Everybody Falls (25 page)

I reached for my phone the moment his arms released me and heard his chuckle as he made his way downstairs.

He's just too hot for his own good
, I thought as my thumb scrolled through my contact list to call Ricki back.

*.*.*.*.*

Jax detoured on his way downstairs to check on Grams on the porch.

She was sleeping, but since her book was still displayed on the screen, she had only nodded off. He pressed his hand lightly on the stretchy fabric that covered her knee and felt what Lacey had described.

It was hot and felt swollen.

Christ!

His hand went to the back of his neck as he thought quickly.

"Jax?" she mumbled and his eyes moved to her beautiful, faded blue ones. He dropped into a crouch next to the worn chair.

"Hey, old woman. How you doing?" he asked gently, his hand capturing one of hers.

"Okay. I think I ate too much. I'm just so sleepy," she replied slowly.

"Lacey is on her way back down. She's going to have her girl bring her some of her clothes and things if that's okay. I think it'd be better if she stayed, if it's alright with you."

"I'd love it," she said. "She's so good for us, isn't she?"

Jax felt his heart fill again just thinking about Lace.

"Yeah, Grams, she is," he replied, his heart doing it's double thump. "I'll just be in the front room with the boys. Let me know if you need anything."

"Love you, Hot Stuff," she said. He watched her eyes close as she turned her head, wiggling to make herself more comfortable.

"Love you more, old woman," he replied, stretching and placing a kiss on her forehead.

His girl was standing in the doorway when he stood up. He did a chin lift as he pushed her back into the far side of the kitchen so as not to be overheard.

"Baby, I think we need to keep her under surveillance, okay?" he asked slowly. It was a lot, he knew, asking his new love to help take care of his Grams.

"Agreed. Do you know of anything I can do to make her more comfortable?" she asked. "Maybe I can search the internet to see how to help?"

"Good idea," he replied. "When's your girl coming?"

"Maybe half an hour."

"Okay. That gives time for Grams to sleep and me a chance to help plan with my boys before the 'squealer' gets here," he said on a thoughtful note.

"Squealer?" she asked.

"You know. One of those people that squeals and yells at concerts? That's what we called them," he said with a smile. "Some groups like them. We always considered them a step down from a groupie, or what is also known as a GiM…a groupie in making."

Lacey's eyes rolled at his words. "I, sir, was a squealer. I thought all you big Rock people liked that kind of stuff."

"Of course we do," he said with a snort. "It's what we always wanted to have drowning out the music we're trying to play."

He kissed her nose, then moved away. He sent her an smile over his shoulder before rounding the corner to go down the hall and back to the men in the front room.

"Dick!" I exclaimed, however my voice was barely a whisper. I had a huge smile on my face as I went back out onto the porch.

*.*.*.*.*

Jax and the boys were still knee deep in the planning stages when he saw a small, two-door sedan making its way down the long driveway. As the car got closer, he saw the blonde with the crazy hair who used to sometimes sit with Lacey on her porch as he ran passed each morning behind the wheel.

"Showtime," he mumbled, realizing that Lacey's girl was here. Luckily, she was driving back towards the garage, which meant Lace had meant for her to go in the back door to save them all from a squealing pissy-fit in the front room.

"I think we're about to be invaded," Sarge said from his place on one of the chairs, his eyes following the car as it moved. "Looks like Ricki Larson is about to descend on us."

"Who?" Turner asked, lifting his head from the notepad he was writing on.

"Ricki. She's Lacey's best friend who is bringing stuff out so my girl can stay a while," Jax said on a soft voice. "She's a 'squealer'."

Sarge nodded to confirm. Turner's eyebrows were at his hairline in question.

"Just get your earplugs ready, is all we're saying," Boots mumbled, quietly strumming the acoustic guitar which had gone from hand to hand as the men had brainstormed.

"Should we move?" Turner asked, his eyes roving around the loose circle of men. "You know, like, to another room or something?"

"Nah, man. She's actually cool. Just excitable," Sarge assured him.

"Let's get this over with," Jax sighed with an eye down the hall. "Maybe if she sees both of us at the same time, she'll hold it together."

"Or fucking faint," Boots added.

They put the notepads and the guitar aside before standing, making their way to the kitchen.

Jax could hear his girl's voice greeting her friend before introducing her to Grams, who seemed to welcome the girl warmly to their family home.

"I want you to meet a couple of people," Lacey was saying as she handed his grandmother off to him, stepping back so Ricki could go first.

"Oh, hey, Boots. Sarge! Nice to see you, sweetie," Ricki said calmly as she gave the fellows a one-handed hug, teetering on one leg. She turned and saw Turner Brown before her eyes slid to Jax. Her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped then her eyes rolled back in her head. There was maybe a two second pause before her knees unlocked and her body went completely boneless.

Luckily, Turner stepped in, catching the girl before she hit the linoleum.

"Shit, we should've placed bets," Boots mumbled.

"Too much for her, huh?" Grams said as Jax helped walk her to the table.

"Yeah, fame is just too much for some folks," Sarge explained, taking a seat next to the older woman.

"You okay with her, man?" Jax asked his old band mate.

"Got it, Dude," Turner replied.

"Ice tea anyone?" Lacey asked in a neutral voice, acting as if her best friend passing right the fuck out was a normal, everyday occurrence.

"Sounds good," Jax heard a couple of voices say as he made his way to grab glasses as Lacey went to the old fridge.

"We've got plenty of the canned stuff for tuna melts if anybody's hungry," Grams offered.

"I'll take care of it, Edie," Lacey said, twisting the ice cube trays to get them to release.

Jax ran his hands through his hair, stunned.

Everyone in the room was fucking acting as if everything was just hunky-dory, a shit-normal, everyday happening. He had a sick grandmother, a goddess that was the love of his life, a passed out squealer and four rockers--in different stages of age and decline--shoved into a farmhouse kitchen in Northern California on a late Sunday morning in March.

And everyone was acting like this was nothing fucking special.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

But.

Maybe that's how it's supposed to be. This taking-everything-as-normal, no matter what kind shit life slings at you.

"You okay, Hot Stuff?" Grams called from her place at the table.

There was a chorus of 'yeah, I'm okays' and 'sures' before the old woman rolled her eyes. "I was talking to Jax. Gosh, there are lot of egos in the room."

"Good, I think. Weird, but good," Jax answered on a hopeful note as he helped Lace drop the cubes in the glasses and watched her fill them with tea from the pitcher. His girl must have heard something in his voice, though, because she immediately stopped messing with the glasses.

Lacey stepped around his legs and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body to his as she hugged him tightly. "It's all good, Jack. It's just you, me, Grams and our friends making magic. Okay?"

He stroked her back as his eyes scanned the room.

"Yeah, Baby," he breathed before dropping his head to her hair.

"You okay, Pretty Girl?" he heard Turner's deep voice ask. Jax glanced at his old friend. He saw the man, that no-holds-barred, hard ass rocker's face as it softened when he looked at the quirky blonde in his arms.

"You're Turner Brown," he heard Ricki's voice whisper into the quiet of the kitchen.

"Yeah, darlin', I am," Turner said, before going all the way down to the floor, pulling the much smaller girl onto his lap. "You okay?"

"Is this a dream?" she continued on just a breath and Jax saw her eyes wander over Turner's face.

"I
so
fucking hope not," Turner replied, equally as quiet. "Because I'll be pissed as hell when I wake up."

Jax lifted his head from Lacey's hair as he got caught on her eyes. Both of them raised their eyebrows at Turner's words. He saw Lacey turn her head to Grams and watched as his two girls shared a soft smile.

"Ice tea?" Grams asked as a reminder into the quiet of the room.

"Yeah. Right, sorry," Lacey said, going back to the glasses, wiping underneath her eyes, mildly sniffing.

Jax moved to Lacey so he could rub her back. "Baby?"

"We just witnessed a love connection, honey," she whispered thickly, tilting her head to his and kissing him gentle and quick. "She'll be the one saying she fell at his feet when he met her."

He couldn't help the laughter which shot straight up from that pure Lacey place inside him.

Lacey began passing out glasses as he tried to get a grip, hearing her explain to Grams, Sarge and Boots. When they all looked puzzled, Jax jumped in to give his version. Soon the kitchen was filled with laughs, chuckles and giggles.

All except for the two people still entwined on the floor who just looked confused at the interruption of their silent communion.

"Dude? There
are
chairs, you know," Sarge offered with a chin lift to the couple on the floor as he used a foot to push one out from the table in invitation.

"Ready to sit, Ricki?" Turner asked tenderly as he gently lifted the girl from the floor.

"You know my name?" Answering with a question, her eyes never leaving his.

"Yeah, darlin', I do," he rumbled, seating her gently in a chair and taking the one next to her. "I can't flippin'
wait
to know more."

People tried, and failed, to still their sniggers at the sappy talk of the two new lovebirds.

"What?" Ricki asked sharply. Jax saw her eyes become aware of her surroundings.

"There she is," Sarge announced. "Welcome back, Rick."

"Thanks, I think," she said, straightening up in her chair before glancing around, much like she was coming out of a dream.

Jax stepped up to the table.

"Hi, Ricki. I'm Jax. You've been looking for me?" he said, before pulling Lace up to his side, looping his arm around her waist.

"I, uh. I, ah," Ricki started, her eyes moving between Lacey, Jax as well as the arm he had firmly placed around her best friend. Her eyes moved to Turner and everyone saw the softening of her face as she reached out a hand to him.

"Yeah, I was," she admitted to Jax yet her eyes remained on Turner. "But, I don't think you're quite was I was looking for."

There was another set of guffaws interspersed with giggles at her words.

"What?" she asked as her eyes made its way around the people sitting at the table.

"Nothing, Ricki," Jax heard Turner say as the red-head leaned toward her and ran a hand along her back.

"It's nice to meet you," Jax said. He just wanted to move things along, to get things back to normal, or the version of normal he'd established.

"Yeah, uhm, you, too," Ricki mumbled but her eyes never left Turner's.

Turner couldn't seem to take his eyes off her either.

Chapter 21

I had my face planted in the pillow, trying to control the noises that were being ripped from my throat as Jax was pounding me from behind. My hips were high with my knees spread, firm into the mattress as he worked it, worked me.

Deliciously hot work. Sexy work.

His fingers were busy, too. The one that had been wrapped around my waist had moved down and he was stroking me, circling that sweet spot in the same rhythm as his hips. He had his other hand on my breast that he alternated fondling with tweaking twists.

I could feel his breath on my back, his harsh panting, and could tell he was close. As close as I was to finding it, to hitting it again.

"Goddamn, Lace," he grunted. "So fucking good."

That's all it took for me to fall off the edge of the earth into that swirling morass of extreme pleasure. I was glad I had done the face plant, because I had gotten loud in my delight.

I felt him lever up as he planted a foot on the bed next to my hip before he began to go even deeper, swelling even thicker, his hips pistoning even faster. I glanced behind me and watched as he closed his eyes, bit his lower lip and lifted his face to the ceiling. The muscles in his neck corded when he began to growl. A growl I knew signaled his own bliss was on its way.