Page 27 of Still Forever

“We have a new patient; I’m going to refer her to you. Based on her answers to the intake questions, she may be dealing with a severe mental disorder, and you know that’s not really my lane.” I slid the chart over to the new doctor without taking my eyes from it.

He was silent.

When he didn’t respond, I glanced up from the paperwork and caught him staring. Not politely. Definitely not professionally. The kind that caused me to frown.

“Do we have an issue?” I asked, my tone clipped as I set the folder down.

“Dr. Jennings…” He started as he leaned over the desk and licked his lips. I sat back in my chair to reclaim some of the space between us. “I just think you are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. I’ve been fighting the urge to tell you that since I started.”

Before my mouth could form a response, I saw a shadow form over him. Tall, dark, and menacing. A gun pressed cold and hard to the back of his head.

The doctor’s eyes widened, and his hand flew up in shock. Like a true crime reenactment.

“Tell her husband that.” Jaxon dared low and deadly.

“I’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm, I swear,” He stammered quickly.

“You should’ve kept fighting the urge.” His voice sounded like a warning shot. “Cause the urge ain’t gone break your fucking jaw but I will. Now get the fuck out of my wife’s face.”

The doctor didn’t need a second chance. He got out of there so fast, he probably broke the office speed record.

I looked at my husband, giving him a blank stare for all of two seconds before I broke into laughter. “You’re starting to act like Trouble.”

“About my wife?” He set the brown paper takeout bag on my desk. “Hell yeah, ain’t no understanding.”

I grinned, already pulling out the Thai food that I had been craving since Sunday.

“How did the kids do this morning?”

The look on his face was priceless. “Jonah ran out behind me, and Juree dropped to the floor screaming like somebody stole her puppy.”

That made me laugh harder. It was their second day of daycare. I thought Jaxon, being the stern one, would handle drop-off better, but clearly, he couldn’t win against those two.

Jonah, named after his godfather Judah, was two and already gave me flashbacks to every time I called BJ bad.

He made me put my money where my mouth was.

Juree, named after her godfather Jrue, was the one who could out-scream a fire truck.

Parenting them while running businesses and being married to a Mafia elite…

it wasn’t easy, but it was the most rewarding thing I’d ever done.

“Please don’t tell Ma, because she’ll go get them,” I said between bites of noodles.

He smirked.

Ms. Meena’s grandchildren ran like wild animals in her jungle.

She never told them no and spoiled them like she could win an award for it.

Yesterday, when I dropped them off, she was on the phone during the chaos, so I thought I was safe.

Two hours later, she FaceTimed me with them in her backseat.

Juree was in sunglasses, and Jonah was grinning like he’d just robbed a bank.

I just stayed quiet. Ma had already told me those were her grandchildren, not mine. If I wanted to control how people treated their grandchildren, I'd have to wait until I had my own.

“I’m not calling her,” He assured me as he sat back in the chair. Gun still resting on his lap, and scrolling on his phone. He looked up from it.

“You know I have two trips, Ma. Italy for the Summit and Bolivia with Santos.”

“I know. I’m trying to map out what days I’ll be in Italy. I’m not going to make it to Bolivia. That’s the week that me and Storm are hosting the toy drive at the Plaza.”

“Damn, I forgot. I’ll push the trip back a day. I’ll slide through and help you.” He said as he started typing on his phone.

I smiled at him. Jaxon had done so much better with being present; our arguments about time management hadn’t been a thing since we reconnected. Now all we argued about was why I kept turning all his good T-shirts into house dresses.

“Juree, ma ma, go sit down,” Jaxon said as we tried to sneak out of the house for the third time. She wasn’t having it, just kept screaming. The girl had the lungs of an opera singer.

Losing a child made me a clingy mother, and I may or may not have spoiled them. I can admit that. The fact that my kids reacted like this anytime we tried to leave them with someone was proof of it.

Jaxon picked her up, and she stopped immediately. I narrowed my eyes at her. She lay her head on his shoulder and twisted his earlobe, as if she knew it would melt him. I could see it working, too.

I avoided eye contact with her. I needed the break and some adult time, so there was no way that I was about to let her cute little face manipulate me into taking off my dress and these heels.

The nanny we hired stood by with a smile as she waited for Jaxon to hand her over. He disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a bowl full of ice cream. He handed the ice cream and Juree over to the woman. She didn’t make a sound as she tried to take the spoon out of the bowl.

Then we eased out the front door and into the back of the awaiting truck.

Hand in hand, we walked into the restaurant and found the party that we had come for. “You look so pretty. Every time you get a big belly, your booty grows.” I teased as I kissed Remy’s cheek and hugged her.

She laughed and turned to the side like she was giving me a better view.

Ironically, she had become a staple in our lives.

She had the sweetest personality, and Zo didn’t play about her.

They got married right after having the twins, and now she was pregnant with their third child, and we were there celebrating her birthday.

She had been invited to everything we had since the night we clicked at the wedding and vice versa.

Still, I missed Zo in his old role. With the national elite promotion came his and Sanchez’s, and they had been promoted to underbosses, so they were no longer the heads of the security teams. Although he wasn’t my security detail anymore, I still saw him often, and that was enough.

The night flowed easily—drinks, well wishes, and laughter.

“Damn, when they say one monkey don’t stop no show, that’s what they mean, huh?” Judah came in, looking around at us, enjoying the night without him.

“Judah, why would I start my birthday dinner late because of you?” Remy laughed.

My phone vibrated and once I glanced at the caller ID, my stomach dropped.

“I’ll be back, baby, I have to take this,” I said as I excused myself from the table and rushed toward the restroom.

It was the nanny, and as soon as I saw her calling, I panicked.

“Is everything okay?” I asked as soon as it connected.

“Yes, I’m sorry for scaring you. It’s bath time, and I know you mentioned that one of the kids has sensitive skin. I forgot to write it down. Which is it?” she asked. Immediately, I exhaled.

“Juree, the soap in the tan bottle is hers.”

“I’ll make a note of it. Enjoy your night, Mrs. Jennings.” She said before we disconnected.

I turned to walk back outside, but ran right into Jaxon. His eyes searched mine in only a way he could.

“You good, baby?” He questioned.

“Yeah, it was just the nanny asking about soap. I thought something was wrong for a second,” I laughed at how scared I had been.

He didn’t laugh with me. “They gone be aight, KD.” He assured me.

“I know,” I said lowly, trying to convince myself.

I tried to take a step toward the door, but he blocked me again. His hand went to my jaw, tilting my face up so that my eyes locked on him.

The look I was expecting was comfort, but somehow I ended up with possession.

“You sure?” he questioned as his thumb traced my bottom lip. Before I could take another breath, his mouth was on mine.

This wasn’t a reassuring quick peck. It was deep and slow like he was trying to get me out of my head and back into my body. He backed me into the wall, pinning me between the heat of his body and the cold tile.

“Jax…” I warned. But my voice was soft, already betraying me.

“What, baby?” He asked between kisses.

“We’re in a?—”

“Bathroom?” He smirked as his hands already started sliding up the dress that I was wearing.

He leaned down and grabbed the back of my thigh, hooking it around his waist as he pressed his dick into my center and grinded into me.

All the noise of the restaurant was drowned out by my breathing. Then he kissed me harder, swallowing every moan I made.

Slipping his hands between us, he cupped the lace of the panties that I had worn with him in mind. He looped his finger in the crotch of them and pulled them to the side.

“You wet as fuck, KD,” He groaned against my neck. Fingers sliding along my entrance, making slow, deliberate circles on my clit that made my hips jerk.

Then he slipped two fingers inside of me. I gripped his shirt, needing something to hold on to. My head fell back against the wall, and his mouth followed, licking along my jaw, neck, and my exposed shoulder. I panted as he worked his hands in and out of me. Making my walls clench around them.

“You so fucking tight, this mine?” He asked, only pulling away long enough to undo his belt buckle.

“Yes,” I rasped, clinging to him.

“You close, Ma?” He questioned.

I shook my head no, lying as my body rocked against his hand.

He chuckled. “You not cumming anywhere but on this dick,” he said as he replaced his fingers with his dick and pushed into me.

He brought his fingers to my mouth, gliding them in and out at the same speed that his hips moved.

“Taste how ready you are for me,” he coached.

He moved deep and steady, like we had all night. But we didn’t.

Then he went harder, each snap of his hips causing me to lose my breath. My eyes rolled in the back of my head.

“Look at me when I’m fucking you, KD,” He demanded. I forced my eyes open, meeting his gaze.

The pressure built fast, and he could feel it. His pace quickened again as he continued to fuck me against the wall.

“I love you so much,” I whimpered.

“I love you too,” He bit my neck.

Scratching at his back through the material of his shirt, my whole body clenched around him as I moaned his name and bit his bottom lip to avoid screaming. My release, triggering him.

His forehead was pressed against mine as we both heaved, fighting for air.

“Now you good?” He questioned as he released my leg and pulled up his pants.

He knew damn well I was. I smirked as I pulled my dress down and walked over to the stall to use the restroom and fix my hair.

We walked out of the bathroom, holding hands, and went back over to the table, taking our seats.

"I just sent your nanny some extra bread, since y’all gotta get out more," Judah joked. "But having booty calls in the bathroom at this nice establishment? That’s some wild shit." I flushed with embarrassment at the table, caught between laughing and wanting to disappear.

“Watch your mouth, bro,” Jax warned Judah with a chuckle.

I rested my hand on Jaxon’s knee and laid my hand on his shoulder. We were in our sixth year together, in the third year of marriage, and every day still felt like the first day that I laid eyes on him at the wedding. If I could do anything over, I wouldn’t change a thing.