“Yes, she is.” Kate pulled hands through her hair and looked at him. A few seconds ticked past before she said, “If you can’t be nice to my friend . . .”
“What?” Ian cast a glance at Jax and puffed up like a peacock. He pushed to his feet, using his height to intimidate. “You’re going to dump me because I tell it like it is?”
Kate’s hands balled. “Yes.” Her voice quivered.
Ian sent her a disbelieving look and grabbed his jacket from where he’d thrown it over the chair. “Fine. I’m gone. For now. But I’ll drop by next week when you’ve finished PMSing.”
He slammed out of the apartment. Kate took several breaths in, her face crumpling like a map folded in on itself. She put her hands to her face and shuddered.
Jax approached her with caution. “You okay?”
Her shoulders heaved and she pulled her hands away. Her eyes were red but no tears fell as she looked at him. “I thought I could help him.”
“You can’t help people like that.”
“But if nobody tries, what’s the point?” With a weak smile, she shrugged. “I’m going to get some sleep. You two have fun.” She began to walk away, but paused. She glanced over her shoulder. “You two are good together. How it should be.”
“Thanks.”
Jax frowned after her as she disappeared into the kitchen. Though he wasn’t sorry to see the last of Ian, he didn’t like to see a woman upset. He should probably tell Charlie.
The sound of her door clicking open arrested his attention and his head snapped in that direction.
His breath snagged in his throat as she walked into the room. “Jesus,” he managed.
Her smile was tentative, uncertainty crossing her face. “Acceptable?”
He was having difficulty getting his heart started.
He’d expected a loose black dress and some low heels. He’d have been absolutely fine with that—he always thought Charlie looked pretty.
Tonight she looked like a goddess.
Her long, lean body was wrapped in a column of shimmering flame, orange that brought out her skin tone and set off her brown hair. It encircled her throat but left her shoulders bare, clung to her waist and flared gently at her hips to journey all the way down to the floor. A slit traveled her right leg. Her hair was pulled away from her face, in one of those complicated updos that always made men long to unpin and watch hair fall around a woman’s shoulders. Gold earrings winked at her ears.
She’d done something to her eyes that made them dark and dramatic, sexy as she watched him with those ever-changing brown-hazel eyes. The dress brought out the flickering amber within, making her look mysterious. As a finale, her lips were painted a deep red.
He wanted to push her against the door and feast.
He moved toward her slowly, predator to prey. “You look good enough to eat.”
“Uh-oh. I’ve seen that look before.” She held up her hands. “It took Kate hours to do the face. Do not touch.”
“I’m magic. I’ll repair it.”
Charlie grinned and backed away. “Simmer down, charm boy. I thought you needed to be at this thing tonight.”
That stopped him. He sighed and stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets. He cast a longing glance over her body, lingering on her breasts outlined for the first time. They looked just big enough to fit into his hands. Perfect size. He cut off a groan. “We’d better go before I change my mind.”
She eyed him warily as he walked over, but he only smiled and dropped a kiss on her nose. He inhaled. Vanilla teased him, as coaxing and seductive a scent as he’d ever smelled.
He leaned in so his nose brushed her ear. “I want to fuck you till you faint.”
He sensed more than saw the shiver that traveled down her body, but her hand pushed him away. “Gee, that’s romantic.” Her uneven breathing told him her true thoughts.
His smile was dark. “Let’s go.”
When she turned around and exposed the back—or lack thereof—he groaned aloud. The dress curved around the outside of her breasts and then fell to the small of her back. He could see the beautiful line of her spine. And no bra.
His fingers brushed her smooth skin as his dick hardened. “You’re killing me, gorgeous.”
Her soft chuckle preceded him as they walked out to the waiting limo.
* * *
Charlie stared out of the limousine’s window as they drew up to a chorus of flashbulbs and shouts. The house had been a good thirty-minute drive from her apartment, but it was worth the wait. Stunning in its simple lines and crisscrossing black-against-white style, the house sprawled its magnificence across what seemed like a national park. “Where did the trees come from?”
Jax glanced across from her from where he lounged, looking more edible than a batch of Aunt Mabel’s cookies. “Persephone created the forest for her own amusement. She funds a lot of wildlife and national forest organizations.” He didn’t say it, but she heard the underlying implication. Genies care.
“Are they going to be here tonight?”
“Nah. The Partners never attend an East Coast event—not since they settled on the West.”
Good. One less thing to worry about.
She wet her lips and looked out again. A red carpet stretched the long walk to the house’s front steps, paparazzi packed in like hockey fans at the Stanley Cup. Several other limos were ahead of them in the line, and she watched as elegantly dressed men and women exited and began the slow parade up the carpet. Some waved, some blew kisses, others ignored the requests from the paparazzi completely.
Terror seized hold of her stomach. “What the hell am I doing?”
Jax’s hand slid into hers. He brought it to his lips as she turned to look at him. Brushing her knuckles with his mouth, he smiled. “Courage, gorgeous. You’re a goddess tonight.”
She tried to smile. “And on the arm of the sexiest man alive.”
His dimple flashed.
He just looked so nonchalant, as though this was everyday for him. She supposed it was. But her life, normal life, was not a red carpet, gorgeous gowns, and reporters screaming your name.
Her palms were clammy and her belly was squeezing itself like an orange determined to get juice. She kept hold of Jax’s hand as their limo stopped at the steps that marked the bottom of the walk.
Their door opened, held by the chauffeur. The noise hit like a wave, shouts and screams and flashes from the cameras. Charlie swallowed.
“Are you sure about this?” She turned panicked eyes to him. “There’s no reason why we have to go public tonight.” Which was what they were doing, she might as well face it. She was officially dating Jax Michaels.
Oh, my God. Can’t breathe.
Jax touched her face, tilting it. His thumb brushed her jawline. “If you really don’t want to, we can leave.”
Charlie stared at him, into those sexy blue eyes that glittered with gold. They looked back steadily at her. She drew courage from them.
Officially dating Jax.
Just Jax.
A breath was drawn in, held for a moment, before she released it. “You jump, I jump, Jack.”
He smiled at the Titanic quote. “I’ll go first.”
She pressed her back against the warm leather seat as he slid out. The noise upped to deafening, screams from fans who had come solely to see the Genies and celebrities matching a violin’s highest A note. Cameras flashed in a continuous white stream as Jax stood to his full height, waving with one hand as he tucked his thumb into his trouser pocket. He looked casual, at ease.
And absolutely lethal. She must have seen him in a tux before, in a tabloid or on TV, but that had been when she hadn’t known him. Now she knew how he tasted and smelled like sweet apples, how his stomach tightened if she brushed her hand across it, how his eyes darkened and were swallowed by gold when he was aroused. She knew he pretended vanity, but it was more an acceptance of facts rather than cultivating attention. He might act the arrogant charmer, but she und
erstood. When you pretended a part for such a long time, it bled into you. She saw the real him.
When he leaned back and held his hand out to her, she released a quiet breath. Hitching herself forward and extending one leg so she wouldn’t fall over, Charlie slipped from the car.
Noise buffeted her as she stood uncertain next to Jax, her hand tight in his. He led her up the walk so the next car could stop, smiling and calling out greetings to several faces of the press.
Charlie pushed her lips into some sort of smile, but was afraid she came off more as deer in the headlights. Her dress swished around her ankles as she walked.
“Jax, who’s your date?”
“It’s Charlotte Donahue.”
“Jax, are you two an item?”
“Are you friends now?”
“Haven’t you seen the photos? They’re more than friends.”
“Jax, who are you wearing?”
“Jax, any comment about Charlie’s refusal to wish?”
“Give us a smile, honey.”
The walk seemed to stretch for miles, but of course it eventually ended. Near the entrance, a blonde in a sexy red skirt suit stood holding a microphone and talking into a camera. Her eyes caught Charlie’s, and her painted mouth paused in the middle of what she was saying.
“Jax, who is that?” Charlie murmured as the woman made hurried motions to her cameraman and wound her way toward them.
Jax glanced, and a fake smile seized his lips. He pressed his mouth into her temple as he whispered, “That’s Shawna Lopez, from Genie Gossip.”
“The fluffy news channel?”
Before he could say anything else, the blonde was upon them. “Why, I don’t believe my eyes.” She turned to her camera. “I’m on the red carpet of WFY’s annual charity ball with the hottest news item in the last few weeks, and yes, folks, they’re together!”
Shawna twisted to face them. Her eyes gleamed at the prospect of being the first to get the biggest scoop of the year. “Jax, what’s going on? Are you two dating?”
Charlie looked everywhere but at the camera as she fought the urge to put a hand in front of her face.
Jax’s laugh rolled out of him, slow and easy. “Let’s just say, there isn’t a word for what we’re doing yet.”
“But you two have been romantically linked.”
“Shawna, you know what gossips the press are.” Jax winked and tugged Charlie along with him.
Shawna stared after them in frustration.
“Sorry about that,” Jax said to Charlie as they entered the grand hall of the house. He accepted two flutes of champagne from a hovering formally dressed waiter and handed one to her. “Shawna can smell a relationship from thirty feet.”
Charlie arched an eyebrow, more settled having escaped the leering eyes of the press. “A relationship?”
Jax’s eyes gleamed gold.
“Jax Michaels and Charlotte Donahue. Together? I don’t believe it.” Lisette sailed forward from a small group, a tiny black dress clinging to her curves. Diamonds swung around her neck.
Jax flicked his eyes her way and smiled. “That seems to be the running theme of this evening,” he agreed.
“So, I saw the photos.” Lisette lowered her voice. “Come on, darlings, you can tell me. Are you dating?”
“Off the record, Lisette?”
She pouted. “Oh, you’re no fun, Jax.” She tapped her silver clutch against her hip. “For me? Since we’re such old friends?”
“Well, since we’re such old friends.” Jax slipped an arm around Charlie’s waist. His fingers brushed the bare skin of her back, and she choked on her champagne.
He smiled. “Confirmation enough?”
Lisette’s face was astonished. “Well. When you two are ready to come public to the world—promise me, on my show?”
“Absolutely.”
Charlie spoke. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you how sorry I am for running out on you, Lisette.”
“Yes, I forgot about that.” Lisette tapped her fingers against the flute she held in her other hand. “An exclusive. Next week.”
Jax laughed. “Next week,” he promised. “But for now, we’re going to go investigate the buffet.”
“Call Cola and set it up.” Lisette waved at them and spun off to secure her next interview.
“She’s like a shark,” Charlie commented as they weaved through the huddled mass of guests. She flicked her fingers. “Just strikes.”
Her stomach had settled now she was away from the whispers. She was sure they’d begin again once Lisette made the rounds, but for now, she relaxed. She slid a considering look at Jax as he navigated the large open room. “We don’t really have to go on her show, do we?”
“Nah. I can do it alone.” Jax glanced back at her as they entered a room with two staircases and an orchestra in the corner. “You don’t mind that I confirmed it, do you?”
Charlie pursed her lips. “Well, my other boyfriends will be very upset when they find out.”
“Other boyfriends, huh?” Jax stopped abruptly in the center of the crowd. Her body collided with his harder, hotter one. The breath snapped out of her as his hand settled on the small of her back, his thumb stroking soft skin. His dimple flashed at her. “Well, you can tell them that I was an only child. When something’s mine”—his hand glided up her back, flushing tingles out of every body part—“I fight dirty.”
The classical music swirled around them as they stood in the center of the large ballroom decorated in swathes of ice blue and lit by several thousand pillar candles, all floating high above the guests. As Charlie stared into his eyes, something clicked in her heart.
“Stunned you speechless?” He grinned, running his hand back down.
Charlie moistened her lips and stepped closer. Live for the now.
She touched his chest, her hand sliding with her as she stretched onto her tiptoes. She smoothed her cheek against his rougher one. “We’ll see how dirty you get tonight.”
His hand flattened on her back. His breathing got harsher, and against her belly, she felt the swell of him as he pressed her closer.
She hid the smile as she brushed a lingering kiss on his cheek, then dropped back down. She sipped her champagne coolly. “So how does this shindig work?”
He sent her an evil look. “You think I can actually form words now?”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “Try, charm boy.”
He breathed in, looking to the ceiling for a moment. “It’s free-flowing,” he said in a husky voice. Desire darkened his eyes when he looked back at her. She fought not to touch him again as he continued. “Guests can pick at the buffet, dance in the smaller ballroom, or wander the gardens. We’re not allowed on the upper levels.” He nodded at guards positioned at the two sweeping staircases that joined at the top.
“Want to go for a walk?” Charlie’s cheeks filled with heat as she bit her lip in invitation. Now that she’d decided to go for it with Jax, she was determined to live for every second.
His grip became crushing. “Hell, yes,” he murmured and dipped his head to brush a burning kiss against her lips. “What underwear are you wearing under this thing?” His hands slipped to just above her cheeks as if investigating for himself.
Charlie ignored the blush and tilted her head. “Well, even when I wore a thong you could see the line.”
His eyes were searing hot as he gazed at her. “You telling me there’s nothing but skin under here?” He swore and removed his hands. “Where’s the exit?”
Laughter bubbled from her as she allowed herself to be towed toward the row of French doors.
Somebody else called their names as they were almost to the patio.
Jax groaned with heartfelt frustration. “She’s got the worst timing,” he grumbled.
“Who?”
Charlie was in the midst of turning when she was smacked in the mouth by a violet feather. She blinked and then smiled with genuine pleasure. “Mabel.”
“Charlotte, my star
, you look incredible.” Mabel extended her hands and Charlie took hers, brushing off Jax as he slid a hand over her hip. “I could eat you up were it not for that damnable obsession with men I have.”
“Jesus, Mabel.”
“And, Jackson, you look very spiffy tonight in your Bond best. Have you met Peter?” Mabel gestured behind her to a hovering man in his late forties/early fifties with kind eyes and a gorgeous suit.
Jax reached past Charlie and shook Peter’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you. I’m a fan of your work.”
“Thanks.” Jax settled back with his arm around Charlie’s waist. She was getting used to it, almost as though he belonged there, though she should nip thoughts like that in the bud. She’d accepted that they were going to date. Anything beyond that was impossible. Too much separated them for any hope of long-term success. But it didn’t mean she wouldn’t savor the ride while it lasted.
“Are you enjoying the band?” Mabel asked Charlie. She played with the string of pearls draped down her violet twenties-style flapper dress. The assaulting feather sprang from the amethyst-encrusted band she wore tied around her forehead, keeping up the Gatsby vibe. Her black hair was crimped, and small amethyst drops dangled at her ears.
“We, ah, only just got here.”
“Oh, but you must dance. I bribed the band to play Glenn Miller next, and he is my absolute most favorite to dance to. Jackson.” Mabel leveled him with a look. “Ask the girl to dance.”
“We were actually going to go look at the gardens.”
Mabel’s knowing eyes touched on Charlie’s face, which heated under scrutiny. “Jackson Michaels, you do not bring a gorgeous lady to a fabulous party and then haul her out to the bushes. You show her a good time.”
He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “I would have.”
Mabel smacked him with her violet clutch.
Charlie smiled at Peter as fire spilled into her cheeks, ignoring their antics. “How long have you known Mabel?”
“Two months,” he answered, his friendly brown eyes twinkling. “She’s the most fascinating woman I’ve ever dated.”
Charlie’s eyes slid to Jax, who was trying to fend off Mabel’s smacking clutch. “I know what you mean.”
Her Wish--A Playboy Genie Romance Page 18
