Saving Jax (7 page)

Court was standing next to her, his eyes closed and his face pale, and Mel tried to step away from Jax.  He tightened his hold on her and she gave him a frustrated look.

“I have to go, Jax.  Court and Julie are my ride home.”

“Mom and dad can give you a ride home,” Court mumbled.  “Don’t leave early because of me.”

“I don’t mind, honey,” Mel said.  “In fact, I – “

He shook his head and then winced a little.  “Stay and have a good time.”

He took Julie’s hand and she squeezed it lightly before smiling at Mel.  “Do you want to stay, Mel?”

Mel hesitated before nodding.  She did want to stay.  She wanted to keep dancing with Jax, wanted to give him the chance to convince her that she should spend the night with him.  Knowing it was madness but unable to resist the urge to stay in his arms, she patted Court’s shoulder lightly.

“Go home and go to bed, honey.  I’ll call you tomorrow and see how you’re feeling, okay?”

He smiled faintly and allowed Julie to lead him off the dance floor.

“I’m glad you stayed, butterfly,” Jax said.

She stared up at him as the song ended.  “I stayed because I want to support Cal in his new job.”

“Of course,” he grinned as he stepped away from her.

“Thank you for the dance, Ms. Thomas.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Anderson.”

She walked back to the table, entirely too aware of his hot gaze.

“You drove the Miata?” Mel said.

Her dad gave her an apologetic look.  “I’m sorry, Mel.  We weren’t expecting to give you a ride home tonight.”

“It’s alright.  I’ll take a cab back to Court’s and grab my car,” Mel drained the last of her wine. 

After their dance Jax had, to her dismay, disappeared and she was feeling irritable and out of sorts. 

Bullshit.  You’re horny and pissed because Jax is gone and you’re not getting laid tonight.

Shut up!

“I’ll give you some money for the cab,” Bill said.

Mel laughed.  “Dad, I’m not a teenager.  I can pay for my own cab.”

“Why are you taking a cab?”  Cal appeared at the table.

“Butterfly got a ride here with Court and Julie and thought she could get a ride home with us.  Unfortunately we drove the Miata.”

“If you want to stick around for another few hours, I’ll give you a lift home,” Cal said.

Mel shook her head.  “It’s already past my bedtime.”

Cal rolled his eyes.  “It’s eleven, Mel.  God, live a little, would you?”

She shrugged.  “You know I’m not a night owl like you, Cal.”

“I guess.  Hey, I bet Jax would give you a lift home.  I think he’s about to leave.”

“Oh – no, that’s okay,” Mel said quickly but it was too late.

Cal turned and waved and she groaned when she saw Jax emerging from the kitchen.  He joined them and Mel stood hurriedly.

“Cal, I don’t need – “

“Jax, you’re leaving right?”

“Yes.”  Jax nodded.

“Think you could give my baby sister a ride home?”

“I’d be delighted to,” he replied.

“I don’t need a ride home.  I can take a cab,” Mel said.

“Jax doesn’t mind, do you?”  Cal said.

“No, I do not.”  Jax gave her a sexy little grin and she bit the inside of her cheek as he moved behind her and plucked her jacket from her chair.

“Ready to go, Ms. Thomas?”

“I really don’t want to inconvenience you, Mr. Anderson.”

“You’re not.”  He turned to her parents and shook their hands.  “It was nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas.”

“So lovely to see you, Jax,” Darla said.  “Make sure you get my butterfly home safely, alright?”

“Of course.”  Jax helped her into her coat, his hands lingering on her upper arms for just a moment too long before holding his arm out.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”  She kissed her parents and hugged Cal before taking Jax’s arm.  He led her out of the restaurant and across the parking lot to a dark grey sports car.  He opened the passenger door for her and she glanced up at him.

“Mercedes Benz SLS?”

He gave her an admiring look.  “You know your cars, Ms. Thomas.”

“My dad is a car freak.”

She buckled her seat belt as he slid behind the wheel.  “So is it safe to say I’ve impressed you with my car?”

“It’s a bit on the flashy side for me.  My personal feeling is that a man is usually compensating for something when he buys a car this expensive.”

He laughed loudly as he pulled out of the parking lot.  “You know I have nothing to compensate for.”

She blushed furiously and his grin widened.  “You’re adorable when you blush, butterfly.  Besides, I bought this car for its reliability and safety.”

She laughed.  “Of course you did.  It does seem very reliable.”

“What’s your address, butterfly?”

“My car is parked at Court’s place.”  She recited the address and tried to calm her racing nerves as Jax drove.  The interior of the car was small and Jax was a big man.  His arm brushed against hers and a tingle of excitement went through her.  She ignored it.  She was acting like a teenager with a ridiculous crush.  She needed a night with Jax like she needed another hole in her head.

You should give him road head.

Her eyes widened, her face flamed, and she shot the errant thought out of her head like a bullet.  Christ, she was losing it.

He’d like it.  You’d definitely like it.  Be wild and crazy, Thomas.

She swallowed thickly and stared blindly out the window.  She was absolutely, positively not going to reach over and undo Jax’s pants.  She wouldn’t lean down and slide that thick cock into her mouth while he wrapped his hand in her hair and urged her to suck harder.

Her eyes flickered to his crotch and to her absolute horror she could feel her nipples hardening as a slow burn of need started in her belly.

Thomas!  Get it the fuck together!!

“Melanie?”

Sucking a stranger’s cock was absolutely, positively, not something that girls like her did. 

“Melanie?  Are you alright?”

She gave Jax a blank look.  “I’m sorry, what?”

“Are you okay?”

“Uh, yes.  Why?”

“You look like you’re going to punch something.”

He reached over and took her hand.  It was clenched into a tight fist and he soothed it open with his long fingers before squeezing it gently.  She tugged her hand free of his grip.  If he kept touching her, even innocently, she really would lose all control and give him goddamn road head. 

“I’m fine.  Just, uh, thinking.”

“About what?”

About sucking on that delicious cock of yours.

“How you started working for Jimmy Golden.”

There was silence in the car.  She wasn’t surprised.  Jax didn’t strike her as the kind of man who willingly shared personal information and he had already made it clear what he was interested in from her.

“When I was nine, my parents died in a car accident.”

She studied him in the dim light of the car.  “I’m very sorry.”

He nodded, “My mother had a sister.  She took me in.”

“That was kind of her.”

He laughed bitterly.  “She was a drug addict.  She didn’t give a shit about me, and I spent the next three years afraid and nearly starving to death.”

“Oh, Jax.”  She gave him an empathetic look and, without thinking about it, reached out and took his hand.  She held it tightly as he stared woodenly out the windshield.

“When I was twelve, I tried to steal some food from the convenience store near my aunt’s apartment.  I – I hadn’t eaten for a few days, she had spent all of the money on drugs, and I was starving.  At the time, Mr. Golden owned a string of convenience stores.  He happened to be at that particular one when I was caught stealing.”

She squeezed his hand again as he continued.  “I can only imagine what he thought when I was dragged into the back room.  I was filthy, skinny, and terrified that I would go to juvie for what I had done.  Mr. Golden sent everyone out of the room and told me to sit.  He had a big plate of food just sitting in front of him on the desk – fried chicken and this heaping mound of potatoes – and I was nearly drooling from the smell of it.”

He stopped at a traffic light.  “Mr. Golden pushed the plate of food across the desk and told me to eat.  I just stared at him, sure it was some kind of trick, and he told me again to eat.  So I did.  And it was the best fucking meal of my life.  When I was done, Mr. Golden offered me a job.”

“He what?”  Mel gave him a look of surprise.

“He offered me a job.  He said I could work for him, doing errands after school and on the weekends or I could go to juvie.  I chose the job.”

“You were only twelve, Jax.”

“Yeah, but Mr. Golden saved my life that day.  The money I earned helped keep me from starving and he was, well, he was good to me.  He sort of adopted me, I guess you could say.  Made sure I stayed in school, he always said that education was important, and he bought me clothes and supplies for school.  When I graduated from high school, I started working for him full time.”

“What did you do?”

“By that time, he had opened his first night club.  I worked as a waiter and continued to do personal errands for him.  I joined a local boxing club and learned to fight.”

“Did you box professionally?”

“I did a few fights but Mr. Golden said I was wasting my talent so I quit.”

“To become his bodyguard?”  Mel said skeptically.  “That sounds like a waste of your talents.”

“I’m very good at what I do.”

“I’m sure you are.  But is that what you wanted for your life?  Protecting a – a drug dealer?”

“He’s a businessman, Melanie.”

“Is he?”

“Yes.”

He was lying.  She shouldn’t have known that, she barely knew the man, but she knew instinctively that he wasn’t telling the truth.  She sighed as he parked on the street outside of Court’s apartment building and shut the car off.  This was why she couldn’t sleep with him.  The man worked for a drug dealer and getting involved with him, even if it was only one night, was a dangerous risk.  And she didn’t do dangerous.  She did stable and reliable.  Always had and always would.

“Thank you, Jax.”  She reached for the door handle and he touched her shoulder.

“Maybe I should follow you home, just to be certain you arrive safe.”

She laughed.  “I’m perfectly fine.  But thank you.  It was um, good to see you again.  Take care.”

She slid out of the car before he could reply and slammed the door shut before walking briskly to her car.  Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to take him up on his offer and she ignored it grimly as she unlocked her car and sat behind the wheel.

He’s bad for you, Thomas.  Just drive away.

She started the car and sat for a moment, staring in the rear view mirror at Jax’s car.  When he didn’t move, she pulled out on to the street.  He got out of his car, his face was a mask of frustration, and she watched curiously as he popped the hood.  She drove up beside him and rolled down her window as he slammed the hood shut.

He sat in the driver’s seat, cursing under his breath when he turned the key and there was nothing but a dry clicking noise.  Fighting back the urge to giggle, she smiled sweetly at him.

“How’s that reliable car working out for you?”

He sighed loudly.  “I suppose I deserved that.”

“You totally did,” she laughed.  “Do you need a ride home?”

He sighed again.  “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I really am.”

He suddenly grinned at her, her breath caught in her throat at the sight, before sliding out of his car and slamming the door shut.  “Yes, Ms. Thomas.  I would be delighted if you could give me a ride home.”

“Wait, you didn’t plan this did you?”  She asked suspiciously.

“Yes, I planned for my very expensive car to break down in front of a woman I’m trying valiantly to have sex with, in the hopes that it would make her feel sorry for me and perhaps throw me some pity sex,” he said.  “Is it working?”

“Maybe.”

“Really?”

“No, not really.”

“Cruel, Ms. Thomas.  And here I was thinking you were the sweetest girl I’d ever met.”

“Girl?”

“Butterfly?”

She laughed again.  “Get in.  I’ll give you a ride home.”

He climbed into the car and clasped his hands together like a schoolgirl.  “My hero.”

“I do what I can, ma’am,” she said.

“Ma’am?  Someone deserves a spanking for that.”

“Actually, I prefer to do the spanking.”

He jerked in his seat and she almost laughed out loud at the look on his face.  “Are you serious?”

“Would it be a problem if I was?”  She asked.

“No.”

He grinned at her look of surprise.  “What?”

“There’s no way you like being spanked.”

“Why not?”

“Well, because, look at you.  You’re all muscley and stuff.”

“So, because I work out I’m not allowed to enjoy a spanking from a woman?”

“No, but…”

She trailed off and then suddenly scowled at him.  “Tell me the truth – do you like being spanked?”

“Honestly, not really.  But I’m also willing to at least try whatever a woman wants in bed.”

“So you’d let me stick a vibrator up your ass?”

“Ms. Thomas, you are not at all what you seem.  I would have bet good money that you didn’t even own a vibrator and now you want to stick it up my ass.  Maybe I should take a cab home before you completely shock me with your depravity.”

She blushed.  “One – every woman owns a vibrator and two – you’re the one who said you liked to be spanked.  Can you blame me for assuming you like other kinky stuff?”

“Butterfly, if you think spanking is kinky then you really must spend the night with me.”

Her blush deepened.  “I’m not a fragile flower, I’ve done kinky things in the bedroom.”

“Oh?”  He leaned closer and rested his hand on her thigh.  “Do share.”

“That’s not a good idea,” she said a bit shakily before pushing him back gently.  “What’s your address?”

He recited his address and she started toward his home.  Her hands were shaking and her pelvis was throbbing with need.  She shouldn’t have flirted with him.  God, she was being a right idiot, but this charming, funny side of Jax Anderson was even more difficult to resist then the ‘I need to fuck you right now’ version.

Twenty minutes later, she pulled up in front of the small, modest home in the suburbs.  She shut the car off as Jax unbuckled his seat belt.

“What?” 

“You’re kidding me.  This is not where you live.”

“Of course it is.  What were you expecting?”  He asked.

“I don’t know – a mansion on the beach full of half-naked women ready to do your every bidding?”

“That’s my summer home.”

She laughed and shook her head.  “Seriously, Jax?  This is where you live?”

“It is.  Would you like to come in for a nightcap?”

“I don’t think that’s – “

He leaned forward, cupping her face and pulling her toward him.  He kissed her, his tongue stroking her lips, and she made a soft moan and parted her mouth.  He sucked on her lower lip before pulling away.

“One drink, butterfly.  Nothing more,” he whispered persuasively.

“I – “

“Say yes,” he whispered again before kissing the tip of her nose.  “You know you’re dying to see the inside of my house.”

She wouldn’t admit it, but she really was.  The outside with its wide porch and lush flowerbeds was so completely different from what she had pictured that she was intensely curious about the inside.