Not even forty-five minutes later, when the front door burst open, Joel rushing in with Jesse hard on his heels, Vicki was on the couch, her baby wrapped comfortably in her arms.
Dare had one of her twins, and Jaxi held the other, and Ginny was riding herd on the rest of the children. It was the finest of chaos in Jaxi’s opinion.
Joel cuddled in next to Vicki and kissed her tenderly before accepting his baby boy into his free arm. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here this time.”
“It’s okay,” Vicki reassured him. “You’ll be here for the rest of it.”
Jaxi was still buzzing with excitement when she got to share the story with Blake that night. “It was probably one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done,” she admitted. “And one of the scariest.”
Their children were all asleep, and she and Blake were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace.
He leaned on one elbow, stroking his fingers down her thigh as she sat cross-legged in front of him. “You were worried about Vicki?”
“And the baby, and just—everything.” She caught his hand and pulled it up to her mouth so she could kiss his fingers. “You’ve said it before, but I never quite understood until now how hard it is to be there and not be the one having the baby.”
She’d been running on sheer adrenaline by the end of it, wanting to take the pain away from Vicki and yet knowing she couldn’t. Hoping with every breath that things would be fine, and knowing all she could do was one thing at a time.
Blake dipped his chin. “I know they’re very grateful you were there.”
Another rush swept through her. “I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight,” she exclaimed. “They named the baby after me, Blake. Not just because of tonight—they said they always planned to.”
Joel and Vicki announcing that their little boy would be called Jackson in her honour made something magical flutter inside.
Blake curled upright, pulling her against him and surrounding her with his strong arms. “Joel told me a few days ago they planned on it. He said you were the best kind of sister ever. Someone who’d been there from the beginning. Someone who wasn’t always perfect, but when you screw up, you apologize then work to make it right. He said they looked up to you even as they feel comfortable telling you anything.” She took a shaky breath, and he squeezed her again. “It’s quite a compliment, and I agree completely.”
Great. Now she had tears as well as adrenaline running her system ragged. “It’s quite something to know that my family of choice is far more than my family by blood.”
It was easy now to let go of any final bitterness from being an afterthought to her parents. Maybe the peace should’ve snuck in a long time earlier. Maybe in some ways, it had. This moment was the icing on a beautiful cake. A sweet, pretty covering over the deliciousness she’d been enjoying for years.
She squeezed Blake extra hard then pulled back. “So, how was your day?”
His grin slid from amusement to heat. “I’ve got something to show you.”
Jaxi snorted. “Excuse me?”
Blake blinked then joined her in laughter. “You’ve got a dirty mind, Slick.”
“You love my dirty mind,” she told him with a bit of an attitude.
He scooped her up, rising to his feet as she bit down a shout of surprise. This was definitely not the moment to wake any of the kids.
“My day was pretty good as well,” he told her. His strong hands squeezed her butt as he held her against him. Jaxi wrapped her legs around his lean hips, fingers digging into his muscular shoulders as he carried her down the stairs.
They were slightly safer now, since the children were still sharing bedrooms on the main floor for a few more years. Jaxi waited silently until he put her down in the dark corner of what used to be the family ranch office at one point.
“You need my help to balance some ledgers?” she whispered.
A low, dirty chuckle escaped him. “You’re going to be a little too busy.”
He clicked a switch, and teeny lights went on, strategically arranged around the perimeter of the room. Wall sconces burned as well, and soft country music began playing, almost as if they’d stepped into—
No way. Jaxi twisted to look into Blake’s grinning face. “You made us our own version of Traders Pub?”
“Dance with me?”
His voice was lust-filled and smoky, and it sent a shiver racing up Jaxi’s spine.
She didn’t plan on sleeping anytime soon. Getting to rock against her favourite person in the entire world while he held her, one hand caressing her lower back, fingers teasing the back edge of her butt, was delicious. His other hand slid over her shoulders and through her hair. Trickling down the front of her body, boldly caressing her breasts.
Oh, she could handle a dance or two. If she must.
Hmmm. Nothing said she couldn’t make this as much fun for him as it was for her. Jaxi eased a little tighter, took a slightly bigger breath as she arched and savoured the delicious sensation of his hard muscles rubbing fabric over her breasts.
“Jaxi.” His groan was already a reward, but when he reached between them and undid the button on her pants, her blood pumped a little faster.
“Is the door locked?” Because this wasn’t something she wanted interrupted.
“Yes.” He pushed her pants to the floor, taking her panties with them. “There. Much better.”
She wanted to laugh, because the shirt she wore was extra-long, and the tails hung over her hips like a dress. “You seem to have an agenda.”
“Making good on a promise,” he told her. “I’m sorry it’s taken this long. I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
He flicked another switch, and the back half of the room lit up to reveal—
Shock and amusement hit. “Blake Coleman. Is there a pool table in here?”
“They were nearly giving it away. Said they ordered new ones and I could have this one cheap.” He backed them up two paces then placed her on the edge of the table. Then he caught hold of her knees and pressed her legs wide before trickling his fingers up the inside of her thighs. Teasing as he slid his fingers past the line between where her leg and her torso connected. Small circles inching closer to her sex. “You’re not in a sundress, but this works for me.”
He stood there, fingers now cupping her possessively. Waiting.
“Oh, yeah. This works for me, too,” she agreed quickly. Gasping when he reacted by sliding his fingers through her folds. “Oh, this so works for me.”
Blake teased. Fingers slipping into her sex. One. Two. Just the hint of three before his thumb danced in a series of rapid pulses over her clit. He did it again, and a strong pulse built inside her core.
Her breasts ached. She wanted to tear away the rest of her clothing. Tear away his clothing so they would both be naked, and yet there was something so deliciously dirty about the way he stood guarding her. As if a whole room full of people stood behind him, none of them quite aware of what was going on. None of them able to see the fire in his eyes as he stared at where he worked her sex.
None of them able to see what was on his face when he glanced up and whispered her name, pinching her clit lightly.
Jaxi rocked as the first wave struck. Blake rubbed harder, thrusting her into overdrive. Pushing hard so that pleasure rose, then dipped, then flared higher again. It wasn’t until she gasped his name that his hand vanished.