Careless(5)

I hear him get up and keep my back turned to him as he walks into the kitchen. He opens the fridge, and I wish I could trust myself to tell him to go to hell without crying out of pure hurt and anger.

“For a bunch of women, you have a lot of junk in here.”

“Please leave.” I force the words out between clenched teeth, fisting my hands to keep control of my temper. My wounded self-esteem is quickly morphing into white-hot rage.

When I feel his hand on my shoulder, I swing around, ready to slap the smirk right off his arrogant face. The look of worry is not what I expect, and it totally takes the heat out of my anger.

“You’re upset?”

I can’t believe the idiot has the audacity to look confused. I wonder how he would feel if I told him I’d need a magnifying glass to find his dick.

“Just leave,” I bite the words out.

“Hold on. We’ve been doing this back-and-forth thing since we met and now you decide to get your panties in a twist?”

I take a deep breath.

Assault will not look good on your record. Breathe past the anger. Don’t kill him.

“This… back and forth...” I take a deep breath so I don’t lose my voice from all the emotions swirling in my chest. “It’s over. You’re a player and the second you can’t get what you want, you insult the woman. I’m done talking to you.”

He tilts his head, not breaking eye contact, as his mouth sets into a hard line. When he takes a step closer to me, I tighten my fists, ready to punch him if he tries anything. When he takes another step closer, I give him a look of warning.

“Princess,” he whispers darkly.

He leans into me, and I bring my hands up to his chest with the full intention of shoving him away, but instead, my palms collide with his bare skin. Before I can yank away, he leans closer, pressing his chest hard into my hands.

“Two things…” His voice is deep and gravelly, almost sounding like a low growl. “One, you have nothing I want.”

I clench my jaw so tightly, I’m afraid I’ll crack a tooth.

“Two, let this be a lesson to never start something you can’t finish.”

I bite my bottom lip to keep the words from coming out. If I open my mouth now, I’m going to explode. Instead, I shove at his chest which of course doesn’t even budge him.

I yank my hands away from him, hoping he’ll back off. When he still doesn’t move I look down and force myself to take deep breaths.

“Princess,” he growls, sounding as angry as I feel.

Good! I hope he chokes on his anger. He loves to argue and the fact that I’m keeping quiet is killing him.

When he grabs hold of my hips and lifts me to the counter, a shriek of fright escapes with a gasp.

“What the hell?” I manage to get out as my breathing speeds up. I’m not sure if it’s from anger or the proximity of our bodies as he pushes his way in between my legs.

He places his hands on the counter, effectively caging my body with his. When he leans into me, I’m forced to lean back to avoid being nose to nose with him.

My heart is beating so fast I’m sure cardiac arrest is a real possibility if it beats any harder.

“On second thought, you do have something I want,” he says with an undertone of infuriation which makes his voice thick.

“What?” I whisper, wondering what I have that will be of any interest to him.

He inches forward until I can feel his breath on the corner of my mouth. It takes a lot of focus to keep absolutely still. Part of me wants to kiss him, just to shock the living hell out of him. The sane part wants to shove him away but seeing as it didn’t work the first time, I doubt it will be of any use now.

When his nose touches my cheek, I close my eyes and will my heart not to fail me.

Be strong.

Keep beating.

You’ve got this.

Closing my eyes wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had, seeing as it intensifies what I’m feeling as he brushes his stubbly cheek against my skin. His hot breath fans over my ear and then I feel his lips on my earlobe. Goosebumps rush over every inch of me, making my body feel alive with an unwanted need for him to touch me.

“I’ll tell you once I’ve taken it,” he whispers.

A burst of emotions erupts in my stomach, making my legs feel weak. At least I’m sitting, or I’d be sprawled on the floor at his feet.

As he pulls back, his mouth lingers over every inch of skin along my jawline.

When I feel his breath on the corner of my mouth, he growls, “Open your eyes, Leigh.”

It’s the first time he’s called me by my given name, and that alone makes my eyes pop open. I’m shocked when I see desire as clear as daylight shining from his eyes.

The corner of his mouth twitches into a smirk, and it makes me worry what he’s seeing in my eyes.

I don’t get to find out as the sound of the front door opening makes Jaxson take a step back. I take advantage of the interruption and push him as hard as I can so he’ll move faster. Luckily he does, and it gives me enough space to slip from the counter. I move out of his reach then dart for the front door. When I see Evie, relief washes over me.

Evie’s eyes dart from me to Jaxson, before her gaze settles back on my face. A suspicious frown settles on her forehead.

“Everything okay here?” she asks me, but Jaxson throws his arm around me, pulling me tightly to his side.

“Sure. I was just returning the tray and glasses. Leigh was kind enough to bring us something to drink while I was looking at Della’s truck.”

“Thanks for fixing her truck,” Evie says, all the suspicion easing from her face as she smiles. “Are you heading out?”

“Yeah, I have a class this afternoon. Are you coming over later?”

I shake my head which only makes him hold me tighter, squashing my cheek to his chest. His scent wafts up my nose, a mixture of his sweat and something earthy. I hate that I love the smell.

“I’m not sure about Willow and Leigh, but I’ll come over around seven.”

“See you then,” Jaxson says.

He waits until Evie walks deeper into the apartment before he turns his body into mine, bringing us chest to chest. He takes hold of my chin which I yank free.

“Stop touching me,” I hiss as I try to wiggle free of his hold.

“Why? Your body seems to like it,” he whispers.

When his knuckle brushes along the side of my breast, I lose the little control I had left. I bring my knee up and unfortunately it connects with his thigh. The shock on his face is totally worth whatever he’ll do to retaliate.

“I. Said. Don’t. Touch. Me,” I grind the words out.

The look of shock is quickly replaced by a calculating look. It sends shivers down my spine, and I’m not sure if it’s from worry or anticipation of what might happen the next time we’re alone.

I’ll just have to make sure I’m never alone with him because he’s right. My mind might hate him, but my traitorous body wants him.

It’s just an animalistic reaction. He’s attractive, and my body is obviously reacting to that.

He winks at me as he starts to walk to the door. Before he pulls it closed behind him, he says, “I really hope you don’t come over with the others tonight. This back-and-forth dance was tiring enough for today. Oh wait, there was no back-and-forth. Seems I found a way to silence that pretty little mouth of yours.”

He blows me a kiss then closes the door behind him, leaving me stewing in frustration and rage.





Chapter 3



JAXSON





I’m a little disappointed when Evie and Willow come over without Leigh. I know I told her she’s not welcome, but I was hoping she’d come, anyway.

“Where’s Leigh?” I ask.

Normally I wouldn’t give a damn whether a girl shows up or not, but with Leigh, I can’t help myself. From the moment I laid eyes on her, she’s all I’ve been thinking about.

After all the shit that went down with Mom, I’ve avoided feelings at all cost. I don’t date, and I sure as hell have no interest in getting to know a woman.

I’ve never kissed a woman. Well, not on the mouth. I’ve kissed plenty of other body parts though. It’s just too personal. Kissing leads to feeling.

Until Leigh.

Never before have I had such a strong urge to kiss a girl. When I had her up on that counter, it was all I could think about. Seeing the anger mixing with lust in her eyes was one hell of a turn-on.

Arguing is like foreplay to me, and the fact that she refused to fight back, got to me.

“She has a headache,” Willow says.

I stare at her, not sure what we’re talking about.

“You asked where Leigh is,” Willow states as she tries to read my face.

“Oh yeah,” I say, hating that I’m so deep in thought about Leigh that I can’t follow a simple conversation.

“She just started wearing contact lenses, and they’re giving her a headache. She tries once a year but always goes back to wearing glasses.”

Fuck, now I’m picturing Leigh with glasses. The last thing I need is to get wood while hanging with everyone.

“What’s the story with her?”

Carter’s eyes dart to me, but I ignore him. I don’t tell him how to handle Della who’s clearly gotten under his skin.

“She’s taking a break before she starts her residency at USC. If it were up to her, she would’ve started already, but her parents forced her to take a vacation.”