Chapter 6

Chapter Six

She should have kept walking.

She should have slammed the door in his face.

She should not be kissing him while climbing him like a tree.

Jax reached down and roughly grabbed her rear, lifting her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. The kiss was hot, dirty, and carnal. She didn’t know why there was suddenly this almost crazed attraction between the two of them, but she certainly wasn’t looking to change it.

Not that she ever admitted this to anyone, not even Gemma, but after the way things ended with Blake, Lucy felt like maybe she wasn’t desirable—like maybe she was pretty and attractive, but not the kind of woman who was sexy enough in bed.

At that moment, Jax backed her up against the wall next to the door to his bedroom and rocked against her in the most primal and provocative way. Would it be wrong to demand that he take her now, right here against the wall?

“Jax,” she panted, her hands gripping his hair. “Don’t wait…need you…want you…”

A deep chuckle was the last response she expected, and being that he was sucking on her neck, she felt the vibration all over. “Patience, baby girl,” he murmured. “Patience.”

Groaning because one hand reached up and was currently cupping her breast, Lucy knew patience was not something she was particularly good at. “Then get me somewhere that isn’t vinyl siding against my back,” she demanded softly.

Lifting his head, he gave her a lopsided grin that shouldn’t have been sexy, but it was. “As you wish,” he said. In the blink of an eye, he had the door open and carried her into his room. She hadn’t seen it before and, other than the massive bed, she wasn’t interested in seeing the rest right now. Gently, Jax placed her on the bed before taking a step back and looking at her. “Damn. This is just how I imagined it.”

Swallowing hard, she asked, “Really?”

With a nod, he continued to look at her and she felt his gaze like a caress. “You in my bed in that bikini? Yeah. Just like this.”

One powerful hand came to rest on her ankle and Lucy tried not to squirm. She wasn’t used to anyone watching her so intently and all her insecurities were starting to play loudly in her head. Was he seeing that she wasn’t particularly skinny? Were her curves a turnoff? It had been a while since she’d been to the gym so she wasn’t as toned as she could be…and her tan was seriously faded from her last trip to the beach months ago. Had she known something like this was a possibility, she would have at least gone to a tanning salon and maybe to get waxed. “Um…”

The cocky grin on his face told her he knew exactly what she was thinking. “You’re beautiful, Lucy. Beautiful and sexy and like a damn fantasy.” His hand slowly traveled up her leg with each word until he was dangerously close to the apex of her thighs. “Tell me you want this.”

She nodded. “I do. So much it scares me.”

His expression softened. “Me too.” Letting out a long breath, he carefully made his way onto the bed beside her.

“Jax?”

“Hmm?”

Rolling toward him, Lucy caressed her way from his abs up to his jaw. “I want what we had outside. I need that…that…frenzy.” Her eyes met his. “Maybe that sounds crazy, but…I kind of liked knowing that I was making you lose control.”

His hand cupped her jaw as his eyes darkened. “Then you’re definitely going to kind of like what I’m about to do.”

Lucy felt her eyes go wide as she held her breath. Jax covered her body with his and the weight of him was delicious. She wrapped herself around him and held on for what she knew was going to be one hell of a ride.

Jax being a bed hog wasn’t surprising, but whenever she moved too far away from him, he would reach for her and haul her close again. As much as Lucy found it to be utterly adorable, she needed to get out of his bed and back to her own room.

Slowly—almost painfully so—she inched away and slid out from under the blankets. The only thing she had to wear was her bathing suit, and that wasn’t even remotely appealing. Instead, she tiptoed toward Jax’s en suite and grabbed the first towel she saw, wrapping it around herself. Then, as quietly as she could, she walked out of the bedroom and quickly made her way across the entire main floor of the house to the guest room she’d been using. The lights were still on from earlier and as soon as she stepped inside and shut the door, she leaned against it with a long sigh, even as her heart was racing.

After a moment, she stepped away from the door and went to find her robe. She was just sliding it on when her door crashed open and there stood Jax in all his glory.

His body was…perfection. All muscles—but not too bulky—and he had a smattering of tattoos. He was built like the powerful athlete he was, and she’d never seen another man like him.

“Jax, I…”

Without a word, he advanced on her until he banded one arm around her waist, hauling her close. “I thought we talked about this. You were spending the night in my bed, Lucy.”

A shiver of delight raced down her spine at his possessive tone. “I was coming back,” she assured him. “I just remembered that I had left the light on, and if my brother came home earlier than planned, he would knock on the door if he could see the light.” She placed her hand on his chest. “Then I grabbed my robe and…here you are.”

Jax leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. “Oh.”

Smiling, she said, “Remember earlier when you told me to be patient? Well…maybe you should take your own advice.”

He toyed with the edge of her robe. “I don’t know why you needed this.”

Laughing softly, Lucy shook her head. “Because I was chilly after running over here in a towel. Besides, in the morning, I don’t want to put my damp bathing suit back on, so…”

“So…you plan on still being with me in the morning?”

“At least until the sun comes up,” she replied honestly. “I have no idea how early Ty’s going to get back, and I’d really rather not have him see me coming out of your room.”

“I know,” he muttered. “Sneaking around isn’t what you deserve. I’m sorry.”

Smoothing her hand up to his face, she caressed his jaw. “I knew what I was doing, so there’s nothing to apologize for.”

“Still…”

“Jax?”

“What?”

“Take me back to bed. The sun will be up before we know it.”

Wordlessly, he took her by the hand and led her back across the house. The view of his bare ass was spectacular, and she had to fight the urge to giggle. Never in her life would she have imagined the two of them like this, but being here with him right now was totally worth it.

When they reached his bed, he turned and took her in his arms, kissing her deeply. Lucy felt herself melt against him. He was just so much bigger than her, it felt like he surrounded her.

And she liked it.

A lot.

Slowly, he peeled the robe from her body, letting it pool at her feet. Next, he sat on the bed and gently tugged her to join him. The feel of warm skin against warm skin had her humming appreciatively. With his hand firmly in place on her lower back, Jax maneuvered them until Lucy was lying on top of him. She grinned down at him even as she pushed up a little. It was a pretty empowering feeling to be the one in this position, she thought. The look on his face as he ran his hands achingly slowly up her torso until he cupped her breasts was quite possibly the biggest turn on of her life.

Covering his hands with hers, she whispered his name and waited for him to look up at her face. Gazes locked, Lucy thought it was the most perfect moment. She might never experience anything like this again, and she wanted it to last—to linger. But their bodies had other plans and she wasn’t interested in ignoring them because she knew the pleasure that awaited them. Leaning forward, she kissed him until they were both breathless, and thought Jax was the best kisser she’d ever known. Then his hands began to roam, and she thought he had the greatest hands.

And after that, she could barely think at all, and she simply gave herself over to enjoying what little was left of the night.

At some point, they fell asleep and it was a noise in the distance that woke her up. Lifting her head, she glanced at the bedside clock and saw it was eight o’clock!

“Shit,” she hissed.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Jax asked sleepily.

“Ty’s home. I just heard the front door!” she whispered even as she scrambled from the bed and reached for her robe. Panicking, she looked around as if unsure of where she was supposed to go or what she was supposed to do.

Meanwhile, Jax lazily climbed from the bed and strolled to the bathroom. She wanted to scream in frustration, but unfortunately, she had to stay quiet.

Dammit.

When he came out in a pair of flannel pajama pants and nothing else, he looked so damn appealing that she seriously hated her brother at that moment.

Focus!

Yawning, he raked a hand through his hair and stretched. “Okay, I’m gonna go out to the kitchen and see if he’s out there making coffee or whatever. You go out through the door that leads out to the back porch and get back to your room that way. If Ty’s out in the kitchen or living room, I’ll keep him distracted. Okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.” As soon as she turned to go, he reached out and gently grabbed her arm, turning her toward him. “Jax! There’s no time! I need to…”

Her words were cut off by a kiss that was soft and tender and…everything. When he lifted his head and stared down at her, she saw the sadness there and maybe…regret?

“I hate that our morning is ending like this,” he said quietly. “I wish we had more time.”

“Me too,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “I…I should go.” When she went to take a step back, he released her and she already missed his touch. They never talked about how things were going to be afterwards. It seemed like an unspoken agreement that they weren’t going to tell her brother—or anyone—about what happened, and she hated that this was their only night together.

But…was it?

Why didn’t we talk about this?

Now wasn’t the time to figure that out. She needed to get back to her room and shower before facing Ty. So, with a sad smile, Lucy turned and quietly let herself out the back door. When she got close to the sliding glass doors that led to the living room, she carefully peeked to see if her brother was anywhere within view and…he was. He was in the kitchen making coffee but facing the back porch. Luckily Jax came out and distracted him. It was almost comical how he managed to get the two of them to turn their backs, but as soon as they did, she darted for her own door and stepped inside.

Her heart was both racing and breaking at the same time, and she had no idea how she was supposed to act normally when she joined the two of them for breakfast.

“I guess I’m going to have to figure that out. Fast.”

Jax prided himself on being a good friend and teammate. He was always quick to lend a hand or an encouraging word. So it wasn’t a surprise that he was having a hard time looking Tyler in the eye. He was fine until Lucy came out of her bedroom after taking a shower. She was fully dressed, but her hair was still damp, and he could smell her shampoo.

I’m in hell…

Somehow they’d gotten through breakfast and then made plans to go on a tour of the stadium and then to lunch at the Warrior’s Club—an exclusive restaurant for players, management, and other executives and staff. There were a ton of museums, galleries, a zoo, and a lot of other tourist attractions around the city, but neither Ty nor Lucy were interested in doing that. So after lunch, they were going to play it by ear before hitting up some of the local craft breweries for dinner, like a pub crawl. Jax wasn’t going to drink, but he didn’t mind taking them there.

As they drove to the stadium, he did his best to focus on the task at hand and not on thinking about everything he and Lucy had done the night before. There was a part of him that still couldn’t believe they’d crossed that line and slept together, but he didn’t regret it. She was someone he genuinely enjoyed being around, and if it weren’t for his friendship with her brother, he’d be out with her alone today instead of this friendly little trio.

Unfortunately, there was no way he could blow Ty off to get time alone with Lucy, no matter how much he wanted to.

“Hey,” Lucy said, interrupting his thoughts. “What happened with your meeting?”

“Um…”

“I think she means me,” Ty said with a laugh before twisting in the passenger seat to face her in the back. “The meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, but we’re going to handle it as a Zoom call tomorrow night after we get home. Personally, I think it could have waited another day, but these are big clients and they’re interested in the land the old Creek Motel was on.”

“Oh, wow,” Jax said with a grin. “Remember how we all went there on prom night?”

Ty laughed, nodding. “Hell, yeah! Marcy Valentine and I in room 302.” He sighed dramatically. “Alas, it was not meant to be.”

Jax laughed with him. “I don’t think anyone who was together on prom night is still together now.”

“Not true. Rich Collier and Debbie Monroe got married last year. They were in the room next to mine and Marcy’s and they played some sappy music on full blast most of the night,” Ty explained, thoroughly amused. “I asked him about it the next day and he said it was Debbie’s idea so no one would hear what they were doing!” More laughing. “I had to break it to them that their headboard banging against our shared wall was louder than the music!”

“Yikes!” Lucy chimed in. “At least my prom weekend was spent at a place near the beach. We had to drive an hour to get there, but it was clean and a little more soundproof than what you’re saying.”

Tyler held up a hand to stop her. “Luce, please. I do not want to hear about you and that doofus you went to the prom with or where you spent the weekend. I still want to strangle Doug every time I see him around town.”

Doug? Who the hell is Doug?

“Seriously?” she asked, laughing softly. “Doug’s harmless, and we broke up three months later. I barely even remember him.”

“And yet you remembered where you spent prom night…”

“Oh my God,” she groaned. “Why are you like this?”

“It’s my job as the big brother. On principle, I have to kick any guy’s ass who messes with you.”

I’m so screwed…

“Again, why are you like this? Charlie and Wyatt aren’t overprotective at all! You need to relax. I’m an adult and don’t need you threatening to beat anyone up, especially someone I dated in high school.”

“Fine. I’ll leave Doug alone. But you didn’t let me go after Blake either, and that guy deserved to have his ass kicked.” He paused and shook his head. “And trust me, Charlie and Wyatt were on board with doing it too.”

“I know they were, but it wasn’t worth it.”

“Who’s Blake?” Jax asked, noticing the look exchanged between the siblings.

“Um…” Lucy met his gaze in the rearview mirror and then looked away.

“Blake is Lucy’s ex-fiancé,” Ty answered. “And a total douche. She caught him cheating on her while they were in the middle of a pre-wedding photoshoot! I mean…who does that?”

“Jeez, Ty! You could have left it at ex-fiancé!” she hissed, and from his view of her in the mirror, he could tell she was mortified.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to overshare, but…it’s just Jax,” he reasoned. “He doesn’t care and it’s not like he’s going to repeat it or come back to South Creek and rough Blake up, right?”

That was now up for debate.

As much as he wanted to know more, now wasn’t the time. If anything, he felt like it was important for them to change the subject. Luckily, they were exiting the highway for the stadium.

“Did you know that our stadium seats seventy thousand? And that’s just the fans,” he explained. “Between the teams and their staffs, camera crews, cheerleaders, mascots, and stadium and concession crews, there’s room for eighty thousand people in there! Crazy, right?”

“Is that a standard size for a football stadium?” she asked, and Jax nearly sagged with relief because he had safely changed topics.

After that, he ran through a bunch of stadium stats that carried them through until they were parked. As they were climbing from his truck, Ty’s phone rang and he excused himself and walked several parking spots away for privacy.

Jax held out his hand to help Lucy out of the truck and held it for a moment longer. “You okay?” They were completely out of sight of Tyler, so at least they had a little bit of privacy.

She nodded. “I hate that he brings stuff like that up. I swear he thinks it’s endearing and proves that he’s looking out for me, but sometimes it’s just…it’s not helpful. I know he means well, but some stuff is private.”

“I get that.” Rubbing his thumb softly over her knuckles, he tugged her closer even as he monitored where her brother was at. “You know Ty is seriously my best friend and I enjoy hanging out with him, but right now I really wish he were anywhere else but here.” Ducking his head, he murmured, “And I wish you and I were back at my house alone.”

“Jax…”

“I know, I know. We said last night was last night and that’s it, but…” A quick glance showed Tyler coming their way. He quickly released Lucy’s hand and took a step back.

“Sorry about that!” he said when he joined them. “So? Ready to play tour guide?”

Grinning, Jax nodded. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s do this.”

It was after midnight when they all said goodnight.

“I am going to sleep hard tonight,” Ty said around a yawn. “I got hardly any sleep last night, if you know what I mean.”

Lucy groaned loudly. “Ugh…TMI, dude. TMI.”

Yawning again, Tyler waved as he walked away. Then Jax watched Lucy as she went to hers. He hated this—hated that she was so damn close and that he couldn’t be with her. When he heard both doors close, he let out a weary sigh before turning off all the lights and heading to his own room, shutting the door behind him.

Pulling his shirt up over his head, he tossed it into the hamper in his walk-in closet. For several minutes, he just wandered around his room and en suite. He wasn’t tired; if anything, he was restless. His immediate thought was the hot tub, but…he didn’t want it to look like he was trying to entice Lucy into joining him.

Even though he knew that’s exactly what he wanted.

Raking both hands through his hair, he walked back into the bathroom and studied his reflection in the massive mirror. He didn’t see the cocky young quarterback he used to be. Instead, he saw a man who was a little disenchanted with his life and was unsure of what direction he was supposed to go in.

The camp was a given. That was a passion project that he knew was going to take years to really take off. Playing football was something he would do for maybe another season or two. But the discontent he was feeling right now had nothing to do with his career and everything to do with his personal life.

Listening to Ty talk about his hookup with Sandy made him feel sad. There was a time when casual relationships were great—no commitments, no actual feelings, no strings. Lately, more and more of his teammates were getting engaged or married and settling down, and Jax was beginning to see the appeal.

“Am I seeing the appeal or am I seeing it because I’ve enjoyed having Lucy here this weekend?” And while it was only the weekend, it was surprisingly comfortable. He enjoyed their conversations—both the friendly ones and the sexy ones.

The sexy ones were definitely his favorite.

Now she was leaving, and it made him wonder if there was a woman out there for him. Someone who didn’t care that he was a successful football player or that he had money. He wanted someone who appreciated him for himself and not his profession or bank account.

Someone like Lucy.

Pushing that thought immediately aside, he stripped down to his boxers and walked back into the bedroom. When he reached the bed, he yanked the comforter down before reaching for the TV remote. He was just about to climb into bed when a sound outside grabbed his attention.

It couldn’t be Lucy, could it?

At the door to the back porch, he stood and saw her standing next to the hot tub in her robe. The lights in her bedroom were off and he leaned against the doorjamb, watching her. It took a moment for her to notice him, and in the moonlight, he could see her impish grin.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.

“Contemplating a soak.” Slowly, she sauntered over to him. “I know it’s late, but…”

He didn’t move because if he stepped outside and got close to her, he’d do something stupid—like beg her to spend one more night with him.

“It’s no later than some of our other nights,” he casually told her. “If that’s what you want to do, then you should.”

Her head tilted slightly as she studied him. Jax knew it was pretty bold to be standing there in nothing but a pair of dark boxer briefs, but she’d seen him in less, so…

“What about you?” she asked. “Is that why you were coming out here?”

“I wasn’t,” he replied quietly. “I only opened the door because I heard a noise.”

“Oh.”

Neither spoke for several long moments. Jax knew what was going on in his head, but he had no idea what she was thinking. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to have one more night in the hot tub with her, he thought. After all, what was a little more torture?

Straightening, he stretched. “I guess a soak could be fun. Let me grab a towel and…”

“Jax?”

“Hmm?”

Lucy stepped closer until she was mere inches from the door. “I…I didn’t really want to go in the water. I wanted…I mean, I thought that maybe we could…um…I know we said…”

“Lucy?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re rambling,” he said gruffly as he reached out and took one of her hands in his and gently pulled her toward him. With her body flush against his, he stared down at her. “Would you like to join me in my bed?”

All she did was nod.

Wordlessly, he walked backward into the room, taking her with him. Lucy closed the door, and they moved over to the bed where he peeled her robe off, finding her naked underneath.

His smile was slow and full of heat. “Had I known you didn’t have anything on underneath this, we could have skipped all the small talk.”

“You’re overdressed, Jax,” she told him, giving him a playful shove so he fell back on the bed.

The grin on his face nearly hurt, but as Lucy climbed up and crawled over him, all he could think was how flipping happy he was. Reaching down, he grabbed her ass and pressed her close. There were so many thoughts racing through his mind, but he was afraid to say anything and ruin the moment. For right now, he was satisfied knowing that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

Swallowing hard, he looked at her beautiful face. Her lips were glossy and her eyes were dark with desire. One hand smoothed up her back before anchoring in her hair. “Do you have any idea how freaking sexy you are?”

She whispered his name even as she shook her head.

“Or how you had me going crazy all day because of how much I wanted you?”

Her gaze held his and he could tell that he’d surprised her.

“It’s true,” he told her softly. “All I kept thinking about was how one night wasn’t enough, but I wasn’t going to allow myself to try to convince you to be with me again.”

“It wouldn’t have taken much to convince me,” she whispered. “It was all I could think about all day too.”

It was crazy how much that pleased him.

“One more night, Jax, and then it’s back to reality. I’m heading back home and you’ll be here doing your thing.” Her hand rested on his chest. “We need to treat this like Vegas—what happens here…”

“Stays here,” he said solemnly. As much as he knew it was the right thing to do, it still bothered him. And maybe he’d think about it more later.

Much later.

Like…long after Lucy and Ty were gone.

But for now, he was more than content to push that thought aside and focus on this glorious woman in his arms. Rolling over, he tucked Lucy beneath him and grinned down at her. Her eyes went wide, and she was a little breathless.

“Take me, Jax,” she begged, arching her back.

“Sweetheart, that was the plan all along.” And he sealed it with a kiss.