And then remembering his directive, she hurried into the bedroom and gingerly unfastened the earrings from the holder in the box and slid them into her ears. Nervously, she went to the mirror to check her appearance and stood staring back at a woman she didn’t recognize. Her hair was disheveled and her lips were still faintly swollen from Drake’s passionate kisses. Most notably, there was a glow to her cheeks and to her eyes that suggested a well-satisfied woman. She looked almost . . . pretty. Then she chastised herself for already getting caught up in this make-believe world she’d been transported to and reminded herself that she was still the same average Evangeline. More expensive clothing and jewelry didn’t miraculously transform her into something she wasn’t, and it was dangerous to get caught up in the fantasy, even if for the barest of moments. It was thoughts like these that would set her up for a horrendous reality check and a fall right back into the world she really belonged in.
Knowing she had limited time, she only applied the bare minimum makeup and a sheer lip gloss and then finished with a few swipes of mascara to highlight what she admitted was her one redeeming quality. Her eyes.
But then dread took hold, because she still had to figure out what to bring to change into later. The last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself or worse, embarrass Drake. Short of calling him and asking him exactly what he wanted her to wear, her only other option was . . . Jax.
She groaned but what the heck. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t already made a fool of herself in front of every other one of his men. No reason for Jax to be excluded. He’d probably already heard about her anyway and was cursing the fact he’d drawn the short straw today. Or maybe he’d volunteered, wanting to see the train wreck in person.
Nervously she walked out of the bedroom, peeking toward the living room to see a large man sprawled across Drake’s couch, remote in hand, a drink in the other.
“Um, Mr. Jax?” she asked cautiously.#p#分页标题#e#
Then he turned and she took an instinctive step back. Yes, all of Drake’s men were hot badasses who didn’t smile and were hardheaded, but this guy was huge! He had tattoo sleeves covering the length of both arms, and the design continued up around his neck, making her wonder if his entire upper torso was one giant work of art. He wore at least three earrings in each ear and his hair was long and unruly in a total “I don’t give a fuck” kind of way.
But his eyes. Whoa. His hair was black as a raven’s wing, but his eyes were crystalline blue. All she could do was stare mutely as he stared back, obviously waiting to hear what she was going to ask. For that matter, what had she been going to ask?
Then he smiled, and as with the others, that smile transformed him from a man not to be fucked with to a man who would stop traffic with only that smile. He stood and walked slowly toward her, almost as if he sensed she might run back into the bedroom and shut the door.
“Just Jax. And you must be Evangeline, unless Drake has two gorgeous blue-eyed blondes holed up in his apartment,” he said with a flirtatious grin. “Was there a problem? Do you need something?”
His voice had softened and he stopped several feet away from her, whether by coincidence or out of deference to her obvious nervousness.
“Um, yes. I mean no.” She groaned and smacked her forehead.
Jax laughed. “Which is it?”
“Yes, I’m Evangeline, and no, he doesn’t have two women in this apartment. At least he better not.” She muttered the last under her breath but knew he’d heard when Jax’s lips twitched and his eyes gleamed with amusement.
“They weren’t wrong about you,” Jax said, cocking his head sideways, as though studying her.
Her gaze narrowed. “Who? What are you talking about?” Damn it, she knew she’d been set up as today’s amusement for the new guy.
He just grinned. “What can I do for you, Miss Evangeline?”
Then she remembered the whole reason she’d come in search of Jax and wanted to die of embarrassment. She closed her eyes, her face on fire. How did she stand a chance of surviving a single day in Drake’s world much less a significant length of time?
Jax softened at the sight of the gorgeous, sweet woman staring at him in obvious distress. Damn, but the others had been right. Her agitation made him want to do whatever had to be done to correct the matter. He’d laughed at Thane, Maddox and Justice when they’d extolled her virtues and told him the impossible. That she was the real deal. Too sweet and innocent for her own good but a tigress when it came to defending people she felt were wronged.