THIRTY-FOUR

Jaxson

WE'VE JUST ARRIVED home from the will reading, in which my whore of a mother left with Councilman Hogan while carrying a child who, at this point, has at least three possible fathers, none of which are my father, her bonded mate. I felt completely disarmed when we walked in, finding her there cuddled up to a wolf-shifter I'd never met before. She looked polished as always, with her makeup cleanly done and hair held tightly back in a chignon. But all that class was lost since she was pretty much nude from the waist up. Her damn areolas were visible through the sheer blouse and bra.

After her live pornographic performance just a few weeks ago, my image of my mother already had cracks spidering through it like a busted windshield. Seeing her like that nearly destroyed me, and I thought she couldn't do worse, because silly me , I assumed it'd been a one-time thing. Shit, honestly, I hoped she'd been under alpha coercion like so many of the wolves present that day, but Alessandro regretfully told me otherwise. Then I thought, well, it must be a recent development. Maybe she'd been caught up in the atmosphere, the drama, the thrill of power. But that had been wrong too.

Because today in a conference room with lawyers talking about the last wishes of an egomaniac, that cracked image of the woman I called my mother was pelted by softball-sized pieces of hail. Hit after hit. Deception. Disloyalty. Disownment. One affair. Another affair. And another one. Pregnancy. Another man. And another one. Finally, the image exploded, slinging shards of broken memories toward me, slicing me open with a thousand small cuts. I felt like I was bleeding out, curling in on myself, sliding down in my chair, wanting to take cover under the table like a child under their blanket at night.

Billie started stroking my neck, playing with my hair, and I was gripping her thigh like a lifeline to my happiness. Then I felt a push of her power. It jolted me out of my slumped stupor, and I found Xander biting his cheeks in response to the same feeling.

Our mate went full-on royal shifter in that meeting—well, royal fox-shifter. What we saw of her today, how she remained light and spirited while calmly placing herself in a position of power, reminded me of what Jimmy had said about who she was growing up. He said Billie would negotiate her way out of things by finding or creating loopholes to achieve what she wanted, and I've seen firsthand her ability to evade telling all while still not telling a lie.

We're finally home. The images and sounds of her and Ethan fucking in the library had left me with a permanent semi all day, then add in her brazen touches and caresses during the will reading, and I'm rushing to get upstairs with her on my back.

"Hold up, Jaxson," she squeaks in my ear. I let out a growl at having to stop. Billie nips my lobe and giggles. "No need to growl, Jax. Just wanted to take our shoes off before heading up."

I quickly kick mine off while Ethan comes around to our front. Smirking, he slips Billie's off and gives her a quick kiss while murmuring, "Thank you, love."

With that, I continue on my journey to the shower, with, as Ethan called her, my feisty fox on my back. Right before we round the corner at the top of the stairs, I yell over my shoulder, "Feel free to join, yea!"

I've got the water on and both of us stripped down in no time. Billie's still working on removing hair elastics when my patience gives out. With a growl of need, I promptly pull her into my chest and drag her shocked body into the shower. Her hair, now free of elastics, tickles my shoulder. She barks out a laugh. "What is with you guys today? Ethan dragging me into the stacks, Xander hauling me onto his lap in the library, and now you lugging me into the shower. I'm starting to feel like a sack of potatoes!"

"With your affinity for potatoes, I'd imagine you wouldn't really mind it." I chuckle and guide us under the warm water, both of us sighing in relief as it rains down over us. I let go of her, and we each move under our own shower head and tilt our heads back. I don't know if I'll be able to go back to a standard shower after living here for a few years. Once the warm water has thoroughly slicked and heated our skin, Billie reaches for her razor, and my eyes trail down to where she'll be using that razor: her toned legs and in between them. Coming up behind her, I brush my hands up and down her sides. Dipping my mouth to her ear, I ask in a rather husky voice, "Wanna shave each other?"

Billie cranes her head back and around to face me. The playful twinkle in her eyes has blood flowing to my eager dick. She tugs on her ear in apprehension, and my palms continue to skate over her flesh in long comforting strokes. She clears her throat. "I'm a little nervous, both to be shaved and to shave."

The shower door opens, and Xander stalks in. "I think the three of us can manage no cuts or burns."

Grinning, I turn and give him a conspiratorial wink. "No cuts no burns, we promise, B."

She groans. "Okay, but I'm shaving my own pits, and just so you know, one nick on a lip puts me on the injured list for a week!"

"Noted. Though. . ." Xander pauses and cocks his head to the side. "Remember, you could shift or I could heal you, so really an hour on the injured list at most." Ignoring our gawking mate, he strides out of the shower, his ass cheeks flexing and rounding with his steps, on his way over to the vanity to grab the new footstool that's stashed underneath. We now have one in every bathroom, and the one from the pantry is back where it should be. I peer down at Billie. Her mouth is still hanging open, but her eyes are locked on our alpha's backside, just as mine were. Yeah, I think the bond is sharing our desires at a deeper level than I expected, but it feels more like a nudge than a shove. And I'm all for that nudge, more so than I've let myself accept until recently. My mouth thirsts, and my throat squeezes a swallow at the memory of his dick in my mouth, in my throat.

Xander walks back in, sets the little footstool down, out of the spray, and places a washcloth on top. His eyes rake up my body, and when they meet mine, he slants a sly grin and curls his finger. "Come sit down, Jax."

At his command, my dick twitches hard enough that it catches his eye. Xander tilts his head and unabashedly checks out my cock, which is swelling under his attention. Biting his lip, he raises his gaze back up to me and gives me a smirk that would seem arrogant if I failed to notice the heat in his eyes and the thickening of his own appendage. Shit, is he getting hard seeing me get hard? Trying to keep everything chill and easy, even though I can feel my cheeks blushing, I return his smirk and step over to take my seat.

He guides Bille over and hands her the shaving cream, then steps under the water himself, gifting me and Billie with the view of his ass once again. And yes, we both check out those gorgeous globes. A flush of heat rises up my neck, and I don't think it's from the steam of the shower.

She foams some—actually, way more than some—shaving cream onto her hand and squats down in front of me. With a wide open-mouthed smile, she begins to spread the mounds of cream over my face. I can't help but smile in response, and she squeaks, "Stop smiling, Jax!"

After rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, Xander squats down next to our mate and inspects her work. His amused gaze connects with mine, and he chuckles, scooping the excess cream off with his fingers and flinging it on the tiled floor. "Sometimes more is just more, Wilhelmina," he murmurs, kissing her cheek. His eyes attentively track his fingers as they continue to smooth the cream over my face. "See the difference?" he asks, nuzzling behind her ear.

"Less is more," Billie affirms, her gaze concentrated on my face. Xander reaches for my razor and tries to hand it to her. She backs away and shakes her head. "Nuh-uh, I want to watch you do some first."

Xander nods. "Tilt your head to one side Jax," he requests while guiding me into position with his hand holding my hair back and keeping my skin taut. He carefully glides the razor down my cheek. "Hold the skin gentle but firm, then let the razor float over the hills and valleys of his face," he instructs, and Billie watches in rapt fascination. He finishes one side and gives her the razor, getting up and moving over to her other side to help.

Billie places one hand on my hairline as her other hand comes up with the razor. Xander covers her hand with his, and they both bring the razor down my face. "You feel it?" he murmurs. "A small amount of resistance but not too much." Bringing his lips to her ear, he licks and gently sucks her tender flesh as if demonstrating. She nods, and he lets go. She continues, completely and utterly focused on the task at hand. Xander comes back and hands her my shampoo. She starts lathering my hair while he finishes shaving the more delicate areas, like under my jaw and around my lips. I let out a moan, and my eyes close as I feel them both carefully and tenderly wash and shave me.

Yeah, mate grooming has got to be a thing.

"Let's rinse you off, Jaxson," Xander murmurs. My eyelids flicker open to find his hand outstretched with the palm up in front of me. Placing mine in his, he pulls me to standing. Our wet, naked bodies collide and slide together. Instead of retreating or stepping away from each other, we hold the moment. His hands trail up my shoulders and down my back while mine skim over his firm torso and down to his hips. We're close enough that our cocks brush against each other's, and my breath catches at the feeling. Xander grunts and cuffs his hand around my wrist before giving me a wink and ushering me under the water. Billie's shampooing her own hair, letting Xander take care of me. Then it's Xander's turn for a shave.

Squatting behind Billie, I must say her application of shaving cream shows signs of improvement, though her hands are a little shaky, probably due to Xander's hands kneading her breasts. I let my two first fingers glide down her slippery back, tracing their way down her spine, over her tight ring, which I can't wait to play with after this morning's breakfast chat, and all the way through her slit. Slick and hot. I barely tease her entrance before she shoots up to standing. Pointing a finger between Xander and me, she growls. "I'd refrain from distracting me when you're about to let me use a sharp object on you."

I hand her the razor and grin. "Got it."

She returns to her position and begins to shave Xander's cheek and jawline. His hands have ended up back on her, resting on either side of her ribs. She gives him a warning glower, and Xander just hitches a shoulder. "Can't help touching you, il mio cuore ," he confesses. Her cheeks pinken, and she quickly moves on to the other side.

"Here," she says, handing me the razor. "I don't feel comfortable with the neck and lip area."

I take the razor and move in front of Xander. Licking my lips, I saucily say, "Wouldn't want to mess up these lips, now would we, yea?"

Billie laughs, "Definitely not!"

Xander's eyes are open as he watches me carefully shave his face and neck. It's intimate, requiring me to fully focus on his features, which I have no problem doing. The man is stunning. He places his hands on my knees, brushing them up and down my thighs. I gaze up to meet his eyes. They're dancing all over my face, and there's something swirling inside them. Something that feels like a mirror to mine. Curious desire.

We finish up, and I bring him over to wash off. His hands run along my low back, barely grazing the top of my ass as I rinse the cream off his upturned face. Sleeking his hair back and guiding his head down and out of the water, I cup his jaw with my other hand, and my eyes still on his lips as I wonder, Will he let me? His tongue peeks out and slides over his lower lip. A groan of want passes between my lips, and my gaze lifts to his eyes, which are watching me. Keeping eye contact, he allows his fingers to wander lower on my body, over the rise of the top of my ass. Fully holding my cheeks, he gently tugs me closer, and our cocks brush. With our eyes sealed on one another, I lean in closer. My heart pounds in my chest, feeling his breath on my lips. I let my lips graze his, and damn they're soft and thick. He sucks in a breath but doesn't pull back. Tilting my head, I return my lips to his, letting my flesh trail lightly over Xander's full lips, and then again. A tremble ripples through his body, and my hand in his hair glides down to clutch the back of his neck. Supporting him, holding him. His lips part and come together over mine—one, two, three times—deepening our kiss. My heart is in my throat, and I can feel his beating between our bodies, our wet chests flush with one another. His hands on my ass go from bracing to gripping. I moan against his mouth, and he opens for me. My tongue moves in to find his. Our eyes are still open, keeping our connection, owning ourselves and our actions. Each flick, circle, and lick of our tongues are cautious and curious while we keep going deeper, sucking and pulling on the other's lips, changing angles while our hands continue to explore.

We both inhale and pull our mouths apart to rest our foreheads together. Our rapid breaths gust out between us as we stare into each other's eyes, understanding and embracing that this is an exploration for us both, one that needs to pull us along instead of one of us pushing.

"Good," Xander says in a rough voice, and it feels like it's both a statement and a question.

My lips tug up on one side. "Better than good."

His hand comes up to cradle my face, and he smiles. "Yeah, better than good." Then we both turn toward our mate. Billie's sitting on the foot stool, elbows on knees, chin on fists, watching us with heat in her eyes and a small grin. "So hot," she murmurs. I look down. She's already shaved. When our eyes meet, she shrugs.