by Kaylee, Katy
She moved toward me, and that’s when I saw the slit in the gown. Her perfect leg appeared, the strappy silver heels she was wearing making her appear taller while elongating her legs. “No way. I can’t.”
“You can’t what?”
“That dress. You. My god. You are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” I gasped.
She blushed under the carefully applied makeup. “Thank you,” she said with a smile.
My heart felt as if it were blooming. I loved her. My god how I loved the woman, and she didn’t even know it. Staring at her, seeing how beautiful she was, almost hurt. I longed for her to be mine. I wanted to make her mine, brand her with my touch, and make sure the entire world knew they could look but they could never touch, and the looks damn well better be brief. I could understand why someone would want to look at her, but I would not allow ogling. That body was mine, and I would be the only one ogling.
“Are you ready?” I asked her.
She slowly shook her head, her eyes locked with mine. “No. Turn around. I want to get a good look at you in a tux. It isn’t something I ever thought I would see in person.”
I grinned, giving her a wink before slowly turning, pausing and posing in my practiced model poses, before completing a full circle. “Good?”
“You’re not at all shy, are you?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “A little, but I’ve been doing the posing thing for a while. It comes naturally. Shall we go?”
“Yes. Here goes nothing I suppose,” she mumbled.
“You look beautiful. I’ll be by you all night if you need me. Lydia will be there as well if I get pulled away,” I assured her.
Tonight had to be perfect. I had to show her how good life with me could be. I wanted to give her everything. We headed for the elevator. We got into the waiting limo and were quickly driven to the event center. I could feel her nerves as she clenched my hand in hers. When the limo stopped in the line of other limos waiting to drop off passengers at the red carpet, Penny slapped my hand.
“We can’t get out there!”
“Why not? It’s the way it’s done.”
She shook her head. “No way. I agreed to come with you, but I do not want to be on the front page of anything.”
“Penny, it will be all right.”
“No way! We can’t! I won’t get out of this car, Jax,” she said firmly, and I knew she had made up her mind.
“Can you drive around the block a couple times?” I asked the driver.
He nodded and pulled out of the line while I called Lydia. Fortunately, she was still at her hotel on the same block, so we parked out front to collect her.
“Hi,” she said, climbing into the car with myself and Penny. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t walk the red carpet with him,” Penny blurted out.
“Why not?” Lydia asked.
“Because the two of you are supposed to be a couple. I am not going to be the other woman.”
Lydia looked at me with a grimace. “She’s right. We talked about our public breakup, but doing it this way is only going to bring hellfire on Penny.”
“Fuck,” I hissed, pissed that my life was dictated by the fucking media.
“We’ll drop Penny at the side entrance. Then we’ll do the red-carpet thing and meet inside,” Lydia offered.
“Thank you. That sounds much better,” Penny breathed, relaxing against the dark leather seat.
“Fine,” I mumbled, not at all pleased to have to leave her alone for even a short time.
We dropped her off with the promise to see her soon. The driver got back in the long line, and when it was finally our turn to walk the carpet, I was in a foul mood. Lydia looked stunning as always. I put on a smile, doing my best to put on a good appearance, standing to the side while Lydia posed and showed off the stunning blue gown she was wearing.
“Jax, when are you going to make it official?” a reporter called out from behind the velvet rope.
I looked at Lydia and smiled. “We’re still in negotiations,” I said coyly.
My answer earned a laugh from the reporters. We managed to get a few more feet before we were called over to one of the journalists for a prominent fashion magazine. I didn’t want to go, but Lydia looped her arm through mine and practically dragged me to the waiting woman.
“There’s a lot of talk about your line, Jax. Can you give me a hint about what it will be?” the reporter asked.
“Think casual, active, relaxed,” I said with a smile.
“It’s going to be great. We all know how Jax likes to dress cool and hates getting dressed up. His line will reflect that personal style that we all love,” Lydia said proudly.
“Thank you, babe,” I replied.
“Where’s the ring? Rumor has it you popped the question recently, but I don’t see a ring on her finger,” the woman said, almost accusing me of failing.
I raised an eyebrow. “Maybe your information is wrong, or maybe we prefer to keep some things about our lives just between us,” I shot back.
I knew it was dangerous to get short with the press, but I was in a shit mood. I wanted to get inside and find Penny. I had seen the people in line in front of us. They were probably ogling her and trying to talk to her while I stood outside answering stupid, irrelevant questions.
“We need to get in there. It was nice talking to you,” Lydia said, pulling me away before I could say anything else.
“Sorry,” I grumbled as we made a quick dash down the carpet, ignoring our names being called out.
“It’s okay,” she assured me.
We managed to get inside, only waylaid a few more times as we made our way to the entrance to the ballroom where the event was being held. My eyes scanned the crowd, looking for Penny. I saw the flash of silver from the corner of my eye and turned. I felt immediate calm. She was walking out of one of the exhibitions set up around the room. The theme of the event was all about the history of fashion. I cut through the crowd, my eyes focused on her.
“Hi,” she said with a smile.
I leaned down to kiss her lips but caught her cheek instead. I scowled at her. “What was that for?”
“You’re here with Lydia,” she reminded me.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s really getting old.”
“Sorry, but it’s the way it has to be. I was just checking out the primitive-man display. Let me tell you, those loincloths are the definition of edgy. One wrong move and there would be a serious scandal. I can’t imagine how many wardrobe malfunctions there were back in the day.”
I laughed, shaking my head and moving to grab her hand. “I can’t imagine the amount of chafing during the summer and the winter—” I winced, not finishing my sentence.
“Jax, no,” she said, pulling her hand away.
I grabbed two glasses of champagne off a tray of a passing waiter and handed one to her. “Let’s mingle,” I grumbled irritably.
“Actually, I need to use the restroom.”
She handed me back the champagne and walked away. I looked around the room and saw Lydia coming toward me. “Where’s Penny?” she asked.
“This was a mistake,” I answered.
“Oh no. Why? Is Penny having a bad time?”
“No, I am. I can’t touch her or stare at her or kiss her,” I pouted.
She laughed softly, taking the untouched glass of champagne from my hand. “It will get better. Just think, you have tonight.”
“Hello, you two,” a male journalist said as he came to stand in front of us.
I inwardly groaned. “Hello.”
“Do you have a few minutes? I’d like to get a statement about your upcoming line and check in with fashion’s hottest couple.”
I looked at Lydia, who silently begged me to just play along a little longer. “Sure,” I said in my friendliest tone.
The man started talking, but I wasn’t listening. I saw Penny walk out of the bathroom. She made eye contact with me, saw Lydia and the journalist, and gave
a slight nod of her head, pointing at another one of the exhibits. She was giving me space. I was going to find her as soon as the journalist’s few minutes were up. As I watched her move through the crowd, smiling at people as she passed. I saw a senator who seemed to have a real thing for models. He was a dick. I didn’t like him, and he had a hell of a reputation as being a womanizer.
He stepped in front of Penny, stopping her from moving as he extended his hand. She politely shook it. I could only see her side profile but could tell she was smiling. She smiled at everyone, but the senator seemed to think she was interested judging by the way he held her hand a little too long. I watched as she pulled it out of his grasp, wrapping her arm across her waist in a defensive move.
The senator leaned in, clearly trying to flirt. Penny stepped back; the smile had slipped a little. I saw her nod her head toward the exhibit and sidestep to move around the guy. The senator moved to the side, blocking her exit.
I flinched, ready to beat the shit out of the guy if he touched her again.
“Jax, don’t you agree?” I heard Lydia’s voice.
I blinked, turning my face to hers. “What?”
“Jax, are you okay?” she asked.
I turned back to check on Penny and saw the senator’s hand snake out and grab her shoulder. Penny said something. I had no idea what it was, but I got the feeling she was trying to get away from him. When the hand that had been grasping her bare shoulder slid down her arm, wrapping around her elbow as if he was going to lead her away, I saw red. He was not going to paw my woman and get away with it. Penny expertly removed his arm and walked away from him. I relaxed a little, watching her walk into the exhibit.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “I’m going to need to cut this short. I just saw someone I really need to talk to,” I said, turning to look back to check on her and finding the senator walking into the exhibit. Both of them were out of sight.
I gave Lydia a quick kiss on the cheek and walked away. I stomped across the room and went into the exhibit. The senator had Penny against the flimsy partition wall, crowding her with his larger body. I heard her ask him to move. I didn’t hear what he said. I grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around before shoving him against the partition. His weight sent the wall and the pictures pinned to it crashing to the ground. I stood over him, ready to pummel the man.
26
Penny
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I stared in horror at Jax standing over the abrasive man who had gotten it in his head we were going to go up to his room. The guy was a lecher, but I had dealt with his type before. I thought I was handling the situation just fine, but judging by the look of rage on Jax’s face, he didn’t feel the same.
Jax reached down and grabbed the man by the front of his tux with his left hand, his right hand cocked back and fisted. After a brief moment of shock, I quickly assessed the situation and realized the poop was about to hit the fan. A flash went off, followed by another, and I realized it was already flying. Everyone and their mothers had a cell phone pointed at Jax, taking video and snapping pictures.
“Jax, no!” I said, grabbing his arm and holding it.
He turned to face me. I could see the fury in his eyes. He stared at me for several seconds, still holding the man’s shirtfront. Suddenly, his eyes softened, and he dropped the man, his arm relaxing in my grasp. He reached up and cupped my face in his hands, staring into my eyes. “Are you okay?” he whispered.
His touch was gentle and sweet and way too familiar. I pulled away. “Stop. They’re taking pictures,” I hissed in a low breath.
He looked around and seemed to realize he was being filmed from every angle. He rolled his eyes. “I don’t fucking care. Are you okay?” he asked, reaching for me again.
“Jax, we can’t,” I whispered, begging him to stop before he made too big of a scene.
He spun around to look at the man still lying on the floor, looking up at Jax with furious anger. “That asshole put his hands on you!” he said loud enough for all of the gawkers to hear.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the crowd. I didn’t stop moving until we were making our way out the front door and into the cold night air. I put my hand in the air, waving it furiously to get the attention of a cab. One pulled up within seconds. I opened the back door and got in, never letting go of Jax’s hand.
He put up no fight and crawled in next to me. The moment the door closed beside him, he pulled me into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I told him.
He kissed me on the lips before moving to my jaw and kissing me again. He was almost frantic. “I hated seeing another man touch you. It made me want to tear him limb from limb.”
He was kissing over my neck, ignoring the fact we were in a cab with a cabbie watching us. It was a little creepy.
“Jax, we’re in a cab,” I hissed close to his ear, my eyes meeting the cabbie’s in the rearview mirror. The guy had the decency to look away.
“I don’t care.”
“Where is this coming from? The guy didn’t even do anything,” I told him.
He pulled his mouth away, his face hovering inches from mine. “He was too close. I’m sorry. I’ve always been possessive of you. After that night, I wanted you to be mine and mine alone. I couldn’t stand the idea of someone else touching you. I still can’t. When I saw him put his hand on you and stand so close to you, I couldn’t control my temper.”
“Jax, I don’t understand.”
He took a deep breath and blew it out. “Penny, I owe you an explanation for what happened back then.”
“Do you have one?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Not a good one, but yes. After that night, after I took your virginity, I couldn’t fathom another man touching you the way I had. You were mine. Everything about you, it was mine. I claimed you.”
“Then why would you hurt me so badly?” I asked, fighting back the tears.
He looked down at our joined hands. “I figured if I told everyone you were a bad lay, no man would ever want you.”
My mouth dropped open. “Jax!”
“It was dumb, I know that now, but I knew you and I could never be together.”
“Why? Why couldn’t we have been together?” I practically wailed.
“Because of Chance. Your brother was my best friend. He would have never allowed me to be with you. You told me it could never happen again, that it was only a onetime thing,” he said.
I shook my head in disbelief. “You told people I was a bad lay because you didn’t want me to be with anyone?” I asked.
He looked at me. “Yes.”
“Jax,” I said his name again, not sure what else to say.
“I’m sorry. I am so sorry for what I did to you. Please believe me when I tell you it came from a place of devotion. That night meant something to me. Hell, it meant everything. I lay there next to you and thought about another guy in my position. It made me sick, physically sick to think of a man touching you the way I had. That jealous side of me came out.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had come up with a million reasons why he did what he did, but all of them led me back to him just being a callous jackass.
“I don’t know what to say,” I told him.
“Say you forgive me,” he replied.
The cab pulled to a stop in front of the hotel. The doorman quickly opened the back door. Jax got out, reaching in to help me out. I took his hand and followed him through the lobby. I felt like I was lost in a dream. My mind was still spinning after his revelation.
We stepped into the elevator, the doors sliding closed, leaving us in strained silence. “I don’t understand,” I murmured.
“You’re mine. That’s all there is to understand. I said what I said because I was foolish. I didn’t know how to tell you how I felt. You’re mine, Penny,” he said again.
I wanted to believe him. God, I wanted it to be true, but he’d hurt me so bad. I wasn’t sure I co
uld believe him. I had crushed on him forever. I had been in love with him for as long as I could remember. When he did what he did, it had cut me to the core. That kind of pain wasn’t easily forgotten.
“Jax, I don’t know what to say. What you did really hurt me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I fucked up. I know I did. I hated what I did. I never expected it to have the kind of consequences that it did. I didn’t think. I reacted,” he said, his hand reaching up to cup my face again.
I stared into his eyes and felt he was being honest. I believed him.
“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to do anything. You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted. Since that night, it’s only been you for me.”
His mouth pressed against mine. It was a kiss full of promise. I leaned into him, letting him show me his truth. His gentle, but fierce, kiss was the proof I needed. When the doors slid open, he pulled away, taking my hand in his and leading me down the hall to our suite. We walked inside, neither of us bothering to turn on the lights.
The bed was turned down, ready for us to crawl between the sheets. Jax stopped in the middle of the room and slowly turned me around, putting my back to him. His hands moved to the zipper of the borrowed gown and slowly slid it down. I was only wearing a pair of fire-engine-red panties. I’d bought them with him in mind.
The gown slid to the floor in a quiet heap. I stepped out of the pool of fabric and turned to face him. His eyes roamed over my nearly naked body. I was a little self-conscious of the small bulge in my belly and hoped he didn’t notice.
“You’re stunning. You have filled my dreams for years. I have thought about you constantly. I want you in my life, Penny. I need you in my life,” he said.
“I’m here.”
He smiled. “Yes, you are, and I am going to show you how important you are to me. You’re mine,” he repeated.
He began to undress, taking his time while his eyes held mine. Occasionally, he would look down at my breasts before looking at me and gifting me with a small smile. When he was standing in nothing but a very tight pair of boxer briefs, he reached for me. I willingly walked into his arms.