by Sam Crescent
She tilted her head to the side, looking at him. “Fine. You’re right. I was needy. It has been a long time since I’ve had sex, but you know what, I’ve got a good working pair of hands and an imagination. I can take care of myself.”
Brushing past him, she stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door.
Her pussy was soaking wet, but she couldn’t do it. The apartment was way too good of a deal to pass up. She didn’t want to move out just because she couldn’t keep herself under control. That was just a pitiful excuse.
Resting her head against the door, she ran her hand down her body. Her tits felt heavy. She’d loved his hands on her body. Sliding inside her shorts, she found her swollen, aching clit. He was right, it wouldn’t have taken much to come. Not even close and now she was so horny.
Jax had a nice, thick cock. She’d felt how hard he was and knew he wouldn’t be a disappointment in the size department. It was everything else she was going to have an issue with.
Sliding a finger deep inside her, she drew out the moisture and teased her clit. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of anyone that wasn’t Jax, but failed miserably. He was right there. The king of her fantasies. The way he held her, controlled her, took what he wanted. She came after a few strokes to her clit, and afterward was annoyed that she even let him get that far inside her fantasies.
He was her roommate.
Completely off limits.
She wasn’t going to allow anything like that to happen again.
“Just remember he uses women and doesn’t care about them,” she muttered. That should do the trick. She hoped.
Chapter Seven
“You forgot our beers,” Ryan said.
“What?”
“We’re watching ball. It requires beers,” Wes said.
Getting to his feet, Jax grabbed them a couple of beers, trying to think what the fuck was on his mind. He knew exactly what was on his mind, but that wasn’t helping him. Dani.
His little roommate who he’d not seen since their little … makeout session. Not that it could be considered an actual session. They kissed a couple of times. No big deal.
Handing the boys a drink, he sat down, watching the game.
They had shared that over a week ago.
He’d not been with anyone since before then.
Jax couldn’t remember the last chick he was with or what her name was.
He woke up every single night hard as rock thinking about Dani in the shower. Dani on the pole. Dani dancing with him.
Damn it.
He just kept thinking about Dani.
Their team scored, and he didn’t even watch it. Sitting with a beer in his hand, he wondered what the fuck she was doing. It was a Sunday, and she wasn’t around. Her bedroom door was actually wide open and no signs of her.
“Are you even watching?” Wes asked.
“Yeah.”
“They why aren’t you cheering?”
“It was an okay touchdown. Not anything great.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait a second. What the hell are you saying?”
“We’re talking about the same thing, right? Football.” He shrugged. “I’m watching the game.”
“Guys, something is wrong with Jax. He’s not feeling okay.” Riley reached out, putting a hand to his head. “Nope, he seems okay to me, so clearly whatever is bugging him is—”
“It’s Dani,” Ryan said, interrupting.
“Dani?” All four men asked.
“It’s nothing. Just get back to watching the game.” Jax wasn’t going to be one of those guys that talked about his feelings and shit.
“He called me up early in the fucking morning asking me to give him reasons to not fuck Dani. It’s her. She’s bugging him. Has she finally gotten under that tough asshole skin of yours?”
“Fuck you, Ryan.”
“Yeah, it’s Dani,” they all said at the same time.
“I don’t need to listen to this shit.” He went to get up.
“So if you gave him a list of reasons why not to fuck her, did you think of giving him a list of reasons to?” Carl asked.
“Guys, he treats women like shit. I don’t think he should be fucking with a woman that pays half his rent.”
“That is true,” Wes said.
“This is not even a topic of conversation.” No matter what he said, none of them were listening.
“That is clearly not true otherwise we wouldn’t be having this topic of conversation right now. While football is on.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You’ve got to talk about it,” Sean said.
“Guys, have you ever thought that this isn’t about the sex? That maybe our boy likes her?” Ryan asked.
Sitting back in his chair, he knew there was no way they were going to stop until they’d gotten in their ribbing. Taking a large sip of his beer, Jax watched the game but didn’t really see it. Instead, he listened to his friends as they joked about his current predicament.
“I guess he’s not used to liking anyone, are you?” Carl asked. “Don’t worry. We’re all schooled in the art of liking women. We’ll help you out.”
“This is not happening.” He grabbed the remote, turning off the television. “You can all leave.” He wasn’t in the mood for this shit. Storming from the sitting room, he walked out onto the small balcony. Sipping his beer, he stared out across the city. So much was going on, and right now, he didn’t feel part of it.
Seconds passed maybe even minutes before Ryan came out.
“Where are the others?” Jax asked.
“Gone. You’ll make it up to them with free drinks or something. They were just having a laugh and a joke. You were the one that invited us all around here.”
“Not for that. I don’t need to talk about that shit. I’m not a fucking pussy.”
“Jax, it doesn’t make you a pussy to talk about your feelings. It also doesn’t make you weak to like a girl.”
“Are you going to try and analyze me now?” Jax asked.
“Look, I can delve into all kinds of shit with you. From your mother’s passing to your dad’s current wife. How it’s shaped you into the man you are. But I’m not going to do that because you know why you’re the way you are, and I’m not going to change your mind with it. Dani’s been in your life a matter of months, and you like her. Just admit it. Is it so hard to admit you like a woman?”
He stared at the city, refusing to look at his friend.
“I like her,” he said. “What’s that supposed to achieve? We made out.”
“What?”
“I came home and found her doing some routine on my pole. I told you that was a fucking hot idea, by the way. She was riding that pole, looking sexy as fuck, and I wanted her. I wanted to fuck her. I kissed her. She kissed me. We were getting pretty steamy, and I had her naked tits in my hands and then, poof. Nothing. She pulled away and said it wasn’t happening. I’ve not seen or heard from her since. I know she comes home. I still get my pile of clean laundry, but we’ve not talked or had any late-night binge-watching sessions.” He missed spending time with her, but he wasn’t about to tell Ryan that.
It was bad enough the other guys knew that he liked her, let alone any of them knowing he had feelings for her.
“I had no idea she could work the pole. Is she a stripper or something?” Ryan asked.
“Out of all of that, you’re going to zero in on the stripper thing?”
“What? We’re not BFFs for nothing.”
“What would Lily think with you talking that way?”
“Now you’re worried about my girl? Seriously, Jax, what is wrong with you?”
“Nothing is wrong with me.”
“Nothing is wrong with you. Not even close. You just need to figure out what you want to do and how far you’re willing to go with this.”
“Okay, I can do this. Ask me a few questions.”
“They’re not supposed to be trivial.”
“I don
’t care. Just ask me these things and we can figure this out.”
“Fine. You really like this girl?”
He paused, but he already knew the answer. “Yes. I do.” He really did like Dani. He didn’t need a couple of months to figure that out. He already knew it. It’s one of the reasons why he’d not been with a woman in a few months. Every time he thought about it, he actually felt fucking guilty.
A woman had him by the balls, and she didn’t even know it.
“Is it just for a fuck thing?”
“No, not even close.”
“Okay, so if it’s not for a fuck, what could it be for?”
“I like her, Ryan. Like really, really like her. I wouldn’t want her to leave after I fucked her. I don’t know if I’m capable of being more though. I’ve never had a girlfriend. You know that.”
“I know. You’ve always been the love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy.”
“A complete and total asshole.” He rubbed at his temples. “I mean, what am I supposed to do? She sees women leaving my room all the time.”
“Maybe take it slow. First, you could ask her out on a date. A real date.”
“I don’t date. What do people do on dates?”
Ryan sighed. “It’s like I’m having practice to talk to my future son. Okay, here we go. Dates are supposed to be fun. They can be a walk in the park, the movies, something fun. I even took Lily for a trip to the zoo.”
“You did that in seventh grade and screamed like a girl in the reptile center because you thought one of their spiders had escaped and was crawling all over you.”
“Hey, it totally could have happened.”
He rolled his eyes. “Come on, this is not supposed to be about you but about me, remember? Come on, man. I need pointers.”
“Take her out. Go dancing. I don’t know, take her to a strip club or something. Just think of something fun and then maybe broach the subject that you’d like to try and be something more. My big bit of advice though … don’t sleep with any more strangers. Just ignore them and concentrate on the girl that you’ve got a hard-on for. You think you can do that?”
“I think I can try.”
“I got to be heading back.”
“Ryan,” Jax asked. “That thing about your future son? Is Lily knocked up?”
“Maybe.”
“Whoop-whoop, you horndog you.”
“Keep it down. She doesn’t want anyone to know. The first trimester is the hardest part and there’s a risk she may lose it, so we’re keeping it to ourselves and you’re my best friend so now you know.”
“I won’t tell a soul. I swear.” He had more important things to think about right now, like how he was going to finally get Dani to at least talk to him. He didn’t know her schedule, but he was going to have to totally wing it.
****
Dani was so tired, and she still needed to eat something. She knew after a few hours’ sleep she’d be more than ready to get started again. She’d been taking so many hours in the past couple of days, mainly because she didn’t want to come home.
She didn’t want to confront Jax over what happened. There hadn’t even been any real build-up between them. Not really. Sure, there were a few times they’d been close and their gazes had collided and she’d wondered what it would be like for him to kiss her. Then she had pushed that to the back of her mind.
Who wouldn’t think of kissing their heavily inked, asshole neighbor? She certainly didn’t have a problem with it. Far from it. His kiss had made her so wet, and he’d even gotten her naked from the waist up.
She’d have gladly fucked him on that sofa as well. She was screwed.
There was only so much she could take, and Jax was a walking, talking, breathing asshole that made her ache.
Biting her lip, she tucked some hair behind her ear as she put her key in the lock. His asshole tendencies aside and his ability to butt into everything, she actually really liked him. She shouldn’t be liking a roommate that overstepped his welcome, and yet she did.
See, she was crazy.
So crazy.
Opening the door, she paused as the scents that met her were amazing.
The smell of onion, tomatoes, and beef made her mouth water. Closing the door, she flicked the locks into place and slowly stepped through the apartment, heading toward the kitchen.
There was no way he was entertaining anyone. He even admitted to her that he didn’t cook because of his loyalty to his mom. She got it. He felt his father had betrayed his mother so he wouldn’t allow the two that hurt her, to remember her cooking through him.
Jax was in the kitchen. He wore an apron and looked very domestic. There was a meatloaf on the center of the table, and really cute serving bowls with potatoes, vegetables, and there was even a gravy pot that he was pouring now.
“You’re home. Excellent. This is my mom’s popular meatloaf. The entire street loved it.” He put the pot down, and she watched as he rubbed his hands down the apron.
“You cooked? Are you expecting a date?”
“Nope, just you. Not that you’re just anyone. But come on, sit.” He held out a chair, and she stared at him then at the food.
“What have you done with Jax? Believe me, he’s not usually this friendly.”
“This Jax wants to make it up to you for being an asshole.”
“You do?”
She took a seat, and he eased it beneath the table. He took her bag, and she watched him leave as she’d forgotten to hang it up like she normally would, the call for food a greater calling then putting her bag into place. She closed her eyes and simply inhaled. It had been a long time since she had a nice, home-cooked meal.
Her mouth watered for a taste of it all.
Jax returned just as her stomach did a grumble.
“This all looks really amazing, Jax.”
“I know. My mom taught me to cook.”
“You told me.”
“I’ve not made this in so long. I’ve not cooked in so long. My mom would be proud of me right now.” He cut a slice of meatloaf, adding some vegetables and mashed potatoes before drizzling on a little gravy. “You don’t want to drown the meal in gravy. Taste every little bit.”
She took her fork and started to eat. The moment the meatloaf hit her mouth, the flavors were so savory that they made her mouth water. She moaned and took another bite. Then she tried the potatoes, which were seasoned to perfection and so creamy. The vegetables still had a bit of a crunch to them, which she loved.
“This is fantastic, Jax. You should have been a chef.”
“That’s what I was going to do before everything happened with Mom. She got sick, and I just cared more about her than my future. When I told her I wanted to be a chef, she’d been so happy. We spent a lot of time together in the kitchen. Most of my early years were spent there. I’d have friends come around and call for me to play. I wasn’t interested. I’d give a lame excuse that I was grounded and couldn’t play. Then I’d go back to the kitchen and help her.”
“You really loved your mom.”
“Yeah. She was an amazing woman. When I think about her, I can’t help but smile. I know for a fact she’d be upset with what I’ve done with my life.”
“I don’t think so.”
“She always told me I had a talent in the kitchen and to not let anyone get in the way of my dreams.”
“You’ve not let anyone get in the way. Your dreams are not yet over, Jax. Far from it.” She wondered if he’d opened up like this to other women but then knew differently. This was him being open and honest. “Why are you sharing this with me?” she asked. “The food. The honesty. I love it. Don’t get me wrong, I do, but I don’t understand why?”
“That kiss.”
“Jax?”
“No, hear me out. I don’t want to just have that kiss with you. Okay. I want to have so much more. I … look, I’ve not been with a girl in a few weeks.”
She chuckled.
“Dani, that is a big
deal for me. I don’t want to be with anyone else. It’s—this is hard for me right now. I don’t want to be with anyone else. I like coming home and being with you. I don’t want you to hide away in your room and to have to think that you’ve got to ignore me, or not be near me or around me. I want to give this a try.”
“This a try?”
“You. Me. Dating.”
“Jax, you’ve not known me all that long.”
“But I know myself and I know what I want, and I want to make a go of this if I can. I’m not going to beg. If you don’t want to, I’ll accept that answer. I think we could make a real go of this.”
She pushed some hair off her face, staring at him. She saw that he was earnest about this.
“You want me and you to date? Like a real couple?”
“Yes.”
“Jax, I don’t … I’m not comfortable with the thought of you being with other women.”
“This isn’t about other women. It’s you I want. No one else, and that is what I’m offering. You, me, and no one else.”
She tilted her head to the side and wondered what to do. Their shared kiss hadn’t exactly disappeared from her mind. If anything, she wanted him a little more. He’d been one hell of a kisser. The thing was, she didn’t want to lose this friendship they were building or this apartment.
She’d even started looking for other places to live, and nothing lived up to this. This place was fucking amazing, and she wasn’t being selfish or self-centered over this.
Sex was one thing.
Security was another.
“Okay, fine. You want to give this a try?”
“Yes.”
“How about we make a deal?”
“A deal?”
“Yes. An agreement between the two of us.”
“Why do we need an agreement in the first place?” Jax asked.
“Because, I love the way we are right now. Our living arrangements work. We work. You can’t deny that,” she said.
“No, I can’t. So you’re wanting us to come to some deal that keeps this.”
“It’s to see if we can still live together while we have something else going on.”
“Why wouldn’t we be able to live together?” he asked.
She rolls her eyes. “Simple, you’ve never been in a long-term relationship. In fact, you screw them and kick them out. This is my home. I want to see how this goes before we delve into the whole sex thing.”