader. I want to pull my weight.”
“You are pulling your weight,” I say, sliding my hand down his bare back to squeeze his waist. “You keep all three of us very happy. Besides, we have money. Ryker has a ridiculous amount of it. You’re twenty-two.
You spent your whole life having strict rules and expectations shoved down your throat.
Now you get to have some freedom. Let us spoil you. Enjoy being young for a while.”
Jax sighs, letting his head drop back down onto my chest. “I guess. It’s getting kind of hard to focus at work lately anyway.”
“Let me guess,” I smirk, trailing my hand down his spine to cup his ass. “Retail isn’t your true passion?”
“No, it’s the plug,” he groans, burying his hot face in my neck.
I burst out laughing. “Ryker’s little rule causing trouble?”
“It’s not funny,” Jax whines, squirming his hips against me.
“It’s awful. I’m walking around the store with a load of cum locked inside my ass everyday, and every time I bend over to stock a bottom shelf, the plug makes me horny as hell.
I have a raging boner in the stockroom for six straight hours.
I keep having to hide behind the clothing racks so the customers don’t see my hard cock. ”
“Poor baby,” I tease, though I’m fully hard just listening to him describe it. I stroke his ass cheeks through his underwear, feeling the slight tension in his muscles. “You do look incredibly hot when you waddle in through the front door looking desperate and leaky, though.”
Jax huffs, slapping my chest lightly. “I’m going to lose my mind if I have to keep wearing it.”
I wince sympathetically, running a hand up his back to soothe him. “Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, sweetheart, but you might want to brace yourself.”
He lifts his head, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What do you mean?”
“Ryker likes knowing you’re marked,” I explain gently. “If he’s making you wear it to a part-time retail shift, he’s definitely going to make you wear it when you start sitting in college lecture halls surrounded by a bunch of frat guys and athletes.”
Jax stares at me, horrified. “You’re joking. To class?”
“Oh, absolutely,” I nod, entirely serious. “He’s going to fill you up full to the brim before you leave the apartment, shove that plug in tight, and send you off to your lectures with a sore hole and strict instructions to keep your legs crossed.”
Jax’s lower lip pushes out into a full, miserable pout. His brow scrunches, and he drops his forehead against my shoulder with a dramatic groan. “I’m going to fail all my classes. I won’t be able to hear a word the professor says.”
“You’ll manage,” I laugh, hooking a finger under his chin and tilting his face back up. He’s still pouting, his lips pushed together in the most kissable expression I’ve ever seen. “God, you’re so cute when you sulk.”
I lean down and capture his mouth, kissing the pout right off his lips.
He makes a soft, needy sound in the back of his throat and opens up for me immediately, his tongue meeting mine.
I slide my tongue deep into his mouth, tasting him thoroughly while my hand grips his hip, holding him flush against me.
He’s already hard again, his cock pressing stiff against my thigh, proving his point about how permanently wound up he is these days.
The kiss turns from lazy and affectionate into something a hell of a lot dirtier.
Jax parts his lips wider, letting me slide my tongue in to trace the roof of his mouth.
He kisses like a guy who’s finally figured out what he likes, eager and starving for it.
I angle my head to get a deeper slide, my hand traveling down the smooth line of his spine.
I press my palm flat against his lower back, urging his hips against mine.
He whimpers into my mouth. Through the thin cotton of his boxers and mine, his cock is a stiff, aching ridge pressing against my erection.
The pressure feels incredible. Jax grinds down, tilting his pelvis to drag his hardness against my groin, and the heat between us spikes.
I slide my hand lower, slipping my fingers beneath the elastic band of his underwear to cup his bare ass.
I want to pull those boxers off him. I’m ready to wrap my hand around both our cocks and stroke us until he’s spilling all over my stomach.
I break the kiss just enough to catch a breath, dragging my lips down to nip at the sensitive skin of his neck. My other hand slides down between us, fingers brushing the base of his shaft.
“You boys look like you’re enjoying yourselves a bit too much by yourselves.”
Jax startles, a shocked gasp leaving him as he scrambles backward. He ends up sitting on his heels, his chest heaving, his face flushing a bright, blotchy crimson.
I don’t jump. I just let out a slow breath and turn my head toward the bedroom door.
Ryker lounges in the doorframe, his arms folded across his chest. He’s still in his office clothes, though he’s ditched the tie.
His black dress shirt is unbuttoned at the collar, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows to show off the dark, jagged artwork inked into his skin.
His sharp blue eyes track the guilty, panicked flush creeping up to Jax’s ears.
A wicked, knowing smirk pulls at the corner of Ryker’s mouth.
He looks like a wolf watching a very pretty sheep wander into his territory.
“Well, you know how it goes,” I grin, leaning back against the headboard and resting my hands on Jax’s hips to keep him grounded. “Why don’t you come join us?”
Ryker pushes off the frame and saunters into the room. His eyes never leave Jax as he reaches up and starts unfastening the remaining buttons of his shirt.
“I wasn’t really waiting for an invitation,” Ryker rasps.
Ryker shrugs out of his shirt and tosses the dark fabric to the floor.
I watch him as he climbs onto the mattress, his knees sinking into the duvet as he crawls toward us.
The playful mood in the room is replaced by a charged, crackling energy as Ryker reaches out, grabbing both of us by the backs of our necks.
His fingers curl into my hair, his grip firm as he hauls me forward.
His mouth crashes against mine in a rough, claiming kiss, tasting of mint and espresso, mixed with the smoky, spicy cologne that clings to his skin.
I open up for him eagerly, my hands landing on his bare, tattooed shoulders to steady myself.
He groans low against my lips before he pulls away and turns to Jax.
Ryker’s hand slides to Jax’s jaw, hauling him up to meet a kiss that’s just as fierce and possessive.
Jax whimpers, yielding immediately. His hands come up to grip Ryker’s wrists, his fingers wrapping around the cuffs of Ryker’s ink-stained skin.
Ryker bites at Jax’s lower lip, pushing his tongue deep, claiming him just like he claimed me.
I sit back on my heels, watching the flush spread across Jax’s chest and neck.
The kid is so responsive, so desperate to please, it makes my heart flutter while my cock throbs.
When Ryker finally pulls back, he shoves Jax flat onto his back against the mattress.
“Off,” Ryker orders.