by J. S. Cooper
"My dad has a friend named Frank."
"Frank!" I felt myself growing angry. If I'd only known how much my mother’s ex-boyfriend had betrayed me. I was so angry that I'd trusted him for even a minute.
"He told us everything he knew about you."
"I guess you think you know my life story now."
"We knew about your crush on Hunter." He sighed. "So my father found Hunter and offered him a job."
"And then Frank told me where he worked," I said bitterly. "So I was set up."
"At least you've still got Hunter."
"Yeah." I sighed. "There's that."
"And you've got me as your teacher."
"My pimp. Yay. I have a pimp."
"You can leave if you want. I won't stop you." He sat next to me on the bed.
"Why are you telling me all of this?" I frowned. "And if I leave, what happens next?"
"If you leave, my dad will find another way to get revenge on your dad."
"So it's in my best interests to stay." I sighed.
"Well, Brandon's." He shrugged.
"My dad and my family are my life," I whispered. "I would never let anything happen to them."
"You have Hunter too."
"And you." I looked at him and saw him cringe at my comment. "I'm joking, Jaxon. I know I don't have you. I'm just grateful to you for telling me the truth."
"It's the least I could do."
"So what next? I go along and make your dad think you're training me?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "That's basically it for now."
"So when's our next lesson?" I took a deep breath.
"We can have one now."
"Oh?"
"The art of relaxation and letting go." He ran his fingers across my bare shoulders and I jumped.
"What are you doing?" I looked at him through lowered lashes.
"I want to teach you how to relax."
"I am relaxed."
"The tension in your shoulders tells me otherwise." His fingertips massaged me. "To be a confident woman and lover, you have to be relaxed and comfortable at all times."
"Okay."
"Lean back."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
"Uhm, you're moving a bit fast, aren't you? Revelation to lesson in 2.5 seconds."
"What would you prefer?"
"I wouldn't mind a revelation from you."
"What?" He frowned and pushed me back into the bed.
"If we're going to continue being intimate, I want to know more about you." I stared up at him and looked into his surprised eyes. I'd surprised myself as well. I really did want to know about him.
"What's there to know? I'm imperfectly perfect."
"Imperfectly perfect?" I reached up and touched his face. "I like that. I guess I'm perfectly imperfect."
"I'd say you're pretty perfect." He smiled and collapsed on the bed next to me.
"What are you doing?"
"Switching off for a second." He turned towards me. "It's tiring being me."
"You sound like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders." I stared at the lines in his face. "What do you do for a living?"
"A little bit of this and a bit of that. Business stuff mostly. Mainly stocks."
"Okay." I took a deep breath. "What about your love life?"
"What about it?" He frowned, and I stared at his handsome features so close to mine.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"You think I have a girlfriend?"
"I don't know."
"I was just fingering you." His hands ran across my collarbone.
"What?" I looked away from him and shifted my legs. I could feel myself growing wet at his words.
"If I had a girlfriend, I wouldn't have been fingering you. I wouldn't be lying here next to you, wanting to rip your towel off and bury my head in your pussy."
"I see."
"Do you really, Nancy?" His eyes glittered into mine.
"Do you say these outlandish things because you think you're shocking me?" I grinned at the look of surprise in his face. "You can't shock me, Jaxon. I went to public school. I just got out of a crazy stint at the private club. I might look demure and sweet, but I've got a backbone and it takes a lot to shock me."
"I don't know what to say." He looked searchingly in my eyes.
"Don't tell me. You don't know anyone quite like me."
"You took the words right out of my mouth." He shook his head.
"My best friend is kick-ass." I grinned at him. "I learned it all from her."
"Meg?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "I never had someone like her in my life before. Someone so feminine yet so fearless and kick-ass. She taught me that you do anything for friends and family. You do anything for love."
"Who are you doing this for? Your love of your family or your love of Hunter?" He held a hand up. "Actually, don't answer that. I'm not sure I want to know."
"What's your preoccupation with me and Hunter? Do you like him or not?"
"I don't care about him either way. If you haven't figured it out yet, I don't care much about others."
"Why not?"
"Maybe because my father is the male Mrs. Havisham."
"Great Expectations?"
"You read a lot?"
"A bit." I shrugged. "We did Dickens in AP English."
"You remind me of our age difference when you talk about AP anything." He groaned.
"What do you care?" I raised an eyebrow and laughed. I was starting to feel giddy while lying here, talking to Jaxon as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I guess I don't." He raised an eyebrow back at me, slowly reached down, and tugged on the knot at the top of my towel.
I felt it opening and falling off my body and to the bed. I lay there, staring at him confidently, not wanting him to know how badly I wanted to cover myself again. He reached over, and I felt his fingers lightly grazing my nipples.
"You've got beautiful breasts."
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" I asked him softly, curious as to who this man was.
"Nope." He shook his head, his eyes darkening. "I don't lie to women."
"Have you never wanted a girlfriend?"
"I like sex and I get it without a title." He shrugged.
"You look so hard on the exterior, but I don't believe it." I shook my head. "You're not so hard, are you?"
"I like it hard."
"Who are you, Jaxon Cade?"
"That's not any—" He started, but I interrupted him.
"I know it's not my business. I'm no one, yada yada yada." I smiled at him and then gasped as he pinched my nipple hard. "But I want to get to know you better. You're an enigma. You told me things you didn't have to. We're friends."
"With benefits." He grinned.
"You could say that." I moved closer to him. "You don't make me feel bad, you know."
"Bad about what?"
"Your comments. I feel like you're deliberately trying to goad or disparage me, but you're not. I like it when you touch me. I'm attracted to you. My body wants you. My brain is intrigued by you. I like this."
I grabbed his hand and pushed it down. I held my breath as I realized what I was doing. I saw Jaxon's eyes widen as I pushed his hand between my legs and against my wet pussy.
“Yes, I’m already wet.” I gasped as I felt his fingers moving of their own volition against me. “I’m doing this because I want to.”
“Because you want to be with me?” His words were light, and I moaned as he rubbed me urgently.
I was about to nod when I saw the door to my bedroom open slightly and a face peek in.
“Hunter!” I gasped out, and the door closed quickly.
I looked to see if Jaxon had witnessed Hunter poking his head through the door as well, but he looked at me with a disgusted expression and dropped his hand. It was then that I realized that he thought I’d been correcting him. He thought I was doing all of this with him because I wanted to be with
Hunter.
I lay back and stared at the ceiling as my heart thudded. If I were smart, I’d be thinking about Hunter, but I knew that, while I still thought Hunter was cute, he hadn’t really been on my mind since I’d met Jaxon. There was something about Jaxon that captivated me. He was so completely unlike all of the other men I’d ever thought about or daydreamed about, but he was also better than all of my daydreams combined. He took my body on highs I hadn’t even known existed.
However, I knew I wasn’t going to tell him that. There was still a part of me that was unsure if I could trust him. Yes, he’d told me about his father’s wanting revenge on Brandon, but I wasn’t sure if that was the whole story. Something was still extremely fishy, and I was not leaving until I had it all figured out.
Chapter Seven
Jaxon
I hadn’t thought hearing Nancy say Hunter’s name would have affected me as much as it had. My blood was boiling hot. I couldn’t believe that she was still muttering his name. I was positive that she was doing it to rile me up and make me jealous. Little did she know that I didn’t get jealous. I would never be jealous of her wanting that wannabe man. He was nothing. I could crush him with my bare hands. The fact that she thought he was cute told me a lot about her state of mind.
What smart woman would ever think he was cute? Would ever be in a bed with me and calling out his name? I felt my face heating up as I stared at her naked body next to mine. She was too damn sexy for her own good. My cock was hard with desire and about to burst. I wanted to take her so badly. I could almost feel how good it would be inside of her. Her pussy would be wet and tight as I entered her hard and fast. Her lips would part slightly and she would cry out in pleasure as I gave her orgasm after orgasm. She’d never think of Hunter’s name again. All she’d be able to say is, “Jaxon, please. Jaxon, please.”
I ran my fingers across her stomach, and she rolled over on top of me. I was surprised at her movements and still angry at her for saying his name.
“You have a thing for my lap, don’t you?”
“Your lap has a thing for me,” she whispered down against my lips as her breasts rubbed against my chest.
“Oh that’s not a thing.” I grabbed her hips, placed her pussy directly on my bulge, and moved her back and forth so that she was straddling me and rubbing her clit against my hardness. “That’s a pleasure maker,” I growled as she continued moving her lips back and forth. I closed my eyes and then pushed her off of me. She wasn’t allowed to come again until I was positive that she had thoughts only for me. “I’m leaving.” I jumped off of the bed.
“Jaxon.” She groaned as she lay back on the bed and looked up at me.
“I’ll see you later, Nancy.” I walked out of the room and didn’t look back. I had a feeling that sex was going to be the undoing of Nancy, but what scared me most was that she was going to be the undoing of me.
Chapter Eight
Nancy
My dreams were filled with Jaxon. Jaxon smiling. Jaxon looking angry. Jaxon touching me. Me on top of Jaxon. I woke up feeling horny and tired. My eyes felt like they were full of sand, and I just felt miserable and confused. I knew that I was in over my head. I knew that I should go home.
The thought of being here and being sexual with a man whose father was trying to take my father down seemed stupid. I wasn't sure what I was accomplishing by letting Jaxon touch me and teach me. I knew if I was honest with myself that I liked it. I liked him more than I wanted to admit and I wanted to experience more of him. I wanted to break his shell and understand him better. I groaned as I realized that I was the epitome of every other girl who met a man who had issues. I wanted to be the one to break through and figure him out. And it was all based on physical chemistry.
I'd been attracted to him since the train. I wanted him. My body wanted him. I didn't even care that I was a virgin. I didn't even care about Hunter. When I was with Jaxon, I felt like I was soaring through the air at a million miles per hour and I never knew if I was going to crash and burn or land on my feet. It was an exhilarating, exciting feeling. It made me feel like I was alive more than anything else had ever made me feel. Jaxon made me feel like Nancy and just Nancy.
Talking to him yesterday had made me realize just how much had happened in my life and so quickly. I was part of a family I hadn’t even known existed, and while I loved every single one of them, I sometimes felt like I didn't really belong. And I still felt angry towards Brandon. I tried not to, but a part of me hated him for abandoning my mom and me.
I'd grown up and lived my life for eighteen years and I hadn’t even known he was my dad. What hurt more was knowing that he knew I was out there all along and he hadn’t even tried to get to know me. He hadn’t even tried to be in my life. It hurt me to the core. How could he love me if he hadn't wanted to be in my life? Especially knowing what he'd done for Harry. He'd taken Harry from the beginning. As much as I loved my brother, I was slightly jealous. He was the golden child, born of love. I was the one he'd never wanted.
Sometimes I felt like I didn't fit in with their perfect family. I was the odd one out. A part of me felt that, by staying, I was proving myself and my loyalty and winning their hearts and trust. I also felt like Jaxon was a lost soul as well. Maybe, in fixing him, I could fix myself as well.
I rubbed my fingers across my eyes and sighed. I was a mess. I really didn't know what I was doing or if I was making the right decision by staying.
The ringing phone interrupted my thoughts, and I picked it up gingerly.
"Hello."
"Nancy." It was Meg.
"Hey, what's up?" I exclaimed in an overly happy voice.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't sound fine." Her voice lowered. "How is Hunter?"
"He's fine."
"Nancy, what aren't you telling me?"
"There's this guy. Jaxon Cade." I sighed. "He's..."
"Who is Jaxon Cade?" Meg's voice grew louder, and I could hear the worry in her tone.
"Just someone I met. It’s fine."
"Nancy, what's going on?" Her tone changed.
"Nothing." I bit my lower lip. I really wanted to tell Meg what I'd found out, but I really didn't want her to get worried or try to handle this for me. I needed to do this by myself.
"Nancy, I think it's time for you to come home."
"I'm fine," I lied and closed my eyes. "I'll be home soon."
"Katie and Brandon have been talking about you a lot. We had dinner with then yesterday. I'm not sure—"
"I gotta go, Meg. I'll speak to you later."
"Nancy, tell me who Jaxon Cade is." Meg's voice was still ringing in my ear as I turned the phone off.
My heart was pounding as I sat up and jumped out of bed. The room seemed to be spinning as I stood upright. I wasn't sure what way was up, and I felt like I was about to faint. I didn't even understand myself and my thoughts. Everything was so confusing to me. I hadn't even realized until that morning that I had resentment for Harry. My heart felt sad at the thought. He loved me more than life itself, yet I was jealous of the relationship he had with our dad.
I sat on the bed and closed my eyes. I could feel tears threatening to fall. I felt sad. And I felt excited. Jaxon excited me. And it was about more than the lust and the sexual attraction. It was about how he made me feel when I was with him. It was about feeling like I was in control for once. This was all me and all him. There was nothing in between us. There was no falsehood. We were both honest about who we were and why we were there. It wasn't pretty, but it was real. As real as the feelings he brought out in me when he touched me. I couldn't leave now. Not when so much was at stake. Not only was I saving my father, I was saving myself as well.
***
I was on my way to breakfast when I saw Hunter walking up the stairs. I slowed my pace and stood back as soon as I saw him. I didn’t want to talk to him. I was surprised that I was avoiding him already; I hadn’t realized that I could be so
fickle.
“It’s not like you really knew him,” I whispered to myself as I watched him reach the top of the stairs and head down the other side of the landing. It was weird to me that I felt nothing when I stared at him.
I laughed softly to myself as I thought of all the nights I’d spent writing in my journal and making up poems about our love. All it had taken was a couple of conversations with Jaxon and I was already over Hunter. Maybe that was because I’d never had anything real with him.
I was about to head back down the stairs when I saw Jaxon’s dad coming up the stairs.
“Hunter,” he called out, and I watched as Hunter turned around and walked towards Jaxon’s dad.
“Hello, Mr. Cade.”
“Come. We need to talk.” Jaxon’s dad looked down the hallway and grabbed his arm.
“I spoke to her.” Hunter shrugged. “Everything’s going well.”
“She likes you still?”
“She was all over me.” Hunter grinned. “Though Jaxon was being an ass.”
“He doesn’t know about our conversation.” The older man frowned.
Hunter shrugged. “Makes no difference to me.”
“Blood is thicker than water—unless you’re after revenge.”
I watched as they got closer to me. Jaxon’s father’s eyes were devoid of emotion as he spoke to Hunter.
“Some people will do anything for love, and some would do anything for money.” Hunter nodded his head.
“That is true.” The older man paused. “I have one wish, and I don’t care who gets the job done. Whatever happens is of no concern to me.”
“Whatever?” Hunter paused as a smile crossed his face.
“Whatever.” The older man nodded. “I have no patience for weakness. You have to do whatever you have to do. Even if that means there are other casualties.”
“Even if it’s Jaxon?”
“Even if it’s Jaxon.” The older man nodded. “Do what you have to do.”
I pressed my body back against the door as I watched them. They were so close to me now. If they took a few more steps, they’d see me. I stayed as still as possible and almost burst into tears as I heard Jaxon’s father talk again.
