She kissed the bridge of his nose, each defined cheekbone, the soft skin of his eyelids. She didn’t think for second that what she was doing was a turn on. She just wanted to touch all of him while she had the chance. So she was surprised when she felt him harden against her bottom, heard the low growl deep in his chest, and felt his hand tighten on her hip.
“Tallulah.” Her name had never been spoken with so much raw need. When she drew back, she read that same raw need on his face. If his heated eyes and heavy breathing weren’t enough to say he wanted her, the hungry kiss he gave her was.
Within seconds, the buttons of her shirt were undone and his large hand slid inside and palmed her boob over her sports bra. He moaned with satisfaction as if she was the perfect fit. After learning her shape, he drew back from the kiss and stared into her eyes as he used his thumb to brush back and forth over the nipple that strained through the spandex.
Desire tugged her under like a riptide. The feeling only grew when he pinched it. Not too hard, but just hard enough to have wet heat flooding her panties.
“Jax . . . Jax.” She grounded her bottom against the hardness she desperately wanted inside her.
His jaw flexed and his pupils seemed to fill up his irises. “I know, baby. I’m gonna take care of you.” He lowered his hand from her breast and turned her so she was sitting with her back against his front, her head resting on his shoulder. Then he slid his hands along her inner thighs to her knees and spread them wide. His fingers tightened as he spoke in a soft whisper. “I’m going to touch you, sweet Tallulah. You want me to touch you?”
She had never wanted anything so much in her life. “Yes.”
While one hand gripped her knee, the other slid toward her throbbing center. It would take a lot to get to that throbbing center. She wore her duty belt with her gun and holster. But he didn’t head for the buckle on her belt. Instead, he headed straight for the seam of her pants, cupping her firmly in his large hand.
Both their breaths came out in a rush.
“Ahh, Tallulah.” He brushed a kiss on the side of her head. “Is this damp heat all for me?”
She couldn’t have answered if she wanted to. All she could do was groan as he massaged her, grinding the heel of his palm against the exact spot that begged for release. A tremble ran through her and her legs started to close as if to shield her from such intense feelings. But he hooked her boots with his feet and drew them back apart.
“Easy,” he whispered against her temple. “I got you, Tull.” He softened his grip and ran two fingers up the seam to the spot just below her fly. He pressed down and her body quaked with the flash of heat that assailed her. “Ahh, right there.” Then he started moving his fingers in tight little circles.
It was like he was building a fire inside her pants with nothing but friction. A spark flared and then another and another until the flame caught and suddenly her entire body was ablaze and she was bucking against his fingers and moaning as the orgasm swept through her.
When it was over, she wilted against him and shivered as the last of the tingles popped through her like fading bath bubbles.
Once they were gone, embarrassment set in and she realized she was sitting spread eagle on Jaxon’s lap with her hands gripping his tattooed forearms like she never wanted to let him go.
“Oh my God.” She released him and started to get up, but one of those arms curled around her waist and kept her right there.
“Tully. It’s okay. There’s no need to freak out.” He adjusted her legs to the side and cradled her jaw in his hand, his fingers lightly caressing her flaming cheek. She kept her gaze lowered too embarrassed to look at him. “Hey.” He lifted her chin until their eyes met. “You don’t ever have to hide from me. I want to see all of you. Dancehall-loving Tully. Messy Tully. Curly-haired Tully.” He smiled sexily. “Especially Orgasming Tully.”
Her cheeks flamed hotter and his smile faded.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just can’t seem to keep my hands off you.”
Before she could tell him that she wasn’t sorry at all, a flash of headlights swept over the house. Figuring one of Jaxon’s siblings would be there soon, she quickly moved off his lap and started buttoning her shirt.
“Here.” Jaxon turned her and slipped the band from her hair, quickly and efficiently pulling her hair back into a neat ponytail before they both stood to see who had pulled up in front of the house.
Tully’s eyes widened when she saw the sheriff’s SUV parked behind hers.
“Oh my God! That’s my daddy.” She straightened her shirt and made sure it was tucked back in properly as she issued an order to Jaxon. Or not an order as much as a plea. “Please go back inside and let me handle this.” She hurried down the porch steps and met up with her daddy just as he was getting out of his car.
“What are you doing here, Daddy?”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone or radio? I’ve been trying to get ahold of you.”
“Sorry, I left both in the car.”
Her daddy’s gaze narrowed. “What happened? You were just supposed to keep an eye on the house while I checked out the silent alarm. Did something make you believe the Hennessys were at the hardware store tonight?”
Right then, she should have defended Jaxon. She should have told him he’d made a big mistake assuming the Hennessys had anything to do with the silent alarm going off and that she believed Jaxon was innocent of robbing Mickey’s.
But as she stared into the face of the man she had always looked up to, the words refused to come. He was wrong about Jaxon, but that didn’t change the fact he’d been the best daddy in the world. A daddy who had loved her and never lost faith in her . . . even when she had failed time and time again.
How could she tell him that she believed Jaxon over him?
