I had my work cut out for me. Never in my life had I ever encountered a girl or woman who resisted me the way she did. I knew this plane ride could make or break the rest of this trip, and I had to change my game plan.
“Do you like flying?” I asked her, starting a safe, casual conversation.
“Flying is okay. I don’t mind it,” she answered. “You?”
“I used to hate flying,” I admitted.
“Used to?” she asked as she shifted ever-so-slightly toward me in her seat.
“I just got used to it after a while.” I shrugged.
“You fly a lot?” She looked up at me with interest.
“Sometimes. I do business with people all over the world. I like to be involved in the initial startups of business merges or seeing firsthand what products a potential supplier has to offer. Besides,” I added with a confident grin, “I tend to negotiate better than anyone else I’ve found to employ as of yet.”
“Sounds like you’re a busy guy,” she said, sounding uncertain.
“I’m never lacking in things to do, but I manage my time well. I also delegate well once I get a project off the ground,” I reassured her.
She nodded.
“Do you travel much?” I asked her to keep the conversation going.
“No. We used to when I was a kid,” she answered, and I watched as her cheerful expression faded into muted sadness. It was as if some unnamed memories flashed behind her eyes.
I realized I had broached a sore subject, so I quickly moved on to something else, wanting to bring back the smile to her angelic face.
“What are you most looking forward to in New Zealand?”
Perla’s eyes met mine again before she answered. “I don’t know. I thought I was going to be a third wheel, so I planned to just kind of wing it, see the sights, see what they had to offer,” she explained.
“Now you don’t have to be a third wheel,” I smiled, nudging her with my elbow.
She eyed me momentarily before she cracked a smile herself and nodded. “I guess you’re right,” she said.
The remainder of the long flight, we talked comfortably about whatever came up. She told me about her new job and how things were starting to look up. She seemed excited about a new case she had been working on that she didn’t go into too much detail about, just that she was enjoying the new responsibilities and taking a more active role.
She asked about my parents. I hated speaking of Walter, but I was able to talk my way around him by telling her more about Victoria. I could tell she was impressed by my mother, and I wondered if it was because her own mother wasn’t around. I was careful not to bring up her parents, knowing it would only bring her mood down again. That was a conversation for another day.
Ezra and Jada joined in on the conversation when she asked how Ezra and I had met. They seemed surprised that we had played football in high school together.
“This is Texas,” I explained. You know how we are about our football.” I laughed, reminiscing the three years I spent as starting quarterback of our varsity football team.
We all napped for a few hours after our first layover at L.A.X. I watched Perla sleeping in her reclined seat next to mine for a while before finally dozing off myself. My God, she’s beautiful, I thought. This just had to work.
PERLA
In the time it took to make the long flight to Los Angeles, and the even longer flight to Sydney, I had warred with myself on what to do. By the time we landed in Queenstown, I wanted so much to give in to him.
Getting to sit and just talk to him for hours, I started to see him as a person and not just some rich guy with an oversized ego. It was hard not to when he and Ezra were talking about their high school days. I could just imagine all the kids hanging out at Jax’s house after school. I could tell he had been an outgoing guy with a lot of friends, and was intrigued by his mom, who apparently loved having a house full of kids to entertain.
A part of me wondered what was so bad about Ezra’s home life that he spent so much time at Jax’s growing up, but I knew it wasn’t my place to pry. It was nice that Jax was an outlet for him to escape to.
I tried to reason with myself that getting swept up in a whirlwind romance with Jax, even if only for the weekend, would be no different than meeting some gorgeous local in New Zealand whom I knew I would never see again. Jax had been quite persuasive during those long hours together. He had been so attentive and charming, finding any opportunity to touch me here and there in the most gentle and seductive of ways, which of course had me aching for more, but I still just wasn’t sure.
At last, we arrived at our destination, Queenstown, New Zealand. We had left the triple-digit heat of the Dallas summer and arrived in the below-freezing wintry cold of the southern hemisphere. We pulled out our warm clothes before we left the airport, and Jax insisted on carrying my luggage as we made our way to the shuttle that would carry us to our mountain lodge hotel.
The scenery of New Zealand was amazing. It was early afternoon local time, and the winter snow glistened from the trees and rooftops of the shops we passed, all with a gorgeous, mountainous backdrop. The town was quaint and the landscape was breathtaking. Even the air smelled deliciously of pine and chimney smoke.
We got checked in at the lodge, at which point I realized I had already planned to let Jada and Ezra share one of the two rooms we reserved, which meant I’d be sharing the second room with Jax. With one bed. It was getting harder by the minute to think I could keep resisting him.
The rooms were amazing with wood-burning fireplaces and in-room hot tubs. The walls were a warm taupe color, and the bedding, in contrast, was a stark white with the plush duvet resembling a fluffy cloud and pillows with varying levels of softness.
As soon as Jax and I entered the room, we took in all the breathtaking beauty, from the amenities, to the décor, to the white, mountain landscape beyond our large window. We sat our bags down and I plopped myself onto the plush bed, lying with my legs hanging off the side and my feet still touching the floor.
Jax sat next to me where I lay and put a warm, tender hand on my leg. It immediately sent a shot of electricity straight to my core. I could hear my breath hitch as his hand trailed dangerously up my thigh, slow and agonizing.
“Another beautiful view, Ms. Fae,” he said in his deep voice, barely above a whisper, looking at me.
I didn’t stop him, though I knew letting him continue was like playing with fire. We were alone, and a very major part of me wanted to see how far he would go. He got mere inches away from my sweet spot when his hand lifted from my leg, only to land at the lower part of my belly. I could feel all the blood in my body rush to the heat between my legs and the areas of skin his hand touched, now beneath my sweater. I hoped he didn’t notice the racing of my pulse that I could hear pounding in my ears.
My eyes were locked on his as he leaned down next to me. His hand followed a sensuous line up my center and between my breasts. It took everything I had in me not to squirm as every nerve ending in my body sprang to life.
He moved his hand to cup one breast as his thumb stroked across the smooth fabric of my bra, grazing across the sensitive flesh of my nipple. I whimpered in response as the pleasure of it rippled through my body. His face dipped down to touch his lips softly to mine. Without thought, I melted into him, reveling in the sensations that threatened to pull me under.
Just as his hands began exploring my body, a knock on the door broke me from the moment and Jax from the kiss. My eyes went wide, cursing and thanking whoever was on the other side of the door. He hovered over me, so close I could feel the heat of his sweet breath on my lips, the weight of his body partially pinning me to the bed.
“Yes?” I called out, breathless, to see who had knocked.
I could hear Jada’s muffled voice through the door. “Hey, Perly-Girly, do you and Jax want to go find something to eat?”
I looked up at him as he smiled and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. He stood
and pulled me up by the arms, effortless like I weighed nothing.
“Sure,” I answered in a raised voice as I rushed to let Jada in. Their room was a couple of doors down from ours and across the hall, which I was suddenly grateful for.
I could tell I was flushed by the heat that radiated from my cheeks, but Jada either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She walked into the room, taking in the layout and the furnishings.
“Gosh, isn’t this place just fantastic?” Jada said with a look of awe. She went to the window, staring out across the vast expanse of snow-covered peaks that surrounded us, and I walked over the join her.
Ezra entered the still-opened door of our room, and I watched as Jada’s eyes shifted to him like a magnet as she turned from the window. It was like she could sense him before he even spoke a word, and my heart swelled, seeing the feelings she obviously already had for Ezra. Love was in the air, and I hoped it wasn’t contagious.
“Hey, have y’all had a chance to get settled? I saw a nice restaurant right next to the lodge that looked pretty good that we passed on our way in,” Ezra said, looking from Jax to me before his eyes found their way back to Jada.
“Sure,” Jax answered. “Perla, are you up for a meal?” He looked over at me, so calm and collected while I was still trying to recover from the body rush he had just given me only moments before.
“Actually, I’m not too hungry yet, but you guys go ahead. I’ll stay here and start unpacking some of my stuff,” I told them.
“Aw, we don’t want to leave you here all by yourself, Perly-Girl,” Jada said, and her bottom lip stuck out in exaggeration.
I laughed. “Seriously, you guys go ahead. I think I have jetlag or something. I’m just going to unpack and lie down for a little while. I’ll be refreshed and ready to go when you all get back,” I urged, waving them on.
Jada and Ezra conceded and left down the hallway, letting Jax know they would wait for him by the elevator after they grabbed some money from their room. Once they were gone, Jax walked over to me where I stood and wrapped his muscular arms around my waist, pulling me in close to him. I breathed him in with a deep, fortifying breath, relishing the feeling that traveled throughout my entire body when he held me so close. I wondered how I was going to resist him for the next four days at the rate I was going.
He leaned in and spoke softly into my ear, the vibrations of his deep voice sending tremors straight to my core. “Would you like me to stay?” he asked.
I swallowed, trying my best to hold my body’s response to him at bay. It had been weeks since I’d felt the release that my body craved, being pressed against him like this. “No, I’ll be fine. You should go eat if you’re hungry,” I told him, hoping the intensity I felt between us was all in my imagination.
He lingered with me in his arms for a few moments longer, leaning in to touch his soft, sweet lips to mine. I couldn’t deny that it felt good letting him in like this. God, did it feel good. For once, I let myself revel in it. It was just temporary, what harm could it do?
* * *
That evening, we decided to go into town to see what nightlife we could find. The hotel staff suggested a couple of places, so we all squeezed into the back of a taxi and made our way to a place called Vinyl Underground. It was an underground bar hidden away from the mainstream tourist places, and we all fell in love with it from the moment we walked in.
It was cozy with couch seating in some areas and bar and table seating in others. Bright-colored posters and vinyl records lined the dark, painted walls, and one side of the room was lined in brick. The lights that hung down from the bar gave off dim lighting. A guy sang on stage and played a keyboard while a few other early patrons sat around, listening, drinking, and talking amongst themselves. Overall, it was a fun and very chill venue.
We sat at one of the corner tables and took it all in for a few minutes before deciding to try the drink special, hot buttered rum. Jax and Ezra went to get us all a round from the bar while Jada and I sat at the table.
Once we were alone, I turned to her and eyed her with scorn. “How long were you planning this behind my back?” I confronted her.
“Don’t be mad, Perla. I know you like Jax. I can see it in the way you look at him when he’s around, and you’ve been so sulky the past couple of weeks, refusing to talk to him.” Jada seemed sympathetic, and it was hard to be mad at her.
“But you know I have my reasons, Jada-Lou,” I told her in defense, unable to stay mad at her.
“I know you have your reasons, Perly, I just don’t think they’re good reasons anymore,” she admitted.
She looked over to them at the bar and my gaze followed. I observed an attractive woman approach Jax and smooth her fingers through her long, blonde hair with her chest stuck out in a way that I could tell she was flirting with him. I could feel the anger and jealousy begin a slow burn welling up inside me. I watched on to see his response to her, wanting to know if he would reject her advances or encourage them.
He gave her a polite smile and a nod. I waited to see if his eyes would trail down her body or settle on her exposed cleavage, wondering what I would even do if they did. I knew I shouldn’t have even been watching, but I couldn’t pry my eyes from the scene before me. I had to know what he would do, and it was all I could do not to get up and wedge myself between them.
The woman said something and looked up at him expectantly with a wide smile, batting her eyes. I saw him chuckle and shake his head no. He looked back to the bartender as our drinks were set in front of them. I watched as he and Ezra picked the drinks up and turned to walk back to the table without another glance at the woman.
I looked back over to Jada and realized she had been watching me.
“You were saying?” Jada asked, not expecting an answer but driving her point home.
“Sometimes I hate you,” I mumbled, insincerely.
“And even when you hate me, you still love me,” she replied as the guys approached the table once again.
We stayed for a while, drinking a few more buttered rums until the bar got crowded. Once it got so packed that we could no longer hear ourselves talk over the crowd or walk through the walk ways to get to the bar or restroom, we decided to call it a night. Ezra called for our cab to come back to pick us up, and we went outside to wait for it to arrive.
It was freezing outside, so we huddled together to try to keep warm. Between the effects of the hot buttered rum and the warmth of Jax’s body against the crisp, night air, I found myself inching nearer to him as we stood at the curb. When he wrapped his comforting arms around me, I sank into his chest, letting him pull me in tight.
Was it the cold? Was it my sudden possessiveness after seeing him with the attractive woman inside the bar? At that moment, it didn’t even matter. The way my head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck, allowing me to hear every beat of his heart, pulled me into some secret world that only he and I inhabited. Each beat pulled me in deeper, making me feel a connection to him that I couldn’t explain or think possible.
When the cab arrived, we all climbed in and rode back to the lodge, feeling exhausted from the time difference and jetlag. We reached the lodge and headed straight to our respective rooms.
Once inside, Jax went to start a fire in our fireplace while I changed into my pajamas. It was the only light source in the room when I came out of the restroom, giving off a faint, romantic glow across the space. Shadows ghosted across Jax’s face as his eyes followed me to the rug in front of the fire.
I sat on the rug, soaking in the warmth from the flames. Jax sat beside me and took my hands, warming them between his as his eyes captured mine and held them.
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he asked as his hands stilled with mine still between them.
I didn’t know what to say, so I said the only thing I could, feeling suddenly shy. “Thank you.”
Maybe I would have normally denied such a compliment, but in the midst of his hungry gaze that seemed
to drink me in at that moment like he couldn’t get enough, I felt beautiful.
I saw him begin to lean in for a kiss, and I feared that if I let him, it would be the final push over a ledge I had been precariously hovering on since the day I had first laid eyes on him. “Jax, I…”
He froze, retreated only slightly, and waited for a moment before he spoke. “Let me take care of you. Let me give you what you need.” He brushed a stray wisp of hair out of my face, and his fingers grazed tenderly across my skin.
“What do I need?” I asked in a whisper.
“Right now? This,” he answered, and he closed the short distance from his lips to mine, gripping his fingers in my hair with his right hand, leaning on his left.
He pushed forward, leaning me back onto the rug, and I felt a heat building from within me that had nothing to do with the fire beside us. Jax kissed me with an intensity I hadn’t felt in the times before. The other times, he had kissed me in a way that was soft, sensual, and slow. This time was different. This time said I need you now!
His hand that had been in my hair moved down to my stomach, and he felt his way beneath my camisole, heating my skin with his touch. His fingers caressed their way up to cup my breast and pinched my hardened nipple, sending a shot of pain and pleasure straight to the aching flesh at my center. I moaned into his mouth, wanting – no, needing – more.
His hand left my breast, trailing down the sensitive flesh of my stomach, and dipped down below the waist band of my fleece pajama pants. With every inch of skin he explored and every thrust of his tongue past my lips, I could feel the anticipation building to a fever pitch inside me. When his hand reached the most sensitive flesh between my legs and pressed down on my clit with the heel of his palm above my panties, I cried out in pleasure, begging for more.
When his hand left my body and he broke away from our kiss, I groaned, unsure of what made him stop. He stood and reached down to pick me up into his arms from the floor, cradling me as I wrapped my arms around his neck while he carried me over to the bed. He laid me gently on top of the soft duvet before pulling his shirt over his own head and letting it fall aimlessly to the floor.
Tragedy and Desire: An Adult Romance Page 13
