“I prefer brunettes.” His fingers comb through my hair as if to score a brownie point, but his eyes never leave mine. There’s a magnificent intensity when someone drills their gaze into your own. One’s natural inclination leans toward glancing away, but with Jax, it’s like an exclusive party I’ve been invited to and can never seem to leave.
“Again, you’re getting laid, Stade.” God, is it awful that not until this very moment did I realize how well laid and Stade rhyme?
“Don’t say that.” His finger strokes my cheek as his lids grow heavy. Damn, I love that drunk love look on his face as his mind begins to unspool.
“Okay—how about this? You’re about to embark on an oral adventure courtesy of my mouth.” I land my finger over his lips before he can protest. “Everything off, now, Stade, and I do mean now.”
His chest bucks with a quiet laugh. “You’re the bossiest girl I’ve had in my bedroom ever since—well, you.”
“You must like bossy because you’ve brought me back for more. So no more talking, Stade,” I say his name right over his lips. “Drop trou. I want to see the merch.”
He works his jeans and every other stitch on his body off, slow as January. Jaxson never takes his eyes off mine, but I break the spell, step back, and admire his sturdy frame. My eyes sink to that hard V, the way it pays homage to his fantastically impressive erection. There’s no doubt Jaxson Stade’s body is built for speed, built to be ardently admired and venerated, to be properly worshiped.
So I do the only thing I can—drop to my knees to do just that.
Jaxson
Once when we were kids, I dared Poppy to jump down from my tree house, and she took off like a bird without hesitation. Thankfully, she landed safe on the waiting swampy grass below, spread out on all fours like a frog. I remember watching her, my heart stopping as she sank down to earth. I also distinctly remember that day because the first thought I had when she hit the ground was that girl is gorgeous. And I meant both inside and out. But it was also the first time I realized I loved her.
And here we are all these years later and she continues to be the only girl, the only woman who takes my breath away.
Poppy looks up at me with her knees sunk to the floor, her lips full and puckered like a blowup doll just inches from my dick. Poppy is every grown man’s wet dream. Those enormous doe eyes, those foot-long lashes. She’s a jewel to look at, but it’s what’s on the inside that radiates her true beauty.
She reaches over and claps her cool hand around me, pulling me toward her as she wraps her mouth around the tip, and I arch my head back and suck in a breath through my teeth. She rides me slow, up and down, does this suction thing with her mouth that makes me ten times harder than before, and a roar thunders through me.
Poppy gets me there ten times faster than I’ve ever gotten there, but before I lose it, I scoop her off the floor and land a heated kiss to her lips.
“Your impressive skills worry the hell out of me.”
She bubbles out a laugh. “Be afraid. I have tricks up my vagina you will never see coming.” She wrinkles her nose. “Wow, that was laced with unintentional innuendo. I guess that makes me a natural.”
“You are a natural.” I land a kiss to the nape of her neck before setting her on her feet. “A natural temptress.” I work off her lacey white top and lay it gently on the nightstand as if it were a newborn. I start on her jeans and before too long realize that this might be an unattainable feat. “You take these off with scissors at night?”
“No.” She snaps back with that wry smile budding on her lips. “I get in the bath and let the paint melt off.”
“I’d laugh, but I need to get in there.”
“Oh? Did you lose a contact on your last visit?”
“I lost my mind.” I give her pants a quick yank, and a horrible tearing sound emits. “Shit.”
She sucks in a quick breath. “You ripped them!”
“I’m sorry.” I hold my hands in the air a moment like the pants ripping asshole I apparently am. “I swear I’ll replace them.” I try like hell to hold down a laugh. “I’ll buy you a whole new wardrobe to make up for it.”
“Fine.” Her cheek twitches because I happen to know I’m speaking her language. Poppy has been a clotheshorse for as long as I’ve known her. “But, be warned, I have expensive taste.”
“I can see that,” I muse at her half-naked waist. “I imagine water-soluble pants can set you back a pretty penny.”
“Set you back.” She does her best to shimmy out of them, but they get stuck around her hips. “I think I just need to get on the bed. It’s an old trick you boys wouldn’t know anything about.” She flops onto the mattress backward and starts gyrating her hips while her thumbs hitch into the sides of her pants. “You just have to sort of—”
“Do the worm? Or is that the alligator?”
She scowls over at me while her movements become more erratic.
A dull laugh huffs from me. “Why do I get the feeling you weren’t really looking to get any action tonight? Heck, I don’t think you were looking to use the bathroom. You got a diaper on under there?”
“Shut up and start pulling.” She gasps as she twists her way toward me. “I think they’re starting to give.”
My fingers work themselves into her belt loops, and I secure a foot over the mattress, ready to pants her like a pro.
“Hold on to the girls. These pants are going down.” I give a violent yank, and they dislodge with ease as if they were suddenly greased.
The momentum lands me slamming into the curtains, and I do a quick pivot to keep from falling. I end up wrapping myself in the cottony gauze before tripping—knocking the candle off the dresser and landing half the left side of the bedroom onto the floor along with taking down the curtain rod.
“Oh my God!” Poppy roars. “Fire!”
“Fire?” I try to prop myself up, but I’ve encased myself in a white veiled cocoon. Something heated springs near my feet as the curtains fill with smoke.
“Shit!” she cries before beating the crap out of me with a pillow.
The flames roll forward into a bright red surge as the room flickers with the immanent blaze.
“Fuck.” I stumble to my feet, doing a little dance to get myself free from the Chinese yoyo the curtains have become, and spot Poppy fanning me from afar. “You’re feeding the flames!” I take the pillow from her as I hop out of the damn contraption.
“Fire!” she howls so loud the cords of her neck jump. “Oh my God, we’re going to die! FIRRRE!”
I roll the curtain up into a ball and slam the pillow over the flames, smothering them to a whimpering white billow. I choke on my next breath as I lunge forward and open the window as far as it’ll go. I head over and open the slider to the balcony as well.
A sharp pounding slams over the door. “Everything okay in there?”
Poppy covers her girl parts with her hands in the event my mother is about to take a cue from hers.
“Everything’s fine!” I shout back.
“But I thought I heard some shouting about a fire!” You can hear the worry in her voice right through the door.
I shake my head at Pops in the event she feels the need to spill the velvet ripping details.
“It’s the sheets.” A devilish grin comes to me as I look over to Poppy. “She says I set the sheets on fire.”
Poppy scowls over at me a moment. “That’s right, Deb!” she shouts as loud as she can. “This boy has some impressive night moves!”
You can hear the tittering coming from the other side.
“You two kids get back to doing whatever it is you were doing! Don’t mind me. I’ll be off to bed. I might leave a fire extinguisher outside the door just in case. Night!”
“Night,” I say, lackluster. I’ve hauled a few women up here since I’ve been back at the main house and not once has my mother been involved in any of the shenanigans that have happened within these walls. But then, there’s never been a f
ire. I’ve never had my dick try to fuck the floor, or had my body wrapped up like a mummy and then set aflame. I look to Poppy, standing before me in her tight lace bra, her matching panties, and suddenly I forget that I have a mother. “Never a dull moment.” My arms find their way around her, and my fingers hitch into her panties. “Everything off, now,” I tease, throwing her words right back at her.
She huffs right into my face with that cute turned-up nose of hers. “You’re the bossiest boy I know.”
“I am the boss to many.” My finger runs along the inside of her bra strap. “I wouldn’t mind being your boss for a few hours.”
“Just a few hours?” Her strawberry red lips part as she taunts me. “You’re not as ambitious as I thought.”
“No, but I’m as demanding—as determined to get what’s mine.” I reach back and unhook her bra with a flick of the fingers, and the girls spring out, ready to greet me.
A simple smile floats to my lips as I pull the lingerie away.
“Drop trou.”
“Yes, sir.” She hitches her thumbs into the sides of her panties, and slowly, ever so painfully, she slides them down her thighs.
Poppy is a bold beauty, nothing but tits and ass, and I hate that my mind went there, but here she is, proving that it’s simply a fact not to be contested. My hands latch onto her hips, and I mold my palms over them. I love that Poppy has never been a waif of a girl, that she’s always appreciated a good burger until she didn’t. But she’s kept her curves, her sexy ass body that I used to—and still do—slick off to in the shower. I marvel as I take her in. This is Poppy’s body. My Poppy. This girl is mine, and as beastly as it sounds, she belongs to me. She always has, always will. The thought of Poppy taking off in a week and finding someone new makes my blood boil. But this isn’t then—this is now.
I lean in and steal a slow kiss off her lips before tracing down her neck, down to her pillow soft tits, down to her stomach until I fall on my own knees about to return the favor. I brush my face against the gentle hair at the base before pulling her thighs to my shoulders. My mouth finds a home in that sweet spot I’ve been craving ever since I left, and I love her like that until she can’t breathe any more, until her fingers threaten to pull out every damn hair on my head. Her knees lock over me, and her body shudders, letting me know she hit home. I pull her back and gently lay her onto the mattress. Her velvet soft eyes look up at mine as she tries to catch her breath.
“Your impressive skills worry me,” she whispers as a laugh gets caught in her throat.
“Yes, well, would you believe I was honing them just for you?” I pull her hand over and kiss it.
“No,” she flatlines. “But I’m grateful to reap the benefits. You should really consider a training seminar for other men. You can use me as a demonstration model. I might even take a razor to my lady garden just for the occasion.”
I groan at the idea as I pluck a condom from the nightstand. “I would never want you to take a razor to that Garden of Eden.”
“Is this before or after the fall? You do realize thistles and thorns appeared after the fall. If you’re likening my pink parts to a briar patch, I’m onto you, buddy.”
“Am I your buddy?” I land my knees on either side of her. My erection sits rock hard and painful between her tits as I roll one on. Carefully, I lower myself onto my elbows as my chest adheres to hers. “I used to be your best friend.”
“So you’ll admit it in the sanctity of your own bedroom.” She sucks in her bottom lip, her eyes welling with tears. It’s true. I had denied it once. We were in high school, and she called me out on the fact in front of a group of girls, and I denied it. I was kidding around, but the moment grew tense, and before I could rectify it, it was over. I was the ass that I never wanted to be.
“I’m sorry.” All I can do is shed those seemingly empty words, but if I could, I’d go back in time and erase the pain I saw in her face that day. “What went wrong?”
“Really?” She blinks hard and grinds her head deeper into the pillow. Her hands fly to my chest as she smacks me. “You chose a lousy time to pick apart the past.” She takes in a quivering breath. “Maybe if your mom has a nice pancake spread waiting for us in the morning, I might play that game.” She gives a little shrug. “By the way, I like mine with—”
“Chocolate chips.” I touch the tip of my nose to hers. “I know. I know everything about you, Poppy.” My breathing picks up again. “I know that blue is your favorite color. I know you secretly love Mondays because you get a fresh start and a chance at a brand new week. I know you love the way the world smells after it rains even if you did compare it to my old sweat socks once.” Her lips part as she sighs into me. “I know you love the sound of my mother’s doorbell, or at least you used to because you’d sit on it whenever you’d show up.”
“It chimes for almost two minutes!” She bubbles with a laugh. “And it sounds like church bells. Who doesn’t love church bells?”
“You love basement parties. Getting donuts at three a.m.” I press a soft kiss to each of her eyelids. “You love fishing, but you’d never tell your girlfriends in fear they’d call you a tomboy. And, of course, you love me.”
A choking sound comes from her throat.
“That’s okay, Pops.” My chest thumps wild. “I love you, too.” I land my mouth over hers, and my body makes its way inside her.
Poppy and I heat those sheets long into the night. We set the room on fire on our own terms. Her body is made for loving, and as much as I want to keep doing just that, I know that our time is about to come to an end.
I know just how it feels to miss someone so much it’s like a knife to the heart.
I missed Poppy every damn day she was gone.
The pancake breakfast is a bust. Poppy and I eat on the fly because I’m late to a meeting that I forgot all about. That’s what Poppy does to me. She makes me forget all about the world and all of its irrational demands as I turn my universe, my laser focus right onto her.
By the time the meeting wraps up, I’m winded, tapped from a night of no sleep, but still plenty buzzed from taking one too many hits off the girl of my dreams. Without meaning to, that goofy grin she inspires keeps bouncing to my cheeks. I’m more known for my scowls than I am my smiles, so I do my best to turn down the volume on my newfound exuberance.
“Stade.” Conner catches me as I’m passing his office. “You have a minute?”
“For you? I’ve got half,” I tease as I step into his lair. He’s got the entire room painted a depressing dark gray, with way too much furniture and not enough light. Every time I step in here, I can’t shake the feeling I’m about to get shanked. “What’s up, my man?” I fall into the seat across from him, and he pushes a bottle of water my way.
“You look like shit. Rough night?”
“You guessed it.” And that’s about as far as I’m willing to journey with him down that thorny road laden with his sister. Conner and I have engaged in our fair share of locker room talk, but Poppy is off limits. I don’t need a road map to tell me that it’s a deal-breaker as far as our friendship goes.
“So, who was she?” He leans back in his seat, his fingers meeting at the tips as he stares intently at me. That emphatic glare clues me in on the fact he knows exactly who she is.
Shit. Conner knows better than this, doesn’t he? I get it. He’s pissed. But Poppy is a woman and I’m a man—not that I’m about to make those facts known to him.
“Come on, I don’t care. I know what’s going on between you and my sister.” He loosens. “You had me going there for a second.” He blows out a breath. “Mack filled me in on it yesterday at lunch. I was about to dig you a fresh grave, and she sort of helped bring me back to Earth. Why didn’t you tell me this was all some show to piss off our mothers? Dude, it’s fucking brilliant.” He picks up a pencil and lobs it at me, nearly missing my ear.
“Yes. Brilliant.” A thousand thoughts sail through me. In reality, I had long forgotten this was j
ust a ruse. The only here and now I’m wrapped up in is the fact the clock is winding down on Poppy’s visit. I forgot the fact there aren’t any strings attached to this little setup. “Our mothers will be fuming.”
He barks like a seal with a laugh. “You have no clue. All we heard growing up was the fact the two of you should be together. They never gave you any other option, but I’m glad neither of you bought into that crap. That would be like me marrying Poppy. It’s freaking nuts.” He shudders. “Besides, she deserves to be happy.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I’m tired and a touch hungry, which probably explains why his words pissed me off.
“It means she needs someone who’s there for her. You know, someone very unlike you. She needs someone who’s going to treat her like a queen, cater to her. She’s high-maintenance emotionally. My parents really did a disservice to whomever it is she ends up with. She demands to be worshiped.”
Worshiped. That’s exactly what I did last night. I got on my knees and paid homage to the only girl I ever wanted to love in that way. Poppy isn’t just some random bedmate. She’s my girl. She always has been, and if I’m as smart as I think I am, she always will be.
“She’ll be out of your hair soon enough, though.” He pulls out his phone and starts rifling through it. “I’ll miss her. Always do. I guess she doesn’t really have a reason to hang out around here, though. L.A. has the magic that Oak Grove seems to be missing for her.”
“Sounds like it.” Poppy and I had magic last night. Hell, we have it each time we’re together. What doesn’t she see about that? I force myself to get up before this conversation takes any left turns. “Keep that stuff about the two of us close to the vest, would you? I’d hate to ruin the big reveal.” I grunt at the thought of pulling the rug out from underneath our mothers. I’m not sure how I ever thought this would be a good idea. Yes, their pranks would hit hard at times, but they were just that, silly gags. This is something more we’re doing in return. We’re essentially about to rip their hearts out. And most likely mine, too.