by A. M. Kusi
Jaxton had experienced his fair share of one-night stands. His life was about his career, and that didn’t leave time for romantic relationships. This was the most exhilarating encounter he’d ever had. And they hadn’t even gone beyond making out yet.
He couldn’t get enough of her kisses, her moans, and her soft body against his hardness. Usually, he would take his time, exploring every inch of a woman, pleasing her in every way she would let him. This time, he felt an urgency to be inside of this mysterious beauty—as though she could slip through his fingers like quick sand and disappear at any moment. Jax didn’t even know her name and she’d made him feel things that no other woman before had: spinning him in a web of desire, reeling him closer to the wildfire of promise. Overpowering his own demand for release, he found himself drowning in the urgency to send her flying.
Her body tensed and her fingernails dug into his flesh as she shuddered around him. He pulled his fingers from her wetness, bringing them to his own mouth, tasting her.
“So fucking sweet.”
She moaned in response, reaching out to wrap her hand around his hardness. He pulsed, and groaned. His blinding unbridled pleasure and torment building. He wanted to get lost in this woman, and take her every way she would let him. He knew one night would never be enough. He was so close. Tension throbbed, making it damn near painful with each second he was not inside her.
He needed to fuck her and get it out of his system because he had no room for uncomfortable sensations such as attachment. He couldn’t afford to feel this way about someone. But stopping seemed like the ultimate form of torture, and he wasn’t a masochist.
“I have to be inside of you,” he said, his lust boiling over.
She swallowed before asking, “Condom?”
“Always.” Jax leaned over the bed, reaching to grab a foil packet from his wallet.
He took off his mask before rolling the latex on, hazy with tension. He climbed back onto the bed and spread her thighs apart, nudging his tip at her hot entrance. Ready to put an end to his misery, he gripped her hips preparing to thrust inside.
She gasped. “Oh my god!”
He smirked. “My friends call me Jax, but I’ll take it.”
“I know,” she said.
Jax stopped, his eyebrow raising questioningly. “You know me?”
She pulled the black and gold mask from her face, the fireplace illuminating her lust-swollen lips.
“Fuck.” Jax froze in shock before raking both hands over his face in frustration at the dilemma.
“We still could,” she offered.
Jax jumped out of the bed, turning his back on her as he pulled on his clothes hastily.
“Jax, it’s not a big deal. Relax,” she said.
He looked at her for a second before blocking his view with his hand. “Harper, please put some clothes on.”
“That isn’t what you asked me a minute ago,” she teased.
Jax didn’t find one thing about the situation funny. “That was before I knew you were my best friend’s little sister and my boss’s daughter. Damn it!” He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Harper got up and dressed, fumbling to tie her dress. She looked embarrassed. “Sorry I was such a disappointment,” she said, grabbing her shoes and running towards the elevator, making a quick getaway.
Jax came bounding around the corner, following. “Harper, we need to talk about this!”
Click. The elevator doors shut before Jaxton could get there in time.
“Fuck!” he yelled out to himself in the empty suite.
How the hell was he going to fix this? How had he come so close to ruining all he had worked for in one night? How had Harper, younger half-sister of his best friend River Parker, grown into such a sexpot?
Chapter 2
Jax had texted Harper the moment she’d left, waiting and pacing for hours for a reply until he fell into a fitful sleep. The next morning he woke to a text alert. He grabbed the phone. Swiping, his heart sank with disappointment and unease when he saw it was River. Had Harper called her brother and told him everything?
River: Hey, bro. I got to Vermont. This place is way out in the sticks. Give me a quick call? Got a few questions.
Panic seized his chest, twisting his guts into tiny intricate knots. Jax, River, and Ethan had been best friends since high school. And he didn’t want to ruin their friendship over the fact that Jax had nearly had a one-night stand with River’s sister. Nearly. He hadn’t known it was Harper, so he technically hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d learned his lesson and would be checking the identity of any woman he was with in the future.
Jax: Harper, we need to talk about last night. How about you meet me for coffee?
Hours went by without a response. River texted and called two more times, but he ignored them. He needed to talk to Harper and see what she’d told him first. Flashes of her naked body twisted around him and possessed his thoughts. He could almost taste her on his tongue. Guilt and lust blurred together, ignited by the forbidden fantasy.
Hours went by before she responded.
Harper: Okay.
Later that evening, Jax stood in line at Tatte Bakery and Café while waiting for Harper to meet him.
Jax: What should I order you?
Harper: Surprise me.
Jax smiled at her interesting choice of words.
He would never in a million years have thought that River Parker’s baby sister would have grown into the woman he’d met at the masquerade ball. The last time he’d seen her was at her high school graduation. It had been five years of somehow missing running into each other. He knew she’d taken some time off after college to travel around the world.
Jax’s phone rang and he answered it, seeing River Parker on the caller ID. Feeling guilty for having ignored his friend’s calls and texts earlier that day.
“Hey, man,” Jax answered.
“Hey, bro. I thought you’d dropped off the face of the earth,” River said, joking.
“Nah. I’ve just had a lot going on. You know how it is,” Jax answered vaguely.
“Yeah? Work stuff or personal?” River asked.
“What about you? How is Vermont? Isn’t that a part of Canada? Do they speak English there, or French?” Jaxton asked, forcing a laugh.
“No. I’m still in the States, smart-ass. Pretty close to Canada though. It sure is different here.”
Jax could hear something else in River’s voice. “Yeah? Well when you get back, shoot me a text and we can meet up. Hope you’re staying in shape. The guys at practice missed you.”
“You know I am. Sounds good…I met someone,” River admitted.
“All the way up there in Vermont? Is she a local?” Jax asked, cautiously. Long-distance relationships rarely worked out. Never mind the fact that David Parker, River’s father and their boss, was grooming his son to take over the company. River couldn’t do that if he was distracted.
“Yeah, she owns the inn I’m staying at.”
“I’m happy for you, man. Can’t wait to meet her.” Jax half-lied.
“Yeah, hopefully. Just getting to know her, but there’s something unique about her.”
Jax laughed. “Oh boy, you’re in deep.”
River chuckled. “You sure you’re okay, Jax?” River pressed. “Anything I can help you with?”
Jax looked up to see Harper walk into the cafe. Her wavy brown hair was tucked behind her ear. She scanned the room. She wore skinny jeans and a loose flowy shirt that showed the right amount of cleavage to draw his attention, and remind him of how those soft peaks tasted in his mouth.
“Nah, bro. I’m good.”
Harper’s eyes landed on him and she walked over to greet him, with just a hint of pink in her cheeks. “Hey.”
“Is that Harper?” River asked through the phone.
Harper raised an eyebrow. “My brother, I’m assuming?”
He slipped his phone in his pocket and stepped to the front to order. “You would be correct.”
He ordered himself a black coffee and some sort of fancy sweet concoction for Harper with two muffins before they sat at a small table in the busy cafe.
Harper took a sip of her drink as Jax dove into the muffin, washing it down with the perfectly strong black coffee. He tried not to focus the way her full lips wrapped around the straw.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“It’s sweet. I like anything sweet. Can’t you tell?” Harper asked, motioning to her stomach and hips.
Where had the confident, sexy woman from last night had gone? Was she self-conscious because of his rejection? He grew livid at the thought. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think that’s why I stopped last night?”
Harper looked up, momentarily stunned. “Are you mad at me?”
“If you think you’re anything less than perfection, I might be.”
“Jax, I’m a little soft around the edges and it is no secret. Every girl has insecurities about her body.”
He wanted to tell her just how much he liked her soft edges, but instead he shook his head and said, “Where has the confident sex kitten from last night gone?”
Harper took a sip of her mostly cream and sugared coffee before answering, “She got kicked out. Must have been left with the whiskey and masks.”
Jax frowned and crossed his arms defensively. “I didn’t kick you out; you took off.”
Harper raised her eyebrows. “I was humiliated by how you reacted.”
“I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel that way. You understand now why I had to stop. Right?” he asked. Sparks danced between them, left over from the smoldering remnants of whatever it was they’d shared.
Harper’s speech faltered. “I—I don’t actually.”
Placing his hand over hers, he rubbed his thumb against the white flesh of her hand. The contact igniting the desire he still felt for her. He pulled his hand back abruptly, afraid of temptation. “Because you are my best friend’s baby sister and my boss’s daughter. I could lose everything I have worked so hard for and one of the rare and true friendships I have in this world.”
“Oh, I see.”
“You do?” he asked, confirming.
“Yes. You are afraid of moving outside your comfort zone. Risk scares you.”
Jax balled his hands into fists, sitting up straighter. “I’m not afraid.”
“Jax, I have had a crush on you since I met you.”
“When I was fifteen and you were ten?” he asked incredulously.
“Mmm hmm.”
“That’s the other reason why this would never work; you’re so much younger than I am.”
“Oh, so you have given this some thought? Have you made a pros and cons list?”
Jax had been caught. She knew his type A personality. “More like just a cons list.”
“Well, that isn’t quite fair. You can’t make a balanced decision based only on the negatives.” She pulled out a pen from her purse and scribbled on a napkin.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you with a pros list. First, we have sexual chemistry.”
Jax looked around, making sure no one else had heard her, and then he said firmly, “That’s what you’re starting with?”
She winked and continued. “Second, you are attracted to me.”
“Isn’t that kinda the same?”
“Nope. Tell me honestly, did it feel different with me last night than with anyone else you have ever been with? Because it did for me.”
Fuck yes, it did. That was part of the problem. She was being vulnerable with him, but he just couldn’t bear to be that honest with her. “Look, you are a beautiful girl—”
“Woman,” she corrected.
“You’re a beautiful young woman, and any man would be crazy not to be attracted to you. But I won’t take that any further.”
Her eyes fell back to the page. He’d hurt her. She bit her lip, and focused on the paper napkin once again.
“Third, you love my family.” She persisted, a little quieter.
Jax put his hand on the pen, halting her. “These are all great points, Harper, but it’s not going to happen.”
“I see. Well, I guess we have nothing else to talk about,” she said, not looking up. He could see she was holding back tears and her cheeks flushed pink.
“Harper, I don’t do relationships. And I love you like a little sister.”
She winced as if she was in pain. “That isn’t what you said last night,” she reminded him as she stood to leave.
“Harper, wait!” he called as she left the table abruptly, run-walking outside.
Jaxton followed her and the hot city air engulfed him. “Can you just wait a minute?” he asked, grabbing her hand to make her face him. He lifted her chin, forcing her to look in his eyes. Her jaw clenched as she narrowed her gaze defiantly.
The honey-brown pools he had gotten lost in last night torturing him with forbidden memories. What would have happened if their masks hadn’t been taken off? He probably would’ve had the best night of his life. She was right. They had something together that he had never felt with anyone else before. Fire and gasoline threatened to burn him from the inside out. She was dangerous in more ways than one. A relationship with her could jeopardize everything he had worked so hard and so long for.
“Can we still be friends?” He almost cringed as he said the words.
Harper’s eyes flickered with challenge. “Sure, Jaxton. We can be friends.”
He sighed in relief. “Can we keep what happened between us?”
“On one condition.” Harper piqued his curiosity.
“Which is?”
“Give me one kiss. A good kiss, like last night.”
Growing instantly hard, his groin ached at the thought. “Blackmailing me for a kiss? Am I that good a kisser?”
“Arrogant.”
Jax looked around at the few passersby. He pulled her hand and led her down a side street where there were less eyes.
Jax took her roughly into his arms, smashing his lips to hers. His kiss was fierce and aggressive as he tried not to give in to her wholly. He was afraid she would swallow him up, invading the dark closed off parts of him that no one was permitted to see. She tasted sweet, like caramel, fueling the want that blazed and surged between them. Her hands gripped the back of his neck, pulling him closer as she moaned. Harper’s kiss was the flame to his gunpowder. She was a force that threatened to knock him off his axis and send him tumbling into an abyss. Potent and powerful, he wanted to drop to his knees and bow before such a stunning vision of all that was good in the world. His body was losing its battle to resist her temptation each second her lips were fused to his, sucking a little more of his self-control. He could feel the rumble in his chest threatening to crack the wall he had so expertly built to protect himself. He was so damn tempted to give in, offer himself up as a sacrifice to end the war raging inside. Everything was spinning, lines crossing, tangling with warning and desire. His groin burned, aching for relief. He used his last bit of self-control to break the contact.
Harper licked her swollen lips. Her brown eyes were glazed with desire.
“Now, we never speak of this again to anyone. Deal?” he said, trying to sound unaffected.
“Yes,” she answered breathlessly. “I’ll be your dirty little secret.”
Harper’s words sent a rush of blood to his groin, and Jax pinched the bridge of his nose. This woman was going to be the death of him. “See you around, Harper.” He
turned to head back up the street.
“See you Monday, boss,” she said with a laugh.
Jaxton whipped around and stared hard at her. “What?”
“I start work at Parker Consulting Inc. Monday. Learning the family biz. Daddy said you would be the main consultant overseeing my…education,” Harper said, with a sly smile spreading across her face. “Should be fun.” She walked up to him and stood on her tiptoes to give him a peck on his cheek, while he stood still, stunned. “See you Monday.”
Jax was reeling from the news. With that kiss fresh in his mind, he was reminded just how electric the sparks were between him and Harper. The connection was like nothing he had ever experienced before in his life. Maybe, if the timing was right, he could approach her father and her brother and see if dating her was a possibility. But that couldn’t happen right now. Right now, his career was more important. Harper would just be a distraction. Damn this woman was making him entertain ideas of things he never thought he would; like a relationship.
If he couldn’t fuck her out of his system, avoidance was the only other option. Now he was going to see her almost every day, and under the watchful eyes of her father and brother. Jaxton gripped his chest, taking deep breaths. How the hell was he supposed to deal with this? He only had forty-eight hours to figure it out.
Chapter 3
Monday morning, Jax considered adding whiskey to his coffee, but having his full wits about him was of the utmost importance. Could he trust Harper to keep her word and not tell her father or brother about their night? Who was Harper Parker to him?
She was the little sister who had always been in the background of his time with River. Harper had been a spoiled princess, getting to travel whenever she wanted to. Her parents had bought her a home just as they had for River when he’d graduated college. He knew the girl she’d been in high school and the fact that her brother loved her fiercely, but he didn‘t know the woman of today. He assumed she hadn’t changed much in the last five years. Harper was still the daughter of his boss and the beloved sister of his friend, making her untouchable and completely off limits.