Jessa clutches my forearms around her. “It’s not too late, Eli. It’s not too late to have all those things you dreamed about.”
Maybe she’s right. Maybe it’s not too late.
I used to think it was all over for me, that my best days were far behind me but when Jessa beams at me like that, the future seems bright, and I can’t help naively thinking that I might have some pretty good days up ahead.
But the thing is, all my dreams for the future now include her.
I don’t know how to communicate that to her. I don’t even know if I should. Would it scare her away?
God—she means so much to me. She has no damn idea.
I lift her hair off the back of her neck and kiss her there. I stroke a palm down her side and she moans into the air. My hand slides between her legs and I find her already wet for me. The sheets fall to the floor when I slide two fingers into her, exploring, patiently feeling around for the tiny bundle of nerves that sets her off every time.
When I get her going, I drop to my knees, jerk her ass against my face and finish the job with my tongue. She presses her palms to the door and fogs up the glass saying my name. The orgasm knocks her knees from beneath her and I rise quickly, catching her against my chest.
She’s still shaking from her climax when she kneels before me, cradling my cock like it’s the love of her life. She strokes it, sucks it, licks it. I lean on the glass and clench my fingers in her hair. My entire body buzzes, from my scalp to my toenails and everything in between.
I come so hard it feels like my spirit is trying to escape my body through my boner. The aftershocks rock me and I don’t trust my knees to keep me upright. So I pull Jessa to her feet and carry her over to the bed with me where we lie in each other’s arms for the rest of the morning.
I don't understand it. Not too long ago, I was tense, pissed, explosive. And now, with Jessa in my arms, I feel...calm and relaxed and safe. I don't know what to make of that.
Propped up above her, I stare down into her face. “I used to feel like it was me against the world,” I whisper. “Sometimes it felt like the dragons were closing in on me…But I don’t feel that way anymore.”
She scoffs with a grin. “Let ‘em come. It’s you and me now. We’ll slay those dragons together.”
47 Jessa
If he drops my child into the mashed potatoes, will you back me up when I smack him?” Alexia levels her husband with a no-bullshit look.
Cannon chuckles and kisses his wife’s cheek. “Always, Stormy. I’ve always got your back.”
Unaffected by the plot against him, Jude whizzes Baby Di’s chubby little body over the dinner table. “Drooling, fussy, adorable airplane, incoming!” he screeches. “Drooling, fussy, adorable airplane, incoming!” The child’s squeaky giggles pour down on the meal as her uncle abruptly swerves her in the opposite direction.
The Kingston family dinner is always chaotic. But tonight is extra wild. It’s Lucas and Diana with Callie snugly cushioned between them. The four Kingston brothers are spread out around the table with their plus-ones. The twins and Di are squawking and babbling the entire time. It’s madness. But the love is so thick in the air, you can actually taste it.
Diana calls in the receptionist from the front desk to come take a picture of us. Everyone huddles close and makes silly faces for the camera.
I feel Eli’s hand drop to my thigh beneath the table. He gives me a little squeeze and we share a smile.
I still can’t believe it—Eli is here. And it makes me so excited, I can barely stay still in my seat. Seeing him a part of this—after he tried for so long to isolate himself from his family—it makes my heart do happy flips in my chest.
Eventually Jude hands Di back to Lexi and turns his attention to where Iris is refilling a cup of his favorite tea for him. The baby sits on her mother’s knee, happily gnawing on her teething giraffe. Iris and Diana are gushing over new pictures of the twins on Penny’s phone. Cannon disappears to grab something from his car.
Right then, my sister’s phone rings and she glances down at the screen. “Oh, I’ve been waiting on this call all day,” she announces. “It’s a consignment shop from London and they claim to have gotten their hands on some of the flower girl dresses from Princess Eugenie’s wedding. I need those dresses in my boutique!!” She’s practically drooling. She turns to Eli and pins him with pleading eyes. “Do you mind?”
Before he can answer, she plops Baby Di into his lap and bolts up from the table.
Eli looks adorably lost with his niece in his lap. “Um…hi?” he says hesitantly, peering into the kid’s sweet face.
Di squints at him, scrunches up her nose and bops him in the face with her squishy toy giraffe. Her tiny body shakes as a shower of laughter comes pouring out of her.
Eli wipes slobber from his forehead. “Wow! Of course Cannon’s spawn would do that.” He chortles.
He and the child sit there, making faces at each other and Callie laughs from across the table. I don’t know how to stop grinning.
When the meal is over and it’s time to clear the dishes, Walker volunteers to handle it. I hop up alongside him. Iris offers
