Rules of Entanglement

by Gina L. Maxwell

  Poison. A person had to have experienced the consequences of some pretty awful lies to consider them poison. And here he was, making her a party in the very thing… He gut twisted. Jax wanted to ask her more, to understand, but over the top of her head he noticed Robért exiting the café.

  “Okay, we’re all set to go. Here’s my business card, and I jotted down the date and time for the hors d’oeuvres tasting on the back. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call and I’ll be here in a jiffy. Sound good?”

  Vanessa smiled and said that it did, while Jax held out his hand. Gripping Robért’s in a less-than-manly shake, he put on his best Happy Groom show. “Thanks so much, Robért. You’ve already been a huge help, and I know you’re going to make my fiancée’s dream wedding come true.”

  “Oh, please, no need to thank me, Mr. Andrews. Honestly, I can’t tell you how excited I am to work on this account. It’s so refreshing to work for a couple who is so obviously in love. So many are here just for the glitz and glamour.” He looked around briefly to make sure no one was within earshot, then lowered his voice. “I’ll take clients like you over those arrogant A-listers any day of the week.”

  “I understand you have one of those this Saturday.”

  “Blech. Don’t remind me. They only arrived yesterday and already the bride has changed her colors six times and the groom demanded we make Italian food for their Hawaiian wedding. Italian!”

  Vanessa looked properly horrified for the man. “Oh my gosh, I can’t even imagine. I bet they cause problems right up through the end of the reception.”

  “Sweetie, you have no idea.”

  Jax slid his arm around Vanessa’s waist. “That’s a shame. Lucie and I would have loved to have you as a guest on our big day.”

  Slapping his chest, Robért gasped, making Jackson think they had a cardiac arrest on their hands. “Oh, that is just the sweetest thing! No one ever asks me to attend. They always just expect it because I’m the coordinator.” Waving his hands in front of his face, he blinked back the moisture gathering in his eyes. After a long, awkward few seconds, Robért finally composed himself. “You know what? Screw that other wedding. I’m coming to yours!”

  Now it was Jax’s turn to have a heart attack, and next to him he felt Vanessa’s knees give out. If he hadn’t been holding her around her waist, she’d be kissing the paved sidewalk right now. Instantly, they started protesting in the nicest ways possible.

  They couldn’t expect him to abandon his other clients.

  They didn’t want him to lose his job.

  It really wasn’t going to be anything all that spectacular.

  The other wedding would look great for his résumé.

  But nothing could sway Robért the Sentimental. He had an excuse for everything they’d thrown at him, including informing them that he’d bring in his coordinator friend who “owed him big time” to work the other wedding on Saturday for him.

  When there was nothing to do to avoid looking suspicious but pretend to be ecstatic at his change of plans, they said their good-byes and stood in the shade of the café’s awning until Robért rounded the corner with an extra bounce in his step. If that were possible.

  Without a word, Vanessa extracted herself from his side, spun on her heel, and stalked in the direction of the bungalow.

  Fucking hell. Shit had definitely just hit the fan.

  He watched her for a few seconds, contemplating his next move, then jogged to catch up with her. “V, come on. Maybe it’s not as bad as we think. I’m sure we can figure something out.”

  Vanessa didn’t stop, and her distraught feelings seemed to be growing with every step. “You know, despite the fact that I hated being deceitful, we were doing fine in our roles as Reid and Lucie. He never once questioned our behavior and the plans were off to a great start. Now, because you felt the need to play Prince Charming to the wedding coordinator, he’ll be with us every step of the way, including the rehearsal dinner and the wedding!”

  “Wow, that’s uncanny. You sound just like him.” They rounded the corner to the path that led to their home away from home. “The overemphasizing thing sounds more natural when he does it, though.”

  “You always have something to say about everything, you know that?” She stopped short at the front door and shoved her key in the lock. “Which is precisely the reason I told you to keep your big mouth shut and let me do all the talking!”

  He followed her inside and closed the door a little harder than necessary. Now he was getting worked up, too. “Yeah, well, I don’t appreciate being told to stay quiet like some yippy dog. I’m not a sidekick, and I’m sure as hell not a mute.”

  Tossing the keys on the console table by the door, she spun around and poked him in the chest. “No, you’re definitely not a mute. Believe me, there’s no chance of me ever forgetting that. You haven’t shut up since the moment I laid eyes on you. But let me tell you something, Maris,” she said, stepping in closer and glaring at him like he was her lifelong nemesis. “You have to know when to talk and when to shut your trap. And as far as I can tell, you have no concept of the latter.”

  She had no idea the envelope she was pushing. “You’re challenging me, V. Are you sure you wanna go down this road?”

  “Ha! You bet your ass I do. In fact, let’s play the Quiet Game. The one who makes the first sound loses. How about that?”

  “I think that’s the best thing you’ve said all day.”

  “Good!”

  “Fine. Just say when.”

  “When!”

  Vanessa turned, no doubt to stomp off in a huff to ignore him in the silence she thought she’d created, but Jackson wasn’t letting her go anywhere. Grabbing her arm, he spun her back to him and caught her in a tight embrace a split second before he crushed his mouth to hers. She froze, her body stringing wire-tight. But then he nipped her bottom lip and all hell broke loose.

  She plunged her fingers into his hair and pressed her body closer to his as she opened her mouth to invite him in. Delving inside, he licked over her tongue again and again. His hands splayed across her back and kept her tight to him as his cock grew hard and begged for the extra pressure. The moment he ground it into her, she moaned in the back of her throat. Technically that was a sound, which claimed him as the victor, but it wasn’t enough. Her accusations wounded his pride, and he’d prove to her he knew exactly when words weren’t necessary. And on top of that, he was going to win her stupid game, because if he didn’t, he knew she’d lord it over him. He expected no less from her.

  Breaking from her lips, he moved his kisses to her jawline and down her neck. At the bottom where it met her shoulder, he nipped her again before making his way back up. He made a note that every time he used his teeth, her body jerked like electricity shot through her veins. Seems the Red Viper likes the sting of a bite. What luck. So do I.

  Jackson spun them around and pushed her back into the wall, pinning her there with his hips to let his hands roam. He cupped a breast and gave a gentle squeeze as he scraped his teeth over the tight cord in her neck.

  And that’s when it happened. She moaned his name.

  He wanted her until he couldn’t think from it. But if anything was going to happen between them, she needed to want him, too. And she wasn’t there yet.

  Though it killed him, he kept to the game. He stilled all movements and whispered in her ear, “I win,” then crossed the room, entered the bathroom, and shut the door behind him.

  Day 2: Monday

  Vanessa sat on the couch, laptop on the coffee table, coffee on the end table. Almost noon and still no sign of Jackson. Which was fine with her. She’d never been more pissed off at a man in all her life. First, he screwed everything up with Robért, and then he had the nerve to not finish what he started.

  Shit, what was she saying? She should be grateful he’d had the sense to stop. If she took all of her rules, broke them in a thousand pieces, and molded them into a man, she’d get Jackson. There w
as no way she was getting involved with him. Right? She nibbled on her lip. Maybe a list of pros and cons would— She shook her head to empty it of that idea. Squash!

  After he’d gotten her all worked up the night before and then dumped her for what she hoped had been a shower so cold his balls got frostbite, she’d gone to dinner and then for a walk on the beach to clear her mind. By the time she returned, she felt more levelheaded about the situation. She was a professional and somehow she’d figure out how to get them out of the mess they were in. Until then, she’d play along so Lucie didn’t lose her dream wedding. She refused to fail her friend.

  Vanessa had steeled herself and prepared for another confrontation as she’d walked into her bungalow, but a quick look around the room had shown it empty. It wasn’t until she checked the small private yard that she found Jackson, in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, sleeping in the hammock.

  Relief and disappointment had washed over her, which then added confusion to the mix. Why would she be disappointed he was sleeping? It wasn’t like she’d looked forward to dealing with him after what happened. When she hadn’t been able to answer her own question, she took advantage of studying him for as long as she liked without social repercussions.

  One arm was bent over his head and his other hand rested on his stomach. His face was turned to the side, giving her a beautiful view of his profile. Straight nose, high cheekbones, and a hard square jaw. She imagined a jaw like that could take more than its fair share of punches before affecting it much. His beard was noticeable now, having grown all day. The moonlight slid over his bare chest, tempting her to reach out and feel if it was as smooth as it looked.

  Her gaze drifted lower. She tried using the Jedi mind trick to move his hand from his stomach, but it didn’t work. Shocker. With most of his washboard abs covered, she realized his hand was sexy in its own right. Strong with long fingers and sprinkled with a few white scars. Only hours earlier that hand had squeezed her breast and the mere memory of it had the butterflies kicking up dust in her belly.

  A trail of dark hair beneath his belly button gained her attention. He didn’t seem to be an overly hairy man, but he still had a light path that led to the— Whoa. Her eyes settled on the maroon pair of underwear. Or rather, what was inside the underwear. She told herself to look away. This bordered on inappropriate and could arguably be violating the man on some subconscious level. And still she stared.

  Lying in a hammock, sleeping as peacefully as could be, was a giant of a mostly naked man who was undeniably, and quite impressively…hard.

  The tight material of his boxer briefs didn’t allow it the full northerly direction it wanted, but it didn’t let that hinder it. At some point her mouth gaped. She clamped it shut again with a snap of her teeth. Then she spun on her heel and raced to the bedroom.

  She took a long shower and then hopped into bed, but every time she closed her eyes she saw Jackson’s hard-on on the inside of her lids. After an hour of lying there, she’d resorted to popping a Benadryl for a pleasant eight-hour coma. By the time she’d awakened, Jackson was gone so she met Robert to go over centerpieces and linens by herself.

  Vanessa looked up from her laptop when she heard a key in the door. Jackson walked in with a brilliant smile, freshly shaven and showered, it seemed, in a yellow pair of board shorts—she wondered how many pairs of those he had—and a T-shirt that said, Let’s do stuff tonight that makes tomorrow awkward.

  “Good morning, beautiful. Sleep well?”

  The cheerful attitude threw her for a loop, but only briefly. She offered a small smile in return—she wasn’t sure what his game was yet, but she’d be damned if she let him be the only “bigger person”—and said, “Yes, I did, thank you. Of course, I had the most comfortable bed in the world, whereas you slept all night in a hammock. How was that?”

  He set the large duffel he’d brought in on the floor and sat beside her. “Are you kidding? Sleeping in a hammock that sways in the breeze underneath the stars? I loved it.”

  She picked up her coffee mug and mumbled, “You clearly loved something.”

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. So what time did you leave this morning? Where did you go?”

  “Am I being examined on the stand, Counselor?”

  “Just making conversation. Believe me, if I were examining you on the witness stand, you’d know it by the fear clawing your gut.”

  “Only the guilty have claw marks in their guts. What makes you think I’d ever be guilty of something?”

  She shrugged a shoulder. “You’re a man. That’s already a huge strike against you, since men find it almost impossible to behave like decent human beings for very long. Eventually you all screw up big.”

  “Ouch. That’s a huge generalization, don’t you think?”

  “Yes, I do. Unfortunately, I haven’t been proven wrong yet.”

  “So you’re telling me I’m guilty until proven innocent. Is that it?”

  She stood from the couch and crossed to the small kitchen to refill her coffee. “Haven’t you ever heard the expression, ‘Expect the worst and hope for the best’?”

  “Yeah, but that’s for things like planning parties. You hope for great weather but still set up a tent in case it rains. It’s generally not used in relation to people. That’s downright cynical.”

  “True. But the best prediction of the future is looking at the past.”

  She hadn’t heard him cross the room, but suddenly he appeared at her side, standing so close his body heat penetrated her thin cami. When he spoke, his voice was soft, concerned. “How many men have hurt you, V?”

  “Men I’ve had relationships with?” He inclined his head in the affirmative. Clutching her coffee mug in front of her like a shield of armor, she turned to him and told him the absolute truth. “None.”

  …

  Jackson watched Vanessa walk back to the couch and settle in with her laptop again. Something was off about her answer. She was so jaded when it came to men and relationships, and yet no one had hurt her in the past? It didn’t make any sense. She was a puzzle with missing pieces, and he wanted to find them.

  “How long do you plan on working today?”

  She looked up briefly, then continued jotting notes on a yellow legal pad on her knee. “I don’t know, probably for a while yet.”

  “Have you been doing that all morning?”

  “Yes, I have. What were you doing all morning?”

  He smiled and leaned his hips back on the counter. “Afraid I’d run off with the maid, darling?”

  She looked up, gave him an exaggerated smile, and batted her eyes innocently. “I’d hoped.”

  He slapped a hand over his heart. “Wife, you wound me.”

  “I’m not your wife yet, sugarbug, and once I can figure it out, I won’t be your fiancée for much longer, either.”

  “Well,” he said, rubbing his hands together, “then I’d better make the best of it until then. You’ve got exactly a half hour left to toil on those boring-ass files before I whisk you away from here.”

  “Since when did fiancé become interchangeable with master? I’m not going anywhere until I’m damn good and ready.”

  He walked over, cupped her chin in his hand, and kissed her firmly on the mouth. “Then get damn good and ready in exactly half an hour.” Then he left the bungalow and a stunned redhead behind.

  It took him only about twenty minutes to get the things he needed for their afternoon. He’d hunted down Robért, who had only been too happy to help him put a picnic basket together with food from one of the restaurants and some bottles of water. Since he had a few extra minutes, he stopped at the beach bar and enjoyed the view of the crystal blue ocean and chatted with the bartender.

  Thirty minutes past the time he’d left, he walked up the path to the bungalow with basket in hand, fully expecting to find Vanessa in the same spot he’d left her. But to his surprise she was sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs on the front lanai, ar
ms crossed and a stern look on her face.

  “You didn’t tell me how to prepare.”

  “Uh…what?”

  “I have no idea what we’re doing or where we’re going. How am I supposed to know what to wear or if I need to bring anything? If we’re going sightseeing then I’ll want to wear shorts and a cute top and comfortable shoes for extended walking. If we’re going swimming somewhere then I’ll want to wear a suit and flip-flops. If we’re going to lunch in one of the restaurants at the resort I have to dress up a little, which is neither of the outfits I mentioned previously. And that doesn’t even cover my makeup and hair.”

  Jackson stood still, not wanting to make any sudden movements and scare the animal into an attack frenzy. “Holy shit, are all women like this? If you told me to be ready in a half hour I would’ve made sure I wasn’t indecently exposed, then pulled a sixer of beer out of the fridge for the trip.”

  She threw her hands up and let them fall to slap her thighs in frustration. “Why am I not surprised?”

  That’s when it hit him; this wasn’t anger. It was distress because she didn’t have control over the situation. She stopped working, so she obviously wanted to enjoy an afternoon out of the house, but given the circumstances, she didn’t know how.

  Setting the basket on the steps, he walked over to her and brought her up by her hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you needed more information. Next time I’ll make sure you at least have an idea of how to prepare for any surprises I make for you. Deal?”

  “Next time?” Her face softened and the sparks quelled in her green eyes. “You plan on giving me more surprises?”

  He hadn’t really thought about what he said, but now he took a few moments to evaluate it. “Yeah, I think I will. I don’t have anything in mind at the moment, but something tells me I’m going to like keeping you on your toes.”

  She bit the corner of her lip and lowered her eyes. “Jackson, about last night…”

  With a finger he lifted her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. “What about it?”