I knew posing for those photos last night was a bad idea. But I’d agreed hoping it would end the gossip about some girl in the south keeping all my attention. I’d been afraid they’d find out about Sadie and completely bombard her world. I liked keeping her safely tucked away from the media and the cruel life that comes with it—no privacy. I couldn’t let them do that to her. So I’d posed for the pictures with Bailey to stop the rumors.
The idea of Sadie seeing them and thinking I was even remotely enjoying myself was painful. All I had been able to think about was getting back to her. Nothing about Bailey interested me. She was just another girl fighting her way to the top. I met her kind daily. They all thought getting a piece of me was their ticket to fame. I was just a ticket for them.
With Sadie none of that mattered. She didn’t care about who I was to the world. She just wanted me. The guy no one else knew. The guy I’d thought I’d lost.
Going to Sadie first was what I wanted to do, but I also needed to face Marcus. Ms. Mary had called me and said Marcus was waiting on me in the kitchen. I couldn’t let that wait.
I was ready to murder him for touching Sadie, but I took several deep breaths before walking into the house and making my way down to the kitchen to face him.
Jax didn’t have to fire Marcus; Marcus quit. Ms. Mary said it was for the best and for me not to worry. Marcus would have no trouble finding other work for the few weeks of summer remaining before he would have to go back to college. However, William quit too, and it left Ms. Mary with a problem. No servers.
Ms. Mary stood over a pile of résumés in front of her. “I’ve seen two applicants today, and only one is suitable. But he is going to need some help for his first time.”
“I’ll do it tonight. I know how. The one suitable applicant can help me.”
Ms. Mary cut her eyes at me and frowned. “I don’t know about that. Master Jax won’t like it much. He’s already grumbling about you working out in the sun, and he made me promise not to make you touch shrimp or oysters again since he found out how much you hate them.”
I laughed. “Well, he will get over it. Besides, what else can you do?”
Ms. Mary chewed on her bottom lip, then nodded. “Well, I guess you’re right. You’re my only way out of this mess.”
The door opened, and Jax walked in with a grin on his face. “Ah, just who I wanted to see.” He leaned down and kissed my nose, then gave Ms. Mary his charming little-boy grin. “Do you have any sweet tea?” he asked her.
“You know I do. Just made some fresh.” She stood up to go fix his drink. “While you’re here, I wanted to go ahead and let you know that since you ran off my servers, Sadie here will be serving tonight with the new guy so she can train him.”
Jax frowned. “No, she isn’t.”
“Jax, I don’t see why not. Ms. Mary needs help.” I stood and put my hands on my hips, ready to wage a war.
He grinned and slipped his arms through mine. “The family will be dining out tonight, and I will be busy. We won’t have need of servers.” He turned to Ms. Mary and smiled. “Take the night off.” He looked at me. “Will you do me the honor of going to dinner with me?”
Ms. Mary chuckled, and I smiled.
“I would love to.”
He took my hand and led me toward the entrance to the main part of the house. “Good night, Ms. Mary,” he called over his shoulder.
We walked to his room.
“I had my stylist buy you clothing for the trip you didn’t get to take with me. If we want to enjoy a fan-free meal, then we’re going to have to go eat somewhere where the dress code is a little more strict than most.” He went inside his massive walk-in closet and came out with a long white box. “For you,” he said, smiling.
I didn’t like the idea of him buying me clothes, but the eager smile on his face made me bite my tongue and get over it. I laid the box on the bed and opened it up. Inside lay a pale-blue dress that appeared to be made with fabric so delicate it would tear when I touched it.
“I’m afraid I’ll hurt it,” I whispered, and looked at him.
He chuckled and walked over to stand behind me. His breath caressed my ear. “All you’re going to do is make it the envy of everyone around you.” He returned to his closet and came back out with a shoe box. “You’ll need these, too.”
I opened it. A pair of strappy silver stiletto heels lay inside. “I hope I can walk in these.” My voice sounded nervous, even to me.
He took one, slipped his finger through a strap, and let it dangle. “These do seem complicated, but I can just imagine them on, and the image I’m getting is making me sweat. We need to get you away from me.” He took the dress and led me to a guest bedroom. “You have a bathroom at your disposal, and you’ll find it has all you could possibly need to get dressed for tonight.”
“Okay,” I said as he lay the dress on the bed and walked back to the door.
He gave me a cocky grin. “I’ll pick you up at seven, if that’s all right.”
I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It showed a quarter to six now. “See you then.”
He bowed and closed the door behind him.
I walked into the adjoining bathroom. Makeup, bath gels, soaps, salts, creams, and as many different body lotions, splashes, and powders covered the marble countertops. I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud. He’d been prepared for me to say yes. A piece of paper lay on top of the towels, bath cloths, sponge, loofah, and some other item I’d never seen before. I picked it up and smiled when I realized it was from Jax.
Sadie,
I had no idea what you would need. I took the liberty of buying everything I thought smelled good. Not any of it smells as good as you, but the saleslady assured me all women want to feel pampered in the bath. So I just bought it all. As for the makeup, you don’t need any. Your natural beauty is enough to bring me to my knees, but I wanted you to be happy, so I had a saleslady give me everything a “gorgeous blonde with incredible skin and amazing blue eyes with lashes that are long and curly without any help” might need. She said it sounded like you didn’t need anything, but she gave me a few things she believed would make you happy.
I love you,
Jax
I laughed and tucked the note safely into my purse. Then I picked up the first bottle to test the smell and decide which fragrance I wanted to use. The bathroom door opened behind me, and I spun around to see Jax standing there, staring at me. Before I could ask him what he needed he closed the distance between us and grabbed my waist to pull me up against his chest. The bottle I’d been holding fell to the plush rug below right before his mouth came down over mine.
“I’m sorry, but I suck at being good,” he murmured as his tongue tangled with mine. I was completely consumed by his taste. I grabbed his shoulders to hold on to something while he made my world spin with one extremely hot kiss.
He pushed me back until I was pressed against the edge of the marble counter, then he picked me up and sat me down on it without once breaking our frantic kissing. Jax stood between my open legs, and the idea of what he’d done to me the last time he’d been between my legs made my body shiver. Both of his hands slid slowly up the inside of my thighs. I knew where he was going and I wanted him to hurry. He’d made me weak when it came to his touch.
Jax’s lips left mine and he trailed kisses across my jawline. Then he focused on nibbling and licking the spot behind my ear until he had me trembling in his arms as he moved his kisses down my neck to stop just at the edge of my cleavage.
Both his hands moved up to take the hem of my shirt as his eyes lifted to meet mine. “Can I?” he asked as he began easing my shirt up over my stomach. I managed to nod in response. He made quick work of discarding my shirt, and his mouth was back on the tops of my breasts as his talented fingers reached around me to find the clasp of my bra.
In the back of my head I knew this was getting more and more out of hand. I couldn’t be my mom. I didn’t want to be like her. But Jax’s touch made everything else seem unimportant. I was lost in the sensations he stirred in my body. They controlled me.
The lacey straps to my bra fell down my arms and Jax pulled it the rest of the way off, dropping it to the ground beside us.
“Your body is so damn perfect. I can’t get it out of my head. I think about touching you . . . and tasting you . . . and being inside you all the time. I don’t want to scare you or do anything you’re not ready for, but I just need to touch you more.”
The pleading sound in his voice was like warm butter. I was ready to strip down and let him do exactly what he wanted to do. I wouldn’t though. There was a line I just wasn’t sure I could cross. He’d be leaving me soon. Could I give that part of myself to him knowing there were no promises between us? No. I couldn’t. Instead of telling him any of that, I reached for his shirt and pulled it up until he raised his arms to allow me to completely pull it over his head. I wanted to touch him too. Especially his chest. It was beautiful. I ran my nails across his abs, and his body tensed under my touch. I smiled up at him and his heated stare only made my body ache more. How could I stop him if we went too far? Seeing him like this made me want to get closer to him.
“Can I—” He swallowed hard and his breathing grew heavier. “Can I take a shower with you?”
Oh my. I wasn’t sure I could do that. Naked and vulnerable in a shower with Jax.
“Please. I’ll be good. I’ll try to be. I want to wash your hair . . . and I want to wash you.”
My heart was slamming against my chest as I glanced back at the large shower behind him. It was surrounded in glass and was the same marble as the counter I was sitting on. I wanted this. I did. But was it smart?
“Please, Sadie,” Jax pleaded.
I was weak. I couldn’t tell him no. I nodded and his hands tightened their grip on my waist before he pulled me off the counter and began undressing me the rest of the way. I didn’t know what to do, so I let him. He unsnapped my shorts and pulled them slowly down my legs. I was standing there in my panties when he glanced up at me. His eyes never left mine as he reached up to slip his thumbs into the sides of my panties. But the moment he began pulling them down he lowered his gaze and I wanted to cover my face. Even though he had been very up close and personal with that part of me, something about standing here in front of him naked was completely different. There were no barriers.
I stepped out of my discarded clothing and Jax slowly stood up never taking his eyes off my body. When his hands went to the button on his jeans I wanted to do that for him, but I couldn’t bring myself to reach out and take over. I just watched him as he stripped. I’d never seen a man naked before, so my curiosity was taking over.
Jax dropped his jeans and boxer briefs at the same time, then he stepped out of them. I didn’t want to stare at him there but it was really hard not to. I was fascinated.
“If I’m gonna be good you can’t look at me like that,” Jax said with a smirk before turning to go turn the shower on. His backside was just as perfect as his front. The urge to touch him was becoming overwhelming.
Jax turned around and held out his hand. “It’s warm enough now. Did you decide on a body wash?”
I hadn’t had time to decide on a body wash and right now that was the last worry on my mind. I reached back and picked the closest one to me up then I slipped my hand into his and he gently pulled me into the shower with him. My heart was racing in my chest. The water hit my cooled skin and I shivered.
“Give me the bottle. I want to wash your body,” he whispered in my ear. I couldn’t respond so I just held the bottle up so he could take it. Jax took my hair and moved it all over until it was hanging over my left shoulder. Then the bath sponge touched my back and I closed my eyes tightly. How much would he wash? Or more importantly would I make embarrassing moans when he touched me in intimate places?
As he stood behind me, the sponge thoroughly cleaned my back, but it felt more like a caress. Then he moved down over my bottom and spent extra time cleaning me there before moving down the backs of both my legs. When the sponge moved around to the front of my legs and started making its way upward I trembled with anticipation. He was getting closer to the places that I needed him to touch now. Except he ran the sponge up the front of my thigh and it went directly to my stomach, which he cleaned a little more than it actually needed before both his hand holding the sponge and his empty hand each covered one of my breasts.
I let my head fall back to his chest as his hand cleaned my breasts and his free hand tugged gently on my nipple, causing me to make sounds of pleasure. The sponge began to move back down over my stomach. Jax’s other hand moved down beside it and then slipped down between my legs and shifted them further apart. His breathing was heavy and fast in my ear as the sponge moved between my legs. I put one hand on the bathroom wall for support and the other hand grabbed Jax’s arm. My legs were trembling. The moment the sponge fell from Jax’s hand I heard it, and I knew what that meant. He moved in closer behind me and his hardness was pressed firmly against my back. I wanted to move against him but his fingers chose that moment to slip inside me, and I could only think about the pleasure that would come from this.
“I want inside you, Sadie. So bad. I want to be as close to you as humanly possible. But I don’t want you to ever regret it,” Jax’s words almost sounded as if he were pleading. My head knew what the right thing to do was, but my heart wanted something else entirely. I turned in his arms and slipped both of my hands up his chest and then into his hair.
“I love you, and I want that too.”
Jax closed his eyes tightly and swallowed hard. “Are you positive?”
I ran the pad of my thumb over his bottom lip and then stood on my tiptoes so that I could kiss where I’d touched. “Yes.”
Jax reached around me, turned off the shower, then opened the door and grabbed a towel. He wrapped it around me, then lifted me into his arms and carried me into the other room. He put me down on the bed, then stood back and looked at me a moment before walking over to open the bedside table. The fact he had condoms in there was a little surprising.
“Don’t start thinking what I know you’re thinking. I’ve never been in this room with a girl. Jason uses this room when he has dates he brings home. His last girlfriend stayed in here, so I knew it would be stocked.”
The bucket of ice water I’d been expecting was stilled by his words. This wasn’t some room Jax brought his dates. I was special. I had to believe I was special.
Jax ran a finger over my eyebrow. “Why the frown?” He asked leaning down over me.
I was about to give him something I’d never be able to get back. I needed honesty right now.
“Am I special to you? Or am I just another girl? Another summer?”
Jax dropped the condom on the bed and his body moved over until he was beside me. He pulled me into his arms and held me a moment. I was beginning to think he wasn’t going to answer when he buried his face in my damp hair. “You will never be just another girl. You will be the only one I ever think about. I’m in love with you, Sadie. I’ve never been in love with anyone before.”
I thought about Jessica and the lifestyle she’d led. The guys who had used her and tossed her aside. None of them treated her the way Jax treated me. This was different and I was smarter. I reached for the condom he’d dropped and I opened the small package. “I want this. With you.”
Jax reached for the condom without a word and I let him take it. I didn’t know how to put that thing on him. I watched transfixed as he rolled it down his length then I lifted my eyes to meet his steady gaze.
“Are you sure?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.
“Very,” I replied. Jax leaned down and kissed me softly before settling between my legs. He brushed his lips against my neck and whispered promises in my ear that I believed. He ran his fingers through my hair and with each sweet caress my body relaxed. Then I felt him at my entrance. I couldn’t help but tense up. As much as I wanted this to be with Jax I was still nervous.
“I’m going to go easy. I promise. You tell me if you want me to stop.”
I only nodded my reply. Then with one shift of his hips Jax was inside me. The pain was sharp, but brief. The muscles in Jax arms flexed as he held himself over me. I wanted to kiss the vein standing out in his neck. He was holding himself completely still, but his breathing was fast and heavy. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
I reached up and cupped his face and ran my thumb over his lips. “You can move,” I reassured him. The excitement and passion in his blue eyes made everything tingle. I wanted to feel him move inside of me. He eased out and then slowly back in with a smooth rock of his hips. It was building inside me. The pleasure was there and I wanted to feel that again.
“I want you. I want you to come, but I don’t think I can hold off much longer,” Jax said through clenched teeth.
A powerful feeling coursed through me that only intensified the hot ache getting ready to explode. “I want to see you . . . come,” I told him.
I watched his face and the heat in his eyes flared.
Jax ducked his head and pulled one of my nipples into his mouth and began to suck. Acting on instinct I lifted my legs and pressed my knees against his sides just as the wave I had wanted to experience while Jax was inside me crashed through my body. His name tore from my lips and I grabbed his arms and held on as I arched my back off the bed and clung to him.
“Oh fuck,” Jax groaned. Then his body began to tremble and he cried out my name as he jerked over me several times. I loved him. There was never a doubt in my mind. But now, that we had been this close . . . Jax Stone completed me.
• • •
Jax knocked on my door at exactly seven-thirty, and I slipped on the sexy silver heels. They fit me perfectly. He had really done his homework. I opened the door, and my heart skipped a beat. Seeing him in a black tuxedo wasn’t as beautiful as seeing him naked, but it was a close second.
“You really should warn someone before you unleash yourself on them dressed like that,” I said with awe in my voice. It was then I realized he was staring at me—well, my body—and his gaze stopped at my feet.
“I think I’m going to give my stylist a raise.”
His eyes met mine, and he smiled a slow, sexy smile that didn’t help my weak knees.
“You’re incredible,” he finally said, reaching for my hand and pulling me against him. His warm, clean smell of soap, mouthwash, and Jax set the blood in my veins racing. Even though we had just spent the last hour together, I wanted more of him.
His lips touched my ear. “I want to hold you, kiss you, and enjoy you in this dress right here in this room all night, but I can’t.”
I shivered.
“Please don’t shiver. It does something to me,” he said, against my ear again.
I smiled. “Well, stop whispering in my ear and tracing patterns on my naked back, and I’ll stop,” I forced out through the desire clogging my throat.
He grabbed my hand and started walking. “I have to get us around people. Now,” he said with a sense of urgency I completely understood.
Kane stood at the door of the Bentley I’d only seen Mrs. Stone use. He nodded. “Miss White, Mr. Stone,” he said with no emotion as we stepped inside. Jax put his arm behind my back.
“I have it on the best authority you don’t like most seafood.”
I grinned and nodded, knowing the authority was Ms. Mary.
“So I’m limited to two choices. This area is for the tourists—the casual, everyday tourists—but there are a few establishments harder to get into. Have you ever heard of Le Cellier?”
I hadn’t, of course. I shook my head.
“I’ve been there a few times. It’s good, but more important, it’s somewhere we can enjoy a meal out together and not deal with fans.”
I let out a happy sigh and leaned back against the seat and crossed my legs. Jax cleared his throat and I looked up at him.
“Could you try to not flash me any leg while we’re alone? I’m having a hard time with it.” His smile was strained, and I bit back a smile.
“Sorry,” I said softly, and tucked my crossed legs back toward the seat.
We pulled up to the establishment, and there were men waiting to open our door. Jax took my hand and walked us up to the hostess, who immediately noticed him.
“Mr. Stone, we have your table ready. Right this way.”
Jax was right. The other diners were not going to come ask for autographs, but they did notice him as we walked by. Several whispered, and their eyes followed him. We were seated at a table away from the main dining area, where there were no other people around us. Jax pulled my chair out for me and I sat down, glad we weren’t going to be in view of curious eyes.
Jax grinned. “Do you read French, or should I order for you?”
“The menu is in French?” I asked, surprised.
He nodded. “Yes, and I know to stay away from oysters and shrimp. Are you okay with veal or lobster?”
I wasn’t really sure what I was okay with. The nicest restaurant I’d ever been to had a menu in English and nothing cost more than fifteen dollars.
“Just order whatever you think I’ll like.”
He chuckled. “Okay.”
A server appeared, and Jax ordered in French, of course.
I watched him, mesmerized by his voice and the way the foreign words flowed from his mouth with such ease.
He stopped. “What do you want to drink?”
I frowned and almost hated to ask. “Do they have Coke?”
He grinned and went back to speaking in French.
Once we were alone again, he leaned toward me and whispered, “I ordered you lobster because I know it is good here. It also tastes nothing like shrimp or oysters.”
Before I could reply, a Coke appeared in front of me and in front of Jax.
He took a sip and reached out a hand toward me. I slipped my hand in his and sighed.
“It’s hard to be near you and not be touching you in some way,” he said.
I knew exactly what he meant. The thought should have been a happy one, but it reminded me how short summer was and how close I was to not being able to touch him any longer.
“That wasn’t supposed to make you sad,” he said softly.
I made myself smile. “It doesn’t. I was just thinking about how quickly summer will be over. How fast it’s already gone.”
His eyes showed emotion I didn’t understand. “I know,” he said, and tightened his hold on my hand. He looked at the drink in front of him, then back up at me with a sadness in his eyes. “I can’t think about it right now. Leaving you will be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I’m just not sure how I’ll be able to.” He broke off and turned his gaze away from me.
I wish I hadn’t brought up our very near future. I hated seeing the pain in his eyes. “We’ll figure it all out. Let’s not let it get us down now. We still have a month and a half to go.”
He forced a smile and nodded. “You’re right.”
Jax stood up, came around the table, and held out his hand. I stared at him in his tuxedo and my breath caught in my lungs. He really was breathtakingly beautiful.
“Would you dance with me?”
I slipped my hand into his and followed him into the main room, where a band played. I stepped into his arms and wished I could stay there forever. His hands rested on my lower back, and I slid my hands up his arms and rested them on his shoulders. With my extra height thanks to my killer heels, I was much closer to his six feet two inches. He leaned down until the warmth of his breath tickled my ear and neck.
“I love having you in my arms,” he told me. I shivered and slipped a hand behind his neck. “However, if the old gentleman at the table to our left doesn’t stop ogling your legs, I’m going to have to go take him out.”
I bit back my laugh and turned my head to see the offending old man. “You’re crazy,” I whispered.
He nodded. “I’ve been crazy since the day I walked upstairs to my bedroom and found you wiping something off the floor. I’ll never forget thinking, ‘I don’t care if she snuck in here to get close to me. If she’ll let me lose my fingers in those curls and stare into those baby-blue eyes, she can get as close as she wants.’ ”
I hadn’t realized he had felt anything for me that first day. “Really? I thought you were aggravated some crazed fan had slipped through.”
He grinned wickedly. “How do you suppose someone gets aggravated at someone who could have fallen out of heaven?”
I blushed and laid my head against his chest. We finished the rest of the dance in silence. I memorized his heartbeat and closed my eyes to commit the moment to memory. I knew one day soon I would need to remember how right this moment had been. When it was all over, I never wanted to think I had made a mistake by loving him. I wanted to always remember how he’d made me feel, so I would know the pain was worth it.
Jax walked me back to my seat before taking his. I took a drink of my Coke and noticed there was some kind of bread on a silver platter in the middle of the table. Jax sliced the bread, then put something that looked like oil on a piece and handed it to me.
“Their bread is really good,” he assured me.
I took a bite and decided the strange oil tasted much better than butter. He had slathered the yummy oil on a piece for himself and somehow managed to be sexy while eating bread. I wondered if they gave lessons to rock stars on such things. And if so, could I get in on one of those lessons?
“What are you grinning at?” he asked.
I hadn’t realized my thoughts showed on my face. I shrugged. “I’m thinking about the way you make things as simple as eating bread attractive.”
He gave me a crooked grin and leaned toward me. “Maybe the same way you make breathing sexy.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
He raised his eyebrows. “When you breathe, it gives me chills.”
I laughed and shook my head. “You’re really good with words.”
He winked at me, then sat back in his seat and took a drink of his Coke. “You make me feel poetic.”
A server came up behind Jax, and I heard one behind me so I sat up straight and waited for them to serve our salad.
“The wonderful thing about Alabama is you get pecans in your salad,” Jax said as the servers left.
I had to agree with him. I loved pecans, but I’d never thought to put them in my salad before.
Once our meal was finished and Jax had paid the bill, we went outside to Kane and the Bentley waiting for us at the front door. How Kane did that I would never know, but he was always on time. We rode to my apartment in silence. I sat snuggled up in Jax’s arms, and he played with my hair. It was one of those times when words weren’t needed.
Kane slowed and parked right on the street in front of my apartment.
Jax smiled down at me and tilted my face to match his before gently kissing me. I closed my eyes and pressed closer to him. He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes.
“I love you, Sadie White,” he whispered in a raspy voice.
I smiled and kissed his face softly. “I love you, too, Jax Stone.”
He groaned, pulled me closer, and buried his face in my hair. I wanted to stay this way forever. I never wanted September to come.
“You’re every song I have ever sung. I’ll never let anything hurt you again. For the first time in my life, my dreams aren’t about me.” I lifted my eyes up to meet his, and he smiled. “They’re about you.”