by Hill, Sierra
Like the one from earlier that day, as he was on the train to D.C. for a meeting with one of the senators on a green building initiative that he and Mitch were helping to fund.
Sasha: Knock. Knock.
Jax: Okay. I’ll play. Who’s there?
Sasha: Misses me.
Jax: Misses me, who?
Sasha: Your cock misses me.
Jax: Ha! That’s no fucking joke. He definitely misses you. And your mouth. Your sweet pussy.
Sasha: I thought so. Gotta run. :-)
Jackson laughed over her attempt at the joke, knowing that the true reason for the text was to get him riled up. Which was exactly what it had done. He was twenty minutes from walking into a meeting with a state senator and a committee of politicians, a very important conversation about the future funding of their project, and he had a hard-on pressed against the zipper of his trousers. Perfect. Just what he needed.
It was unbelievable how quickly Sasha could get him hard, even from hundreds of miles away. Jackson shook his head in consternation, as he picked up his satchel and disembarked the train, searching the parking lot for the car that was to be waiting for him.
Sasha was a paradox of greatest proportions. A complete and utter complexity to him – beyond all logical reasoning. And he liked dealing with the logical. He needed things to make sense. Yet Sasha was anything but…she confused the hell out of him and drove him bat-shit crazy with her hot and cold temperament.
One moment they’re going at each other like horny teenagers, insatiable and unstoppable – fucking like bunnies. And the very next instant, she’s pushing him away. Telling him she doesn’t want to sleep with him again – that she wanted to move forward as friends, like none of it had ever happened. WTF?
Every man at some point enjoys a little chase now and again. Men like a good challenge – especially if there’s a nice reward as a result. And a challenge that stimulates both his mental and physical states? Well, that’s even better.
But Sasha Lee was so much more than a flirtatious conquest. She knew how to play the game to keep him wanting more. And while he wasn’t into playing head games, something instinctively gnawed at him that this really wasn’t a game to her. The tactics she employed, albeit frustrating, kept him, and men before him, at bay. Sasha kept an appropriate distance in a manner that had him running circles around her, trying his patience at every turn.
She could be exasperating and unapologetic in her demanding, and oft dogmatic, approach to the world. That obviously made her a shrewd physician and business owner. But try and get close to the real woman? That took dare devil strength. And a dogged pursuit.
Sasha had an exterior like the prickly Opuntia cactus – baring the most beautiful blooms, but brush up against it in the wrong way and you’d be sorry. As in, pain in the ass.
That wasn’t to say Jackson didn’t enjoying sparring with the prickly woman, as demonstrated in the argument they managed to get into the night she was over to discuss the party. One minute they were sitting side-by-side on his couch, bodies touching, the heat emanating between them like a match to tinder, as things quickly spun off the rails.
She’d just informed him that she wasn’t about to sleep with him again, but he begged to differ. The next minute, an explosion of chemistry and pheromones ignited, as Jackson flipped Sasha on her back beneath him, both of them tearing at each other’s clothing in search of what they sought.
But true to her word, they didn’t end up sleeping together. Somehow during their heated make-out session, Sasha came to her senses, even though she was one lace panty away from being naked underneath him and ended their fun (much to his cock’s dismay).
Righting themselves and separating their bodies from temptation, they moved their discussion into the kitchen where they continued to talk over the next hour. Although it put a damper on his libido, Jackson found that the verbal exchange and easy conversation they fell into was just as riveting. It may have not ended in an orgasm, but it was satisfying all-the-same.
Jackson was greeted by the driver outside the train station, as he followed the man to the awaiting car. He made a serious effort to will away the image of Sasha’s gloriously naked body out of his head as he settled himself in the back seat of the Lincoln town car. It was easier said than done.
Jackson hadn’t seen Sasha in nearly a week and it was like his body was jonesing for another fix. Their hook-ups had been sporadic, and few-and-far-between, but he’d quickly developed an undeniable need to see more of her. To be with her exclusively. Fucking hell, he wanted to ask her out on a date.
Would she even consider going out with him? They’d had no discussions about their dating lives or anything much to do with their personal lives, outside their occasional outings with Mitch and Rylie. Aside from being her escort and date to the banquet a few weeks back, Jackson didn’t think that could be counted as a date. Yes, he picked her up and they got physical that night, but somehow it lacked the one-on-one feel that a date should have. It wasn’t just about a man and woman that night. And that’s what he wanted with Sasha.
Deciding to bite the bullet, Jackson dug out his phone from his pocket and dialed her number.
She picked up on the second ring, her voice sultry and smooth. “Hey, Rowdy. You calling to hear another one of my great knock-knock jokes?” She let out a soft snort that had him chuckling at her greeting.
“As a matter of fact, I am. I enjoy your jokes so much, I think we need to go out so you can tell me every single joke in what, I presume to be, a long list of insipidly stupid jokes in your joke repertoire.”
She let out a dramatic gasp, followed with a theatrical huff. “How dare you call my jokes insipid. I’ll have you know that I performed stand-up when I was in college and received a lot of laughs, thank you very much.”
He knew Sasha well enough by now not to let this insight about her past surprise him, but it did. Stand-up? She wanted to be a comedian?
“Are you telling me you thought you were funny enough to make a living from it?”
“Well…no,” she said reluctantly, a pregnant pause filling the line. “I was technically only on stage once, on a dare…and I was pretty drunk…but I did get some laughs! I was damn proud of myself.”
Jackson considered the nugget of detail she’d just shared about herself. Here was a woman that had accomplished what many women could only dream about – becoming a doctor, opening her own practice. And yet, she was seemingly proud of a drunken dare when she was in school. Sasha was such an enigma.
“I wish I could have seen that. Is there a small chance there’s a YouTube video of your performance? I need a good laugh after the week I’ve had.”
“Not likely. Plus, I wouldn’t want to give you any more ammo then you already have on me.” She paused briefly and he could hear a door closing in the background. He pictured her behind her desk, in her white doctor’s coat. Naked underneath. Spreading her legs, her hand sneaking down, fingers gliding through her…
“You’re having a bad week, huh? Poor baby. You calling me up to get some phone sex? I’m open to it, you know…just not in the office.”
A wild laugh erupted from his chest, causing the driver to swivel his head back to see what the ruckus was about. Jackson gave him an apologetic shrug, his attention immediately returning to Sasha.
“Nah…while that does sound enticing, there’s no need to test your ethical boundaries by getting kinky in front of your clients. I’m actually calling because I’m interested in the real thing. In being with you in person. I’ve been thinking about you all week. I’ll be back in town tomorrow and I want you, Sasha. Tomorrow night. After you go to dinner with me.”
It was obviously the last thing Sasha had expected to hear from him, leaving a gaping hole of silence as he waited for her to respond. Ten seconds…fifteen…the dead air was killing him.
His ego was taking a nose dive with every second of silence, so he went with casual. And cocky.
“Well? What do y
ou say? How about dinner at eight at Madroni’s? Come on, Sash…I know how much you want to see my cock again. You don’t fool me.”
That garnered him a laugh, which was music to his ears.
“You’re making a lot of assumptions about my interests and my social calendar, don’t you think? I might already have plans for tomorrow night…maybe I’m already going out on a date with someone else.”
The idea hit him like a two-by-four, smack in his chest. Shit. Maybe she was seeing someone else. The thought made him want to murder the guy.
“Are you?”
He felt like a fucking idiot at the moment. Why hadn’t he even considered the possibility that she might be dating another man? What he’d known about Sasha’s love life was that she was always on the prowl and seemed to have an insatiable appetite for men. A revolving door, if you will, with a never ending supply of willing and eager suitors.
It made him angry that he was now potentially just another name on that ever-expanding lineup. Something inside him wanted that to change. He wanted to be the only one. Her only one.
His voice was quieter now. Less abrasive, allowing his knee-jerk reaction to die down. “Have you been seeing someone else since we’ve been hooking up?”
More silence descended, making him antsy.
“No.”
The relief was instantaneous. Jackson hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath as he waited her response. But when her one syllable reply hit his ear, he nearly coughed out his relief.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. So I’ll pick you up at your place at eight tomorrow.”
“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll see you then.”
His driver was now waiting outside the door, the car parked at the curb in front of the Senate building. He knew he had to let her go so he could get to his meeting, but a feeling of longing took over, an anticipation in seeing where this thing between them was going. He wanted to leave her with as much wanton longing as he felt at the moment.
“One last thing, Sash…” He could hear her breath coming out in small, short pants across the line. Jackson liked that she was anticipating his words. His voice. His interest in being with her.
“Yeah?”
“I will be fucking you tomorrow night. And maybe even tying you up.”
Jackson smiled to himself when he heard the sharp gasp on the line before he ended the call.
There. That should rev her engines in the meantime.
And she sure as shit would be changing the impression she had of him sooner, rather than later. Very soon, Sasha was going to find out that Jackson was anything but boring in the bedroom.
Chapter Fourteen
“Why are you picking at your food? We came here for lunch because it’s your favorite Thai place. Aren’t you hungry?”
Sasha looked down at her plate and then back up to Rylie, who was staring at her as if she’d grown two heads. The question knocked her back into the orbit she’d been circling for the last two hours. Sasha’s chest felt tight, her palms damp and her skin itchy, like she was suffering from some kind of disease, and the only cure was to be with Jax again. And God how she wanted that. A lot.
Now that she was sitting across the table from her best friend – the soon-to-be wife of Jackson’s best friend, she felt like a complete liar. She’d not only been lying to herself about what was happening between her and Jax, but she’d left Rylie completely in the dark about their recent hook-ups. The secret was like a dam waiting to break, the small crack in the concrete ready to burst open at any moment.
Sasha wanted nothing more than to share about her love-life, just like old times. But she also worried what Rylie would say once she found out. Would she be mad at her for fucking around with Jackson?
Rylie knew of Sasha’s love life – or sex life, as it was. She was well aware of Sasha’s intent never to settle down and her disinterest in long-term relationships.
What Rylie didn’t know, however, was the real reason behind her trepidation and fear over finding someone to share her life with. And for that, Sasha felt even guiltier for not trusting her secret with her best friend, whom she shared all of her other intimate secrets with in the past. God, she was a horrible friend.
Sasha glanced around the restaurant, trying to avoid the eye contact that Rylie was in search of.
“Are you all right? You seem…off. And not just today, but over the last week. What’s going on with you?”
Dammit, the concern in Rylie’s voice had Sasha turning to meet her warm brown eyes, which were doused with worry and loving compassion.
“I…uh…oh fucking hell.” Sasha gently placed her chopsticks on the table and steadied her gaze on Rylie, blinking a few times before finding her courage. “It’s Jackson. I…um…we’ve been fucking.”
She heard a collective gasp from an elderly couple at the table next to them and waved them off in apology. Serves them right for listening in on their semi-private conversation.
Sasha turned back to face Rylie, who started at her blankly for what seemed like an eternity. Normally, Rylie was an open book. Sasha could read her friend’s emotions by simply looking at her face. But this time, Sasha had no idea what was going on in Rylie’s brain or what she thought about the confession she’d just made.
Was she angry? Stunned? Relieved? Happy? Going to disown her?
Her hand smacked down on the wobbly table, jolting the water glasses and silverware. “Say something, for fuck’s sake,” Sasha demanded testily. “I know it’s stupid. Believe me, I know…we’re not compatible one bit. I’m me and well, he’s Jax…and we’re…”
Rylie grabbed her water glass and took a large gulp before setting it down with shakey hands. Raising her head, she tilted it to the side, her lips pursed and brows creased.
Finally, after several long, drawn out minutes, allowing enough time for Sasha to shift uncomfortably in her chair, her friend spoke up.
“I don’t get it. You don’t even like Jackson…isn’t that what you’ve said? And I quote,” she made air quotes for emphasis. “He’s the most insanely boring man I’ve ever met. I’d have more fun at a senior night Bingo game than I do when I’m around him.” So what the hell changed?”
Sasha felt her face scrunch in abashed shame, her eyes staring downward where her hands were placed demurely in her lap. There was no denying that she’d made a very harsh and unjustified judgment of Jackson early on. Okay, maybe a few harsh judgments. But to be fair, that was before she really got to know him.
For some reason, the few times she’d been with Jackson before they hooked-up had all been humdrum experiences. He didn’t speak much and always acted bored or appalled by some comment she made, like he was some sort of male prude. Or maybe her mischaracterization of Jax was of her own doing. Maybe she projected a negative consequence every time they were together and went into with an expectation that he would be dull, choosing to completely ignore the absolutely stellar qualities the man possessed.
A self-fulfilling prophecy of epic proportion.
Like his humor, for example. Once she got to know him more, she found him to have a brilliant knack of making her laugh. He picked on her like a teenage boy teasing a girl about her quirks, calling Sasha out on her spoiled behaviors. No other man had ever done that with her. She’d always been treated with kid gloves. Like a diva princess who was too delicate to mess with. But coming from Jax, it was all in good fun.
Sasha came to the realization that Jax was just…a good man.
“I admit,” she confessed, her hands toying with her napkin on her lap. This was so unlike her to admit when she was wrong. “I may have misjudged him at the beginning. He’s different than I expected.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Dammit. Rylie was really going to make her work for this. All she wanted to know was if Rylie thought this was a good idea. She wanted her friend to tell her it was going to be okay, just like she’d done on countless occasions over the years when she’d found her way into one rela
tionship drama or another.
Well, relationship would be too strong of a word to describe Sasha’s vast and vivid dating life. Not all were Tinder-type hook-ups, some men she did date for more than a few weeks at a time. But they all ended in some way or another. And all required a listening ear from her best friend.
“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say is “I see”?” Sasha was beside herself. She had been waiting for the wrath of Rylie. Or at least some level of tirade to put her in her place. And instead, she got a strangely calm, albeit, curious inquest.
“What am I supposed to say, Sash? Do you want me to tell you the truth? What I really think?”
She nodded her head. “Yes. Of course.”
“I honestly don’t think you’ll want to hear it.” Rylie cleared her throat, catching Sasha’s eyes with her own. They looked weary. Uncertain.
“What? Do you think I’m just toying with him, is that it? That I’ll play him until I get tired of it and toss him aside? That it will ruin your upcoming wedding because it will be uncomfortable?”
Rylie’s mouth gaped open incredulously.
“Is that what you honestly think of me? That I’m more worried about how it will affect my goddamn wedding? Really, Sash? If so, maybe you need to reevaluate how you feel about our friendship. Because I would never…” Her voice was filled with raw emotion and raised an octave higher than normal. Her eyes clouded with a sheen of moisture.
Sasha’s hands flew to the table, reaching out to grab Rylie’s hand.
“Shit, Ry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I know you’d never think that way. I’m just being a bratty bitch. God, I’m a hot fucking mess. He’s messing with my head.” And that was exactly why it had her worried.
“Whoa. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before. What exactly is going on between you two? And how long has it been going on, anyway? I didn’t notice anything at our barbeque, and I thought you were just being nice when you went with him to the awards banquet.”
