Jonquils for Jax (Blueberry Lane 3 - The Rousseaus #1) - Katy Regnery Page 0,52

smiling at him with wide eyes. “I’m not really into that stuff.”

She watched Brad’s forehead crease in confusion. “Stuff?”

“I don’t judge,” said Jax holding up her palms. “If you need to wear adult diapers to, you know, get excited? Good for you.”

A communal gasp was followed by a muffled snicker as Phil and Johnny exchanged shocked looks and started laughing.

“Wh-what? What’re you—”

“And I’m just not into grown men calling me ‘mommy.’” Jax cringed dramatically, then brightened. “She said she didn’t mind spanking you…though she thought the way you’d say “Wah, wah, wah” and pretend to cry was a little…” She shrugged. “I guess it’s fun for some people, but I’m not a fan.”

Brad’s face had gone from pink to red to purple. “What the fuck are you—”

“When she said you liked crawling around on the floor and sucking your own thumb, I guess I just—”

With a chorus of snickers and hoots behind him, Brad lunged at her. “Shut up, you lying fucking cunt!”

She didn’t know how everything happened so fast, but suddenly Brad was lying on the floor, knocked out cold, and Gard was rubbing his knuckles.

Phil, Johnny, and Saul stared down at Brad’s body in various states of amusement and disbelief before looking up at Gard with wide eyes. Only Frankie D. had the presence of mind to say, “I guess the widdle baby needs a nap. Why don’t you kids get out of here?”

Jax grinned at the older man, who winked at her with something that felt very much like admiration. She waved good-bye to Gard’s friends as he took her other hand and pulled her to the exit.

***

As soon as their feet hit the sidewalk, Gard dropped her hand, bracing his palms on his knees as he let out a bellow of laughter that he’d been holding in ever since he’d realized what she was up to. Glory Lord, if he thought she was amazing before, she was downright miraculous now. When he stopped wheezing with laughter and could finally breathe again, he straightened, looking up at her.

“Duchess…you are…”

“Yes?” She was smiling at him, her shoulders shaking with laugher, her emeralds sparkling with mirth as she met his eyes.

“Magnificent.”

She giggled with glee. “More like evil.”

“No, no, no. He deserved it. But damn, woman,” he said, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her up against his body. “How in the hell did you…?”

“What? Come up with that?” She flattened her hands on his chest and shrugged. “I read about it in Cosmo.”

He shook his head, utterly delighted with her. “His face! Mon dieu, it was priceless.”

She sobered a little, her eyes and voice going soft. “He did deserve it. What he did to you was bad enough, but he was acting like such a jerk, provoking you by coming on to me!”

“He was always a bad drunk,” said Gard darkly.

“I didn’t want you to hit him and get in trouble.”

“So much for good intentions. But I think Frankie’ll cover for me. Brad was drunk enough; they’ll just say he passed out.”

“You’ve got a mean, fast punch, Gardener Thibodeaux.”

He nodded. “Saw red when he got dirty with you. Sorry you had to hear that, cher.”

“I have two brothers, remember?” She wrinkled her nose and shrugged it off. “Anyway, it was worth it.”

He chuckled again. “He’ll never live it down, you know. Never.” He looked into her eyes, feeling wonder and tenderness, gratitude and excitement, well up inside of him like a wave. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers, pouring everything he felt into the feather touch before drawing back. “I like you, Jacqueline Rousseau. So much.”

“I like you too.”

Looking into her beautiful face, “like” felt so paltry, so stupid and small, for everything he was feeling for her. He wanted her to understand. He shook his head, leaning so close to her ear that he could feel the heat of her skin on his lips as he whispered, “I’m goin’ to fall for you, Duchess. Hard. Don’t know if it’s just for now or forever, but if it’s not okay with you, tell me now.”

She shuddered in his arms, her breathing shaky as she murmured, “It’s okay with me.”

He sucked the lobe of her ear between his lips, teasing the soft pillow of skin before trailing his lips down the side of her neck and grinning as she tilted her head away from him to give him better access. Her skin smelled sweet and felt hot beneath his lips as he rested them for a moment