CHAPTER 26 #5
"Jax," I breathed, his name emerging as half plea, half prayer.
"I've got you, baby," he promised, lifting his head to capture my gaze. His eyes were dark, pupils blown wide with desire, but there was tenderness there too.
His thumb brushed across my nipple, and the sensation shot straight through me like lightning. My back arched off the bed, seeking more of his touch, and he obliged, his mouth replacing his hand. The wet heat of his tongue made me cry out, my fingers threading into his hair to hold him there.
When I tugged at the knot of his towel, he reached down to undo it himself, letting the fabric fall to the floor. I caught a glimpse of him, hard and ready, before he settled back over me, anticipation coiling tight in my belly.
The heat of his bare skin against mine was overwhelming in the best way, sending sparks racing along every nerve ending. I could feel him, thick and heavy, pressed against my thigh, and the realization of what was about to happen made my breath catch.
"Still okay?" he asked, his voice strained with the effort of holding back.
"More than okay," I assured him, pulling him down for another kiss that I hoped conveyed everything I couldn't put into words.
His hand slid down between us, fingers finding the apex of my thighs. I was already wet for him, aching, and when he touched me there, gentle and exploring, I gasped into his mouth.
"So ready for me," he murmured against my lips, his fingers moving in slow, teasing circles that had me trembling beneath him. "Fuck."
The pleasure built with each stroke of his fingers, winding tighter and tighter until I was panting, my hips moving restlessly against his hand. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, he positioned himself at my entrance, the blunt pressure of him making me inhale sharply.
"Look at me," he commanded softly, and my eyes flew open to meet his. "I want to see you."
Then, slowly, so slowly it was almost torture, he pushed inside. The stretch was intense, overwhelming, and I clutched at his shoulders as my body adjusted to accommodate him. He was bigger than I'd expected, filling me completely, the sensation bordering on too much.
"Breathe, baby," Jaxon whispered, his forehead pressed to mine, his own breathing ragged. "Just breathe."
I forced myself to relax, to let my body soften around him, and as I did, the discomfort eased into something else entirely. Something that felt right. Complete. Like pieces clicking into place.
"Okay?" he asked through gritted teeth, holding perfectly still despite the tremor running through his muscles.
"Yes," I breathed. "Move. Please, Jax—move."
He withdrew slowly before pushing back in, establishing a rhythm that was unhurried but deep, each thrust deliberate and measured. The drag of him inside me sent pleasure cascading through my system, building with every movement.
"You feel incredible," he groaned, his lips finding mine again. "So fucking perfect."
My hands roamed his back, feeling his muscles flex and contract with each thrust. The slide of our bodies together was slick with sweat, the friction delicious and maddening.
When he shifted his angle slightly, hitting a spot deep inside that made stars burst behind my eyelids, I cried out his name.
"There?" he asked, his voice rough. "Right there?"
"Yes—God, yes—"
He thrust harder, targeting that spot with precision, focused on my pleasure as much as his own. One of his hands slid down to grip my hip, holding me in place as he drove into me with increasing urgency. The other braced beside my head, his weight supported so he could watch my face.
The intimacy of it, being seen like this, vulnerable and undone, should have been terrifying. But with Jaxon, it felt safe. Sacred, even.
"That's it," Jaxon encouraged, his thrusts becoming more erratic as he watched me. "You're so fucking beautiful like this."
The combination of his words, his body moving inside mine, pushed me rapidly toward the edge. The tension coiled tighter and tighter, winding through every muscle until I was trembling on the precipice.
"Jax, I'm going to—"
"Let go," he urged, his hips snapping harder. "Come for me, Anna. Let me feel it."
The pleasure crested suddenly, crashing over me with an intensity that stole my breath. I cried out, my body clenching tight around him as waves of sensation rolled through me. My vision whited out, every nerve ending firing at once in a cascade of bliss.
"Fuck, Anna—" Jaxon's rhythm faltered, his control breaking as my body gripped him.
He thrust deep once, twice more before burying himself completely with a guttural groan.
I felt him pulsing inside me, the warmth of his release spreading through me as his face pressed into my neck, my name a prayer on his lips.
We trembled together in the aftermath, hearts racing in tandem, breaths harsh and uneven. Jaxon's weight pressed me into the mattress, solid and real and grounding. His lips found my temple, pressing there softly even as aftershocks rippled through us both.
"God, Anna," he breathed against my skin, his voice thick with emotion.
I couldn't find words, couldn't do anything but hold him close, my hands stroking soothingly up and down his back as we slowly came back to earth. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. Not from pain or sadness, but from the overwhelming rightness of it all.
Jaxon finally shifted, careful as he withdrew from my body. The loss made me whimper softly, I already missed the connection, but he didn't go far. Instead, he drew me close, pressing kisses to my temple, my cheek, my lips. Each one gentle, sweet, and full of unspoken feelings.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, his fingers tracing soothing paths up and down my spine. "Did I hurt you?"
I shook my head against his chest, words lost somewhere between my heartbeat and his. More than okay. Transformed. Whole in a way I hadn't been in years.
"Anna." He tilted my chin until our eyes met, and what I saw there made my breath catch. Awe, tenderness, and something deeper. Something that looked dangerously like—
"Thank you," he whispered.
"For what?" I breathed.
"For choosing me," he said simply. "For being patient with me. For…" He swallowed. "For bringing me back to life."
Tears pricked my eyes, real ones this time. I blinked them away and pressed a kiss over his heart. "You did the same for me."
He held me tighter, one hand cradling the back of my head, the other splayed across my lower back. The silence that followed was warm and easy, broken only by our slowing breaths and the distant sounds of the ranch at night.
After a while, Jaxon shifted again, reaching down to pull the covers over us. The cool sheets kissed our overheated skin, a soft contrast to the warmth still lingering between us. He settled me against his side, my head resting on his chest, his arm secure around my shoulders.
My body still hummed with residual pleasure, muscles loose, heavy, and content in a way they hadn't been in years. I felt marked by him, not in any visible way, but in the way my body remembered his touch, in how my skin still tingled where his hands had been.
Sleep tugged at me, slow and certain, the emotional intensity of the night mingling with the exhaustion of release until I felt boneless and safe.
"Sleep, baby," Jaxon murmured, pressing another kiss to my hair. "I've got you."
And wrapped in his arms, safe, chosen, and whole, I let myself drift off. No nightmares. No fear. No doubt.