“What is it?” I say, short of breath.
“When you asked why I’m helping you, I wasn’t completely honest.”
“Please, no more bad news,” I say, but he puts his index finger on my lips.
“I’m helping you for Madison, but also because being with you has been making me feel better.”
This is the kind of shit I don’t know how to process in any reasonable time frame. His finger on my mouth reminds me of his hot, rough kisses. I’d like to suck on it or anything else he throws in my face as long as it gets me invited to his private party.
“That’s not such a bad secret,” I say, removing his finger with mine. “You are not without your charms as well, but this is about Madison.”
“I like you,” he says, shyly gazing at the ground.
I can’t believe this small confession makes him bashful. He’s like a different person.
“You barely know me.”
He shrugs, eyes set on mine like vises. “Yet, I do.”
I turn the key to start the engine, unable to speak. “No, you don’t,” I say, looking away. “I barely know myself.”
He lifts his eyes to linger in mine. “I know you, Ella Wade. From that very first moment at the agency.”
Here we go, at least now we’re back on familiar ground. I manage to compose myself and look him in the eyes. “Why don’t you tell me what you really want?”
“That would be too much too soon.”
“Stop with this bashful routine. It doesn’t suit you. What is it that you want, Jaxson Cole? What game are you playing?”
“It’s not a game,” he says defensively. “I just wanted a date. Forget it.”
Suddenly, I want him to say my name again, the whole fucking thing. I want to hear him say things like, I want to date you, Ella Wade; I want to hold your hand, Ella Wade; I want to kiss you until you can’t breathe, Ella Wade; I want to fuck you until you forget your name, Ella Wade.
“At least I made you speechless,” he says.
“I don’t know what to say, Jaxson,” I say weakly. “This is going way too fast for my taste.” That’s not true. Not even a little.
“Call me Jax,” he says, pulling back, taking his hand off the door. “Oh, and by the way, you’re anything but ordinary, Ella Wade.”
He walks away. I cannot move. I’m smitten and disoriented as hell as I watch his lovely back and ass slowly exit my field of vision. I feel like I just got off a rollercoaster. Sparks fire in every part of my brain and body.
Maybe this will make my autobiography someday, the night a sex god took me to an orgy, devoured me with kisses, lifted my skirt and then later tried to convince me to do PI work and finally asked me out on a date.
No one would ever believe it was non-fiction.
—eight—
June 25
The phone rings the moment I step out of the shower. It must be a law of nature that important shit tends to happen when you’re in the shower or just stepping out of it. Every phone call could be crucial today so I rush on my wet feet down the hallway to the living room where I’ve left my phone.
I’m almost out of breath when Rick Esposito greets me coldly, making me feel guilty for not responding to his call last night. I didn’t ignore him on purpose. There were so many questions in my head after I came back home, I honestly forgot about giving Esposito a call.
It’s also true that I get a sharp pang of disappointment in my chest that the voice on the other end doesn’t belong to Jaxson. I already miss the gorgeous bastard which could be exactly what he was going for when he asked me out on a date.
“You were AWOL pretty much all day yesterday,” Esposito says as if he needs to inform me of my own whereabouts.
“Something came up,” I say. “Anything new?”
“Maybe. We’ll probably have the coroner’s report later today and a press release to go with it. I’ll get you copies of everything but I’d like to see you before that. I have a few questions you might be able to answer.”
“Sure,” I say, although the last thing I want is to meet with Rick Esposito. I don’t know how well I’ll be able to hide the fact that I’m withholding some very serious information from him.
“One hour, my office,” he says and hangs up before I can respond.
I hate the idea of being bossed around by Esposito or, worse, manipulated by Jaxson but in the end I have to do what is best for my job, and right now that means pursuing all possible new information.
I pat myself dry with the towel, pull on my skinny jeans and slide into a white t-shirt. Blow drying my hair takes a little longer than I want because I need a haircut (I don’t like it when my hair grows longer than a couple of inches below my shoulders) and then, right before walking out, I decide I need makeup.