Laughing, I entered the apartment and dropped the box beside the couch. She dumped her own, the heavy thing landing with a loud thud before she kicked it and then pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. The party wasn’t until tomorrow night, but I was bored—and yeah, missing him—so I’d talked Violet into packing enough clothes for the entire weekend and picked her up.
I hadn’t told Jagger we were going to be decorating for the party, or that we were spending the night, since he was so busy. I told Mom where we would be if she needed me, and she only told me to have fun. She hadn’t even blinked when I’d told her the week before that I was going to be spending the night at Jagger’s place after his party.
For some reason, I got the feeling she and Dad were on board with the two of us being together, and it made me wonder if my lingering fear over being with Jagger was warranted. If my parents thought it was okay, maybe I didn’t have anything to worry about after all.
For the next hour, Violet and I put up decorations then ordered some dinner. The fridge wasn’t stocked with anything but water and diet soda, so I made a grocery delivery order as well and then plopped down on the couch in the living room with my bestie. Violet was already showered and changed into pajamas even though it was barely seven. She grumbled about the lack of something to watch on television, so we switched to Netflix instead.
When the doorbell rang, announcing our food had arrived, I jumped up to get it. The delivery guy stood there with our Mexican food, but his eyes were on something else. He had a startled look on his face, and his mouth was gaping open.
Frowning, I stuck my head out the door to see what was going on. A woman dressed in workout gear was standing in the hall outside one of the other apartments. The door was open, and she had one foot inside. Her dark hair was pulled into a chic ponytail, and her face was slightly flushed as if she’d been warming up already.
I put her in her midtwenties, with a body to die for considering how her yoga pants molded to her ass and thighs. She had on a sports bra that crisscrossed on the back but did a hell of a job of holding her tits in place should she actually start running. She had a sun-kissed tan, and when she turned to look in our direction, I noticed she had the fullest lips I’d ever seen.
“Hi,” she greeted as she closed her apartment door and walked toward me. “You must be the new neighbor.” She glanced at the delivery guy, who was still holding my bag of food, then to me.
I took the food from him. “Thanks,” I told him, and he finally snapped out of his daze. Blinking, the guy swallowed half a dozen times, shot the woman a leering look, then headed for the elevator. Rolling my eyes at his retreating back, I offered her my hand. “I’m Shaw.”
“Kayla,” she supplied, shaking my hand. “My girlfriend and I have only lived here about a year. But it’s a cool enough place. Sorry we haven’t been over to introduce ourselves before now, but other than a few service people, we haven’t seen anyone else coming and going.”
“This is actually my friend Jagger’s place,” I told her. “And he doesn’t officially move in until tomorrow. We’re throwing a little party tomorrow night. Feel free to come over and introduce yourself.”
“Saturday is date night, but we might stop by and say hello.” She glanced at my bag of food and grinned. “I’ll let you get to your dinner. Nice to meet you, Shaw.”
“You too, Kayla.”
“Who was that?” Violet asked as she followed me into the kitchen.
“Just the neighbor. She’s seriously smoking hot.” I grabbed silverware and napkins for us.
“Sounded nice.”
“She is from what I could tell.” I passed her the container with a dozen tacos and let her take her pick while I dished out rice and beans onto my plate. “She and her girlfriend might stop by tomorrow night.”
“Girlfriend?” I nodded, and Violet gave me a knowing smirk. “So that’s why you were nice to her. If she’s got a girlfriend, then she won’t be panting over Jags.”
I flipped her off but didn’t argue. She knew me too well, and I wasn’t about to deny anything. It would only sound ridiculous when we both knew the truth. After dinner, we cleaned up together and then put away the groceries once they arrived before returning to the living room for more Netflix.
It was late by the time we decided to go to bed. Violet took the guest room since we’d already put the new sheets and pillows on that bed. I could have slept with her, but I wanted to try out the new bed I’d helped Jagger select. After making the bed with the new sheets and comforter I’d picked out earlier in the week—a black and crimson pattern that had reminded me of Jagger for some reason—I took a quick shower in the connecting bathroom and then snuggled under the covers dressed in nothing but a pair of panties.
It felt like I’d barely closed my eyes when I felt strong arms wrap around my waist. I inhaled sharply, breathing in Jagger’s scent, and melted back against him. “You were going to deny me this opportunity, Dimples?” he grumbled, his lips skimming over my shoulder.
“I thought you were busy,” I explained.
“Not so busy that I wouldn’t come sleep in the same bed with my girl if given the chance.” He nuzzled my ear with his nose. “Good thing Vi texted me. I would have been pissed if I’d missed out on this.”
I turned over to face him. Not that I could see his face. The room was in complete darkness. All I could make out was the outline of his features, but that was enough. I threw one leg over his, liking that he was only dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt. “Are you angry?”
“No.” He stroked his hand down my bare back to grab my ass, pulling me closer. “Not now.”
“That’s too bad. I was hoping if you were mad, you might want to punish me.”
I felt his chest vibrate with his shuddery inhale. “You want to be punished, Dimples?”
“Maybe,” I told him breathlessly, my panties growing uncomfortably wet.
Jagger groaned, his fingers flexing on my ass. “What kind of punishment were you thinking, baby?”
I grinned in the darkness. “I’ve never been spanked before. Maybe you should bend me over your lap and turn my ass pink.” I felt his cock flex against my thigh and knew he liked that idea.
“Fuck, you’re such a tease,” he muttered. “I can’t bring myself to hurt you like that, but you’re right. You deserve something for not telling me you were going to be here.”
Holding my ass firmly, he rolled me onto my back, then started kissing his way down my neck. He didn’t waste time, kissing my chest and the valley between my breasts. I whined when he didn’t pause to play with my nipples, but then his tongue dipped into my belly button and I forgot why I was upset. My panties were tugged down my thighs, and I began to tremble with anticipation.
Spreading my legs as far as they would go with my panties in the way, he kissed the top of my pussy. Once, twice. On the third kiss, he lifted onto his knees and tugged my panties the rest of the way off. But when I expected him to come back and kiss me there again, he crawled up beside me and pulled me against his side. “Night, Dimples.”
I lay there for several moments before I realized he really wasn’t going to continue. “Wait. What just happened?” I heard his muffled laugh and slapped his arm. “Jags!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Finish what you started,” I commanded. My body was one huge ache, and my thighs were actually trembling. I wanted him so damn badly, and he’d been seconds away from touching his mouth to my clit.
“Sorry, baby. It’s a felony in this state—”
“Fuck the laws in this stupid state,” I seethed. “Get down there and lick my pussy.”
His groan sounded tortured. “Fuck, I want to. But this is your punishment.”
“My…what?” I cried. “You… But…”
Lifting his head, he kissed me quickly. “It’s painful for me too, Shaw. Especially with you lying there all wet and naked.”
“You know what?” I rolled us over
and then pushed myself up into a sitting position so that I was straddling his hips. “I don’t accept any of that. Not the laws, not you being all noble and shit. And I’ll be damned if you withhold an orgasm from me, Jagger Armstrong.”
His hands flew to my hips, but he didn’t try to pull me off him. My core was exposed, and his hard-on was pressed right into my center through his shorts. “We can’t,” he muttered in a strangled voice.
“Don’t worry, baby, I’ll make it good for you,” I told him as I started moving my hips against him.
“Shaw, please.” I began to rub myself over his entire length, causing him to hiss. “We shouldn’t do this.” But his fingers bit into my flesh, pressing me down against him hard as my wetness soaked through his shorts.
“What are we doing?” I was panting now. Fuck, he was huge. Long and thick. I wanted to feel him without anything between us, but I didn’t want to stop long enough to pull him free. Next time, I promised myself as I increased my pace. “You’re not inside me. This isn’t breaking any laws.”
“Fuck, you’re right. Don’t stop.” He groaned, tossing his head back as if he were in agony. “Just… Ah, gods, you feel so damn good. Baby, just don’t let me lose control and put my dick in you. I can’t fuck this up. I can’t lose you.”
The way his voice cracked when he talked about losing me brought tears to my eyes. Leaning forward, I balanced myself by putting my hands on the pillow on either side of his head. This close, I could see his face, and since my eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, I could make out more than just shapes. The torture in his gaze made my heart quicken.
“I kind of love you,” I told him before skimming my lips over his.
“I more than kind of love you, Shaw,” he growled, his hands biting unrelentingly into my hips. “Now, move your sexy ass before I lose my motherfucking mind.”
“Yes, baby,” I purred and gave us both what we needed.
Chapter 24
Jagger
The apartment was overflowing with my “cousins,” bandmates, and road crew. I glanced around, taking in all of Shaw’s hard work. My girl was walking around acting as hostess, making sure everyone was having a good time. Everyone who spoke to her had a smile on their face, and who could blame them. There was something about Shaw that just made everything better, no matter what the hell was going on in someone’s life.
She was talking to my sister at the moment, holding Emerson in her arms and including my adorable little niece in their conversation even though Little Em could barely talk. Those huge green eyes were glued to Shaw’s face, sparkling with adoration as she giggled and kept touching Shaw’s dimples.
“That’s a sound that never gets old.” I glanced at Barrick, saw he had a plate of finger foods in one hand and a drink in the other, before turning my gaze back to the three beauties across the room from us. “Hearing Emerson’s giggle does something to my chest, man. I get a similar feeling when I hear Mia laugh, but this is different. This…hurts, and yet it’s a good kind of hurt.”
“I get it,” I said with a nod.
“So…” I looked his way again, reluctantly taking my gaze off Shaw and Little Em. “Cannon’s not coming?”
I clenched my jaw but shrugged. “I didn’t invite him.”
“Doesn’t mean he won’t show.” He took a drink of his soda, his dark eyes going around the whole room, taking in everything and everyone all at once. He was always looking for any possible danger to my sister and niece, as if he expected the worst to happen at any moment and had to be prepared.
I didn’t want to talk about the possibility of Cannon crashing my party. Thankfully, my cousin Nevaeh and her husband Braxton came through the door right then. Spotting me, Nevaeh grinned and came to give me a hug. Knowing Braxton didn’t like when I lingered, I kept my arm around her when she pulled back.
Grinning at me, she shook her head and adjusted her glasses. “This place looks just like it did when Lucy and Harris lived here,” she commented, glancing around. “Are they coming?”
“Lu said they might drop by,” I told her. “But Hayat hasn’t been feeling well, so I don’t know if they will be able to make it or not.”
“Ah, poor Hayat. I’ll have to call Lucy tomorrow and check on her.” Her blue-gray gaze landed on Barrick’s plate, and she sighed. “I’m starving. Brax, let’s go get some of those yummy little sandwiches.”
“Whatever you want, Kitten.” He took her hand, pulling her away from me. “Nice place, Jagger,” he growled. “Keep your fucking hands off my wife.”
Laughing, I gave Nevaeh a kiss on the cheek before he could get her completely away from me. She shot me a wink then melted against her husband as they walked into the kitchen together. Across the room, I felt Shaw’s eyes land on me and glanced over to find her brows lifted. I shrugged, and she rolled her baby blues before giving me a grin and turning back to my sister.
“A smart man would wife that girl as soon as she’s legal.” My brother-in-law drained his cup.
“A smart man would already have the ring picked out and be waiting for the day when that girl isn’t so skittish of his every move,” I told him without taking my gaze off Shaw.
Barrick laughed. “Knew you had a few brain cells left, little bro.”
My sister glanced our way, and seeing Barrick with his head tossed back in amusement, she started across the room toward us. Shaw followed with Emerson still safely tucked in her arms. Seeing how good she was with my niece made my throat tight.
I wanted this. Her with a baby in her arms, my ring on her finger, that look of love blazing out of her eyes as she smiled softly up at me. I wanted it so fucking badly, it was taking everything in me not to rush her. But I had to continue to be patient. Give her time to see she didn’t have anything to fear and trust me completely. Then I could have all of those things.
“What’s so funny over here?” Mia asked as she took the plate from her husband and started snacking. Taking off some of the deli meat from the sandwich, she offered it to Emerson, who immediately started stuffing it in her mouth.
“My goodness,” Shaw murmured as she rubbed her nose against Emerson’s. “Someone is a hungry little piggy.” My niece giggled and offered her a bite of what was left in her hand. “No thank you, sweet girl. You eat it all up.”
The doorbell rang, making me frown. Everyone who had been invited was told to just come on in. Shaw glanced at the door then at me. “Maybe it’s the neighbor?”
I lifted Emerson out of her arms and kissed her cheek before passing her to my sister. “Let’s see who it is, Dimples.” Taking my girl’s hand, I opened the door with her beside me.
“Kayla, hi,” Shaw greeted the curvy brunette with a smile. I glanced between the two women standing at the front door and tightened my hold on her fingers. Kayla, the brunette, was a stranger to me, but the other woman, I knew, and I really didn’t want to tell Shaw the how, when, or why of our meeting.
Fuck, all I needed now was for Cannon to show his damn face and see her too and start running his mouth.
The brunette was gorgeous, but the blonde was on a whole other level of hot. As in porn star queen hot. She wasn’t a porn star, but between Cannon, her, and me, she could have been one with the video we’d made together a few years ago. A video I’d destroyed the second I’d realized what Shaw meant to me.
“Shit,” I heard the blonde mutter. Our gazes locked and I tried to covertly shake my head, but Kayla heard her and the smile dropped from her face.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” she asked, putting her hand on her girlfriend’s ass. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“We really shouldn’t stay long,” the blonde said, her jaw clenching as she looked anywhere but at me. “We have reservations.”
“Since when do you care if we’re on time or not?” Kayla asked, her voice sharp. “We can take five minutes to get to know our next-door neighbors.”
“Can I get you two a drink?” Shaw asked, her smile tight as she
kept glancing between Kayla’s girlfriend and me. Fuck, what was her name? I couldn’t remember it, but her face and that body were something I wasn’t likely ever to forget. “We don’t have anything alcoholic, but there is a full selection of mocktails.”
“We’re good,” Kayla said, her tone softening when she spoke to Shaw. “We really do have reservations. I just wanted to introduce you to my better half, even if she is acting like a grouch all of a sudden. I swear, Dana isn’t normally like this. I guess she’s just had a hard week at work. Although, she was fine until we got here,” she muttered the last part under her breath, shooting Dana a frown.
“It’s nice to meet you, Dana.” Shaw tried to break the tension. “If I’m being honest, I nearly swallowed my tongue when I met Kayla yesterday, and I was beyond jealous that such a hottie lived next door to Jagger until she told me she had a girlfriend.” She and Kayla laughed, but I couldn’t even force a smile because I was shaking too badly.
This wasn’t fucking happening. Everything had been going so perfectly with Shaw. She was starting to trust me. The night before had left me seeing stars, and then I’d woken up that morning feeling complete for the first time in my life. Because Shaw was cuddled up against me.
Now, this girl from my past, a girl whose name I’d forgotten, was standing just inside my new apartment, and I knew in my gut if Shaw knew my history with her, she was going to run.
The door was still open, and a movement behind Kayla and Dana pulled my gaze to the newcomers. Terrified it was Cannon crashing the party, I nearly moaned with relief when I saw it was Arella and her best friend Palmer.
“Hey, sorry we’re late,” Arella murmured an apology to the couple as she squeezed between the four of us to kiss my cheek then squeeze Shaw. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. We’ll catch up later.” She gave a wave, grabbed her friend’s hand, and disappeared into the masses.
Wanting Shaw Page 18