Song- Home, Good Neighbours.
A smile creeps up on my lips. I can smell his strong aftershave before anything else.
My heart races as I open my eyes, rolling over on my bed to face the door.
“You came back?”
Concern flashes across his face as he strides to the edge of my small double bed.
“You’ve been crying?”
I chew on my bottom lip. My puffy eyes probably give me away.
He kicks off his sneakers and crawls onto the bed, pulling me into his embrace. I rest my head on his chest.
“Why the tears, sweetheart?” he whispers, stroking my hair away from my face.
“I thought I’d scared you off, that I’d messed this up for you and Maeve.”
He tuts, sliding himself down the bed while keeping one arm around me.
“You didn’t mess anything up. I shouldn’t have just left like that. I’m sorry. I was always coming back, I just… panicked.”
I blow out a breath as the relief washes over me.
“So.” He pauses, and I sit myself up to look at him.
“You would have missed me if I left?” he says with a boyish grin. I playfully tap his chest and he grabs a hold of my hand.
“I might have.” I pout at him.
He strokes my face, and I lean into his touch. Suddenly, with him, my worries start to disappear.
“You’re not mad at me?” I ask, drawing small circles with my nail on the fabric over his pec.
“What? No? Never. You had my baby, all on your own. You’ve brought her up and done everything you possibly could for her while I dicked around Vegas. I could never be mad at you for that.”
“I tried to find you, you know. It was pretty hard considering I had no last name, and, apparently, you don’t exist on social media.”
“Well, I do, under the King of Chaos. But I don’t even run that shit.”
I trail my hand up his neck and frame his face. “I’m happy you came back, Jax. Thank you.”
“Your roommate didn’t look too thrilled to see me.”
Weird. She’s the one pushing for me to tell him the truth. I heard her come in a while ago, not that she checked to see if I was okay.
“Ignore her.”
I have no idea where this actually leaves us. Jax doesn’t seem like the settling down type, the one woman forever kind of guy.
“What are you thinking about in there?” he whispers, moving a tendril of hair away from my temple.
“Nothing, everything. I don’t know,” I say honestly. “This changes a lot for us, Jax.”
My body shivers as his large hands slide down my side, resting on my ass in my shorts.
“Does it?”
I squeeze my eyes shut as he rolls on top of me until his nose is touching mine.
“I disagree. I’m never letting you go again, tigritsa. That doesn’t change.”
He nudges open my thighs, settling between them.
“Give me a chance to show you, well, both of you?” He tilts his head, his eyes searching mine.
“I think for you, I can break my rules, Jax Carter.”
He presses his lips against mine. It’s slow and sweet. It’s everything. A taste of what our future could be.
Before we can go any further, I break the kiss. He raises his eyebrow at me, running his tongue along his lip.
“We need to get some sleep.”
“Fine.” He pretends to whine. I bite down on my nail as he sits up, pulling the black top over his head, leaving me staring at that ‘v’. Once his jeans and socks are off, he snuggles back into bed, pulling the cover up under my neck.
“Turn around. I’m the big spoon,” he teases.
I do as he says, wiggling my ass against his dick. “You might regret that.”
“I definitely already do,” he replies, sliding his arm over my belly and pulling me flush against him.
“Good night, gorgeous,” he whispers, pressing a kiss onto my shoulder.
I wake up to the smell of fresh coffee next to my nose. As I blink my eyes open, I panic, rolling over and finding an empty, yet warm spot next to me in bed.
Grabbing my robe, I rush out of the room. I never oversleep. Ever. I didn’t even hear Maeve’s usual loud screaming of ‘momma’ from her room.
I stop as I round the corner to the kitchen, a smile breaking out on my face. Jax is there, sticking his tongue out at Maeve, whose giggles fill the room. He’s trying to feed her yogurt in her highchair. I glance over and Anna is standing behind them, resting on the counter with her hands on her hips, a stern look on her face.
“Morning,” I call out, and all three faces greet me.
I head straight over to Jax and Maeve, who holds out her arms, doing her little grabby hands.
“Morning, tigritsa,” Jax says, with a smile that makes me all fuzzy.
I stop in front of them, not knowing what to do. I can feel Anna’s hard stare from here.
Jax makes the decision for me, leaning over and planting his lips on my cheek.
“She doesn’t seem to want to eat the yogurt, just play with it,” he says, holding up the spoon, which makes Maeve start clapping.
“Yeah, she prefers the making a mess part. She likes feeding herself. She’s an independent little madam, our girl.” I give him a shy smile.
“Aren’t you?” I coo at Maeve, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
“Hey, where’s mine?” Jax pouts.
I roll my eyes. He raises his eyebrows, making the blush spread on my cheeks.
Grabbing a book from the floor, I put it on Maeve’s table and turn my attention to Jax, pressing my lips to his, keeping it as PG as possible.
“Much better,” he smirks, giving me another peck as he runs his hands through my mess of curls.
“Book,” Maeve says behind me.
“She’s adorable, Sof,” Jax whispers. I can sense the hint of sadness in his voice.
“She really is. Just wait till she learns how to push all your buttons.” I wink at him, trying to lighten the mood.
His hand smooths Maeve’s hair in a mimic of how he had touched mine. “My tigryonok can do whatever she wants to me.”
Tears threaten to spill. He’s being perfect. This couldn’t be going any better.
“Tigryonok?” I tilt my head.
“If you’re my tigritsa, that makes Maeve my tiger cub.” He grins.
“Well, that’s cute.”
I step back as Jax’s phone buzzes.
“I gotta grab this,” he says, heading for the balcony door. As soon as he slides it closed, Anna clears her throat behind me and I spin around.
“Well, looks like baby daddy took it well.”
“Yes, he seems to.”
“Good.” She pushes herself away from the counter, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.
“Maybe he can help us get this place fixed up better.”
“He’s her dad, not a bank account, Anna.” I glare at her.
She rolls her eyes dramatically. “You better get back to work, then.”
With that, she walks past me and slams her bedroom door. What the hell was that about? Shaking my head, I pick up Maeve from her seat and give her a cuddle.
“That’s your dadda,” I say to her, looking at Jax out the window.
She doesn’t understand yet. I’m sure it won’t take her long.
Putting Maeve down on the floor with her collection of brightly colored toys, Jax beelines towards us.
“I have to work this morning for a few hours. Are you at the restaurant today?”
“No, today is my day off.” Crossing my legs, I sit on the rug next to Maeve.
“Good. I’ll be back in a few hours. You’ll both be here, right?”
I eye him suspiciously. That look on his face tells me he is up to something.
“We will.”
He stops as he’s leaving with his palm resting on the handle. “Good. I’ll see my girls soon.”
My stomach flutters. My girls.
That is something I could get used to.
