by Lane Hart
"You're one to talk. Aren't you the highest paid MMA fighter of all time?" I counter.
Jackson chuckles, and it's obvious he's in a much better mood than earlier. "Have you been Googling me?" he asks, glancing over and raising one dark, sexy eyebrow in question. Just like that, he makes something so common sound sexual. Boy, would I like to...Google him. I bet it'd be the best Google of my life, and afterward, Googling would never be the same.
Stop that! I yell at my hormones in disgust.
"No. It's just a rumor I've heard." I have actually searched him, but his salary didn't show up in Google images.
"Are you trying to get a bigger fee out of me? If so, I'll gladly pay it after you just saved my ass with that video."
"I don't want a bigger fee, rich boy. It's not like I'd see a dime of it anyway."
"Why not?" he asks.
"I work for my father. He pays me the same salary every month, regardless of what I do."
"That sucks."
"I'm a brand new attorney, so I have to slowly make my way up the ladder."
The two of us fall silent as we drive down the highway, and the sun begins to set. It's been a long day, but at least it's been productive. I don’t even mind most of Jackson's punk rock and hip hop song choices as we roll along. The peacefulness of the drive is broken when my phone rings. Sheesh. Elliott.
"Hey," I answer.
"Where the hell are you?" he yells, and I instinctively pull the phone away from my ear.
"On my way back from Atlantic City."
"Yeah, I know where you've been. With Jackson fucking Malone."
"Elliott, you know I can't talk about my clients."
"You don't have to. The picture of the two of you is all over the Internet," he snaps.
"What picture?" I ask.
"The one showing you crossing the attorney-client line."
"What?" I exclaim. "I haven't-"
"How long have you been fucking him, Page?" Elliott yells the unexpected question.
Is Elliott actually jealous over some picture? It shouldn't make me happy that he's upset thinking I've been with another man, but it does. He never shows any sort of emotion when it comes to me, so it's a nice change of pace.
"What are you talking about? You know I wouldn't cheat on you, and I'd never sleep with a client," I respond, even though I still have no idea what the heck he's so pissed about. I could lose my law license for having any sort of sexual relationship with a client. Not that I've ever thought about doing…that with a client, and especially not with the man next to me. Okay, maybe such an inappropriate idea has filtered through my mind once or twice since I met Jax. Sometimes that often in an hour.
"Do you know how embarrassing it is for me to have my fiancée seen with another man? Especially that maniac! The media is going to make me look like a cuckold loser!"
Oh, so he's only worried about his precious reputation. I should've known better than to think he'd actually express some sort of feeling with regards to me. "I haven't done anything like that with him, and you can't technically be a cuckold since we're not married," I point out, just to piss him off.
"You better watch it, Page," Elliott warns. "As soon as you walk through this door I'm going to wear your smartass out to remind you who you belong to. When I get done, you won't be able to sit tomorrow, and my palm will burn for days."
"I think I'm just going to go home tonight."
The idea of him getting off on his fetish while my poor bottom suffers the consequences doesn't sound all that appealing at the moment…not that it ever has.
"Fine, I'll meet you there," he barks, then hangs up.
Son of a mother...trucker!
Jackson clears his throat from the driver seat. I cringe, wondering how much of that conversation he heard since he's less than a foot away in the cramped car.
"He's a really loud man," he remarks, telling me he’d likely heard it all.
"Yeah, he is."
"Do you want to go home?" Jackson asks without taking his eyes off the road.
"Not anymore." I laugh as much as I can given the situation. I'd just been yelled at and accused of sleeping with the man sitting next to me, who probably heard my wonderful fiancé treating me like a piece of crap.
"Then let's go to my dad's house."
"What?" I ask.
"You need Jude's statement, right?"
"Well, yeah, but we don't have to do it tonight."
"Why not?"
I can't actually think of any more reasons not to, and I did want to go ahead and get his affidavit. Being able to avoid Elliot is an added bonus.
"Do they have a printer?" I ask Jackson.
"Yeah."
"Then okay. If you're sure he'll be home."
Jackson snickers. "Jude's always home unless he's at the gym, which is within walking distance from the house."
"Oh, so unlike you, he doesn't spend all his time with hordes of women at his beck and call?" I joke.
"He probably could, but he doesn't date, like ever."
"Why not?"
"He says women are a distraction from his training." He chuckles, pulling his phone from his pocket. "I swear I think he's a fucking twenty-year-old virgin."
"The anti-Jackson?" I tease.
"Yeah, I guess. The two of us are pretty much opposites."
"But he fights, too?"
"Uh-huh. Jude's had a string of bad luck lately, losing his last three to submissions. He thinks he's not good enough to beat these guys, but he is. In the cage, he's the fastest SOB I know. But ever since he dislocated his shoulder a while back, as soon as he thinks he's trapped in a hold he taps out."
Jackson's affection and pride for his younger brother is obvious, and it's...sweet. This is definitely a strange side of him to see, so contrary to his image.
Quickly pushing a few buttons, he puts his phone to his ear.
"Hey, man. You at the house?" Jackson asks who I assume is Jude. "Good, I'm going to swing by with my attorney, so she can get your statement." He pauses for a few seconds while he listens. I can't hear the other end since his brother isn't yelling like Elliott had. "Did you hear the bitch protesting that night?" Jackson asks, then laughs a few seconds later. "That sounds about right. We'll see you in a few," he says, and then hangs up.
"Does he remember hearing her?" I ask.
"Oh yeah, but I'll let him tell you himself." Jackson chuckles again, putting on his signal for the exit to Silver Spring.
Chapter Five
Jax
I'm still barely containing my rage after hearing that asshole Page is seeing on the other side of the phone. Yelling at her, talking down to her, and accusing her of bullshit. Then when he mentioned wearing her ass out like it was a punishment and not just a little kinky foreplay, well I didn't want to let her go home. She doesn't deserve that shit.
My opinion has nothing at all to do with the fact that she's sexy as fuck, and I want to see her naked. Nope, I just feel the need to look out for her for some damn reason. Maybe because it seems like she's constantly dealing with pricks. Her dad doesn't give her any credit, and her coworkers are all betting against her. Then her fiancé is a huge fucking tool, too? How can someone so smart and beautiful end up surrounded by so many assholes? Myself included.
I'm actually kind of nervous about bringing Page to my dad's place. I've never brought any women over since there's no point in having Dad and Jude get to know one-night stands. Hell, I don't even get to know them. My dad has already met Page and didn't seem all that impressed. Since she's a knockout, I'm pretty sure I know what crude opinion Jude will have about her before I unlock the front door of the two-story brick house I grew up in and step inside.
The woman may not have much experience in court, but she has been getting shit done, which makes me respect her a little more. For some reason, the more I respect her, the more I want to fuck her.
I'll never forget the way those blue eyes widened, and her mouth fell open while checking me o
ut at the pool. Her usual unfazed, ice princess facade crumbled for just a few seconds. She wanted me, despite the fact that she thinks I'm a guilty jackass. That's why she had tried to bolt and nearly knocked herself out on the cement. She was embarrassed that I'd witnessed her lustful perusal. She was probably pissed at herself for even considering fucking a lowlife like me. The woman's supposed to be marrying a future Presidential candidate for Christ's sakes. Although, she'd have to be an idiot to go through with that shit based on what I just heard him say to her.
"Dad? Jude?" I call out, stepping aside in the foyer to let Page through.
A second later, my brother is sliding down the staircase banister on his ass, wearing nothing but navy blue sweatpants. With an airborne, flying leap dismount, he lands with a loud thud when both of his bare feet hit the foyer floor inches in front of us. I swear he acts like he's still twelve instead of twenty.
"Hey, bro. Your attorney is fucking hot," Jude says with a lecherous grin. His eyes, the same dark chocolate as our mother's and mine, look appreciatively up and down Page, making her cheeks redden.
While he's distracted with ogling her I pounce, effortless putting him in a headlock until he's bent over, his upper body parallel to the hardwood floor.
"Jax, you fucker!" he yells as he flails about trying to get free, elbowing me in the chest and pulling on my arm that's over his throat.
I bring my knee up on his head but not hard enough to break anything, then sweep his legs with my foot, taking him down to the ground.
"Jax, don't choke your brother out in front of company," my dad says when he joins us in the foyer.
Point made, I let Jude go and get back to my feet while he collapses flat on his stomach.
"He needed to learn some manners," I reply, straightening my now crooked t-shirt.
"Cheap shot," Jude grumbles.
"Hi, Page. What are you two up to?" Dad asks the woman whose back is pressed against the door, looking at us like we're all nuts.
"We just spent the day in AC. Luckily Page was able to get the video today, or we would've been shit out of luck," I tell him.
"I also spoke to a valet that remembered seeing...the bitch when she was leaving that night," Page speaks up for the first time since we've walked through the door.
"You did?" I ask in surprise.
"Yes. His name is Steve Sanders," she replies proudly. "I've got his contact information, and I'm going to draft up an affidavit that he's agreed to sign. He said she was fine and perfectly happy when she asked him to get her a cab. Her appearance was somewhat disheveled, but that's to be expected. He didn’t see any redness or bruising on her neck, either."
Dad's eyebrows shoot to the ceiling, and he gives a small smile like he's impressed with the attractive young attorney. Lord knows I am.
"We’re hoping to get Jude's statement since he was in the hotel room next door," she tells them.
My little brother slowly gets to his feet, sending a pissy look my way, probably for besting him in front of Page.
She turns to him and explains, "If you'll tell me anything you heard, I'll type it up and then get you to print and sign it."
At that, Jude smiles wickedly at her. "Well, at first it sounded like she was bitching, something about Jax never calling her. Then after that, it was 'Fuck yesss! Oh! Oh! Oh Godddd!'" He uses a falsetto to make his imitation sound more authentic.
"Geez," our dad mutters, shaking his head before thankfully retreating.
Page is still blushing, but she quickly finds her composure. "So you didn't hear her say 'no' or 'stop''?"
"Nope, definitely not," Jude responds, flashing her his dimples. "The only thing I heard after the bitching were cries of pleasure."
"And how would you know what a woman sounds like when she's getting off?" I joke with him.
"Shut the fuck up!" my little brother snaps at me. "If you weren't such a whore then maybe you wouldn't be in this mess, charged with rape and shit!"
"That’s an excellent point, and he's agreed to stay away from women until the trial is over," Page tells my brother.
"Ha! Jax staying away from women? I give it less than a week!" Jude laughs. I have to admit that his guess is rather generous.
"Hey, I can easily stay away from women," I respond. "The problem is getting women to stay away from me."
"Has he always been so...cocky?" Page scoffs loudly and asks Jude.
"You have no idea, sweetheart. Have you seen his apartment yet? There's wall to wall mirrors in that bitch so that at any given moment he can see his oversexed cock multiplied by infinity."
Page throws her head back and laughs. "You're adorable and freakin' hilarious. I bet you have to beat the girls back with a stick."
Was the ice princess actually flirting with my little brother? I was stunned and…jealous, which was nothing new.
"Trifling trashy cage cunts are always trying to hit this," Jude says, running his palms down his naked upper body, making Page giggle like a little girl again. "But unlike my bro, I'm looking for quality, you know, a beautiful, classy woman like you, and not secondhand sluts bought in bulk. Jax has been fucking every skank that flashes a little tit or ass his way since before he could drive."
"Oh, please cut the bullshit before I knock your ass out," I groan, not happy with Jude telling Page about all of my sexual exploits, even though she basically knows as much. "Page, you can set up anywhere, then let me know when you’re ready, and we can get the shit printed," I tell her. "Are you hungry?"
Her eyes finally leave Jude's to meet mine. "Sure, I could eat something. I had a busy day while you lounged at the pool."
"What a lazy ass," Jude mutters as he tries to punch me in the gut. "You going soft during your hiatus from the cage?"
"I can still take you," I say, dodging his fist, and nailing him in the side with mine.
"Ugh. Damn it," he grunts, clenching his ribs. "Yeah, you outweigh me by twenty pounds, and are three inches taller, asshole."
"Excuses," I counter, heading for the kitchen before I make my brother bleed.
…
Page
It's fun watching Jackson and Jude joke and tease each other. My brother and I have never been close since he's six years older than me. When we were growing up, Logan had been just as condescending to me as my father.
After Jackson had told me that he and his brother were opposites, I hadn't expected them to look so much alike. They could pass as twins! I guess he was referring to their personalities since Jude has the exact same dark hair, although almost completely shaved, and eerily similar midnight eyes. Jude seems happy and outgoing, unlike his introverted, brooding brother. He's incredibly charming, probably able to make women swoon just by flashing his adorable dimpled smile. And I couldn't help but notice in his state of undress that, even though he's a little slimmer and a smidge shorter, Jude has the same rippling muscles as Jackson. The only attributes Jude lacked were his older sibling's cockiness and scorching hot natural swagger.
"You finished flirting with my brother?" Jackson asks when he strolls back into the living room.
"I wasn't flirting with your brother," I scoff, looking up from my laptop. "We've been working on formulating the most accurate wording for his affidavit." I can't help but smile as I remember some of Jude's more hilarious versions.
"Uh-huh. Ready to eat? Stuck-up rich girls like fajitas, right?" he asks snidely, crossing his massive arms over his puffed up chest.
"I'm not stuck-up."
"Yes, you are. You're an elitist bitch, and you think you're better than everyone else," he snaps, making me gasp at the insult.
"No, I don't. And you're the one being a judgmental jerk."
He barks out a laugh. "A judgmental jerk? Is that the best you can do? What else you got for me, ice princess?"
"You know, I'm really getting tired of your snarky comments about me being a spoiled rich girl," I tell him. Setting my computer down I get to my feet, slapping my fists on my hips to show him I'm se
riously tired of his attitude.
Jackson smiles in response like I'm missing out on some inside joke. "But if I didn't make 'snarky comments' then I wouldn't get to see you like this, trying to look angry."
That momentarily catches me off guard. "You…intentionally provoke me?" I ask in confusion.
"Hell yes. And unlike the asshole on the phone, I wouldn't spank the shit out of you to punish your smart mouth. I'd fuck you so good you'd forget your name, along with whatever it was you were pissed about. You wouldn't be able to sit down the next day, but only because you'd beg me to keep pounding my cock into you until you pass the fuck out."
I’m paralyzed by his crude words, mostly offended, but a small part of me is so instantly aroused I think I might combust where I stand. It's the annoying anatomy between my thighs, pulsing and suddenly so wet the moisture coats the inside of my panties.
"You can't…that’s not..." I stutter.
"Quick, what were you pissed about less than thirty seconds ago?" Jackson asks.
"Ah, what?" I'm drawing a blank about everything in my life prior to the speech he just gave. I know my name is Page...something-another. That's it, that's all I've got.
"I guess I don't need to fuck you to make you forget since just talking dirty does the trick." Jackson doubles over with a full belly laugh. "You should see your face, princess. Priceless!"
He's making fun of me, taunting me. He didn't actually mean any of the things he said, he was just trying to get a rise out of me. "You're an a-hole."
"Well, this asshole does have food ready if you're hungry," he says before heading back down the hallway still chuckling.
Since it's either stand in their living room and sulk or finally have something to eat after a full day of going without, I follow him. The house smells delicious, like green peppers and sautéed onions. Just inhaling the aroma has my empty stomach growling.
Quickly finding the kitchen, Jackson thrusts an empty plate in my direction before he sits down, joining his dad and brother at the dining table with his plate of food. It's then that I finally notice what's missing. Where is their mother? Jackson has never once mentioned her.
