“We ain’t got no money here,” he proclaimed, cutting to the chase.
Jaxon, Zora and Kwan exchanged looks.
“We just need to use your phone,” Jaxon said, setting Zora back onto her feet.
“Huh? Whatcha say?” The old man cupped his ear.
Now, didn’t he just hear the bell? Zora thought.
“We need to use the phone,” Jaxon repeated.
“Come again?”
“Phone. Can we use the phone?”
“Wait. Let me turn up this damn hearing aid,” the old man mumbled. “I swear this sucker ain’t worth a damn thing.”
Jaxon huffed and shook his head.
“Now, what you say, young man?”
“Do you have a phone we can use?”
The man’s face twisted. “Yeah. I got a phone. What the hell are you yelling for?”
Zora snickered. The whole comical exchange seemed to be par for the course that evening. True, none of this was quite what she expected, but she had no doubts that she would remember this night for the rest of her life.
The old man reached under the counter and then plopped down a big, clunky, black rotary phone in front of him. “This ain’t gonna be a long-distance call, is it?”
“I don’t know,” Jaxon said, cutting his gaze toward him. “It depends on where we are.”
“I can’t have you putting long distance on the phone,” the old man insisted.
Jaxon reached inside his jacket pocket and withdrew his wallet. “Don’t worry. I’ll pay you for it.” He slapped down a Benjamin next to the phone.
The old man’s face lit up. “I think that’ll just about cover it.”
It was a long-distance call. And it turned out that Kwan had discovered some forsaken place called Shiba, New Jersey. The town only had a handful of residents, one gas station (that closed a little after sundown) and one motel.
“Hey, don’t I know you?” the old man asked, squinting at Zora.
Recognition was the last thing Zora wanted right now. She shook her head and tried to shy away from the old man. She just wanted this long night to end—hopefully with her back safe and sound in her own bed.
“Yeah, I do know you,” the old man insisted, wagging a finger at her.
The next thing Zora knew, the guy was producing a glossy tabloid magazine with her picture all big and bold on the cover. In the corner was a picture of Jaxon shying away from photographers as he walked out of her apartment building.
“Now that hardly seems fair,” Jaxon joked while he waited on hold. “The left is usually my best side.”
Zora smacked him on the shoulder. “Will you just concentrate on getting us out of here?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m on it.”
“Will you sign it for me?” the man stretched a pen toward her. His yellowy smile covered the entire bottom part of his face. “I can’t believe it. Two real-live celebrities.”
Zora returned his smile and then signed her name. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” He took the magazine and then stared at it as if it was a gold mine. “Wait ’til my wife, Mildred, hears about this. Celebrities in Shiba!”
Unfortunately for Jaxon, Zora and Kwan, being in a place that no one has ever heard of made it more than a little difficult to be rescued. No one he talked to could find Shiba on a map. Even Teddy, the old hotel manager, couldn’t convince them that Shiba existed.
In the end Jaxon slammed the phone down in disgust. “I can’t believe this!” he huffed under his breath.
“Well,” Teddy said, shrugging his shoulders. “You’re more than welcome to stay the night. I’m sure when Darnell opens the gas station in the morning he could give you pretty good directions on how to get back to the big city.”
Stay the night? Zora felt faint.
“Do you think that there’s any way we could convince him to open up now?” Jaxon asked.
“You could always ask him.” Teddy shrugged.
“Good. Let’s call him.”
“Can’t,” Teddy said. “On account he ain’t got no phone.”
Zora tugged on Jaxon’s arm and hissed under her breath, “We’re not staying here.”
Teddy’s hearing aid suddenly became a technological wonder because he overheard Zora’s comment. “Here? Oh, good Lord, no. I wouldn’t let folks like yourself rent a room here. I was talking about you coming over to me and Mildred’s. We’re just up a ways. We have plenty of room.”
The small gang exchanged looks, but they really didn’t have any other options.
“Good. Then it’s all settled,” Teddy boasted.
Chapter 20
“I’m so sorry that our evening was ruined,” Jaxon whispered to Zora as they marched out to Teddy’s extended cab pickup truck. “I really wanted to make our first official date something to remember.”
Zora laughed. “Don’t worry. You accomplished that.” She glanced over at him and caught him staring. “Look, don’t worry about trying to impress me. That’s not what I’m all about. Just know that it’s enough for me to spend time with you.”
Jaxon stopped when they reached the passenger door. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
Zora gazed into a face that she was growing to love. “Absolutely.” She leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss against his soft mouth. “One thing for sure, being around you, life is never boring.”
Jaxon chuckled as he stole another kiss. “In that case, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Teddy and Mildred had a nice place.
It was a two-story brick that seemed to be smack-dab in the middle of nothing. Despite the full moonlight, none of them could tell whether the place was a ranch or a farm, but at this point they didn’t care, either. They were just all hoping that the place was in better condition than the motel.
When the old motel manager ushered them in, Mildred greeted everyone with a bubbly smile. Zora had never known anyone to be this happy when strangers popped up at your house in the dead of night, looking for a place to stay, but she was certainly grateful to the woman and her husband.
Teddy had called ahead and in the five minutes, Mildred had put on a fresh pot of coffee, warmed up some banana-nut bread and put fresh linens on the beds in the guest rooms. Impressed, Zora couldn’t stop thanking the woman for her hospitality.
Mildred blew off all the high praise to do a bit of gushing on her own. She wanted to know everything about the modeling world. Was it as glamorous as it seemed? Did all celebrities have a drug problem? And, of course, would she sign another tabloid magazine that had her picture on it? That rag boasted about a secret love child she was having.
“You know you really shouldn’t read that garbage,” Zora couldn’t stop herself from saying.
Mildred’s apple cheeks reddened. “Oh, well. You know I just read it for entertainment. I don’t take any of it serious.”
Jaxon cleared his throat.
“Oh,” Mildred said. “Don’t let me go on and on. I’ll take you two to your room. It’s late and I know you guys ought to be tired.”
“You, son, c’mon with me,” Teddy told Kwan. “We got a room for you out back.”
Mildred beamed at Zora and Jaxon. “You two are staying in the main room upstairs. I got it all fixed up.”
Zora fell in step behind Mildred, praying that the room would be as nice as the rest of the house. In truth the place looked as if it should have been one of those Southern bed-and-breakfast places. She didn’t have any idea why the couple didn’t capitalize on that instead of the run-down motel on the side of road.
“Hmmm. It smells nice up here,” Zora realized. She sniffed the air and got a good whiff of something…delicious?
“Here we go.” Mildred stopped before the door and grinned at the couple. “This is your room.”
Something was up. Zora glanced at the woman’s large smile and dancing eyes and immediately felt that something was going on.
“Aren’t you going to open the door?” Jaxon asked.
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She looked at him and read nothing. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Zora reached out and turned the knob. But when she pushed open the door—she gasped in surprise at the sight before her. Her gaze first fell on at least a dozen flickering candles and then a small table covered in red rose petals. To the right was a huge king-size canopy bed, draped in all-white linen with another spray of red rose petals.
“I—I don’t understand,” Zora whispered.
Jaxon moved in close behind her. “Surprised, baby?”
She turned. “Surprised? How did you…you mean this whole—”
“I told you I wanted to make this a night you’d never forget.” Jaxon’s smile beamed. “A lot of women are impressed with what I can buy them or where I can take them or even…” He nodded toward the bed. “But I don’t know of any other woman that would have gone through all of this and still tell me that what matters is spending time with me. You’re a real class act, Ms. Campbell.” He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. “I’m extremely happy that you’re my lady.”
Zora tried to blink away her tears but instead Jaxon kissed them away. And when his lips settled against hers, he intoxicated her senses. She wrapped her arms around him and tried the best she could to fuse their bodies together. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get close enough.
“Make love to me,” she whispered raggedly.
Jaxon kicked the bedroom door closed. “What about dinner?”
Zora kicked off her shoes. “We’ll eat later. I want you.”
Jaxon’s jacket and shirt were off in a flash. “God, you don’t know what it does to me to hear you say that.”
Zora trembled breathlessly as she tried to wiggle her way out of her dress. Jaxon rushed over and helped and then smiled at the sexy black lace underwear she had on underneath.
“Nice.”
“I’m glad you approve,” she said.
Jaxon’s lips lowered to claim hers. In a silent melody, their tongues danced until Zora became dizzy. They fell onto the bed. Their mouths, arms and legs tangled together with desire, passion and urgency. Instead of those feelings lessening with each coupling, they were growing stronger. That fact took both of them by surprise.
For Zora, she didn’t think she could ever get used to just the little things that Jaxon did whenever their bodies joined: his warm breath against her neck, his hands skimming along her breasts or even how he moaned her name. Despite it being their first official date, they had passed the stage of hot sex and entered the intimate world of making love.
That place was all new to her. It didn’t take her long to relax, get comfortable and enjoy all the new feelings and sensations that were opening up to her. At first it was a lot to take in. With every slow, deep stroke, Zora swore that Jaxon was tearing down the wall around her heart and somehow their souls were blending together. Her breath was not her own.
Jaxon was lost. His mind blown. Nothing in life had ever prepared him for this, but now that he was at the door of love, he was ready to knock the thing down and step inside. Every fiber of his body blended into hers while his hand explored every curve of her breasts and then every contour of her hips. The heat of her mouth left his lips to lick and kiss and nip him everywhere from his collarbone, neck and even his hard nipples.
He damn near came every time his name floated from Zora’s lips. He damn near came every time her long fingers glided down his back. And he damn near came every time she thrust her hips up to meet his. But whenever those things happened, Jaxon would hold firm.
Besides, he wasn’t so into his own orgasm as he was watching Zora’s face in the candlelight whenever she experienced one. The raw, naked emotions that rippled across her beautiful face were like discovering the eighth wonder of the world. Right now he could feel another tremor coursing its way up from the core of her body. Zora emitted a small gasp and lifted her desire-drugged gaze to meet his.
“You coming, baby?”
“Y-yes.” Her hands rolled up the curve of his ass and settled on his grinding hips.
“Then let me see it,” he said, sinking deeper.
Zora tilted her head, her mouth sagged open, but her gaze remained locked with his as heat rose up and then exploded at the tip of her clit. A cry of ecstasy tore from her lips and her legs locked powerfully behind Jaxon’s waist.
Jaxon stiffened and just enjoyed how her silky muscles quivered around his cock. He couldn’t describe just how wonderful her body felt—just as he couldn’t describe how beautiful she looked all sweaty and kiss swollen.
Somehow he saved up just enough strength so she could roll onto her back and he could take her in her favorite position. He changed it up a bit by letting her remain flat on her back with just her legs spread open for easy entry. He lifted himself up and braced his weight like preparing to do push-ups, but instead rocked up and down into her body with long, powerful strokes.
“Oh, gaaawwwd,” Zora moaned, pushing her butt up against his abs. She had come so many times that she was good and wet, which caused her body to keep making sucking and smacking sounds. Zora had to remind herself to breathe, but the task proved too difficult at the feel of his mouth roaming around her neck. She squirmed on the bed, her hands grabbing the sheets, pillows and anything else she could find.
“Oh, Zora, baby,” Jaxon panted. “You feel so—sssssss.”
She sensed that he was finally losing control and took it as her cue to start throwing her ass back at him as hard as she could manage.
Jaxon stiffened and dropped his knees down in between her legs. Zora hopped up on hers and continued driving him wild by thrusting backward. “You coming, baby?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“Hell, yeah,” Jaxon hissed through his clenched teeth. It was his turn for his mouth to sag open and his body to explode. No doubt that everyone in the house heard his mighty roar before he collapsed like dead weight against her back.
He was in heaven.
She was in paradise.
And they were in love.
Chapter 21
“So you’re actually taking her to meet your folks?” Dale asked. “Three months and you’re ready to jump the broom.” He drew a deep breath and dropped down in the empty leather chair in Jaxon’s home library. “You certainly don’t believe in wasting time.”
Jaxon reached out and handed his friend the double Scotch on the rocks he’d requested. “It’s like you said. When I see something I want…”
“I know. I know,” Dale said, accepting his drink. “Just give me a minute. It’s gonna take me some time to wrap my brain around this one.”
Jaxon’s smile beamed at his friend. “C’mon. You’ve been pretending to be happy for me for three months. Don’t start wavering on me now.”
“That was before I knew I was losing a hanging buddy down at the Velvet Rope. Now I’m stuck looking at Myers’s sorry ass trying to drown all his sorrow in a whiskey glass. It ain’t pretty. The man has let himself go.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“That boy got some serious trouble. The SEC is all over his ass. Word is he tried to set Keith Colbert up on some crazy stock package that didn’t mount to more than a fancy Ponzi scheme. The man must have been sipping too much Kool-Aid not to know old man Colbert checks things out nine ways to Sunday before he hands over a dollar.”
“To tell you the truth, I’m not surprised,” Jaxon said. “After that bullshit with Zora, I knew he was capable of anything. It was just a matter of time before he went down.”
“Humph! And all these years he’s been trying to convince anyone that’ll listen that it was you that was knee-deep in insider trading and wild schemes.”
“That’s what thieves do. It’s call projecting,” Jaxon said, turning to the chessboard sitting between them. “Game?”
“Yeah.” Dale twirled a finger in the air. “Board games instead of beautiful women and lap dances. You’re starting to depress me.”
“Sorry. No more st
rip clubs for me,” Jaxon announced. “My lady looks pretty damn hot with and without any clothes on. And if I want a lap dance, all I have to do is ask. You should try it with your wife. After all, she used to work the poles.”
Dale clapped and rubbed his hands together. “Oh, goody. My very own professional marriage counselor. Next, you’ll be telling me that I need to stop drinking and start exercising.”
Jaxon tossed up his hands. “All right. I’m going to leave it alone.”
“Good.”
“I’m just saying monogamy can be a beautiful thing.”
Dale huffed out a breath. “Life is never going to be the same, is it?”
Jaxon reached into his pocket and produced a four-carat Cartier ring. “Actually, that’s exactly what I’m betting on.”
Zora kept messing up her lines on her latest skincare infomercial. She must have issued a thousand apologies to everyone from the key grip to the director. They all cut her some slack—but who knew that love affected someone’s ability to concentrate? Hell, it affected her ability to do everything except to smile off in space, bring up Jaxon’s name at least fifty times in a conversation and to call or either text message him every other hour.
Everyone knew that she was in love—mainly because the tabloids reported on it every week. She had hoped that the whole hoopla surrounding that would go away; usually people grew bored or sick of celebrities’ complicated love lives and moved on to the next train wreck. So far that wasn’t happening with her.
Of course Todd still loved the renewed attention in her. It all translated into more sales for her business ventures. Sales were up across the board. Hell, even Oprah came calling.
Today none of that mattered. The only thing that Zora could think about was this evening’s trip out to Jaxon’s grandparents’ estate. She was so nervous about making a good impression that she worried whether she would ever get through this infomercial. Eventually the director called it a wrap and she was free to go home and obsess over what dress to wear.
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