Jax (Southern Sands Book 1)

by A. M. Williams

  He was standing to go outside when his mom walked back up with Karlie in tow. “I see she’s gone,” his mom said.

  “Yeah,” he sighed.

  “Good. I can’t believe her nerve showing up tonight.”

  “You’re not the only one,” he said with a snort.

  His mom patted him on the cheek. “Your father and I are going to head back to the hotel. Breakfast tomorrow morning?”

  Jax nodded and his mom turned to Karlie. “You must come as well.”

  Karlie nodded and with another kiss, they were alone at the table.

  “Soooooo…” he started, fidgeting.

  “That was quite the bombshell,” Karlie said, cutting to the root of the matter.

  “Yeah. I should have told you. I honestly can’t say why I didn’t,” he admitted, owning up to the mistake he made.

  Karlie sighed. “I can kinda understand why you didn’t. Your mom gave me a little background on your marriage to her. Your mom’s words to describe Melissa were ‘harpy’ and ‘cunt.’”

  Jax chuckled. “Sounds about right.”

  “Not gonna lie, hearing your mom call her that threw me. She seems so nice.”

  “My mom is nice. Until you do something that makes her not nice.”

  “Noted,” Karlie said with a nod.

  Jax reached over the table and grasped Karlie’s hand in his. “Are we good? I’ll answer any questions you have about it. I’ll show you whatever you need.”

  Karlie sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Yeah, we’re good. I might have questions later, but right now, I honestly just want to go home and go to bed. It’s been a long day.”

  Jax nodded and stood. “Do you need help getting home?”

  Karlie bit her lip as she met his gaze. “I was hoping you’d drive me home and maybe stay the night?”

  He raised two surprised eyebrows. “I thought you wanted to take it slow.”

  Karlie nodded. “I do. We don’t have to have sex. You can even stay in the guest room if you want, but I’d like you to stay the night.”

  Jax searched her face for any indications of an alternative motive but found none. He nodded. “Okay, let me see if they need me to help with anything else and then we can get out of here.”

  She nodded and Jax turned to find the stage already cleared with Harry sitting on the edge of it. “Go on, man,” he said, waving Jax away. “We got this.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  With a nod, Jax turned and grabbed Karlie’s hand, leading her from the bar and into the night air. It was the middle of summer, and it was still hot even though the sun was down, but it was nice to finally be outside. The sky was clear and he could see all the stars dotted across the inky blackness.

  “Here,” Karlie said, brandishing her keys for Jax.

  He took them and unlocked her car doors as they got closer. After helping her into the passenger seat, he climbed behind the wheel and turned her car toward her house. The ride was silent with only the sound of the radio and the hum of the road noise. Karlie reached over and grabbed his hand that sat on the gear shift, threading her fingers through his. He glanced at her and smiled.

  He reluctantly let her hand go once he pulled into her driveway. After helping her out, he picked her house key out of her key ring and opened the front door, stepping in ahead of her and clicking a lamp on.

  He put her keys in the bowl by the door and turned to face her. “Where do you want me?” he asked.

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  He chuckled. “To sleep? Where do you want me to sleep?”

  “Oh,” she said, looking flustered. “It doesn’t matter.”

  He regarded her, trying to work out why she was flustered. “I would like to sleep with you, if that’s fine,” he said carefully. Even with sex off the table, the idea of holding Karlie throughout the night appealed to him.

  She nodded. “Yep, perfect.”

  She walked to her room and he followed close behind. Her smell assaulted his senses as he stepped over the threshold. The only other time he’d been in here was when they'd had sex and he hadn’t appreciated the room then. It was feminine with knick-knacks and photos, much like the living room. It was done in pale blue and white, which helped it seem larger than it actually was.

  “Here,” Karlie said, tossing some shorts at him.

  He caught them and unfolded them. “Are these mine?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” she muttered, grasping her pajamas in her hand and disappearing into her ensuite.

  He chuckled as he stripped and folded his clothes, placing them on the chair in the corner of her room. He tugged the shorts on and stretched out across her bed in nothing else. His shirt was still slightly sweaty from earlier and he didn’t imagine she’d want to smell that all night. He sure didn’t.

  The door to the bathroom opened and the light clicked off. The only light in the room came from the weak lamp on Karlie’s side of the bed. He smiled as he raked his gaze over her body. She was wearing sleep shorts and a t-shirt, but still looked damn sexy to him. And, if he wasn’t mistaken, she was doing her own perusal of his body, specifically his unclad torso.

  “See something you like?” he asked, smirking at her.

  Karlie’s wide eyes met his. “Maybe,” she said, tilting her chin up in defiance.

  “Get over here.”

  She walked to the bed, lifted up the covers and slid in. She clicked her light off and rolled to face him. He slid under the covers and rolled to face her as well.

  In the dark, he couldn’t see her clearly, just the outline of her body. They lay there in silence, neither breaking it until her breathing evened out signaling she was asleep. He scooted closer to her and gathered her in his arms, burying his nose in her hair as he held her tightly. He let himself be lulled by the sounds of her breathing and soon felt the tugs of sleep pulling his eyes closed.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Karlie

  Karlie’s eyes fluttered open and she blinked to clear her vision. It was still dark in the room, and she squinted her eyes toward her clock. It was just after five in the morning. She shouldn’t be up and she wasn’t sure why she was.

  She shivered as a hand ran up her side before splaying over her stomach and grazed the top of her mons. Her breath hitched as Jax pulled her against him. “I was wonderin’ when you’d wake up,” he whispered in a gravelly voice laced with sleep.

  She didn’t say anything, and his hand continued its route over her body. He lightly caressed the top of her thighs, making her giggle, before moving down to her calf, back up to her butt, and onto her back. Gooseflesh followed the path of his fingers.

  Her nipples pebbled and she wasn’t sure if it was because the cool air of her room was hitting her breasts or because he was turning her on. She shifted her legs and realized he was definitely turning her on.

  His hand moved to her front and his forefinger lightly traced her nipple, making it tighten further. She bit her lip to hold back a moan.

  His finger lightly traced a path to her other breast, circling that nipple as well, sending delicious shivers down her body. She swallowed thickly as he palmed the first breast, squeezing it before flicking her nipple with his finger. With each pass of his finger, zings of desire shot down to her center and she found herself aching for him.

  She squirmed and Jax groaned. Her eyes widened as she felt the evidence of his arousal between her butt cheeks. It seemed she wasn’t the only one enjoying this morning’s teasing. She rolled so that she was facing him, throwing a leg over one of his thighs and draping an arm over his waist.

  “Hey,” she whispered, smiling.

  “Hey yourself,” he returned, rubbing his nose against hers.

  One of his hands cupped the back of her neck and lightly massaged, making her sigh in contentment. They lay there for a while and Karlie felt herself relaxing. One thing that didn’t relax, however, was the evidence of Jax’s arousal between the two of them. She
felt it pressed against her thigh where her leg was over his and it jerked every so often. It wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

  She made a decision and pushed on Jax’s shoulder lightly. At first, he resisted, but he finally rolled to his back. Karlie sat next to him on her knees and took a moment to appreciate his body. Her eyes moved back to meet Jax’s. Keeping eye contact, she pulled her sleep shirt off and tossed it away. She then wiggled out of her shorts and underwear, tossing them as well.

  She kneeled between his legs and tugged on the waist of the shorts. He lifted his hips and she slowly pulled the shorts and his boxer briefs down his legs, pushing them off the end of the bed. His erection stood proud between them, bobbing slightly with each breath he took.

  Karlie reached out and touched it lightly, making it jerk, and she laughed as she snatched her hand back. She touched it again and it twitched again. She glanced up at Jax and saw his smirk. “You’re doing that on purpose!”

  He chuckled. “Maybe.”

  She mock glared at him as she grasped him firmly in her hand. His breath hitched and she felt triumphant. She stroked him a few times before settling between his legs and lightly licking the head of his erection.

  She sucked the tip in and slowly moved up and down. Her hair fell in a curtain around her as she moved. She felt Jax’s hands on her head where he gathered her hair into his hand and held it there.

  “You look so sexy,” he moaned.

  Karlie hummed as she took more of him into her mouth, her hand moving in tandem to work him over. She glanced up, and Jax had his head thrown back, moaning as she bobbed her head.

  “That’s enough,” Jax said, tugging on her hair and pulling her off him.

  She looked up at him and her eyes widened at the feral look on his face.

  “Come here,” he beckoned.

  She slowly crawled up his body, brushing each part against his erection and making him moan. When she reached his mouth, he pulled her to him for a hot kiss. His tongue asked for entrance to her mouth and thrust inside once she opened for him. He devoured her mouth as she settled her legs on either side of his hips.

  “I need to be inside you,” he muttered, pulling back slightly.

  Karlie reached into her bedside table and retrieved a condom. She sat back and went to open it, but Jax stopped her, plucking the foil pack from her hands. “If you put this on, I’ll blow my load.”

  He quickly ripped the packet open and rolled the condom down his length. He gripped the base while Karlie lined her opening up with his shaft.

  She sank down a little, getting just his head in and stopped. She met Jax’s eyes and he growled at her. “What are you waiting for?” he asked.

  She smiled and sank a little lower before moving back up. She teased him like this for a few moments, always sinking a little lower before rising up again. She finally realized that while it teased him, it also teased her and she was ready to have him filling her again.

  She sank all the way down and they both moaned. Jax gripped her hips and Karlie threw her head back. She’d never been on top with him before, so she felt incredibly full from this position.

  “Oh my God,” she moaned, rocking her hips slightly.

  Jax hissed and she struggled to open her eyes and meet his. They were half-lidded and watching where they were joined. Karlie moved up and slammed herself back down, both of them groaning at the sensation.

  With Jax’s help, she set a pace that was pleasing for both of them. The only sound in the room was their panting and slapping flesh. The pressure that started when Karlie went down on Jax slowly built with every stroke of his cock inside her. His hands moved from her hips to her breasts, flicking and pinching her nipples, hurtling her to the finish.

  Her walls tightened and she stiffened as she crested that ridge. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as waves of pleasure crashed over her.

  Jax’s hands moved back to her hips and held her off him while he thrust from below. He grunted with each thrust and stiffened, groaning through his release. Karlie collapsed on his chest, breathing harshly as she tried to regain control of her limbs.

  She moved off him and flopped onto her back. Jax stood up and went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom before rejoining her. He rolled to face her and she mimicked him. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and sighed. “What did my mom say to you tonight, outside the bar?”

  Karlie bit her lip and glanced away before forcing herself to meet his gaze. “Nothing much really.”

  Jax sighed. “Karlie, come on. I know she said something because you weren’t even angry when you walked back in.”

  It was Karlie’s turn to sigh. She traced over his pectoral muscles as she gathered her thoughts. “She just explained a bit about your marriage. How y’all got married on a whim because of ‘young love.’ Those are her words, not mine,” she said. “She said that it wasn’t a happy marriage, even at the beginning. You were willing to work on making things better, but Melissa wanted impossible things. She thought she’d be able to stay home all day and do nothing while you worked, but your gigs then didn’t pay a lot of money.”

  Jax nodded. “Yeah. When we got married, she said she wanted to go to community college to get her associates and then look at transferring. But she never did enroll, always citing some excuse for why she couldn’t. She used to pick a fight with me about money, wanting to know why we didn’t have more and what I was wasting it on.”

  Jax snorted and shook his head. “We didn’t have any because she refused to work. I showed her bank statements and she didn’t believe me. She just wouldn’t let up about it.”

  “Why did y’all break up?”

  Jax rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling. Karlie raked her eyes over his profile and could see the distress there at the memories. “So many reasons,” he finally said. “The biggest was we weren’t happy. So, I went to a lawyer and drew up the paperwork for an annulment. She fought me on it, not understanding why I wanted to go that route. I had to enlist both our parents to finally get her to sign.”

  Karlie winced. “That kinda explains her presence earlier, then.”

  Jax shrugged. “I guess. She said something about wantin’ to get back together, but I think she was blowin’ smoke. We haven’t talked to each other since the annulment was finalized. If she was carrying a torch, she woulda gotten in touch with me before now. I think it was just desperation.”

  Karlie nodded but didn’t say anything. Jax looked at her. “Anything else you want to know?”

  “You got any more skeletons in your closet?” she asked.

  Jax chuckled. “Can’t think of any.”

  They lapsed into silence. After a few minutes, Jax said, “I plan to go to my tattoo artist this week to see about covering that tattoo up. I don’t want to have a reminder of her or that time of my life anymore.”

  Karlie sat up. “Jax, you don’t have to do that.”

  He met her gaze. “I know, but I want to. It’s time to look to the future, not keep reminding myself of what happened in the past.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Karlie

  Karlie parked outside Jax’s warehouse and noticed that everyone already seemed to be there. She groaned as she checked herself in the mirror. She had gone on a week long road trip with Bailey, which had been planned for months, and had just gotten back. She was more than ready to see Jax again, but they were in rehearsals as they geared up for a small concert tour across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. That meant if she wanted to see him, she had to go to where he was.

  She pushed through the front door and waved at Trinity.

  “Hey,” Trinity said with a broad smile.

  “Hey, how are you?” Karlie asked, leaning against the desk.

  Trinity shrugged. “Could be much worse. At least they’re not playing terribly or arguing.”

  Karlie cocked her head toward the hall where their practice was. She could vaguely hear the notes of “All Summer
Long” drifting toward her. That meant Jax was singing. She could just barely make his voice out.

  “They’ve been arguing?” she asked, turning her attention back to Trinity.”

  Trinity shrugged. “Yes and no. I think it’s more their tension is a bit high since they’re so close to leaving for their little tour. Harry is a perfectionist and Jax doesn’t take him seriously. Grayson is goofing off and Bentley is constantly late. Then Veronica has been in another world it seems.”

  Everything Trinity said sounded normal, except for the comment about the female vocalist. “Veronica’s been weird?”

  Trinity nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know how to describe it. You’ll see what I mean when you go in there.”

  “Hmmm,” Karlie said, wondering what that was about.

  “I’ll keep my eyes peeled then.”

  “How was your trip?” Trinity eyed her expectantly, leaning forward over her desk.

  Karlie shrugged. “It was fun. We hit a lot of historical sites, which I thought was interesting, and did some big city sight-seeing. I’ll be honest though, as much as I love my best friend, I could do without her for a few days now.”

  Trinity threw her head back and laughed. “Did she get to ya?” she asked once her laughter calmed.

  “You have no idea. I know we all have our quirks, but…” Karlie shook her head at some of the things Bailey did on the trip. “By the end, I was so glad to drop her at her house and come here.”

  Trinity’s tinkling laugh filled the space and Karlie joined her this time. All jokes aside, she had really had fun, even if she wanted to cancel it since she and Jax reconciled. But neither Bailey nor Jax would let her out of her promise.

  Discordant notes filtered down the hall making Trinity and her wince.

  “Yikes.”

  Karlie nodded in agreement. “I should probably get in there so I can see Jax before heading home.”