by A. M. Kusi
“The Salem witch museum.” She smiled and pointed ahead.
“For real?” He half-groaned.
“It will be fun!”
“You and I have very different definitions of the word ‘fun,’” Jax deadpanned.
She laughed and led him to the front door. He pulled out his wallet to pay their admission, but she stopped him. “My date, so I pay.” She handed the cashier her credit card.
He didn’t like his date paying for him, so he quickly grabbed her card and pulled out his own while she protested.
“Jax!”
“That’s where I draw the line,” he said, handing her card back to her.
She exhaled loudly, and took it from him. He saw the small smile she tried to hide that played at the corner of her mouth.
After he paid, they took their time walking through the old museum, reading up on the history of the town and witches being persecuted. They visited a shop, where Harper bought herself a pink crystal necklace and spent a few minutes talking to the woman behind the counter while he looked around. When they got outside, she handed him a black polished stone.
“What is this? A witch’s fossilized ashes?”
“Black tourmaline. The woman in there said it was to ward off negative energy and help with bad dreams. I figured you could use something for your pocket for when I’m not around to protect you,” she teased.
Jax smiled and rolled his eyes, placing the stone that meant much more than he would ever admit into his pocket.
“Next stop is something sweet!”
Jax grabbed her hand as they walked over to the oldest candy company in America, Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie. When they got inside, she excitedly looked around, sampling the old-fashioned candy every so often. Harper decided on caramel turtles, and this time, he had his card ready for the cashier.
They walked back out into the sunshine, nibbling on the chocolate caramel treats while heading off the beaten path, away from the main tourist area.
“Where are you taking me now?” he groaned.
“Sustenance,” she answered coyly.
“Oh, so we did dessert first?”
“Don’t you like to mix it up every now and then?”
“Not really. My blood sugar is appreciative when I eat my protein-rich meal first, before I indulge in sweets.”
She rolled her eyes and glanced over to him. Her gaze darkened, as a sly smirk curved one side of her mouth. She stopped him and placed her hand on his chest. “Well, I like my chocolate anytime, anywhere,” she purred suggestively, standing on her tiptoes to reach him.
Jax bent his head lower, meeting her for a kiss. But instead, he felt her hot, wet tongue lick the corner of his mouth and cheek instead. He pulled back, surprised. “What the hell? Did you just lick me? Do you have a fetish I need to know about?”
She laughed. “You had melted chocolate on the corner of your mouth. I told you I like my chocolate, didn’t I?”
He smiled and put his arm over her shoulder as they continued down the side road. “I thought you meant me.”
“Oh! I get it now.” She laughed.
“Don’t act like you didn’t plan that.”
They walked until they came upon Major Magleashe’s Pub. “This is certainly not what I expected,” Jax said, walking in and seeing the small neighborhood bar. “You sure you don’t want to go somewhere…fancier?”
“They have the best burgers here. Trust me,” she said, taking a seat at the bar.
He sat next to her, but before he could say anything, she stopped him. “Let me order for us.”
He wasn’t used to relinquishing control of any kind, but Harper seemed to crash through every wall he had. “Okay,” he agreed, submitting to her will and anything that would make that smile reappear on her face.
When the barkeep came over, she ordered two burgers and two beers. The beer was cold and their lunch came sooner than he had expected. Jax took a bite, and thought he might have died and gone to heaven.
“Well?” she asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“This is really good,” Jax admitted.
She smiled. Jax didn’t want to admit it, but it was the most fun he’d had since the last time he’d spent the day with Harper. He hated surprises, but she made them fun.
When they finished their lunch, they made their way back to the car, then the ferry. Jax kept his arms around her, and she drank in his closeness. They had stolen kisses where they could during the day, and he was glad that there were so few moments where his hands were not somewhere on her body.
They stood on the observation deck of the ferry, watching the boats float by. “I had fun today. Did you?” she asked.
“Yes. More fun than I’d thought possible with graveyards and witches.” He laughed.
Harper turned to face him, leaning against the rail. “I like when you smile. You are so handsome, and when you smile, it takes your sexiness to another level.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I like when you smile too. Do you think we could go back to my place and let me make you smile a lot more after this?” he asked. Even he could hear the need in his deep voice.
“I wish I could. I promised my parents I would come for dinner. River is back, and they want us all to get together. You could come?”
“That would be too weird, me showing up and being invited by you. They would suspect.” Jax declined.
“Well, text River and tell him you miss him and want to see him. Get him to invite you,” she offered.
“I don’t think that is a good idea. Maybe after dinner you can stop by? Or I can come to you?” he suggested before kissing her.
Their lips danced and synced together. He felt the kiss down to the marrow in his bones. He tingled as his body heated with arousal, with the primal urge to claim every inch of her.
Jax pulled her closer, pressing his body against her, not caring who was watching. Harper had that effect on him, making him lose focus of everything around him except her. Spinning, blurring, spiraling in her allure.
“Get a room!” someone yelled, interrupting their moment.
Jax took her hand and led her to her car, where they would have a little more privacy. The ferry was beginning to dock anyway.
Once they were in, he leaned over the console to continue where they had left off but she stopped him. “I promised Isa we could have a girls’ night after I got back from my parents. Rain check?”
Jax sighed with disappointment. “Sure.” He pulled off the ferry and drove to where his car was parked.
Harper got out and walked around the car.
“When can I see you again, outside of work?” he asked, moving from her car.
“Tomorrow?”
She leaned against him, wrapping her hands around his neck. He dug his fingers around the curve of her backside. She ground herself into his growing hardness and kissed him until he was forced to break for air, lost in a haze of lust. It was causing him physical pain every time he got this worked up around her, only to be left hard and wanting.
“See you tomorrow,” Harper said.
“I don’t want to let you go,” he admitted.
“I know the feeling.”
Jax leaned down and kissed her forehead before releasing his hold on her. He playfully swatted her ass as she walked away. Harper turned and smiled at him with lips still swollen from their feverish kissing. She got into her car and drove off, taking a few more pieces of him with her.
Chapter 16
Later that night, Jax was working on his computer, replying to emails that he hadn’t gotten to because he’d been out with Harper, and getting a head start on Monday’s work. A basketball game was showing on the flat-screen in front of him, sitting over the long black entertainment center that held his surround-sound equipment.
Buckets
of rain poured down, battering the roof and windows. Wind howled as thunder rumbled through the dense night air. The storm’s energy was unstable and volatile. He took a sip from his second beer before pushing his laptop onto the grey overstuffed couch next to him to look out the window. A flash of lightening streaked across the purple sky. Thunder cracked and boomed again, shaking the ground. He stood and made his way from the simple living room towards the kitchen of his loft apartment, unease and anticipation twisting knots in his guts. He felt a changing shift in the atmosphere, the storm now directly overhead. Tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Jax tossed the glass bottle into the small recycling bin under his sink when he heard a knock at the door.
He wasn’t expecting anyone. Curious to see who was outside his door, he peeked through the peephole. As soon as he saw the golden-eyed beauty, his heart began thudding in his chest. Fat droplets of water dripped from the ends of her hair, cascading into the white wet shirt that clung to her body like a second skin, exposing the red bra underneath. Mascara ran down her cheeks. She was just as beautiful as ever. Jax ripped open the door as fast as he could.
“Hey.” She smiled, licking her lips. She was nervously wringing her hands. Harper Parker was going to be the death of him.
Jax smiled, caressing every inch of her with his eyes while standing in the doorway. “Hey, yourself. I thought it was girls’ night.”
“Well, it’s raining and I did say rain check,” she joked.
“I don’t think that’s how the saying is supposed to work.” He laughed.
“When I caught Isa up to the last couple weeks of my life, she asked what I was still doing at the bar with her instead of in my new boyfriend’s bed.”
“I think I like Isa already.” Jax smirked. “Wanna come in?” he asked, moving to the side.
She walked into the apartment, taking in his living quarters and nodding appreciatively at the industrial shelving in the clean kitchen.
“No pictures, huh?” she asked, setting her purse onto the bar.
He shut the door and approached behind her. Uncertainty welling under her scrutiny. He never let women to his home, his sacred place. Here he was inviting Harper in, like he had a choice. She had penetrated and obliterated every other boundary he had set for himself. The space behind his ribcage creaking and wavering whenever he was around her, threatening to conquer him and free him all at once. Controlled chaos with honey-brown eyes full of hope. “Nope.”
“Why?”
“I just didn’t see the point—too distracting. I’m not really here much except to sleep.” He smirked as his insides coiled tightly with lust, threatening to snap and tear his insides to shreds. The raging inferno was fueled by the way her body quivered, her cheeks blushed pink with her own need.
Harper turned to face him; an act of surrender towards the energy that surged between them. He saw the same turmoil in her eyes. As if she too were a prisoner to the overpowering lust that threatened to destroy him. He closed the remaining steps between them, then wrapped her in his arms. They both knew what was going to happen next—they would cross a line that couldn’t be uncrossed. He knew Harper was all in, but she seemed nervous nonetheless. Something fierce and primal squeezed his insides, screaming to protect her, to hold her, and never let her go.
Jax was captivated by each movement she made. The blink of her dilated eyes, the rapid short breaths that made her hard nipples press against his stomach, and the way her hands held his waist. Heat blossomed underneath each fingertip scorching his skin. Every movement was magnified by thick flames of anticipation that danced around them, promising desolating ecstasy. Death and rebirth. The beginning of the end.
Jax leaned down and kissed her forehead before wiping some of the mascara off her cheek. Harper smiled.
“You’re soaked,” he said.
“You have no idea,” Harper said in a husky voice.
And just like that, she had stolen another piece of him; his self-control. He crashed his mouth into hers. Her lips gasoline to the sparks flying between them. The month of anticipation and longing, all those lonely nights being haunted by the forbidden memories they shared—no fantasy could compare to this. The reality was so much better.
He slid his tongue across her open mouth. Every cell in his body wanted to devour her. Jax raked his teeth over her bottom lip before dipping his tongue back into the well of her mouth, tasting her sweetness. She moaned, as he moved his hands down her thighs. Picking her up, he wrapped her legs around him in one quick motion before he carried her up the metal stairs to his room, not breaking the seal of their kiss until he dropped her on his bed. Afraid if he stopped, the moment would be ripped away from him.
And right then, Harper breathed into him like the true life-giving goddess she was. Sucking in her exhale, he filled his lungs with everything he never knew he needed. She invaded every hidden recess.
Harper was seemingly in awe as she backed farther onto the bed, slipping off her heels before kneeling to face him.
“Are you sure?” he asked. His body in physical torment from the space she’d created between them.
“I want you,” she answered.
Jax tore off his shirt, his skin burning as she caressed his body with her hooded gaze.
“You are so hot. I have a thing for muscular men with tattoos, you know?” she admitted.
Jax smiled, pulling off his sweatpants, leaving him completely naked. Harper’s eyes grew big, focused on his arousal.
“Your turn,” he directed.
Harper deviously smiled as she pulled the white top off over her head, before quickly unclasping her red bra and tossing it on the ground. He stifled a growl as he clenched his jaw shut. Her pink nipples, the perfect tempting mouthful. His hands itched to touch them. Her exposed skin still damp, erupted in goose bumps as she shivered. He liked seeing that he wasn’t the only one affected by whatever this was between them.
Jax couldn’t wait one more second to have his hands and mouth on her. He kissed her in a tangle of tongues and lips as he crawled onto the bed, over her. The connection of their bodies blistered where his skin touched hers, threatening to incinerate him. He welcomed the burn as his hands explored the bare flesh of her erect nipples and lush breasts. His mouth moved to one of the buds, sucking and biting, with teasing laves of his tongue. She moaned and he felt the throbbing burn of his need pulse against her thigh.
He slid his hands to her skirt. Finding the zipper, he fumbled in his haste to remove the scrap of black fabric. The fierce ache to taste her making each second compounded. The red lace panties, his last obstacle. Urgency to get as close as humanly possible to her overpowered him.
He pulled back momentarily to look into her eyes. Her lips were swollen, eyes hazy with shared need. She gripped his shoulders, kneading his flesh, and he could see from her expression she was succumbing to the same overwhelming draw between them. Needy and desperate. Starved and greedy. Prisoners, held hostage by their own savage lust.
With their gazes locked, his mouth moved down her neck, nipping and sucking. He was slow and gentle, taking his time to find and caress every area on her body that made her moan in pleasure. Time ceased to exist. His hyper-focus, her pleasure. His sole purpose for living was to bring her ecstasy. She grasped his head as his mouth traveled farther down her soft stomach, leaving wet swirls with his tongue. A taste of what was to come. She was panting now, as his head made the final descent, burrowing between her thighs. She let out a sharp gasp as his tongue collided with the hot juncture between her shaking thighs. He licked and laved. Suckled, stroked, and nipped as she shuddered around him.
“Jax! Don’t stop,” she pleaded.
He had no intention of stopping. He wanted to taste her sweet release. Placing two fingers inside her, he curled them, seeking the spot that he knew would drive her over the edge. Send her free-falling into the abyss
of euphoria.
Her body tensed as her walls closed in around his hand working in tandem with his mouth to bring her to the height of her first orgasm. He sat up and looked at her, mesmerized by the bliss soaking through her as she lay spent and wordless. Pride glowed in his chest, that he had been the one to bring her there.
She surprised him by wrapping her hand around his velvety hardness, and he groaned in pleasure, unable to focus on anything else.
“I need to be inside of you,” he said, stopping her hand and reaching to the drawer of his nightstand.
Harper halted him. “I’m on the pill. If you’re clean, I trust you.”
Surprise mixed with temptation as he thought about what she’d said. He had never had sex with anyone without a condom before. The thought of being so connected and exposed to Harper, without any barriers, was enticing, exciting, and risky. Just like everything else with this woman, his better judgment was overshadowed by the greed of his lust for her.
Jax nodded. “I just got checked two months ago. I haven’t been with anyone since before then.”
Harper pulled him on top of her. He was careful to not rest all his weight on her as he slid inside her in one slow but firm thrust. Harper gasped as they collided as one.
***
Harper had never felt so fully part of someone else before. He filled every crevice, stretching her, as he rocked her into a hypnotic rhythm. She couldn’t get enough of Jax. He invaded every part, overwhelming her senses. Filling, teasing, weaving himself into her DNA.
She had experienced what she thought was good sex before, but this was on another level. She writhed and arched her back, trying to get closer as he used his fingers in frenzied strokes and swirls on the swollen spot that ached and throbbed. It was like having one constant, long orgasm as wave after wave of explosions rocked her body, threatening to combust. His muscles clenched and flexed with each thrust. And he conquered a little more of her heart each time.
She cried out with her release, “Jax!”