“I do know how to cook,” I tell him, leaning into his embrace and tilting my head farther to the side, while his mouth travels down toward my shoulder and his hand moves under my shirt to cup my bare breast.
“If we didn’t have to pick up Hope, I’d have you for breakfast,” he whispers against the shell of my ear before nipping it then licking over the sting as a flood of memories from last night come back to me in a rush, causing my knees to get weak. Looking over my shoulder at him, I wonder if I can talk him out of breakfast and into a shower.
“Don’t look at me like that, baby. I know you’re still sore, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” I assure him, dropping my eyes to his mouth, watching as a smile forms on his lips.
“You like my mouth?” he asks with a smirk.
Shrugging, I look back at the stove, lifting some of the steak, onions, and peppers from the pan on the opposite burner and tossing them over the eggs. I then grab a handful of cheese, muttering, “It’s okay.”
“Just okay?” he asks, licking along the pulse of my neck, and I can tell he’s smiling.
“I don’t really have a reference point, but if I had to give you a rating, it would be around a seven,” I say, hoping he will try to turn that seven, which is actually like a hundred, into a ten.
“A seven?” he asks in disbelief.
“Yeah, but like I said, I don’t have a reference point. If you want, I can go find someone else to do it and see if your rating goes up.” I shrug again then squeak when he spins me around, picks me up, and tosses me over his shoulder before turning off the stove and carrying me up the stairs to his room where he drops me onto the bed then proceeds to prove he’s definitely not a seven.
*
“Ax, can I hab a sister?” Hope asks as soon as we walk into Jax’s parents’ house.
Feeling my mouth fall open, I look at Jax’s mom, who is covering her mouth trying not to laugh, and then to Jax’s dad, who has his lips pressed tightly together while watching my daughter.
“Maybe one day, sweetheart, but really, I don’t think you get to choose. You may get a brother,” Jax tells her, picking her up.
“Do I hab to ask God or Santa for a sister, Mama?” she asks, scrunching up her face, looking at me.
“Oh, lord,” I breathe, glaring at Jax when he laughs.
“Do you want to show your mom and Jax what you made them?” Lilly chimes in, helpfully changing the subject of babies.
“We made cockporn balls,” she cries happily, wiggling out of Jax’s hold while I watch horrified as she runs past us toward the kitchen.
“Cockporn Balls?” Jax asks, raising a brow at his mom, who rolls her eyes and smacks him on the chest playfully.
“Popcorn balls,” she says then comes to me, sliding her arm through mine and dipping her face toward my ear, where she whispers, “We heard about last night. Are you okay?”
“Sheesh, did everyone hear about it?” I whisper, feeling my face heat in embarrassment. I know this is a small town, but seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Kim and Frankie both sent me texts making sure that I was okay because they had also heard about what happed last night.
“No, Mani was worried about you, and he called to ask Cash if he heard from Jax. He wanted to make sure you guys were okay and to let us know he told Mellissa and her family they were no longer allowed at the restaurant.”
“Now I feel even worse than I did before,” I mutter, feeling my stomach twist.
“Don’t feel bad. We heard what she said to you. In fact, a whole lot of people heard it, and I know that quite a few of them are disgusted by the way she acted and have pulled the houses they had listed with her father.”