by A. M. Kusi
“I know. You’re right. I think we need to talk and get some things in the open. We just have to keep this relationship secret for one more month and then everything will get better.”
“I hope so, for your sake. I love you. You know that, right?” Isa asked.
“I love you too.”
“Call me later and let me know how it goes.”
“I will,” Harper agreed.
“I want every sordid detail. The more explicit, the better.” Isa laughed.
Harper smiled. “Goodbye.”
***
Jax parked his car and walked into his apartment building, finding Harper leaning against his front door with a bag at her feet.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
She looked up and smiled, seeming unsure. “I ordered dinner,” she said, grabbing the bag at her feet. “I missed you.”
“Feeling better?” he asked, sliding his key into the lock and opening the door. Seeing Harper in a flowery sundress and sandals sent the familiar buzz of attraction pulsing back through his veins. Seeing her was like taking a breath of fresh air for the first time since Saturday. But he wouldn’t admit that it had anything to do with her.
“Yes,” she answered, setting the food onto the counter and opening the containers.
He set his messenger bag on the other end of the bar and took a seat. She was preparing their dinner, taking out plates and utensils. Something about the small act reminded him why this dilemma had been such a hard one to solve. When Harper was around, he sometimes forgot why his job was more important than their secret relationship.
She seemed less confident than usual. Almost as if she was afraid to look him in the eyes and see what was there. She doubted him. The truth was, he couldn’t give her the answers she wanted. Not yet.
“Sorry, I have been busy the last few days. I should have checked in on you.” He accepted the plate she handed him.
“I just…” She started, looking down at the counter. She was silent for a few moments, seeming to struggle with what to say.
“I screwed up this week at work and lost a consulting gig.” The admission of failure scraped his throat like gravel. The moment the confession left his lips, his shoulders seemed lighter.
Harper looked up, her expression softening. “What happened?” His goddess, always ready to offer him comfort in whatever way he needed. Bursts and shimmers erupted knocking at his ribs, the meaning working its way up his throat. He swallowed hard. Jax wasn’t ready to face what it meant.
He wasn’t going to admit that he’d been distracted thinking about what she had said to him, that she loved him, when he should have been in a meeting with a hotel CEO. That he had been so out of sorts since Saturday that he had missed the appointment entirely. The hotel had decided to go with another consulting company because of his unprofessionalism. Being around her made him unhinged and off balance. “I missed an appointment.”
“Do you think maybe you’re too busy sometimes?” she asked.
“What?” he asked defensively. It was her fault he hadn’t been focused. She was the distraction. She was chaos with an easy smile.
“I mean, if you missed the appointment, maybe you had too many other things to worry about. Maybe think about taking something off your plate. I know you have had more on than normal because my dad is away and River has been…distracted. I’m sure next week, when my father gets back, things will slow down for you,” Harper explained.
“Yeah, maybe,” he conceded. There was no point in arguing with her; she just didn’t understand that his career was demanding and it always would be. Another reason he needed to reconsider this thing between them.
“Jax, I want to talk to you about Saturday,” Harper said, looking down at her food again.
“Do we have to?” he said aloud before he could filter it.
She glanced up, hurt flashing in her eyes.
He was an idiot. He stood and walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. She smelled amazing, and his body responded. If there was anything he never doubted between them, it was their sexual chemistry.
“I’m sorry. I just want to get this next month out of the way, get this promotion, and then we can have a talk about everything and anything,” he promised.
Her body relaxed and she let out an audible sigh. “I’m going to hold you to that.” She smiled and turned to face him.
He bent his head down bringing his mouth to hers. They kissed and it was like the stars aligned in that moment, and everything seemed right again. Jax pulled her hungrily towards the stairs and she didn’t protest. She followed him up to his bedroom, where he pulled her dress over her head. Harper undressed him, taking his suit off, piece by piece, and let it fall onto the floor. He pushed her gently onto the bed before grabbing his tie from the pile on the floor.
“What’s that for?” She asked, her eyes nearly black with lust.
“You.”
It was time he fulfilled her fantasy.
Jax slipped the tie around her eyes, blindfolding her so that she would be able to experience every touch, every lingering kiss his mouth made on her body with that much more amplification. He grabbed two more ties and bound her hands to the headboard, before repeating the process with her feet so that she was spread out beneath him.
He pressed feather light kisses from the inside of her foot, up her legs, to the inside of her thighs. He sucked as she wiggled, goose bumps erupting all over her bare flesh.
She let out a needy sigh when he pressed a kiss to her sweet heat.
“What is it baby? What do you need?” he asked, wanting to hear her say it.
“I need you.”
“What part of me?” he pressed, wanting specifics.
“Your mouth.” She blushed.
“Where do you need my mouth?”
“I want your tongue inside me. Please,” she begged, her words dripping like honey down to the throbbing ache in his groin.
He chuckled. “As you wish.”
He kissed, licked, and fucked her with his tongue, while she struggled against the restraints. He used two fingers to dip inside her hot pleasure well while he swirled, flicked, and raked his teeth over her sweet spot. Tensing and panting she came, coating him in her release.
He licked her clean, before moving to kiss her mouth.
“See how good you taste?” he asked, sucking her tongue in his mouth.
She moaned. “I want you in my mouth.”
Searing lust blazed through him. Pressure built, threatening to combust from the image of her hot little mouth wrapped around him.
He moved, guiding the moist tip to her mouth, as she hungrily stroked him with her tongue. He pulsed with anticipation as she took him in, sucking as he slowly thrust rhythmically between her lips. Pleasure spun, potent and urgent. His release was too close. He pulled out of her, wiping the drool that dripped down her chin.
She licked her lips, savoring him, nearly blinding him with need. He refocused on those pink rose buds. He sucked one sweet, juicy nipple into his mouth, while one hand massaged the other possessively. His free hand traveled back down her soft stomach, finding the crevice to the door of his fantasies. He clamped down his teeth in the same moment his fingers met her swollen nub.
She arched her back, needy and desperate. Moaning and panting in tiny gasps, begging him to fill her. His desire for her grew to an all-consuming need. He held her hips, nudging into her slick entrance in one quick thrust. She screamed out as her orgasm shuddered and radiated through her body. His tightly coiled lust unraveling his self-control, freeing him of all constraints.
“Please, I need you. I want it all. Come inside me,” she pleaded.
He lifted the bind fold from her eyes and untied her legs before lifting them over his shoulder. His eyes glued in connection a
s he pumped, faster and harder, giving her what she wanted. She tensed around him, and he could tell by her moans that she was close. His body was taut with need, pulsing and throbbing. He clenched his muscles as his release exploded from him, glancing up just in time to see the moment she soared, with her own orgasm radiating through her beautiful expression. Shimmers lit his vision. She was glowing.
He stared at her spread out for a few moments, taking in the stunning sight of her breathless, her hair flowing all around her on the pillow. The room smelled like sex and roses, his new favorite combination. Her eyes looked to him adoringly and so fucking trusting. It scared him how easily she could overpower his senses.
He untied her and rubbed the red marks on her wrists. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, worried he’d gotten too carried away.
“Not in a bad way.” She smiled and laid her head on his chest.
As they lay sleepy and satiated, naked against one another, Jax felt a warm swelling flutter in his heart. Maybe it was love; maybe it wasn’t.
But in that moment, he decided he would do whatever it took to end up in this woman’s arms every night.
Chapter 24
Jax barely recognized himself. Over the next few weeks, he made an effort to amaze Harper with her favorite cake pops, coffee, and exciting new takeout. Her parents were back in town so they kept the going out to a minimum. Harper gave him the cooking lesson they had talked about, and Jax surprised her and got off early one day from work to cook her a meal from scratch.
He hoped she saw the effort he was putting into their relationship, even though they were still hiding it. They made a point to sneak in any moments at work that they could, taking advantage of her office once or twice.
River was in Vermont. Ella had been in an accident and he had stayed there for the last three weeks. His consulting accounts had been spread between Jax, Simon, and Natasha. Harper was still working side-by-side on projects with the different consultants, and Jax made sure she was taking the lead on some of them. She was ready for her own account, but David hadn’t given her one yet.
It was a Monday, and Harper had been nervous all weekend for her gynecological appointment. She’d asked Jax to come with her. She had a valid reason to be concerned with her family history. The last thing he wanted to do was take his girlfriend to the lady doctor, but she needed him. She had been there countless times when he’d needed her support and hadn’t even known how to ask for it. The least he could do was return the favor.
They entered the waiting room of the doctor’s office. It was filled with women of all ages and a few young children and babies.
The woman who greeted them was friendly and handed Harper a clipboard with paperwork to fill out. A young boy played with cars in the chair next to his mother, making crashing noises. A younger couple sat across from them, holding hands as the woman’s leg bounced up and down nervously. Her boyfriend had his other hand wrapped around her comfortingly. Jax averted his eyes, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. He took a cue from the young man, and placed his hand over Harper’s shoulder and kissed her cheek.
“You are going to be fine,” he said.
She smiled and looked up to him. “I know. I just can’t wait to get this over with and go on with my life for the next year. I also need to get a new birth control prescription.”
He nodded. “Do you need me to come in with you?”
She blushed. “I rather you not see that part.”
He let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to go in. “No worries. There are plenty of gossip magazines here to keep me occupied. I have been dying to know if Brangelina are getting back together,” Jax joked, motioning to the outdated magazines.
A nurse came out and called Harper’s name. He gave her one more kiss on the cheek before she disappeared through a door.
As Jax waited, he looked at the pile of glossy magazines on the worn coffee table and picked up a cardboard pamphlet on cervical cancer by the Cancer Center:
The Pap test is one of the most reliable and effective cancer screening methods available, and women should have yearly exams by an ob-gyn. However, the Pap test may not detect some cases of abnormal cells in the cervix. The HPV test screens women for the high-risk HPV strains that may lead to cervical cancer. Although screening methods are not 100 percent accurate, these tests are often an effective method for detecting cervical cancer in the early stages when it is still highly treatable. Talk with your doctor about which type of cervical cancer screening is right for you.
Jax skipped down to where it talked about the early warning signs of cervical cancer, and continued reading:
When present, common symptoms of cancer that develops in the cervix may include vaginal bleeding, including bleeding between periods, after sexual intercourse, or post-menopausal bleeding; unusual vaginal discharge, which may be watery, pink or foul-smelling; and pelvic pain. All of these cervical cancer symptoms should be discussed with your doctor.
Damn. The things women had to deal with were mind-blowing. Harper had got her period twice last month, and the thought brought a momentary panic to his body. Harper hadn’t seemed too worried about it at the time, but maybe she was just trying to hide it from him. Jax read on to the signs of advanced cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer may spread (metastasize) within the pelvis, to the lymph nodes or elsewhere in the body. Signs of advanced cervical cancer include:
Weight loss
Fatigue
Back pain
Leg pain or swelling
Leakage of urine or feces from the vagina
Bone fractures.
He was glad she didn’t have any of those symptoms and felt a little better. It was no wonder Harper was so worried about her appointment every year. Knowing what her mother had been through made Jax have more respect for the quiet and gentle Sandra Parker.
About forty-five minutes later, Harper came out of the appointment.
Jax waited until they were in the car to ask her, “How did it go?”
“As well as having a stranger insert their hand inside of your vagina can go. It was awkward and uncomfortable.”
“Ugh,” he said, cringing at the mental picture her description conjured in his mind. “When do you get the results?”
“A week to ten days usually.”
Jax and Harper spent the rest of the week going through the motions at work and spending the nights tied up in each other’s arms. He tried his hardest to help her forget the feeling of anything but him inside her.
Thursday, David sent an email calling a meeting in the conference room for the following afternoon. Jax and Harper drove in separately on Friday as usual. She was the last to arrive, with the exception of her father. She took a seat opposite Jax at the table.
Natasha leaned over as she placed her hand on his arm and whispered, “May the best woman win,” in his ear.
He smiled and nodded. He looked up at Harper and, seeing daggers of ice in her eyes, his smile quickly faded. He gave her a wink, trying to set her at ease.
“Thank you, everyone, for joining me. I have a few things we need to go over today,” David said, taking his seat at the end of the table before continuing. “I’ll cut straight to the chase; you all have been doing a great job helping Harper get acclimated here. I wanted to get everyone’s opinion as to her progress. Can you each meet me next week with a detailed analysis of her strengths and where she has room to grow as a consultant?”
Everyone nodded. Jax saw Harper shift uncomfortably in her seat.
David cleared his throat. “I have thought a lot about the work you three have put into the company, and who I feel is the best fit for the promotion to executive consultant. I have come to a final decision.”
Jax sat up straighter in his seat, hanging on every word that David spoke. He was ready. He had worked his whole life for this day. He had contr
olled every part of his existence to revolve around this job. At least, until Harper had come into his life. Still, his work ethic was unmatched and his record was almost spotless, all except for that one account he had lost.
David spoke. “I chose this person because they are hardworking and dedicated to this company. They are focused and always on top of things. This person is reliable and eager to learn more.”
As David listed the attributes, Jax couldn’t help but check off each of the boxes for himself.
“I would like you all to welcome Natasha as our new executive consultant.” David smiled and walked around to shake Natasha’s hand.
Jax must have been hearing things. David Parker had just announced Natasha for the new position. How could that be?
He had been there longer. He had taken on more of the load, working from home on the weekends. He was always on time, and had never even taken a sick day. He had left one day early so he could surprise Harper with a home-cooked dinner. Could that be the reason? He had lost that one account because he was so distracted by Harper’s admission of love. Was that why Natasha beat him for the promotion?
She hadn’t let herself get distracted, even though she was a single mom. Other than the length of her employment at the company, she was a formidable opponent in every sense of the word. She absolutely deserved it, but so did he. Why had David chosen her instead of him?
He caught himself and put a mask on over his emotions, steeling his reaction. He stood and shook Natasha’s hand, congratulating her. He just wanted to get out of that room.
After it ended, he left the meeting, practically running to his office and shutting the door. He sat behind his desk and let his face fall into his hands. Everything he had worked for had just slipped through the cracks and out of his reach. Why had he even spoken about the promotion to his father? Now he would have to tell him he didn’t get it. Panic, anger and disappointment swirled and bubbled inside him.
A soft knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. “Come in,” he said, guarding himself.