“I’ll see you downstairs.” She smiles then looks down at my lap and laughs.
“See you downstairs,” I agree, wrapping my hand around myself, trying to relieve the pressure before rolling out of bed and heading to the shower. I turn the water to cold and get in, killing my hard-on after a few painful minutes before turning the water to hot and washing up quickly.
When I get downstairs, Ellie is dressed and her hair is up on top of her head in a bun that fits the outfit she’s wearing. The black, form-fitting, long sleeve t-shirt dress goes down past her knees, where it’s met with black tights and black knee-high boots with a low heel.
“Where are we going?” I ask her, seeing she’s dressed for the day.
Turning to look at me over her shoulder, she replies, “Work. We talked about this yesterday. You said you’d watch Hope.”
“That was before last night,” I remind her quietly.
“I’m still going to work,” she responds then looks at Hope, who is sitting on the counter, watching us. “She won’t bother me there.” She goes to the fridge and gets out a carton of eggs.
“Ellie,” I say harshly, watching her eyes turn hard.
“Jax,” she retorts in the same harsh tone, walking over to the counter and telling Hope she can crack the eggs to scramble them.
Pulling in a deep breath, I let it out slowly, trying to calm myself. “Fine, I’ll have one of the guys there all day.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she grumbles as I help Hope break the eggs into a bowl then hand her a fork before kissing her nose when she smiles.
“Accept it or stay home,” I tell her, trying to keep the frustration out of my tone in front of Hope.
“Fine,” she huffs, slicing off a piece of butter into the pan on the stove.
“Fine,” I agree, reaching around her to get a coffee cup then dip my face close to her ear. “Are you still sore?” I ask, feeling her shiver against me.
“No,” she breathes after a few beats.
“Relish that feeling, baby, ’cause tomorrow, you wont feel the same,” I say, placing a kiss on her neck before pulling the skin there into my mouth, biting down until she gasps.
“Please don’t have Sage come to the salon,” Ellie says after we’ve eaten breakfast and are finishing up putting away the dishes that we just washed. “I don’t want to make it awkward for Kim.”
“I’ll send Tallon,” I tell her, but I know I’m going to have to talk to my cousin. Really, I’m surprised he hasn’t brought up what went down with him and Kim before. It’s not like him to keep something like that to himself.
“I still think it’s ridiculous to send anyone.”
“And I would rather be safe then sorry,” I tell her, drying off my hands then leaning back against the counter and pulling her to stand between my legs. “I need to know you’re safe,” I say, and she studies my face for a long time before letting out a breath.
“Okay, but only for today.”
“I’m not negotiating with you, Ellie, not when it comes to you or Hope’s safety.”
“Having a boyfriend who’s a badass is annoying,” she mumbles under her breath, making me smile.
“You’ll get used to it eventually,” I promise her, running my hands up the curve of her waist.
“If you’re done bossing me around, can I go finish getting ready for work and make sure Hope hasn’t painted herself or another wall?” she asks, referring to the last time we left Hope alone and she started painting the wall in her room with glitter nail polish.
Feeling my brows pull downward, I look her over and ask, “I thought you were ready.”
“I still need to do my makeup, and I want to get Hope dressed before I go. No offense, but the last time you watched her and she wore her green Christmas tights and her frozen dress, I was a little embarrassed.”
“She wanted to dress herself.” I shrug, grabbing her ass and pulling her closer. “And you don’t need makeup, you already look beautiful.”