Oh, my, goodness.
She rushed to the closet, hung up her polka-dot shirt, yanked out a white sundress, and pulled it over her head. Then she stormed back to the door and flung it open.
Jex was still standing there, looking shell-shocked. “H-hey,” he murmured.
If Pearl had been in a better frame of mind, she might have thought it was adorable to see the ever-charming, ever-teasing Jex Steele flabbergasted. How many hundreds of women had shown up at his events in bikinis much skimpier than her underwear and thrown themselves at him? He would simply tease with the women and act like the display of skin was no big deal. Pearl had every indicator that did she affect him and that he loved her like she loved him—not that either of those truths would change him or his lifestyle.
Guilt rushed in. She didn’t want to change Jex, but she didn’t know that she could let herself commit completely to him and one day watch him die.
She folded her arms across her chest and acted like she hadn’t just opened the door in her underwear. “Yes?” she asked haughtily.
“Wow, Pearl.” He pushed a hand through his wavy hair. “You sure know how to greet the man who adores you.” He winked.
Pearl narrowed her eyes at him, not ready to tease yet. “What do you need, Mr. Steele?”
He chuckled. “Shaved ice with my girl.”
She wasn’t his girl, but he gave her that irresistible grin that always got her. The sculpted lines of his manly, handsome face softened, and his dark eyes drew her in. Pearl stared him down, wanting to say changing her last name for shaved ice had been a joke. He knew that, but she inwardly wanted that change of name, that commitment to him. He was also fun for her to tease with, most of the time.
“Dang you,” she muttered. “You know I can’t resist JoJo’s.” They’d stayed in Kauai a couple of years ago and discovered JoJo’s, not far from this gorgeous rental house. She’d become addicted to the fluffy ice with exotic, tropical flavors and the macadamia nut ice cream at the bottom.
Jex grinned and held out his hand. “That’s what I’m banking on.”
Pearl put her hand in his. You’d think by now she’d be used to the warmth and thrills that rushed through her, but no. It was always a rush, and like a druggie, she wanted her next hit from Jex touching her. She was weak for this man, and half the time she just let herself be putty in his hands. The other half of the time, she hated herself for not quitting and finding a normal life with a man who would work eight to five, mow the lawn on Thursday, and give her lots of fat babies. But even fat babies couldn’t tempt her away from Jex Steele and his exhilarating touch and addictive smiles.
They walked out of the house and through the tourist town to the shaved ice place. It was busy, but they only got some stares. No one approached them.
Pearl ordered mango and pineapple. Jex ordered the root beer float.
“Root beer float?” Pearl teased him. “You can get root beer anywhere. Only in the tropics can you get mango and pineapple that taste like heaven.”
Jex smiled with his usual flirtatious hint, but his eyes were serious. “I’d rather taste your heavenly lips.”
“They call it the stairway to heaven because it’s so hard to get there,” she threw back at him.
Jex laughed. “Luckily, I’m an extreme athlete and stairs are a piece of cake for me.”
“We’ll see.” She raised a challenging eyebrow, heat flushing through her body. It was March but still warm in Kauai. That was why she was so hot.
“Pearl,” the shaved ice guy called, and they sauntered over to claim their treat.
“Thank you.” Pearl took the delicacy, which was almost as big as her head, and plunged a bite of the fluffy mango-and-pineapple-flavored ice in her mouth. She moaned softly. “Heaven.”
Jex smiled, holding his treat and watching her. He eased in closer and murmured, “I promise my lips taste better.”
Pearl’s stomach took flight. She could bet he was right, but instead of admitting it, she said tartly, “I’m sure many, many women have lied to you about that.”
Jex chuckled. “You’re the only woman I want tasting my heavenly lips.”
Pearl shoved down the desire that rose in her, rolled her eyes, and strode away from him. Finding a quiet picnic table to sit at, she focused on her shaved ice, but her heart wasn’t in it. Of course she wanted a taste of his lips. She also wanted some reassurance that he wouldn’t plunge off the next cliff and that she truly was the only woman for him. There were so many lobbing themselves at him, but he didn’t seem affected by anyone but her, and she loved that. The list of things she loved about Jex was lengthy. The only drawback was his risky career.
They ate a few bites in silence; then Jex shoved his spoon into his shaved ice, stared unnervingly at her, and said, “You’re mad at me.”
Pearl swallowed her bite, the sweet ice suddenly tasting bitter. Mad? Confused, terrified, and desperately in love, sure, but mad wasn’t in the mix of emotions right now. Instead of getting into how deeply she loved him, she admitted, “I’m scared, Jex. I can’t watch you die.”
He didn’t make any promises, simply stared at her for a few seconds, then said, “I’m sorry, love. I got … distracted on that ride. I was thinking about shaved ice with you.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, I am.”
He actually looked serious, which surprised Pearl. Jex was patient and laid-back, but serious about life or anyone in it? Rarely. “So now I’m a risk factor for you,” she said.
“Ah, don’t put it that way. I think if you’d just give me that kiss for good luck before each stunt and change your last name to Steele, all would be well.” He winked.
Pearl melted, but then she stiffened. “I’m not just another of your women, Jex.”
“I never said you were. You’re special, Pearl. And if you’ve noticed, I haven’t dated another woman in the past six months.”
Of course she’d noticed. She and Jex were together nonstop. When he used to take women on dates, she’d be a mess the entire time, jealous and stewing over why she couldn’t simply say yes to his flirtatious offers and why he would want to date anyone else.
How to respond now? She was special to him. It meant so much to her, but she was scared to commit to him, fall even deeper in love, and then inevitably watch him die. He was too nuts to not die sooner or later.
Several young women squealed and rushed up to their table. “Jex!”
The blonde with a low-cut dress cried out, “We’ve been waiting all night, hoping you’d really come to JoJo’s.”
Jex gave his signature grin and stood. He shook their hands, not allowing them to hug him like they so obviously wanted, and signed their scraps of paper.
“Hang with us, Jex, please,” the brunette begged.
“Sorry, girls, I’m on a date.”
The redhead glared at Pearl. “You ask her to kiss you every day, and she always turns you down. I’d kiss you right now.”
Jex grinned, but Pearl could see how tight it was. Her repeated rejection hurt him. She didn’t want to hurt him, but could she share her love with him and risk losing everything? Sadly, she was already there. If he died tomorrow, she’d lose everything that truly mattered to her.
“Sorry. There’s only one woman I want to kiss,” Jex told them. He stared deeply into Pearl’s eyes. The moment went slow and sticky, and neither one of them noticed when the girls gave disgusted grunts and then withdrew. Pearl thought he might lean in and kiss her then and there, but he simply stared at her and finally said, “Will there ever be a day that I get that kiss for good luck?”
Pearl swallowed. “I don’t know, Jex. What about a day when you don’t catch a root by your fingertips and go over that edge?”
Jex arched an eyebrow, pushed out a breath, and nodded. “That’ll be a rough day for my mama and Lottie. Will it be a rough day for you?”
She glared at him, wanting to pound on his chest and demand to know why he’d keep risking hi
s life every day when he knew how it would hurt so many if he died. There were plenty of high-risk adventures and tricks that weren’t so … risky. Last year, they’d spent several weeks at a wakeboarding adventure center in Florida. Every day was safe and fun. Every evening was spent together teasing and flirting. That had been heavenly.
They studied each other, him awaiting her answer, her not sure how to give her heart to him.
His phone rang and then chirped, “Lottie Steele, best sister ever.”
Pearl smiled. “You’d better take that.”
Jex’s gaze never left hers. “Lottie would happily wait if she thought you might answer my question.”
The phone fell silent as they stared at each other. Then it started ringing again.
“Please, Pearl,” he whispered.
“I don’t know what answer to give,” she finally admitted.
His dark eyes dimmed, and he nodded jerkily. The phone fell quiet again, and awkwardness descended on their table.
“Why do you take such extreme risks if you know how much it will hurt us when you die?”
His eyes lit up. “You just admitted it will hurt you when I die.”
“You’re such a jerk,” she shot at him. “Why risk dying?”
He shrugged. “It’s just what I do.”
“You think you’re invincible.” She raised a challenging eyebrow at him.
“No. I know I could easily die.” His eyes got a faraway look in them. “When I almost went off the edge today, I remember thinking I’d never get to taste those sweet lips of yours.”
The heat of desire and the churning of despair battled within her. “Maybe if you didn’t try to kill yourself every day, I might give you a taste of my lips.”
“You want me to quit?”
Pearl closed her eyes. “No,” she said miserably. She could never ask that of him, and she adored Jex for all that he was. The nine-to-five guy in the suburbs wasn’t really her guy. Jex was.
“What do you want, Pearl?” Jex asked. His voice was warm and there was a promise there, as if he’d give her anything she asked for.
Pearl opened her eyes, staring into his deep brown gaze. She wanted Jex, even if she could only be with him for one day before he was gone forever. She wanted to tell him the truth and kiss the night away, but instead she said quietly, “I don’t know.”
His eyes reflected hurt and confusion, and his phone started ringing again. She knew from experience that Lottie would not stop calling.
“Answer Lottie,” she said. This conversation had gotten much too serious. They’d never even kissed, for heaven’s sake; she was his business manager and best friend, not his girlfriend. No matter how she yearned to be. They needed to go back to their teasing and not broach serious subjects that neither of them could navigate.
He stood and pulled the phone from his pocket. “Hi, sis,” he said. Pacing away from the table, he chatted with Lottie but kept sneaking glances at Pearl.
Pearl swirled her straw through her melting shaved ice, her desire for sweets gone. How dare he simply say it would be a “rough day” for his sister and mama when he died and ask if it would be rough for her? He had to know it would devastate her to lose him.
What did she want? Only him.
He strode back to the table and extended the phone to her. “Lottie wants to talk to you.”
Pearl smiled and stood, taking the phone. “Thank you.”
He nodded, much too serious for Jex. She didn’t like seeing him so serious.
“Hi, Lottie.”
“Pearl.” Lottie let out a happy giggle. Pearl loved this girl. Lottie had been born with Down Syndrome and was an absolute angel. She was adored by all of her brothers and spoiled by them as well. She’d just turned seventeen and was beautiful with her dark hair and coloring, and her mom made sure she had the best of everything. “When are you going to kiss my boy?”
Pearl gave a nervous laugh and glanced at Jex. Had he set her up? He was cleaning up their shaved ice and appeared innocent. “I don’t know, sweet Lottie.” She looked at the handsome man that she loved and asked his sister a question she should’ve held in. “When should I?”
“Tomorrow!” Lottie cheered. “It’s so-o perfect. He loves you. You give him kiss for good luck, and then you see.”
“See what?”
“That you love him too.”
Lottie thought Jex loved her? Pearl and Jex had known each other in college at UMass, but even back then, their relationship had been teasing. They’d never gone on a date, though Jex seemed to have dated the rest of the campus. With her degree in marketing, she’d agreed to the unique and daring opportunity to be his manager and assistant when they graduated. Their friendship had deepened over the years, and Pearl’s desire for him had risen to epic proportions.
She almost admitted to Lottie that she didn’t have to see, that she already loved him, but she knew it would get directly back to Jex and she wasn’t ready for that. Could she truly give him that kiss tomorrow, before his event? The crowd would love it—well, except for the women pining over him, but she didn’t care about the women or the crowd. “Hmm. I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t think. Kiss.”
“Thinking is highly overrated.”
Jex was standing by the table, waiting for her. She gestured with her head and they fell into step, walking away from the small shopping complex and toward the rental house.
“I’ll be watching tomorrow. You kiss my boy.”
“We’ll see, Lottie.” Pearl glanced askance at Jex and caught him staring at her. She loved the lean lines of his face and body. She loved him. Could she do it? Kiss him tomorrow? Maybe she could claim it was for Lottie. “How’s school?” she asked, changing the subject.
Lottie told her about prom coming up in three weeks, the boy who had asked her, her pink dress with silver sparkles, and a dozen other things. They made it back to the house and up to the door to Pearl’s room.
“I’ll let you talk to Jex again,” Pearl said. “I’m going to head to bed.”
“Goodnight, sweet Pearl,” Lottie said.
“Goodnight, sweet Lottie,” Pearl answered.
Lottie giggled. Pearl handed the phone over, ignoring the tingle when Jex’s hand brushed hers. Instead of putting the phone to his ear, he stared deeply into Pearl’s eyes. She found it unnerving and thrilling. Could she really kiss him in the morning? Why not just kiss him right now?
Still holding the phone in his left hand, Jex leaned toward her and rested his right hand above her head on the doorframe. His eyes swept over her lips, then back to meet hers. Pearl pressed her hands into the doorframe behind her, clinging to it for support as her legs turned to jelly.
Jex bent down, closer and closer. His lips hovered over hers, but then he swept his mouth slowly, achingly across her cheek and to her ear. “Goodnight, sweet Pearl,” he murmured in her ear, his lips lingering on the sensitive skin of her earlobe.
Pearl caught a breath, unable to even respond. He stepped back and put the phone to his ear, giving her one last longing look before turning and striding down the hallway, talking to Lottie.
Pearl wilted against the door. She wanted to chase after him, pin him against the wall, and kiss him until this ache and frustration went away. Instead, she slunk into her room, shutting the door firmly to stop herself from going after him. Tomorrow. Maybe she’d give him that kiss and see what it did to them. Her heart was beating so high and fast, she might not get any sleep tonight.
Chapter Three
The next morning, Pearl was still jumpy and awkward around Jex. He gave her a few questioning glances during their early-morning run and workout with the local personal trainer who was helping keep Jex in his prime physical condition. They used to have a personal trainer on staff, but the man was a muscle head chauvinist and he’d hit on Pearl obnoxiously one too many times. Jex had asked her to please let the man go, declaring that they’d find a local at each different location and train with him o
r her. He’d claimed the variety of changing trainers every few weeks would be better for his body. Pearl couldn’t find anything wrong with Jex’s perfect physique, and she kind of liked that he was overly protective of her. She knew no man would hurt her emotionally or physically if Jex was around.
After a quick breakfast of acai bowls, they got ready for the shoot of the day. It took them most of the morning to prep everything. The actual videos were quick, usually under five minutes, but the prep was extensive with crowd control, clearing the spot, safety measures, and cameras getting in positions with either drones or helicopters—rarely could they use a normal camera angle. Jex and the safety team researched each stunt thoroughly, but he never did a stunt before the actual moment when the crowd was there and cameras were rolling. It was part of the reason he had such an insane following.
Today they were close to their rental house, on Hanalei Beach. The waves were perfect, in Jex’s opinion, because a storm had rolled in last night. This north side of Kauai had larger, more dangerous waves this time of year, exactly what Jex loved. So they’d rearranged stunts to make today a surfing day.
Even with waves boasting over thirty-foot swells, today was one of the safer days of Jex Steele’s high-adrenaline life. Yet Pearl’s stomach was pitching more than it usually did. Today might be the day. Could she forget all her fears and concerns and make Lottie’s dreams, or more likely her own, come true?
Jex was in a shorty wetsuit, but it was pulled down to his waist, revealing his perfect chest, shoulders, arms, and abs. She saw him close his eyes briefly and knew he was praying like he did before every stunt. Then he headed her direction as an even larger crowd than yesterday’s roared their approval and excitement. Jex was so confident and appealing, striding her way as if he owned the entire world. He was her world, but was she ready to reveal that to him?
“Hi, beautiful,” he said, a charming grin on his handsome face. The crowd quieted to listen to their banter. For all the world, Jex looked as confident and unaffected as always, but she could read something deep in his brown eyes: he was hoping today might be the day as well. He eased into her space, but didn’t touch her. “Is today the day?”
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