This was so wrong, but it felt so right.
I reached up and gripped his ass with both hands. His tight muscles shifted in time with his movements, and I yanked him closer again and again.
On the floor surrounding the bed, my clothes – my work uniform actually – was lying in tatters with the buttons scattered who-knows-where. The uniform had been lying there for a while now, after Jax had literally ripped the thing off me.
I'd need to replace it. I did, after all, have only two. But at the moment, I was too far gone to care. I was way too distracted by how wonderful Jax felt and how many orgasms I'd had already.
Was it three? If so, I was hurtling fast toward number four.
By now, I knew a little something about the way Jax operated. He was a tease in the best possible way. I'd been naked a long time before he was, and I'd been pure putty in his hands.
And under his lips.
Oh boy, his lips. And his tongue. So freaking talented.
By the time he'd actually let me remove his clothes, I'd been a sweaty, begging mess. Even now, my hair was sticking to my forehead, and I could feel the dampness dripping down my chest.
But I could hardly care.
If I weren't so far gone, I might've laughed out loud. Instead, all I could do was breathe, "You're a monster, you know that?"
This time, I wasn't referring to the size of his cock, which yes, was definitely monster-sized.
He gave me a long deliberate thrust. "Yeah. And don't you forget it."
I wouldn’t.
In fact, I wouldn't forget anything about tonight, because all of it had been way too unexpected and surreal.
Even now, my eyelids kept fluttering open and shut, torn between the desire to get fully lost in the sensations filling me to the brink and the need to look at him – to gaze into his eyes, and to admire the muscles of his shoulders and chest as they shifted and moved above me.
But soon, I couldn’t keep my eyelids open another moment, because all of the sensations were simply too much, and I was falling fast into sweet oblivion. And just like that, I was tingling all over, from my toes to my fingertips and everywhere in between.
When he climaxed against me, I took another deep, shuddering breath. Somehow, I managed to say, "I meant it, you know."
His lips were very close to my ear. His tone was rough and teasing. "You meant what? You're crazy about me?"
I giggled. "Yes. I did mean that."
"And you love me?"
Oh, boy. Did I ever. I took another long trembling breath. "Yes."
"That's my girl."
I liked it when he said that. In fact, I liked all of this. I loved it, actually. Still, I had to protest, "But that's not what I meant."
"I know."
"You do?" I laughed against him. "So you admit you're a monster?"
"Hell yeah." He lifted his head and met my gaze for a long moment before turning to glance at the silver tray sitting on a stand near the bed. "More lobster?"
And just like that, I was giggling again. I almost never giggled. I shouldn't be giggling now. And yet, I couldn’t seem to help it.
Over my protests, he'd long ago ordered a whole slew of finger food, including these amazing little lobster roll appetizers and peppered steak-bites. He'd fed me with his own fingers in little nibbles as he'd slowly teased and tempted my body.
And now, I was sated in every possible way.
I'd never been in a penthouse suite before, and I was still surprised at how big it was. Even the bed was enormous, at least compared to what I had at home.
Although this was the same hotel where my mom had been staying earlier, it wasn't the same room, thank goodness. According to Jax, she'd been staying lower, in a room that was nice, but not like this.
As I caught my breath, I glanced around. The suite – as luxurious as it was – couldn’t begin to compare to the place that Jax called home.
I said, "So I guess Jaden's back, huh?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, we're here, aren't we?"
Jax pulled away, and nestled himself beside me. "He's still gone, but that's not a factor."
"Oh?"
He gave a low laugh. "What, you think him being around would've stopped me?"
"It wouldn't?"
"Hell no. It's a big house, remember?"
I smiled. From last night, I did remember. But if privacy wasn't an issue, why was he splurging on a hotel room? I wanted to know, but wasn't quite sure how to ask. "So…."
"Why are we here?"
"Well, I am sort of curious."
He turned and brushed a lock of damp hair away from my eyes. "We're here, because you're gonna kiss that worry goodbye. Remember?"
He meant worry about my mom's thoughtless extravagance. I knew this, because he'd said so earlier, when he'd surprised me in the parking lot of the restaurant where I worked. By some miracle, I'd been sent home early, and like magic, he'd been right there in his car, waiting.
I smiled at the memory. And yet, I had to admit, "I'm not sure I'll be able to. I mean, I still hate that you got stuck with the bill."
"I didn't get stuck," he said. "It was my idea."
"But—"
He leaned over and silenced me with a kiss. One thing led to another and soon, worry was the last thing on my mind.
It wasn't until early the next morning when I realized something funny. With an embarrassed laugh, I said, "I don't know what I'm gonna wear home."
We'd just gotten out of the shower and were sitting in white hotel bathrobes on the balcony overlooking the ocean. I gestured vaguely toward the suite's interior, where my tattered clothes were still scattered about. "I mean, I can't wear my uniform, at least not without making a spectacle of myself."
He smiled. "Who says you're going anywhere?"
I loved the idea of staying, but that simply wasn't possible. At noon, I had to work.
Originally, this hadn't been the case, but after being informed last night that I was being sent home early, I'd talked one of my co-workers into giving up her shift the next day – today, in fact.
If only I'd known that I'd be spending the night with Jax, I might've taken the day off regardless. But I hadn't known, which was probably for the best.
After all, I did need the money.
When I mentioned the noon shift to Jax, he said, "So, blow it off."
"I can't just 'blow it off,'" I told him. "I practically begged Pam to give me the hours." I smiled. "And besides, you've probably got work to do yourself, right?"
"Nothing I can't postpone."
"Yeah, because you're the boss." I gave a playful eye-roll. "But me? I'm just a lowly waitress."
He reached out and tugged me onto his lap. Into my hair, he said, "You're not a lowly anything."
"I know. It's just a figure of speech, but I really do have to work." I gave a nervous laugh. "So, what do you think? Will I be able to make it out without giving everyone a show?"
"No one's getting a show but me." He pulled back and flicked his head toward the suite's interior. "Don't worry. I brought you some clothes."
"You did?" I gave him the squinty-eye. "So you knew you'd be destroying my uniform?"
"A guy can dream, right?"
He hadn't just dreamed. He made it a reality. And I sure as heck wasn't complaining.
But I was wondering. "So, whose clothes are they? I know you didn't bring any of mine, because Allie would've told me."
"I grabbed them from my place," he said. "From the same stash as before."
Obviously, he was referring to the clothes that he'd loaned me on that very first night.
"You know," I said, resting my head against his shoulder, "you never did tell me whose clothes they were."
"So, you wanna know?"
I nodded against him.
"They're Chloe's."
I tried not to stiffen at the unfamiliar name. "So, who's Chloe?" I pulled back to study his face. "An ex-girlfriend?"
"W
hy?" He grinned. "You jealous?"
I forced a little laugh. "Do I look jealous?"
"A little."
"Well, I'm not." Under my breath, I added, "Much."
Jax laughed. "Don't be. She's my brother's wife."
Now, that was unexpected. "Which brother? Jake?"
"Nah. My half-brother. Lawton."
For some reason, the name sounded vaguely familiar. Lawton and Chloe. And then it hit me, "Oh, my God. You don't mean Lawton Rastor?"
"Yeah, I do."
"He's your brother? I had no idea."
A few years earlier, I'd actually seen their crazy wedding proposal on the internet. Hell, me and a few bazillion other people. The guy was beyond famous, and Chloe had become semi-famous herself as a result of that video.
Jax was saying, "Yeah, but we don't like to publicize it."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because I like to keep a low profile."
I could see that. Even though Jax had a ton of money, he could go out in public almost like a normal person. I doubted that would be the case for someone as famous as Lawton Rastor, or his wife, for that matter.
I was still processing what I'd just learned. "I was wearing her underwear? Seriously?"
"No."
"No?"
"Everything was new," he said. "I figured you wouldn't take them any other way."
This was true – and very sweet. "I know. I'm just saying, she bought them?"
"Her or Lawton. They were here a couple of months ago, and that's the room they stay in when they visit."
I was pretty sure he meant the same room that Allie had trashed. If only she knew. "So what happened?" I asked. "Did they forget some of their stuff when they left?"
"No. They keep some things at the house, to save on packing."
I couldn’t imagine being so wealthy that I could afford to leave a bunch of clothing behind. Still, I was happy for them – and insanely relieved to hear that the items belonged to a relative as opposed to an ex.
It shouldn’t have mattered, but for some reason, it did.
But this did pose another question. "So, you get along with him? Lawton, I mean?"
"Does that surprise you?"
"Sort of," I admitted. "I mean, the way you talk, it's like you don’t get along with any of them, well, except for Jaden, anyway."
Jax was quiet for a long moment before saying, "Yeah. And there's a reason for that."
"What is it?" I asked.
"Ask me later, and I'll tell you."
"Why later?"
He smiled. "Because – as someone just told me – we're short on time. And hell if we're gonna spend it on anything dealing with my crazy-ass family."
I might've argued, except the way we spent our remaining time at The Plaza was nothing to complain about it. And besides, once I did hear the full story, it was easy to see why he hadn't wanted to share it.
It wasn't pretty. That was for sure.
Chapter 66
It was a Thursday night, and we were having drinks out on his patio – beer for him and wine for me. We'd been seeing each other exclusively for over a month, and I still knew very little about his family.
Obviously, it was a sore subject, so I'd been waiting for the right time to bring it up. But just now, Jax had mentioned something about cars, and it seemed like the perfect opening.
"Speaking of cars," I said, "you never did tell me why you took that car of Jake's."
"Hey, it was there."
"And…?"
"And I needed it."
"For what?"
He took a long pull of his beer. "To get to Florida."
This didn't tell me a whole lot, considering that we were in Florida now. "From where?" I asked.
"Michigan."
I almost dropped my glass. "You're kidding, right?"
"Nope."
"But that's like what? A twenty-hour drive?"
"Give or take."
I was staring now. "But you were fourteen years old."
"Yeah, so?"
"So that's not nearly old enough to drive, not legally anyway."
A few weeks ago, when he'd first mentioned the incident, I'd been shocked enough. But now, after learning that the drive had been cross-country, I was utterly flabbergasted.
From the chair beside me, Jax was saying, "Then it's a good thing we weren't stopped, huh?"
Obviously, he meant by the police, but he was missing the point. "So let me get this straight," I said. "You and Jaden stole—"
"Borrowed."
I gave him a look. Allie had made a similar claim when she'd "borrowed" her ex-boyfriend's truck. But in Allie's case, she'd had at least some plan to give it back.
I asked, "What does that mean? You were planning to return it?"
"I dunno," Jax said. "We didn't give it much thought."
It was a funny thing to say. I'd known Jax for months now. He was smart and almost never left anything to chance. I could hardly reconcile the guy I knew today with the kid he'd been.
"But why'd you do it?" I asked. "Were you going someplace in particular?" I tried to laugh. "I mean, please don't tell me you were just heading to the beach or something."
"We had a beach back home, didn't need a car for that."
I already knew that he'd been born in Michigan, so the statement made at least a little sense. His home-state was nearly surrounded by some of the biggest lakes in the world. No doubt, there were plenty of beaches.
"So…." I said, "if you weren't looking for a beach, what were you looking for?"
Jax turned forward to stare out over the horizon, where the moon was shimmering across the water. He was quiet for a long moment before saying, "My mom."
My breath caught. "What?"
"I was looking for my mom."
Up until now, he'd never mentioned his mom. Oh, sure, I realized that he had one, but on the rare times we even broached the topic of his family, he'd only mentioned his dad and a bunch of brothers.
Speaking more softly now, I said, "And she was in Florida?"
Jax was still gazing out over the horizon. After the briefest pause, he gave a tight nod.
His whole demeanor was making me nervous. "So, did you find her?"
"Yeah. We did."
I felt like I was treading on dangerous ground, but I loved him. For both of our sakes, I wanted to know. Still, I asked, "Would you rather not talk about it?"
He gave a tight shrug. "There's not much to say."
That couldn’t be true. I tried to keep my tone light. "I'm not sure I believe that. Two teenagers? Cross-country? And a parent waiting? I bet there's a lot to tell."
Jax gave a bitter laugh. "She wasn't waiting."
"Oh." Now, I wanted to kick myself for my own stupid assumption. After all, I knew firsthand that being a mom and acting like a mom weren't always the same thing. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't be. It's not a big deal."
It was an obvious lie, and I dreaded calling him on it. But to let him stew alone in his pain – or whatever this was – seemed impossibly cruel.
I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. In a very soft voice, I said, "It seems like a big deal to me."
His hand closed around mine, and he turned to meet my gaze. "Back then, yeah, it felt like a big deal. But now? I don't think about it."
Cautiously, I said, "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"Not much to tell," he said. "Life at home sucked. My mom left when I was thirteen. We always figured she'd come back, you know. She used to do that sometimes, take off for a few weeks, a few months. But she always came back."
I bit my lip. "But this time, she didn't?"
"No. She didn't." His mouth tightened. "I should've known. She'd been gone a long-ass time, almost a year. And us kids, we're all wondering if she's dead or something – even though my dad keeps telling us to shut up, she's not dead, she's just fucking around."
I gave a stunned shake of my head. "He didn't really say that?'
"Why not? It was the truth." Jax gave a low scoff. "But me and Jaden, we don't believe it. We start thinking, you know what, we'll bring her back."
At the image, I didn't know whether to smile or cry. "But how'd you know where she was?"
"My grandma – her mom – she lived a few blocks away."
"So she told you?"
"Not exactly," he said. "But it wasn't hard to figure out."
"How?" I asked.
"For starters, she never had any money, but then all of a sudden, she's driving a new car, putting new shutters on the house, things like that. It didn't make sense." His voice hardened. "And I just knew it had something to do with mom."
"So what'd you do?"
"Well, me and Jaden, we start lifting her mail."
"You mean your grandma's?"
Jax nodded. "Every day. Check it out, put it back. Sure enough, my mom's been sending checks from this address down in Florida. And so Jaden and I, we figure she must've gotten a job down there or something."
"So you decided to see for yourselves?"
"Right. Jake has this car, a total beater, but I'd driven the thing before, and Jaden and I get to thinking, 'What the fuck?' We'll go get her, tell her she's gotta come home."
At the image, I felt my eyes grow misty. "So, did you find her?"
"Oh yeah. We found her alright." He gave a bitter laugh. "You wanna hear something funny?"
Whatever it was, I was nearly certain that it wouldn't be funny at all. Bracing myself, I asked, "What?"
"When we get there, the skank is pregnant."
I stifled a gasp. I wasn't even sure if it was because he'd just called his mom a skank or because the image was such a surprise. Now, I had no idea what to say. Lamely, I murmured, "Wow."
Jax gave a low scoff. "Wow is right. I mean, there we are – me and Jaden – standing on her doorstep. And this doorstep, it's really fucking nice."
"How nice?" I asked.
"Nicer than our whole house back home. And the rest of the place, it's like a palace. And my mom's standing there in the doorway, looking at us like we're a couple of insurance salesmen that she's gotta get rid of."
I sucked in a horrified breath. "No."
"Oh yeah."
"So, what did you do?" I asked.
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