12. Natalie
TWELVE
natalie
“He did what?”
As I drove to Jaxon’s house, I remembered the conversation I’d had with Charlee yesterday the second he’d walked away. When I texted to tell her I needed to talk, she had actually showed up at Devine. Apparently, she’d been out and about already. We finished off the donuts Jaxon left as I dished the news.
“I’m not kidding. He actually bet me that we’d get together before the sale went through. If we don’t, he said he’s going to shut down the deal.”
“And you believed him?”
“Do Army Rangers lie?”
Charlee had laughed at me. “I have no idea, but I assume they’re capable of it. But I see what you’re saying. He does seem like the kind of guy who’s a man of his word, if nothing else. But that’s insane.”
“Totally insane. I’m gonna feel him out tomorrow, see if he really means it.”
“Just don’t literally feel him out if you want that inlet to stay unsold.”
Even now, driving toward his house, I could feel Jaxon’s breath in my ear. Luckily, I’d been wearing long sleeves so he couldn’t see the goosebumps that had broken out all over my arms. I could feel them, feel my neck flush, as I imagined his deep voice in my ear saying other things.
Dirty things.
Of course, Charlee had been as skeptical as me, and for the rest of the day I resisted texting him something like, “Are you serious?” I didn’t want to get my hopes up about keeping the inlet, but I also couldn’t help it. I loved that property, and maybe part of the reason I’d lost my mind a bit was because I had started to think of it as mine, but really, it wasn’t. I had it on loan, of sorts, from the Trust.
Either way, I was keeping it. No man, even one with Jaxon’s brand of sex appeal, would be worth letting it slip through my fingers. I parked, marveling at how much land Jax’s rental property had managed to obtain. In most places around the lake, houses had sprung up so close together, for lakefront space, that seeing this much property was rare.
Though the house was a bit outdated, definitely relegated to someone’s summer home and rentals, the wraparound deck was pretty sweet. Someday I’d have enough in my bank account to get a place like this of my own, right on the lake. In the meantime, I had the inlet.
And planned to keep it.
Walking around to the back deck and shuddering at the sight of the dock—I must have looked a fright climbing up there soaking wet—I wasn’t surprised to see Jaxon, coffee in hand. His Ranger ears probably heard my car a half mile away. Though he didn’t talk much about his time in the military, his training oozed from every pore.
It was actually kinda sexy, and scary, at the same time.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
I hated that I liked him giving me a nickname.
“Sunshine? Really?”
I climbed the stairs, taking the coffee he offered.
“It fits. You know, the way you’re always smiling at me.”
Apparently, Jaxon got a kick out of his own joke. Me? Not so much. “I would smile more if you...” If he what? What exactly was my beef with the guy now that he wasn’t purchasing the property?
“If I?”
“Weren’t so cocky.”
“Ahh, so that’s my problem, is it?”
“Among other things, yes.”
“I thought you’d be in a better mood. Our deal and all.”
Sitting, putting my laptop on the table next to me, I dove right in. “Actually, I did want to talk to you about that before getting to work.”
“Shoot.”
He even sat sexy. Was that a thing?
“So you are serious about this?”
“If a man’s word isn’t trustworthy, he’s nothing.”
“Is that a yes?” I pressed.
His smile would not disarm me. “Yes, it is.”
“That seems awfully...reckless of you. And you don’t strike me as a reckless man.”
Jaxon thought about that. For long enough that I started to think he wouldn’t answer.
“Put your coffee down,” he said, as if I were one of his men to be ordered about. But dammed if I didn’t listen to him, his gaze was so steadfast and intense.
“Now come here.”
Fuck. That sounded almost . . . sensual.
“I don’t think so.”
Jaxon put his own coffee down, stood, and began to walk toward me.
“Come here, Natalie.”
Maybe because he was meeting me halfway, this time I did listen. When we were so close, I could smell his musky Jaxon scent, he reached out to me, his index finger going under my chin. My heart raced at the touch.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he said, so matter-of-factly that for a second, I didn’t react.
“Oh, no, no—”
“This is a pass. Doesn’t count toward the bet.”
A pass.
Still, not a good idea.
But he smelled so damn good. Looked even better. Every single fiber of my being wanted to know what it was like to kiss him. I’d dreamt about it, fantasized about it, almost since the second we met.
“You okay?”
No, I wasn’t. Not even a little.
Say no. No kiss. No pass.
Instead, I swallowed. And nodded.
His finger became a grip as Jaxon guided my face toward his. This was actually happening. Might be my only chance to kiss him, pass and all.
When his lips were almost touching mine, I closed my eyes. But I didn’t even need to lift my face toward his. Jaxon did that all on his own. And then, they were there.
The first touch, electric.
Slow. Sensual. Not at all like I’d imagined. In my head, our first kiss had been almost out of control. But as his lips parted, and our mouths melded together, I actually liked this better. It was a deliberate kiss, meant to show me exactly what he could do to me.
I wasn’t stupid. I understood his intentions.
But didn’t care.
Neither of our hands moved except the one on my chin, which he dropped. I didn’t touch him for fear of getting even more lost in this kiss. He didn’t touch me again either, except for his lips, of course. When he moved closer, our chests touched, and his kiss deepened. Tilting his head, he took me deeper and deeper, and I allowed it.
Our tongues tangled, our mouths seemed to almost devour one another. It was easily the most sensual kiss ever, and one I definitely did not want to end.
But it did.
Jaxon pulled away, his lips still wet. Staring at them, I finally peeked up and looked into his eyes. For a change, they weren’t mocking. Just simply mesmerizing. I tried to breathe normally but instead it came out like one big sigh.
“Fuck,” I said.
Not the most elegant thing to say, but it summed up our kiss well enough.
“In answer to your question.”
I waited.
He never finished.
What was my question?
That seems awfully...reckless of you. And you don’t strike me as a reckless man.
Not a question, exactly, but he answered it well enough anyway. In Jaxon’s mind, he wasn’t being reckless because he knew I desired him, and he’d just proven it.
“No more passes, sunshine,” he said, breaking the spell.
Good ol’ Jaxon was back.
“Not gonna need any, Ranger,” I declared, heading back to my seat.
His laugh was Jaxon’s only response. But it was enough. He thought he had this bet in the bag. A scary thought, that, because I was pretty sure Jaxon played to win.
Every. Time.