“Jax,” I breathe, unsure, and then moan when his hands lift and drop me onto his length, bumping against something that sends a bolt of pain and pleasure through my core. “Oh, God!” I breathe, lifting my hips, falling over and over until my center begins to clench hard. As he fists my hair in his hand, my back arches, and my hands leave his chest and grip the hard muscles of his thighs behind me. His hips buck up into mine, and his free hand cups my breast, pulling my nipple, sending a spark to my womb that sets off my second orgasm, which sends me into orbit.
Letting my hair and breast go, his hands grab onto my waist and hold me tight against him as my name leaves his mouth. Falling against his chest, I feel his heart beating hard against mine and his chest moving in unison with my own as we both attempt to catch our breath.
“I gotta take care of the condom, baby,” he says gently, rolling me to my back and kissing me as he pulls out slowly, making me instantly miss him and my limbs to tighten around him, not ready to lose his weight.
“How do you feel about getting on birth control?” he asks, pushing my hair out of my face and pressing another kiss to my sensitive lips.
“I thought we were using condoms,” I whisper when his mouth leaves mine.
“We are, but if you get on birth control, we won’t have to.”
“Oh.” I bite my lip and tighten my thighs around him once more at the idea of nothing between us.
“Oh.” He smiles then murmurs, “Unless you want to give Hope her sister, then we can forgo all forms of birth control.”
“I’ll make an appointment with the doctor,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Just giving you options, baby.”
“I don’t want to have a child until I’m married,” I say quietly, dropping my eyes from his, only to feel his finger press up under my chin.
“We can make an appointment for the courthouse instead.”
“You’re so ridiculous.” I giggle, knowing by the look in his eyes he is completely serious.
“I’m going to marry you one day, Ellie, and then I’m going to adopt Hope so you’ll both have my last name,” he says, causing the air to rush out of my lungs and my body to jolt.
“Jax.”
“Gotta take care of the condom, baby, then make a couple calls,” he says, rolling off me and out of bed, coming back a couple minutes later with a warm rag, which he uses between my legs before tossing it into the bathroom. Going to his dresser, he grabs a pair of sweats that he pulls on, while I slip back on my shorts and shirt.
“I should go back to my room,” I say, watching him grab the picture from the ground and his cell phone from the top of the dresser.
“Stay here,” he says, coming toward me, forcing me back into the bed.
“Hope,” I murmur softly, looking into his eyes then to the door.
“Is fine.” He cages me in with a hand on each side of me in the bed. “I’ll be back, so just try to get some sleep,” he says, kissing my forehead then lips and leaving the room.
Rolling to my back, I look up at the ceiling and feel a smile form on my lips as my eyes grow heavy.
Lifting my coffee cup to my mouth, I look at Jax over the rim and fight the urge to laugh at the look on his face as Hope tells me about her day with him yesterday. I guess in all the excitement with the new puppies, she forgot to tell me about her and Jax going to the nail salon and wearing her costume heels around town. But my sweet Angel is telling every detail now, and each of those details is causing Jax to look at me pleadingly.
I’m not even mad at him for giving Hope her way. I know he can’t help it. Looking at her now and knowing what she had taken from her, I want to give her everything her heart desires. But as a mom, I know that’s impossible and will only lead to problems down the line.
“It sounds like you had a good day, Angel,” I tell her, watching as she spins back-and-forth and side-to-side on the bar stool she’s sitting on, eating her breakfast.
“I love Daddy Ax days.” She grins as my heart stops and my eyes fly to Jax, who has a look on his face I can’t decipher.
“I…” He clears his throat then looks from me back to Hope. “I love spending time with you too, sweetheart.”
“I know, ’cause I’m da best.” She nods then dips her spoon into her cereal, shoving a large spoonful into her mouth like she didn’t just rock my world.
“Hello?” is yelled as the front door opens and shuts, and I look from Hope towards the door to the kitchen and watch Ashlyn walk in wearing a pair of simple black ballet flats, dark grey slacks, and a black blouse. It all looks good on her, but isn’t what she normally wears, and I wonder if this is the work uniform her new boss requested.
“Hey, princess,” she greets Hope with a kiss to her cheek then turns to look at her brother then me. “Am I interrupting something?” she asks, and I shake my head, knowing I won’t be able to talk to Jax until later tonight about Hope calling him Daddy Ax. Not that I really want to talk to him about it. I don’t know what I will do if he says he doesn’t feel comfortable with her calling him that.
“Nope, but I love your outfit,” I say, watching her eyes roll.
“My boss is an asshole,” she mutters as her nose scrunches up in disgust.
“Asshole is a naudy word,” Hope chimes in helpfully, making her cringe.
“Sorry, honey,” she tells her, watching as Hope shrugs then takes another bite of her cereal.
“I gotta head out,” Jax says, placing his cup in the sink and shoving his keys into his pocket. “I won’t be back until dinner.”
“We’ll be here all day,” I say, leaning up on my tiptoes when his arm bands around my waist.
“Be good.”
“Maybe.” I smile, watching his eyes darken right before his head dips and he whispers, “Or don’t,” kissing me softly then letting me go. Placing his hand on the top of his sister’s head, he rubs it roughly, messing up her hair and making her shriek before going to Hope and kissing her forehead.
“Men are jerks,” Ashlyn grumbles, running her hand down her hair, trying to tame it. Then, she looks toward the front door and back to me when we hear it close, signaling Jax’s departure. “He’s gone,” she whispers.
“Go brush your teeth, Angel, then come back down and I’ll tell you what we’re going to do today,” I tell Hope, watching her scoot off her chair and run for the stairs. “Did you bring the stuff?” I ask looking at Ashlyn, referring to the decorations for Jax’s surprise party.
“They’re in my car.” She smiles, and I feel excitement bubble up inside me.
“What time is everyone getting here?”
“Around five. I’ll be back at three to help set up,” she says, going to the coffee pot and pouring herself a cup. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pick up a cake?” she asks, going to the fridge and getting out the cream, pouring some into her cup.
“I’m sure. I figured Hope and I could make him one.”
“He’ll love that,” she says as her face goes soft.
“I hope so,” I mutter. This whole family thing is still kind of new to me, but this is what I have always wanted, and this is what I want Hope’s memories to be filled with.