One Wild Night

by A. L. Jackson

  “Of course.” I hold out the empty glass, and it's immediately removed by a passing server. What a little vixen. She's trying to put me in my place.

  “Oh, that's how it's done.” She rolls her eyes at me, and I smirk. I love feisty Kaylee.

  “What's going on with you two?” Mrs. Ward asks us with a smile. She steps back slowly and crosses her arms to get a better look at the both of us. Kaylee rubs her hands over her arms nervously and glares at me.

  “Nothing!” Kaylee spits out before I have a chance to come up with something witty. Dammit. She's quick to the punch. I need to step up my game.

  “Are you sure you two haven't met before tonight?”

  “No!” Kaylee blurts out, and I can't help but laugh. I love seeing her squirm.

  “No, Mrs. Ward. We haven't,” I finally offer, hoping Kaylee will calm down. With a little shake of my head, I continue speaking to Lindsay, but turn my attention to Kaylee. “But while it was certainly an unexpected introduction, it was not unwelcome. In fact, I hope for the chance to get to know her better.”

  “Oh, she's fantastic,” Lindsay pipes in. I don't bother to turn my attention back to her as she continues to sing Kaylee's praises. I remain focused on the beautiful woman in front of me. “She's smart, and kind, and such a great friend to Elle...” Lindsay continues.

  I don't hear anything else she says. With her head tilted and the slightest hint of a smile turning up the corner of her mouth, Kaylee watches me. She's succumbed to the famous Paxton Myles smile and charm that I’m known for. She exhales softly and finally lets her lips twist into a small smile.

  “The night is young. Let's go get a drink, shall we, Kaylee?”

  Chapter 5

  Kaylee

  What in the world was I allowing this man to do to me? Every time I tried to shut him down, he just shot me that smirk that had my stomach doing three-sixties.

  Complete flip-flops, pulled in one direction only for my defenses to go careening the opposite. Shoving him off only to be right back where I started—staring up into the mesmerizing, playful eyes I couldn’t help but want to get lost in.

  “I guess I could stay for one more drink,” I found myself saying, knowing it was such a stupid, bad idea, but unable to resist the charm that was this man.

  What could one drink hurt?

  “I’ll talk to you later, Mrs. Ward,” I said, and she gave me a look that both told me to have fun and warned me all the same.

  Paxton threaded his fingers through mine.

  Oh my God.

  It was then I was certain one drink could cause all kinds of mayhem. That every second spent in the presence of this man was a hazard. I had completely underestimated his draw. Because with just that innocent touch, my heart raced and sped, just as fast as the tingles that spread up my arm.

  Lord, help me.

  Like a love-struck fool, I trailed him across the extravagant space. Every movement he made was filled with confidence and ease. The man owned the room. Heads turned in his wake. Clearly, everyone was just as compelled by him as me.

  But it was the curious glances cast my way that had me ducking my head, tucking my chin to my chest.

  The last thing I needed was to be the target for some misconstrued gossip.

  I followed him to the long, darkened bar, the large bottles of expensive liquors illuminated by white neon lights that reflected against the mirrored glass of the back-bar that rose high above the bartender.

  A bartender who, of course, wore a long sleeved white button down and black vest.

  It was all so very Hollywood chic, and again I was wondering how in the world I’d found myself in this position.

  His voice was low at my ear. “What would you like to drink?”

  “A Riesling would be nice.”

  He turned to the bartender. “Riesling for the lovely lady. Whiskey for me.”

  The bartender poured our drinks, and Paxton passed mine to me. He lifted his tumbler with a subtle tilt my direction, our glasses clinking as he made a toast. “To this magical, unforgettable night.”

  His words were packed with innuendo, and I nearly choked as I took a sip of my wine. A blush I couldn’t fight streaking everywhere, this unfound attraction spreading far and fast.

  Stupid girl.

  Casually, he set his hip against the bar. “So, tell me, Kaylee Rose, how is it you know Eleanor Ward and her family? You seem a little…out of place.”

  I felt my brow draw. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I wanted to be offended, but his observation wasn’t any different than what I’d been thinking all night.

  He chuckled, the sound so seductive all those secret places inside me clenched with desire.

  Damn him.

  He edged closer, and when he spoke, his breath washed over me like a delicious breeze. “Oh, come on, beautiful girl, there’s no need to play coy. You’re much too sweet to belong in the midst of all these vultures. They’d rip you to shreds.”

  Arching a brow, I leaned back and met his eyes. “Vultures? You mean vultures like you?”

  He laughed, deep and low, the man encroaching into my space, towering over me as he dipped his nose to run it along my hairline and down to my ear. “I’d gladly tear you apart, Kaylee Rose. But I promise you, it will be in the very best way. So good, in fact, you’ll be begging me to do it again and again.”

  Shivers skated along my flesh.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  There was no question in my mind he’d make good on his promise.

  A dangerous, dangerous fantasy.

  That’s what this was.

  Too close for comfort.

  I cleared my throat. “Elle and I were roommates during our first year at UCLA.” Affection laced with irritation filled up my tone. “She’s definitely from a different world than I am.” I gave an offhanded, helpless shrug. “But somehow, we became best friends through it all.”

  He raked his teeth over his bottom lip. “Opposites do attract, and all of that.”

  Yep.

  More innuendo.

  And again, I felt shaky and itchy, wanting to lean forward to inhale the essence of his man, all the while wanting to run before I fell into his trap.

  Right then, running sounded like the best plan.

  I stepped back and downed my wine, set the glass on the bar. “If you’ll excuse me.”

  I rushed for the hallway and into the ladies’ restroom, pressed my hands to the counter, and stared at myself in the mirror as I tried to calm my rapid breaths.

  Paxton Myles was so absolutely right.

  I didn’t belong here.

  I was out of place. Ignorant. Just begging to be slaughtered. But it wouldn’t be at the hands of anyone else at the after party.

  It would be at the hands of a man who was far too appealing for my own good. He’d use me up and spit me out, and I’d be left with memories I wasn’t sure I could handle.

  I pushed out a breath, gathered my composure, before I dug into my small handbag and pulled out my phone so I could call for an Uber.

  I had to get out of here before I completely fell prey to the man’s charms.

  Five minutes the app promised. Five minutes, and I’d be safely tucked away in a car that would carry me out of this fantasy world and set my feet firmly back into my reality. Where I was plain and ordinary and didn’t draw the attention of movie stars who could snap their fingers and have any woman they wanted begging at their feet.

  Where I lived a simple life teaching the kids I loved and didn’t attend movie premiere after parties.

  Where I was safe.

  And safe was where I wanted to be.

  Sucking in a breath, I drew open the door and stepped out into the hall dimmed with shadows and the echo of the party happening at its end.

  But in it, the presence was profound. Something great and intense. The breath I’d sucked in left me on a whoosh when I was suddenly pinned up against the wall by a big body.

  S
o warm.

  Overpowering.

  Gorgeous.

  Fingertips trailed along the slope of my neck, and my heart shuddered and shook, my pulse erratic as I looked up at the man staring down at me. “Are you okay?”

  His worry took me by surprise.

  But more surprising was the answer that popped up in my head.

  No.

  I was definitely not okay. This man had managed to knock me from my axis. He was making me want things I would never allow myself to have.

  “Why would you think I’m not?” I asked instead, caught off guard by his concern.

  In a flash of that playful mischief, a smirk pulled at one side of his mouth. “Oh, I don’t know…a gorgeous woman suddenly runs into the restroom to remove herself from the unwanted advances of a man. It sounds like Ditch the Douchebag 101 to me. And that’s not a label I take so kindly to.”

  It was all a tease wrapped up in what I was sure was true concern, those brown eyes deep and dark and intent.

  I swallowed around the lump in my throat, my eyes blinking through the cloud of confused attraction. “You make my head spin,” I answered in all honesty.

  He backed me up farther, my body plastered to the wall, his hot as hell body pressed against me.

  My thighs shook when I felt his length pleading at my belly, heavy and hard and more prominent than any wild fantasy I could have conjured.

  Desire surged, and I had the overwhelming urge to press my hands to his chest, to his cock, to let them explore and trace and discover.

  He dipped his head, his mouth an inch from mine. Hovering. Wavering. His lips a mere breath away from becoming a kiss.

  His voice dropped so low, it shook through me like a tremor. “And what I want is to make your body sing.”

  “I don’t do this,” I whispered, feeling everything caving in around me. My willpower and self-control.

  “Don’t do what?” he asked even lower.

  His lips just brushed mine when he spoke.

  Fire.

  Trembling, I forced out the words. “One night.”

  It was the truth. I’d never just fallen into a man’s bed. Had never allowed a complete stranger to touch me.

  But maybe that was the most dangerous thing about Paxton Myles. He didn’t feel like a stranger. His face so familiar, his over-the-top world shoved in our faces in magazines and movies and the tabloids.

  The fantasy.

  Paxton growled, his big hands cradling me at the sides of my neck. “Who said anything about one night?”

  I almost released the incredulous laugh bottled in my chest. But I was too busy getting lost in his gaze to chastise him for alluding to things we both knew would be nothing less than a lie.

  Because we both knew exactly what this was.

  Those eyes searched my face, and his tongue darted out, swiping across his full bottom lip.

  My lips parted on a sigh. There was nothing I could do to stop it from happening.

  Nothing I could do to stop his kiss when his mouth fell against mine.

  Because I didn’t want to. Didn’t want to resist.

  His lips were soft at first, teasing caresses that sent a rush of chills scattering through my insides. He flicked my bottom lip with his tongue. Warm and soft and wet.

  I opened to him, let him draw me closer as he kissed me deeper. Our tongues were a tangle of exploration.

  And want.

  Hot.

  Unrelenting.

  Ruthless.

  He took, and I so willingly gave.

  My phone rang in my purse, jarring us out of the rapture.

  He jerked back.

  His expression was enough to steal my breath.

  The man was so insanely gorgeous.

  Larger than life.

  Adored by millions.

  And he was looking at me in awe.

  In lust.

  As if I was the only thing he could see.

  “My Uber is here.” The words were clogged with my own desire as I forced them out.

  He gripped me tighter, his words a rasp. “Come home with me.”

  A weighted moment spun around us.

  My indecision snagged and snarled with the abounding lust.

  “Okay.”

  Wait, what?

  I had to be insane.

  A needy sound rumbled up his throat, and he dipped down, kissed me again.

  This time hard and quick.

  Possessive.

  With a promise.

  Then my hand was back in his. “This way,” he said.

  He hauled me down the hall in the opposite direction of the party. The man clearly knew his way around as he quietly latched open a door and slipped us into the silence of a large storage room.

  A gasp shot from me when he suddenly spun me around and pressed my bottom up against a table, his kiss verging on mad as he searched me in the dark, hands slipping down my sides and grazing across my breasts.

  My stomach flipped and my heart rate kicked.

  His touch elicited a moan from deep within me.

  So easily.

  “Oh, the things I’m going to do to you,” he whispered in the dark. Then, just as fast, he was dragging me deeper into the room and ducking us out through a back door and into the Hollywood night.

  Cool air brushed my overheated skin, and those anxious nerves zipped through my veins, my breaths short and ragged as he snuck us around the building, careful to keep us concealed in the shadows.

  He glanced around, checking that we were in the clear, before he tightened his hold on my hand and rushed us toward a limo.

  He yanked open the door. “In.”

  I didn’t hesitate. I just jumped inside, and he was sliding in beside me with a flirty smirk on his face as he slammed it shut behind us.

  He lowered the privacy glass. “My house,” he threw out like an order before he closed it.

  He cut his gaze toward me where I sat pinned against the far seat, squirming beneath the intensity.

  His expression?

  This time his expression was predatory.

  He shifted on the long leather seat, crouching down on his knees where he moved to plant both hands on either side of my hips. “Hang on tight, Kaylee Rose.”

  At his words, desire throbbed between my thighs.

  His eyes darkened with lust.

  Because we both knew it.

  What I was giving myself over to.

  What I was surrendering.

  Giving what this beautiful man was all too willing to take.

  One. Wild. Night.

  Chapter 6

  Paxton

  We weave through the busy downtown streets and out of Hollywood toward my home in the Hollywood Hills. If only my driver would hurry the fuck up. With her fingers still laced through mine, Kaylee shifts nervously in the seat next to me. I can feel her anxiety and smell her desire.

  “Would you like a drink?” I ask as I reach for the bottle of whiskey I had just poured from a few short hours ago.

  “Champagne would be nice,” she says softly. Kaylee's eyes flit around the back of the limo, taking in all the lights and knobs, while I get her a drink. “Do you always have a driver?” she asks, looking out the window.

  I pause, wondering if she's serious. When she turns back to me and her innocent blue eyes meet mine, I know she is.

  “No, Kaylee.” I tilt her champagne glass as I carefully pour the bubbly. “Only for special occasions. I typically drive myself everywhere I need to go.”

  Her eyes twinkle under the lights, and her lips twist into a smile.

  “I'm a normal guy. I do my own laundry and grocery shopping. I even open my own mail.” I wink at her and hand her the glass of champagne.

  I can see her visibly relax, and she settles into the soft leather seat. Her voice is gentle and smooth. “It's so beautiful up here,” she says, her eyes fixed out the window at the winding streets we're climbing.

  Most of the houses in the Hills have been
bought and renovated or torn down and rebuilt into sprawling estates. The city lights of Los Angeles can be seen for miles up here, making the view priceless—one of the reasons I bought my house here in the Hills and not near the beach.

  “It is,” I reply. “It's my favorite part of the city.”

  “I can see why,” she sighs, taking another sip of champagne. The limo slows, and I lower the privacy glass to give the driver the gate code so he can pull into my drive.

  “Is this your house?” Her eyes widen as we pull into the drive way.

  “It is.”

  She nods her head and smiles as we pull up the long drive.

  “Not what you expected?” I ask her, and she turns to me.

  “Not at all.” She shakes her head a little. “It's stunning, but it's…” She purses her lips and scrunches her brows together. “I don't know, it's so normal looking.”

  I let out a laugh at her observation. I had this four-thousand square foot ranch-style home built a year ago. The outside is very understated to say the least, a single-story, modern ranch-style home…one you could see in any neighborhood in America. However, the inside is where the goods are.

  “I like it,” she says, not sure if she's talking to herself or me. As the limo stops on the large circular drive, the driver opens the back door, and I slide out first. I wait for Kaylee to appear, and I reach for her hand, helping her out.

  Sliding my hand into hers and, with a wave, I send the driver on his way.

  Just inside the front door, Kaylee kicks off her heels and literally moans in relief when her feet hit the floor. “I've been wanting to do that all night,” she says, wiggling her toes. Her head is tipped back, and her eyes are closed as she relaxes.

  Without a second thought, my hands find her soft cheeks, and I pull her to me, pressing my lips to hers. Soft and sweet, she tastes like everything I imagined she would. “And I've been waiting to do that again.”

  She hums against my lips as I deepen our kiss. Our connection is palpable.

  “Pax,” she mumbles as I walk her backward down the hallway. Every inch of my body is aching to touch hers. I feel like a dick for not even offering to give her a tour of my place or offer her a bite to eat. But I cannot wait another second to get my hands on Kaylee.