Page 145 of Undisputed Player
She shattered beneath me, her body arching, her inner muscles clamping down on me so tight I gritted my teeth. I followed her over the edge, my release tearing through me like a storm, leaving me shaking and full of love for this deviant little princess.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Estelle
The scent of fresh ocean air drifted through the open windows of Jax’s beach house, mingling with the subtle sweetness of breakfast from the kitchen. This was the first real morning of us living here. Not just visiting, not crashing after chaos and adrenaline, but truly, finally settling in.
Leo’s laughter carried from the other room as he darted between his brand-new dinosaur bed and the sprawling bookshelves, already half-filled with prehistoric figurines and adventure stories.
Jax had given him free rein over his entire suite, and every touch screamed “Leo”—the blue comforter patterned with velociraptors, the constellation nightlight throwing soft stars across the ceiling, the shelves waiting for every last dinosaur Leo owned.
I made my way to the French doors before either of the guys could wake me, wanting to steal a moment to take in this strange, beautiful place we now called home.
I pushed them open onto a balcony that faced the sea. The air was crisp and fresh, tinged with the faint scent of salt and summer. A wildtangle of flowers spilled from the terrace railings—lilac, honeysuckle, all glowing gold in the early light.
Beyond the blooms, the ocean stretched away into forever, turquoise-blue and endless beneath a sky so clear it felt impossible that I could ever have been afraid.
I hugged my arms around myself, letting the wind cut through whatever old anxieties still lingered in my bones. This was my life now. This house—Jax’s, Leo’s, mine.
Leo will grow up seeing this view, hearing this surf outside his window. I will wake and fall asleep to this calm, this expanse.
The feeling was magical. Gratitude, relief, and a wild disbelief. I fought for so long to have even a sliver of security; now, I was surrounded by it.
Protected. Wanted. The taste of it was the sweetest truth imaginable.
With one last long look at the sky, sea, and the garden below, I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. Then, smiling, I turned and crept quietly downstairs, ready to step into this new world that belonged to me.
At the bottom, Jax was already waiting for me, like he’d known I’d try to hide away for a moment of solitude.
He moved through the house barefoot and warm, impossibly handsome, wearing light gray sweatpants and a tank top that looked like it was made for clinging to broad shoulders and golden skin.
Sunglasses were perched absently in his hair, as if ready to be pushed down the bridge of his nose at any moment.
He handed me a plastic cup with my name and ‘iced double mocha with cold foam’ written on it. The scent was like something out of the Parisian bakeries in my dreams.
“No more instant coffee, princess," Jax murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to my temple. "Security found the best spot. Not a single scoop of freeze-dried chemicals in sight."
I smiled, rolling my eyes at his inevitable war on instant coffee, letting his warmth linger. "Thank you.”
He grinned and nudged his hip against mine, his blue eyes soft and bright. “Every morning you get the real stuff. No more suffering.”
I took a sip, fond helplessness flooding me, and took in the breakfast spread: pancakes, fruit, eggs, and the quiet, pushy insistence that I could have anything I wanted now.
At the kitchen island, Leo was already bent over homework, pencil tapping the shapes on the paper with fierce concentration. His papers were surrounded by little dinosaur soldiers, each positioned in formation as if standing guard.
Jax had installed a baby monitor in his room, which I brought down with me—the practical, analog kind, because my new phone felt alien.
One button, no complicated interface. I could clip it to my pocket and hear Leo breathing long after he fell asleep, and for the first time in years, I didn’t worry about anything slipping through the cracks.
“How did you sleep?” I asked Leo, sliding into the lush chair next to him.
He beamed, not looking up from his paper. “Awesome. I’m gonna put all my raptors on the top shelf on my desk. And Mr. T-Rex gets the window seat so he can see the ocean.”
Jax ruffled his hair as he passed, an unguarded tenderness on his face. “You can do whatever you want in there, champ. All your stuff, exactly how you like.”
He turned to me, his gaze catching and holding. “Same goes for you, princess. Every room in this house is yours. Paint it, fill it, make it whatever you want. I mean it. If you want a library, a music studio, a fort—say the word.”
A flush crept up my cheeks. “That’s…a lot.”
