7

Chapter 80 Fairy Lights

"

Jax woke up and looked over at a still sleeping Ava her russet hair spread all across her face. He loved morning sex. No better way to start the day. He thought about moving closer to her and cuddling her a little to wake her up. Maybe it was a little too soon to expect morning sex.

Ava had a rule that she never stayed overnight at a guy's place or allowed him to stay with her. It prevented morning after sex awkwardness. She'd gotten somewhat used to sharing a bed with Jax, but that was before last night and sex.

She didn't want to face Jax. It was going to be intensely awkward and she couldn't leave. She was stuck having to face him. If only she'd thought last night through and stopped him, she wouldn't be in this position.

Sex with Jax had scared her to death. She thought it would be some disgusting rough, animal in the barn yard type sex. Instead, he'd been romantic. She had never dreamed that he was capable of that.

It hadn't hurt that she had consumed the perfect amount of alcohol. She was buzzed and relaxed but she knew what she was doing. Too bad she didn't have some alcohol to help her get through facing him this morning.

Her eyes remained shut and she faked being asleep as she tried to come up with a plan. What if he wanted to talk about what happened between them? She felt fear wash over her and then she remembered men in real life don't talk about their feelings. This was an important difference between real life, Hallmark movies and rom coms.

What if he smirked at her and made some nasty comment? She'd just slap the damned smirk off his face. Bastard. She could already feel herself getting mad at him just at the thought.

She could hear him get up and go into the bathroom. She couldn't put off facing him much longer because they were checking out of their room and heading out to explore Louisiana.

It suddenly hit her that Jax had a lot of experience with girls and the morning after. She would take her cue from him. Relief washed over her.

When she finally got up, Jax was already dressed and was finishing up his packing. He acted like nothing had happened between them. Perfect. She could do that too. Awkwardness avoided. Relief swept over her.

They rented a a Buick convertible. Jax powered the roof down and they set off. It wasn't as much fun as the bike, but riding in a car had some advantages because they didn't have to wear helmets. Ava had pulled her hair back in a pony tail. Since Jax's haircut, his hair was too short for a ponytail. Ava smiled a little to herself at the thought.

They spent another fun day together experiencing Louisiana stopping where ever they wanted. Ava wasn't a very adventurous eater, but Jax coaxed her into trying some of his alligator bites—deep fried pieces of alligator served with remoulade and cocktail dipping sauces. They both decided they were better than chicken nuggets. She'd even tried a couple bites of his alligator steak that been marinated in Cajun spices—paprika, Cayenne pepper, garlic powder, pepper and oregano. The meat was surprisingly tender and juicy without a fishy or gamey flavor.

The concierge recommended spending the night in a tree house. It wasn't a backyard tree house. He said it was a fairytale tree house. Ava remained skeptical. She imagined a tree house without windows, electricity or a bathroom which meant they would get eaten alive by mosquitoes. She also wanted no part in climbing a ladder because she didn't like heights.

She was assured that the tree house had all the amenities of a hotel room including electricity and a bathroom. Ava figured that if the tree house was just a back yard tree house, they would just have to go somewhere else. Staying overnight somewhere without a bathroom, electricity and windows was too much like camping and Ava didn't camp.

Their tree house was part of a small hotel that operated seven tree houses and a small boutique hotel with ten rooms. There was also an attached restaurant and bar where they could eat dinner and then walk back to their tree house.

They arrived at dusk and all of Ava's misgivings vanished when she caught sight of their tree house. All the paths were lit and in the distance, their tree house all lit up with tiny lights made it look like something out of a fairy tale just as the concierge promised..

"You think this is going to be OK?" Jax asked with a grin.

"It's magical," Ava said as she looked up at the tree house.

He carried their two bags up a long winding staircase, Ava trailing him. She didn't like heights, but she didn't mind the climb because the stairs weren't steep, so she didn't notice the height. The staircase was also narrow with sturdy hand rails on both sides, so Ava felt safe.

Once they reached the tree house, there was a large deck with a couple of patio chairs, small tables and a double chaise lounge with a cream colored cushion on it. The tiny fairy lights lit up the tree house giving it an otherworldly appearance. Below them, in the distance, they could see the six other tree houses lit up.

Inside as befits a tree house it was all wood walls with large tall windows on every wall to maximize the view. There was a pale taupe sofa with a rainbow assortment of pillows and a couple of arm chairs also in taupe, a small bathroom with a bathtub and a table containing a microwave, a coffee maker with an assortment of coffee and a compact refrigerator. A large inviting bed with a fluffy pale taupe comforter and a dozen pillows again in a colorful assortment spilled across the bed. A spiral staircase led up to a circular loft with a futon.

Jax and Ava climbed up to the loft and looked out from their perch high in the tree.

"Pretty amazing," Jax said. "My back yard tree house definitely didn't look like this."

"It probably just needed lights," Ava said.

Jax laughed, pulled Ava into his arms and kissed her. He moved so fast, he caught her off guard. She wasn't sure if she'd seen the kiss coming if she would have dodged it. Now that he'd learned not to kiss like a dog, she was forced to admit, she really liked kissing him even if the kiss wasn't like the chaste pecks exchanged in Hallmark movies. Real life Jax kisses were much better.

"Let's go get dinner," Jax said when he released her. "I read online that they have alligator ribs at the restaurant."

"I suppose you just have to try them."

"If you're a good girl, I'll let you have a bite or two of mine."

For being such a tough vicious animal when prepared properly, alligator was tender and flavorful. Jax ate his smoked falling off the bone tender alligator ribs and, since Ava was being a good girl, he gave her a couple of bites. She was surprised that alligator could be prepared in so many different ways and that it actually was pretty delicious.

After, they went to the bar where there was a zydeco band. Ava loved the distinctive music as much as Jax did. They listened for a couple of songs before dancing. Jax still stumbled his way through some of the dances, but Ava helped him.

When they had enough dancing, they walked hand in hand back along the twisting paths. It had been another wonderful day. Ava knew Jax expected to have sex with her that night because once you sleep with a guy, he always expects sex every time you see him. She had news for Jax; she wasn't having sex with him. Sex between them had been a one time thing.

She wasn't sure why it should be a one time thing other than the fact she didn't want Jax to think she was going to always have sex with him now. He needed to be romantic like last night, but it didn't matter; she wasn't having sex with him.

In their room was a complimentary bottle of Muscadine wine and two wine glasses.

"Let's take this outside," Jax said. He opened the bottle of wine while Ava carried the glasses outside.

"This Muscadine wine is really good," Ava said. She loved the intense fruit flavors and the subtle floral notes.

The card explained that the Muscadine grape is native to the United States and is grown in the southeast and south central part of the country where it thrives in hot humid conditions. The grapes make white, red and rose varieties of wine. It also had a handy order form for guests that found the wine addicting and wanted to order a supply sent to them.

After they finished the bottle of wine, Jax pulled Ava close to him and kissed her. Before she knew it, she was underneath him on the chaise lounge. His mouth on hers had such a strange effect. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before because she had no desire to push him away. He slowly rolled her on top of him so subtly she had no idea what he was doing until he began to unzip her sundress.

Now this was the moment her self control would kick in and she would get up and leave him. She never had trouble rejecting a guy sexually, but she'd never had memorable sex either. It was always easy to say no because she knew the sex would be unfulfilling.

"Jax," Ava whispered uneasily. They were outside. That was a good reason to say no to sex, not that she owed him a reason. "We're outside."

"No one can see us."

He did have a point and his hands felt so good on her body. He slipped her dress from her shoulders and pulled it from her. He quickly stripped off his jeans, T-shirt and boxer briefs. He made equally quick work of her bra and panties.

Ava forgot her vow to not have sex with Jax. They were in a tree house with fairy lights. How could anyone resist under those circumstances? He seemed to know just how to touch her, where to put his lips to make her skin burn and God help her but she actually wanted to have sex with him.

Her will power completely deserted her just when she needed it most.

"

Author's Note: I deliberately chose the word expect—Jax thinks it might be too soon to "expect" morning sex. He's got a lot to learn.