by Lexi Ostrow
Whirling on him, Adrianna glared at him. “Do not start World War three. I do not care how many times you’ve seen combat; I do not want you fucking up this day for her.”
The grin shifted into a satisfied smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest, accentuating how small the borrowed Best Man tux was on his muscular frame. She wasn’t certain if the whimper she’d made in her head at the action had come out of her mouth or not.
“There’s the girl I remember. Glad to see she’s still in there after all these years.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s supposed to mean I was rather fond of the person you were and am glad to see you haven’t changed – merely that you’re trying to keep my baby sister calm.” He strode past her. “I believe Dad mentioned the photos will be out front, follow me everyone and someone tell the caterer to bring out the drinks, if I know Kailey we will be out there a lot longer than expected trying to get the photos just right.”
“Jaxon! I swear you live to annoy me. You could be anything you wanted to be, and instead, you choose to make it your life’s work to piss me off.”
He blew his sister a kiss. “Always, Kailey. Always.”
“You know, I meant what I said earlier,” Jaxon said casually as he lifted the whiskey glass to his lips and took a sip as he sidled up next to Adrianna.
Turning ever so slightly she looked at him, finally able to do so without being reminded of her teen fantasies about him. “Meant what?”
“That you looked beautiful.”
A small chill raced through her, but she ignored it. Facing him fully, she studied his expression for any indication that he was up to something or wanting something. All she saw were two bright eyes staring back at her with whimsy in them and a chiseled jaw made for fantasies.
“Thanks.” Cringing, she wondered if it sounded as jilted aloud as it had in her head.
Chuckling, he polished off his drink at set it on a server’s tray as they walked by. “You don’t seem to take compliments too well. Makes me wonder if you don’t get them often enough.”
“I take them just fine. Just not from my best friend’s older brother who almost always had an ulterior motive for everything he did back in high school.”
He held his hands up in mock surrender, his smirk shifting into a goofy grin. “You’ve wounded me.”
She smirked that time, reminded of all the times they’d traded comments in this fashion before he’d gone away. “Yes, well, I’ve had plenty of years to practice.”
Jaxon shook his head and offered his hand. “Dance with me?”
Inside, she was thrilled at the question, her heart pounded so frantically she wondered if he couldn’t hear it where he stood a few inches from her. Externally, she raised her right brow. “Why?”
Jaxon’s laugh was loud and boisterous, everything he’d always been. Only, when he sniggered as the man before her, there was something sensual about the way it traveled through his body, making his every muscle appear to flex.
“Because we’re standing here in fancy outfits with good music, great weather and because I asked.”
Tentatively, she slipped her hand into his and allowed him to tug her toward him, stopping with just enough space between their bodies for the spring sunlight to shine through. A pleasant hum seemed to race through her body at the contact, but she did her best to ignore it, knowing this was nothing more than his way of finding something to do for the afternoon. Yet, as her arms went around his neck, she was acutely aware of the difference to their relationship this act was.
Letting herself move to the music she did nothing save for feel the beat of it coursing through her. She’d always loved dancing and had often been teased for joining the school’s dance team because aesthetically, she didn’t fit in. That was the thing growing up in New Orleans, everyone was sunshine and daisies down in the quarter, but politics and race backgrounds were more than present in Algiers where she’d lived – she wasn’t fortunate enough to have parents with a cushy uptown near-mansion sized home, but she’d tested into Academy of the Sacred Hearts young and had met the Donovan’s.
“I’d forgotten how carefree you looked when you danced,” Jaxon’s words cut through the serenity of the music.
Her eyes popped open, and she hadn’t even realized they’d been closed. “You’ve watched me?”
“I’ve always watched you – and watched out for you.” His voice was deep as he spoke, his eyes intensely focused on her.
Her nipples pebbled with excitement as she observed him looking at her. Hunger shone from the depths of his eyes, with a look she’d only dreamed he would have for her.
“Thank you.” She whispered, wanting to ask him something else, but not daring to open that door.
“It was my pleasure.” He practically growled the words.
They slipped into a rather awkward silence as their bodies continued to sway effortlessly together. Her heart continued its rapid beating, mocking a drum-line battle with every second that passed. She wanted to look away, to break whatever spell Jaxon was casting over her, but she couldn’t, or rather, she didn’t want too.
“You’ve changed,” the words slipped out.
He nodded, his eyes closing briefly as he did. “You don’t see the things I’ve seen and remain a cocky rich kid.”
“Has it been difficult?”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Instead, he took her arms from around his neck and placed one on his shoulder and took the other in his hand. A classic dance position, and yet, it thrilled her in ways she couldn’t understand.
“That’s not proper wedding talk.”
“Humor me. I want to know what changed my best friend’s big brother.”
He blew out a breath, and she could practically feel a blanket of sadness fall over them as he did.
“They’re right you know, when they say death has a way of changing a person. My first mission I watched a family – four kids and a father – trigger on an IED meant for us, for the Americans.”
His voice cracked as he spoke and the faraway look could only mean he was back there, reliving some private moment as he spoke. Guilt wracked through her, knowing she was the reason he was trapped in some memory battlefield, but she wanted to know more.
“I’m sorry.” She murmured, gasping as he twirled her, likely spinning her away so she couldn’t see the pain in his eyes.
“Most people are.” He hadn’t snapped at her, but he might as well have. He pulled her tighter, pressing their bodies together as he spoke next. “I lost almost everyone in my unit. We had a liberty day – sorry a day off of sorts – I wanted to stay behind, so I did with my company commander. They drove over an IED, just right fucking over the thing. Blew the hummer sky high, killed them all. Six of them, gone without so much as second of time passing between when the tire connected with the fucking thing, and it went off. I wasn’t even there to help, just heard the news from someone who saw it.”
The pain in his words was like a knife passing through her. Tears sprang into her eyes, slowly falling down her cheeks. She’d heard the utter devastation in his words, even though she’d been too afraid to look him in the eyes as he spoke.
“Sorry. I’m betting you haven’t had too much contact with people like me – people that wake up screaming in the middle of the night from what their jobs have forced them to do and made them witness too.”
She blew out a deep breath and flinched as his hands gently held her face while his thumbs tenderly wiped away the tears from her cheeks. Everything ceased to exist saved for the man touching her. The music and backyard melted away, seeming to leave them in a blank space meant just for them.
Their gazes held as his thumbs continued to stroke over her face, even though the tears were long gone. Every fantasy from her youth slammed into her, and before she knew it, she was on her tiptoes, slanting her mouth over his.
The moment their lips touched she felt a spark, unlike anything she’d eve
r experienced. Call it years of anticipation or fireworks, both applied as their mouths gingerly glided together. One hand slipped away from her face only to land on the small of her back and tug her against him. He was like a wall – a solid, but warm, wall that held her safe from anything on the other side of it. Heat from his body seemed to jump to hers, warming her with every second that passed.
When his tongue traced along the seam of her lips, she nearly pulled away. As her mouth opened and their kiss deepened all she could think about was how much more amazing actually kissing him was than in her teenage dreams. It was clumsy at first, but they learned one another quickly as their tongues danced together the way their bodies had been doing moments prior. She quivered with bliss and moaned as the hand still gently holding her face, shifted around to the back of her head and sunk into her hair, cradling her head against it.
She was falling into nothingness as sensations – desire, warmth, lust – began to curl around her, dragging her deeper and deeper into an abyss that was Jaxon Donovan.
“Aid!”
Someone shouted, drawing her slightly from the cocoon of their kiss.
“Aid, no! Not you too.”
Kailey’s voice pierced through the void she shared with only Jaxon, and she pulled break, breaking the intimate contact. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she looked around, seeing Kailey staring at her, hands on her hips and her lips pressed into a small line.
Jaxon ignored his sister completely, rubbing his thumb once more over Adrianna’s cheek before stepping back from her all together. “I’ve wanted to do that since high school,” the words rushed out on an exhale, and he didn’t take his eyes off of her.
Chapter Four
There was nothing he’d ever experienced that matched the way his body seemed to tingle and tremble from the kiss with Adrianna. From the tip of his toe to the top of his head, he was alive with energy from just one moment – a moment his sister had decidedly interrupted.
Turning away from Adrianna he almost chuckled at Kailey when he saw her face. Even in her stunning wedding gown, she had still managed to assume her typical annoyed pose – garment twisted at the waist into her hand, eyes narrowed and pursed lips. She’d had twenty-eight years to perfect the look, and she never wasted an opportunity to be pissed at someone.
“Don’t smirk at me, Jaxon Michael Donovan.” She wagged her finger at him as she took a step closer, ultimately leaving Jim alone on the dance floor.
“Oh uh, Kailey has broken out the finger wag, I must run and hide.”
“Not funny, Jax. You were supposed to be nothing more than brother-of-the-bride. Yet, somehow you wormed your way into the ceremony and now tricked my best friend into falling for a night of bed play with you. When are you going back on deployment?” She growled, and if it had been possible, laser beams of hate would have radiated from her hazel eyes.
“Kailey, it wasn’t like that.” Adrianna started, stepping out from behind him.
“No, it wouldn’t have been, would it?” Kailey crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t think I hadn’t noticed the way you stared at him literally every time you saw him from the time we cared about boys.”
A part of him puffed up at the knowledge that Adrianna had been interested in him as long as he’d been fond of her. Very few people hadn’t been attracted to him in high school, and he’d sometimes wondered if Adrianna’s spurning had made him want her. That kiss certainly cleared that up. You want her, and she wants you.
“Kailey, just calm down.” He lowered his voice, trying his best to make certain no one understood the tiff there was happening dead center on the dance floor in their yard. “I didn’t mean to overstep. I didn’t want your groom's party to be off, and it made more sense for me to walk with Adrianna than anyone else because we know one another and I am your brother. Most people want their brothers in the wedding party.”
“Most people don’t have an arrogant show off for a brother.” She retorted haughtily.
He flinched, the words dealing far more of a blow than he liked. Despite everything he’d been through, and all the times he’d tried to be a better brother to Kailey, she only saw the jerk she’d grown up with. He didn’t blame her, but it was upsetting given all he’d been through the best ten years.
“Kailey, I’m sorry. I was just caught up in the moment.” Adrianna tentatively touched Kailey’s arm. “Watching you and Jim . . . it made me long for that too, and Jaxon was here.”
Ouch.
Kailey’s face softened just a bit, and then fully as a smile spread across her lips. “I had no idea we made you feel that way. I’m sorry, Aid.”
“Well, you’re allowed to. It’s your wedding after all.”
Kailey’s grin was ear-to-ear.
Situation defused, he thought to himself, knowing that Adrianna had always been good at being the level one between her and his sister.
“Well, in that case, the whole reason I was looking for you both is its time for the toast.” She blinked and looked at him. “Just try and not ruin my best friend. She’s the best, and we both know you aren’t.” With that, she turned and wandered over to the table and sat, Jim shrugging apologetically as he followed her.
“She didn’t mean that,” Adrianna said, her lips still puffy from their kiss. “I have always wanted to do that, but you’re not the boy you used to be. Even a few minutes of talking showed me that. Don’t let her upset you.” She dropped a quick kiss on his cheek and hurried toward the table to grab the microphone.
The younger version of him probably would’ve dropped his gaze to watch the sway of her ass in the bridesmaid dress as she glided way. He didn’t though. All he could do was stare at the back of her head and process what she’d said. Jaxon was highly aware of how obnoxious he’d been as a kid. It was something he tried to make up for with every day of his adult life – but it wasn’t as if he’d been a thug or a dealer. He’d just been a kid who knew his potential and liked to prove it.
Had she seen beyond that the whole time? Or has she only been interested in kissing me for the same reason so many other women were?
“Thank you all for joining us today,” Adrianna’s voice came through crystal clear through the speakers placed in the backyard. “It’s been nothing short of a terrifying journey helping Kailey get to this day,” she tossed a grin at Kailey as everyone laughed. “My best friend can be difficult at times – to the point where we were certain she’d sprouted green scales and a tail during the past year while we planned.”
More laughter ensued, including his. Adrianna looked beautiful, and quite at home, standing before a crowd full of people. Which made perfect sense given her career as a reporter. He’d watched one of her segments online when he’d first heard she’d started working with WDSU. She’d been impressive, even barely out of college. Her striking good looks made her a natural choice to be on screen, but seeing her that done up had stirred an old attraction in him as he’d sat on a cot, and he still remembered how she’d looked. Her blonde hair had been longer, tied back with a clip he’d assumed, but it had seemed fluffy, framing her face and making her eyes sparkle. Every detail was etched into his memory, including the glossy pink lip gloss that appeared to have made her mouth even more kissable.
“So thank you, Kailey, for taking me on the wild ride of being your best friend. You truly are the Yin to my Yang, but I’m okay sharing that with Jim now.” Adrianna finished with a wink and set the microphone down.
He couldn’t help but smile at the applause and laughter surrounding him. He hadn’t heard the whole speech, but it was apparent she’d done good, which reminded him that he was the stand-in Best Man and didn’t have a speech.
Tugging at his collar he approached the table. He’d been in battles that terrified him less. Despite what Kailey thought, he loved his baby sister and didn’t want to ruin her special day. Kailey shot him what could only be described as a warning look before passing him the mic.
“Hello there everyone. Those of you
familiar with Kailey know that I’m her big brother, those of you familiar with Jim are probably wondering where Marco is. Unfortunately, Marco was detained by the good ‘ole military, just as I have been many times.” He could hear the forced charm in his voice, but as he looked around, everyone appeared to be smiling. “So, please excuse me if my speech isn’t perfect, I’m winging it.”
Turning just his head, he looked at Jim before picking up the extra toasting glass meant for him and lifted it. “It was a privilege to stand beside you today. I’ve only had the honor of meeting you a few times thanks to my own deployments, but it only took those few small meetings to know you were perfect for my sister. I’ve watched you tangle head-to-head with one of the fiercest women I know and come out on top – that alone is a skill I do not possess.”
Laughter rang out, and he saw his father clutching his stomach with laughter. He snuck a peak at Adrianna and was pleased to see she was smirking as well.
“I look forward to seeing you both grow as a family if I’m ever lucky enough to get stationed close to home in Algiers, MARFORRES is right around the corner after all.” Lifting his glass he was shocked to see Kailey tearing up. “To the happy couple!”
The words were echoed back as everyone shouted them after before taking a drink. He threw back his glass of champagne and silently thanked whatever god or gods had helped him make his sister happy. All he wanted to do was finish what he started with Adrianna.
Setting the microphone down on the table he crossed the space to her, loving the shock in her expression as he did. Extending his hand to her he smiled, “I think there is a conversation we need to have. Join me for a walk?”
Smiling, she sipped her champagne before placing the glass down and taking his hand. “I’m surprised there is a conversation that would follow something like that.”
Snorting, he escorted her back toward the house so that they could walk on the streets, away from the wedding fiascos. He enjoyed watching her and the careful way she moved past the furniture to the front door.