15. Nova
Nova
It was impossible to stop my body from wanting Jax once he got me started. My entire being vibrated with want.
Somehow we made it back up to our room. When the door closed behind us, his mouth covered mine as my back hit the closed door.
I’ve never needed anything as much as I needed him at that very moment.
My leg wrapped around his hip while his hand dove under my silk panties, burying deep inside me until I cried out, soaking his fingers as he slipped in and out of me.
His mouth didn’t waver from mine until he felt me convulse.
Then he dipped his head, lowering the strap of my dress until my left breast was exposed.
He took my nipple into his mouth and circled it with the tip of his tongue. My entire body shook. My fingers dipped into his hair, holding, pulling, as I demanded more from him.
“I need…” I started and then cried out again as his fingertip played over my clit.
“Tell me,” he growled against my skin.
“Jax,” I sighed, tossing my head from side to side.
Then he was gone. I swayed once, and his hands returned to my hips. He hiked my skirt up and knelt in front of me.
“I need to taste you. God,” he said after he ripped my panties aside and ran the tip of his tongue over my lips. “The sweetest honey,” he said before lapping at me. I held onto him, afraid I’d melt right there.
His fingers and tongue slowly rolled over my skin, dipping inside, pulling me deeper as I built up to another release.
This time when I cried out, he was there, sucking, lapping me up.
I vaguely remember him gently removing my dress, hanging it back on the hanger, then slipping off my heels and carrying me to the bed.
When he covered me and sank deep inside me, my eyes flew open.
“Nova.” His eyes were on mine. “I love you. You are the only one who can make me feel like this.” He held himself still inside me. “You’re the only one who has ever made me feel this. Could ever.” He started to move slowly.
“I love you, Jax,” I said, holding onto him. “I always have,” I admitted, feeling more relieved than I had ever felt.
He stilled and smiled down at me. I wanted to slap him, to force him to keep moving. Instead, I dug my nails into his shoulders, pulling him down until his lips covered mine.
“Don’t make it weird.” I laughed as he started moving again. “Just make love to me all night.”
“I promise,” he said against my skin.
The sunlight woke me hours later. We’d forgotten to close our curtains. I groaned. “Turn it off.”
Jax chuckled. “It’s the sun. No one has a switch for it.”
I rolled over and came face to face with him and smiled. “I won fifteen grand last night.”
“You did.” He smiled and brushed a strand of my hair out of my eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to put a down payment on a new car?”
I groaned and made a face.
“How about we both play hooky today and go get you that bag and shoes?” he suggested.
I sighed. “I wish.”
“Me too.” He sobered. “I meant it. What I said last night.”
“Me too,” I said easily. He almost looked relieved.
“I wasn’t sure how drunk you were,” he said, running his eyes over my face.
I tilted my head slightly to get a better look at him. “Unlike that time my sophomore year of college, I remember when someone pins me against a wall and kisses me and admits their undying love.”
He smiled. “Was that you?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You knew?”
He shrugged. “I would have made it weird.”
I chuckled. “So you did remember I kissed you?”
“Timing is everything.” He cupped my face. “It wouldn’t have worked out back then.”
I sobered. “And now?”
His eyes cleared. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it does.”
“Me too,” I said, kissing him.
Two hours later, he left the room for his meeting. Kit was sending a car for me so we could head off to look at his new building. I had no clue what to wear, but Jax suggested a pair of dark pants, a wine colored button-up shirt, and a pair of my most comfortable flat shoes.
When I climbed in the limo to see Kit wearing a pair of crisp gray jeans and a polo shirt, I was thankful I’d listened to Jax and had gone casual instead of the dress I’d picked out instead.
“You look well rested,” Kit said as the limo started moving.
“I am, and fifteen thousand richer thanks to your slot machines last night,” I joked as he handed me a glass with what appeared to be a mimosa in it. I felt my stomach lurch and head throb, remembering the last time I’d had one and, instead of drinking, I held it off to the side.
“That’s wonderful.” Kit chuckled. “Have big plans to spend the money?”
“Some,” I said, trying to distract him from the fact that I wasn’t drinking the offered drink. “So, tell me what phase of construction the Onyx is in.”
For the short drive to the construction site, he stuck to talking pure business. He filled me in on the construction progress, the things that were holding it up, and his plan to move his offices to the new building, where there was more space.
When we arrived, there was some show about safety rules, and I had to put on a hardhat.
There was even a new pair of steel-toed hiking boots in my size.
Then Kit took me to the top floor using one of those outside elevator lifts I’d seen on plenty of buildings under construction.
There were half a dozen men following us around, talking to Kit at various points.
We walked the grounds, and he showed me the five massive holes that would become the largest swimming pools I’d ever seen. Halfway through our tour, we moved to a spot under some trees where a table was set up, and we were served lunch and drinks.
I sipped cold iced tea and ate turkey sandwiches on rye bread with a cucumber salad, feeling very guilty while workers continued to work overhead and all around us.
Then we moved on to the main casino building.
The place was massive, three floors. Kit explained that the bottom floor was for low-dollar slot machines and tables, the second floor was for higher rollers, and the third floor was private tables for invited guests and elites, along with a two-story club that would no doubt be packed every night.
To be honest, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed, like I did every time I walked into a new casino along the Strip. I didn’t know where to look or, at this point, what I was even looking at. All of the walls were steel beams with wires hanging down and pipes shooting up through the floors.
Still, Kit practically beamed as he explained everything to me. I kept nodding and asking questions when I could.
When we stepped back outside toward the waiting limo, he suggested we head somewhere for a drink to cool off.
We arrived at a fancy eatery along the Strip and were instantly shown inside to seats surrounded by flowers and plants.
I excused myself after ordering a strawberry lemonade and headed to the nearest bathroom.
When I tried to call Jax, knowing his meeting would have ended more than an hour ago, my call went through to his voicemail. There was a slight chance the meeting went over so I left him a text message.
“Call me when you can so we can hit the shops.”
I waited for a moment and when he didn’t instantly respond, I returned to the table with Kit.
Five minutes later, Kit got a call and, instead of excusing himself like he normally did, he took the call right at the table.
“That’s fine.” He frowned. “Who?” His eyes moved to me. “And they’re there now?” He paused. “He’s in custody?” He nodded. “I see, I’ll handle it.” He hung up.
“Problems?” I asked, having glanced at my phone and sent two more messages to Jax.
“It appears that there was a little… snafu at the Apex.”
“Nothing major I hope?”
“The police were called to a guest’s room.”
“Oh, problems?”
It appeared that Kit was either stalling or dragging the moment out for some reason.
“A sting of sorts. A guest was arrested on suspicion of sex trafficking a minor.”
“What?” I gasped and leaned forward. “In your hotel? Is the girl all right?”
“I’ve been assured she is safe,” he said quickly.
“That’s good. I hope it won’t put a shadow over the Apex,” I said, unsure of what to say.
He waved his hand as if shooing a fly away. “It’s Vegas. We’ve had worse than sex workers and johns being hauled out our back doors.”
My back stiffened at his tone. He was being so… dismissive.
Then he reached across the table and took my hand in his. I frowned down at it as my stomach lurched. Something wasn’t right.
“It’s just, well, there’s no easy way to say this. The police have Jacob Mylonas in custody for sex trafficking and exploitation of a minor.”
“What?” I jerked my hand away and stood up, reaching for my phone as I glanced around. I needed to get to the hotel. I had to hear from Jax. Now.
The call went to his voicemail again.
Kit rushed after me as I stepped outside the restaurant.
“The car.” He motioned and seconds later the limo appeared. I climbed in without thinking as I shot Jax another text message. Kit sat next to me, watching my every move.
When I couldn’t get a hold of Jax, I changed tactics and called Rick.
“What’s up?” Rick asked when he answered.
“I need you in Vegas now,” I said, looking out the window as we approached the Apex. As I relayed what Kit had told me, my heart sank.
“We’ll be there in three hours,” Rick said, hanging up.
I rushed through the lobby, stopping only when Kit took my arm.
“He’s not up here,” he said, waving over an employee. “I need an update on the situation,” he said in a low tone.
The staff member waved over a tall balding man who approached us as if he was in no hurry. I vaguely remembered seeing him a few times before. “Mr. Sterling, the gentleman has been taken into custody. The room is being cleared now. The female is no longer on the premises.”
Kit stepped aside with the man and said something privately to him. The man nodded quickly. “Thank you, Don,” Kit said to the man, who disappeared.
“Come,” Kit said, ushering me toward the hallway that led to the office suites. “I’ve arranged for your things to be moved up to the penthouse when the police are done with your room, since the police will need the room for their investigation.”
I was numb. This was a mistake. There was no way in hell Jax was involved in this.
What had happened in the past couple hours?
How had he gone from his meeting to being arrested for…
I felt my stomach lurch. Once the elevator doors had opened into the private suite, I rushed to the bathroom and threw up.
I had forgotten to lock the door, and Kit appeared in the open doorway as I was rinsing my mouth out.
“Is everything all right?” he said, walking up behind me. I almost jumped but stopped myself in time. “I know it must be a shock,” he continued without giving me time to respond. “Someone you trusted, someone you were”—his eyes met mine— “intimate with, doing something so horrific.”
“Jax did not do this,” I said firmly.
Kit nodded like one would to a child covered in crumbs while denying they’d eaten the cookie.
“He didn’t,” I practically yelled.
Kit took my arm and led me out of the bathroom. “Why don’t you sit down. I’ll arrange for—”
“No,” I said, looking around for my purse. I’d tossed it on a table as I’d rushed in, but now it wasn’t there. “Where is my purse?” I asked, looking frantically around.
“I put it in the bedroom.” He motioned to the suite I’d stayed in the last time I’d been there.
I rushed through the doors and stilled when I noticed my purse sitting in the center of the bed next to a Hermès box. With shaky fingers, I opened the box, pulled out the bag, and stared down at the purse I’d talked to Jax about last night.
What was this doing here?
“I hope you don’t mind,” Kit said from behind me.
“I was hoping you’d change your mind about moving up here earlier.
It’s just a little something I thought you’d like, a thank-you for making the trip out here.
” He walked over and opened the closet. “There’s more in here.
” He motioned to a few more dresses and a pair of silver Jimmy Choos.
The exact pair I had pictures of on my phone.
My body started to shake.
Although every fiber of my being told me to run away, I sat on the edge of the bed and faked a headache until Kit excused himself. Then I called in reinforcements. My first call was to my mom—the former Chief Deputy District Attorney.