by Lane Hart
"Ready?" he asks Page.
"Yeah, and I can't wait to find some more of those fruity drinks. You won't let me do anything too crazy will you?" she asks Jude with a smile.
"I will definitely watch out for you," he says to her, and then to me, "You trying to go incognito, bro?"
"Try being the key word," I respond, pulling the bill of my hat down while we wait for the elevator.
"I really don't want to deal with a bunch of cage cunts," Page groans, crossing her arms over what I now know in great detail is a very ample chest. She shocks the shit out of me by using the "c" word.
"It's an unavoidable occurrence with Jax. Even the rape charge won't slow down these hoes," Jude replies when the doors of the elevator open and we step inside with an older, gray-haired couple. The man and woman quickly retreat to the opposite side of the confined space from us.
"Do I need to remind you where my eyes are?" Jude asks Page quietly behind me, making her giggle.
"I'm sorry. It must be hard, trying to stay away from all the women who come on to you, unfairly treating you as a sex symbol," she whispers to him, her voice much more seductive than I care for. Actually, my carefully contained rage is boiling up inside me.
"It is really…hard to deal with," Jude answers, lowering his voice. "I could use some help easing the pain if you're willing to give me a hand...or even better a mouth."
Unable to take anymore I turn around to glare at them. The two are so close it takes all of my self-control not to deck my brother, especially when I see his hand covering his cock and Page's hard nipples showing through her shirt. I yank Jude by his arm and slam him against the opposite wall.
"It's okay, they're brothers," Page assures the couple. "Although I'm not sure why the older, angrier one is being such a dic...tator to the younger, sweeter one."
"Because I've warned him to keep his hands off of you," I reply, looking at my brother's smirking face while I pin him against the wall.
"I didn't have my hands on her," Jude replies.
"So you don't want me, but no one else can have me either? Is that it?" Page asks, and Jude's eyes widen in comprehension.
"You turned her down?" he asks me. "Why? I thought you-"
"She's my attorney and she's engaged," I remind her and him. "Even if he is an asshole."
The elevator ride from hell finally ends, and we all rush out of the cramped metal container, the older couple moving faster than the three of us.
When we make it outside to the patio, I go in the opposite direction from Page and Jude, needing distance before I do something I'll regret.
I keep walking until I'm on the beach, the sound of the waves drowning out the thoughts in my head. Well, most of them. Being jealous of my younger brother is nothing new. You'd think I'd be used to it by now since I've been putting up with the shit since the day he was born.
…
Page
"So, what the hell happened back there?" Jude asks me as soon as we submerge ourselves in the warm, bubbling water.
"Nothing."
"And that's why you're pissed at him? Because nothing happened instead of…something?"
I shrug in response.
"Well, let's hear it."
"There's nothing to tell. He said he wasn't interested in me…that way," I admit.
"Bullshit!" Jude exclaims, smacking his palms on top of the water. "He's lying to you and to himself."
"Even if that is true, then why would he lie?" I ask.
"He doesn’t want to get you in trouble."
"No one would find out," I tell him.
"And maybe that's the problem."
After thinking that over for a few minutes, I decide to turn the tables. "So what about you? Why don't you date?"
"Because I don't have time for that shit. I train day and night. I stay in the gym more hours than some people work every week. When I finally get done for the day, I'm wiped out."
"You can't take a few nights off?" I ask with a smile, not buying his excuse. Jax has time for women. Lots of them, apparently.
"Not if I want to win, and I haven't been winning, so I need to train longer, harder."
"Uh-huh."
Since the topic's been broached, I couldn't help but ask the question I've been curious about. "Jax said he thinks you're still a virgin. He was just joking, right?"
When Jude turns his head away instead of giving me a dimpled grin, I know it's actually true. This incredible looking, truly sweet man has never been with a woman.
"Attorney-client communications are kept confidential," I tell him.
"Fine," he huffs and then winces. “Technically, yes.”
"Oh my God, Jude! How is that even possible?"
"I don't know," he grumbles and shrugs. A reddish hue was even creeping up the tan skin of his neck. "At first, I just didn't want to screw around with girls in high school knowing I don't want or have time for anything more with them. Then after a while I figured what the hell, I've gone this long, might as well wait until I can be with someone I actually care about or whatever for the first time instead of some random slut. It's stupid, I know…"
"It's not stupid," I assure him. "She'll be a lucky girl, whoever she is."
"But she won't be you," he says as a statement, not a question. "I just like fucking with Jax to try to get him to own up to wanting you. And you are really hot."
"Thanks." I laugh. "So are you, and flirting is fun. Especially when Jax gets all pissed off."
"I swear I thought he was going to knock me out on the elevator." Jude chuckles.
"I'm an idiot," I say with a shake of my head.
"Do you love him? The dude you're engaged to?" he asks.
I snort at the thought of referring to Elliot as someone I love. “I can barely stand him most of the time.
"Then why the hell would you want to marry him?"
Because my dad told me to. Is that the best reason I’ve got?
"I don't know. I don't think I want to anymore," I admit.
"Well good for you, I guess." Jude smirks. "So that only leaves one small problem."
"Big problem."
"But the rule doesn't apply after he's no longer your client, right?"
"I don't know. I guess not."
"Then why not let someone else take over his case?" he asks.
"I want to be the one to try it. That is, if he'll still let me."
"But you want to try him, too." He laughs.
"Yeah, and he literally just slammed a door in my face when I took my shirt off."
"Wow. That was maybe the stupidest decision of his life," Jude says with a shake of his head.
…
We spend most of Saturday out on the beach. Jax and Jude went off together and ran what seemed like the entire New Jersey coast for their cardio workout. All I know is that they came back with sweat cascading over the rippling muscles of their bare chests, down to their nylon shorts.
When they left things were somewhat tense between the brothers, but when they returned they seemed back to their normal, playful selves. Well, as playful as Jax gets. I was relieved since I didn't want to be the cause of any sort of bad feelings between the two. Despite what Jax may think, I don't want his younger brother. Last night I just wanted to make him jealous, to take a little of the sting away from his flat out rejection of sleeping with me.
The guys are ready to hit the water after running their marathon and insist I join them. My pale skin is starting to get toasty, and although I enjoy their father's company from his seat next to me, I've missed the brothers' bantering.
"So how was your run?" I ask them as we waded into the water up to our knees.
"It was good," Jude answers, smiling behind his dark shades so I can't see his eyes. "We only got stopped, what was it Jax, maybe a dozen times or so by skanks?"
There was no ignoring the boulder of jealousy hitting the bottom of my stomach.
"Two dozen." Jax chuckles from the other side of me.
; "So, Page, what are you up to tonight?" Jude asks after a good size wave crashes against us at waist level.
"Nothing that I know of," I reply.
"You should come with us to see the fights," he replies.
"Fights?" I ask.
"Yeah. In the Xanadu Theater, the one at the back of the hotel? It starts at eight. There's only one for a title, but there are ten other fights on the card. It'll give you a chance to see up close and personal what we do," Jude tells me.
"Sure, sounds fun," I say. "If you guys don't mind me tagging along."
"I could probably use your security services to run off the cage cunts," Jax teases, the first words he's spoken to me since I made a fool of myself last night.
"Maybe I could get some of that yellow ‘Caution’ police tape to form a circle around you. Although, it'll probably take some big bouncers to handle that sort of job," I joke. About that time a wave breaks right in my face before I can turn my head away. I end up spitting out a mouthful of salty sea water. Yuck.
"You okay?" Jude laughs. "It's easier if you dive underneath the waves instead of taking them on face first."
Jax must follow the same advice because he surfaces a good distance away from us in the calm part of the ocean. He swipes a hand through his dark hair, pushing it off his face as he turns around and looks for us. The motion makes the muscles in his chest and arm flex in the sunshine. God, he looks freaking edible.
"We talked about you," Jude says, lowering his voice.
"What about me?" I ask although I can probably guess. The embarrassment I caused myself yesterday.
"He wants you-"
I scoff.
"He does, and for the first time in his life he's actually making the decision to not carelessly fuck a woman."
"Yay me," I say, pumping both of my fists in the air.
"Because this time he cares. He doesn't want you to lose your law license because of him."
Of course, he's right. No stupid, silly fling is worth what I worked years in school for. But what's the harm when it's just us in the privacy of a hotel room?
"I also think he's scared," Jude says before ducking under a wave that splatters across my nose and mouth.
"Of what?" I sputter when he resurfaces.
"That you're more than a one-night stand, which is unheard of for him."
"Why are you telling me all this, Jude?" I ask in exasperation.
"Because all it will take is another little push or two from you and he'll break. According to him, he hasn't fucked anyone in like two weeks. That's ten times as long as his previous record. Flash a little tit and ass, flirt with him. Hell, flirt with other dudes, and I guarantee he's gonna snap."
"So you're saying I should keep making a fool of myself?"
"You're not making a fool of yourself. If he wasn't attracted to you and you kept at it, that would be sort of sad. But I'm telling you, Page, he's more fragile than glass when it comes to giving into you."
"Well, here goes nothing," I say to Jude with a smile when we finally reach Jax.
…
Jax
I watch as Jude and Page take their sweet ass time getting through the waves. Despite Jude's assurance this morning that there's nothing going on with him and her, I can't help that familiar jealousy from rearing its ugly head.
"It's nice out here," Page says when she's only a few feet away. She's close enough that I can see her bikini through the murky chest-deep water, a skimpy purple one today.
Jude goes into back floating mode, which is easy to do here where the water's calm.
Page ducks all the way under the water and surfaces, adjusting the cups of her bikini. Her hair is braided in two ponytails today, and rather than make her look young and innocent she's so fucking hot she could be posing for a goddamn Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. My cock is throbbing painfully under my thin board-shorts. It's been so long for me, and she is just so fucking sexy.
I'm lost in my own head imagining running my tongue down her wet neck and in between her heavy tits when I'm hit with a face full of gritty saltwater. I swipe my palm over my face and look up to find Page laughing. I've been dying to get my hands on her, and she might as well have just sent me an invitation.
"You can swim, right, rich girl?" I ask her.
"Yes. I mean no. No, I can't." She shakes her head and lies unconvincingly while backing away.
I dive into the five feet of water and jerk her legs out from under her, pulling her down until her ass hits the sandy ocean floor. Page's hands shoot out, reaching for something to hold on to and finding my shoulders. She squirms and fights for a few seconds, pushing against me until she's back on her feet again.
When I resurface, I expect her to look pissed. Instead, she's actually smiling as she wipes the water from her eyes. I know it's a bad idea, and that I'm playing with fire, but I can't resist this. Flirting with her. Touching her. I'm a goner.
I lurch forward, scooping Page up in my arms. "Hey, Jude. Catch," I yell to him and then toss her in his direction. She lands with a squeal and a big splash right in front of him. Before she can get to her feet, Jude grabs her up and throws her back to me. She lands with such force on this fall that the back of her bikini comes untied. Two triangles of purple fabric float to the surface of the murky water, leaving her bare breasts behind. Now all that holds her top on is the strings tied at her neck.
I jump in front of Page, blocking Jude's view, as well as anyone else who happens to be watching from the shore before she flashes them. I'm only a foot away from her and can clearly see the outline of her pale titties even through the distorted reflection of the water. God I'd give anything to reach out and touch them. My hands would only need to move forward just a little bit. Oh, but then my mouth would be jealous and need a taste.
"Um, Page?" I say, unable to look away.
"What you jerk?" she asks with a teasing tone.
"Your top," I tell her.
She glances down and gasps before submerging herself lower into the water.
Why did I tell her? Oh yeah, because it was the gentlemanly thing to do, and I didn't want her flashing the entire Jersey shore.
"Crap! Will you retie it for me?" she asks, spinning around and presenting her back to me.
I reach for the two floating strings, and unfortunately, tug them back into a bow for her.
"Thanks," she says, swimming away out to sea like she's embarrassed. Honestly, it's not much more than what she showed me last night when she took her shirt off in her room.
"No one saw anything," I assure her.
"Saw what?" Jude asks when he swims closer.
"My top came undone," Page tells him.
"Well damn. How the hell did I miss that?" he whines.
Page shakes her head and flashes me a smile as she swims backward. She stops suddenly, belting out a scream before yelling, "Son of a bitch!"
Since the woman never curses it must be something bad. She starts swimming frantically back toward Jude and me. "Go back! Watch out! Fucking jellyfish!"
Oh shit! She must've been stung by one of the bastards.
"Where did it get you?" I ask when she makes it back to us, her face scrunched in pain.
"Lower back...and leg," she says between pants.
"Is it bad?" I ask although I know it's a stupid question as soon as it leaves my mouth.
"God yes."
"Are the tentacles still stuck in you?" Jude asks. I have no idea what the hell he's talking about. He must've seen some shit about jellyfish on the Discovery Channel or something.
"I don't know!" Page exclaims. "I can't see it!"
"She probably needs to go to an urgent care and get checked out," he says to me as we head back to the shore. "You gonna take her?"
"Damn right," I respond to his question, making it clear that I'll take care of her, and we don't need his help.
"Hey, I don't need to see a doctor! I'm fine. It's just a little burn," she says, and then she stumbles in the knee high
waves, worse than when she was drinking the night before. "Okay a lot of burn, but I'm sure it'll stop hurting in a few minutes."
Jude and I exchange a look that says we're not convinced. I start to reach for Page to pick her up but want to avoid the area that's hurting. "Which side is the sting on?" I ask.
"Um, the right. Why?" she asks. Instead of answering, I simply show her by grabbing her up on the left side with an arm under her knees and the other around her upper back.
"Ow!" Page says with a wince.
"Did I hurt you?" I ask her.
"No, it just...hurts."
"You're not going to bitch and tell me to put you down because you can walk?" I ask her, as I head to where we've set up camp on the shore, and my dad is still sitting.
Page shakes her head no, and then surprises me when she snakes her arms tightly around my neck to hold on.
"Damn, then you must be in serious pain."
"It's better now," she says, and when I glance down she's smiling up at me, her face only inches away from mine.
"Jude, did she really get stung?" I tease, holding her bottom up higher for him to examine her back and leg.
"Goddamn!" he mutters. "That looks like hell, Page."
"Yeah, and it feels like it, too, thank you very much," she replies, actually sticking her tongue out at me.
"Apparently, it also makes you act like a five-year-old," I joke when we make it back to our chairs and towels. "Or maybe that's your braids."
"Here," my dad stands up from his lounge chair, grabs my black Baltimore Ravens hat from my pile of things, and says, "If you're going to touch her, at least try not to be so damn obvious."
I bend my knees so he can put it on my head, and then he slides my dark sunglasses on my face.
"Good thing you don't have any distinguishable tattoos to give your identity away," Page says, eyeing my chest closely like there might be a microscopic one hidden that she's somehow missed.
"Not a one. I'm scared of needles," I tell her honestly, making her laugh. "And that information better remain attorney-client privileged."
"You could easily kill a man with your bare hands, but tiny little needles scare you?" she asks with a smile. Just the thought of the damn instruments makes me shiver.