by Locklyn Marx
“Oh,” a nervous voice said from the doorway. “Sorry, the nurse said I could come in, she didn’t… I mean, she didn’t tell me you already had a visitor.”
Jaxon turned. Anna was standing there, her face flushed. She was wearing a navy blue halter top that showed off her toned shoulders, and a tight jean skirt that ended just above her knees.
If she’d wanted to keep it a secret, what had happened between them, it wasn’t going to work. The way she was looking at him, her face a mix of embarrassment and feigned nonchalance, made it clear to everyone in the room that she and Jaxon had slept together.
I’ve had you, Jaxon thought, his resolve to stay away from her crumbling. And before I go, I’m going to have you again.
***
Anna hadn’t expected Jaxon to be at the hospital. She’d thought that by the time she got there, he’d be gone.
She didn’t want to see him, didn’t want to have to be in the same room with him and Katie and Adam, pretending everything was okay, when all she wanted to do was go home and curl up under the covers and cry herself to sleep, the same way she’d done when she was a teenager.
“Hey, Anna,” Jaxon said. He was looking at her like the cat that ate the canary.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm her beating heart. She knew she looked guilty – the way she’d come in here and said she was sorry, that the nurse had told her there hadn’t been any visitors. Could she have made it any more obvious? The nurse had told her there were no visitors in Katie’s room, which was obviously a lie. She made a mental note to yell at a supervisor or something later.
“Hi, Jaxon,” Anna said curtly Then she realized that was the wrong tact to take.
Act normal. Be friendly. “How are you?”
“I’m good.”
Katie looked between the two of them and sighed. She opened her mouth like maybe she was about to say something, then changed her mind. “Whatever,” she said.
“Jaxon was just leaving.”
Jaxon nodded and stood up.
“I’m going back to Los Angeles tomorrow,” he said. “So I thought I’d better make my visit last.”
Anna nodded, trying not to show her disappointment. Why was he leaving tomorrow? She thought he had planned to stay for the rest of the week. She realized she’d been hoping that they would have more time together. To what? she asked herself.
Make him fall in love with you? The thought was laughable, the kind of thing that only happened in sappy romantic comedies.
“You want to walk me out?” Jaxon asked.
Anna knew she should say no. But she couldn’t. This might be the last time she saw him, the last time she was around him. His presence was a need that was built into her, a pulsing desire that was taking over her body and affecting her mind, making it impossible to think clearly. And damn it, she wanted it to last.
“Sure,” she said.
They ignored the knowing looks Katie was giving them, and walked down the hallway and into the elevator.
“So,” he said, as he reached over and pushed the button.
“So,” she said.
“I thought we should have a chance to say goodbye,” he said. “You know, since I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She wanted to ask him why he hadn’t told her before that he was leaving, but she didn’t want to sound like a nagging girlfriend, or like she thought he owed her anything. Because he didn’t.
The elevator dinged open at the parking garage, and they stepped off and began walking to his car. As soon as they got there, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her up against the driver’s side door.
Anna’s body tensed. She knew it was wrong, letting him kiss her like this. She shouldn’t be doing this, shouldn’t be letting him have her whenever he demanded it. But she was powerless. It was a force as great as a tidal wave, a force like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She was like putty in his hands, and as he continued to kiss her, her heart sped up and her resistance crumbled.
He stroked her bare shoulders, sending delicious shivers through her body, causing her to lean back against the car, giving him better access to her neck, her breasts, her soul.
He slid his hands up the back of her shirt, pulling her close, his hands holding her firmly against him. He stroked her bare skin, and Anna sighed in pleasure.
When he opened the car door and slid into the backseat, she didn’t hesitate before following him. He pulled her down on top of him, their bodies fusing together with the heat of the moment.
Her shirt came off, then his shirt, and he reached around and unhooked her strapless bra, letting the material rest against her skin before finally tugging it down, revealing the firm rosebuds of her nipples. His fingertips flicked against them, hardening them even more, and he pulled her down, sucking the swollen nubs into his mouth, moving back and forth between her breasts.
The whole time she could feel his cock through his jeans and she rubbed against it, riding him while he sucked her nipples.
“God damn, Princess,” Jaxon said as he leaned her back. “Why are you always teasing me by wearing these short little skirts?”
Her back was against the opposite side of the car now, and Jaxon slid his fingers over the outside of her thighs and then pulled her panties off, giving him access to her mound. He stroked with his finger, rubbing her clit before finally, he lowered his head and pulled her toward his mouth.
The moment his tongue touched her, Anna felt like she was going to combust.
Jaxon’s hands rested on her hips, holding her, guiding her movements as his tongue licked and stroked between her legs, sending waves of pleasure through her whole body.
“Oh my God,” she moaned. Bliss ebbed through her body, and she gripped the seat underneath her. She didn’t care if anyone saw, didn’t care about anything except the searing heat that was overtaking her every cell.
She was sure he wouldn’t let her come, was sure he would tease her, but as she started to get close, he sensed it, and his tongue moved faster. He slid one hand off her hip, down over her belly and onto her clit, teasing the swollen nub as her orgasm hit like a wave.
“Jaxon,” she cried as he took her over the edge. “Oh, Jaxon.”
When it was over, he reached for her, hooking his arms under her shoulders, and sliding her toward his body until she was laying down on top of him. He grinned at her, pleased with himself.
She reached down and undid his pants, letting his hard cock out. She wrapped her hand around it, moving up and down slowly, the look of pleasure on his face getting her turned on again. She started to get wet, and when he slipped inside her, she moaned.
“God, Anna, you feel amazing,” he said. His lips were on hers again, submerging her in his kiss.
She rocked her hips, faster and faster, enjoying the fact that she was in charge of the pace. But her control didn’t last long. Jaxon grabbed the back of her shoulders, pulling her down onto him, flattening her breasts out against the strong planes of his chest.
He held her there, moving her body up and down on his, pumping into her. She could feel his hardness inside her, felt her clit rubbing against his body. The dual sensations sent her over the edge again.
She felt Jaxon coming inside of her as her own orgasm built to its crest.
A moment later, she collapsed on top of him. His hands played with her hair, his fingers tangling themselves in the golden waves. They lay there for a while, Anna’s head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
She closed her eyes.
Remember this moment, she told herself, because this is what total contentment feels like.
Chapter Seven
Jaxon knew he shouldn’t have done that. Making love to Anna in the back of his car? What if someone had caught them? But he hadn’t been able to help it. As soon as he’d seen her standing in front of him, wearing that short little skirt, he was like an animal. He had to have her. And it had been exquisite.
Now they were dressed, standing
outside his car.
“So you’re leaving tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yes.” He nodded. “I have a business meeting.”
“What kind of business meeting?”
“A meeting with this asshole guy about some land I want.”
“And he wants it, too?”
Jaxon nodded. He knew he should have told her he was leaving, but there hadn’t really been a good time to bring it up. They’d been busy with each other last night, and this morning he hadn’t wanted to add a heavy discussion to their last moments together.
And maybe you don’t know for sure that you want to leave.
He took a deep breath. It was only seventy-five or so out, but the air inside the parking garage felt like it was about a hundred. He wasn’t sure if it was because it was actually hot, or because he couldn’t stop thinking about what he and Anna had just done.
His cock twitched, ready for more action.
He took a step back from her, not trusting himself to get too close.
“So I guess I won’t see you again before you leave,” she said.
“I guess not.”
He searched her eyes for any hint that she was upset about this, that she wanted him to stay, or at least wanted to see him again. But there was nothing.
“It was nice to see you again, Jaxon,” she said.
“It was nice to see you too, Anna.” He realized the absurdity of the words. He’d just made love to her in the back of his car for Christ’s sake, and now they were talking as if they were acquaintances.
“Have a safe flight,” she said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, then turned around and walked toward the elevators, her shoulders back, her head held high.
He opened his mouth to call after her. But what would he say? That he wanted to see her again tonight? That would only prolong the inevitable, would only make it harder. He was leaving to go back to Los Angeles tomorrow, and she was heading back to London at the end of the week. It would never work, no matter how much he wanted it to.
Even so, if she’d given him any indication that she’d wanted it to work, that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her, he would have tried to stop her. But she hadn’t. In fact, she’d made it perfectly clear what the last couple of days had meant.
And so after another moment, Jaxon got in his car and pulled away.
***
As soon as she was in the elevator, Anna collapsed into tears. He was leaving.
The same way he’d left her fifteen years ago. Only this time, he hadn’t even asked her to come with him.
Sobs shook her body, and she reached up and wiped the tears away, the mascara she’d applied this morning leaving dark streaks on her skin. Damn. She didn’t even have a tissue or anything – she’d left her purse in Katie’s hospital room. The elevator doors pinged open on the labor and delivery floor, and Anna stepped out.
“You okay, hon?” a friendly looking nurse asked her.
“Oh, I’m fine,” Anna lied, forcing a smile onto her face.
She ducked into the bathroom, knowing she’d have to do some damage control before she saw Katie and Adam.
It was worse than she thought. Her hair was a mess from all the tumbling around in the backseat, her eyes were puffy from crying, and her make up was smeared all over her face.
She grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser on the wall, and got to work.
She had gotten over Jaxon Hale once before. She would just have to do it again.
Chapter Eight
That night, Jaxon couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned in bed, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Was he forgetting something for his flight tomorrow? No.
He’d checked and rechecked his bag three times. He’d tried to read, but the words swam on the page.
The house was too quiet, he decided. In Los Angeles, there was traffic outside his window, the sounds of the city streaming through his condo. With Katie and Adam both sleeping at the hospital, and the quietness of the suburban street, there was no noise.
He put on some music. There. That would make things better.
But it didn’t. He tossed and turned, the numbers on the digital clock next to his bed changing from one to two to three. Finally, at three thirty-seven, he threw the covers back and headed downstairs. He pulled an apple out of the refrigerator and bit into it angrily.
Stop, he told himself. You’re just keyed up because of your meeting with Cuban, that’s all. This has nothing to do with Anna Webb. But it was a halfhearted try. He knew that of course his mood had everything to do with Anna.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Every time he tried, another picture of her would pop into his head. The walks they used to take then they were teenagers. The way her legs looked in those short skirts. Her laugh. The way she would wrinkle her nose and pretend to be exasperated by something he said when he knew she secretly liked it.
How she didn’t let many people in, but when she did, it was worth it.
Go get her. He pushed the thought down. His flight was leaving at eight in the morning. He needed to be back in Los Angeles. If he scored this land over Donovan, it could be the biggest thing that had ever happened in his career.
It won’t mean anything without her.
The thought was enough to make him pause. He thought about it as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.
A deal had never caused him to stay up all night.
A deal was not worth giving up the love of his life.
But the deal was only part of it. The other, perhaps bigger, part was his pride.
How much of a fool would he be to put himself out there again, to ask Anna to come with him, or give up going back to L.A., just for her to shut the door in his face again?
Yes, she’d made love to him. But that didn’t mean she wanted to be with him.
He sat at the table and looked around the empty room, drinking his orange juice and thinking about Anna. Anna, Anna, Anna. Her name reverberated through his mind.
Fuck it. If she shattered his heart again, he would deal with it.
He had to know for sure if she would be his.
***
It was four in the morning, and Anna wasn’t asleep.
She’d spent the early afternoon hanging out in Katie’s hospital room with Katie, Adam, and Tyler. The three adults had spent most of the time cooing over the baby, marveling over how tiny his feet and hands were, how his little slip of hair slid over his forehead, how his skin was so perfectly smooth. The baby lay there dutifully, oblivious to the fact that he was being put on display.
Anna was able to keep it together – the last thing she wanted to do was break down in front of Katie and Adam. She didn’t want to stress Katie out. Yes, Katie seemed fine, but she had just been through a major surgery. A pump next to the bed whose purpose was to deliver pain relievers served as a reminder of this fact, along with the nurses who kept coming in to check that Katie was okay.
So Anna had kept the smile on her face. The only time she’d come close to betraying how devastated she felt came when Adam laid Tyler in her arms. She’d looked down at the tiny baby, and Tyler had looked back at her and then let out a little sigh, as if to say, “I can’t believe I’m here, but I guess I’ll just have to make the best of it.”
She smiled at him, wondering what it would be like to have a baby of her own, a person who she’d created, a person who would be completely dependent on her. A flash of Jaxon’s face flashed into her mind, him over her hospital bed, holding her hand and smiling down at the baby in her arms, much like Adam had done for Katie.
Tears pricked at her eyes like pins, and her heart skipped a beat. A sick feeling bloomed in her stomach. She blinked hard and took deep breaths until it passed. A few moments after that, Katie was getting tired, and so Anna had returned the baby and said her goodbyes. It was only when Anna was safely in her car that she allowed herself to cry.
When she’d gotten back to her parents’ house, she’
d hoped to find it empty, but her mom and dad were both home, both wanting to hear all about Katie’s new baby. She filled them in as much as she could, including the part about her staying the night at Katie’s, but leaving out the part about Jaxon being there.
Anna had dropped hints that she was tired, but her mom either didn’t get them, or had just decided to ignore them. She’d insisted that the whole family go strawberry picking.
So Anna had spent the last hours of the afternoon at the Hallifax Farm strawberry field, berry juice staining her flip flops, dirt sticking to her fingers as they filled baskets with fruit. Her mother had insisted that Anna wear a sunhat, but the damn thing kept falling off, and by the time they got back to the car, Anna was sweaty and cranky.
When they got home, her mother had made strawberry shortcake, and Anna had taken a double helping in an effort to make herself feel better. Her father had wanted them all to watch a movie together, some Nicholas Sparks thing, which, inexplicable, he loved. But Anna had begged off, claiming she had a headache.
She’d headed upstairs and stripped out of her dirty clothes, then climbed into the shower and stood under the hot stream of water, letting it strip the past couple of days off of her. How had she gotten here? she wondered.
When she’d arrived in Connecticut, she’d been happy.
Yes, she had things in her life she needed to work on, but who didn’t? For the most part, things were going her way. She had an apartment and a job and a life. And now she had a broken heart.
She leaned her forehead against the cool tile of the shower stall and let the hot water pound against her back until she felt her muscles relax just a little bit. She returned to her room, where she tried to read. But she couldn’t concentrate, and after a while, she gave up, shutting her eyes.
She drifted in and out of sleep, mostly out.
And so, at four in the morning, she was still awake.
And that’s when she heard it.
Something hitting her window.
She sat up in bed, her heart pounding. Was it Jaxon? She held her breath, waiting for the emotional crash to overtake her, not wanting to get her hopes up.