On the stage, Jax made a face at the taste of the liquor, then made a show of shaking himself and cracked his knuckles. “And now if the soon-to-be newlyweds would like to indulge us… a song for you.”
He tipped his head at Rosa, who strummed a light, simple rhythm on the electric guitar. Jax and Kayla joined in a moment later, and Jax and Naomi took turns inviting the audience to “Kiss Me.”
Ari desperately wanted to take Jax up on it.
The newly engaged couple swayed together on the floor, faces pressed close together, holding hands by their chins as though they couldn’t bear to part. It was an emotional scene, but Ari could hardly tear his eyes away from Jax, who seemed to have gone soft around the edges. It looked as though he was glowing in the spotlight.
Maybe it was just the mastic.
As the evening wore on, Jax returned to the bar and Ari every chance he got, and Ari became certain of one thing. He wanted everything with Jax that he’d been denying himself, and he wanted it now.
JAX BOUNCEDoff the stage at eleven and practically fell into Ari’s lap. “My shift is over,” he murmured into Ari’s ear.
Ari squeezed his arm and said, “Collect your things and come back to mine?”
“Yes,” Jax breathed. “I have my bike. Meet you at yours?” He shimmied out of Ari’s embrace—was Ari handsier tonight?—and hurried to the back room, grateful that he’d thought to throw extra underwear and pills into his bag, just in case.
Ari was waiting by his car when Jax pulled up and parked his bike behind the bumper, out of the way. He held out his hand, and Jax took it and followed Ari upstairs.
Inside, Jax put down his bag, turned to Ari, and caught him in an exploratory kiss, so unlike any kiss from Ari before. Jax twined his arms around Ari’s neck and opened his mouth, eager to see where Ari would lead him.
It turned out Ari wanted to lead him in a very slow shuffle across the apartment, to touch Jax everywhere, over his clothes, and then carefully remove each item.
By the time they were both naked, Jax was panting and desperate. He looped his legs around Ari’s waist and pulled him down into a kiss. “Oh my God, please say you’re gonna fuck me again.”
Ari didn’t answer aloud, but his actions proved more than reply enough.
“Oh my God,” Jax moaned several minutes later, his head lolling on the pillow, when Ari finally pushed inside.
Hovering between his legs, Ari tangled their fingers together and leaned in for a long, slow kiss. Jax pushed into it and tried to buck his hips up into Ari’s cock, but Ari used his weight to pin him.
Gasping, Jax pulled out of the kiss and ran his lips along Ari’s cheek. “Please.”
Ari would not be swayed. He kept his movements slow and steady.
“Oh my God,” Jax gasped again on another excruciating thrust.
Ari pressed their foreheads together, their eyes locked, and fucked him until Jax couldn’t remember any words, until he was shaking and coming so hard he thought he might never recover.
After, they lay together in a tangled heap as they touched and kissed, neither of them ready to break contact. Ari rolled them to their sides and kissed Jax long and slow again. He pulled back and pressed their foreheads together.
“I,” Jax said, “have no idea what got into you tonight, but feel free to get intomelike that again anytime.”
Ari snorted. “Noted.” His eyes were fond, though, and he cupped Jax’s face and swept a thumb along the cheekbone. “And nothing in particular got into me this evening. But I’ve been wanting to do that.”
A slow grin stretched Jax’s face. “Yeah? Well. Anytime.” He wiggled closer, wanting more contact, and with a little nudge, he got Ari onto his back and rested his head on his shoulder. “Seriously. That was awesome.”
“Good to know,” Ari whispered as he tangled his hands in Jax’s hair.
They couldn’t stay there forever, though. Cleanup was needed. Jax pulled Ari into the shower, and they soaped each other under the steam.
“Can I ask,” Ari said as he washed Jax’s back, “what this means?” He trailed his fingers over the tattoo on Jax’s ass.
“Oh, it’s the Greek letter phi. In math it’s a stand-in for a universal constant.” He shot a look over his shoulder. “Like pi.”
“And what constant does phi represent?”
Jax turned so they were face-to-face. He soaped up Ari’s chest, playing some with the hair, and turned into lecture mode. “Well, numerically speaking, it’s one point six one eight et cetera. You might’ve heard it called the golden ratio?”
