Twenty-One

G enesis turned and snuggled up against Jaxson, who was lightly snoring in his sleep. The temperatures must have dropped during the night. The room was cold but Jaxson’s body felt warm. And hard. And amazing. She pulled his arm across her waist. He stirred, then squeezed her against him.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said in a voice groggy with sleep.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Less about waking me than waking this.”

A gentle poke revealed that Jaxson’s dick had risen from slumber. Genesis thought that after last night’s shenanigans it would have overslept. Not that she was complaining. She couldn’t see ever turning down a chance to make love with Jaxson. He was a master at the craft. No wonder he was so cocky in high school, a stud in college, a player in pro football, with friends who loved his benefit.

The feel of Jaxson’s hand leisurely sliding from thigh to breast interrupted her thoughts. She returned the favor. Within minutes they were in full heat, mingling legs and arms and morning breath with equal abandon. There wasn’t a lot of foreplay. No pause for protection. Neither had slept with anyone else during their time apart.

A desirous look from Jaxson made Genesis wet. Add his tongue and a couple of fingers and it was off to the races. After sliding his middle digit down the crack and into her ass, he plunged himself deep inside her and began to stroke. She clenched her muscles around his girth, swirling her hips and her tongue, their kiss as deep as the tip touching her core. Over and over again. Seconds after her orgasm, Jax let go. The warmth of him exploding inside her was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He quietly slid out of bed, brought back a warm towel and lovingly removed his seed before returning to bed and pulling her against him.

Jaxson kissed Genesis’s temple. “Good morning.”

“Great morning.” She added a quick kiss to his lips.

“What would you like to do this morning, besides more of what we’ve been doing?”

“Um, I don’t know.” She took a deep breath. “I can smell the pine trees.”

“That’s why I like real ones.”

Genesis sat up, excited. “Know what I’d love to do?”

“What?”

“Get a tree for my house and decorate it.”

“You got it. I wish Jazz was here to help us. Kids make the holidays so much fun.”

She paused to adjust the sheet around her naked body. “I was that kid. Decorating the Christmas tree was almost as exciting as opening presents. When reorganizing the shed, I ran across a box marked Xmas . Not sure if what’s in there will cover a whole tree, but it’s enough to get us started.”

“All right.” He gave her a quick kiss and hopped out of bed. “If you put on the coffee, I’ll hop in the shower, then make pancakes while you get ready. After that we’ll go chop down a tree.”

Thirty minutes later, the sound of Christmas classics mingled with the smell of cinnamon, bananas and undeclared love. After a quick kitchen cleanup, they headed out to the pine grove and found the perfect tree. Jaxson loaded it on the back of his truck. Genesis retrieved the box from the shed. By the end of the morning, they’d strung every light and hung every bulb in the box. At the bottom were a smattering of old cards, used wrapping paper and miscellaneous junk. Genesis sifted through a few items and was just about to trash it when she felt a piece of cardboard. She moved the junk aside. A yellowed envelope of heavyweight paper had been taped to the bottom of the box.

She moved to the sofa, hoping to not find anything crazy, like a secret of some sort Cyrus had planned to take to the grave.

She pulled back the flap and peeked inside. Her jaw dropped. “Jax!”

Jaxson rushed from outside, where he’d gone to feed Nipsey.

“What’s the matter?”

“Look!”

She handed Jax the envelope. He slid out the contents, a nice-sized stack of one-hundred-dollar bills.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

“What do you think it is?”

“Um, this is called ‘money,’ Gen.”

She swatted his arm. “I mean, why do you think it’s here?”

“Probably because some people, especially the elders, don’t trust banks. Cyrus was a hard worker, like my grandfather. No telling how many decades it took him to grow that stack.”

The old box marked Xmas had held a present—$24,600.

“That’ll take care of a lot of repairs around here,” Jaxson suggested.

Genesis shook her head. “It’s not my money to spend. I’m going to mail cashier’s checks in equal amounts to Clarence and Cleo. Maybe they’ll have a merry Christmas and in the New Year put the drama behind us.”

Jaxson pulled Genesis into his arms. “That’s big of you, sweetheart.”

“It’s the right thing to do.”

Genesis sent the cashier’s checks with Christmas cards and included a note. Two days later, she received an unexpected gift from her cousins. They dropped the lawsuit.

After the New Year, Jaxson’s focus shifted to the tiny-house village. He didn’t want to sit on such a great idea. He attended a city council meeting and met with the zoning committee. He brought on board Blake, who became the third partner. Contracts were drawn up. Everything aboveboard. Jaxson secured a sizable loan from his banker in Arizona to cover the initial investment for all of them. He didn’t want Genesis to have any doubts! As for Blake, Jaxson considered it returning a favor. Blake had agreed to put a temporary halt to buying more properties until the village was done. Jaxson paid for an outside crew to continue work on the one flip outstanding, the Nashville apartments.

For the next three months, all focus and work went on the village. Foundations were poured. Roads and jogging trails were built. Utility and sewage lines were run. Trees were planted. The pond was expanded and docks were built. Blake’s girlfriend, Pilar, worked in tech and gave Genesis the name of a master website builder. HolyMoundMinis.com was clean, interactive and easy to navigate. It took over two months to complete it, but once finished, the website was spectacular. The inviting colors. The enticing content from the writer hired. The beautifully natural surroundings photographed and used. Who wouldn’t want to live there?

They launched the site but knew success would take more than crossing their fingers. Jaxson finally heard back from the South Carolina builders and flew out to visit their site. He came back with great ideas, and even greater enthusiasm. His excitement was contagious. Everyone felt good about what was being built. Genesis scoured the internet for communities, groups, anyone discussing tiny houses. Pilar pitched in, too. With a job that relied heavily on digital marketing, her expertise was invaluable. A couple of weeks after going live, and after placing an ad on a tiny-house community board, their site began to get views. Then page clicks. Then inquiries trickled in.

On a cold, windy day a week before spring, as Jax was in the back splitting wood, he heard a car pull into the driveway. He came around the side of the house. Genesis turned from the steps to the house she was about to mount and ran toward him, jumping up and down with a big smile on her face. She jumped in his arms.

“Whoa! What’s going on here?”

“You’ll never guess why I’m so happy!”

“Well, baby, I tend to have that kind of effect on people.”

She squiggled off his embrace but couldn’t help laughing. “I do enjoy your...effect...but that’s not what brought me here.” She sobered, took a breath and said, “We’ve got our first PLH!”

Jaxson’s brow furrowed. “P-L-who?”

“PLH. Potential Lease Holder. This letter might be from our first village resident. Remember those ads Pilar suggested we run on several social media sites? They weren’t in the budget, but she assured it would pay off, and it did. This isn’t just an inquiry—it’s pretty much an application!”

“Let’s have a look.” Jaxson reached for her hand and walked them up the steps and inside. They sat at the bar counter. “I love that you’re excited, Gen, but an online application is a long way from a deposit.”

“I know, but wait until you read her message.” She pulled out her phone, scrolled to the website and leaned toward Jaxson so that he could see the screen.

Dear Holy Mound Minis:

Holy cow! (I couldn’t resist.) I don’t want to come off as crazy but you’re an answer to a prayer. Mine is a long story but to make it short, my husband and I were forced to downsize last year. We have a three-year-old, a cat and a dog. A real family. Couldn’t imagine giving any of them away (especially the kid ). It was rough. One day, my husband saw a tiny-home video. His dad has a background in construction. We decided to go for it. Took six months but they built it. Our home is just a tad over 400 feet and can be towed. Your village sounds PERFECT and we can move TODAY.

As you may know, finding a place to park a house isn’t easy. For the last several months, we’ve been in my dad’s basement, and once the house was finished, his backyard, which isn’t zoned for this oversize addition. He loves us, and especially loves being around his grandchild, but no one would be happier to see us at Holy Mound Minis than him. Except my husband. And me! When I came across your website, I was in a bad place. At my wits’ end. If we could set up some kind of video tour of the area, I’d be ready to plunk down a deposit. No kidding. This is not a joke. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Hoping and praying...Chelsea

Genesis turned to Jaxson, eyes shining. “Well?”

“She definitely sounds serious,” Jaxson said. “Damn near sent her life’s story in the email.”

“Which is why I feel so good about the message. Our village is happening! We’ve got our first neighbor, Chelsea. And her family! And pets!”

Jaxson sat back, looked at Genesis and finally allowed a smile. “You’re right, baby. This is happening. A village offering an affordable alternative to homeownership.”

“It’s crazy, Jax. One minute you’re showing me a video, and the next...” She turned away.

“Hey, what’s with the tears?”

“They’re happy ones. For Uncle Cyrus, and you, and the people we’ll help.”

“I admit this feels amazing.” Jaxson reached for his phone. “I’ll check with our insurance company about adequate coverage for the playground and pond area. And with Blake to make sure everything is supersafe for the kids.”

“That pond area might need its own fence.”

“Definitely.” He kissed her. “Now get back to business before you become a distraction. I’ve got work to do.”

With a final hug to Jaxson, Genesis went back to her place. Since getting back together, they lived comfortably between each other’s houses. She still preferred the office/dining room setup for her part-time customer service job. That night, however, Jaxson twisted her arm to return with the promise of his five-star chili. From the first bite, Genesis had quickly, honestly admitted that it was the best she’d ever tasted.

They ate, stacked the dishes in the dishwasher and were soon enjoying mugs of hot chocolate on an animal-print rug in front of a roaring fire.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” Genesis said, gazing into the dancing flames.

“And so quickly.”

She nodded. “When you first presented the idea, I thought it was interesting but unlikely to work. Then you showed me that video...”

“And you started to believe.”

“You were always so confident. How did you know?”

“Just a feeling. And then everything came together so smoothly. You. Blake. The builders. The loan. The zoning committee approving the project. The other neighbors in the valley welcoming the plan.”

They sat with their backs against a square leather ottoman. Genesis shifted and lay down with her head in his lap.

“Do you always achieve your goals?” she asked, looking up at him.

He absently stroked her hair. “Not always. But mostly. Why do you ask?”

“Until recently, that was pretty much a foreign concept to me. I’ve discovered the pleasure of setting a goal and making it happen.” She reached for his hand and kissed it. “Like how you and Blake take plans from 2D to 3D, turn drawings into houses. You were a type of role model to help me see how that’s done.”

Jaxson slowly eased Genesis into an upright position. He reached for the sweater she wore and pulled it over her head. “You know what I think?”

“What?”

He unsnapped her bra. Her breasts swayed like melons happy to be free. “I think I want to set another goal.”

He scraped his teeth across her nipple and watched goose bumps spring up on her skin. He smiled, tweaked the other nipple with his fingers.

“How many orgasms have you had at one time?”

“Like in one...day?”

“More like one session.”

“This is a weird conversation.”

“To set a goal, baby, there’s got to be perimeters.” He got to his knees and removed her leggings and thong.

“In that case, I’ll say one.”

“Um.” He aligned his mouth with her hot box, breathed in the scent. “You’re making this too easy.”

Lick.

The sweet invasion was unexpected. A hiss escaped Genesis’s lips.

He shifted and made himself comfortable, his head between her legs.

“Open wide for me.”

The authoritative command caused her Kegel muscle to clench. He slid his tongue between her folds and lapped up her dewy essence. Over and over and over again. His lips covered her nether ones, sucking and kissing. His tongue was a sword, piercing all control.

“Jax!” A guttural exclamation as her body began shaking.

He pressed his face into her bucking body, careful not to spill a drop.

That’s one.

As Genesis lay recovering, Jaxson stripped off his clothes. He took Genesis’s hands and pulled her up. She fell into his arms, her legs wobbly.

Jaxson didn’t mind. In his arms was exactly where he wanted her to be. For a moment, he simply held her as the fire crackled around them, listening to Blake and Gwen saying they only wanted to love each other. Feeling Genesis’s soft body swaying against his only made him harder. He picked her up. She naturally wrapped her legs around him. He slid her down on his waiting shaft.

“Ahhhh.”

And the dance began.

Jaxson had been with enough women to know that the love he and Genesis made together didn’t happen every day. She fit him perfectly—her ass in his hands, her head on his shoulder as he slid her juicy pussy up and down on his dick. Her nipples pebbled, inviting him to take a few more tastes. His fingers tickled her ass, one sliding inside.

“Oh, my God,” Genesis panted.

“Yeah, baby.” Jaxson placed her on the back of a couch that was the height of his hips. “This is all for you.”

Her legs lifted and opened, as if to welcome him home. His thrusts were slow and measured, a little of him at a time. Teasing. Building up anticipation. Out to the tip. In to the hilt. Repeat. When Genesis’s hips began to grind and swirl, he knew she was ready again. He picked up the pace and pounded her delicious flesh. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on for the ride.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she panted, before he slowed things down again. He twisted his body to anoint her inner walls in the deepest places. To search for and then find that spot.

She screamed.

There it is. Two.

The fire burned down. The loving continued. He counted four orgasms before his mind lost that focus. Before thoroughly satisfying his woman became the only goal.