The truth was he didn’t fully trust himself even if the evening had gone well. With a lineage like his he had to be careful. His earliest examples of how to be a man were toxic.
Paxton ran a hand through his hair.
If he were at home and if this night had happened with a girl from a bar or one of the hangers on that used to get brought to their former bachelor pad, this was the moment when he’d find somewhere else to be. A reason to end things before the girl got the wrong idea. And yet, that was the last thing he wanted to do now.
The bathroom door finally opened, backlighting Coco with a soft glow.
She huffed and gestured to her head where she’d piled her curls and contained them within a silky looking wrap. “I’m ready for this wedding stuff to be over.”
This was exactly where he wanted to be.
The restlessness ceased, and he was at peace.
Paxton chuckled and eased back onto his elbow, his concerns abating at the sight of her. For one thing, Coco’s pale pink oversized sleep shirt was so thin the light made it nearly transparent. He decided that he liked that garment a lot. A few errant curls stuck out of the wrap, but he didn’t say anything. He liked the look. And besides, it fit her.
“What?” She lifted a hand to her hair.
“You’re beautiful.” He patted the bed next to him. He was ready to be here. With her. Because when it was them it felt right. Good. And he’d had so little of this he didn’t want to let it go. “Come here.”
Coco regarded him for a moment longer. Were her eyes narrowed? It was hard to tell.
The light flipped off, and he felt the bed dip as she slipped in. He reached for her, finding her wrist then her waist.
“What’s the hair thing for?”
She sighed and scooted closer, moving his arm higher on her waist. “I’m trying to convince my hair to look nice for tomorrow. Normally I just wash and go, but I thought for the two weeks leading up to the wedding I’d try this.”
“Oh. Cool.”
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
“Not really. Longest my hair got was to my shoulders for a while.”
“Why’d you cut it?”
“Too much trouble.”
“See? Maybe bald would be a good look?”
Paxton tried to see Coco in his mind without the curls, but he couldn’t picture it. There was something about even the errant corkscrews that seemed so her. Full of life. Defying gravity. She was just the type.
“Nothing to say about that?” she asked.
“First, that question sounds like a trap.” He tightened his arm around her waist, dragging her closer. “Second, I’m thinking about it. I’m tired. My brain’s slow.”
“Oh, sorry, Paxton’s brain.” Her fingers slid up his cheek to his temple.
“Not sure I can see you without the curls. But what do I know? I bet you’d be beautiful no matter what.”
She sighed and her lips pressed to the corner of his mouth.
“Did I say something right?”
“Yes.” She chuckled. “Good night.”
Yes, it most certainly was.
Coco turned so her back was to his front and pulled at his arm, tucking it around her, as if he were her human blanket. Paxton didn’t mind one bit. He fought the urge to nuzzle the back of her neck. It would be far too easy to get lost in her. Tomorrow was a big day for her and he didn’t want to keep her up too late.
He shut his eyes and listened to the foreign sounding bugs and the wind. Something creaked outside. The sheets rustled a bit as Coco shifted her legs.
It really was a nice, comfy bed.
Was the one in his room this nice? Was Silas bunked down for the night? Should Paxton have checked in with him?
“I can hear you thinking,” Coco whispered.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
Paxton tried to quell the questions and instead thought about a wide, open, inky black sky full of stars. As a kid he’d sometimes taken refuge on top of their mobile home where he’d lay and try to count all the little pinpoints of light.
Coco blew out a breath.
“Sorry, still too loud?” he mumbled.
She twisted and wiggled back around to face him. “I’m nervous about tomorrow.”
He kept his arm draped around her waist, enjoying the feel of her curves. “Nervous? Why?”
“It’s a lot of people. Lacey wants me to make a speech.” There was something she wasn’t saying. Hadn’t she mentioned something about her twin getting married? “Tell me about yourself.”
“Is this how you get to know people? Ask for details?” He chuckled. “What do you want to know?”
“I’m not the best people person. Sorry.” She wrinkled her nose. “How’d you end up here?”
“Well, I got on a plane—”
She smacked his shoulder before returning her hand to his waist. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Made you laugh.” He chuckled. “How’d I end up here?”
There were many things that had funneled him here to this moment. It was hard to pick one or a specific time or place.
“Didn’t have many opportunities after I graduated high school, so I went into the Marines. It seemed like a way out. Became a sniper. Got paired up with Silas as my partner. Spent the next few years going where I was told and not dying. Now we work for Aegis Group.”
“I get the feeling there’s a lot more to that story.” She drew on his side, her fingers tracing patterns.
Paxton’s insides tightened up. It didn’t matter how much time and distance separated him from his biological family, they would always haunt him. Poison the good in his life, if he gave them half a chance.
He lifted his hand and stroked her cheek with the back of his finger. “You don’t want to hear about my fucked-up family or the people I lost doing my job.”
She was quiet a moment. Her hand at his side stilled, then she squeezed him ever so gently. “Okay.”
“What about you? What’s your story?”
“My story?” She chuckled, but he felt her stiffen. Seems they both didn’t much care to talk about their past.
“Yeah, how’d you end up here?” he asked, lobbing her question back at her.
“Well, I’ve always gotten along better with animals. My twin’s dog totally ignored him for me. I think Cane’s still bitter about that. We were living right outside an upper-class suburb when I was in high school, and I found out there was a boarding stable. I started hanging around there, got a job cleaning stalls.”
“Did you get to ride the horses, too?”
“No. I never rode one.”
“What?”
She chuckled. “I was too scared then.”
“Wait. You? Scared? That happens?”
“Shut up.” She pushed at him, but he could hear the smile back in her voice.
“How’d you go from stable hand to wildlife wrangler? Hm?”
“There was this vet. Matthew Pedersen. He’d come by every couple of weeks. I volunteered to help him and when his assistant retired, he asked me if I wanted a part-time job after school and on the weekends. He’s the one who first brought me out here. The cook at the cantina is his wife. Was. She was his wife.” Coco’s voice grew thick with emotion.
“What happened?” He hugged her a little closer.
“He died a year ago.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah.” She sighed and leaned her cheek on his shoulder. “I miss him.”
“I didn’t realize you were a vet.”
“I’m not. I wasn’t able to go to school. But I learned a lot from him. My dad wasn’t really in the picture much and my step-dad was never interested in being our dad. Matthew was probably the only real father figure I ever had.”
“I get that. Silas’ family treats me like I’m their kid. It’s nice.” Paxton hadn’t wanted to like Silas’ family, but they hadn’t given him much of a choice. They’d smothered him in love unti
l he accepted them as his own.
Coco snuggled closer, tucking her head under his chin.
He didn’t know her story, but he didn’t need to. She, like him, came from a broken background. They were different and the same.
Paxton kissed her forehead.
“It’s nice finding people you click with,” she whispered.
“Mm.” He slid his hand up and down her back.
He lay there in the darkness, listening to her breathing even out and felt her body relax in his arms. If his life had taught him anything, it was to live in the moment. Appreciate the good when he had it, because it rarely lasted.
WEDNESDAY. JOHANNESBURG, South Africa.
Luke Nodorf stalked around his desk. The office was too small. He was too far up to pace out to the street and take a walk. Times like these, he missed the little home he’d grown up in. He’d been something of an anomaly in those days, a white boy in the ghetto, but it was the best his family could afford. Even now he’d buy his parents a real home if they’d let him, but they just turned their nose up whenever he offered to help.
The simple fact was that Luke didn’t need them anymore. He’d offered out of respect. If his parents wanted to ride their high horse into the grave, so be it. That was their dying wish.
Luke had bigger problems to worry about. Like the National Council of Provinces.
Two more of his loyal men were out. This was after nearly a dozen representatives Luke had counted on lost their elections. At this point there were less than twenty-four sitting representatives for him to ply with cash and promises to sway votes his way.
And what a time to be on the outs with so many. Sometime in the next week they were voting on new laws spearheaded by one person that would seriously damage Luke’s ability to do business.
The obnoxious prick Cane De Jong.
To think, Luke and Cane used to hang, back in the day when they’d lived in Soweto. For a short time, Luke had considered the De Jong twins friends. Hell, Luke had even taken Cane’s sister to the Matrik Dance. With a history like that Luke should have some sway over Cane, some insight into what made him tick, his weaknesses. But Luke was coming up blank.
If Cane had his way, he’d destroy Luke’s ability to run his business. He’d make half of what Luke did criminal. If the other measures passed, sentences for minor crimes would be extended. That meant more of his uncle’s men stewing in prisons.
Luke could not allow these measures to be passed. He had to stop them no matter the cost.
“Sir?”
Luke turned toward his assistant. The man had been with Luke since he started hustling as a teen. Along the way he’d learned that good people were worth keeping around.
“I have the reports for you.” Joshua gestured to the computer.
“Thanks. How’s our bottom line?”
Joshua winced.
That bad?
Shit.
“Don’t tell me.” Luke turned toward the window to hide his grimace.
The new anti-corruption laws were tightening his belt. If he didn’t figure this out soon, his uncle would be on his case. Luke was far too aware that everything he’d been given could be taken away.
Uncle Johann was not a kind man. The only reason there was room for Luke was because his cousins had fucked up. With records as long as theirs, they couldn’t pretend to be on the up and up. Which was where Luke came in.
Publically he was a lobbyist, petitioning the National Council of Provinces on special interests of those he represented. Some of his clients were who and what they said they were, but the bulk of Luke’s clientele was as dirty as the day was long. In this new day and age every criminal had to play politics to survive. And that was where Luke came in.
The common man knew street politics. The gangs understood how things worked in the ghetto. But they were at a loss for how to handle the legal system. For a fee, gang leadership could retain Luke’s services to either lobby for the interests of his clients or warn them what was coming down the pipeline.
His family was born to generations of hustling. Some might call their operations criminal. The way Luke saw it, he was doing the disenfranchised of South Africa a service. He provided representation for the common man beyond a vote that may or may not have been recorded. And if he had to exert a little pressure on some people to get things done, so what? Luke was looking out for the little guy, at the right price. And Luke commanded a hefty fee.
His father had left this, for what? To work in some office, earning someone else a mountain of money?
Mom called it an honest pay for honest work.
Honesty didn’t fatten up Luke’s bank account. He wanted a life of comfort, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to get that if he did things his father’s way. Which was why he’d returned to the fold and worked with his uncle.
If Luke didn’t change the course of things from this anti-corruption angle, he knew it would be his neck on the line.
His phone vibrated.
What now?
He glanced at the screen.
Mia Jola.
Luke snorted and tapped the answer button. The universe was a funny thing.
“Hello, Mia.”
“I can’t do this anymore,” she whispered.
Luke stared down at the street below. “What’s he doing?”
“Cane wants me to buy a wedding dress. This has gone on long enough. I can’t do this anymore.” Her voice rose to cracking.
“Calm down. You’ve got a debt to repay and you still owe me.”
She sobbed into the phone. As if that would change his mind. “I’ll find another way to get you the money.”
“Did you get a look at his phone like I asked you to?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And I wrote it all down. It’s nothing but work calls.”
“I need to know who he is talking to, for how long and about what. Sweet talk him into telling you about his day. Understood?”
If Luke knew who Cane was working on, then Luke could offer up a counteroffer. It was going to cost him a lot of his personal cash, but if these measures passed and they limited what lobbyists could do, then Luke was done for.
“Stay the course, Mia. I’ll be in touch.”
He hung up the phone and turned it off.
Mia was a strong woman. She’d do what had to be done. There was too much riding on her for her to fail.
THURSDAY. MLILO ANIMAL Reserve, South Africa.
Coco couldn’t keep hiding in the bathroom, but beyond that door was a man. A man she’d allowed to sleep in her bed, hold her and do unspeakably pleasurable things to her.
What had she been thinking?
She hadn’t. She’d been feeling. And that was a very deep pool she didn’t know how to get out of. The truth of it was that Coco had allowed herself to get swept up in all those feel-good things. She’d been touch-starved, and he’d offered her a buffet.
Now what did she do?
Coco had never brought a man to her place before. Her previous boyfriend had fizzled out years before and the few, brief romantic interludes were always the sort of thing where she had to go to them. All of which left her totally unprepared for what the hell she should be doing now.
She paced the length of the bathroom. In the light of day it was easier to examine the things she’d felt and thought. Her heart had gone way over the line. While he might have drunk too much, she’d been drunk on feelings.
He had to go. She needed space to think, process and prepare for tonight.
How did one ask their one-night stand to please leave without offending him? Last night might have been more than she could handle, but it has also been good. She didn’t want to shut the door on doing that again, just not right now.
Her stomach growled, providing her with the perfect excuse.
She only had a few things to eat at her place. Mostly granola bars and stuff she could eat on the go. Nothing like the fare he’d get up at the resor
t. She’d just take him back under the guise of dropping him off for breakfast. That would give her at least two hours to decompress from last night before Lacey expected her to report for wedding stuff.
It was a plan. A good plan. She could do this.
Coco opened the bathroom door and stopped.
Paxton laid in bed, shirtless, the sheets pooled at his waist and his phone in hand. It was the kind of image she wanted to capture and hold on to, but didn’t want to live in right now.
“You mind if I use your shower?” he asked.
“Actually, I need to get to work. Want me to drop you at the resort? I don’t think there’s a shuttle going this early.”
“You’re working today? What?” He rolled off the other side of the bed and onto his feet so fast, like a cat. “You don’t even get a day off for your best friend’s wedding?”
Coco kept her smile in place. She had the day off, but she desperately needed a few moments alone. Though standing there watch him pull up those jeans, she was briefly tempted to change her mind. Except she knew herself. Coco had always preferred animals to people. Crowds weren’t her thing. And today she wouldn’t just be in a crowd, she’d have to speak to one and be looked at. No, she had to preserve a little bit of time to herself so she’d make it through the day.
“Ready,” Paxton said while pulling on his shirt.
“Shoes?” She chuckled to hide the pang of guilt. If she told him the truth would he be as quick to get dressed?
Times like these she missed her twin. She and Cane were different, but they’d always gotten each other. Too bad her brother was the world’s biggest asshole.
Paxton wiggled his feet into his boots and jerked at the laces. His hair stuck up on one side and there were still lines on his face from the sheets, but he was dressed. He came to stand almost toe-to-toe with her, his eyes traveling from the top of her head down to her mouth.
“You’re going to do great today,” he said.
“Are you going to actually show up to the wedding?” She hadn’t forgotten his comment about never going to one before.
“I have a vested interest now.” One side of his mouth hitched up.
A wave of warmth swept Coco’s body from head to toe. She turned to keep from kissing that mischievous mouth.
Dangerous Heat (Aegis Group, #8) Page 5
