by Pepper North
Chapter Nine
During the night, Ember felt Jax’s warm lips kissing across her collarbone. “Mmm,” she murmured, tilting her head so he had total access. Darkness wrapped around them except for a thin column of light coming from the bathroom. Her heart skipped a beat. He left a nightlight on for me!
During the night, they’d switched positions, and he lay on his side, one thigh stretched over hers to pin her in place. Shifting slightly, she felt his thick erection pressed into her side. There was no mistaking his desire. Ember squeezed her thighs together as she felt her body responding to him.
Her hands traced over his shoulder as he leaned over her body. Feeling her way over corded muscles, she stumbled across the bandage she’d taped to his skin. Her hand covered it and pressed lightly before continuing with her explorations. The feel of his weight holding her against the firm mattress reminded her he was in charge.
Jax shifted to trail a path of kisses to her right breast. His tongue swirled around her nipple as he cupped her soft mound, lifting it to his mouth. Repeating the caresses to her other side, Jax continued to press kisses to her sensitive skin before trailing a finger down the center line of her body to cup her most private area.
“You’re so hot here, baby. I can feel your juice coating my fingers. Do you want me to make you feel good again?”
“Jax, please!” she whispered.
Grabbing a packet from the nightstand, he shifted between her thighs. The covers slid from his back to pool at her feet as he knelt between her thighs. “Bend your knees. I need to taste you, baby.”
Hesitantly, she pulled her feet back toward her hips. When his arms hooked under her bent legs and lifted, Ember squealed in surprise. Easily holding her weight, Jax eased her legs over his shoulders. “Good girl,” he praised as his hands supported her bottom and lifted her to his mouth. “Just a taste.”
The point of his tongue trailed down the line of her swelling lips. “Mmm,” he murmured against her skin, sending vibrations through her most private place. “I’m addicted to the taste of you, Ember.”
Gliding through her pink folds, Jax sought all her most responsive spots. Each time her breath caught in her throat, his tongue explored that area closely. Slowly tasting his way, he approached her clitoris. Her fingers curled into the mattress as he circled that bundle of nerves with his lips and sucked lightly. Her body gushed in response as the draw of his mouth intensified. Just as it became too much, he pulled back his mouth away from her body, releasing the suction with a pop.
“No, don’t stop,” she urged him.
“Daddy’s in charge, baby.” His hands lowered her bottom gently as he stood up on his knees. Suspended by her legs over his shoulders, Ember held her breath as he stroked on a condom. His hands brushed her inner thighs several times, making her yearn for his caresses.
Finally, he fit the broad head of his erection against her opening. As his shaft filled her body, Jax gripped her hips holding her in place. Deeper and deeper, he moved inside her body until she could feel his wiry hair rub against her mound. His body ground against her, forcing a reaction from her.
An orgasm ripped through her body. Jax didn’t pause or slow down. He continued to move against her body until her heels drummed against his back. “Jax, I can’t take it this close,” she protested.
“You don’t have a choice, baby. Come for me,” he commanded. One hand traced the cleft between her buttocks. “All of your body will know my touch. Even here, Ember. Your body will yield to receive me here.” His finger coated in her juices pressed against that hidden entrance between her cheeks. Overruling her resistance, he slid one finger into her tight channel.
Pleasure exploded from her core. Squeezing his cock inside her, Ember writhed against Jax as she arched toward him. Her body lifted to balance her weight on her shoulders and his.
His strokes quickened, plunging into her body. Her head twisted against the mattress as Jax forced every bit of response Ember could give. With a roar, he emptied himself into the condom deep inside her. Jax gripped her hips tightly. She knew his fingers would leave claiming marks on her skin. A thrill of pleasure zinged through her at that thought. She was his.
When he slowly lowered her to the narrow mattress, she rested limply on the soft surface. All energy wrung from her body, she allowed Jax to move her onto her side as he curled around her body. He wrapped an arm around her waist and one hand spanned her stomach, hugging her tight against him. Warm and protected, Ember felt his lips deliver in one last caress to her hair as she drifted into sleep.
* * *
The next morning, Jax woke her with kisses. “Damn, I want to keep you here, baby.”
“I’d like that too, but...” Her voice trailed off. She needed to keep this job. Ember wanted to do her best for this amazing project.
“Up, up, up!” he encouraged, rolling out of bed and tugging her free of the covers. “Potty,” he suggested, popping her on the bare bottom as she dashed past him.
“Ouch!” She glared over her shoulder at him.
His words followed her into the bathroom. “Look nicely at Daddy or he’ll show you what happens to disrespectful little girls.”
This time when he strolled into the bathroom while she was on the toilet, it didn’t scare Ember as much. Her face still flooded with heat and she knew she was blushing furiously. Choosing to focus on his jeans slung low on his hips, Ember appreciated his body framed by the denim.
He heated the water again at the sink before bringing a washcloth over to the toilet. Wiping the traces of their lovemaking from between her thighs, Jax urged her over to the sink where her clothes still lay. He helped her dress quickly. Turning her to look in the mirror, he carefully brushed her long hair free of tangles before braiding her hair into a French braid down the back of her head.
“You know how to do that?” she asked, amazed. In the back of her mind she wondered whose hair he had practiced on. Her fingers traced over the back of the braid as she turned to look sideways into the mirror.
“I had two younger sisters.” He grinned at her. “You were jealous!”
She started to deny it, but nodded. “I don’t want to think of you taking care of anyone but me.”
“Deal,” he announced.
“What?” She looked at him in confusion.
“You’re officially the one I take care of, baby. Come on. Let’s get you to your apartment so you can get to work on time.” Holding out his hand for hers, Jax appeared to take his breathtaking announcement in stride.
* * *
“Tell me about more your job, baby,” Jax directed after running through the fast food drive-through lane. He wanted her to have something to eat for breakfast before going to work.
Quickly, Ember swallowed her bite of the egg sandwich Jax had purchased. Watching him open another wrapper, she guessed he hadn’t eaten for a while either. He was plowing through an amazing assortment of food that he had ordered. “Are you going to eat all that?”
“Somehow, I built an appetite. A taste of something sweet and I’m Emberous,” he teased, suggestively raising one eyebrow. His smile broadened when her face heated, spreading the rosy blush over her cheeks again.
She plunged ahead into her story. “I have a new job back at my old company. It’s so much better. They watched the video and saw Traci... being Traci. She lost her job and I should be sorry, but I’m not,” Ember answered in a rush of words. She bounced in excitement at the thought of her new job.
“What? How did that all happen?”
“Mr. Berkley watched the video and called me.”
“General Berkley called you?”
“You know him? He looked like he’d been in the military.”
“Weathered and broken down?” Jax teased.
“No! He stood straight and commanded respect. You know, like you.” When Jax smiled, she rushed ahead, “I would have been totally intimidated by him, but his secretary is friendly and sweet. We’ve had lunch together to t
alk and plan. She has great ideas for the flower gardens. General Berkley even paid.”
“Good! It sounds like he knows he’s lucky to have you.”
Ember beamed at him. She loved how supportive he was of her. “I get to use my degree in agriculture. Mr. Berkley... General Berkley... Did I screw up yesterday calling him Mr.?”
“Only if you were a soldier who served under him and then it’s an honorary title.”
Quickly, she ran through her new job details as she understood them. “I’ll see more today when I start pulling together a plan. I can’t wait to see what the parameters are. The amount of money needed to do this right is staggering.”
“I don’t think the general is going to nickel and dime you.” Jax pulled up in front of her building and parked quickly.
“You don’t have to come up with me,” she stammered.
“I’m coming up with you. You don’t need to worry if it’s messy. I’ve seen your panties on the ground.”
“It’s not that... it’s just not very welcoming,” she tried to convince him. When he just stared at her impassively, she turned and led the way up the stairs into the foyer.
* * *
Jax lifted a piece of the tattered wallpaper hanging loose as he watched Ember grab her mail. Following her up the unsteady stairs, he became more and more concerned. They passed a door that sat hanging open from one hinge. Looking through the sizeable gap, he noticed the interior was in total disarray. A movement inside told him that someone lived there.
Every cell in his body told him to beware. She was not living here. “Baby, this isn’t a safe place for you to stay.”
“I know it looks bad. But I’ve been fine,” she reassured in a rush.
They reached the top of the stairs for her floor and walked halfway down the hallway. A mass of police tape over a door catty-cornered to her apartment caught his eye. “What happened over there, baby?”
“Rumor is the guy was shot during a drug deal,” Ember shared as she slid her key into the lock.
One lock. No deadbolt. Hollow-core door. A teenage boy could kick that open in a minute. Jax cursed himself for not escorting her to the door previously. Thanking the powers that be for keeping her safe, he decided she wouldn’t stay there another night.
“Home sweet home.” Her voice trembled slightly as she opened the door. “I’ll just be a minute.” Quickly, Ember began stripping off her clothes to dash into the shower.
Grinning at her pink cheeks, Jax relaxed for a minute before staring around at the single open room. The windows were all covered by ragged blankets tacked to the wall. At the side of the room, they had installed a round basin shower base with a shower curtain. Watching her step quickly into the small base, he asked, “Is the shower safe?”
“Yeah! I won’t be here long,” she called, moving wildly behind the clinging shower curtain. ”I got an advance on my monthly salary and my back pay. I’ll start looking this weekend for a new apartment. I’ve already paid through the month so...”
“Nope. You leave here today.”
Shivering, she stepped from the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack above to wrap around her. “I’ve already paid...”
“You’re not staying here anymore.”
“But where can I go? I really can’t argue about this now. I need to get ready for work. You can go. I’ll catch the bus,” she informed him snottily.
“Watch that tone, baby.”
“Don’t baby me. Just because we fucked doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do,” she shouted as she pulled on her panties.
“Wrong choice,” he informed her ominously as he stalked forward. Instantly, he saw her expression change from pissed off to ‘what have I done?’ She knew she’d made a mistake. There were no chairs or sofa, so he whirled her around to face the wall. “Brace your hands here,” he directed, demonstrating the position he wanted her to take.
“What are you going to do?”
Jax was pleased to see her follow his directions. He pressed one hand firmly between her shoulders to lean her forward and keep her off-balance. “Spank that attitude out of you,” he informed her as he yanked down her panties.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Jax swatted her full bottom. He loved the sweet bounce to her flesh and the redness that sprang immediately on her pale flesh. Her cute wiggle as she reacted to the sharp zing of discomfort enchanted him, but Jax was the master of maintaining his focus. Spanking her bottom repeatedly, he monitored her reactions.
“Stop! You can’t do this!”
“The moment we deepened our relationship, you became my little girl.”
“What? We didn’t deepen sh—”
Jax’s next swat interrupted her words. “Be very careful, Ember. Little girls who swear end up in the corner with soap in their mouths. I don’t think you have time to hang out there this morning.”
“Jax! Stop! Maybe I’m not a little girl.” Sobs welled from her chest. This time when she turned to look at Jax, fat tears rolled down her face.
“Don’t lie to me, baby.” His hand landed once again on her now reddened bottom.
“I’m sorry. I’m scared. I have this new job. I have you. I don’t know how to handle all of this. I’m afraid I’ll have another panic attack,” she sobbed.
“Come here, baby.” Jax sat on the floor and pulled her down onto his lap. She gasped as her weight settled on her punished flesh. Quickly, her arms wrapped around Jax and Ember clung to him as her tears soaked into his T-shirt. “Shh! It’s okay, baby girl. I know you’re scared. Can you let me help you with some of these worries?”
“You want to help me?” she asked, looking up at him in disbelief. “We’ve only known each other for a while.”
“Time isn’t always the most important thing to pay attention to, Ember. Listen to your heart. What is it telling you?” Jax prodded.
“My heart?” she repeated. Ember shifted one hand between them and pressed it in between her breasts. Several seconds ticked by as she sat sniffing on his lap. “It’s yours? I’ve never felt like this before, Jax.”
Tilting her chin up, Jax kissed her tenderly. Her eager response reassured him. “I know, baby. I’ve never felt this way either. I won’t let you run away from us.” Pulling up the bottom of his shirt, Jax wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Can you teach me how to be Little for you?” she whispered.
“No. But I can help you be Little for yourself. This isn’t playtime, baby. How long have you dreamed about having a daddy to take care of you completely?”
“Forever. Especially after I read that first book. I understood myself so much better,” she admitted. Twirling a fingertip across his T-shirt, she avoided his eyes as she asked, “Did you always know that you were a daddy?”
“Yes, baby. I always knew that I needed to find my special little girl who would be brave enough to live her truth and to allow me to care of her.” In his mind, Jax rebuked himself for not had this discussion earlier. A Little always needed time to talk and process. Their time had been so limited, and then he’d been sent on a mission.
“I think I could be brave,” she whispered, peeking up at him.
“I think you are brave. You and I have a lot to talk about, but you have a new job to start. Are you ready to get dressed now?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry I swore and talked mean.”
“Thank you, baby.” Jax rewarded Ember with a sweet kiss. Lifting her up to stand, he pulled her panties up from her ankles before popping her softly on the bottom to get her moving. “Now, clothes!”
* * *
“Ouch!” she exclaimed, rubbing her bottom as she ran over to the closet to grab another outfit. She would need to buy some additional clothes for the days she’d be working in the office so she’d fit in with the other staff members. That scared her the most. What if the other employees were Tracis? Ember could feel her heart pounding faster. No, not now!
“Breathe, Ember. Smell the flowery soap you used in the
shower.”
She could feel the heat radiating from Jax’s body. She knew he was standing close behind her. Would he become impatient with her and rush her to stop messing around like her family had? Ember tried to force herself to push off the approaching panic attack.
“Not like that, baby. Just breathe and take a minute. There’s no rush. Just focus on my voice. Everything is okay.” Jax didn’t move.
Like he was the beacon on a lighthouse offering safety, Ember looked at him for help. He stood close but not caging her. Jax looked concerned, but she could see that he wasn’t upset or angry. Reaching out a hand, Ember needed to hold on to him.
“Try to match your breath as I count, baby. One. Two. Three. Four. Five...” Jax counted slowly up to ten and then began again. His pace never wavered.
Reassured by his patience, Ember was able to begin to match her breath to his count in a short time. To her surprise, Jax didn’t stop immediately when she could control her breathing. He finished the count and paused.
Squeezing her hand, he asked, “Should we keep counting?”
His words freed her from the spot where Ember had frozen. She rushed forward to wrap her arms around his waist and press her face against his chest. “How do you do that? You always help me.”
“Sometimes people just need someone who cares about them to bring a different focus. I won’t be with you always, so we’ll start working on giving you some methods to help shorten or lessen an attack. Are you ready to get dressed?”
Nodding, she looked down at the clothes she had scrunched against her body. Thankfully, they were not made of fabric that wrinkled. In five minutes, she was ready to go: dressed, teeth brushed, shoes on, and hair brushed. Ember didn’t normally wear makeup, but she’d brushed some powder over her blotchy skin. She was not one of those cute criers.
“I’m ready.”
“Let’s go. Plenty of time to get you there. Key.” Jax held his hand out expectantly.
“Key?” she asked, bewildered.