That did it. Her mention of Harley and how it would affect his daughter was a kick in the teeth. "Do not bring Harley up, Fi. Don't push it."
"You're thinking with your dick, Jax-"
He had it. He ended the call abruptly. Let Fiona fume. He could deal with her tantrum later. If she was telling the truth about the tabloid reports, then there were people he needed to call to deal with it. His first call was to Bruno. His agent picked up at the first ring.
He sounded exhausted. "Jax, I was about to call you."
"Fiona got to me first. Is it true?" By the tone of his agent's voice, it wasn't good news. Fiona could very well be telling the truth.
"Didn't you see them at the airport? They followed you from LAX right to Vancouver. Those are easy enough to handle, but with you coming out of Cade's apartment, helping her with her bags?"
"Shit," Jax muttered under his breath. "They have Cade too, I assume."
"Yeah, 'fraid so."
"She's not going to like that," he said the words more for himself than for his agent on the other end of the line. "Do some damage control. I'll have to talk to Cade about this." Jax rubbed his forehead with his hand, frustrated how the day was going.
Not only was Cade seemingly pissed off at him for proposing-granted, he could see why she hesitated-now they had to handle paparazzi too.
"Are we confirming or denying?"
"Ah, man. I'll have to ask Cade. If it were all up to me, I would tell them we are together, but Cade is a bit … "
"Yeah, of course. She's new to this." Bruno sighed. "Let me see what I can do from here, and call me back when you've had the talk. Good luck, my friend."
Yeah, he needed all the luck he could get with Cade. "Thanks."
Jax contemplated his next steps. The longer he delayed it, the worse it could get. His phone rang again, and he turned it off when Fiona's number showed up. With heavy feet, Jax dragged himself out of his bedroom and stood in front of the guest bedroom. He could hear Harley's animated voice, followed by Juliette's chatter. Why couldn't his life be easy for once?
He lifted his hand, poised to knock when the door opened, and Harley and Juliette stood in front of him.
"Hey, Dad, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," Har commented.
Jax ran his hand over his face and hair again. He must look a fright. It wasn't going to be easy talking to Cade. "I need to talk to Cade."
"She's in the shower," Juliette told him, dragging him into the bedroom, and pushing him in front of the ensuite bathroom. "I'm sure she won't mind if you join her." Juliette winked at him, and right behind her, Harley quietly giggled.
Cade would probably drop kick him if he dared to try, but oh was it ever a huge temptation. "I'll wait until she's done," he told the girls, who were already out of the room, and the door closed behind them.
Jax stared at the bathroom door. He could hear movements behind it. The shower wasn't running. Was she done or was she just getting in? He tried not to think of Cade naked in the room, under the hot shower. He tried not to visualize her lathering up her flawless, toned body. He was stuck thinking about those sensual sights.
Then the door opened. Cade gasped, clutching the bath towel tighter. "Jax!" She looked around and noticed that no one else was in the room with them. "Where are Harley and Juliette?"
"They left." His eyes focused on one drop of water falling from the side of her cheek down to her neck, pooling slightly over her collarbone. He'd give anything to suck on that skin at that moment. Jax took a cleansing breath and inhaled Cade's glorious smell. He pinned her under his gaze.
"Jax," she said again. There was a slight warning tone in her voice, but he could see the smile playing on the corners of her lips. Her lips. Cade's lips. He ached to taste them once more. To taste her, all of her.
Jax stepped forward, circling one arm around Cade's waist and grabbing at the top of the towel with the other hand. He leaned forward, ghosting his lips over the damp skin on the curve of her neck. Cade pulled on her towel, but not as hard as he thought she would. He followed the line of water droplets along her neck and shoulder. Cade leaned her head back, giving him more access to the column of her throat. She sucked in a breath in a hiss when Jax continued down her sternum, pushing the bundled towel down. It puddled around her feet, leaving Cade fully exposed and all his.