“I’m sure they’re delicious,” Tristan wasn’t lying. Jax was some kind of magician in the kitchen, and Tristan would eat anything he whipped up. “Can I ask you a question?”
“If I can ask you one, but you go first.” Sampling the tea-ramisu, Jax thought for a couple of seconds and nodded.
“Okay.” Tristan had wanted to ask Jax this for a while. “What is the story behind your tattoo?”
Jax’s eyebrows rose, as if he hadn’t expected that.
“I’m not much of an artist, but I drew this,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “during class in my first year of school. It took another year to save up and get it done.”
“You drew that?” It seemed that Jax was a man of many talents. “Then you lied. Youarean artist because it’s spectacular.”
“Thank you.” Jax took another bite, nodding again. “My turn.”
Putting his dessert aside, Jax paused for a moment, and Tristan could feel their connection grow a bit somber.
“I want to invest more in this. In you. But I have to know what’s going on with your ex.”
Tristan respected that Jax didn’t play games; he confronted things head-on, and it was refreshing. While Tristanhadintended to explain the Eve situation, he hadn’t expected to do that on this date, but there would never be a good time to bring it up.
“In short? She’s toxic,” Tristan sighed. “We started off fine, but I question even that now. And while she never hit me, she wasn’t honest, nice, or easy to work with towards the end. I stayed far too long, but I got Rain out of it.”
“Is that why she’s bothering you?” Jax frowned, moving even closer to the bed. “Because of Rain?”
“Yes.” Tristan couldn’t bring himself to confess that he’d been supplementing Eve’s income to protect Rain, because Jax was right; Tristan was too nice. Sure, he wanted a stronger backbone, but not at the expense of the people he loved, and he couldn’t see any way out of this without someone getting hurt.
“Is it because Rain went no-contact?” How did Jax know that? Tristan’s eyebrows rose in confusion, but Jax gave a short laugh. “I live with Ollie, remember?”
“That’s right.” Of course, Ollie had heard about Rain and Eve, and of course, he’d told Jax. But what else had Ollie told him? “And yes, she wants to see Rain.”
He wasn’t lying. He’d just left out the part where he was paying for Rain’s safety. He’d tell Jax eventually, after he’d stopped Eve’s cash flow, because if hedidcome clean and tell Jax everything right now, then Jax would probably put his pants back on and try to track Eve down, and then they’d be on the evening news.
“Is she gonna be trouble?” The inflection and accent in those words only confirmed Tristan’s thoughts.
“Not for long.” Reaching for Jax’s hands, Tristan breathed a sigh of relief as Jax wove their fingers together without hesitation. Tristan had never wanted anyone more, and he’d solve this impossible dilemma with Eve if it meant he could have Jax, so he’d better start thinking hard.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Jax stated seriously. “OrI’llscare her off.”
Guilt loomed in the corner of Tristan’s mind for holding back, but it was for the best. This washisresponsibility to fix, and Tristan wondered how different his life would’ve been if he’d spoken up, drawn lines in the sand, and had boundaries.
“I believe you.” Trying to change the subject, Tristan gave Jax’s cock a meaningful glance. Now that it was soft, the barbell stood out in sharprelief. “How much did that hurt?”
“Another question?” Jax stared a heartbeat longer and took the bait. “It didn’t hurt as much as the nipples. The tragus was the worst.” He tapped the small hump of cartilage at the front of his ear. “Couldn’t sleep on my side forever.”
Picking up his dessert, Jax took another bite, his deep-brown eyes sweeping over Tristan’s body, and the energy between them surged. All Tristan could do was watch as Jax grabbed a spoonful of the cream and, with a devilish smirk, smeared it across his nipples.
“Looks like I made a mess.” Spinning on his heel, he gently reclined on the bed, trailing even more cream down his stomach as he placed the glass aside. “Who will clean me up?”
Tristan didn’t remember moving. All of a sudden, he was beside Jax, sucking on one of those sweet nipples. The cream combined with Jax’s own taste had Tristan hard in seconds, and he cleaned Jax enthusiastically, swirling his tongue and pulling lightly on the metal in that nub, making sure it was stiff and wet by the time he trailed over to its covered twin, giving it the same treatment.
Cries fell from Jax’s mouth, and they were music to Tristan’s ears. Like the food he created, Jax was a delicacy even before the added cream, and Tristan would never tire of sampling him.
Reluctantly letting his treat go, Tristan followed the trail, licking down Jax’s stomach to his hard and weeping cock. But it lacked a topping.
Glancing at the glass resting beside them, Tristan swiped his finger through the fluffy white cream, smearing it over the head of Jax’s dick.
“Wh-at are yo-” Jax managed to get out before Tristan sucked on this new dessert, loving the combination of flavors as Jax’s scent washed over his senses. Moaning, he ran his hands up and down Jax’s chest, caressing the smooth skin pierced with steel, and Jax tangled his hands in Tristan’s hair. “You’re an animal.”
Rising, Tristan circled his tongue around the head, making sure he got every speck of cream.
