Chapter Thirty-One
JAX
It wasn’t impossible not to overhear River and Elliot taking care of Lily, but her pleasure made me smile. The thought of having her again is riding me hard, but as much as I want that, it’s not what our visit is about. The guys, me included, needed to see her before we headed to the airport. Luckily, our flight is from Exeter, so less than twenty miles away.
I heard the shower shut off about an hour ago, so I’m sure after their little fuck fest, they’ve succumbed to sleep.
“How are you doing?” I ask Tommy as he tips his bottle of beer to his lips.
“Fine, it helps to have someone else to focus on, but… I worry that any of you guys would have been a better choice than me.”
I rest my elbows on my knees and lean forward, the fire now low burning embers, with an occasional pop or crack.
“You were the best choice, Tommy. It couldn’t have been River or Elliot. I feel like splitting them would have fucked with the dynamics, and well, me, I’m an insufferable bastard.”
He laughs at that and shakes his head. “No, I just mean, it comes so much more naturally to you guys when it comes to you, you know?” He flicks his eyes towards the ceiling.
“Tommy, you’ve been through a lot. Give yourself some grace where it’s due, healing doesn’t have a time limit. There’s so much more to take into consideration when dealing with trauma. No one trauma is the same.”
I watch him as he studies the bottle of beer in his hand. “It’s weird. Before, it was never an issue. Physical contact always came so naturally to me, and now... I just feel broken.”
It hurts me to hear him talk like this. It’s something I’ll always carry guilt over. I’d rather it were me taken over him. But I can’t change the past. I only hope that we can have a better future.
“Tommy, you’re not broken. You’re mourning what was taken from you. But you have the power to be whoever you want to be going forward. You just need to believe that you’re worthy because you are. You’re not inadequate because of what happened to you. You deserve love and affection.”
He swallows hard, his green eyes meeting mine. “Anyone would think you’d been listening to my counsellor.”
I shrug. “I’m just calling it as I see it.”
A long moment of silence stretches between us before he finally speaks.
“I’m terrified,” he admits. “Lily makes me feel things I never thought I’d feel again. She makes me want to be brave, to throw caution to the wind.”
Yeah, she seems to have that effect on all of us.
“There’s no rush, Tommy. When you’re ready to take the next step with her, you will.”
He nods, his eyes focused on the dying embers.
“I know that… but the thing is, I think I am ready. The fear of not having control is holding me back.” He sighs and places his empty bottle on the table. “I’m going to head up. The other ro om next to Lily’s is already made up if you want it. Something tells me River and Elliot are good.”
I snort at that. “Lucky bastards.”
I glance at my watch, still too wired to sleep. Instead, I move to my laptop and review the details again for tomorrow. I went through everything with Tommy, wanting him to be in the loop. Maybe he’ll see something I might have missed. Thankfully, like River and Elliot, he agreed with the plan.
After about an hour, I finally close my laptop and grab my bag, but not before checking the doors one more time. I know the alarms are set, but it’s just for my own peace of mind before I attempt to get some shut-eye for a few hours.
I’m just about to enter the room when I notice Lily’s door slightly ajar. Dropping my bag, I quietly push it open and then walk inside. Lily is in the middle of the bed, cocooned by Elliot and River. River has a small smile on his lips, each of them touching in one way or another. Lily’s hair haphazardly covers the pillow, her face relaxed, sated. Well fucked, it would seem, the thought has my dick hardening in my jeans, and I reach down to adjust myself, keeping my eyes locked on the soft rise and fall of Lily’s breaths.
“You know, you could just join us?” River whispers, his voice rough with sleep.
I glance over to find his eyes on me and shake my head. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll pass. There’s barely enough room for you two.”
Lily looks so much more fragile curled up between them both.
His soft chuckle brings my gaze back to his. “Oh, I don’t know, I’d happily sleep between her thighs if it meant being close to her,” he says.
I groan because, yeah, I could see myself between her splayed thighs, waking her up with my tongue teasing her clit, but she needs her sleep; they all do .
“I’ll bear that in mind for another time. Get some rest, man.”
He snuggles closer to Lily, breathing her in with a contented sigh as I back away and slip back into the hallway, leaving the door slightly ajar behind me.
Surprisingly, after falling into bed, I managed to find sleep pretty quickly. Maybe it was from such close proximity to Lily, but I’m not complaining. I hear murmurs from downstairs and know the rest of the guys are already awake; after all, we’ll be leaving in a few hours. I relieve myself, pull on a pair of joggers, and throw on a T-shirt. I’m about to head downstairs, but the pull to Lily’s room has me turning in that direction instead. She’s sprawled out in the centre of the bed, the sheets ruffled from where Elliot and River slept. It looks like, from the sheets hanging over the linen bin, the bedding has been changed, but it’s hard to ignore the faint smell of sex still lingering in the air.
Padding closer, I find myself completely enamoured by the sight before me. She seems somewhat more relaxed than the last time I saw her, maybe it’s having us all here that gives her a small respite from everything else that is happening.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I round the bed and join her, propping myself up on my elbow to stare down at her. My other hand moves to her collarbone before my fingers trail over her clavicle, her skin silky smooth.
I tease her with my fingertips until her eyes flutter open, and her face breaks out into a soft smile.
“Jackson,” she whispers, but her voice is still deep from sleep.
“Good morning, Duchess. You look thoroughly fucked,” I say, my eyes taking in a mark on her neck.
She swallows, her chest rising and falling as she watches me, licking her lips .
“Did they make you feel good?” I ask, trailing my finger down her chest to her breast, where the pad grazes over her erect nipple.
“Yes,” she replies with a soft sigh.
I lean closer until my mouth almost touches hers, but she quickly turns her face away. I grab her chin, tilting her face back to mine.
“Duchess?”
Her hand comes up to try and cover her mouth. “Morning breath,” she mumbles.
I chuckle and tug on her wrist with my free hand, lowering my mouth to hers once again. “Don’t deny me, Duchess. Let me kiss you.”
Her eyes soften at my words, and before she can try and pull away again, my lips press against hers, my tongue teasing her lips, seeking entry.
“Good girl,” I murmur, pulling back, her cheeks flushed.
Reaching down, I slowly pull back the cover and glance down, finding her t-shirt bunched up to her waist, exposing her pretty pussy. She closes her legs self-consciously. Yeah, I don’t think so. I glance at her with wicked intent, jump to my feet, and walk to the end of the bed.
“What are you doing?” she asks, her eyes wide.
I smile, kneeling on the bed as I reach out to spread her thighs.
“Keep them open, Duchess.”
Her breath quickens as I slowly crawl closer until I reach the apex of her thighs, her glistening folds calling to me on a carnal level. Lowering my face, I inhale and groan, my dick straining against my joggers. Her scent is intoxicating and even better than I remembered.
“Fuck, you’re beautifully sinful, Duchess,” I say before blowing over her exposed flesh, causing her to shiver, goosebumps rising over her exposed skin.
“Oh, Jackson,” she mewls in a wanton way that has pre-cum leaking from my dick.
I glance up, the evidence of her assault still visible, and swallow down the shame I feel, knowing it happened right after I left her, only adding to my guilt. If only I had stayed. I shake the thought away. Getting caught up in all the ‘would haves and should haves’ isn’t going to help anyone right now.
My hands move to the inside of her thighs as I brush my fingers over the soft, silky skin. Lowering my face right over her core, I give her one long lick, the taste of her exploding on my tongue. A whimper escapes her as she arches into my mouth, seeking out more friction.
“Hmm, you like that, don’t you, Duchess,” I whisper against her clit and spear her with a finger.
“Oh God,” she says, a hand going to my head as her fingers tug on my hair, urging me on, my finger teasing her fleshy core as I suck on her clit.
“Jackson,” she says, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as I add another finger and begin working her g-spot.
She’s so wet already, her juices sliding down to my wrist.
If I’d had thought this through, I would have propped a pillow under her hips to change the angle, but she seems to be enjoying this from her body’s reaction to me. I’m sure she’s already sore from last night’s activities, but there was no way I could walk away today without at least getting a taste and leaving her with an orgasm or two.
Wanting to draw as much pleasure from her as I can, I add a third finger, her walls clenching around them as she writhes around me, her thighs locking on either side of my head now, urging me on. I swirl my tongue, followed by a lavish lick, moving lowerto her entrance. My fingers are buried inside her, working her with a come-hither motion,my dick painfully hard, as she bucks and really begins to fuck my face with abandon.
I groan into her hot centre, my other hand pressing on her lower abdomen to keep her where I want her, desperate to lick her to completion.
An intense feral need for her to come—hard.
“Shit, Jackson... it’s too much, you need to... oh, oh, fuck!”
That’s it, let go, I think at her, keeping my gaze locked on her as she throws her head back, caught in the euphoria of the moment as she flutters around my fingers, her entire body shaking and coiled tight.
She floods my mouth and fingers, her inner walls trying to push me out as she squirts all over my face.
The noise is sinful as I continue to finger fuck her, demanding more, needing her to give herself over to me completely. And she does, so beautifully. A scream rips from her parted lips followed by her orgasm, her tight walls clenching around my fingers until it turns to tiny tremors and small aftershocks.
She twitches as I pull my fingers free, her release dripping down my chin.
“Fucking delicious,” I say, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and crawling up the length of her body.