“So, why not set up your own consultancy?” His thumb ran along the line of her lower lip in an absent, caressing gesture that made her mouth go dry. “Having Morrow on your books will get you shitloads of clients, I can tell you that right now.”
The flush of pleasure began to grow. Her own business? Where she called the shots and got to make all the decisions? Hell to the yes. Without thinking, Pandora leaned forward and brushed her mouth across his before he could move. “You have some truly fabulous ideas, you know that?”
Something hot ignited in his eyes, his jaw tightening, his thumb on her lip pressing a little harder. “Of course I know that. But if I catch you hacking into my e-mail account again, there will be trouble.” Tension had crept into the big, powerful body resting next to hers, that familiar blue flame flickering in his eyes. Interesting. Clearly the kiss and the white minidress was having its desired effect.
“That sounds intriguing,” she murmured. “What kind of trouble are we talking about here?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, lingering there. Then abruptly he released her chin and looked away. “I’m serious, Pandora.”
A familiar, creeping disappointment settled in her stomach. Once again, like he had at the art gallery, he’d given her something, then pulled back. And now, as then, it hurt.
“Why are you doing this?” she blurted out before she could stop herself.
He shot her a glance, frowning. “Doing what?”
“Pulling away from me.”
“I’m not—”
“Then why haven’t you come to bed with me since that art gallery opening?”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Bullshit.” She put a hand on his thigh and felt hard, hot muscle tense in response. “You’ve been avoiding me and I want to know why.”
The look on his face was, as per freaking usual, as easy to read as ancient Sanskrit. “I’m not sure what else you want,” he said flatly, ignoring her hand.
“I want what we had on our first night again. I want that passion. That intensity.” She took a breath. “I want the Huntsman.”
He looked away. “No.”
“Why not? Why can’t you—”
“I said no, Pandora.”
Frustration ate away at her. She took her hand away, staring at him. “Is it me? Did I do something wrong?”
He was silent a long moment, his body still rigid with tension, his clasped hands resting on his thighs. Then abruptly he sighed. “The reasons … It’s a long story.”
God, did this mean she was finally going to get something from him? “So? Tell me.”
“You wanted to know about the email concerning Sean? Yes, he’s my youngest brother. My half-brother.”
Her heart began beating a little faster. He didn’t talk about his family and she hadn’t asked. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t curious. Sean Morrow had disappeared years ago, but according to the internet gossip columns she sometimes read, he’d joined a biker gang. “I thought he …” She hesitated.
“Joined a gang.” Jax sounded tired. “Yeah, he did. About five years ago now. I’m currently in the process of trying to track him down.”
“Why did he leave?”
“It was partly my fault. His mother was one of dad’s mistresses and after she died, he came to live with us. Mom was … unhappy about it.”
“I can imagine.”
A shadow flickered briefly in his blue gaze. “Dad dumped this five-year-old kid in the house and left him to fend for himself. It was an unfortunate situation.”
Curiosity tightened inside her. She almost didn’t want to breathe in case he clammed up on her. “No wonder. That must have been incredibly stressful. But how is his leaving your fault?”
His face settled into hard lines. “When he first arrived, I tried to manage the situation since Dad wasn’t interested in doing so. But one day Sean knocked over an heirloom vase belonging to my mother and it broke. Mom laid into him and since he was only five, I intervened.”
That sounded like Jax. “Of course you did. I would have, too.”
“Except I went about it the wrong way though. I was angry. I said things to Mom I shouldn’t have said.” He glanced at her. “She never forgave me and she never forgave Sean. She blamed him for ‘turning me against her.’ I wasn’t even allowed to see her after she got sick with terminal cancer. She died and I never got to say good-bye.”
Sympathy twisted hard inside her, a lump rising in her throat. “But that’s not fair. You were only trying to protect him.”