Identical Disaster (The Sterling Shore Series Book 8)

by C. M. Owens

  ME: You just made this awkward.

  I laugh lightly to myself, not the least bit concerned that Dad is still waiting on me to pick up.

  JAX: Yeah… I see where I went wrong with that one. But no to tonight. I’m going out with some of the guys Kode has working on my protein shakes to talk business. Tomorrow?

  Shit.

  ME: Can’t. I have five meetings and two conference calls tomorrow. Not to mention all my regular work. It’ll be midnight before I even get out of here.

  JAX: Ppl are going to think I made you up. :(

  I burst out laughing while shaking my head. I blow out a breath before sending him a picture of us in the bed, and type out another message to go with it.

  ME: Proof I exist.

  I put my phone down and pick up my office phone.

  “Hey, Dad,” I say on a sigh.

  “Vegas this weekend. You and your sister should fly out and watch us.”

  “Can’t,” I tell him. “Sorry. Three weeks has left me swamped.”

  “Fine. Fine. Still dating Jax?”

  Pursing my lips at his random shift of conversation, I nod. Then remember this is a phone call and he can’t see me.

  “Yes.”

  He’s quiet for a minute, which confuses me. After all, Vince Jaggons is never quiet.

  “Be careful, Bo. Whirlwind romances are fun in the beginning, but you have to remember they don’t usually last. Don’t get too attached to the guy until he proves he’s sticking around.”

  I can’t remember the last time Dad said something like that. Hell, it’s rare that he’s ever even serious at all.

  “I’ll be fine,” I promise him. “I’m not getting my hopes up,” I add, lying yet again. At least I’ve gotten better at lying.

  “Good.”

  “You going to impart the same wisdom on Bora? She’s dating someone, too.”

  He snorts. “Bora doesn’t need advice. She’s not one to get hurt easily.”

  “But I am? I’m pretty sure I’ve never downed a pint of ice cream after a breakup, Dad. I’m just as tough as she is.”

  Yeah, I sound a little resentful. I hate the fact people mistake my “nice” demeanor as being weak.

  “Sure you are,” he says, even though his voice is thick with condescension.

  “It’s busy here. I have to let you go.”

  Before he can argue, I hang up the phone and pick back up my cell, seeing the message Jax has sent.

  JAX: I’m not showing anyone a picture of you in bed. It might result in violence. Don’t ask.

  Smiling once again, I put my phone down and get back to my real world issues. I’m never going to get caught up.

  ***

  Four days later, I’m still waist-deep in things to do, but at least there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been reduced to having a relationship via phone calls and texts, but it’s better than nothing.

  I keep waiting on Jax to get frustrated and end things, but he hasn’t. Which means we’ve survived almost a week apart despite the “whirlwind romance” beginning.

  After a brutal meeting, Bora heads to her office, and I walk into mine, but I stumble over my own feet when I see the long, lean, incredibly sexy body that is perched against my desk.

  Jax is smirking with his arms crossed over his chest as he watches me turn into a puddle. Holy shit. Six long days, and I somehow managed to forget how sexy he is.

  “Miss me?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow as I try to keep my knees from buckling.

  Why do I feel nervous? Maybe because it’s the first time I’ve seen him in a real world setting?

  “Yes,” I tell him, watching as his smirk turns into a sexy grin.

  He pushes off from the desk and reaches me in two strides, grabbing my waist and pulling me to him before his lips come down on mine. I’m stunned at first, so I don’t move, but when his tongue flicks against my lips, searching for an opening, I melt against him and kiss him back.

  He pulls me closer when the kiss starts getting hungrier, and I clutch his shoulders to keep from falling as I moan into his mouth.

  “Shutting this door for you,” Shanna says around a snicker, seconds before the click of the door resonates.

  Jax chuckles against my lips, and I feel my face turning a few shades of red. I really wish I wasn’t an easy blusher in this moment.

  I thought I had moved on from that phase after the nut text.

  I turn around to see five curious faces pressed against my in-office window, but they scatter when I catch them. Rolling my eyes, I go to shut my blinds, then go so far as to shut my other blinds to the outside window, despite the fact we’re on the eighteenth floor.

  “I like where this seems to be going,” Jax says, coming back over to me as his grin spreads.

  Sex in my office? Never done that before.

  Desperate enough for an office quickie? Yep. I don’t even feel ashamed either.

  Without waiting for him to make the next move, I pull him back down by his neck, and he lifts me up the second our lips collide almost painfully. My ass lands on the desk surface, and he pushes my legs wider apart so he can fully press against me.

  The second I feel his erection at my center, I moan again, and this time I don’t care who hears it. But he breaks the kiss while groaning.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

  “What?” I ask, feeling a little dazed and definitely a little too lustful to think clearly.

  “Condoms,” he groans. “I didn’t bring any. I had no idea I’d be getting this lucky. I half expected to not even get to see you.”

  My euphoric balloon deflates and turns into a crumpled-up wad of frustration.

  “Bad boy scout,” I chide, eliciting a throaty chuckle from him.

  I’ve never had sex without a condom, and until I know this is a serious, real relationship, I’m not going to start. And definitely not in my office. That’s too messy.

  Then some of our old texts come to mind, and I smile to myself while unbuckling the belt to his jeans. His throat bobs as he looks down at me with hooded eyes.

  “What’re you doing?”

  Instead of verbalizing my intentions, I start pushing his jeans and boxers down in unison, and I lower myself with them until I’m on my knees in front of him and looking up.

  His eyes widen fractionally, and his gaze heats when he sees what I’m about to do. Not going to lie; he’s bigger than I’m used to, so it’s intimidating to wonder how much of him I can actually take in my mouth.

  Doesn’t stop me from trying though.

  The second my lips touch the tip, he jerks against me and a breath hisses through his lips. Trying not to smile, I flick my tongue against him, and he groans while leaning over and gripping the desk, as though he needs something to help brace him.

  Knowing there’s an office full of people just outside my door that could interrupt by pounding on my door at any moment, I decide to skip the teasing portion and go straight for the kill.

  The second my mouth closes over him, he releases some primal, raw noise that sends shivers down my spine in the best possible way. My hand wraps around his base, because there’s no way in hell I’m that good.

  Setting a rhythm with my hand and mouth, I peer up at him, and see that his mouth hangs open just barely, while his eyes remain heavy and… distracting.

  One of his hands tangles in my hair, but he doesn’t try to control my motions. It’s like he just wants to be touching me while I essentially own him.

  His grip on my hair gets almost painful, and he fights like he’s trying to stop himself from thrusting into my mouth, letting me know he’s damn close.

  To swallow or not to swallow? That is the question. Not something I’ve been able to do in the past, since I’ve always been apprehensive about it.

  I don’t get long to think about it, because he starts tugging my head, trying to warn me. With a little dread, I commit to blowing his mind, and continue sucking, pumping, and basking in every breath, soun
d, and tremble he makes.

  His hips buck forward, but only because he can’t stop himself, and my mouth fills up quickly. It’s not as gross as I thought it would be, but it’s definitely something I’ll have to work on getting used to.

  When I slowly pull my mouth back and watch as he struggles to stay vertical, I decide I definitely want to get used to it. His breaths are shallow and coarse as he staggers to a chair and drops down. With jerky movements, he pulls his jeans back up, watching me the whole time.

  “Have I told you lately that you’re fucking incredible?” he asks.

  Yep. Definitely gearing up toward that acquired taste idea.

  Smiling, I go to sit down on his lap, trying not to laugh when he avoids my mouth and starts kissing my neck. “Fuck,” he murmurs against my neck. After a few breaths, he pulls back, grinning like he’s about to say something that will make me blush, but someone knocks on my door.

  “Ms. Brendon,” Felisha calls.

  “Yes,” I say, sounding clear and not like I just gave Jax a blowjob in my office.

  “They need you to approve some of the fabrics whenever you’re ready.”

  She doesn’t even try to open my door. Thankfully. Shanna shut it but didn’t lock it.

  “Can it wait?” Jax asks, kissing my shoulder. “I’d really, really, really like to repay the favor. Have you spread out on your desk… Fuck. I’m actually getting hard just thinking about it.”

  Yep. Turning red.

  “Unfortunately, I have to do this now, or wait until tomorrow. It can’t exactly wait that long…”

  I let the words trail off and try to ignore the unsatisfied ache between my legs. Jax frowns as he glances behind him, then he kisses my neck again.

  “What time can you get out of here?” he says against my skin.

  Internally, I curse my hellacious schedule and his.

  “Not until at least ten tonight. And you have an early morning,” I say on a sigh.

  He pulls back and glances behind him at the door when someone else knocks.

  “Ms. Brendon?”

  “Yes,” I say, trying to keep the irritation out of my tone.

  “You’re needed in Design Room Four when you have a chance.”

  “Spend the night at my place,” Jax says, surprising me. “You can come over as soon as you’re done here. But please make sure you wake me up when you get there.”

  I’ve wanted to invite him to spend the night, but unsure of the territory we’re in. I’ve also wanted him to invite me over. But for the first time, I remember he and my sister were together. At his house. In his—

  “Or I can wait on you at your place, if you don’t mind me being there without you or sleeping until you get home,” he adds, now sounding nervous too, which is probably because I hesitated.

  “That would be perfect,” I tell him, feeling his body relax under me before his lips find mine.

  He seems to no longer care where my mouth has been, because the kiss grows to be a little out of control, and it takes yet another knock to remind me I’m at work.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake, I’ll be there in a minute,” I groan.

  “Sorry, Ms. Brendon. I thought I was at Bo’s office.”

  Jax looks at me and cocks an eyebrow, and I realize what I just said. Great. They think they were knocking on Bora’s door because I forgot to wear my usual filter.

  “Frustrated?” Jax muses, enjoying the hell out of this.

  Deciding not to let him gloat and know exactly how much power he has over me, I grab my phone and text him the entry code to my door. When his phone buzzes, he smiles at me, not looking at it.

  “I’ll be honest; I plan on doing the creepy thing where I look through your panty drawer.”

  I laugh while rolling my eyes and standing up. “Knock yourself out.”

  He waggles his eyebrows playfully, and I try not to do the giggling thing. He kisses me one last time before walking out, and I try to make a mental list of things to hurry and do so that I can get home as fast as possible.

  Chapter 37

  JAX

  “You’ve been missing a lot,” Cody says quietly as he clocks in. “Stopped by your place to talk to you last night, but couldn’t find you.”

  We’ve managed to not really speak but continue working together this week. Apparently he’s tired of the silent treatment.

  “I’ve been spending the night at Bo’s place the last couple of nights.”

  I watch him, waiting for him to say something that will piss me off. Instead, he nods slowly, breaking eye contact.

  “So this is the real thing, then. Huh?”

  “Looks like it. We’re back home, and I still like her just as much as I did when we were on vacation.”

  No way am I divulging just how much I’ve learned that I like her. So much that I can’t stand not getting to spend more time together than just the nights. But right now, that’s all there is available. I got sick of waiting on her to ask me over, so I made the move. To hell with seeming eager.

  I’ve also just shown up for the past two nights, sleeping until she got home and woke me up. If she doesn’t want me there, then she has to stop rewarding bad behavior, otherwise, I’m just going to keep showing up.

  “Right,” he says, clearing his throat.

  “You can apologize and we can move on. Or we can keep up the silent treatment, and only speak about business oriented things,” I tell him.

  I could fire him, but I’m not that shitty of a person. Cody needs this job.

  His lips thin, and I can tell he’s trying not to get pissed. “So fifteen years of friendship hangs in the balance because of a girl you just met.”

  I nod, barely staying on the right side of the crazy line. I’d hate to get into a fight in my own gym, when I have a strong policy against it.

  “Then I’m sorry,” he says insincerely, but I know it hurts his pride enough without sincerity. So I nod and go back to setting up the class schedules for the next week. Finding instructors gets harder and harder. At least I know Cody will stick with it and handle any class he’s able to.

  “We’re going out for a few beers tonight,” Cody says, right back to acting as though nothing ever happened. “You coming with?”

  “Can’t. I have to be here at five in the morning, because Lane can’t open the place tomorrow. Last minute cancel.”

  “Then we’ll just chill and keep it low key at your place or something. We’ll leave early.”

  Ah. So this is what all my other friends went through when they kept choosing a girl over beers and stale stories.

  “Not tonight, man. I’m not going to ditch you guys. Ever. But this thing with Bo is fresh, and I barely get to see her right now because of how crazy life has been lately.”

  He starts to say something, but thinks better of it and walks away. As soon as he’s out of sight, Corbin Fucking Sterling comes walking in with Maverick right behind them.

  Maverick is grinning from ear to ear, but Corbin looks like he’s ready to kill me.

  Always something.

  “Haven’t seen you two since I got back,” I tell them, ignoring Corbin’s scowl.

  “That’s because you haven’t been out here much,” Maverick says, bouncing on his heels like he’s ready for hell to break loose and excited for it.

  “Why does your cousin look like he’s trying to take a shit on my floor?” I ask, smirking when Corbin starts turning a scary shade of red.

  “Probably because you’re dating his fiancée’s best friend, and she hasn’t gotten to see Bo since you two got back. And Corbin is having to hear Ruby bitch about it,” Maverick supplies.

  I start to laugh, but then it registers what he said.

  “Fiancée? You got engaged?” I ask, shocked.

  Corbin relaxes, because apparently that’s the magic set of words he needed to hear. “Took some convincing,” he says with a shrug. But then his eyes narrow. “Ruby could have used Bo while you were gone.”

  “
Not my fault,” I say while turning around.

  My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out as Corbin continues to nag me from behind.

  BO: I think I can manage to get out of here by seven tonight. If I be awesome enough, that is. Please tell me you don’t have anything going on.

  Fucking perfect.

  My smile kicks up, and I continue to ignore Corbin.

  JAX: Nothing. I’m all yours. I have to be here even earlier than normal, but fuck it. I don’t care to be sleepy at work if it means finally spending some actual time together.

  “Why are you smiling at your phone while I’m bitching you out?” Corbin demands.

  Maverick chokes on his laughter and tries to smother it when Corbin shoots a glare his way.

  “Because for the first time since I got back, I finally get to take Bo out tonight. She’s been working night and day, by the way. Which is probably why she hasn’t seen Ruby. Nothing to do with me.”

  Like the dick I am, I pat him on the cheek, holding back my laugh when he gets pissed all over again. I turn to walk toward a bench press, since that’s where they always go first.

  “Good,” Corbin finally says, confusing me.

  “What’s good?” I ask as he lies down and takes the bar in his hands, not even bothering to check or adjust the weights on it.

  “You and Bo can come over tonight and hang with us, so that Ruby finally gets to tell her we’re engaged.”

  “She doesn’t know?”

  “Not something Ruby wants to tell her over the phone. So no. She doesn’t know yet.”

  “Shit,” I groan, hating Corbin a little bit right now. “Can’t it wait?”

  Yeah, I’m a selfish ass, but I don’t care.

  “Hell no. And Bo wouldn’t want to wait for information like that, asshole.”

  Damn it. I know he’s right. Fuck my night.

  “Fine,” I grumble. “But just the four of us. Bo hates big groups and crowds.”

  “Perfectly aware,” Corbin says, but now he seems amused as he studies me.