“Don’t hide behind humor,” he says.
I’m not going to argue with him, not right now. So I give him a smile and start pampering his glorious chest muscles, teasing his little man nipples. I am quite sure I am getting as much pleasure out of the pampering as him.
He closes his eyes and exhales. “Ella, listen to me,” he says, taking my hands away from his chest. “Whoever killed Madison won’t stop there. You have to promise me you’ll be discreet in your investigation and you’ll come to me the moment you sense something’s off.”
I raise my eyes to look at him. “Do you think I’m in danger?”
He doesn’t respond which is as good as a confirmation.
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” I go on, fearing the worst.
This time he smiles shyly. “No,” he says. “I just want to make sure nothing ever happens to you. I need you, Ella Wade.”
—twelve—
June 28
In the morning, I have a hard time getting out of bed. As soon as I open my eyes, I still feel disoriented and intoxicated by the wild intimacy of being with Jaxson yesterday. I wish I could have spent the night with him but he had to work.
As the memories return to me, I find myself floating above the world of mortals to a place where all I am is his sweet girl. Nobody came within a million miles of fucking me the way Jaxson Cole did, so utterly tenacious and satisfying.
It’s still very hard to believe that Jax fell in love with me so fast and so hard but I think even if yesterday was nothing more than a perfect one-night stand, I’d be okay with that because he opened my eyes to a new kind of sensuality, a new kind of life hunger. But then my phone rings and it’s him, and I am so completely relieved our story is not yet over.
“Are your nipples still sticky with my cum?” he says, sounding totally serious.
“Ah, Uncle Bob? Is that you?”
He laughs and I can hear sleep in his dry throat. “You’re mental.”
“Did you expect a serious answer?”
“Yes,” he insists.
“Fine,” I say. “Yes, Jax. Your cum is all over me and I have little crusty deposits around my nipples. And I kind of love it, because I feel like you are still close to me. Is that better?”
“I love it,” he says. “I can’t stand being away from you either.”
“Don’t worry,” I say, peeking under my tank top. “Your territory is still marked.”
“Good,” he says. “How soon can you get here?”
“I guess I can meet you right now. Where are you?” It’s official, I don’t care if I get fired or if I lose my dubious position as Detective Esposito’s exclusive double duty reporter/partner.
“My place,” Jax says.
“Sounds good, but where is that?”
He gives me an address in the Pacific Palisades. I quickly jot it down on a notebook, tearing the page out right away and sticking it in my purse.
“I’ll be there in forty minutes unless the traffic is out of hand,” I tell him. “I’ll have to leave in the afternoon. I’m meeting Maddy’s father for a short interview.”
“That’s fine, I have an audition around then.”
“What kind of audition?”
“For a part in an action movie. I’ll be the sexy, bad guy.”
“You’ll set a lot of panties on fire,” I tease him.
“Just get your butt over here,” he says. “I miss you.”
When I arrive at his luxurious condominium, my head is bursting with ridiculous notions of how it would feel like to be a sexy movie star’s girlfriend. I find him in his swimming trunks, ocean salt on his skin and hair.
I walk into his condo and see the expanse of the distant Pacific through his huge bay windows. We are on a steep hillside high above the ocean about a half mile or so away from the water.
“I called you from the beach. I did some surfing while I waited,” he says, taking me in his arms.
We kiss passionately and my tongue devours the mix of saltiness and mint in his mouth eagerly. His tongue trails off down the V of my t-shirt, wetting my skin. “You showered,” he says, disappointed expression full-on.
“I had to, you dork,” I say. “I have to go straight to meet Maddy’s father at 1:00 pm.”
“You could have showered here,” he says, “after I make you come again.”
“You assume a lot,” I say, even though we both know I’ll probably be screaming for him within minutes.
“Take your clothes off,” he says, “and then bend over the dining table.”
I look at him questioningly, uncertain if he’s serious or not.