From Rags

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jaxxon woke up to a lash of a tongue to her clit. The tip of that same tongue flicked the bud repeatedly, teasing it and sending zinging sensations through her. Then a long, cool breath blew over her clit and between her folds. She moaned and bucked.

“Morning,” said Connor against her clit. When he suckled on it she bucked again so he pinned her hips to the bed with his arm. “I woke up starving.” As he took to swiping his tongue through the slick folds her moans grew in volume. He couldn’t help moaning along with her as the taste of her increasingly ate at his control. Then he thrust his tongue into her, getting a more thorough tasting of her. He could happily do this for hours.

After about fifteen minutes of utter torture during which she must have plucked over a dozen hairs from his head while her fingers were threaded through it, Jaxxon couldn’t take anymore. “Connor,” she rasped.

“What is it, babe?”

Instead of words a loud groan escaped her. “Connor.” Being reduced to one word sentences was pissing her off. She mentally thumped herself. “I’m going to come.”

“I don’t want you to come until I’m inside you.”

“Then you better get inside me very fast.”

“Hold on for me a little longer.”

“Can’t.” She was very close to sobbing. She hated it when that happened. “Now, Connor.” Then suddenly her hips were tilted and his cock plunged into her as he seated himself deep. Over the edge she went, crying out and shaking. What a way to wake up!

Connor held himself immobile until her little aftershocks slipped away. Then he urged her to curl her legs around his hips and began to move, keeping his thrusts leisurely and sensual. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, groaning at how hot and tight and wet she was. The feel of Jaxx’s tight muscles gripping and stretching around him was his own personal definition of heaven.

Jaxxon had been waiting for the deliciousness of having him inside her to wane with time but if anything it only got better. She loved that sensation as he first entered her. She loved how each deliberate movement was powerful and masterful and dominant no matter how gentle or rough he was. She loved how he filled her so deeply, making her feel as though she could burst. And the smoothness of his flesh against her own was amazing. Wait a minute…His flesh against her own? She knew something felt different. “Connor.”

“I know, babe, I know I’m bareback I’ll put a condom on in a minute, I swear, I just want to feel you around me. Just for a minute.” He’d never taken a woman without a condom before. Naturally he’d always wondered what it was like without them. But with Jaxx he needed to know. He would put on a condom in a minute, he really would, he just needed to know how it felt to take her skin-to-skin. The feel of her come coating his cock was amazing.

Although his movements were slow, it fired her desire having the feel of him inside her like this. She tried not to arch into him and beat at his control but while she was caught up in the thrall of the pleasure that he could give her she didn’t have a lot of control herself. His touch was rekindling the giddy tingles from her last orgasm.

“I’ll pull out in a sec, I promise I will.”

She wasn’t sure who he was trying to reassure more: her or himself. She recalled the conversation they’d had one night when she had been teasing him about the slutty life he’d led and he had sworn that he’d always worn a condom and he still got himself checked out regularly. “You don’t have to stop if you don’t want to, I’m on the pill.” She had been since she was fourteen to regulate her crazy, heavy periods. Instantly Connor stilled. “If you want to use a condom then get it on quick because I’m close and these slow thrusts of yours are -” She broke off as he abruptly slammed into her, dragging a loud groan from her which mingled with his.

“Harder?” he gritted out.

“Yes.”

This time he slammed into her so hard she hit the headboard. “Faster?”

“A lot faster.”

He smiled at the frustration in her voice. Then he firmly caught her hips, dragged her to him away from the headboard, and hammered into her the way she loved. Jesus Christ it was a million times better with nothing to keep his skin from hers. “Look at me, Jaxx.”

She opened her eyes to find his face a mask of intensity; his lips were set into a hard line, his jaw was so tense she would bet his teeth hurt, and his eyes had that merciless glint to them and had darkened to flint. He cupped her arse and shifted her slightly so that he was now hitting her G-spot with every thrust. “God, Connor.”

“Now, Jaxx,” he demanded in a harsh voice. “Come for me right now, come with me.” Then he slammed into her even harder than before and they both came together; her screaming, and him groaning her name.

Jaxxon closed her eyes as she waited for him to roll off her and sigh and mutter about how he shouldn’t have done that. Any other bloke would see no need to panic but this was a bloke who didn’t want kids. Instead, he did something that took her completely by surprise. He gave her a soft, lingering kiss and then took her with him as he rolled onto his side. She wondered if he had ever gone bareback with another woman. Quickly she shook off the thought of him with someone else, it wasn’t a nice visual. “What time is it?”

“Well my alarm went off at half six so it must be about seven now.”

“How is it that I didn’t hear your alarm?” She had always been a light sleeper.

“You were obviously so satiated after I fucked you to sleep that you were halfway to comatose.”

Hearing the self-satisfaction in his tone she pinched his bicep. “No one likes a smug bastard. What time are you leaving for the gym?”

“Same time you’re leaving for the studio, half seven. So I suppose we better get up.” He swatted her arse then jumped up before she could return the favour. One thing Connor adored Jaxx for was that she didn’t take ages in the bathroom. Also, she didn’t mind sharing it while she used it. This morning, though, she made him agree not to join her in the shower because they’d learned during their stay in France that there was no way they could be together in the shower without something sexual happening, and this morning they didn’t have time.

As usual, Jaxx was washed and dressed within twenty minutes. He was glad she wasn’t someone who lathered herself in make-up except when working; in his opinion she didn’t need it and looked more stunning without it. Another thing he liked was that despite the industry she worked in she didn’t skip breakfast, even if all she had time for was a slice of toast, she didn’t start her day on an empty stomach. What Connor didn’t like about this morning was that he was leaving a humungous animal in his apartment for the day. Jaxx assured him that he wouldn’t get back to find that Bronty had done a Turner and Hooch to the place, mostly because she didn’t believe he knew he was a dog which was something she was going to look into. He also didn’t like the thought of her being away from him while the person responsible for trashing her own apartment was waltzing around and so far had gone undetected. He still believed it was Anita but Jaxx still wasn’t convinced.

Hoping to avoid Anita’s watchful eye, he took Jaxx out the side door of the building, telling the guard Chino that she would be using this as an entrance and exit from now on. But Connor still couldn’t relax. “Maybe I should drive you to the studio and then pick you up once you’re done,” he said as they approached her Audi.

“You are kidding, aren’t you? No of course you’re not,” she grumbled. “I’ll be alright. It’s not like anyone has tried to hurt me, it was my apartment that they went after.”

Yeah, but they had both pissed Anita off badly last night so it wouldn’t surprise him if she took things a step further after that. He shackled Jaxx’s wrist with his hand and tugged her to him so sharply she dropped her handbag. “Look, I know that I can go over the top and be way too overprotective when it comes to you -”

“Did you honestly just admit that?”

“- but I feel uneasy and I can’t shake it off.”

“Now you’re just being paranoid.”

“It doesn’t mean Anita’s not following you. Luke said she knew what day you walked Bronty so -”

“Maybe you’re right and I’m being tailed by Anita the Vengeful but, in that case, won’t I need my car so I can ram the thing into her?” She pulled her hand free and bent to pick up the handbag. She heard him groan. “What?” she asked as she straightened.

“How great thou arse.”

“Ah, so my randy bastard’s back. I like him better than the paranoid one.” Just as she was about to unlock the car she was caged against it from behind. Yep, randy bastard was definitely back. He cupped and shaped her arse then spanked it. Of course he spanked it. Why wouldn’t he spank it? “Alright this S and M shite stops now.”

He whispered into her ear, “Deny it if you want but you like getting your arse spanked. You get wet as hell every time I do it. Oh and I haven’t even started with the S and M stuff, babe. One night I’m going to tie you to my bed and have my wicked way with you, and you know what? You’ll love every second of it. I bet you’re getting wet just thinking about it, aren’t you?”

She was. “Do you really want to get me all horny and then send me off to a studio full of male models?” She was spun around so fast she stumbled. A chuckle burst out of her. “You are so easy to wind up, McKenzie.”

“And you are such a tease, Carter.” He merged his lips with hers. The kiss was punishing and possessive. “Remember: take a different route to the studio and be alert, alright.”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“Sir? I actually like the sound of that. Lord and Master might be better though.”

Chuckling again she shoved him away and got into her Audi. At the same time he jumped into his Aston Martin convertible and beeped at her as they went their separate ways. Jaxxon sighed as it occurred to her that when they literally went their separate ways in every sense of the phrase it wouldn’t be anything like the easy, playful manner of just now. Or, at least, it wouldn’t be for her.

First thing on her schedule was a conference call with the fashion designer and his team from Milan who were still trying to negotiate some sort of deal for Jaxxon to model a special clothes line which they wanted to brand with her name. Apparently they weren’t fazed by her decision not to go to Milan to meet with them and, after some hounding on their part, a conference call was arranged. Sadly for the designer, this kind of thing wasn’t for her and she told him as much in the most frank way possible.

Next on her schedule was the shoot for the Allure line of the new season. It didn’t escape her notice that Tony wasn’t barking at her to move this way and that way like he usually did, so she guessed he was worried about her after what happened to the apartment. She was surprised that he wasn’t sulking because she was staying with Connor rather than in his annexe, and just when she thought the bloke was being mature about it he made a snide comment. So she flipped him off. And he laughed.

When it was time for the next lot of shots, which were to mostly concentrate on the eye products, Jaxxon went to have her make-up re-done into a different look. Kieran used a lot of smoky colours this time, making her seem like some sort of dark seductress which she didn’t like, but of course he saw that as a positive because it meant that she would have on her frustrated look by the time she got back to Tony.

“Ooh, maybe this will cheer you up,” said another of the make-up artists, Lorna.

Jaxxon gaped as a vase filled with a display of burgundy-red roses and a black box with a black lacy bow – which she guessed contained chocolates – was set in front of her.

“Who’re they from?” asked Kieran.

She plucked out the envelope that sat within the bouquet and tore it open. The card read: ‘They won’t taste better than you, C’.

“C? Oh, they’re from Connor McKenzie. You know you haven’t told me much about him.”

“I can tell you that he doesn’t do flowers and chocolates.”

“Luv, they all revert to the traditions when the right girl comes along. The two of you really do suit. And I don’t just mean ’cause of how crazy you both are, I mean you look good together as well. That’s always a bonus.”

“What’s that noise?” asked Lorna, flicking aside her purple hair to cup her ear. “Sounds like bells ringing. Church bells.”

“Stop taking the piss, there will be no wedding,” said Jaxxon.

“Did someone say wedding? Who’s getting married?” Louisa strutted over to Jaxxon and examined her ringlets. “No, they don’t need touching up.”

Lorna nodded in agreement. “We were just asking when the big date is for Jaxxon and Connor McKenzie.”

“He proposed?”

Jaxxon held the hand up that Louisa was trying to snatch. “See – no ring. They’re just trying to wind me up. And they’re succeeding.” She briefly contemplated ragging out Kieran’s spiky hair and shoving it down Lorna’s throat.

“Is that who the flowers and chocolates are from?”

“Yes,” verified Kieran. “You know what, Jaxxon, you should make sure your wedding bouquet looks something like that – it’ll be like a tribute to the first time he sent you flowers.” He knew he was pushing it but it wouldn’t be a normal day if Jaxxon didn’t tell him to sod off. It was part of his routine.

“Wedding bouquet?” echoed an extremely aggravated Ollie as he paced to Jaxxon. “McKenzie asked you to marry him? And you said yes?” Oh he’d skin the prat.

Jaxxon put her hand over her heart and said her speech in a rush. “How could I say no? You were right when you said it was about more than just sex, I love him. I don’t want to be without him.” At the sight of his blazing-red cheeks, she burst into laughter and everyone joined in, other than Ollie who looked a mixture of relieved and annoyed.

“Bloody hell, girl, you had me panicking then.”

“Don’t you like Connor?” asked Kieran.

“Oh don’t get him started on Connor,” groaned Jaxxon.

“It’s not that I don’t like him,” said Ollie.

“So am I the only one who doesn’t like him then?” Bruno winked at Jaxxon as he came to stand beside Ollie.

Kieran snorted. “Your opinion of Connor doesn’t count, it’s biased.” He gestured for Ollie to continue but the man was struggling for words. “Oh, I get it,” chortled Kieran. “Daddy doesn’t like his little girl having a sex life.”

“Is it a good sex life?” Lorna asked Jaxxon, waggling her eyebrows.

“With the sexual tension those two throw about when they’re in the same room it must be,” said Louisa. “Aren’t you going to open those chocs, luv?”

Jaxxon didn’t answer – there was no point, Louisa already had the box in her hands and was now opening it.

“Mmmm, dark chocolate.”

“Ew, I don’t like dark choc.” Jaxxon shook her head in distaste.

“Dark chocolate’s the healthy chocolate option,” said Kieran. “The cocoa level’s -”

“Kieran will you sod off with that mascara and eyeliner before I end up looking like a bloody panda!”

He giggled. “That’s you done, luv.”

“The details of the tour are all finalized,” Ollie explained as he escorted Jaxxon down the hallway and en-route back to Tony. “As I already told you, we’re going to New York first. It’s an evening flight; I knew you’d prefer one of them.”

“What day is it you leave?” asked Bruno, now walking on Jaxxon’s other side.

“Monday,” replied Ollie.

Bruno smiled when he managed to catch Jaxxon’s eye. “I’ll bet you’ll be glad to leave that apartment behind after what happened.”

She frowned. “How’d you know about that?”

“I was eavesdropping when Ollie and Richie were talking about it, sorry. So how are you?”

“Alright. It’s just stuff at the end of the day, isn’t it.”

“There hasn’t been anything else odd going on?” checked Ollie. She shook her head. “The place is still in the process of being cleaned. The mess was unreal.”

“I’ve seen worse.”

Ollie knew that, and the idea of it got on his wick. He’d hoped that her new life would get her away from that crap, give her security. He was so thankful that it hadn’t made her take a step backwards in her progress with her transition from nothing to everything she wanted. It would have cut him up if she had withdrawn from it just because of some nut, but he’d seen it happen many times with other people. They couldn’t deal with the lack of privacy or being under the microscope of the media or the sudden and massive amount of attention – the like which they could never have imagined. He’d seen grown men cry when that attention suddenly became bad attention and there were criticisms and wicked rumours and the appearance of nutcases. But this twenty-two year old woman had taken it better than most he’d known in the past to have done.

As much as he didn’t like that she was staying with McKenzie – the bloke looked at Jaxxon like she belonged to him – he didn’t want her alone and Ollie knew McKenzie wouldn’t hesitate in wiping the floor with anyone who tried to lay a finger on her. That was assuming the bugger wasn’t dealt with by Jaxxon herself first.

Bruno snickered. “Is that why McKenzie was sending you the flowers and chocolates; trying to coddle you through what’s been going on? Or is he trying to dig himself out of the doghouse? I’ll bet it’s the second; he’s so cocky and overbearing -”

At the end of her tether and feeling an inexplicably big need to defend Connor, Jaxxon spun on Bruno. “Do you know what, Bruno? I’m getting sick of your remarks about him.”

“Whoa, whoa, I was just joking around.”

“Jokes are funny.” And it was never just what he said, it was the spite and bitterness that was always in his tone.

“Ah, come on, Jaxx.”

“Don’t call me that.” Her voice was deadly. She could tolerate Dane doing it because she knew he was doing it to wind Connor up, but the way Bruno had said it so intimately as if he had that same level of familiarity and closeness with her that Connor did ticked her right off. Wisely, he didn’t follow her any further. Ollie was also wise; he didn’t comment.

As Connor pulled up next to Jaxx’s Audi in the car park outside of his apartment building later that day, he smiled. He had liked the idea that when he got home it would be to find Jaxx there, waiting. He liked that idea even better now that he was finally back. So did his dick.

“I come bearing gifts,” he announced as he entered his apartment with a giant-sized pizza. Yeah it seemed counterproductive to spend hours on his fitness levels and then devour a pizza at the end of it but sod it. When Jaxxon swerved her head and smiled sweetly at him over her shoulder from her spot on the couch where she was watching T.V., something twisted in his chest.

“Mmmm, pizza. Good thinking, McKenzie.”

Having dumped his gym bag on the floor he went straight to the living area and kissed her. He’d only meant for it to be a brief, greeting-type kiss but his control around her was as piss-poor as ever. “You’re dessert, Carter.”

“Please tell me that’s Deep Pan Margarita,” she said when he finally released her lips.

“Of course it is, I know it’s your favourite.” He sat on the armchair near the sofa and placed the pizza on the table in front of them, liking how it felt to lounge around while eating pizza out of the box like they used to; no plates, no cutlery, no prim crap.

“Good memory.”

“I could hardly forget that, it was all you ate back then. How you could eat something that often and not get sick of it always amazed me.”

“Well you forgot that I didn’t like dark chocolate.” Seeing the confused expression on his face she slapped her leg. “I knew it wasn’t you.”

“What?”

“I told Kieran that’s just not the kind of thing you’d do.” She was torn between being pleased with herself for being right and being agitated that someone else had sent them and she didn’t know who.

“Jaxx, elaborate.”

“Today I got a bunch of red roses and a box of dark chocolates sent to me.”

The slice of pizza in his hand slipped from his fingers and dropped back into the box. “You what?”

“On the card it was signed ‘C’ so everyone assumed you’d sent them, but it just seemed too out-of-character for you.”

“Where are they?”

She shrugged as she finished chewing on the food in her mouth. “I left them in the studio so no doubt someone’s took them home.”

“I bet you’d have felt like a right bitch if it had turned out that I had sent them then, wouldn’t you?”

“No, I’d have told you it served you right for sending me corny crap.”

“Christ, Jaxx.” He shook his head. “I don’t like this stalker-stuff.”

“You telling me you’ve never had some kind of obsessed fan? God, if you’d seen some of the fan mail I used to get you wouldn’t be so bothered. Anna would spend hours reading it either laughing her head off or blushing purple. There’re some proper odd people out there and, for some reason I’ve yet to understand, I seem to draw them to me.”

He snorted. “Wrong, babe, you draw everyone to you, always have. It’s just that it’s mostly the odd ones who have the nerve to do something about it.”

“It makes me shiver thinking someone might be obsessed with me though. I don’t get it.”

“I’m obsessed with you. You’re obsessed with me though so I can cope.”

She laughed. “You tell yourself that if it’s your coping mechanism.”

“You deny it to yourself if that’s your coping mechanism.” He cringed when Bronty slobbered all over the sofa at the sight of the pizza. “Does he eat this sort of stuff? I thought dogs were more meat-eaters.”

“Ah, but like I’ve said I’m not convinced he’s aware he’s of the canine line. Bronty will eat just about anything but I think it’s because before I found him he was living off whatever scraps he could find out of people’s bins. For the first week of him living with me he was eating out of my kitchen bin, I had to train him to stop it. Observe and note that your apartment is in tip-top shape despite Scooby Doo here having spent the day in it.”

“Observed. Noted. Appreciated.” What he didn’t appreciate was the knock on his apartment door mere seconds later. Cautious for Jaxx, he glimpsed through the peephole. He shot Dane a frustrated look as he opened the door but his mate only smiled in response as he walked passed him.

“Alright Con. Mmm, what’s that smell?”

“Smells like junk food,” said Niki as she waltzed in behind Dane with Little Dane hanging off her neck. Quick as anything, he threw himself at Connor.

“Alright Little Man,” said Connor as he perched the toddler on his arm so he could cling to him like a chimp the way he always did. “You been a good boy for your mum and dad?”

Chewing on his thumb, he asked shyly, “Who’z that gwirl?”

Dane was already in the living room. “Hey Jaxx – Jaxxon, this is my wife, Niki, and my boy, Little Dane.” Although all she did in response was smile and offer a ‘hi’, it was so warmly delivered it was like an embrace.

Niki had expected to feel threatened as a woman while being around someone so gorgeous but strangely she didn’t; there was something reassuring about Jaxxon Carter. It should have seemed contradictory seeing someone so perfect to the eye munching so commonly on a slice of pizza. “Sorry we didn’t get a chance to meet ’til now but I didn’t want to risk seeing you when Anita might have found out.”

Waving away the unnecessary apology, Jaxxon smiled. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her for Connor. She’s a witch that one.”

After chasing a very put-out Bronty off the sofa, Connor plonked himself next to Jaxx while Dane and Niki each commandeered an armchair. “This is my very good friend, Jaxx,” he told Little Dane. “Jaxx, this is -”

“Let me guess,” she drawled. “Are you the Fat Controller who’s friends with Thomas the Tank Engine and all his mates?”

He giggled and shook his head while Connor, Niki and Dane all exchanged a look that said ‘How did she guess he loved that programme?’

“Really? You look so much like him,” continued Jaxxon. “Have you ever met Thomas?” Little Dane shook his head again. “I know a place where you can.” His eyes bulged. “Tell your mummy and daddy to take you to a place called Wales in August and he’ll be there. You can ride on him and Annie and Clarabel.”

“And Percy?”

“Oh yeah, definitely him.” Seeing the questioning look on Connor’s face she said, “All little boys love Thomas. I learnt about the Wales thing years ago when I was helping the local nursery teacher find excursions, she was a sister of a mate of mine.” She didn’t elaborate that this mate had been coming off drugs and both Jaxxon and the young teacher had been taking shifts helping her get through it. Filled with excitement, Little Dane hit her with one question after another about this August event until finally he’d crawled onto her lap while she gave him all the details.

As Connor watched Jaxx win shy Little Dane over so effortlessly he was overcome with a contradictory mixture of awe and anxiety. Awe at her naturalness with children, and anxiety at the idea that she would be a great mum and he wouldn’t be around to see it. There was no way he could watch her being a mum to a kid that belonged to another bloke.

“You’ll be pleased to know that Anita’s gone,” announced Dane before biting into the slice of pizza that he had helped himself to. “Left for L.A. this morning, fully admitting that the baby she’s having isn’t yours, Con.”

Thank God for that. Then something occurred to him; if Anita was gone but Jaxx was still being tailed, it had to be someone else. But then maybe Jaxx was right and she wasn’t being followed. Maybe he was just being paranoid as she said. Stuck in his thoughts, he didn’t realise Jaxx’s phone was ringing until she gently placed Little Dane on his lap before skipping to their room to take the call. A few minutes later she reappeared, her olive skin pale. Immediately he was on his feet. “Jaxx, what is it?” She said nothing, just stared at him. “What’s wrong? Who was it on the phone?”

“Richie,” she replied. “Louisa’s in hospital.”

“Louisa?”

“She’s one of the hairstylists. He was with her going over some things when she started vomiting, he said it was like something off the Exorcist.”

“But she’s alright?”

She nodded. “She stopped spewing about half an hour ago and the doctor in the hospital gave her something to settle her stomach. They’re keeping her in for the night.”

“Hey, don’t look so freaked out.” But then Jaxx held his gaze with such intensity he felt rooted to the spot.

“They think it was food poisoning. The thing is…she’s the one who took those chocolates someone sent me.”