“Well, that’s an important conversation to have with your dominant. You shouldn’t suffer in silence. If you’re not both on the same page with what you want from the relationship, bad feelings will fester and finally explode.”
He picked up a tissue from a box on his desk and handed it to her.
She nodded, wiping at her face.
“For what it’s worth,” he added, “There are plenty of monogamous couples who grant each other permission to play with others, especially in public scenes at venues such as this one. It can be a way for couples to safely explore with others and dissipate those urges, without threatening the bond of their relationship.”
“Well, I hate it,” Bobbi declared.
He nodded. “Jax needs to know that. I’ll just tell you, though, Jax is…I’ve never seen him in a true relationship with a woman. He has play partners, and then he moves on. I’m not telling you this to hurt you, but you need to know what you’re getting into. Confidentially, he had a pretty brutal upbringing. He lost his mother at a young age, and his father, who was the Alpha of his pack in Florida, was known as a drunk, abusive bastard. It’s a wonder that Jax and his younger brother survived it. It’s left him hardened, and he doesn’t really open up to anybody.”
Bobbi nodded. “I appreciate you letting me know. It’s hard to hear, but…I’d rather go into this relationship with my eyes open.”
Cedric looked her over, an appreciative gleam in his eye. “Jax doesn’t know what he’s at risk of losing. You’re the most attractive woman I’ve ever seen him with – and it’s completely natural, which isn’t his usual thing. If things don’t work out with him…”
She forced a smile. “Thank you, Cedric, but it’s hard for me to think of anyone else when I’m with him.”
“Well, he’s a lucky man, then, although I doubt he appreciates it. Just keep it in mind.” And he turned to walk out of the office. She followed him, tossing her crumpled up mascara stained tissue into a wastebasket.
Cedric was actually quite attractive, and she could see herself being with him in other circumstances. But she’d be leaving town soon, as she always did – and more importantly, she wasn’t lying when she said that being with Jax completely fogged her thinking and pushed the thought of all other men out of her mind.
As they walked out into the hallway, they ran into Velvet, whose small, pretty face was puckered with concern.
“I was looking for you. Jax is done with Aurora. What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing. It’s just very hard for me to see Jax with another woman,” Bobbi said, pretending to sniffle.
“He’s a dumbass. Seriously, what a jerk,” Velvet said, as Cedric locked the office door and Bobbi followed Velvet back to the main room.
Velvet grabbed Bobbi’s arm. “Come with me,” she said, leading Bobbi around restraint stations and kneeling men and women, back to the bar. A blandly handsome man with dark hair, a goatee, and pale blue eyes was scrubbing the counter. He wore black leather pants and a black tank-top.
“Bobbi, this is Oliver. Oliver, this is Bobbi. Oliver is Aurora’s boyfriend; they live together.”
Oliver wiped his hands on his pants, and then reached over the bar and shook her hand. “So, you’re Jax’s girlfriend,” he said. “That was quite a scene they just had, wasn’t it? Red hot.” He winked at her.
“Actually, Bobbi is kind of new to this whole thing,” Velvet said. “I don’t think she’s used to seeing her boyfriend with another woman.”
“Oh, hey, those kind of scenes don’t mean anything,” Oliver said. “It’s just business. When she puts on a good show, it makes the customers hot. That’s all. Lots of the girls who work here have boyfriends; some of them are even married.”
“Yeah, at the end of the night, Aurora goes home with Oliver,” Velvet said.
“Good to know.” Bobbi managed a weak smile.
That might be true, but Aurora clearly spent plenty of time in the rooms servicing customers as well, so clearly she and Oliver had some kind of understanding.
“Well, I better let you get back to work,” she said, and turned to walk away.
“See? It’s no big deal,” Velvet said as they made their way through the crowd.
“How long has she been with him?” Bobbi asked, glancing back at him. He was leaning over the counter, flirting with a pretty blonde.
“Like, six months, I think. They’re pretty serious. They live together.”
Hmmm, Bobbi thought. So it wasn’t that Oliver had suddenly appeared in Aurora’s life and then men started dying.
“What are you thinking?” Velvet asked.
“Oh, if they’d been together for just a couple of months, I’d have wondered if Oliver were behind the deaths of her customers. Like, maybe he secretly didn’t like seeing her with other men, and it was some kind of curse…but it doesn’t sound like it.”
“I never got the impression that he was the jealous type. If anything, he’s always pushing her to go with rich guys. Kind of like a pimp, if you ask me,” Velvet said.
Suddenly, Bobbi spotted Jax standing with Aurora next to a table which had several dozen glowing candles on it; Velvet had told her earlier that the candles were used to drip hot wax on people’s sensitive parts.
Aurora’s back was cris-crossed with red lines, and she was practically purring with satisfaction. Caress stood nearby, arms crossed over her chest, glowering at them.
Bobbi felt her stomach churn at the sight of Aurora leaning on Jax, rubbing up against him. She took a deep breath. Okay, maybe this was just work for Aurora…but Aurora obviously really enjoyed her work.
What was she supposed to do now? What was the best way to keep her cover? Walk away, maybe flirt with some guys and chat them up, see what kind of information she could shake loose? Confront Jax? Or – he insides twisted at the thought –walk up to him with a big smile on her face and pretend that everything was fine and dandy?
Velvet abruptly marched up to Jax and slapped him across the face, hard.
Jax spun to stare at her, astonished. “What the hell was that for?”
“You know, when you have a real girlfriend, you’re supposed to treat her like one,” Velvet hissed, eyes narrowed with anger. “You really upset her with that scene. And now you’re rubbing yourself all over another woman, right in front of her?”
“Mind your own business!” Aurora glowered at Velvet.
Velvet’s eyes glowed an unearthly blue. She was some kind of witch, clearly.
“Make me!” The candles all flared suddenly, flames leaping a foot high. Pouting, Aurora turned and stomped off.
Jax rubbed his cheek, struggling to find words. “I, ahh…” he glanced at Bobbi, who made a big show of looking upset, blinking back tears and putting on her “I’m about to cry” face.
Then Jax said the last thing in the world that Bobbi would have expected. Words that she wouldn’t have believed that he had in his vocabulary.
“You’re right,” he said to Velvet.
Chapter Eight
Even though it was all an act Bobbi was putting on as part of their cover, seeing Bobbi’s tear-streaked face was like a punch in the gut. He hated seeing Bobbi upset – even fake-upset.
“I’m sorry,” Jax said to Bobbi. He glanced over at Velvet. “You’re right,” he repeated, “I shouldn’t have done that. It won’t happen again.” And he was telling the truth.
Velvet gave him an indignant eye roll. “Whatever. I know your reputation, Jax. Bobbi is a nice girl. She deserves better than you.”
“I know,” Jax said, meaning it with every fiber of his body.
Velvet grabbed a napkin from the bar and quickly scribbled her number on it, handing it to Bobbi. “Call me if you need anything,” she said, and walked off.
Jax slung his arm around Bobbi’s waist. People were watching them, eavesdropping. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said. “Let’s go.”
He suddenly realized that she had Cedric’s scent all o
ver her – and not just Cedric’s typical scent, but that special musky aroma that signified arousal.
His wolf roared beneath the surface, pacing and throwing itself against the cage of his skin. It wanted out, it wanted to tear across the room and rip Cedric to shreds, no questions asked.
But who was he to be jealous? He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing himself to stay calm.
Bobbi turned and followed him out of the club, and across the street to his car, where he stopped. “Listen, honestly…I really didn’t mean to upset you back there. If I did upset you, that is. That scene with Aurora – it meant nothing to me. I was just creating that distraction we’d agreed on.”
“It’s all right,” Bobbi shrugged, but he heard the faintest tremor in her voice. “It was all part of our cover.”
“Yeah, but…” it was true, and yet, it had felt wrong every minute that he’d been doing it. Normally, nothing turned him on so much as hearing a beautiful woman moan as he dealt out erotic punishment – it was just how he was wired. And he didn’t care who the beautiful woman was; it was all the same to him.
But this evening, the whole time that he’d been flogging Aurora, he’d pictured Bobbi, and it made him feel guilty and queasy.
“I should have come up with a different distraction. And if we ever need to have you search the club again – that’s what I’ll do,” he said. He paused.
“Umm, I noticed…”
“What?” she said.
“I…uh…I noticed Cedric’s scent on you,” he muttered.
“When I broke into his office, he came in just as I finished downloading the information. I pretended to be upset that you were having that scene with Aurora, and he hugged me and said he was sorry.”
“Did he really?” Jax’s eyes glowed, and for a brief second, the bones of his face rippled as he struggled to regain control. “Did he say anything else?”
“Does it matter?”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” A dark shadow swept over his face as fur started to sprout. Jax shook himself, and used all of his self-control to stay human, to keep the wolf caged within him.
His woman. Cedric had made a play for his woman.
Not his woman, he forced himself to remember. She didn’t belong to him.
Even saying those words in his head hurt.
Man, was he in trouble.
Bobbi raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you just start to wolf out on me? And I’m not interested in Cedric, by the way.”
“So you got the download? Let me have it.” Jax was desperate to change the subject. He needed to get his mind back on business.
“Later. I need to send a copy back to the Enforcer’s council, anyway.”
“I’ll send them a copy.”
“Really? Because a couple of days ago you were spending the better part of your days standing me up while your boss tried to arrange for you to meet with me.”
“That was before I found out how beautiful you were.” Jax bared big white teeth in a feral grin. Bobbi didn’t melt or simper, not that he would have expected her too; she was too smart to fall for his bullshit.
“Your eyes. They just did that turning brown thing again,” she said scornfully.
Atta girl, he thought admiringly. He loved it when she threw his garbage back in his face. Nobody else did that. He loved the challenge, loved how strong she was, loved that he’d finally found a woman worthy of dominating.
It couldn’t last, but why not enjoy the little time they’d have together?
A burst of laughter made them turn their heads; several couples were heading their way, towards the parking lot.
“We’ll discuss this at home,” Jax said.
Bobbi nodded, and they rode back to his apartment in silence. Bobbi was staring out the window, seeming a million miles away.
His heart quickened at the thought of what they might have found on the laptop. If he got the reward money, he’d never be beholden to anyone again. His own needs were simple, and it was easy enough for him to find bodyguard or bouncer gigs to support himself. All he wanted to do was to ensure his brother’s future, and he could relax, once and for all - as much as someone like him, who was coiled as tightly as a snake, could ever relax, anyway.
Jax’s apartment was in a low key area of town, in a former factory building which had been converted into lofts. Houses in the area were small and modest, but well kept up. Businesses tended to run to mom and pop grocery stores. His apartment was decorated in wood and leather, with little attention to decorating detail. Pictures of him and his brother, and art prints of classic Harleys, adorned the brick walls.
“I’m going to change and take a quick shower, and then we can talk,” Bobbi said when they were in Jax’s apartment.
He shook his head in mock sorrow, looking over the latex dress with fondness. “If you must.”
“Tell you what. I’ll keep wearing these heels if you put on a pair and walk in them for the next few hours. No? I thought not,” Bobbi grumbled, and headed into the bathroom with her overnight bag.
When she came out she was wearing gray sweatpants and a baggy white t-shirt, and she’d wiped all her makeup off. Her face was fresh and clean, her skin clear and rosy. She looked even prettier without makeup. When she slid onto the small couch next to him, she smelled like sunshine. She wore no perfume at all, just her own natural scent, and he wanted to taste every inch of her body.
She leaned back against the couch cushion, and her t-shirt pulled tight over her chest. Her nipples were hard, straining at the fabric of the t-shirt. She felt it too, he was sure of it.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He swallowed hard. Think of the money, think of the money. Think of anything but burying himself deep inside her wet heat and making her scream with pleasure. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, let’s just get down to business. Did you find out anything useful at the club?”
“Let me have that USB stick, and we’ll talk about it.”
She flashed him a challenging stare. “You don’t trust me, do you?”
“Nope.” He leaned back, moving away from her slightly, but it didn’t help. Her scent tormented him, promising ecstasy. “It’s nothing personal, sweetheart. I don’t trust anyone, not completely. And you don’t trust me either, or I’d already have that USB stick in my hand.”
“Fair enough. What are you afraid I’ll do, exactly?”
“There’s a substantial reward offered for the resolution of this case, as I’m sure you know. For personal reasons which I can’t get into, I need that money. I need to be the one that solves this case.”
Bobbi shrugged, and her he watched her breasts move under her shirt, and shifted uncomfortably on the couch.
“The money means nothing to me, but solving this case is vital,” she said. “I don’t have a problem with you getting the reward money, but I’m afraid that if I let you take the lead, you’ll cut me out of the investigation and then screw things up trying to resolve things on your own.”
“What makes you think I’ll screw things up?” Jax demanded indignantly.
“You’re hired muscle. You’re not an investigator, and you have no finesse. You nearly went wolf right in front of Stanford Roosevelt. You have a reputation for being temperamental, impulsive, and nearly causing an international incident with the daughter of the Prime Minister of Maribuntu.”
Maribuntu was a tiny nation in Africa. Jax had rescued said daughter, a lion shifter, from kidnappers; he’d gotten her safely home to her palace, only to have her try to sneak into his hotel room that night to personally thank him. Her bodyguards had been hot on her heels, and he’d barely made it out of the country alive.
“Hey. That was hardly my fault. I didn’t ask that woman to break into my hotel room,” he protested, suppressing a smile at the memory. She’d been stunning; he’d been dying to bite and lick her chocolate skin, but he knew not to mix business with pleasure. Especially when it involv
ed the rulers of small, medium, or large sized nations.
“How about when you saved the life of the head of Primestar Pharmaceuticals, and then publicly called him an arrogant douchebag and threatened to shove his head up his ass?”
Jax grinned again. “Well, I can explain that one. He was an arrogant douchebag. And he needed to back down before I shoved his head up his ass.”
Bobbi rolled her eyes. “I apologize, Jax, I was completely wrong about you.”
He held his hand out. “Good. Give me the USB stick.”
“Tell me what you found out.”
God, she was maddeningly stubborn. “I found out that Cedric is aware that the judge went crazy, and to be on the safe side, he had all the food and all the drink at his establishment tested for every type of toxin known to man. They took air samples, they took fabric samples from the bed in the private room where the judge spent time, they checked the air vents and AC unit, they checked the kitchen. Nothing.He also mentioned the doctor’s death, but he doesn’t know that it was a rage attack. It did concern him that two of his customers died within such a short time period; he knows that an establishment like his is controversial, and could be subject to people trying to harm him or his club for various reasons. He actually went so far as to call in a witch of some type, to see if there was a curse on the place. She couldn’t detect anything. He’s hoping it’s just a bizarre coincidence. If he knows anything more, or if he’s involved, he’s hiding it well. He does know that I work for Hammersmith Security; he mentioned that if there are any more deaths, he’d be interested in engaging my services to investigate.”
. He held out his hand again.
She shook her head. “I will give it to you first thing in the morning, as soon as I’ve had a chance to make a copy of it.”
Frustration pulsed through him. This woman was driving him crazy. Why couldn’t his fated mate have been sweet and compliant and eager to please?
The Alpha Meets His Match Page 9