The Billion Dollar Bachelor(28)

Wait. Had that moment only been for the benefit of the cameras? A small, sharp pain slid under her skin. A pain she tried to tell herself she didn’t feel. “Oh,” she said, not quite able to keep the edge from her voice. “And here was I thinking that was just for me.”

He paused, his tie half undone, revealing the tanned skin of his throat. Shot her a glance. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that. It was just for you.”

Pandora tore her gaze away and turned to stare at the city outside. “Right.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“It’s fine, Jax.”

But it wasn’t fine and she didn’t know quite why.

*

After they’d arrived home, Jax stalked into the penthouse behind Pandora, feeling like the world’s biggest prick.

He’d fucked up and he knew it. That brief, intimate moment at the gallery opening had clearly meant something to her and he’d made it all about their show for the press. And, what was worse, he resented being made to feel that way because it gave this pretend engagement of theirs far more weight than it had any right to be.

Unfair, you bastard. All she wanted was a friend.

Yeah, he knew that. Which only made him feel like even more of a prick.

Dumping his keys on the console table in the hallway, he turned to her, reaching out to pull her against him, make it up to her in the only way he could think of, with a kiss that would blow her mind, make her forget his mistake. But she was already moving toward the entrance to the bedroom, her red gown billowing out behind her in a swirl of gauzy silken skirts.

“Pandora. Wait.”

At the sound of his voice, she stopped. Turned. “What is it? I’m kind of tired, Jax.”

“I’m sorry. That moment wasn’t only about the press, okay?”

She shrugged. Like it didn’t matter. “Yeah, I get it.”

But he remembered that flicker of hurt in her eyes in the limo. It did matter.

He gritted his teeth, a part of him wanting to go to her and put his arms around her. Hold her like he had most of this evening. Not for sex but for comfort. But comfort implied there was more to their relationship than sex and he didn’t want to get any more involved than he already was.

You can still be her friend, asshole.

Jax shoved his hands in his pockets to stop them from reaching for her again. “Come and have a nightcap with me. We can talk.”

She gave him a guarded look. “About what?”

“About anything you want.”

She let out a breath, then came over to put the beaded clutch she’d had with her on the console table next to his keys. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

For some reason he didn’t like that answer. “Why not?”

“Because it’s just to placate me and I’m too tired to deal with that right now.”

“It’s not—”

“Do you really want to sit around talking to me?”

Her perfume wound around him, sweet and familiar, making his mouth go dry and his cock get hard. Because right now? No, he didn’t want to talk. He wanted to fuck her into insensibility. Then maybe he wanted to hold her. Talk to her. Comfort her. Be the friend she wanted.

But that was a goddamn terrible combination. Especially when what he should be doing is putting as much distance between them as he could. Before he did something stupid.

“Well, I guess that’s clear,” Pandora said flatly when he didn’t say anything.

“Pandora, I—”

“Spare me.” She turned in a flurry of red silk and started marching down the hallway to the bedroom.

“I’m not looking to get involved. You know that,” he said.

“I didn’t ask for involvement, Jax. Just sex.” She paused in the doorway, looking back toward him. “And speaking of, I’m going to bed. Are you going to come or what?”

His libido roared in enthusiastic agreement, because there was nothing it wanted more, especially after holding her close all evening, feeling her silky skin under his fingertips and the warmth of her body against him.

Then again, maybe that wasn’t a good idea. Their chemistry was volatile enough as it was and with this kind of tension between them, who knew what could happen. Something that wouldn’t be good for his detachment, that was for fucking sure.

And he had to maintain that detachment, especially while they were in private. How else could he handle those public moments when detached was the last thing he was supposed to be?

“No,” he said, ignoring the disappointment he felt. “I’m going to have that nightcap instead.”

Her gaze flickered away from his. “Oh, okay then.” That same disappointment edged her voice. But she didn’t try to change his mind. All she said was, “Well, good night then.”