She smiled but still hesitated. “It’s just that I have a very early-morning appointment.”
“Ten minutes,” he wrangled. “Ten minutes and I’ll be out of your hair.”
Zora studied him. She definitely wanted to end the night, but she also felt guilty about her behavior. “All right,” she said. “One drink.”
Richard’s sly smile returned. “Great.”
Zora slid her key into the lock and invited Richard inside.
“Beautiful,” Richard complimented when she flipped on the lights to her four thousand square foot penthouse. It was picture-perfect, like a designer magazine spread with sleek hardwood floors and panoramic views in every direction.
“Thank you,” Zora said. “What would you like to drink?” she asked, walking up to her large oak and stained-glass bar. She plopped down her clutch purse on the counter and immediately started reaching for glasses.
“Oh, I don’t know. How about a Scotch and soda?”
“One Scotch and soda coming up.”
“None for you?” He followed her over to the bar.
“I told you. It’s kind of late.”
Richard waved a finger at her. “It’s not polite to let a man drink alone.” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Maybe I’ll have a small one,” she said.
“Good girl.” He winked.
Zora quickly made their drinks, walked around the bar and handed him his glass. “Here you go, Mr. Myers.”
Richard smiled as he accepted the glass. “You know there was something I’ve been meaning to ask you tonight,” he said.
“Oh? What’s that?” She pressed her own glass to her lips.
“Well, I was curious to know just how big a fool you thought I was?”
Zora sputtered and choked on her drink. When she finally cleared her windpipe, she glanced up at Richard. “What?”
“Pleeease.” Richard’s face turned as hard and expressionless as stone. “You’re not that good of an actress.”
She blinked stupidly at him.
“So what is it?” he asked. “You and Jaxon are in on this together?” His eyes narrowed. “Are you his little spy or something?”
Zora had no idea what the hell he was talking about and she had no desire to find out. She turned and set her drink down on the bar. “I think it’s time you left.”
“I’m not ready to leave.” He threw his glass across the room and then snatched her up by her wrist.
“Oww. Let go of me!”
Richard’s hold grew more painful as he crushed her body against his. “What? You think I don’t know what the fuck happened tonight? You think I didn’t notice that you and Jaxon disappeared at the same time? The same damn time that people were whispering about a couple fucking in the goddamn bathroom?”
Before Zora could say anything, Richard’s hand shot out and whipped across her face. Zora’s head snapped back.
Richard’s grip shifted to her shoulders where he then proceeded to shake the hell of her. “Let me tell you something. I’m nobody’s fool.” He shook her harder. “Do you hear me?”
His hand whipped across her face again and she screamed, “Fire!”
“Shut the fuck up!” He slapped her again and then proceeded to drag her across the room to her white leather couch.
She kicked and screamed the entire way. “Fire!”
Slap.
“Get out! Get out!”
“Oh, no.” He struggled to hold her down while he fumbled with his zipper. “I’m not leaving here until I get a little bit of what you gave Jaxon tonight.”
“No!”
“What? I’m not good enough for you? You can only be his ho, is that it?”
“Get off! Get off!” She swung her legs, her arms—anything that could move, trying to get him off, but he seemed to have the strength of an army.
When she screamed again, he covered her face with a pillow.
Chapter 16
Jaxon debated whether to go home or to make a surprise visit at Zora’s place. It wasn’t like him to want to do a roll by. But after that short passionate session at the fundraiser tonight, Jaxon’s body craved more. It hadn’t been easy watching Zora parade around on Richard’s arm. Somehow he survived the torture, but that might not hold up if he didn’t see her again tonight.
“It’s our last night out together, isn’t it?” Kitty asked.
Troubled by her sad tone, Jaxon looked at her and upon reading her broken heart, he nodded. “Kitty, I—I thought that—”
Her ruby-colored lips hitched up into a half smile. “Hey, you can’t blame a girl for hoping.” She glanced away.
Jaxon struggled to find the right words. In his mind this had always been a business arrangement. Certainly they had been intimate in the past, but not in these recent weeks when she posed as his fiancée. “I’m sorry if you feel like perhaps I led you on in any way.”
“No. No. Don’t be sorry.” Her eyes found his again.
“Katherine, you are an extraordinary woman. One day you’re going to make some lucky son of a bitch a very happy man.”
“But it’s never going to be you,” she butted in.
Jaxon’s face softened with sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
Kitty nodded, but remained in her seat for a few long seconds while she fought back tears.
“Kitty—”
“Stop,” she whispered. “It’s not you or anything you’ve done. In fact, you’ve been wonderful. If it had not been for this generous offer, there would have been no way I could’ve taken care of my grandmother’s medical bills. I’m the one that let myself get caught up in some…silly fantasy. The Prince of Wall Street and the Queen of Burlesque. Quite a headline, huh?” She swiped a finger beneath her eye and caught a lone tear.
Guilt still settled across Jaxon’s shoulders.
“Do you love her?” she asked suddenly.
Jaxon should’ve questioned who she was referring to, but he knew because he was wondering the same thing. “I just met her,” he said.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I…” He quickly mulled the question over again. “I have very strong feelings for her.” He stopped, but then had to continue. “Feelings I never felt for another woman before.”
Kitty flinched.
“I’m sorry,” he added, realizing that he’d shoved his foot into his mouth.
“No need. You’re just being honest and…I appreciate that,” she said. “You’ve always been honest with me.” She leaned over in her seat and pressed a kiss against his cheek. “Don’t worry. You’re still my favorite customer.” A ghost of a smile returned to her lips. “See you at the club?”
He smiled, not wanting to commit to anything.
“Good night,” she said.
Jaxon reached for his door.
“No. That’s not necessary. I can walk myself up. Good night,” she said again, and then climbed out of the limousine.
Jaxon remained seated and watched as his date walked into her apartment building. Katherine Ervin was certainly one fine act.
Seconds later, Kwan jumped back behind the driver’s wheel and the glass partition that separated them slid down. “Where to, boss?” His young, eager eyes met Jaxon’s in the rearview mirror.
Jaxon thought it over, reached into his jacket and pulled out the red panties. “Head back on up to Time Warner Centre.”
Kwan’s face twisted in confusion.
Jaxon rolled his eyes. “Go out of here and take a right at the next light.”
“You got it, boss.” Kwan pulled away from the curb and, by the usual blare of a horn, cut off another driver.
Jaxon just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
Zora fought for breath as her clothes were being ripped from her body. From behind the pillow, her arms flailed out and hit her target upside his head a few times—hard. Yet, his assault continued. She screamed loud and hard, but most of the sound was being absorbed by the pillow.
She kicked and bucked, but Richard’s weight was cradled across her waist and she couldn’t get him off or do much damage.
“Stop it. Stop it,” he hissed down at her. “What the hell are you screaming for? Isn’t this the way you whores like it?”
Whap! She landed another smack across his face.
Richard added more pressure onto the pillow and Zora felt her lungs begin to struggle.
He growled. “You were fucking him, weren’t you?” He removed the pillow from her face. “Admit it!”
In the second that it took for her to suck in some oxygen, he delivered another blow across her face to knock it all out.
“Tell me the truth.” His hand locked around her neck. “Tell me the truth!” He took his other hand and tried to jam it in between her legs but she locked her thighs as tight as she could.
Oh, God. Don’t let this happen. Please, don’t let this happen. Hot tears brimmed and then fell from the corners of her eyes like a waterfall. This simply couldn’t be happening to her.
Zora redoubled her efforts by turning her long nails into claws and raking them down the side of his face.
Richard yelped and loosened his hold.
Zora came up and jabbed two fingers directly into his eyes.
He howled, crumbled back and then launched toward her, blindly.
Then—a miracle.
“Get the fuck off her!” a voice thundered from above.
Richard’s weight was lifted off her body.
The sudden available oxygen seemed to escalate her dizziness. There was a loud crash and Zora managed to pull herself up to see Jaxon, her towering savior, deliver a hard right hook across Richard’s jaw.
Richard’s head snapped back so hard, it was a wonder how the damn thing was still attached.
“What, you like beating on women?” Bam!
Zora flinched at the sound of bone hitting bone.
“How does that feel, asshole?” Jaxon proceeded to pound Richard’s face without mercy.
Zora scrambled for shreds of clothes to cover herself, but then she grew alarmed at the continuous pounding by Jaxon on the now whimpering Richard. “Jaxon,” she yelled as she climbed up onto her trembling legs. She had to stop him before he actually killed the man.
“Jaxon, stop. He’s not worth it.” She placed a hand against his shoulder and continued to call his name. Blood painted her hardwood floors. “Please, Jaxon. Please, stop,” she sobbed.
Jaxon had no qualms about killing Richard and catching a case. He had pure fire boiling in his blood and a snarl curling his lips. But it was Zora’s tears that finally did it. Jaxon stiffened and stopped a punch in midair. His chest heaved from the sheer strength it took to restrain himself.
He stood up, looked at his hands. They were bruised and covered with blood. Richard’s. Seconds later, police and the building’s security filled the large penthouse.
Jaxon turned and gathered Zora into his arms. When he first heard her screams, fear, like he had never known, seized control of his body. And then seeing Richard on top of Zora…
Jaxon closed his eyes and wished he could block that memory out of his head forever. But it probably wasn’t possible anytime soon. “Are you all right, baby?” he asked in a choked whisper.
“Yes. Thank God you arrived when you did,” she sobbed. “I don’t know what would’ve happened.” Zora started crying.
“Shhh, baby. It’s okay.” He squeezed her tight. “Everything is going to be all right.”
Zora sighed deeply and she sought the comfort of Jaxon’s arms. After a few long minutes, she pulled in a deep breath and tried to put on a brave front. It wasn’t working too well. She was trembling like the last fall leaf in the beginning of winter.
“We had a dozen calls about a woman screaming in here,” a police officer said. “Is someone ready to tell us just what in the hell happened?”
Richard groaned.
Jaxon kicked him in the leg.
“Hey, hey, hey!” the officer shouted. “Back off. Back off.”
Jaxon’s angry black stare shifted to the cop.
“Just calm down. And tell us what happened.”
Three hours later, Zora was still talking. At least she had been afforded the opportunity to put on some clothes. A pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. The whole time she was giving her statement, she remained glued to Jaxon’s side. Jaxon as well as Billy, the doorman, collaborated on the time line of events.
Zora was still in a daze and couldn’t believe how this whole night had transpired. The most humiliating part came when posing for the police photos. Embarrassed, hurt and confused, she had never been in this type of situation before. She had always heard about it, seen it, but never in a million years did she ever believe that something like this could happen to her.
The new reality was that it could happen to anyone at anytime.
It took some convincing, but Zora finally placed a call to her private physician and had him come and check her over. Somewhere around three in the morning, she received confirmation that she didn’t have any broken bones. At most, she would have some bruising and some swelling, but for the most part, she was going to be just fine.
Richard was taken into the station and would be booked for aggravated assault. A charge he suddenly begged for her not to press when the gravity of what he’d done had hit him. By morning, it would’ve hit them all. No way would something like this not hit the gossip tabloids and blogs.
The very thing she didn’t need.
At five in the morning, the last police officer left her apartment. She and Jaxon were finally alone.
“Is there anything I can get for you?” he asked, eager and willing to do anything.
“Nah. I’m just going to make myself a compress with one of those ice packs the doctor left.” She started to stand up.
“No. No. Sit back down,” he insisted. “I’ll do it.” Jaxon was on his feet in a flash. Jacketless and tieless, he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and got to work. The whole time, he started beating himself up. He should have been here sooner. He shouldn’t have allowed her to go home with that asshole—though admittedly, he never knew Richard possessed such a violent side.
Jaxon shook his head. He never understood men who beat up women. It was such a sinister way to exact power. Such things didn’t make them more of a man, it made them more of a monster. Compress in hand, Jaxon returned to Zora’s side in the living room. “Here we go.”
“Thanks.” She swiped at a tear and then pressed the cool compress against her left cheek.
“Baby, I’m so sorry,” he said as his eyes filled with tears. “This should’ve never happened.”
“Don’t.” She shook her head. “This is not your fault.”
“It’s just—”
“Let’s not talk about it anymore,” she said, her eyes pleading with his. “I’m just happy you came when you did.”
Jaxon leaned forward and planted a kiss against her bruised, soft lips.
She smiled and then settled into the crook of his arm.
He pressed another kiss on top of her head and allowed a few stray tears to drip into her hair.
“Jaxon?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Stay with me tonight?” she asked in a small voice.
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
Chapter 17
Zora slept like a baby.
She had one of those dreams she couldn’t remember, but she woke up feeling comfort and love. She drew in a deep sigh and uncurled and stretched her body as far as she could. When she bumped into something hard, her eyes sprang open wide and her heart leaped up into the center of her throat.
At the sight of Jaxon, nestled in her baby blue silk sheets, a tender smile touched her lips. Then the pain arrived. She could feel the whole left side of her face throb in double time, while the mental list of why and how such a thing like last night happened picked up just where it had left off.
But…watching Jaxon sleeping had a c
alming effect on her. He still had on his suit pants, but sometime during the night, he must’ve stripped out of his shirt, shoes and socks. It still took her breath away at how heartbreakingly handsome he was. And now he was her personal hero—her very own knight in shining armor.
Zora’s greedy gaze took in the span of his broad chest and perfectly chiseled abdominals. This was not the body of a man who worked behind a desk. This was a work of art by a man who took care of himself and right now she appreciated his dedication.
Spellbound, Zora reached out and gently touched him. Softly, she stroked her hands along his silky skin, loving the feel of it on her fingertips. His muscles quivered like lazy waves rippling across a still pond. For a long while she was content with this game, but then she wanted to expand her exploration so she allowed her fingers to roam from the valley of his abs up to the mountain peak of his right breast nipple. Once there she drew lazy circles.
Jaxon sucked in a long breath before his eyes fluttered open. “Don’t you know it’s not fair to torture a man this early?”
“Hey,” she whispered as she stretched up his long body and pressed a kiss against his plump lips. “FYI—we fell asleep early this morning, I suspect that it’s probably closer to evening by now.”
Jaxon frowned as he turned his head toward the window. True enough it was closer to evening than morning. “We slept the whole day away?”
“I think we kind of deserved it.”
His lopsided grin told her that he agreed. “How do you feel?”
“Pretty beat up,” she admitted. “But I’ll survive. How do I look?”
Jaxon’s smile stretched wider. “Beautiful.”
She laughed. “You are such a good liar.”
He simply shook his head. “No. Nothing can touch the beauty that I see.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Nothing.”
Zora’s heart sped up as if she’d just been given an electric jolt. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“There’s no other place I would rather be.” He gently cupped her face in his hands and then kissed her as if she was the most precious thing in the world to him. Behind his tender kiss raged a passion and desire that overwhelmed Zora and she moaned as if drunk by its potency.
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