Undeniable (A Country Roads Novel) (10 page)

He wanted Grace, plain and simple. Preston was right. It was just that easy.

Jax was so tired of watching her walk away from him. So tired of not having what he wanted. So tired of not being with her. He was done letting his life pass him by without Grace in it. He had to have her, and he had to have her
now
.

He got to the front door and knocked hard.

Once, twice, three times.

Grace opened the door and frowned at him from the other side. “Jax?” she said, confused.

“I’m your person, Grace. Me, not anyone else,” he said, stepping into her apartment.

She looked up at him startled as he closed the door behind him and locked it. And then he grabbed her and pushed her up against the wall. She gasped before his mouth landed hard on hers, his hands grabbing onto the wet fabric of her jeans. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers digging into his wet hair and holding him in place as she opened her mouth to his. His hands traveled up under her shirt, his fingers wrapping around her bare sides.

He was eating at her mouth, and she seemed to be on the exact same page as him, because she was trying to consume him as well.

He moved his hands to the hem of her shirt and slowly started to peel the wet fabric from her skin as he moved it up, up, up. His mouth broke from hers as he pulled the material over her head and threw it to the floor.

“Jax,” Grace said, grabbing his face before his mouth could land on hers again. “I swear, if you have any thoughts in your head about walking out that door tonight after spouting some stupid theory that you aren’t good enough—”

He shut her up by sealing his mouth over hers. He brought his hands up to her breasts and squeezed gently. She moaned deep in her throat and grabbed his shoulders, her fingernails digging into his skin.

He moved his mouth to her ear, grazing her earlobe with his teeth. “I’m not going anywhere, Grace,” he whispered. “Well, at least not anywhere farther than your bed.”

“Let’s go,” she said, making a move to go down the hall to her bedroom.

“Wait a second.” He held her in place.

“Why?”

“Because, we’re both in wet clothes. Let’s get rid of those first,” he said, moving his mouth down her neck to her collarbone.

He needed to pace himself so that he could remember this moment for the rest of his life. To enjoy it. Savor it. Savor
her
.

He moved down the center of her breasts with his tongue, going lower until he was kneeling in front of her. He ran his hands up her sides, needing to just look at her for a second, to take her in. It was then that he noticed her new tattoo.
Still Breathing
was inked in inch-high script writing. It started just under her left breast and ran horizontally out across her ribs.

“When did you get this,” he asked, tracing the words with his fingertips.

“Last September after the car accident,” she said, playing with his hair.

“I like it,” he said right before he kissed the words.

“Really? I thought you’d hate it after your reaction to my other one.”

“Hmm. I never hated this tattoo,” he said, switching sides and kissing the outstretched wings of the swallow. “The problem was I liked it just a little bit too much.” He looked up at her as his thumb moved gently over the spot.

Grace was staring down at him. Her cheeks were flushed. Her breasts were rising and falling rapidly, and her nipples were poking out of the wet fabric of her bra.

To hell with pacing himself. He needed her to be under him.
Now.

He reached up and unbuttoned the front of her jeans. He pulled them down, peeling the wet fabric from her legs. He lifted her feet up, first one, then the other, and freed her completely. Then he was on his feet again in front of her. She fisted her hands in his dripping T-shirt and pulled it over his head, the fabric making a squelching noise as it hit the wood floor.

Grace pulled Jax back to her. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and found his. Her hands were all over his chest, her fingertips tracing his pecks and his abs, around to his side and up his back.

Jax reached down and grabbed Grace’s thighs, pulling her up as she wrapped her legs around his body. He moved his hands to her perfect ass as he pulled away from the wall and made his way down the hallway and into her bedroom. When his legs hit the bed he laid her down slowly. He unhooked the back of her bra and pulled it off. He groaned and his mouth was on her bare breasts in about a nanosecond. He stayed at if for who knew how long.

“Jax.”

He looked up to see Grace arching her back, her head pressing into the pillows as she writhed underneath him. He made his way back up her body. He needed his lips on hers. He kissed her hard and started moving his hips in rhythm to hers.

All the while, her hands were traveling down to the fly of his jeans, working the button and the zipper, and moving under the elastic of his boxer briefs. And then those magic hands of hers were on him, stroking him, and he thought he was going to lose his damn mind.

He pulled back and stood up. The sudden move brought a look of doubt to Grace’s face, but it disappeared when he kicked off his boots. He unstrapped his ankle holster and put his gun on her nightstand before he shoved his jeans, boxers, and socks to the floor.

“Please tell me you have a condom,” Grace said, staring at Jax in all of his naked glory. She most definitely liked what she saw, and she couldn’t stop herself from licking her bottom lip as she looked at Jax’s very prominent, and very glorious, erection.

“Grace,” he said, sounding pained. “If you keep looking at me like that, I don’t think I’ll last long enough to get inside of you.”

“How am I looking at you?” she asked, letting her gaze travel all the way up his hard, muscled body to his eyes.

“All hot and hungry.”

“I can’t help it.”

Jax grabbed his jeans from the floor and dug out his wallet. He pulled out a small package before he threw his wallet down on top of his jeans. He opened the package and rolled the condom on before he kneeled on the bed. He reached for the thin straps at her hips and pulled her panties down her legs.

“Good God, Grace, you’re perfect,” he said, looking down at her.

“Come here.” She held out her hand. He grabbed it and let her pull him down to the cradle of her body.

Jax found her mouth again, his tongue sliding past her lips, searching for her tongue. He moved against her, and she loved the way her bare skin felt rubbing against his, her breasts against his chest. She was pretty sure nothing had ever felt this good before, and he hadn’t even gotten inside of her yet.

He reached between their bodies, his fingers gently pushing her apart. “You’re so ready,” he groaned against her mouth as he slid two fingers inside of her. “So wet,” he said as his thumb pressed against that little knot that had her writhing.

“Jax, please,” she begged as her body arched up off the bed.

He covered her mouth with his as he stroked his fingers inside of her. Her hips pumped up against his hand wildly. Though Grace was a very big fan of Jax’s fingers, that wasn’t what she wanted inside of her. So she reached down and grabbed him. The second her hand closed around him, he pulled his hand out from between their bodies and Grace guided him to her. Jax pushed inside of her slowly, not taking his eyes off hers as their bodies joined. He stilled when he was all the way inside of her, letting her body adjust around his.

Grace had been imagining this moment for years. Dreaming of what it would feel like to finally have Jax this way. The reality blew her dreams right out of the water. Being with Jax was like coming home.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he said, looking down at her. “You knock me off my feet, Grace. You always have.” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her gently, slowly.

Grace’s hands came up to the back of his head, her fingers sliding into his hair.

“Make love to me, Jax,” she whispered against his mouth.

“You feel so good,” he said as he began to pump his hips.

She pulled her legs up and wrapped them around his waist.

“And it just keeps getting better,” he groaned as he slid even deeper inside of her.

He captured her mouth again, his tongue thrusting in. She wanted to stay there forever, wrapped around him in every way while he was buried deep inside of her. It was amazing.
He
was amazing. She knew without a doubt that she’d never in her life get enough of this man.

As Jax continued to move inside of her, he brought one of his hands back down between their bodies, searching for that sweet spot again.

“Oh, Jax,” she said when he found it.

And it didn’t take her long to go over the edge. She cried out as she pulsed around him. He continued to pump into her through the aftershocks, and when she finished she looked up at him, more than a little bit out of breath.

“You didn’t…” she trailed off, feeling that he was definitely still hard inside of her.

“Not yet.” He smiled down at her. “I’m not quite ready for this to be over,” he said as he moved his hand from between their bodies and slid it underneath her bottom. He pulled her more firmly to him and started to swivel his hips, grinding into her. “We’ve only got one condom and I need to feel you do that again…and again…and again,” he said, punctuating his words with kisses to her mouth.

“Oh, oh,” she gasped as her head fell back into the pillow.

Jax was exactly a foot taller than she was, but their bodies fit together perfectly. He also had about eighty pounds on her, but she loved how his long, lean body felt pressing hers into the mattress.

“More, Jax. Harder,” she begged. She knew she was getting close, knew she was on the verge of shattering.

“Grace, look at me,” he said above her mouth.

Her eyes opened and focused on his as he picked up the pace, giving her what she wanted. And that was it. They were both swept under in a wave of pleasure. Grace screamed his name over and over again, and Jax groaned her name through his own release. He buried his face in her neck, kissing her skin as he caught his breath. Grace still had her arms and legs wrapped around him in a vice, keeping him from pulling out of her body.

“Gracie, I’m going to crush you,” he whispered.

“I just want to feel you inside of me for a little bit longer,” she said sleepily. She’d waited so long to be with him, so she hadn’t been ready in any capacity to let him go.

“Drop this leg,” he said, running his hand up her left thigh.

She did and he rolled them to their sides. His mouth was on hers again and he kissed her slowly. He brought one of his hands to her breast, cupping it and sliding his thumb over her nipple.

“Mmm,” she hummed into his mouth.

“You’re incredible, Grace,” he said above her mouth.

“You’re pretty freaking fantastic yourself,” she said, pressing her lips to his before she buried her face in his chest. They stayed that way for a while, wrapped around each other, kissing and touching. She wasn’t sure how long it was before she dozed off, but she awoke when he pulled from her body.

“No, don’t leave,” she said, reaching for him.

“I’ll be right back.” He kissed her mouth.

He padded lightly to the bathroom, and a minute later he was back, pulling her into his arms. She snuggled into him, and the last thing she remembered was kissing his chest before she fell asleep.

G
race came to slowly, her face pressed into a pillow while her arm was wrapped around another. She pushed up the pillow she was wrapped around and stretched her arm to the other side of the bed, searching for Jax. The soreness in her muscles made her mouth split into a grin. But that grin quickly disappeared as her hand came up with only cold sheets.

She sat up and stared at the empty side of the bed, her heart in her throat. She scrambled to the edge and looked over the side; Jax’s clothes and boots were gone.

Grace sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and closed her eyes as she took a steadying breath. Maybe it wasn’t what she thought it was. Maybe Jax hadn’t woken up in the middle of the night and freaked out about what they’d done. Maybe there was a logical explanation.

Or maybe there wasn’t.

God, she was such an idiot. She was a freaking moron. Of course he’d freaked out. This was Jax she was talking about, the boy who refused to accept that anything good could happen to him. And, oh, how good it had been last night.

Indescribable, it had been
indescribable.
No man was ever going to compare to Jaxson Anderson. Ever.

He’d taken his time, and thank God, because they’d only had the one condom. If it had been a quick push to the finish line, she might’ve cried. And he’d taken her to that finish line twice. And boy had it been spectacular, complete with banners and confetti and a screaming crowd. Well, maybe she’d just sounded like a screaming crowd. Yeah, she hadn’t been quiet, and shockingly enough, neither had he. He’d said her name as he came inside her, said it with so much passion. And now he was gone.

She hadn’t thought she’d needed to convince him that they worked together, that they were supposed to
be
together.

Grace pressed her face into her knees.

She couldn’t do it. If this was what it was always going to be like, him always freaking out and leaving her, she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t handle the constant disappointment, the hollow feeling in her heart when she looked at the empty space next to her.

She pulled back and wiped at her eyes. She didn’t even realize she’d started crying.

Grace took another deep breath and shook her head. She was done with this. If this was how Jax was going to do things, she was just done.

Yeah right. All he was going to have to do was look at her and her resolve would disappear quickly, followed by her panties.

She looked at the nightstand. Seven o’clock. She needed to call her grandmother to get a ride to the café. She got out of bed and went into the living room. Jax had picked her clothes off the floor and laid them on the back of the couch. She walked over and ran her fingers over the shirt that he’d peeled her out of hours before.

She pulled her hand back, already frustrated with herself. It didn’t mean anything. It was just a meaningless gesture on his part.

She grabbed her purse from where she’d dropped it on the couch last night and dug into it, searching for her phone. She had a moment, between closing her hand around it and pressing the button to light up the display, where she thought that maybe, just maybe, Jax would’ve called or sent her a text.

No such luck.

“Hey sweetie,” Lula Mae answered after a couple of rings.

“Can you pick me up?” Grace asked as she made her way into the bathroom. “My car didn’t start last night.”

“I’m leaving in about twenty minutes.”

“I’ll be ready,” Grace said, turning on the shower.

When she got out ten minutes later, she stood in the doorway, wrapped in a towel, and stared at her rumpled bed. She and Jax had managed to pull the top sheet out from the end. It was in a pile on the floor, along with two toss pillows and the throw that she kept at the foot of her bed. Her quilt was upside down, the white and yellow stripes showing instead of the blue, green, and yellow floral print.

She’d have to wash everything when she got home. The thought of sleeping in a bed that still smelled like Jax was impossible.

She went to her closet and pulled out a navy blue cotton dress and a pair of canvas slip-on shoes. She was dressed and ready to go by the time her grandmother pulled into the parking lot.

“How’d you get home last night?” Lula Mae asked as she turned onto the main road.

“Jax.”

“You two talking again?”

No, apparently they were having out-of-this-world sex and then
not
talking about it because he’d pulled a disappearing act.

“I have no idea what we are,” Grace said.

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Join the club,” Grace said miserably.

Jax mounted the steps to Café Lula just before ten. He was still wearing his clothes from the day before, and they were more than slightly rumpled, but he hadn’t had time to change. He’d been itching to see Grace, and the longer he waited the crazier he was feeling.

He’d gotten a call at four that morning to go in to work. Of all the days, it just had to be the one where he left a gloriously naked Grace in bed. As he’d fallen asleep with her in his arms the night before, he’d planned on convincing her to play hooky from the café, if not the whole day, then at least just the morning. He was supposed to have the day off and he’d known just how he wanted to spend it, and it involved her underneath him for the majority of it.

But that wasn’t how things had worked out. Jax had woken up to a low, steady ring coming from his pile of clothes on the floor. Grace was sprawled across his chest, one of her hands resting dangerously low on his abdomen. It had been pure torture leaving her.

She only stirred a little when he’d pulled away from her, tucking a pillow into her arms to hold and kissing her on the forehead. But there was nothing he could do; he had to go. Three houses had been broken into.

Most of the houses on Mirabelle Beach were million-dollar properties, and a lot of them were empty because their owners only occupied them during the summer. The alarms had been triggered within seconds of one another. The first house was about four miles away from the second and third. There hadn’t been enough deputies on patrol to get to all three houses at once. Neal Sanders had gone to the first house and everything was still locked up tight. But the first house had just been a distraction. By the time he got to the second and third house, he was too late. The thieves had already been in and out and made off with thousands of dollars’ worth of valuables.

Jax was pretty sure it was the same guys who had burglarized places all over the county. The locks were picked with the same quick efficiency, and again, they’d known exactly where everything was.

Sheriff Dawson assigned Neal Sanders and Baxter McCoy to start working on the case with Jax. By the time they’d finished going through all three houses, and Jax had gone over everything he knew about the case with Baxter and Neal, it was past nine.

Jax hadn’t had time to call Grace, and really talking to her over the phone wasn’t good enough. He had to see her. Had to bury his face in her neck and kiss that soft spot that made her sigh.

The café was busy when Jax walked in. Almost all of the tables were full and there was a line five people deep at the counter. Callie Armstrong was manning the register while Lula Mae filled the orders.

“Long time no see, Jaxson Anderson,” Lula Mae said, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I know,” he said, coming around the counter and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m not a fan of this disappearing act you’ve got going on. You done with the whole avoiding Grace thing?” she asked under her breath so the customers couldn’t hear her.

Oh, was he ever done with that.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good, now you get in there and fix it,” she said, shooing him in the direction of the kitchen.

“Fix what?” he asked, confused as he glanced over at the kitchen.

“Whatever it is that you did. She’s been in a mood.”

“That doesn’t sound promising.”

“It sure doesn’t. Now get in there.” She pushed him toward the door.

Jax walked into the kitchen just as Grace was bending over to pull something that smelled like heaven out of the oven. Her dress was riding up high on the back of her thighs, and his mind immediately flashed to last night when he’d been between said thighs.

Grace put two chocolate cakes on the counter before she pulled the oven mitts off her hands and turned around. She froze when she saw Jax, a look of uncertainty in her eyes that Jax wasn’t a fan of at all. Her whole body was tense and her guard was up.

“If you’ve come here to tell me last night was a mistake, save it. I don’t want to hear it.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, “not why I’m here.”

“It isn’t?” she asked as her shoulders slumped in relief.

“No.” He smiled, crossing the distance to her.

“So, you’re not having doubts?” she asked as he stepped into her.

“No,” he said, reaching out and tracing her jaw with his fingers. He pushed a stray piece of her blond hair behind her ear.

“Then why did you leave?” she asked, studying his face.

“I got a call at four this morning. Three houses were broken into just up the street from here. I wrote it all in the note.”

“You left a note?”

“Yeah, right by your head.”

“I didn’t see it,” she said, leaning into him.

“I figured.” He ran his fingers to the tip on her chin and pushed up. He was in desperate need of feeling her lips against his. He covered her mouth with his, his tongue sliding in between her lips. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders as he worked her mouth with his.

“Come here,” she said, stepping back and grabbing his hand. She pulled him into the pantry where he promptly pushed her up against the wall. “No regrets?” she asked, looking up at him.

“My only regret is I only got to have you once last night.”

“Hmm, I think we can rectify that,” she said, grabbing the collar of his shirt and bringing his face to hers.

“Tonight?” he asked against her mouth.

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll pick you up at five,” he said, letting his hands travel down to her hips. He grabbed her thighs and pulled her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. His hands skimmed up under her dress and he kept going until he got to the good stuff. “You don’t play fair,” he said when he found her thong.

“Never said that I did,” she said, nibbling on his bottom lip. “You don’t, either.” She stroked his cheeks. He hadn’t shaved and had a day’s worth of growth on his face. “I like this. I like this a lot.”

“Do you now?” he asked, his mouth quirking to the side.

“Oh, yeah.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

“So, what did your note say?”

“Dear Princess,”
he said as his lips moved down to her neck.
“Last night was perfect.”
His mouth went lower.
“There is nowhere I’d rather be than waking up next to you.”
His tongue was tracing her collarbone.
“Well, maybe waking up in you,”
he said as his fingers explored the area not covered by her panties, which was pretty much everything.
“I got a call, break-ins on the beach. I’ll stop by the café when I can. Jax. P.S. You have no idea how incredibly sexy you are, even when you’re asleep.”

“That’s a good note,” she said as his mouth returned to her neck. Her head fell back against the wall and she arched her body into him.

“You’re killing me,” he said, making his way back up to her mouth.

“I try,” she said right before her tongue found its way into his mouth.

“I have to go,” he said, and pulled his mouth from hers a minute later.

“Why?”

“Because if we don’t stop, I’m going to have sex with you right here. Up against this wall. With your grandmother and a room full of customers in the next room.”

“Yeah, maybe that isn’t the best idea,” she said, biting her lip.

“You think?”

“You going to work today?”

“Yeah just for a couple of hours. I had to see you before I went home to shower and change. Then I’m going in to the office for a little to try and make some sense of this case. If I have time I’m going to go work on the house.”

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Waking up next to you. What are the chances you can come in here a little late and spend the morning with me?”

“I’d say they’re pretty good. Grams and I need to start working on the food for Paige’s baby shower, so I have to work a little late tomorrow anyway. You want to eat some breakfast before you leave?”

“I’d like to eat something else, but breakfast will do.”

“Why Jaxson Anderson.” She grinned, unwinding her legs from around his hips. “You are a dirty, dirty boy. I had absolutely no idea.”

“Grace King,” he said, leaning into her mouth, “it’s all you. You bring out the bad in me.”

Jax was back at the café just before closing wearing jeans and a short-sleeved button-up flannel. He still hadn’t shaved and it took everything in Grace not to crawl all over him. By the time they got back to her apartment she was in pounce mode. The second the door was locked behind them, they were stumbling to her bedroom, clothes flying everywhere.

When they resurfaced an hour later, Grace pulled on Jax’s shirt and made her way into the kitchen to whip up something for them to eat.

“What are you going to make?” Jax asked, coming up behind her as she stared into the refrigerator. He kissed the side of her neck as he ran his hands under the shirt, up her bare thighs, and to her hips.

“What do you feel like?” she asked, leaning back into him.

“Anything, I’m starving.” His arms wound around her waist.

Grace had to pause for a second to appreciate the magnitude of the moment. It might have been something small and insignificant to anyone else, standing in the kitchen wrapped up in this man, but to her it was huge. She finally had him. She finally had Jax in her life in the way she’d been dreaming about for what felt like forever.

She wrapped her arms around his and turned her face to look up at him. He leaned down and kissed her, and the only reason they broke apart a minute later was because his stomach growled.