The Last Second Chance: A Small Town Love Story (Blue Moon Book 3) (24 page)

“Mine,” he said, claiming the pert tip of one breast with his mouth. Joey’s fingers dug into his shoulders. A current of lust ignited in her veins at the intimate touch. He was worshipping her body with the unhurried patience of the truly reverent.

His tongue lathed her nipple until her knees buckled. He caught her, strong hands gripping the curve of her hips. He pressed against her, bracing her against the window, and then moved his attention to her other breast.

As he licked and tasted, Joey felt the ache between her legs expand in intensity until it consumed her. When she felt his fingers skim the waistband of her underwear the pulse ratcheted up another notch. There was nothing in the world that she needed more in that moment than to be filled by him.

As if reading her thoughts, Jax hooked two fingers in the front of her briefs. He dragged them down her legs leaving her bared to him, body and soul. And then his mouth was on her where she craved him most. She widened her stance for him and he took advantage of the new angle, spreading her slick folds with one hand while bracing her against the glass with his other.

When his tongue skimmed over her pulsing core, Joey’s hips ground against him, desperate for more, deeper, faster, harder. She buried her fingers in his hair, gripping the dark waves in a tight hold.

He was brushing and stroking with the rough texture of his tongue and when he slid two fingers home, stretching up inside her, she knew that a release unlike any other was eminent. Leisurely, he lapped at her electrified nub until she anticipated each lick with the thrust of her hips.

His fingers flexed in her, brushing that sweet spot and she was lost as the ground disappeared from her feet and she hurtled into space. The orgasm robbed her of all senses, leaving her only with the shock of harsh pleasure ripping through her from her core and spiraling outward.

She began to slide down the glass inch by inch as the vibrations quaked through her. Jax waited until the last of her release dissolved before picking her up and carrying her to the bed.

“What was that?” Joey murmured into the crook of his neck.

His answer gutted her. “That was love,” he whispered.

Jax placed her on the bed as if she was the finest china.

“Come be with me,” she pleaded.

He brought her knuckles to his lips, brushed over them gently. “We have all night.”

“You have all your clothes on,” she reminded him.

He smiled so tenderly that Joey felt her heart clench in her chest.

“I can fix that,” he promised. He stood by the side of the bed, and without breaking their eye contact, pulled his shirt over his head. He tossed it carelessly behind him and Joey’s eyes hungrily took in the perfect build he revealed. Broad shoulders, a chest built for shows of strength, muscles tapering into chiseled abs and narrow hips. God, he was magnificent.

Reading her gaze, Jax took his time sliding his jeans down thumbs brushing the indents inside his hipbones, the exact spot that Joey wanted to bite. He wore boxer briefs in a sedate navy. They were stretched impossibly tight over his straining erection. It was amazing what just touching her did to him without any provocation.

His thumbs hooked into the waistband of his underwear and Joey felt her mouth go dry. She’d seen him naked, felt him inside her, yet every time the anticipation nearly killed her. Tonight, it might actually do just that.

Her breath came out in a woosh when he pushed the barrier down his legs. His impressive hard-on sprung free and Joey wet her lips. “Can I touch you?”

Wordlessly, he moved closer to the bed and Joey reached out, fingers grazing his thick shaft. She saw the clench in his jaw and knew that he had a firm grip on his control. Joey wrapped her fingers around him and stroked, watching in fascination as a single bead of moisture appeared at the crown.

Jax’s hand flashed out and grabbed her wrist. “Tonight is about you, Joey.”

He climbed onto the bed, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight as he crawled over her. Joey shivered as he lowered himself on to her, flesh to flesh. His weight on her was an anchor, keeping her still and safe. He rested on his forearms, his fingers toying with her hair, thumbs stroking the side of her face.

She opened her legs and sighed as he settled between her thighs. The crown of his cock nestled into her heat with the promise of unspeakable pleasure.

“I can feel your heart pounding,” he said, nibbling a path along her jawline, the scrape of his teeth heightening her senses.

Joey lifted her hips straining toward him, needing him to fill her, wanting to feel that powerful surge as he entered her to lay his claim. Beads of sweat clung to their bodies as the anticipation built.

“I belong to you, Joey,” he said, raining kisses soft as butterflies’ wings on her face. “I always have. You know that don’t you?”

She nodded, eyes tightly closed to hold back tears. She had always known it. She had always had his heart and he had hers. From childhood games to teenage angst to the grief of a lost love, her love, her body, her soul all belonged to one man.

“Say the words, Joey.” His voice was low and rough.

She took a short breath her toes curling against his legs as she begged him with her body to take her, to make her whole.

“I belong to you,” she whispered. A single hot tear worked its way free and slid down her temple into her hair.

“Now tell me you love me. I need to hear the words.”

Joey felt like her heart was being squeezed. Emotions from terror to elation raced through her body. Her mind had given up its hold on the situation a long time ago. It was just her heart and her gut.

Jax pressed his hips into her and the broad, smooth tip of his erection was encircled by her wet entrance. “Say it.”

“I love you, Jax. I love you. I love you,” she chanted the words until, with a single powerful thrust, he was inside her. Filling her, loving her, branding her.

A cry rose from her throat. She didn’t know what it meant that the words she’d guarded for so long had been ripped free. She only knew that he was with her, as close as two people could be. Bonded by a need so great it could destroy them if they weren’t careful.

She opened her eyes to look at him to see what her words had done to him. His eyes were squeezed shut, his jaw set. Steeped in pleasure and purpose, he began to move in her. And when his lashes fluttered up, when those cool gray eyes looked into the depths of her soul, she knew. She knew what it was like to be loved, to be worshipped.

Tears fell unbound as he slid out slowly, achingly before he glided back in filling her to the hilt. He set the pace, a slow and steady climb up into the stars.

She could already feel the quickening inside her. The flutter signaling her release, her surrender to his body. Her heart had already surrendered.

“I love you,” she whispered, the words unbidden this time, and stroked her hands up his back. Saw his eyes go glassy, saw his throat work against the strain of emotion.

Joey was vulnerable and open, stripped bare for him. Never before had she been this raw. Never before had she welcomed the exposure of being completely real and free.

His thumb brushed her trembling lower lip before his fingers dove into her hair. “My beautiful, Joey.” He sent her over the edge with another measured thrust and as the pleasure of the moment clawed its way out of her throat in a scream, she felt him stiffen, heard him groan on his own release. They moved together, her release draining his, until there was nothing left but them and the stars in the night sky behind them.

“
W
ake up
, baby. It’s time to get up.” Jax’s voice sounded like it was coming from a hundred miles away rather than the pillow next to her head.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She opened one eye suspiciously. “We don’t have to be there until six tonight, right?”

“Yeah, but we have to get you a dress. Besides, it’s like ten o’clock eastern time.”

“I’m on vacation. Vacation means not getting up until at least eleven,” she said, her voice muffled by pillow. “A good boyfriend would know that.”

“You can sleep as late as you want tomorrow and your boyfriend will murder anyone who tries to drag you out of bed early.”

Eyes closed, Joey let the corners of her lips curl up.
Boyfriend. Last night hadn’t been just a beautiful, terrifying dream after all.

“Come on, let’s try out the twelve-person shower together.” He dragged her out from under the tangle of sheets and pillows and guided her into the bathroom.

“You know what this marble mausoleum doesn’t have?” she grumbled. “A damn coffeemaker.”

“I’ll get you coffee after the shower,” Jax promised, twisting the faucets to release a steamy stream of water from both showerheads. “Come on. You’ll feel better when you’re awake.”

“Still don’t see why we have to start getting ready so early,” Joey muttered. But she ducked her head under the gentle flow from the rain showerhead.

“You can use these, too, if you want,” Jax said, demonstrating how to turn on the wall of jets.

“Maybe this isn’t so bad,” Joey admitted grudgingly as the pulsing water hit her full force. And when Jax came up behind her, wet and hard, she decided it might actually have been worth getting out of bed for.

After some sudsy fun, Joey contemplated crawling back into bed to bask in the post-lovemaking bliss, until Jax tossed a pair of jeans at her and a t-shirt.

“Where are we going?” she asked, digging through her bag for a bra.

“We’re going to get you coffee and a dress.”

Joey grudgingly dried her hair and pulled on clothes and flip-flops. Jax marched her through the lobby and out the glass front of the hotel. Outside the doors of their hotel, it was another sunny Southern California day with temperatures in the high fifties and not a foot of snow to be seen anywhere. They started down the block on a quest for coffee that Joey felt strongly should have been readily available in their room.

“How far do you Californians travel for coffee?” she muttered, letting Jax pull her along.

“As far as we have to. In this case, half a block,” he said pointing at the café and juice bar sign in front of them.

“I’m not drinking any of that juice crap,” Joey warned him.

“Strictly caffeine for us, Jojo,” Jax told her, holding the glass door open for her.

She stepped inside the bright space. It reminded her of OJs by Julia in Blue Moon with its décor, but this place was overflowing with people. Some were in workout gear, others in suits, a few were wearing jeans that cost more than her mortgage. One woman had a tiny dog in her very large purse. The only things all the customers had in common was the fact that they all wore their sunglasses indoors and they were all on their cellphones.

“This place is weird,” Joey whispered to Jax.

“Yeah, but the coffee is good,” he winked, he ran his hand down her back.

“I feel like we should put our sunglasses back on and call each other.”

Jax rubbed the tension out of her shoulders. “Just pretend you’re observing a new horse for any odd behaviors in quarantine.”

“Oh, I’m observing the hell out of some odd behaviors,” she said, nodding at the woman in front of them dropping f-bombs on a conference call.

The baristas were completely unfazed by the weirdness of it all. They called out orders like mochachino non-fat whip and hemp milk green goodness over the dull roar of everyone else’s preoccupation.

By the time they got to the front of the line, Joey wasn’t sure if the staff was even speaking English anymore.

“Welcome to Zia’s what may I serve you today?” the wan, six-foot-tall blonde with nose ring asked.

“Uh, coffee? With sugar?” Joey tried.

“We have a Sulawesi, a Tanzania Peaberry, a Guatemalan reserve, a Costa Rica Helsar—”

“Oh my God. Just a regular coffee with sugar.”

“For your choice of sweetener we have demarara, Stevia, natural sugar cane…”

Joey looked at Jax in panic.

“We’ll have two café cubanos to go, please,” he said, swiping his credit card.

Joey looked at him in horror as he escorted her toward the pick up counter. “What the hell is a café cubano? And did you really just pay thirteen dollars for two cups of coffee?”

“Relax. It’s all part of the experience.”

“Is this what homesickness feels like?” she wondered out loud.

Jax laughed and his eyes crinkled in that way that made Joey’s stomach feel warm and slippery. “God, I love you. I’m so glad I brought you out here. I can’t wait to see you at the premiere tonight.”

“Oh. My. God,” a breathy baby angel voice floated about the din of the coffee shop. “Jackson Pierce! When did you get back in town?”

Joey turned toward the sound of the nebulous voice and almost poked her eyes out on a pair of breasts the size of prize-winning watermelons. The breasts looked vaguely familiar.

The breasts and their owner, a curvy, perfectly made up woman with silver blonde hair and wide brown eyes, were now hugging Jax. She gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek leaving behind a crimson stain.

Joey would have stepped in with a nice right hook, but the look of pure fear on Jax’s face was enough to make her temporarily holster her temper.

“Didi,” was all Jax managed to say. He was gaping like a fish looking back and forth between Joey and Didi. She had to give him credit, at least he was looking the woman in the eyes and not the rack. And that’s when it clicked. During one of her backslides into looking Jax up online, she’d come across a picture of Jax with Boobs Magee on his arm at some red carpet thing.

“Didi,” Jax began again, “this is Joey. Joey, this is Didi.”

Joey held out a hand to the woman and was immediately engulfed in a very soft, squishy hug. She wondered if it was possible that boobs that big could be real.

“Ah, okay. You’re a hugger.” Joey patted her awkwardly on the shoulder.

Didi giggled. “Guilty! We’re all huggers back home.”

Judging from the twang, home was somewhere in the heart of Texas.

“Joey’s my girlfriend,” Jax said, still working through the shellshock.

“We’re seeing each other, sort of,” Joey corrected reflexively. Jax glared at her and Joey stuck her tongue out at him.

“What a coincidence! Jax and I dated a while back,” Didi said, looking inordinately pleased.

“Oh, you did, did you?” Joey shot a pointed look at Jax who looked like he was praying the bamboo floor would open up and transport him anywhere but here.

“We sure did. That was what a year or two ago?” Didi said tapping a neatly manicured fingertip to her chin. “Wait a minute. Are you
the
Joey?”

Joey wasn’t sure if she was
the Joey
. She also didn’t think it was possible for Jax to be more uncomfortable.

“This is so exciting!” Didi chirped. “You’re the reason Jax and I broke up. I always knew you two would end up together.”

“I’m…sorry?” Joey looked back and forth between Jax and Didi wondering what alternate universe she’d stepped into.
Oh, right. L.A.

“One night we had too much sake and Jax here just spilled his guts—figuratively—about this girl he left at home. And just the way he talked about you, I just knew you were his one and only. So I broke up with him and now here we are!”

“And here we are,” Joey echoed.

“Oh, my goodness! I almost forgot. Congratulations on your guild nomination. You must be over the moon,” Didi gushed.

Jax’s color rose, and Joey listened raptly. A window to the L.A. world that Jax lived had just opened for Joey.

“Nominated for what?” she asked.

“Modest to a fault, this one,” Didi said shaking her head. “Jax was nominated for best original screen play.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Jax said, shrugging uncomfortably.

“It sounds like a big deal,” Joey corrected.

“Oh, it is. There are writers who’ve been doing this for decades and never see a nomination. Jax is one of the youngest nominees in guild history.”

“Is it one of those big awards ceremonies?” Joey wondered.

“It’s strictly for writers, so the ceremony’s more low-key than the Oscars or the Emmy’s. But it’s still a very big deal,” Didi said. “So what brings y’all to town?”

“Two café cubanos,” the barista called from the counter.

Jax like a man who had just been offered a reprieve. “Oh, what a shame that’s our order I should—”

“Oh, no,” Joey shook her head at him. “I’ll go grab them. You two catch up.” She snickered the whole way up to the counter where she picked up two recycled paper cups filled with a creamy looking liquid. She snagged lids and snazzy cardboard sleeves and made her way back to Jax and Didi.

Didi punctuated every word with a facial expression and a matching hand gesture. The woman had to be an actress.

“Oh my gosh, Jax was just telling me you’re in town for the premiere. How exciting is that?”

“Very?” Joey guessed. “Are you going?”

“I’ll be the very sparkly date of a certain handsome actor. We’re just friends, but we’re working on a project together,” she said proudly. “So who are you wearing?”

“Huh?”

“I sound like one of those entertainment hosts on the red carpet. I mean who’s the designer who did your dress?” Didi giggled and somewhere Joey imagined a unicorn just got its wings.

“I don’t have a dress yet. We’re going shopping now.”

Didi gasped. “Jax! No dress yet! Do you not know how things work around here?”

“Relax. I’m taking her to Brigid’s place.”

“Who’s Brigid?” Joey asked.
And had Jax dated her too
, she wondered.

Didi clapped her hands together. “Perfect! Maybe you’re not such a putz. Brigid is a costume designer who is planning to launch her own label. She’s amazing!”

“So who are you wearing?” Joey asked.

“Dior,” Didi sighed, clasping her hands together.

“Uh, awesome. Dior is…great.”

“Now what about hair and makeup?”

Shit. “I guess I’m doing my own?” Joey looked at Jax who shrugged.

“Yeah, I’m sure that will be fine,” he said encouragingly.

Didi looked at him as if he’d suddenly squatted down in the middle of the café and started quacking like a duck. “No, it will not be fine. Don’t worry, Joey. I’ll take care of everything,” Didi announced, whipping out her cellphone. “Where are you staying?”

“The Cyprus,” Joey said. Jax stepped on her foot.

“Perfect, that’s even closer to the theatre than my place. I’ll bring hair and makeup to you and we can get ready together. What’s your number?”

“
W
hat just happened back there
? Did I imagine the whole thing? Am I in a coma?” Joey asked, blindly reaching for Jax’s hand.

“I’m not really sure what just happened. How many apologies do I owe you for this?” He steered her down the block and called for an Uber on his phone. “Drink your coffee. You’ll feel better with some caffeine in you.”

Joey took a hesitant sip and then looked at the cup. “Hey, this is kind of really good.”

“I had a feeling you’d like it.”

“So back to Didi—”

Jax cringed. He felt like a jerk. If it had been one of Joey’s exes, he’d probably have punched the guy out the second he swooped in to kiss her hello. “I’ll call her and tell her there’s been a change of plans. I’ll get us out of this somehow. I’m so sorry.”

“I think an apology would only be necessary if Didi was a grade A bitch. She actually seems pretty nice.”

“She is. She’s just a lot of work.”

“Speaking of work—”

Jax shook his head and put his sunglasses back on. “Do not ask me that question. We aren’t discussing the anatomy of former significant others.”

“They’re significant all right. But are they real? Like seriously. I have to know.”

He shoved her into the backseat of a baby blue Prius. “Drink your coffee and be quiet.”

“Is that any way to talk to your girlfriend?” Joey demanded.

His girlfriend. It really had happened. Joey Greer agreed to be his girl and he wasn’t going to stop there. He intended to make her his wife.

He pulled her into him, still not believing that she was his. “That may not be the best way to treat my girlfriend, but this is.” He lowered his mouth to hers and desire sparked the second her lips parted for him. He teased her, gently at first, but found himself wrapped up in the taste of her. He wanted to breathe her in, to be as close as possible to her. He wanted to memorize every inch of her body, and then spend his life worshipping it.

He finally gathered his wits about him and pulled back. “Behave yourself,” he teased her.

“I believe you are the one who stuck his tongue down my throat,” she shot back, snuggling into his side.

“Point taken.” His lips brushed her temple as she watched the traffic and buildings flash by her window. “So what do you think of L.A. so far?”

She turned her head and gave him that heart breaking smartass smile. “It doesn’t suck too much.”

He pinched her in the side and she laughed. It was beautiful to see her so free, so relaxed. The woman could roll with just about anything, he decided. And that was good because tonight he was going to tell her about the screenplay before anyone else could drop that particular bombshell on her.

The car pulled up in front of a Spanish style duplex and they got out. “I was expecting a store,” Joey said, skeptically studying the broad expanse of white garage door. “Am I just pawing through some stranger’s closet?”

It was Jax’s turn to grin. “Something like that,” he said and rang the bell next to the bland brown front door.

T
he door burst
open and they were greeted by a little yappy dog and a woman with dyed pewter hair that matched the stud in her nose. She wore violet contact lenses and scarred motorcycle boots under seriously distressed jeans decorated with safety pins.