"Please," she gasped, her hands fisting in my hair. "I need to?—”
"I know what you need," I murmured, moving back to her pussy and focusing on her clit. “You need to come on my tongue like a good girl."
I worked her with deep strokes, my tongue and lips driving her toward the edge. She was close—I could feel it in the way her thighs trembled, the way herbreathing hitched.
When she finally came, it was with a scream that was music to my ears. Her pussy clenched and pulsed against my tongue, flooding my mouth with her release. I lapped up every drop, drunk on the taste of her orgasm, my own arousal painful in its intensity.
But I wasn't done. I could never be done with this, with her. I continued to lap at her gently, cleaning up every trace of her pleasure while she trembled beneath me.
This was how I wanted to wake up every morning for the rest of my life—with my face buried between her thighs, drunk on her taste, listening to her scream my name as I worshipped her body like the goddess she was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Estelle
The drive home was peaceful. Jax had insisted I wear new clothes he’d picked out—soft, expensive fabric that draped over my body in a way that made me feel pretty.
A cream cashmere sweater and high-waisted black trousers that actually fit my hips. Even the sneakers were designer, cream and spotless, nothing like the battered pair I’d worn for years.
I caught my reflection in the window as we drove, and I didn’t recognize myself. I looked… happy. Lighter. Like the weight I’d carried for so long had finally shifted, at least just a little.
Leo was in the back seat, swinging his legs in his brand-new mini designer jeans and dinosaur print shirt, his light-up sneakers so white they practically glowed.
He looked like a kid from another world, not the one I’d spent years clawing to protect.
“Mr. Lion,” Leo piped up, his voice soft but wonderous. "Avery said you have a movie theater in your house. Is that real?"
Jax's eyes found Leo in the rearview mirror, his expression softening. "It is. Next time, you can pick the movie and we can all watch it together.”
“Avery found one. She said it might be scary, but I'm not scared of dinosaurs."
"We'll see what your aunt says," Jax replied, a smile tugging at his lips. "What else did you and Avery do at the sleepover?"
"We built the biggest fort ever, and Elsie made pancakes shaped like dinosaurs. Avery showed me her dad's old comic books..." Leo chattered on, completely at ease, and warmth unfurled in my chest, watching Jax listen with genuine interest.
This was what family felt like. What Leo deserved.
But as we turned onto my block, the world snapped back into dreary focus.
A black SUV was there, idling at the curb across from my building, its windows tinted so dark I couldn’t see inside. My heart stuttered, then dropped, ice flooding my veins.
I knew that car. I knew what it meant.
Years of instinct kicked in—protect Leo, handle it alone, be the shield between him and the world. I straightened in my seat, pulse hammering. "Can you park right in front?" My voice came out tight, controlled.
Jax's head turned toward me, instantly alert. His eyes swept the street, cataloging threats with a predatory edge. "What's going on?
“Nothing,” I lied, already planning. Leave Leo in the car, get the men away before they could see him, before they could hurt him.
I was used to this, used to being the shield who stood between Leo and the world. I scanned the sidewalk and spotted two men in black jackets leaning against my door.
Damon’s men.
My skin crawled. I needed to get them away before Jax saw, before Leo got scared, before any of this poison could bleed into my new, fragile happiness.
Jax pulled up to the curb, engine running. “Estelle—” he started,voice gentle but iron underneath. I saw his hand move to the center console, pressing something.
But I was already moving, muscle memory overriding everything else. I bolted from the car before he could stop me, putting myself between the men and my family.