Axes & O’s

16. Morgan

Chapter 16

Morgan

I snatch my towel off the bench and wipe down my face and mouth before turning to glare at my idiot husband.

“I told you to let me lead.”

“You did.”

I take a few steps to where he’s sitting. The desire to grab the cock I know is hard under his towel and give it a swift tug and twist is very strong right now. “I was, until you inserted yourself.”

“He needed the push; he was too afraid to let himself go.”

“He would’ve—”

“You know better than me that’s not true, Morgan. I could see it in his body language—he was afraid to let himself do what he wanted. He needed the instruction to get him there, and it did. Now, he needs a minute to work it out in his head, that’s all.”

Fox stares at me, a stare that scares most grown men, but it doesn’t scare me. It never has and never will. I wipe some sweat dripping from my forehead off then step between his legs and cross my arms over my chest.

“I’m worried we went too far too quickly,” I admit.

Fox remains still as I take in glimpses of bare skin—the skin showing between the intricate tattoos covering his body—that is flushed red from the heat and the effort of holding himself back. He’s an interesting mirror to Nathan. I exhale a small sigh then bend so I can take Fox’s damp cheeks in my hands.

“Why do you want this so badly, baby?”

His gaze intensifies, and his brow furrows. “I thought you wanted to see where things went.”

“I do.” I stroke his cheek with my thumb. “But you’re trying to force it.”

“I’d argue that I’m not—I’m going at the pace he needs.”

“Sometimes, you have to let people set their own pace.”

His jaw clenches beneath my touch. I know he’s thinking about Gabe and everything that happened with him, and for a second, I feel bad that I said it. But sometimes, my husband needs a reminder that not everyone likes to be pushed.

Fox swallows then brings his hands up so they’re placed over mine. “Are you trying to tell me something, Morgan?”

I pull my hands from under his and stand up straight. I love my husband, and we have a great relationship, but we’re just like any other couple. We argue and have disagreements, and when a couple has been together for as long as we have, it’s easy to push their partner’s buttons because they often know them better than they know themselves.

“I’m just trying to understand why you felt you had to push him and why you feel so strongly about him. It’s clear Nathan has never done anything like this before. How do you know he could be the right one for us, that he’s not another Gabe? Is it just based on the pull we both feel toward him, or…?”

In a swift movement, Fox tugs me by the waist and plants me on his lap. My towel falls as he crushes his lips to mine, my mouth opening to his naturally as he licks inside. His tongue strokes and massages mine, searching, tasting, teasing. It takes me a second to understand what he’s doing. Not only is he using his body to convey once again how much he loves and needs me, but he’s tasting Nathan on my tongue.

Logically, it shouldn’t prove anything. In the end, it doesn’t really. But the flavor of another man on my lips while Fox adds his own makes me feel like I understand his desire to see where things go even more now .

My low belly warms like it did when Nathan and I met, and my body thrums with a newfound energy. I wrap my arms around Fox’s slick neck and hungrily return his kiss, meeting him stroke for stroke but allowing him to consume me. When he pulls back a short minute later, his breath is choppy, and he’s rock hard beneath me.

“Trust me, Morgan.” His letter-inked hands rest over my heart. Mine . “Trust your gut.”

I swallow the emotions constricting my throat. “You know that’s hard for me after everything.”

Fox delicately kisses the corner of my mouth. “I know, but given what you just experienced with him, you can’t tell me that I’m wrong. That display only proved what I’ve been thinking…what my gut has been feeling.”

I huff out a long breath, knowing that he’s right. “I just don’t want to get hurt again.”

My husband squeezes me to him. “I’ll always do my best to protect you, Morgan. Especially your heart.”

I play with a strand of his damp hair. “I know, baby.”

Fox’s pointer finger tilts my chin up so he can look me in the eye. “Trust me,” he reiterates. “Let me do for him what you did for me.”

My eyes widen, and my body stills as I’m thrown back to a time when we were so much younger than we are now. We were just kids trying to figure out life and young love, especially how to exist in a world that told us we were different and weird at every turn. Back then, I helped Fox pull back his layers, figure out how to channel his anger and feelings into hobbies and a lifestyle that suited him—suited us —and how to accept himself. Just as he did for me.

I press my forehead to his and inhale a deep breath, the scent of sweat, sex, and cedar heavy in the air. Since we found Nathan, I’ve been trying to figure out what drew me to him…why there was something so familiar about him. Now, I truly understand. He’s so much more like us than I originally thought.

“Okay.” I exhale, laying a kiss on his lips. “Just let me lead this time. Let me talk to him.”

Fox nods. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I repeat. “I love you.”

Fox’s body melts, and he presses his cheek into mine, soaking me in like he so often does as if he needs me to keep him grounded, just like I need him. “I love you, too, little lamb.”