Lily looked even more startled.
"Ah, shit, man. I'm sorry. Completely slipped my mind."
I sipped my coffee. "No big deal," I told him breezily.
"You want me to stop by?"
"Nah, it's nothing. I'll see you later, Diggsy." I headed out of the kitchen.
"Later, man."
I mounted the stairs, waiting. Half of me wondered if I had fucked things up too badly, worrying that maybe she wouldn't follow me, wouldn't ask any questions. I've always been an asshole, but she had me feeling actually bad about it. It's one thing to joke around, it's another to say something to deliberately cut another person down.
But the pad of a bare foot on the living room floor made me smile in spite of myself. Yeah, I was an asshole to her. But she was a curious little kitten and wasn't about to let me get away without explaining my tattoo.
"Hey, Jax?" she called up the stairs.
"Yeah."
"Can I talk to you?"
I turned to look at her. "Why would you want to do that?" I was being honest. I really didn't know.
She stopped and bit her lip. "You're right. I really don't want to," she said frostily.
"But you're going to anyway."
"I just wanted to know something."
"What is it, Lily?"
She ducked her head. "So, it is for me?"
"What is?"
Her eyes smoldered. "Are you really going to make me ask the question? You know what I'm talking about."
I tapped my pec. "Puppy love and teenage hormones," I snarled. "That's all it was." I turned and headed for my room.
Her little feet pounded across the hallway floor, and I suddenly found myself yanked away from my door. I was surprised by her strength, but I was more surprised to see that she didn't let go of my wrist as she hissed at me, "You're a piece of fucking work, you know that? This?" She stabbed me in the chest with her bitten fingernail. "This was not on your chest when I was with you. Which means you got it after I left. Why?"
Two spots of color flamed on her cheeks and I could see the pulse on her neck. Everything inside of me wanted to pull her to me, to press my lips to that throb, trace a line of sucking kisses down to her perfect breasts. "Because," I told her truthfully, "at least this Lily is in my life permanently."
Her breath caught just as my lips found hers, so I wasn't sure if it was my words or the kiss that startled her. I snaked my hand under her hair and cupped the back of her head, loving the way she fit in my hand as I drank her in as deeply and fully as she would allow.
She let out a frustrated little sigh that turned into a moan as my hand found her waist and pulled her closer. Her tank top slid up slightly, leaving a warm swath of skin bare at the small of her back. I brushed my fingers lightly along her spine, the way I knew she liked, the way I knew she craved, and she sagged into me more fully, parting her lips and circling my tongue with hers.
A full year's worth of longing for her bubbled up inside of me and suddenly I was a man possessed. With a growl, I swung her around, pressing her back against the wall. Snaking my hands into her hair, I grabbed the length and yanked her head to the side, exposing the curve of her neck. She let out a stifled moan as I kissed that sweet, rapid pulse, and then let my lips travel lower. I pressed against her hard letting her feel what she did to me, had been doing to me, had always done to me since the day I met her so long ago.
"We shouldn't…" I didn't let her get the rest of her words out. To hell with what we should and shouldn't do—I needed to do this. I needed to cup her breast in my hand, swiping my thumb over her nipple so that it puckered into a tight bead before I tugged her shirt to the side to take it into my lips. Her protests died away into a sharp moan.
"Make noise for me, Lily," I begged her. I needed to hear those soft sighs again, the ones that made me feel like the center of the world. "Let me know exactly what this feels like." I plunged my hand below the waistband of her jeans. "Ah, shit, I wish you knew what this felt like. You're so hot and wet for me, aren't you? Did you miss me as much as I missed you, Lil?"
"Shut up," she whispered, pleading. "Someone will hear you." She moaned as I slipped a finger inside of her.
I looked toward the staircase. There were voices downstairs, low and indistinct. "You don't want to get caught?" I was too lost to stop now. "Then you'll have to be quick, Bit. Come for me," I swirled my thumb over her clit, raking circles to draw gasps from those rosebud lips. "I want to feel you cum around my finger, right here."
She wrapped her arms tightly around my shoulders, pressing against me as hard as she could, her whole body undulating as I slipped another, and then another finger inside of her. "Shit!" she hissed, biting her lip and burying her face into my chest. I felt her tummy tighten, the muscles of her core fluttering like a butterfly. "Oh, God!"
I growled and buried my face in her neck. Her body heaved and those noises I craved hearing tore from her throat, savage little wildcat noises that nearly had me cumming along with her. "Perfect, yes, oh my God, you're perfect." I was babbling like an idiot, but I didn't give a fuck any more. I covered her mouth with mine, relishing the taste of her one last time before I pulled my hand away.
"Jaxson?" My mother's whiskey-soaked voice floated up the stairwell.
I ignored it. "Come to my show tonight," I told Lily. "I want you there in the audience."
Her eyes were shining as she stared at me for a moment. Then, finally, she nodded. I went downstairs to see what the fuck my mom wanted, feeling on top of the fucking world.
Chapter Nineteen
Liliana
There were too many people in this house. Every time a voice called from downstairs, I wanted to shrink into an even tighter ball. The shouts and sounds of scraping made me wonder what the heck they were building, but I was too terrified to go and check. I was afraid what had just happened would be written all over my face.
Jaxson's eyes, nearly black with desire. His fingers, his lips…
Any semblance of pride or self-control I could claim was blown away in a frenzy of lust.
The way my body moved, how it knew exactly what he'd do next, anticipated it like an addict jonesing for the next high.
That lily on his chest had broken me.
His voice in my ear, so confident, so cocky, telling me exactly what to do.
But I didn't need to stay broken. I rolled over in bed and pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes, squeezing them shut as the memory bore down on me like a freight train.
It was his first major television interview. I recorded it on the DVR, intending to watch and then rewatch it again and again. My Jaxson was poised to become a star in his own right.
The interviewer was a tall, crisp blonde with a curve to her lips that made everything she said seem like innuendo. I hated her instantly.
Jaxson sat on his chair like a prince on his throne. I paused the playback for moment to appreciate the simplicity of the white T-shirt and leather jacket combination I had chosen for him. They had pancaked his face in too much makeup, but somehow it didn’t detract from his rugged masculinity.
I hit the play button and leaned back, snuggling down into the couch. He would be home soon and I wanted to watch it all before he got here.