Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Jax
Laurel indeed knew just the place, and all four of us dropped a good chunk of change in the little boutique she took us to that afternoon. Laurel and Caitlin kept their purchases a secret from each other. Michelle bought something for her meet up that night, which was definitely on. We all made plans to get drinks next week to hear all about it. Michelle’s night that was. Laurel would tell me at the office without much prompting, if I let her.
Now back at Preston’s apartment, the mimosas had practically worn off, and I was getting cold feet. I decided to try on what I bought again, the last item being a royal blue lace and silk nightie. The mirror in the bathroom cut me off at the waist, and I couldn’t get a full body view without contorting myself into a weird position. Not exactly the sexy image I wanted to portray. I checked my phone, and seeing nothing from Preston, decided to risk using the full-length mirror inside the coat closet in the entryway.
I opened the closet door and stepped back. Blue happened to be my favorite color because, yes, it did bring out my eyes. The fact that Preston had noticed made it a bonus. The lace on the cups was a floral pattern, allowing just a glimpse of pink to show through. The long silk layers that started at the top of my rib cage flowed to just below my ass. Those pieces parted just above my navel if you pulled them in opposite directions, but fell almost demurely the way they hung right now.
“Okay, it’s a good look,” I muttered, my hands on my hips. “But what am I doing? We’re adults. Surely we can talk about this.”
Suddenly, a key sounded in the lock and a second later the outside door bounced off the closet door, rebounding back with a thwack.
“Ouch. Fuck!” It seemed that thwack was the door making contact with the person trying to enter.
“Shit, Preston, I’m sorry.” I shut the closet door, opened the front door, and pulled him inside. “Are you okay? Let me see.” I pulled his hand off his forehead where he was rubbing it, and saw a red welt forming. “I can’t see in this dim light. Come into the living room. Do you need some ice?”
I pushed the front door shut and dragged Preston into the living room where there was more light. It was then I noticed his eyes were zeroed in on my chest and I remembered what I was doing when he came in.
“What... what are you wearing?” Preston asked, his eyes tracing me from the hem of the skirt, up to one of the straps that had now fallen off my shoulder and onto my arm.
“Oh, this old thing?” I asked fixing my strap, trying to play it off. It didn’t work.
“We did some shopping after brunch and I was just, trying things on, to see if I wanted to take them back or not. A bit of buyer’s remorse, you know. Let me grab my robe, and then I’ll get you some ice.”
Preston grabbed my arm, stopping my motion and my rambling. “If you’re uncomfortable, by all means, cover up. But you don’t need to do so on my account. You look beautiful. I... I think it’s a keeper.”
My skin warmed from my cheeks through my chest at his praise. His eyes were on mine now, showing me the sincerity behind his words. It seemed I didn’t have to worry about seducing Preston. This was a man ready to be seduced.
I lightly pulled out of his grasp. “I’d feel a lot better about accepting that compliment if I knew for sure you weren’t concussed.” I grabbed my robe from the back of the bathroom door, tying the sash. “Sit down. I’m going to get you that ice.”
Preston sat, but his eyes burned, focused on my every move while I grabbed ice from the freezer, wrapped it in a towel, and brought it over to him.
“Here,” I said, offering him the bag of ice with one hand. Preston grabbed that hand, and pulled toward him, causing me to land on his lap. He arranged me so I straddled his legs, my face just above his.
“Here,” he echoed. “This way you can hold the ice on my forehead, and check out my pupils, or whatever other concussion tests you have in mind. But I promise, I’m fine.”
I licked my lips nervously, his eyes following the movement. His pupils did seem to be a normal size.
“What day is it?” I asked.
“It’s Saturday.”
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Too many.” I glared at him. “Four.”
“And how many are in town right now?”
“Three.”
I lifted the ice off his forehead. The swelling had already gone down from the cold.
“I guess it just sounded a lot worse than it actually was.”
Preston nodded. “I honestly think it hit my foot and my head at the same time. My toe got the brunt of it.”
“Do you need me to check that too?” I asked, half ready to get on the floor if he asked me to.
“I’d rather you told me why you went lingerie shopping today, buying something in my favorite color on you.” He stared at my robe like it offended him, hiding the blue silk from his eyes.
“Do I have to be sitting on your lap for that?”
Preston withdrew his hands from my hips and leaned back into the cushion giving me as much space as he could, considering I was on top of him. I regretted the question immediately. “Of course not. You never have to do anything you don’t want to do with me.”
Something further thawed in my chest. This man could be my undoing, if I let him. Maybe even if I didn’t.
“I mean, you are pretty comfortable.” I shifted slightly, discovering a hard bulge in Preston’s pants. I raised an eyebrow, and he retracted further into the couch.
“Sorry, sorry. I mean, I’m not sorry. You’re gorgeous and you’re sitting on me, and I’m only human. But I am sorry it reared its head while we’re trying to have a conversation.”
I couldn’t help my giggle. “Reared its head?”
Preston shrugged, a big smile on his face. “So, Jax. Why did you go lingerie shopping?”
“I thought I might try to seduce you,” I said, meeting his gaze.
“And what happened to not playing with fire and keeping physical touches to necessity only?”
I shrugged, trying to play it cool, though my heart was beating wildly. “I suppose I’ve had a change of heart.”
“Any particular reason?”
“Does it matter if there was?” I responded, my reflex to keep some cards close to my chest winning out.
Something flickered across Preston’s face. “I suppose it doesn’t.”
Part of me wanted to follow that flicker, but I worried that path led to the undoing I was so desperate to avoid. Best to keep things simple and straightforward.
“Okay. Well.” I untied the knot holding my robe together. Preston sat up straight, his eyes following my movements. “I think we should have some ground rules.”
Preston’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Ground rules,” he repeated.
“Just to try and avoid getting burned by that fire.” I slid the robe off my shoulders. Apparently, a little seduction was still in bounds after all.
“I’m listening,” Preston said, his eyes roving over the reemerged blue fabric.
Before I could list any rules, Preston’s phone rang, the vibrations resounding against my thigh. His head thunked to my collarbone.
“That’s the senator’s ringtone.”
“Okay, well put your phone on Do Not Disturb.” The phone stopped ringing while I spoke. “Oh, never mind. Now where were we?”
The phone started ringing again.
“My phone’s been on Do Not Disturb all day,” Preston picked up his head to look at me. “He won’t stop until I pick up.”
I slid off his lap and onto the couch next to him, so he could get to his phone in his pocket. “The senator is an exception for your Do Not Disturb?”
“Can we not discuss work/life boundaries right now?” Preston adjusted himself as he picked up.
“Hell—”
I heard the senator cut off his greeting, speaking quickly into the phone. Preston’s eyes widened as he listened.
“Yes, she’s here.” His eyes cut my way as he listened more. “Understood. We’ll be there in an hour.”
He hung up and immediately started typing furiously on his phone.
“Where are we going?” I said, tying my robe again. The moment had passed. Again. Frustration at being cock blocked by our boss on a day off was only held back by interest in the vigor with which Preston typed. Something big happened.
“A school board is calling a last-minute vote on reversing their gender bathroom policy on Monday night. The parents of the teenager at the center of the storm got ahold of Senator Marsden somehow and want him to be at the meeting. With the primary less than two weeks away, he can’t say no, and he wants us both there. He flew out earlier today. He wants us on the 8:30 flight out of DCA.”
I stood up, a fire burning in my chest that had nothing to do with how close my body had been to Preston’s moments earlier. He cared about the work the senator did, the work he hoped to do some day, so much. It was hard not to feel inspired.
“All right then, I guess we better pack.” I walked over to the coat closet to grab our suitcases. I put them in the middle of the living room and then decided to get dressed before I did any more prep.
“Hey, Jax?” Preston called, prompting me to turn around at the doorway to the bathroom, his back to me as he stacked clothes in his suitcase on top of the dresser.
“Yeah?”
“Make sure you pack that nightie, okay? And bring those ground rules of yours. We’ll have to hammer them out on the plane. The senator’s only getting us one room, and I sure as hell hope there’s only one bed.”
I melted slightly against the doorframe, glad he couldn’t see me, before turning back and closing myself off from Preston and his swoony ideas. The fire from before returned, merging with the admiration I felt for Preston and his commitment to his beliefs. Maybe the moment hadn’t passed after all.