by Mazzy King
“I love dogs,” she says. “I’d love to meet Cookie. Does she like other people?”
“Loves them.” I pause, then smile. “I think she’d like you a lot. She’s good at sensing the good in people.”
The server brings our meals and refreshes our drinks. My limit’s always two no matter what I’m drinking, so this one will do it for me.
The food is fantastic. Italian has always been one of my favorite cuisines. Lyra is half-Italian and can chef it up in the kitchen. She always cooks enough for four, and if I’m not eating with them, she always makes Saint bring me plenty of leftovers. My steak is tender and the sauce is flavorful.
A moan hits my ears.
A bite of steak halfway to my mouth, I glance up.
Hazel’s chewing with her eyes closed, fork poised in the air like a wand from Ollivanders. Her lips pout slightly as she chews.
I never thought I could find someone chewing sexy, but there it is. And that noise she just made…
“Oh my God,” she says in a breathy tone after she swallows and opens her eyes. “Oh my God, that’s good. Mm.”
I suppress a shiver. If she keeps moaning like that through dinner, I’m going to need to call it a night and go home. The sound is like warm honey. I want to find out what else makes her moan like that.
I bet I can.
Fuck, stow it, I chastise myself, shoving the bite of steak still suspended on my fork into my mouth.
But now that I’ve heard her, I can’t unhear her. And the more I replay the noises in my head, the harder and harder my dick gets inside my jeans.
“Jaxson?”
I snap my head up. “Yes? Sorry.”
“I was just asking how your food is.” She licks sauce off the tines of her fork.
I stare at her tongue. Is she trying to kill me? “Uh, yeah. It’s delicious. Really good food. I’m guessing you like yours.”
She giggles, setting her fork down. “Yeah, sorry. I tend to get a little vocal when things taste good.”
Oh, shitty shit shit. Down, boy. Down!
“I noticed,” I can’t stop myself from saying, and the subtle change in the timbre in my voice isn’t lost on her, either.
Her brown eyes glow at me across the table, and I want to drown in their chocolate depths. Her cheeks are pink.
“Dessert?” she asks, and there’s a chance in her voice, too.
Oh yeah. But I know this restaurant can’t offer me what I really want.
“Whatever you want,” I tell her.
The server comes by to collect our plates and offer dessert. Hazel orders the house special, tiramisu, and he brings it back quickly. Hazel forks up a bite and leans across the table, holding it out.
“You get the first bite,” she says softly.
I part my lips and accept the fork as she slides it inside my mouth, our gazes locked. I swear I see little flames burst in her eyes.
The dessert is incredible. But it takes me a minute to register the flavor because the look in her eyes sets me on fire.
“Your turn,” I say, and take the fork from her. I hold a bite in front of those plump lips. She accepts the bite, her lips closing around the tines. Her eyes stay on me the whole time.
I want to drop the fork and feast on her lips.
We share a few more bites, the heat only rising between us. The server brings the check, and I immediately reach for it, but she stops me with an outstretched hand.
“My idea, my treat,” she says, gently but firmly.
This goes against every fiber of chivalry I have, but I also don’t want to argue with her when it’s clear she knows exactly what she wants. I relent, but say, “Can I at least leave the tip?”
She smiles at me, pulling a credit card out of her purse. “If you want to.”
“I do.” I pick up my glass to finish off my drink.
“Of course,” she says, handing the folder to the server, “this means you’ll have to put out now.”
I splutter into my glass.
Hazel grins at me. “Was it something I said?”
I shake my head, chuckling, and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. This woman is something else.
I add my tip to the folder once the receipt comes back for her to sign. We stand and I help her into her coat, then we walk outside.
She turns to me. “I’m not ready to go home yet.”
I smile. I was hoping she’d say that. “How about a carriage ride, then?”
The brightly lit Cinderella-style carriage is just coming up the cobblestone street to drop off the latest couple. And there’s no line.
Hazel’s eyes light up. “Yes!”
I pay the driver, then help her inside. There’s a big, soft, furry blanket for passengers to use. The temperature has dropped a good ten degrees since we went inside, so I drape the blanket across us.
Hazel scoots close and leans against me. “That’s better.”
I slip my arm around her shoulders. “That’s better.”
The carriage lurches forward, the horse trotting along. The cold air brushes my cheeks, but I’m warm under this blanket with Hazel pressed to my side, slowly rolling past brightly lit buildings, happy couples and families.
“It’s so perfect,” Hazel murmurs. “Well, almost.”
I’m nodding in agreement, then stop abruptly and glance down at her. “What’s wrong? Tell me what I can do to make this a perfect night for you.”
Her eyes, so clear and open and sincere, hold mine for a long moment. Then she reaches up, sliding one hand behind my head and guiding it down to hers.
I close my eyes the second our lips touch.
It’s a gentle, almost tentative kiss at first. I let her show me exactly what she wants, what she likes, following her lead. We tease each other’s lips, keeping things light, but an electric current running below the surface thrums with power, with need.
Her lips part, and the first touch of her tongue against mine it sets me on fire.
I bury my hands under the cascade of her dark, wavy hair, using my mouth to make love to hers. Her hands clutch fistfuls of my shirt as she gives it all back to me, and by the time the carriage comes to a halt, we’re both breathless and aching.
Out on the sidewalk, we stand with our arms around each other. I don’t want to say goodnight.
Hazel gazes up at me. “Can I come meet Cookie?”
I clear my throat. “Of course you can.”
Her just-kissed swollen lips curl up. “Then take me home, Jaxson.”
Chapter 6
Hazel
Jaxson doesn’t live that far from me, I discover. Only about three miles away, in a really nice little neighborhood that’s quiet on a Saturday night.
A lot of houses are lit up with Christmas lights. Jaxson’s house doesn’t have lights, and once inside his small, neat house, I don’t see a tree or anything, either.
But I do see Cookie—and is she ever curious about me.
She’s a medium-sized, fluffy beauty, and I stand still so she can give me the sniff-over. But her tail whips side to side as she does, so I’m guessing she finds me to be good people.
Finally, she gives me a big doggy smile, ears flopped back, and I indulge in scratching her behind the ears, the way Jaxson said she liked.
He stands there smiling at us for a little bit, then helps me out of my jacket. “Something to drink? I don’t have much, but I do have a couple bottles of wine.”
“Actually, water would be great.”
He nods. “Coming up.”
I’m scratching Cookie’s belly when he returns with a couple bottles, and we sit and sip for a little bit. My mind jumps back to the carriage ride. I can hardly believe we were full-on making out for most of it. It was…exquisite.
I clear my throat. “What happened on the carriage…”
He sprawls beside me, long legs tossed carelessly in front of him, but his gaze is anything but relaxed. He watches me closely. “It was a great ride. I mean, I thought so.”
/>
“I thought so, too,” I say. “Jaxson…I have serious feelings for you.”
There. Out with it. Out with the truth that’s been plaguing me for so long. Maybe it’s insane. But it feels good.
And now that I’ve been truthful, it’s time for him to do the same.
“You were there, weren’t you?” I whisper. “Those nights at the hospital. I didn’t dream you up. You were there.”
He swallows and lowers his gaze. “I was there.”
My heart suddenly lurches forward into high speeds. “You kissed me.”
The moment his lips landed on mine in the carriage, I knew.
It wasn’t a dream. It was real. I’d remember the feeling of them anywhere.
He takes a deep breath. “I didn’t—I shouldn’t have violated you. But you were lying there, and you’d fought so hard. You’d been through so much. You survived something most people wouldn’t…something other women didn’t. And you still had fire in your eyes, when I opened the door and found you, after we took the call that came out after those little girls told their parents and they called the police, just like you told them too. And when…” His gaze grows distant, like he’s the one back at the scene that day now.
“When what?” I ask softly, touching his hand.
He shifts his eyes to me. His are full of emotion. “When you were lying in that hospital bed, your face was so still. You were so beautiful. My heart broke, just looking at you. After everything, you could still look so at peace. I couldn’t leave you without…saying goodbye. Without kissing you, just once, because I didn’t think I’d ever get another chance.”
I lean toward him and reach out to caress his cheek. “That kiss got me through hell. That kiss brought me back to life in some of my darkest moments. And this whole time, I thought it was a dream. But it was real. And it was you.”
“It was me,” he murmurs. “Hazel, I’ve been in love with you since the first second I saw you. I’m not supposed to be. But I am. I can’t help it or change it…and I wouldn’t if I could.”
I’m in his arms before I even realize I’ve moved. He holds me in his lap, tight to his body, and we continue what we started in the carriage, only this time, it’s all heat. Soon, we’re both moaning and gasping as we tongue-kiss on the couch, and I grind in his lap.
I pull back. “Jaxson, make love to me. Please, God, make love to me right now.”
“Fuck, Hazel,” he grunts, gripping my hips. “I want you so much.”
He lifts me up and carries me to his bedroom. He keeps the door ajar, but Cookie doesn’t follow. It’s as if she understands we need privacy.
Jaxson lays me down on the bed and we resume our deep, wet kisses. I tug at his shirt, and he pulls it over his head. His body is beyond amazing—sculpted muscles, tattoos, smooth skin. He undresses me slowly, starting with my low-cut sweater, then my boots, socks, then my jeans. Soon I lie beneath him in just my lacy bra and panties, waiting for him to touch me. As the seconds creep by, I grow hotter and wetter.
“You are fucking beautiful,” he says in a hushed voice, trailing a finger straight down the middle of my body from my chin to below my belly button.
I don’t want him to stop. My skin is alight with tingles, and I’m slippery between my thighs.
“What can I do to you?” he asks me softly, then lowers his mouth to my soft belly and kisses me just below my navel.
I let out a soft gasp. “Keep doing that. And…go lower.”
He lets out an aroused growl. Then his warm lips and tongue travel all over my torso as he cups my breasts through my bra. He lowers the cups to free my nipples, and takes his agonizing time playing with them and sucking and licking them.
I’ve never been more turned on.
He carefully unclasps my bra and pulls it off me. Then he slides his hands to my thighs and pulls them apart. He brings his mouth and nose to the apex of my thighs and licks me through my panties.
“You taste and smell delicious,” he tells me.
He slides my panties off, then spreads my thighs again. He kisses down the inside of one thigh, then the other, then teases all around my pussy, planting little kisses, tracing my outer folds with the tip of his tongue. My clit throbs, screaming for attention.
Then I feel his warm tongue slip right up the middle of my wet slit, then back down, then back up. His tongue massages against me and into me.
“Oh, fuck, Jaxson,” I moan, reaching down to cup his head. “You’re gonna make me come!”
“That’s exactly what I intend to do,” he murmurs into my flesh. “Over and over and over…”
Then he sucks my clit, and I’m done for, coming hard against his mouth and tongue for what feels like a solid minute.
He lifts his head when I start squirming. “That’s the first of many. I guarantee you that, sweetheart. I won’t stop until you beg me to.”
Oh, shit. I almost come just from hearing that. “I need you inside me,” I whimper.
He stands up to remove his jeans and then his boxer briefs, and holy shit. I drink in the sight of him. He’s got to be at least eight inches long. When I wrap my hand around him, the tip of my middle finger and thumb barely touch.
“You’re so fucking huge,” I whisper.
“We’ll go slow,” he replies, running his mouth lightly against mine, then sucking on my bottom lip. “So you can take all of me.”
I lie back, spreading my thighs wide, toes curling in anticipation as he settles himself between my thighs. He takes himself in one hand and starts slowly rubbing the head of his cock against my wet folds. Then he pushes in, a little at a time, and the feeling of him filling me is so delicious I almost can’t take it.
“God, you’re tight,” he moans in my ear. “I fucking love that. So tight. So wet.” He pushes a few more inches and I gasp at the extreme pleasure that shoots through me. He’s hitting every square inch inside me, and it’s so good.
“I was made for you,” he whispers against my lips. “And you were made for me. You’re mine, Hazel. And I’m yours. All. Yours.”
He pushes home on those last two words, and I cry out, my nails digging into his back. This slow torture is too much, and not enough. I need him to move.
“Fuck me, please,” I whine. “Please fuck me.”
He moves his hips. “Show me how you want it.”
I guide him to pace I like, somewhere between fast and slow. “And hard. Fuck me real hard, Jaxson.”
And boy, does he.
I’m coming hard after half a dozen strokes, clenching tight around him and crying out his name.
His full bottom lip is between his teeth like he’s holding back a smirk, but he doesn’t stop moving. “That’s it. I want another one. Come for me, baby.”
And like magic, as if my body is tuned to be on cue with him, I feel the tension pulling again, tighter and tighter, until I explode once more. The fourth time I come, I cry out into his mouth as he kisses me deeply.
I roll over on top of him and brace my hands on his chest, then ride him slowly and take him as deep as I can. He grips my hips to guide me along, and grunts deep in his chest.
“Wiped that smirk off your face, I see,” I say between moans.
“You feel amazing,” he tells me, his hands squeezing my curvy hips hard. They grow insistent, tugging me and moving me faster and faster on his dick. I love watching him lose control beneath me, and the look on his face when he comes, when he says my name, is so sexy it makes me come, too.
I collapse onto his chest, and he holds me there, stroking my back. I lavish in the attention for a few minutes, then pull myself off him reluctantly to use his bathroom—hospital-grade clean—and wash up a little.
He’s not in bed when I get back, but I hear the back door opening and shutting, and his voice murmuring to Cookie. Then he comes back in, wearing just a pair of sweatpants low on his hips that he immediately shucks.
When he slips back into bed beside me, he rolls me onto my belly and proceeds to gi
ve me the best back massage I’ve ever had, and that counts professional ones, too. It’s so good…I fall asleep.
And that night, in Jaxson’s bed, in Jaxson’s arms…I have the sweetest dreams.
Chapter 7
Jaxson
You know how in romantic movies, when a couple falls in love and spends the night together, the guy stays up to watch her sleep?
I always thought that was so creepy. I have younger cousins who tell me that’s what they want in a guy, that’s why they love reading romance, et cetera. I always told them if they woke up next to a dude staring them in the face, they needed to get out of the house and call me or Saint immediately.
I guess…I’m that creepy asshole now, because I think I got about two collective hours of sleep last night. The rest of the time, I couldn’t take my eyes off the queen in my arms. I stroked her soft skin, traced the contours and planes of her beautiful face to memorize every line, ran my fingers through the dark silk she calls hair. She was so at peace. It humbles me to think that maybe I had something to do with that.
Around nine, I slide out of bed to tend to Cookie, who’s whining softly outside the door. I let her out, fix her breakfast, then decide I need my own breakfast. Back in bed, I can’t hold back any longer. I hate to disrupt her rest, but I’m so hard it hurts, and I want to taste her again. I slide under the blankets, kissing a path down her body, then I hook my arms under her hips and feast on her delectable pussy. It’s soft and puffy and wet and delicious, and I suck and lick her greedily, until she comes awake and then…comes.
Hazel coming will be an experience I’ll never get enough of. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, the way her body tenses, breasts thrust up in the air with her nipples peaked. She reaches down and with equal greed grabs a handful of my hair to keep me in place while she grinds on my tongue, wringing every last bit of pleasure she can, using my mouth for the vehicle of satisfaction it is. She releases a breathy moan that carries my name.
“Jaxson!”
I could be her slave, and die a happy man that way.
When she squirms away from my mouth, I slide up her body, stopping to worship those full breasts of hers with their tight nipples. I drag my cock against her wet slit as I tease them, smiling at the sound of her impatient little whimpers.