"You."
She walked toward me, the afghan flowing behind her like a royal robe. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I missed you. The better question might be why aren't you still in bed?"
I heard the uncertainty in her voice. I opened my blanket inviting her to join me. She instantly sank onto my lap and rested her head on my shoulder. I pulled the blanket around us both and kissed her hair. "I tend to wake up early, no matter what time I fall asleep. I figured you'd lost enough sleep because of me, and I wanted you to rest. You've been working too hard."
She nuzzled my chest and left a kiss. "No harder than you."
I grunted. "I'm used to it."
I hesitated and then decided to plow forward with my thoughts. "I think you should take on some help." I felt her stiffen. "I'm worried about you. You're running yourself ragged trying to keep up with every detail and give everyone topnotch treatment."
She was silent. In her, that was a definite bad sign.
"Not that you're not doing an excellent job," I quickly added, "but I think after this upcoming fundraiser you're going to be in even higher demand."
"I'm very protective of my business. I don't trust anyone to give the same attention to each client that I give."
Clearly, I was bad at the-morning-after-sex conversation. I guess I hadn't had a lot of practice outside of "see you later."
I gave her a little squeeze. "You're exceptional at customer service. But how much business are you going to have to turn away because you can't keep up with it? I predict, Ms. Hart, that you're on the verge of exploding, and you're going to become quickly overwhelmed if you don't find some help."
"I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing. I have a business degree, and I don't remember asking your opinion."
Damn, she could be stubborn! "Grace, I—"
She sat up on my lap and poked her finger at my chest. "Look, Jax, you run your business, and I'll run mine. I won't stick my nose in yours, and you don't stick your nose in mine. Okay?"
Negotiating with an angry woman never led to the desired result. A tactical retreat was in order. "Yes, ma'am. Consider my nose withdrawn."
She snuggled back against me, toying with the fringe of the afghan. I felt her blow out a long breath. "I'm sorry, Jax. You were trying to look out for me, and I appreciate it. It's just that I've had people my whole life telling me how to do things—how to act, how to dress, how to talk to people. It was a struggle to figure out who I am other than “the pastor's daughter.” Graceful Eventures is the first thing I can call my own, where I'm the only one in charge and no one to tell me how to run it. But I'm sorry. It's no excuse to snap at you."
I thought carefully about what to say. "It's okay. One of the things I admire about you is your ability to stand your ground. And I understand. But you should know that I always try to take care of people I care about. That includes you."
"And who takes care of you?" I felt her finger poke at my chest with her question.
"I take care of myself."
She squirmed against our covers until she could sit up. She twisted until she was straddling my lap, her sweet pussy like a homing beacon for my cock. She cupped my face in her hands. "I'm afraid you're going to have to share that responsibility now. I take care of people I care about, too. That includes you."
Before I could comment, she leaned forward to kiss me, small butterfly kisses all around my mouth. Soft and sweet. Nurturing. The blanket fell to our laps. Despite the chill in the air, warmth filled me starting in my chest where my heart was getting the workout of a lifetime.
Just as I was about to take over, she scooted closer and wrapped her arms around my neck and let her lips fall on mine. I fought the temptation to take control. Instead, I let her set the pace. Our tongues caressed and tasted, but unlike most of our kisses last night, Grace kept this kiss unhurried and tender. And like a starving man, I soaked up all the affection she poured into her touch.
She broke the kiss and climbed off my lap. "What are you doing?" I asked as she sank to her knees in front of me.
"I'm taking care of you," she said, a note of mischievousness in her voice. She reached for the waistband of my sweatpants and tugged on them. My dick sprang forward with enthusiasm. I couldn't hold back a hiss as she gripped the base and licked the tip. She licked down and back up my shaft, then enclosed her mouth over it.
"Shit, Grace!" I pulled her hair back as I stared at her working me over, licking and sucking and skimming her teeth over me. One hand rubbed up and down where her mouth couldn't reach, while the other reached forward and began to caress my balls. She'd only been at it for less than a minute, and already I could feel myself ready to explode. I gripped her head and pulled her off.
"Come here," I commanded, my voice gruff with the desire she'd inflamed. I lifted her back to my lap.
"I wasn't done," she said, her lips forming a pout, but her eyes twinkled in the moonlight.
"Another time, I'll feed you my cock and come in that pretty little mouth of yours," I said. "But this time, I'm not coming without you. We do it together."
Her eyes widened at my words. I suspected she wasn't used to any dirty talk, but her shallow breaths suggested she liked it. I lifted my t-shirt that she wore out of the way and pleasantly discovered she wasn't wearing anything underneath. I swiped one finger through her folds. She was soaked.
“I need to protect us,” I groaned as she ground against my hand.
“I’m on the pill to regulate my cycles. I mean, if you want to, that is. I know that means trust on both our parts.” She whispered her offer as she tended to do when she was feeling shy.
I did trust her. I lifted her up. "Put me in you, sweetheart."
She gripped my cock and centered herself over it.
"I've never done it this way," she whispered.
"Just do what feels good to you," I rasped as she sank onto me inch by slow, erotic inch.
God, she was so tight! Experience was the only thing holding me back from coming like a teenager with his first sexual encounter. I clutched her hips and helped her move up and down, and pretty soon she was gyrating her hips as she found a rhythm. She clenched around me, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to hang on much longer.
"Oh. Oh, my god, Jax," she called. "I...I think I'm..." Her head dropped backward as her mouth opened in a perfect 'O.'
"That's it, baby. Look at me." Her head fell forward and eyes hazed by lust looked at me. I rubbed my thumb over her clit and took over the movements. I thrust harder into her, sending us both over the edge of bliss. I came longer and harder than I could remember ever happening as her hot core kept pulsing around me. Grace fell against me, and I held her tight, burying my face in her neck. I slowed my movements but still gently rocked into her as our bodies slowly returned to normal.
Normal? I laughed to myself. There was nothing normal about how I felt right now. This was an entirely new feeling, unfamiliar and frightening, but not unwelcome. Everything about Grace had me questioning my prior notions about relationships. But now wasn't the time for thinking. Now was the time for relishing these moments with this amazing woman who'd come to mean so much to me.
Grace mumbled something against my chest, her lips tickling my skin as she spoke.
"What, sweetheart?"
She lifted her head. "That was amazing."
" You're amazing."
"You say the sweetest things, Jax. I would never have believed you were capable after the way you talked to me in your office the second time we met."
We readjusted our clothes and ourselves so she was back to sitting sideways on my lap, the blankets forming a personal cocoon. "I'm sorry about that time, Grace. I was a dick. I'm surprised you ever talked to me after that. I don't deserve you."
Her body shook against mine. "I don't think you gave me much choice, tracking me down at my church and getting a dinner invitation out of my mom," she said, clearly amused more than irritated.
I kissed the top of her head
poking out of our covers. "What can I say? I was a desperate man at that point. As for your mom, I can't take credit for that, but I was grateful to have any opportunity to spend with you." She started to speak, but whatever she was going to say was cut short by a giant yawn. "Let's get you back to bed. We should take a nap so we can have wake-up sex again." I pretended to bite her neck, reveling in the knowledge that her shivers had nothing to do with the early morning air, loving her laughter as she squirmed in my arms.
"As great as that sounds, can we put it off for a few more minutes? I want to watch the sun rise with you."
"Anything you want."
As the sky blossomed into an array of pink and orange streaks, I knew that my words carried more than just the promise of today's new start. They carried the promise of a future I'd once never believed in.
28
Grace
"No. Grace, tell me you didn't!"
"I can't believe you served him that!"
"Did he eat it?"
"Oh, my god, I'm going to pee myself!"
I'd just confessed to my sisters and besties what the special dinner was that I'd prepared for Jax during our getaway last weekend. They were the only ones who knew who the friend was in my "weekend-away-with-a-friend"—the story I texted my parents about my absence last weekend.
Jade's face broke out with a wicked grin. "You little devil, you. I never thought you'd actually use them when I snuck them into your bag." She narrowed her eyes at me and tapped her chin. "Maybe I've misjudged you all these years."
"Well," I commented as innocently as I could. "Once I saw them in there it kind of fit my 'cock' au vin dinner. And I might have had a couple of glasses of wine ahead of time which might have fueled my whim."
"I'd love to see what they look like." Angie laughed. "And I'd've given anything to have seen his face!"
Jade popped up from her seat, searched through the ginormous sack she called a handbag she'd left by the front door, and returned with a cellophane bag in her hand, filled with green, red, and white colored pasta and threw it on my coffee table. The other girls pounced like vultures, while I remained in my spot on the floor, giggling into my second glass of wine at their reactions.
"Oh, my god, they do look like tiny penises!" Maggie exclaimed. She tilted her head. "Or creepy clown faces if you look at them upside down." Everyone's head titled along with hers to see if she was right.
"Would that be peni in the plural?" Angie's brow furrowed.
Faith's face turned red, but even she was looking at the bag with a smirk.
"Hold it up to the camera. I want to see!" Laurel's voice demanded from the computer. I snatched up the bag and held it in front of the tiny camera. I longed for the day my sister could be here in person.
Her snort came through loud and clear. "Oh, my gosh, it's like you served him weenie linguine!" Maggie and I cracked our heads as we both fell forward laughing.
"Ow! That would probably hurt a lot more if this wasn't my third glass of wine," she said, giggling as we rubbed our heads.
"Grace, you really cooked those?" Faith's eyes were wide on me.
"I did, as a joke. Jax's face was priceless." I started laughing as memories of his look of admiration when he'd seen the elegant meal morphed into shock and maybe horror when he looked closer at the bowl of pasta.
"Are those..." He couldn't even say it as he poked the serving spoon at the pasta pieces.
"What's the matter, Mr. Carter? You can't say it, can you?" I mimicked, spoiling my stern tone when I almost doubled over in laughter.
Jax straightened, his eyes gleaming. "Oh, Ms. Hart. If you wanted to taste some 'cock,' I've got one I'd be delighted to share with you."
Suddenly, I wasn't laughing anymore as he stalked around the table. I started to dart away, but he was too fast, grabbing my wrist and hauling me into his arms. I could feel his hardness rub as he lifted me and set me on the table. He gently thrust against me and talking was over.
We did end up eating the coq au vin—minus the penis pasta—but much, much later and much more naked than when I'd first served it.
"I've finally succeeded in corrupting you. I'm so proud of you, young grasshoppah." Jade's terrible accent interrupted my memories. She patted me on the head, trying to keep a serious face. She cracked. "To cocks!" she hollered, and we all broke out into giggles again.
The last time I'd laughed this hard was the last time I'd had this much wine, which was the last time we'd gotten together like this. Then I was drinking because I was so conflicted about my feelings for Jax. Tonight, I was just having fun.
"So, does sex change once you're married? Is it better having sex with your boyfriend or your husband?" Angie asked Maggie.
"It's all good, as long as one doesn't find out about the other." Maggie smiled slyly as she finished the contents of her glass, and we all hooted and toasted each other.
"Did you know," Maggie asked as she refilled her wine glass, "that sex on the beach isn't all it's cracked up to be? I swear, we were still washing sand out of parts where sand shouldn't be the next day!"
Everyone laughed, but Faith simply smiled. She wasn't a total prude, but she wasn't big on talking about sex either.
A little while later, the third bottle of wine was already half gone, the Sangria I'd made was nothing but drops in the bottom of the bowl, and most of the appetizers were gone.
"How's life in California, Laurel? Got any sneak peeks you can share about Mandy? Is Veronica finally going to kill her?" Maggie asked. She was a huge fan of Hidden Passions.
"Can't say. It's all a bit unpredictable right now." Her voice grew distant as she moved out of range of the camera. She came back onscreen with a full glass of wine. It might have been my imagination, but her eyes didn't hold the same sparkle they had earlier.
"Well, at least tell us she's going to keep sleeping with Grant. Damn! He's so hot he must set off the sprinkler system when he comes on set!" Angie fanned herself with her hand while she spoke. "That body! They need more scenes where he takes his shirt off. Lucky you, getting to get all snuggly with him under the sheets!" She winked at Laurel.
Laurel took a long swallow of her wine and stared at some unseen object on her side of the computer. "Mmhmm."
Angie tilted her head. "Wait!" She moved front and center of the computer screen. "Are you snuggling off-screen, too?"
Faith and I moved to sit next to her, interested in our sister's answer.
Laurel spit her mouthful back into her glass. She coughed several times before she recovered. "Why would you say that?"
"Because you got quiet. "You're the opposite of Grace. You stop talking when you're nervous," Angie answered.
I was surprised Laurel's returned glare didn't shatter one of our screens. "I just don't have anything to say. There’s nothing romantic about filming sex scenes in front of all those cameras and crew. It was a long day of shooting, and I don't feel like talking about work. "
Faith and I glanced at each other. Like Angie, we weren't buying it, but we didn't push. Unfortunately, Angie didn't pick up on our "leave it alone" cues.
"Something's going on there, isn't it?" Angie pressed.
"Angela Marie Hart, drop it, okay? If I wanted a lecture, I'd have called Dad." Laurel's voice was as sharp as I'd ever heard it.
Angie sat back as if slapped. "I'm sorry, sugar," she whispered. "I didn't mean to push. I love you and worry about you."
Laurel's eyes closed as she turned her head away. Remorse was all over her face when she looked back. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm fine, and I love you, too. It's just that work has been a little stressful, lately. My contract is up for renewal, Mandy's getting more airtime, and I...well...a few things have gotten tense between a few people I have to work with."
"Ah, honey. Anything we can do?" Faith asked, her face creased with concern as she propped her head on Angie's shoulder.
Laurel smiled tiredly. "No, just don't tell Dad, okay?"
"Laurel—
" Faith was forever trying to heal the rift between our baby sister and our dad.
Laurel shook her head. Faith nodded and sat back without another word. The humorous atmosphere that had suffused the room earlier evaporated. Maggie and Jade sat silently on the sidelines while the rest of us had our sister moment.
My phone chimed, blessedly breaking the awkward silence.
Cocky Guy: I'm selfish and missing you tonight. How's your girls' night?
I couldn't stop the grin that snuck up when I saw his name, then his words.
Jade snickered. "It's Jax, isn't it?"
I looked up and saw that everyone's attention was now on me. I tucked my phone under my leg and shrugged.
"It is!" Angie crowed. "I can tell by your smile."
"What is it with you trying to interpret everything by our answers or looks? How do you know it's not a client from work or one of the kids from the center, or maybe even—"
I zipped my lips when I saw her smug look. I'd fallen neatly into her previous description of me. "Fine. It was."
"He's dickmatized you." Jade nodded wisely.
"He's whatatized me?"
"Dickmatized. You want him. Plain and simple. You got a taste of him, literally, and you want more. Dickmatized. By his magic penis wand." She said it so seriously that Maggie nodded at her, but Angie fell on her side laughing. All I could see of Laurel was her arm wiping her computer screen where she'd sprayed the sip she'd just taken. Even Faith was giggling.
I giggled. "That sounds about right." I grew serious. "But I want more than just his dick. Don't get me wrong, that's really amazing. But I want all of him."
Faith put her arm around my shoulders. "You're falling in love with him, aren't you?"
"Falling, fallen..."
There was a round of “aww’s.”
"Have you told him, honey?"
I shook my head. "It's too soon, too new, especially for him. He doesn't need that kind of pressure."
"But love is a wonderful thing," Maggie protested, then held my eyes. "I have to admit; Derek and I were surprised and a little anxious when we found out you and Jax had something going on between you. Don't get me wrong," she hastily added when I shot her a look. "Derek says Jax has always been a stand-up guy, but more focused on his work than anything else, intense even. Derek doesn't think he's ever had a committed relationship with a woman before. But now he says he's never seen Jax smile as much or seem as relaxed. I think that's because of you, Grace."
Against the Rules (Harts of Passion Book 1) Page 23