Six

She's got a wicked smile, angel eyes

 

Jon stepped softly through the dimly lit hallway, the familiar creaks of the floor beneath his feet a reminder of the life he’d built here. Tonight’s show had been long and grueling, leaving him with aching muscles and a yearning for his wife and kids. 

 

Pausing outside Romeo’s room he peeked in and smiled at the sight of him hanging half off his bed with the dog beside him. Continuing down the hall to Stephanie and Jesse’s rooms, he noticed there was no light seeping under the doors and chose not to check on them. Passing Jake’s room, he went on to the nursery. With Meatball sleeping with Romeo, he knew that’s where he’d find Jake, and he was right. Jon slowly opened the door and found him asleep in the oversized chair while Lily slumbered in her crib. 

 

The door clicked softly behind him as he slipped quietly into their master bedroom. A soft glow from the bedside lamp cast shadows that danced across the walls. Ari laid cocooned in the sheets, her dark curls spilling from the messy bun that sat atop of her head. She was beautiful, even in the midst of all the discomfort this pregnancy brought her.

 

Stepping out of his jeans, he tugged his shirt over his head and slipped under the covers. Her body unconsciously moved closer to his as soon as he settled in.

 

“Hey, sleeping beauty,” he murmured, his finger brushing her bare shoulder.

 

Turning his way, she let out a gentle moan and greeted him with a sleepy smile as she opened her eyes. “When did you get home?” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

 

“Just got in.” he propped himself up on one elbow. “You should have seen the crowd. I think they missed me.”

 

“Yeah, well, I missed you more.” She stretched her body, arching before letting out a small yawn.

 

“How much more?” His fingers fumbled to adjust his wife beater she was wearing.

 

The moment his skin touched hers something electric coursed through the space. A playful grin spread across her face as she leaned in, her breath tickling his lips. “I want you.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

She nodded, biting her lip while a glint of mischief danced in her gaze. “As sure as I was in nineteen-ninety.”

 

A deep, approving growl echoed in his chest the moment their lips met in a fervent kiss. Soft with a gentle touch at first but quickly blooming into a burning need. He could feel her fingers threading through his hair, pulling him closer as if the very act of kissing her would erase the distance of the last two nights apart.

 

“Fuck, I need you!” he moaned against her lips as his hands moved from her waist to thighs.

 

The soft, breathy laugh of his wife sent shivers down Jon’s spine.  The shivers worked their way back up again when she whispered, “What’s stopping you?”

 

“Not a damn thing.”  A wicked grin creased his cheeks, and it only grew wider at Ari’s squeak when he rolled her beneath him. “Every… part of you… I want to savor.  Slowly.” he declared while trailing kisses down her neck.  “So fucking slowly.”

 

“Jon…” she gasped, arching into him.

 

The air thrummed with heat as his lips captured hers again. Every flick of their tongues sparked a wildfire of desire. He could feel her hands move along his back, nails no doubt leaving their mark as she pressed him forward.

 

“Don’t stop!” she groaned.

 

In one fluid motion, he grasped the hem of her tank to yank it over her head. The sight of her nakedness beneath him ignited a low growl. He pulled back slightly, taking in the sight of the life they created and her faded tattoo. 

 

“You and me," he breathed, voice thick with lust. 

 

“Always.”

 

His lips found hers once more, passionately silencing her whimpers as his hands eagerly roamed. Teasing fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her boy-shorts to playfully caress her skin. One swift movement and her shorts were no more, leaving him free to lean down and kiss a trail down her body.  Slowly – so slowly – savoring the flavor of skin.

 

“Jon…” 

 

“Patience, Crash,” he whispered, using lazy lips to tease her inner thigh.

 

“Please,” she begged, the sound as raw and desperate as his own need. 

 

Unable to resist either her pleas or that driving need, he pressed his mouth against her sizzling center, tasting her with a hunger that had been building for far too long. Her body arched, pressing the heat against his tongue and causing her to gasp.  Desperate fingers tangled in his hair, twisting and tugging to the point of pain, which he might notice if he wasn’t completely lost in his favorite slice of heaven on earth. 

 

“More!” she breathed, pushing him further.

 

He lost track of time as he savored every gasp and moan. The room grew thick as black velvet with sounds of their shared ecstasy, and they reveled in both it and the distinctive harmony of pleasure that was equally familiar and exotic.

 

“Jon, I’m…”

 

“Let go, Crash.”

 

Waves of pleasure broke and shattered her beneath him with a strangled cry. As her high subsided, she pushed up on her elbows.

 

“I ain’t done with you, Bongiovi.”  

 

Ari’s gaze teemed with wickedness as she straddled his thighs to align their bodies.  She fused them together, letting gravity settle her fully onto him inch by sinful inch, her warmth embracing him like a blanket. Her reward was a prolonged growl and a firm set of fingerprints in her hips.   

 

“Buckle up, baby, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”

 

Her movements were deliberated and slow, savoring the intimacy of their bodies. Every swivel of her pelvis elicited a chorus of moans from both of them.

 

“Just like that!” He gripped her hips tightly, his nails digging in.

 

Losing herself in their shared rhythm she quickened her pace. “Mmm, feels so good.” She murmured each word punctuated with a deliberate change in the direction of her hips.

 

“Almost there…” he panted.

 

Green eyes locked into blue as she hoarsely ordered, “Together.”

 

With one final twirl they collectively plunged over the edge, their declarations of ecstasy echoing through the room. As she collapsed against him, each breathless and spent, he pulled her closer. The heat of her skin against his was a perfect memento of the connection they shared.

Ari hated to leave the cozy warmth of his embrace. The gentle rise and fall of his chest beneath her cheek was her favorite sound machine. Snuggled up together felt like home, but a nagging thought flickered as she felt herself drifting toward sleep. 

 

With the all the kids here, she needed to be prepared for unexpected visitors. The last two nights had turned into a sleepover of sorts with Romeo and Meatball sneakily crawling into bed with her while Jon was away. She gave a reluctant sigh and temporarily traded his body heat for cool air, reaching for his two-day old t-shirt on the chair.

 

“I like you naked.” His voice was low and sleepy.

 

Turning to face him, she wove her fingers through her wild curls, twisting them into her trademark messy bun. “Yeah, well, I need to put on something decent. Don’t want a little boy to crawl under the covers in the middle of the night and catch me looking like this. You should do the same.”

 

Laughing, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Good point. Toss me the shorts you were about to pilfer from me.”

 

“Catch.” She playfully threw them in his direction.

 

“Thanks.” He caught the garment and slid his feet in, standing up and drawing them up to his waist. “Hey, how did the kids find the sonogram?”

 

The memory flooding back to her. “I felt so stupid. Your mother had put it on the refrigerator after I got home from my doctor’s appointment. Forgot all about it until the kids came barreling in one by one. Romeo went straight to Meatball. Jake, well, you know who he couldn’t wait to see. Jesse…”

 

“Went straight to the refrigerator. That boy is a bottomless pit.”

 

“Tell me about.”

 

“So, he found it?”

 

“Yeah. But he thought it was Lily’s. It was Steph who connected the dots.”

 

“Of course she did. Speaking of dots, where was she in all this?”

 

“Standing right there.”

 

“Please tell me she didn’t upset you?”

 

“Oh, she tried, telling me she needed to speak with me privately.” Ari rolled her eyes. “Once we were in the living room it was the usual tit-for-tat, but I got my point across real quick and told her leave.”

 

“That’s my girl.”  He patted the empty spot of mattress inviting her to come back to bed. “Were they happy they were getting another sibling?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Even Jake?” He raised an eyebrow.

 

“Even Jake.” She returned to bed, curling up next to him with her head on his chest, “Though I don’t think anyone could compete with his connection to Lily.”

 

Jon shifted slightly, tugging her closer. “Yeah, those two are inseparable.”

 

Her response was nothing more than the soft, rhythmic sound of snoring – a comforting melody that floated through the stillness of the night. Kissing the top of her head, he couldn’t help but smile.  

 

His Crash and this endearing gift of hers – to drift off suddenly and without a care.  It was something he loved endlessly.