“He’s your bodyguard.”
“I thought I had two already.”
“Trust me, Ella. If the shit ever hits the fan, Tanner is the exact man you want around.”
I glance at Tanner who’s listening to all this without moving a muscle—not even blinking actually. What Carter says isn’t a compliment to Tanner, it’s the simple, factual truth.
“I have Jaxson,” I say, not wanting to submit to anything without discussing it with Jax first.
“Ella, start thinking for yourself. This isn’t about love now. It’s about your survival. You need protection and there is no one more suited to do that than Tanner. He’ll be your shadow. He’ll let you know when it’s safe and when it’s not. He’s never lost a client and all his clients were targets.”
“And where are all those clients now?” I say, suspiciously looking at his shoulder holsters.
“Safe,” Tanner says calmly. “Alive.”
The fact that this beef locker talks confuses me. “That’s good,” I say.
“Please, Ella,” my father says, “let me do this for you. Getting Tanner was not easy. He has a waiting list longer than Spago.”
I don’t have the energy to refuse and besides my safety is as important to me as it is to my father. “All right,” I say. “You win. We can try it.”
—six—
Ella
Jax folds his arms around my shoulders from behind and places a kiss on my neck, startling me. The indoor pool sparkles with the glow of green and yellow lights, creating the illusion of movement in the water, like a lazy tidal wave.
“What time is it?” I say as he tickles my ribs, because truth be told, I’ve completely lost track of time since I found the door to the room with the small swimming pool and hot tub. I got myself comfy on a lounge chair to contemplate the water, letting the warmth engulf my senses as I inhale the steam and chlorine from the hot tub.
“It’s after ten,” Jax says. “I’m sorry I left you alone for so long, baby. They have meetings about every detail around here.”
I don’t even want to know what they plan to do. It’s not like I would have any input. His arms wrap around me tighter until his hands land on my breasts, gently squeezing them.
“What did you do while I was gone?” he says.
My mind is numb with the steamy heat of the room, almost like in a sauna. All I want is for him to keep touching me like that, fondling my breasts until the last pieces of resistance in me are broken down.
“Well?” he asks, one hand traveling down to my stomach and under the shirt to tease my bellybutton.
“I had an interesting encounter with your uncle.”
His fingers freeze instantly at my pronouncement, staying still.
“What did Lucius want with you?” His hands get busy again with my skin, reaching up underneath my shirt to cup my breasts in the bra.
“Nothing, we kind of accidentally bumped into each other. It wasn’t planned,” I say lazily, letting my weight fall back on the lounge chair, relaxing into his touch. “He did inform me I cannot forget what you are and that you’re not going to play house with me forever.”
“He’s an idiot,” Jax says, moving the fabric of the bra out of the way on my left breast to get to the nipple.
“I told him that much,” I say, arching my back so my breasts perk up in his palms.
“Good girl,” he says, walking around the chair to sit down at my feet.
“Play some more with my nipples,” I say, shutting my eyes. There are butterflies in my stomach but also lower, between my legs, where I’m getting wet and needy. So many butterflies and he must rub them away for me.
“Does that mean I’m forgiven?”
“It means I’m too tired to fight you. I’d rather kiss you instead. I reserve the right to be mad at you off-and-on for a while.”
I barely finish my sentence before his mouth is on mine, soft and rough at the same time. He parts my lips with his tongue and then nips at my lower lip.
“I’ve wanted to bite you since our first date,” he says as he bites me a second time.
I rub my lip and then check my hand for signs of blood. “That hurt,” I say and it did, but I don’t fucking care. I wouldn’t care if he bit me everywhere, drawing blood out like a vampire.
“I’m hard as rock, you naughty girl,” he says with a grin.
“Shocker.”
“So what’s in the stars for me? Action or blue balls?”
“You’re a true romantic at heart,” I tease him.
“Hell, yeah,” he says, rubbing his crotch.
“Let’s go,” I say. “If you’re good, you might get some candy.”
“No,” he says, gripping my wrists to pin me back down on the chair as I start to get up.
“What do you want?” I say as I fall back.
“Here,” he growls. “I want you here.”
“Here?” I repeat, darting worried looks around the pool room. All I can see outside the large windows is complete darkness which means it’d be a piece of cake for anyone to watch us.
Jax follows my gaze. “I’ll draw the blinds and lock the doors,” he says. “It’s been forty-eight hours since I was inside that sweet little pussy and I’m not waiting a second longer.”
Great, I’m about to get fucked in a mob boss’s swimming pool. There must be hidden cameras everywhere. Someone could be watching us on a monitor right this second.
By the time Jax is done closing windows and locking doors, the idea has grown on me. Maybe it’s got something to do with the heat between my legs intensifying as my clit becomes a throbbing mess, images of Jax fucking me in the hot tub running wildly in my head.
He comes to me after he dims the lights but I can still catch the sparkle in his eyes.
“Strip for me,” he says, lying back on the second lounge chair.
Okay, what? “I don’t exactly feel sexy enough for that,” I tell him. “I’ve been in the same clothes since yesterday.”
“Perfect,” he says. “I love the way you smell au naturel.”
Sweet goddesses, he’s not giving me an out. I guess I’ll have to put on a strip show for the hottest man in the world while someone’s planning to have me murdered. Cool. Distractions are welcome.
I get up to stand in front of him, nervous and turned on at the same time.
“Down to nothing,” he says, index finger pointing at my poor, wrinkly clothes.
Here we go. He’s probably had hundreds of women strip for him before and most of them were in better shape than me, working out diligently on a daily basis, not to mention a consistent tan. But Jaxson Cole didn’t love those women. Jaxson Cole loves me.
His eyes are locked on me as I bring my hands under the hem of my light blue shirt, slowly pulling it off to reveal my belly, my pink bra and my collarbones until it’s over my head and onto the tiled floor.
I take a peek at Jax’s face. His eyes burn with desire and something else I can’t quite put my finger on—concern or fear or maybe a combination of both. So many parts of me ache right now and I want to make it all right for both of us.
My fingers unbutton my jeans shorts and pull the zipper down. He watches my every move hungrily, like he’s never seen me take off my clothes before. Maybe he hasn’t. Maybe it’s always been him undressing me. My mind’s too fuzzy to remember.
I hesitate for a second before I yank the shorts down and, fuck, I’m just realizing my white panties don’t match the pink bra. I should coordinate these things better if I am to be sexy and sassy and competing with all the hot professional models Jax is used to having around.
“What are you waiting for?” he says, bringing me back to planet Earth. “Take it all off or I will rip those wet panties off myself.”
“What? No! I don’t have another pair,” I protest.
“You won’t be the first girl to go commando,” he says, grinning.
I bring my hands to the clasp on the front of the bra and pull it open, letting my
breasts spill out.
As my fingers dive for my panties, an unsettling thought enters my mind. What about Tanner Hayes? Carter said Tanner would be my shadow. Could he be watching me somehow?
I dart my eyes left and right one more time, trying to locate cameras, or peepholes, or mirrors that could be secret windows. I soon give up, realizing the thought of scary, stoic Tanner watching me pull my underwear down is not as unpleasant as I thought it would be. Let the poor man have some fun.
Jax loses patience with me. Before I can snap out of my daze, he springs to his feet, grabbing my panties firmly and ripping them off my body.
“You brute,” I protest. “What did I tell you about the panties?”
He sits back down on the chair as if he didn’t hear a word I said. “Turn around,” he says.
I do as I’m told, more than a little flushed, exposing my back and ass to his greedy eyes.
“Now touch your toes.”
That may be pushing it, but I’m here to play, right? Happy viewing, Tanner.
My heart pounds with anticipation for what will follow as I bend over like I was asked. I never knew being so naughty could feel so good.
I take a deep breath in and then his hands are on my ass, massaging me, kneading me, his palms smoothing out the soft skin and it feels so good.
“Such a beautiful ass you have,” he says. And then he bites me—teeth seriously sinking in my flesh, making my skin burn as they mark me. He promised he’d bite my ass the very first time we had sex. I guess Jaxson Cole always keeps his word.
A shriek escapes my throat as the pain overpowers my common sense. I take a step forward to escape his grip and teeth but he yanks me right back, getting down to his knees, his tongue sliding between my legs, flicking against my wetness.
I gasp, losing my already precarious balance. His hands support me, keeping me in place, bent over and panting, as he gently forces my knees apart.
“Yes! Keep licking,” I say, barely able to get the words out.
He spins me around so fast I think I’m definitely going to keel over this time. He sits me on his knees and gets a hand between my legs. “On your back,” he says, eyes scorching hot, “all nice and spread and keeping your pussy lips open for me.”
Holy fuck. The cruder he gets, the more I enjoy it. I’m so wet it’s almost embarrassing.
He sets me down on my butt, unfolds four beach towels and stacks them one on top of the other. I lie back on the towels as slowly as I can. He watches me as I open my legs wide for him, my fingers spreading my lips until I’m totally exposed and vulnerable to his scrutiny.
“That’s so fucking hot,” he says and then he’s on top of me, quickly getting rid of his clothes.
I get a passing glimpse of my name across his pec before he enters me in one powerful thrust, filling me up completely while the air spills out of my lungs.
The pressure inside me feels impossible. I shift my hips underneath him to accommodate his size. Having his entire weight on me, all hard, toned muscles against my softer curves, opens me up completely, body and soul. I love how he makes me feel that I am his and his only.
He kisses me, sucking on my lips, his tongue sweeping inside my mouth and my heart leaps in my chest. No matter what he gives me, it’s not enough. I can never get enough of this man.
Then he takes my breath away as he slams into me, again and again, no patience left in him, my knees glued to his sides until we reach a frantic pace.
Heat sizzles through my blood and nerve endings as his cock slides in and out, reaching something primal and ferocious inside me, my pussy swollen and slippery and on fire.
I move with him like we’re one, fused together now and for all time. Wild sensations are building in me, making me moan. I run my hands up and down his back, giving my nails permission to scratch pink lines across his skin. He groans with pleasure which only makes me scratch him more.
“Oh God, Jaxson,” I cry out as all the pressure inside me turns into overwhelming, all-encompassing pleasure. My core begins to clench around his cock and I’m already shaking with the violent explosions of an intense orgasm.
He comes right after me, his body quaking as he explodes inside me with loud moans. He’s so beautiful it makes me want to cry. Even if the whole fucking world is against us, they can never take away what Jaxson and I have. God, I’m so happy we found each other again.
“Damn it, Ella,” he says, breathless, as he slowly rolls off and next to me, “stop doing that to me.”
“What on Earth are you talking about?” I say, punching his chest. “I did that? You had me doing all kinds of weird things, big guy. I merely obliged, even with the hidden cameras and all.”
He laughs so hard his half-hard cock bounces around on his belly. “There are no cameras in here, you dork.”
“Oh, well, that’s good news.”
He puts his arm under my neck and shoulders, pulling me close to him. Our bodies glisten with sweat and our breathing is heavy.
“We should run away,” he says, kissing me softly. “You and me, just sneak out and get on a plane to Cape Verde or Barbados.”
“I’d love that but it might be more complicated than you think.”
“How do you mean?”
“My father assigned my security to this bodyguard guy. Apparently, he’s good at what he does.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s true, I swear. Apparently kings and emperors want him on their payroll. It might be kind of impossible to trick him.”
“Leave all that to me. All I need from you is a thumbs up.”
It finally dawns on me that he’s serious. “You know I’d go anywhere with you,” I say, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“Okay, let me work out the details. Maybe tomorrow or the day after.”
I close my eyes, as fatigue overtakes me. This has been an emotional rollercoaster of a day. I can’t even think straight. I don’t know if he’s serious or not but I can’t solve that mystery tonight. Tonight his love is enough. “Let’s get some sleep,” I say. “If we can find our way back to our room.”
He stays silent for a long while. “We’ll have to sleep in separate rooms,” he says in the end as he gets up, offering me a hand for support.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Lucius’ home, Lucius’ rules. He was adamant about it.”
“He doesn’t like me much, does he?”
“It’s not you, Ella, it’s him. It’s the way he lives his life. He needs to feel control. He can’t rest until every little thing is in place.”
“Well, that’s just great,” I say as I stand up. “Hunted, sleeping alone in a strange place, and you’ve destroyed my last panties.”
“Oh, wait,” he says. “I think I have a solution for that last part.”
He walks to the door and produces two shopping bags from behind a tall potted plant that looks like it could do with some watering.
“I thought you might need these,” he says, handing me the bags.
“Let me see,” I say, clapping my hands like a little girl. “T-shirts, shorts, a sweater, combs, brushes, flip-flops and, yes, underwear. How did you get these, Jaxson?
“I sent one of the men,” he says with a smile.
“And how did you know my size?” I say, bending my face.
He rolls his eyes at me. “Come on, give me some credit. I may not know many things, but women’s sizes? I got that down, babe.”
—seven—
Jaxson
She’s given me another chance. I am humbled by her faith. I have to make this right for her. Leaving her would be leaving her at the mercy of men without conscience, men capable of any evil. We have to disappear, change our names. We have to find a simple life in a simple place somewhere out there beyond the reach of all the power-hungry murderers.
We can leave no trail behind. There are people who owe me. I’ll need their help to disappear. All I want is to be alone with Ella in a place where we can walk in the o
pen sunlight hand-in-hand without fear.
Ella’s enthusiasm over the smallest things infects me with warmth and promise. I never thought I could feel these things having seen the things I have seen. Together we combust into pure energy and chemical reaction. Her body was made for my body. Her lovely tits, sugar sweet pussy, her delicious belly and ass, they’re all mine. Her laughter gives me bliss. I need the entire girl, body and mind and soul.
It might be a tad early to start making phone calls at six in the morning but the clock is running. I can feel it in the beating of my heart. I hop down the stairs to the first floor and hurry through the kitchen to the old pantry that is now out of use.
Nobody knows about the pantry except myself and Mrs. Miller, our cook. Although Lucius would have used it when he moved in many years ago, he would have almost certainly forgotten it by now.
The old pantry was sealed off years ago and covered with a heavy antique hutch. I remember the space being almost the size of a small bedroom. They said it was closed down as it was entirely unnecessary for a household of one or two. I knew they were lying to me. I was just a boy. Something bad had happened in there and it needed to disappear. I felt it in my bones.
I take the key I stole from the staff office out of my pocket. I move the hutch away from the wall just far enough to squeeze behind it. The pantry door opens with a loud creaking sound that will probably chase away all the mice and spiders that have built a home in the dark.
I turn on the light, reach under the hutch to slowly pull it back toward the wall and then close the door behind me. I remove my cell phone from my pocket, but am distracted as childhood memories return out of the blue.
Everything has stayed the same in here as if stuck in time. The brown shelves across the walls, the metal hooks from where ham and cheese logs used to hang once upon a time. The old white fridge and the white cupboards are all here, clean and tidy and waiting for me.
More childhood memories attack me from the days my mother was alive and then later when Lucius brought me to live with him. Back then, the pantry was a hiding place and a shelter from the cold mausoleum that had scary echoes whispering from every corner.
Scandal: The Complete Series Page 20
