Page 62 of A Little Crush (The Little Things #6)

RORY

P ropping my feet on Jaxon’s coffee table, I pop another piece of popcorn into my mouth as Jaxon excuses himself to the bathroom.

He has the next two days off, and we’re planning to take full advantage.

Don’t get me wrong. I love traveling with the team and going to games, but when he has downtime, it’s like I get to play house and see how I fit in his daily routine.

So far? It’s been pretty close to perfect.

Add in that I finally get to see Poppy again, and I’m on cloud nine.

Seriously, sharing a child sucks, and she isn’t even mine, so when Iris texted Jaxon earlier today, asking if she could swing by and drop Poppy off earlier than normal, we popped popcorn and binge-watched a few episodes of Gilmore Girls to help pass the time quicker.

That’s how excited we both are to see the little nugget.

When a buzz from the elevator sounds a minute later, I jump to my feet, practically skipping toward the panel and accepting the request for someone to enter Jaxon’s floor so I can see my little Pops.

Seconds later, the doors glide open, and I find Iris with Poppy tucked in her car seat and out like a light.

“Hey, here’s—oh.” Iris jerks back. “What are you doing here?”

Like a fish, my mouth gapes open as I take in her skin-tight, blood-red dress and the full display of cleavage.

Seriously. The woman’s breasts are the size of watermelons, and I’ve never been more jealous of anyone in my entire life.

But also, why the hell are those things out?

Does she have a date or something? And with who, since Chris just broke up with her.

It’s been a few days since the random phone call I eavesdropped on in Jaxon’s office, but even then… wait.

Is she dressed like this for him? For Jax?

Something curdles in my stomach, and I fight the urge to vomit all over her six-inch heels. This is why she came over early. Why she asked if Jaxon was busy on his night off. She’s trying to seduce him. And here I am. The other woman—and wet blanket—she has no idea exists.

“Did you hear what I said?” Iris demands.

My eye twitches as I attempt to focus on what she’s saying instead of how awkward this exchange really is. Forcing my eyes to her face instead of her boobs, I say, “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, what are you doing here?” She says the words slowly, like she’s talking to an idiot.

Then again, considering how I’m acting, maybe I am one?

I shake off the thought and clear my throat. “I, uh, I’m here to watch Poppy?”

Hades growls at my side, and I wave him off, trying not to hyperventilate or pass out from full-blown shame. “Hades, go lie down.”

Nose wrinkled in disgust, Iris stares at my dog like she just tasted something sour. “Where’s Jaxon?”

Hooking my thumb toward the bathroom, I start, “He’s?— ”

“Hey, Iris,” Jaxon jogs from the hallway. “Sorry, I was in the bathroom. Where’s my Pops?” When he reaches us, he lowers his voice to a whisper, realizing Poppy’s still asleep in the car seat. “Here, I got her.”

Iris passes her off, her expression as harsh as before he arrived. “What’s she doing in your house?”

Jaxon’s eyes slide to me, and I have no doubt his confused expression matches my own. “Rory?”

“No, the mailman.” She scoffs. “Yes, I mean Rory. What. Is. She. Doing. Here?”

He frowns, as confused as I was until I pieced together the boobs, tight dress, and strange texts. “Is there a problem, Iris?”

“Are you fucking the nanny?”

My jaw drops, and I swear I would’ve been less shocked if she’d backhanded me. I mean, yeah, he kind of is fucking the nanny, but he’s been fucking me for a while now, and she’s never noticed or called me out like this, so what the hell is her problem?

“Ooookay,” Jaxon drags out. He hands me Poppy’s car seat and steps between me and his ex, creating a physical barrier with his broad shoulders and steely-eyed face. “Not sure what I missed when I was in the bathroom, but?—”

“Why. Is. She. Here?” Iris demands.

“Lower your voice,” he warns. “We don’t wanna wake Poppy up.”

“Then you better start talking,” Iris snaps.

“I’m here to watch Poppy,” I whisper-shout, refusing to let the woman pretend like I’m not standing three feet away from her. “Because that’s my job .”

Her body stiffens even more as she glares at me from around Jaxon’s torso.

Raising his hands into the air, Jaxon gives me a quick look over his shoulder, then sighs.

“I have to work tonight, and when you said you wanted to drop Poppy off an hour early, I asked Rory to come over to keep an eye on her until I’m finished.

That’s why she’s here.” He sighs again and takes Iris’s arm. “Let me…let me walk you out. Okay?”

The elevator doors slide closed behind them, and I shake my head, reeling from the interaction. Did that really just happen? Like, what the hell?

Refusing to be caught standing frozen in Jaxon’s penthouse, I carefully undo Poppy’s straps, then lift her from the car seat.

After double checking that everything’s where it needs to be and she's as safe as possible, I set her in her crib and close the door behind me.

A few minutes later, he returns, finding me on the couch.

“Hey.” There it is. That unsure syllable. He adds, “Where’s Poppy?”

“Still asleep.” I stare at my lap. “I moved her to her crib. I read somewhere that it isn’t safe to let them sleep in the car seat if they don’t need to.”

“Thanks,” he murmurs. The floor creaks as he moves closer to me. “You okay?”

I look up at him. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her she’s not allowed to talk to you like that.”

I nod, digesting his words.

“I also told her she has no say in who I am or am not allowed to see.”

My eyes bulge. “What?”

“I didn’t say we’re seeing each other,” he clarifies.

“Only that she’s not allowed to have any say in it.

” The cushion dips as he sits beside me.

“She came over wanting to get back together and was pissed you were here because then she couldn’t make a move like she wanted to.

I informed her it’s never gonna happen. Not now. Not in a million years.”

It should make me feel better. His conversation with Iris. The ground rules and expectations he set. And maybe it does? Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know how to feel. Or how to act. Or what to say.

“You didn’t answer me,” he points out. “Are you okay?”

I shrug, unsure how to answer.

“Did you want me to tell her? About us? Because I will. Fuck, Rore. I’ll call her right now and?—”

“No.” I shake my head. “No, I get why you didn’t. And honestly, I don’t want her to have any say in how we handle our relationship or when we decide to tell people. I just…wow.” I shake my head again, forcing the numbness to wear off. “She’s…”

“I know.” He presses his forehead to my temple. “Trust me, I know.”

“I just…I don’t understand what you saw in her.”

“I ask myself the same question all the time, believe me.” His brows knit. “She’s manipulative. Arrogant. Stubborn. Honestly, I was a little relieved when she cheated so I could leave her without feeling like I was tearing my family apart. Fuck, I’ve never said that out loud, but…”

I turn toward him, surprised by the self-hatred in his confession. “You didn’t tear your family apart, Jaxon.”

“Not sure about that, but thanks.”

“I’m serious,” I push. Reaching for his hand, I place it in my lap, hoping the innocent touch will quiet any lingering—and likely toxic—thoughts that I know are still spiraling through his cluttered replay of tonight’s event. “Besides, I figured it out.”

“What?”

“Why you married her.”

He pulls back, surprised. “Oh?”

“Mm-hmm.” My mouth spreads into a grin. “She has really nice boobs.”

His breath of laughter kisses my cheeks as he shakes his head. “Personally, I prefer them like yours. ”

I snort. “Sure you do?—”

“I’m serious.” Grabbing the back of my neck, he tugs me toward him, his eyes falling to my mouth.

“No one has made me feel the way you do. And I mean that in a very dirty, very literal way.” He dips closer, sliding his fingers through my hair and kissing me.

It’s soft at first. Slow. A little tentative, like he can’t decide whether or not I’m mad at him for not exposing our relationship. For not claiming me publicly.

The thing is, I’m not sure I want him to. Not out of force. Willingly, sure. I’m more than ready to take that step, but we aren’t on my schedule. And we sure as hell aren’t on Iris’s, either.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I open up to him, wrapping my fingers around his forearm and shifting closer, craving his touch more than my next breath.

With a quiet groan, he slides his tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss and dragging it against me.

Seconds later, he grabs my hips and picks me up, urging me to straddle him.

Silly man. He doesn’t have to ask me twice.

Twisting my fingers through his short strands, I play with the hair along the nape of his neck, making myself comfortable in his lap.

He’s already hard. It isn’t surprising, but it does quiet my insecurities.

He wants me. He still wants me. Even after seeing Iris looking drop dead gorgeous in her dress with her boobs on full display.

And that reminder? It’s exactly what I need.

“Do you feel me, Beautiful?” He shifts beneath me as if to make sure I’m aware of exactly what he’s referring to. “What you do to me?”

I nod and kiss him again, rubbing myself against him without any shame or embarrassment.

And I kind of love that part. That I don’t need to be reserved around him.

He makes me feel…cherished and confident in a way I didn’t even think was possible.

It’s like with every single interaction we share, he puts another piece of me back together again.

A pi ece I swore was shattered forever after spending so much time convincing myself that the rejection I felt during our first interaction was all I ever deserved.

Now it’s nothing more than a blip from my past. And this?

This is what I deserve. Me. And Jax. And intimacy. And orgasms. Lots and lots of orgasms.

Tearing his mouth from mine, he moves lower, kissing my throat and chest before stretching the fabric of my T-shirt down. With a laugh, I point out, “Pretty sure you take it off by lifting it over my head, not pulling it down.”

“You think you’re smart, huh?” He holds my gaze hostage as he grips the hem of my shirt and slowly tugs it up and over my head, leaving me in my bra and jeans. “Give me these perfect tits.”

I arch my back, rolling my hips against him as he drags the cup of my bra down, then takes me in his mouth. Swirling the tip of his tongue along my nipple, I gasp. Blown away by what the heat of his mouth does and how it feels directly connected to my empty core.

“Need you,” I breathe out. “Need you right?—”

Hades lifts his head from the floor, hearing something I don’t. I stop moving to listen.

There it is. Poppy’s whimpers.

My head rolls forward, and I squeeze my eyes shut. “She’s awake,” I announce.

“She’s awake,” he confirms. He bends down and kisses my nipple again, blowing softly before tucking my bra back into place, grabbing my waist, and setting me on the cushion beside him.

“That was just mean,” I point out, catching my T-shirt as he tosses it to me.

“You’re not the one who’s gonna be walking around with blue balls for the rest of the night.”

“Girls can have blue balls,” I argue .

“Can they?”

“I have no idea, but it doesn’t mean you’re the only one who’s a little disappointed they didn’t get a solid orgasm out of this.”

“I’ll make it up to you.” He kisses me again, as deep and needy as before. “Now, put your shirt on. I’m gonna get Pops.”

I rumple the fabric, slipping my shirt over my head just in time to see Jaxon disappear into the bedroom. And he’s a good father? Seriously. How is that man so freaking attractive? I bite the bottom of my lip to keep from groaning.

So. Freaking. Perfect.

He returns ten seconds later with Pops in his arms, and you would think it would help the libido, but nope. Watching a sexy man dote on his baby girl is gasoline to an already lit flame.

Yup. I’m a goner.

But what a way to go.