Page 45 of Somewhere Only We Know (Healing in Cincy #4)

NATE

T he sound of our glasses clinking together manages to be heard over the low hum of conversation around the room.

“Cheers to two months, Bee.”

“Cheers, baby.”

We keep our eyes locked on each other as we take a sip of champagne. The bubbles and carbonation dance on my tongue and slide down my throat.

“It’s so pretty here.” Jax notes as she looks around.

The mood turns sensual here at night. The lights are low with tasteful string lights on the ceiling. The black and white checkered patterned floors complement the dark brown wood tones of the small table we’re seated at.

“I heard it’s nice here in the summer. It’s a bit too cold out for my liking, but they do have fire pits if you wanna go sit outside.”

Jax looks down at her dress and then back up at me with a smirk. “You just want me to sit in your lap.”

“You know me so well. ”

“I hope so. Because I have a few things I want to talk to you about.”

I tilt my head and look at her questioningly.

“Will you be a guest on my podcast before you head off to training? I can talk to your publicist, but I don’t think she would have an issue with it.”

Jax and I fall into laughter as we think of Sarah saying no. “Yes. Is this about your patterns you were adamant about not working?”

Her face scrunches and she groans. “I’m eating those words, okay?”

“You are.” I say and fiddle with the ring on her finger. “What was the other thing or things?”

“I don’t know if I can go back to sleeping alone anymore.” She ends with a scrunch in her upturned nose again.

“I thought Sully kept you company?” I tease.

“She does, but she snores. And you don’t. So I know who I’d choose to share a bed with.”

We’ve unconsciously drifted closer to each other. “So because I don’t snore you want to share a bed? Is that all?”

She nods and a smile teases the corner of her mouth. “That’s a bonus. I was also maybe thinking of giving you some closet space? Maybe even a drawer. Three if you’re lucky.”

I push her hair behind her ear and keep my hand resting on her neck. “Jaclyn Marie, are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Yes. If you want to. We can split time at both our places until we decide where to live as a family.”

I yank her closer and fuse my lips to hers, forcing her mouth open and tangling my tongue with hers. I feel her moan more than hear it and slow the kiss down .

“Is that a yes?” she asks with eyes glazed and lipstick slightly mussed.

“That’s a hell yes.”

Jax leans forward and presses a kiss to my lips before leaning back in her seat. “Good.”

“What was the other thing?”

She looks at me puzzled and then her face lights up. “Oh. Were you serious about having another wedding?”

“One-hundred percent.”

“I love being on the same page as you.” Jax fist bumps me and finishes off her drink.

When the waitress comes back around we ask for two old fashions and sit back.

“What would your ideal house look like?” I ask when our new drinks are placed in front of us.

Jax tells me everything. It’s a little different from what she dreamed up in college. But it’s natural for our tastes to evolve.

“Are you still decided on kids?” She asks after we finish our drinks and are now waiting for the check.

Blood rushes through my ears and I feel the pulsing like an actual heartbeat. “Yeah. Maybe not the four I talked about. But yes. I still want kids. Do you?”

She nods and a smile teases her lips. “Yeah. I think you’d make a great Dad.”

“I know you’d be a great Mom.” I tell her and lean over, kissing her on the cheek. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

I drop a $100 on top of our receipt and help Jax into her jacket.

Our hands stay linked as we walk out of the whiskey room and to the valet.

We may be right across the street, but Jax is in heels and it’s cold.

I keep myself wrapped around her and usher her into the car when it pulls up.

Navigating the side roads is a bit trickier when it’s dark out, but I get us back to the hotel relatively unscathed.

“I’m proud of you,” Jax tells me when we’re in the elevator. “Today was hard and you got through it.”

“I got through it with you.” I tell her and wrap my arms around her, resting my hands on her lower back. “I spent so long running from this place because all I could associate it with was losing my dad. And you.”

“That’s to be expected. Your Dad may be gone. But he lives inside of you. The way you talk about him, I see you. You’re becoming the man that I’m sure your father always knew you could be. Plus, you got me back.”

The elevator comes to a stop on our floor with a beep and we step out, walking as a pair to the door.

“You always know the right things to say. Are you sure you’re not a secret therapist?”

“No.” Jax says and dumps her things on the dresser-TV stand combo when we’re back in the room. “I just learned a lot from my sister and Emily.”

I pull up Spotify and put it on a mix with LEON as the main artist. “Do you see a therapist?” I ask and wrap my arms back around her waist and gently sway us to the music.

Jax wraps her hands around my upper arms, following my lead. “I did for a while. But then I chose talking on my podcast over seeking professional help. Kamryn actually suggested I restart my sessions on our way to Vegas, but I’m not as lost as I was last year.”

“I’ll talk to one if you talk with one,” I offer. “We can even do couples counseling. Not that I think we need it.”

“Like a sex therapist? Because I think Riley’s Mom is one.” Jax teases with a blinding smile .

My eyebrows fly to my hairline and I subtly sway us to the wall by the bathroom that’s facing the mirror. “Do you think we need one?”

“I can’t say I have a lot to complain about. However, I only have our one time together to go off of. So the jury is out on that.”

“Hmm.” I hum and pull her closer to me. I don’t miss the darkening of her eyes when she feels the hardness of my dick pressing against my zipper.

“So if I do something like this we won’t need help?

” I ask and trail kisses down her neck at the same time my hand travels up the side of her leg, heading towards her heat.

Jax’s gulp is audible when I brush my thumb over her panty-covered clit. “I might need more convincing.”

I lift my head and rest against her forehead. “You do, do you? Let’s see if this can convince you that we’re good in that department.”

I hook a finger on her underwear and slide a digit through her wet slit and up to her clit.

Jax’s mouth falls slack as I tease her clit and move back down, sliding a finger inside of her.

I swallow her moan with my mouth and drink down her gasps.

My tongue follows the movement of my fingers.

In and out. Twisting. Light flicks of my tongue against hers matching the shallow pumps of my finger inside her pussy.

I add another finger and kiss her harder.

Her hands grab at anything she can get her hands on the higher I drive her.

I curl my fingers inside of her, rubbing the area that has her going breathless against me.

My thumb rubs in tight circles tandem with my fingers curling inside of her.

Jax’s hand tried to push me away as I feel her squeezing my fingers.

I grab her hand and link our fingers, placing them above her head .

“Come on, baby. Come all over my hand.”

Her cries of pleasure vibrate in my mouth as she falls off the cliff I drove her to.

Ripping my hand out from under her dress, I pick her up and carry her to the bed.

She bounces in a flurry of fabric. Jax’s face is flushed and her lips are kiss-swollen.

I didn’t let her ride out the rest of the orgasm so her legs are pressed together from the sensation.

I reach under her dress and tear the fabric off of her and toss the trashed fabric over my shoulder. Her wide eyes meet mine, but her retort is cut off when I drag her to the edge of the bed and kneel, putting her pussy in my face.

“My shoes,” Jax weakly says.

“They stay on.” I tell her and spread her legs wider.

I’ll never get over her scent. I pull her closer until her legs fall over my shoulders and fuse my mouth to her opening.

Jax’s cry of surprise by my tongue spearing her is an ego boost. Not that I need one.

Her hands grip onto the tight curls on my head and her hips start moving with my tongue. “Eyes.” I demand.

Her honey brown eyes lock on mine and darken when I stiffen my tongue and flick it against her clit.

Jax tugs her bottom lip between her teeth when I pull her clit into my mouth.

The flush on her cheeks as I re-learn the sounds she makes is the soundtrack of dreams. I add a finger to her opening and Jax’s head falls back on a cry.

I nibble at her clit and her head flies up.

My eyebrows raise in a wordless demand to keep her eyes on me.

Adding another finger, I curl and keep the suction on her clit.

“Nate, Nate, Nate,” she chants and I know she’s close. The point of her heels dig into my back and I wrap my arms around her thighs, pulling her closer.

I moan against her and she cries out as her second orgasm slams into her.

I work her through the wave. Kissing and petting as she slowly comes back down.

Her body falls limp and I kiss the inside of her thigh and stand back up.

My knees crack as I do and I wince but ignore it.

Jax’s half-lidded gaze locks on mine and I suck my fingers into my mouth, cleaning off her juices.

A light sheen of sweat has formed on her forehead and her chest heaves in heavy exhales.

“Still need convincing?” I ask, voice husky.

Jax whimpers and my cock twitches in my pants. “Yes.”