by Alexia Praks
Good Lord! Alex had stolen his bed – twice! What did she want to prove? That she was able to sleep comfortably on the sofa and that he couldn’t?
In a flash he was standing by the sofa, gazing down at her. She looked to be deep in sleep, though he couldn’t see much of her except for her hair. Damn it, he didn’t want to disturb her though. He knew, however, that her body would be sore in the morning. He bent down and slowly pulled the blanket away. Before he realised what was happening he swore under his breath – stunned at the sight he beheld before him.
Alex was in deep sleep all right. She looked so peaceful and – dear God – so damn enticing that he couldn’t help but keep gawking at her, with the blanket still in his hands. It was only a moment later that he realised she was not wearing her pyjama she usually wore. Tonight she wore a pink t-shirt and sexy grey short shorts that showed way too much of her slim, shapely legs.
Holy Shit! He stroked his fingers through his thick hair. Was it just him and the fact that he was getting too tired or did Alex’s skin look very soft and smooth? And hell yes, he really, really wanted to touch her – slowly running his fingers up her legs.
Perhaps he had been standing there ogling at her for too long because she suddenly shivered delicately, drew herself in and turned over. He better take her to bed, he thought.
He bent low and scooped her into his arms. Her hair brushed against his nose as she turned her sleeping face towards his. The wonderful smell of spring danced around him, making him feel like he was amongst wild flowers and berries. He brought his nose closer to her hair and inhaled deeply. He sighed, loving the scent as he gazed at her face. His heart did a somersault.
‘Oh Man! This is not happening,’ he thought. He wanted to kiss those luscious lips.
‘Jayden’ – the voice at the back of his head said – ‘you’re tired and you’re hallucinating. Put Alex to bed and then go to sleep.’
He nodded at that sound advice and turned on his heels. At that moment Alexandra fluttered her eyes open.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice soft and husky, like those really hot babes in James Bond movies, who were ready to seduce Bond. Only he knew very well that Alex was not trying to seduce him. Her next words confirmed that.
“Put me down.”
He stared at her. He thought that there was something very different about Alex. He also noticed that her lashes were very long, thick and dark which opened up her eyes. He sucked in his breath, nearly chocking on it.
“Well?” she queried. “Aren’t you going to put me down?”
He cleared his throat, still too stunned to register the fact that she had changed so dramatically. “I’ll put you down when we reached the bed,” he said finally.
“My bed is that way,” she said tiredly, pointing towards the sofa.
“Your bed is there,” he said, nodding toward the bed. “And don’t argue with me. Go back to sleep.”
“Bully!” she grumbled sleepily, her eyes closing and her fist weakly punching his chest.
“Ouch!” he chuckled, teasing her. Her punch felt like an itch to him. “Why did you that for?”
Alex opened her eyes. “Cos I want to hurt you,” she retorted.
“Why do you want to hurt me?”
Alex wanted to say—‘coz you lied to me.’ Instead she said, “Put me down, Jayden.”
“All right.” He gently laid her down on the bed. Alex immediately rolled off and marched back toward the sofa. Jayden swiftly caught her arm and swung her around.
“What?”
Jayden blinked. He realised then that her thick, bedroom tangled hair looked different. The colour had changed. Now it was light brown with a hint of blonde and under the dim light it was very glossy. Her whole complexion, too, looked healthy, fresh and milky.
Shit! Alex was beautiful, and he felt his gut churning with acid and his body shuddering with desire. Now standing up, she looked too damn sexy and tempting, she was about to give him a heart attack.
No, maybe he had had too much wine back at the party, and now he couldn’t seem to concentrate or see things clearly. Yes, he was drunk, and Alex being beautiful was only his imagination. His brain must be playing tricks on him.
‘No kidding, Jayden’ – the voice at the back of his head snapped. ‘You hardly had more than two glasses of red wine.’
“Well?” Alex prompted, frowning at him, folding her arms across her chest.
Jayden shook his head to clear his thought. “The bed is this way,” he said.
“I’m too tired to argue or fight with you now. We’ll do it in the morning,” she announced.
“It is morning and we’re not fighting,” Jay said, moving closer.
“Yes we kind of are,” she said, unfolding her arms impatiently, which drew Jayden’s attention to her chest. He realised that she wasn’t wearing her bra underneath that thin Tee which said clearly ‘I’m No Angel’ in big bold letters. How ironic, he thought, because looking at her now she damn well looked like an angel – a very sexy one at that.
“In what way?” he asked with his head cocked to one side, now studying her.
Alex pulled her face. She wondered what they were doing there, talking about nonsense when she knew they both were very tired and in need of a lot of shut eyes? She thought that she really must get away from him. Otherwise she’d probably start shouting at him about his lies.
She shrugged her shoulders and turned on her heels.
Jayden didn’t know what came over him then. He should have just left it at that and let her return to her uncomfortable sofa and him going back to his inviting soft bed. He, however, acted before he could think. He swiftly and smoothly got off the bed and pulled Alex into his arms.
“Ah!” Alex gasped. She blinked, her sleepiness gone. She was now very aware of his strength and warmth against her body. Excitement bubbled up in the pit of her stomach.
Jay ran his fingers through her hair, mesmerised by her new found beauty. Yes, her hair was soft and silky under his touch.
“Your pupils are dilated, Jay,” she said, grinning, knowing the fact that he liked her new look.
“What?”
“I said your pupils are dilated,” she repeated.
“Yeah?”
“Yes. Us humans are like that. When we see what we like, our pupils dilate.” She grinned cheekily.
“Right,” he responded, still at a lost as to what she was talking about. To be frank he didn’t care much. He just liked listening to the sound of her sweet, husky voice, inhaling her scent, and gazing at her pretty face that he had the urge to kiss so badly.
Alex cocked her head to one side. “So are you liking what you’re seeing, Jay?” she asked, a smile on her face.
That brought him up short. He stopped stroking her hair and frowned. Was she implying something?
“May I ask you a question?” she started.
“What?”
“Does touching a woman make you feel disgusting? I mean, like really grossed you out?”
Jayden blinked. “What?”
“I mean you’re gay, right? Doesn’t the thought of touching a woman gross you out?” she asked, her brows rose.
Holy Mother of God! He had forgotten the fact that he was supposed to be gay. And how the heck was he supposed to know whether gay men felt disgusted at the thought of touching women?
“Well,” he began, searching his tired brain for an answer. “I don’t know about gay men...I mean other gay men, but I surely don’t feel grossed out at the thought of touching women.”
“So, erm, touching me right now doesn’t gross you out?”
Jayden wanted to laugh then only he knew he shouldn’t because she’d be suspicious and thought he was a loon.
‘Heck no! You feel just right in my arms, my sweet,’ he wanted to say to her. But of course he didn’t. He said instead, “Touching you is like touching a sister. Nothing special about it.”
“Really?” Alex prompted. “Right.” She saw
him nod and took a step back, almost reluctantly, she thought. “Right then. Goodnight,” she said and turned on her heels.
“Oh no you don’t,” he chuckled.
“What?” she said over her shoulder.
“The bed.” He nodded that way.
She raised her brows, challenging him. “And you’ll sleep on the sofa?”
“Nope. I’ll sleep on the bed as well.”
“No,” she replied simply.
“Yes,” he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him.
She laughed. “Jayden, I don’t think so. It’s not safe.”
“What’s not safe?”
“I told you before. I used to sleep on the sofa, so I’m comfortable with that.”
“No. You’ll sleep on the bed with me, missy.”
“It’s not safe,” she said, frowning at him now, seriously pulling herself away from his tight grasp.
“Don’t be silly. I’m gay. What could happen?” he said, laughing.
‘A lot could go wrong, Jayden,’ she wanted to shout at him. ‘I know you’re not gay.’
Instead she said, “Right. Nothing could go wrong of course. But still...”
Jayden bent down, quickly scooped her up and marched to the bed. Before Alex knew it, she was on the bed and Jayden was on top of her, so she wouldn’t be able to get away.
He chuckled. “If you run away, Alex, I’m going to kiss you.”
She laughed, her soft voice echoing in room.
He smiled, loving her beautiful laugh.
“You? Kissing me?” she scoffed, her brows rose in doubt. Na-da! There was no way Jayden was going to really kiss her. It was simply a threat because if he really was going to kiss her he’d blow his entire masquerade that he had so cleverly built.
“Really?” she prompted, her head cocked to one side as she studied him. “I don’t believe you. You’re gay, mister, so behave like one.” Then she shoved his rock-hard chest so that he’d move away. He obediently shifted aside, freeing her.
Alex sat up and gave him the look that said – I told you so. “Wuss,” she said, grinning, feeling quite satisfied she had won the argument. She landed her feet on the carpet and stood up, heading towards the sofa.
In a flash, Jayden caught her wrist, pulled her back on the bed and rolled himself on top of her.
Alex had no idea what had just happened. One second she was standing and heading toward the sofa and the next she felt herself being pulled back and then she was back on the bed. She could see Jayden on top of her, grinning – the type she had never seen on his face before. She was suddenly very alarmed and butterflies rushed up from the pit of her stomach.
Jayden brought his hands up and cupped her face. Slowly he lowered his head toward hers. Once his face was only inches from hers, their noses nearly touching, his hot breath against hers, he said softly, “I’m no wuss, Alex.” Then he fastened his firm lips against her soft ones.
His kiss was not hard and demanding but soft and gentle. He deepened the kiss as his fingers dug deep into her thick hair and his tongue stroking along her half opened, quivering lips.
Alex was shocked to stillness. Her body was ablaze with small flickers of fireworks she never knew could exist. When Jayden slid his tongue into her mouth that was when she caught the breath at the back of her throat, felt as though she was floating on air and the fireworks within her became more powerful – exploding into a myriad of colours.
She didn’t realise that she was responding to his kiss as her hands came up to wrap around his neck. When she finally realised she was kissing him back, Jayden suddenly stopped and pulled back – totally breathless.
Alex didn’t know that she, too, was breathless and that her heart was pumping like mad – as though she had run a marathon.
With his face still practically touching hers, she could see his blue eyes that was – oh God – blazing with passion. She never knew what the meaning of ‘fire in the eyes’ was until that moment. Yes, she could see fire in Jayden’s eyes – a deep, intense and powerful blue flame that was alive and consuming everything in its path. In reaction to that realisation, her heart did a somersault and her stomach knotted in dread and excitement.
She covered her hands over her mouth because she couldn’t believe what had happened. Then because she couldn’t stand him staring at her so intensely like that, like he didn’t regret what he had just done one bit and that he’d be glad to do it again, she quickly turned over and gave her back to him.
Jayden moved over so that his lips were near her ear, his hand touching her bare arm. She could feel the heat there, burning on her skin, sending her head reeling.
“Don’t you dare sneak away or I’ll do it again,” he whispered.
Alex shivered, both at the thought of that possibility and at the fact that she could feel his warm breath against her skin, tingling her sense.
“I won’t run,” she whispered, her voice quivering. Then she shoved him back and away from her. Jayden obliged at her need for space, chuckling.
“Stupid man,” she muttered under her breath and quickly pulled the blanket up and over her head, hiding from him.
Jayden smiled and lay back on his side. Then he switched off the light, grinning from ear to ear. Damn, he thought, he had just kissed Alex, and he didn’t care one bit if that behaviour was gay and that she might be suspicious. He thought he couldn’t wait to do it again – quite soon.
***
DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND
MARY ST. CLAIRE threw her Louis Vuitton handbag onto the leather sofa and growled in frustration. Her legs hurt like a bitch because she had been standing and running around the wards in heels all day. She would never wear sneakers shoes like most of the other young doctors though because she hated how it looked on her. So unfashionable! She’d rather suffer than go for comfort.
God how she hated her job! She had thought that becoming a doctor was the best career move ever. After all it was one of the highest regarded jobs in the world. But now, however, she found she couldn’t stand at the thought of walking into the hospital building itself. Seeing sick, elderly patients wasn’t her thing, especially the smell. She hated sick, old people smell. She knew that before long she’d have to quit her job and do something else. She didn’t know what yet but she was not prepared to waste anymore of her precious time looking after sick people. She had had enough.
She thought that right now would be a good time for a boyfriend to come and comfort her and maybe give her a massage. Suddenly the image of Jayden McCartney, that American handsome man, popped up in her head. She still couldn’t believe that he had left her stranded that Saturday night. She had expected to spend the night with him, perhaps at her very luxurious apartment her dad had bought for her for her twenty-first birthday, and in her bed most of the night of course. She had been very disappointed when he had left, and so she had had to make do with a random cute guy from the bar. Now for the life of her she couldn’t remember who that man was. Oh well. Who cared? It had only been a one night stand.
She thought that she really must talk to Peter and see whether she could contact Jayden through him. Then a thought struck her. Of course Peter and Jayden were friends. That meant that Jayden would be in Peter’s Facebook friends list.
A bubble of excitement burst up within her. She giggled and rushed over to her laptop sitting on the desk near the window. She switched it on and a few minutes later she was browsing through Peter’s friends list on Facebook. Sure enough Jayden McCartney was there. She went into his profile page and started browsing. She thought he looked really hot in all of his pictures. She giggled. Jayden McCartney. Oh how she wanted him.
She went to his bio page.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“Holy Shit!” she swore under her breath. She glared harder and gritted her teeth, her hands shaking. “What the!”
There his relationship status said, “In Relationship with Alexandra Stewart”.
Alexandra Stewart? Surely
not the Alexandra Stewart she knew from high school?
Her hands shaking, she dragged the mouse to click on the name ‘Alexandra Stewart’. Then Alex’s Facebook page appeared.
“Oh my God! How could that be possible?” Mary wanted to scream at the unfairness of life and throw the laptop against the wall.
She thrust the seat back and raced to pick her BlackBerry. She dialled Peter’s number and impatiently waited.
A few seconds later Peter’s voice came through, “Hey, Pete here.”
Mary took a deep breath to clam herself down. She knew it was not a good thing to be speaking to Peter when her emotion was in danger of an eruption. She said, almost calmly, “Pete, it’s me.”
“Mary?”
“Yeah. Pete, I need to ask you something.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
She sighed. “Jayden...”
A pause. “Yeah, what about him?”
Mary gritted her teeth, her heart pounding hard within her chest. “I don’t believe it! I can’t believe it! I won’t believe it!”
“Wait, what don’t you believe, Mary?”
She swallowed, tears brewing in her eyes. “Jayden. He’s in a relationship with Al...Alexandra?”
A laugh. “Oh that. Hum... Yeah. How did you know?”
“How?” She stroked her fingers through her brown hair in frustration.
“Yeah. How?”
Mary wanted to scream her head off. “Facebook.”
“Ah... of course. Anyways, they met and… you know… fall in love?”
Mary wanted to snort at that. Hot Jayden? Falling in love with the mousy and ugly Alexandra? Impossible! Jayden couldn’t be that stupid or blind. There had to be an explanation. It couldn’t be true. There must be something. “So...so it’s true?”
“Yeah. So that’s all you want to ask me about?”
Mary paused. Then “Yeah,” she gritted out. “Goodnight, Pete, see you tomorrow.”