Chapter 2
Jaxon Keith didn’t chase women. He was a man who had women tripping over their feet to get his attention. He never had to be alone if he didn’t want to. One thing he couldn’t understand was this fascination with Sofie Carter.
Sofie was his brother’s wife’s best friend. They were around each other a lot, and anytime they were around each other, they argued. There was something about her fiery nature that drew her to him. He couldn’t help the words that always flowed from his lips.
This wasn’t naturally him.
Jaxon had a way with words, and everyone always liked him. It helped with the business he was in. He had to get well-paid athletes to trust him with their careers and take them to a higher level.
Jaxon had once been one of them. Right after college he was drafted to play professional baseball. He had been one of London’s first clients. They had built Primetime Sports Management from the ground up. Jaxon had done everything he could to help PSM while he was playing. He recommended many sports figures to speak with London and the agents.
Jaxon was proud of his older brother. London had worked tirelessly for him when he was playing ball. He’d secured Jaxon endorsements that still brought him hefty checks to this day. After Jaxon’s injury, London had welcomed him among the ranks of agents and as part owner.
He might have been a major baseball league player, but he was a businessman at heart. His parents, Larry and Donna Keith, hadn’t raised dummies. His mother had always wanted him to have a backup should baseball not work out. Jaxon had listened, and that woman had been right. He would need to fall back on plan B.
He’d blown out his knee. After multiple surgeries and stints of physical rehab, his knee never fully recovered. A few years in the league, he’d had to hang up his bat and gloves.
But his family didn’t let him fall into a stupor when he’d retired. His dreams of reaching the professional level had been accomplished, but the man upstairs had other plans for him. His family was there to support him, and by the time he had recovered from his career-ending injury, London had already had his office outfitted for him.
Jaxon’s gaze sought out Sofie once again. As much as he tried to ignore her, he found himself staring at her. Her dark hair framed her face, and those almond-shaped eyes and brown orbs always narrowed when they landed on him. She had high, full breasts that he ached to see. What color were her areolas? Would her mounds fill his large hands? Her waist tapered into full hips that flared out, and her ass was one he was sure he would have to thank the good Lord above for if he ever had the chance to sink his teeth into it.
His cock stiffened at the thought of her laid out on a bed, naked, waiting to take his cock.
What. The. Fuck.
The woman couldn’t stand him.
He knocked back his drink and slammed the empty glass on the bar.
“Would you like another one, sir?” the bartender asked. He immediately swiped the glass from the counter and began washing it.
“Nah, I’m good.” Jaxon turned and leaned against the bar. He was unable to tear his gaze from Sofie and Aston. The two had grown cozy during the game. He bit back a snarl at the thought of Aston making moves on her.
Not that Jaxon had any rights to her. He didn’t understand this ache in his chest when he thought of her going out with Aston, or Aston getting a taste of what Jaxon himself wanted.
“If you stare any harder at her, she may come over here and punch you in the face.” London slid onto the stool next to him.
“Not sure what you are talking about.” Jaxon grunted.
He looked over at his twin. The Keith brothers were identical. There were slight differences between them that only a few people could make out. When they were kids, they had done everything together, dressed the same and even played the same sports.
Women loved identical twins, and the boys had taken full advantage of it. London was his elder brother by two minutes. They were as close as brothers could be.
“Why are you hesitating on asking her out?” London lowered his voice. His attention was on his wife who was off in the corner with their child. She had a blanket over her chest hiding little Chance. She must be feeding the baby.
“Hesitate? Who said I wanted to take her out?” Jaxon asked.
“Really? You’re going to lie to me? I know you better than you do.”
“Do not,” Jaxon scoffed.
London glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. Jaxon guessed he could admit that no one knew him like his brother. When growing up, there had been plenty of instances where they would be able to hold entire conversations and not even utter one word.
“And you are slipping, big brother. Not sure if you realized it, but me and her don’t get along.”
“Only because you’re an ass to her half the time.”
“And you and Alana were smooth sailing when you first met?”
“Um, yeah.” London leveled him with a steady look.
Jaxon blew out a deep breath and remembered the first time he had met Alana. She and Sofie had come over to London’s apartment searching for him. London had moved out to the house in the suburbs while Jaxon had taken over the downtown condo.
Jaxon was happy for London. He had immediately changed for Alana. No longer was he partying with endless women. It was as if he had matured and grown up. Alana was good for him. London doted on her as if she were his entire world.
Jaxon didn’t know anything about that. He loved to have his fun and never saw himself settling down with just one person. If he did, that person would have to be one hell of a woman to rein him in.
His gaze sought out Sofie.
“What’s the worse she could say? No?” London murmured.
“Listen, bro. This is one time you don’t have me figured out. I’m not interested in her.”
He pushed off the bar and moved to the seats. London was determined to try to figure out what was between him and Sofie. It was nothing. For all he knew, this attraction he had for her was because she didn’t return the same feelings. His ego was a little damaged by the way she could just ignore him.
He’d get over it. There were plenty of women out there he could choose from. They were about to leave to go to a tropical island for vacation. He was sure he could find a bit of feminine company to keep him busy.
He sat in the back row and settled his attention on the game. The Cleveland Knights were up ten points, and he had a good feeling they were going to take the game.
Khalil Roads, their star, stole the ball from the other team and exploded, running down the court at full speed. The crowd went wild. Jaxon jumped to his feet along with everyone else. The roar in the arena was deafening. Khalil bounced the ball as he ran, his focus on the basket. At the free-throw line, he shot up in the air and slam-dunked the ball in the basket.
Jaxon joined everyone in cheering and yelling. He turned to Brad, one of their senior agents, and high fived him. Jaxon grinned, clapping. The other team called a time out, and the arena went crazy.
Khalil was the biggest superstar in the national basketball league. London had pursued Khalil to sign with PSM. Apparently, with the help of Alana, his brother was able to sign Khalil to their sports agency. London worked really closely with the basketball superstar. Not only had London helped Khalil with receiving one of the largest contracts in the national basketball league history, but the endorsement deals were out of this world.
After signing Khalil, their business had increased threefold. They were already one of the best-known agencies out there, but now everyone wanted them to represent them. They had hired more staff, and Jaxon worked between their two offices, Cleveland and Los Angeles.
“He is a god.” Brad laughed. He slapped Jaxon on the back.
“That he is,” Jaxon agreed. Khalil was one of those players who was one in a million. He would have a long, prosperous career. “Glad he’s signed to us.”
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over. Sofie and Aston also stood. Her face was lit up with excitement. He couldn’t hear what she was saying, but her hands were moving around erratically as she spoke. But that wasn’t what he was staring at.
It was the hand that Aston had resting on the small of her back.
The urge to go over there and rip his arm off exploded inside Jaxon. He blinked and took a few deep breaths. He ran a trembling hand along his face.
She’s not yours , he had to tell himself.
Going over and trying to warn her off of his employee had been a dick move. He didn’t know what had come over him. He just knew he hadn’t wanted her smiling at another man.
She’s not yours , he repeated to himself. This was a new territory for him, and he didn’t want to explore it.
The game continued on, and tensions were running high. The opposing team was not going down without a fight. Jaxon couldn’t sit down. The thrill of a win was coursing through his veins. He remembered how it felt being the center of attention, having thousands of fans screaming his name. Pushing all thoughts of Sofie aside, he focused on the game before him.
“ C hampagne,” Jaxon called out to the flight attendant. He slid into his comfortable seat on the private jet. He offered his fist to London as he passed with Alana and the baby in tow. The Knights had won the championship. This meant a lot for Primetime. As the agency who worked with the biggest basketball star on the planet, they were due to make a lot of money.
“Yes, Mr. Keith,” the flight attendant replied. She gave a short nod, spinning around and heading to the front of the small plane.
Jaxon rotated his recliner around and gazed out the window.
He knew without looking the moment Sofie boarded the plane. She took the leather recliner across from Jaxon. Her husky laugh filled the air, and he had to keep himself from turning to stare at her.
“That was an amazing game,” she announced.
“It was,” Alana agreed.
“You sure you were paying attention? Seemed like you and Aston were getting real cozy.” Jaxon slowly swiveled his chair around and met her heated gaze.
“As I told you earlier, that’s none of your business,” she replied haughtily. She swirled her chair to face Alana who was in the process of handing Chance over to London.
“So you and Aston hit it off?” Alana asked. She took her seat near Sofie and strapped herself in.
“We did. We exchanged numbers,” Sofie said.
A deep pain surged inside Jaxon’s mouth. He blinked, not realizing he was grinding his teeth. He fought to relax himself.
“Here you go, Mr. Keith.”
He glanced up and took in the flight attendant standing next to him with the champagne he had asked for. Her badge held her name, Susan.
“Thank you, Susan. Please ensure everyone has a glass.”
“Except me,” Alana replied with a small smile.
He glanced at Susan.
“Can I have something non-alcoholic?” Alana requested.
“You can’t even have one glass to celebrate?” Jaxon asked. He knew nothing of lactating women. He didn’t see how one glass could hurt. Tonight’s win for Khalil was a game-changer for them.
“I mean, I could. One glass of wine wouldn’t hurt, but I’d rather save that for when London and I are in the hotel tonight for our private celebration.” Her face softened as she glanced over at his brother. She pushed her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose.
London tossed her a wink.
“Well, if she doesn’t want one, I’ll take my glass and hers.” Sofie laughed.
“Yes, ma’am.” Susan chuckled. She turned her attention to London. “And you, sir. Will you be having champagne?”
“Yes, I will. Just bring my wife a juice, please,” London said.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be right back. In the meantime, please make sure your seat belts are fastened. We will be taking off soon.” She spun on her heel and walked toward the front of the aircraft.
The other attendant closed the door to the plane and disappeared in the front.
Jaxon and his brother had purchased this aircraft a few years ago. He used it often with him flying back and forth from Cleveland and LA. They also used the jet when flying around the country to meet with potential or current clients.
It wasn’t long before everyone had their drinks and the plane was off into the air. Jaxon turned around and held his glass up.
“I’d like to make a toast,” he began.
Everyone raised their glasses.
He grinned and blew out a deep breath. “To London. You are an amazing man, brother, father, and husband. Without you, none of us would be sitting here on a private jet, flying off to Bora Bora. I’ve always teased you about your work ethic, but I know it was so we could be a successful company and family. I just want to say I love you and hope to be half the man you are.”
“Hear, hear,” the girls echoed and sipped their drinks.
“Not necessary. You would have done the same thing had the tables been turned.” London chuckled. He sipped his champagne then motioned his glass to Jaxon. “For a little brother, you’ve been a pain in the ass, but I wouldn’t go into business with anyone but you.”
“Oh, and to Alana.” Jaxon nodded to his sister-in-law. “I hear it was you who truly convinced Khalil to sign to PSM. We are celebrating you for helping take our business to the next elevation.”
“I didn’t do anything special,” Alana grumbled. She pushed her glasses up again. She glanced around the aircraft at them, a smile spreading. “But if y’all need help again, just let me know.”
They all fell into a fit of laughter. Susan came around and ensured their glasses were refilled. Jaxon sat back and eyed Sofie. She rolled her eyes at him and spun her chair to face Alana.
“One more thing,” Jaxon announced.
He raised his glass in the air. All eyes turned to him. He stared at Sofie, unable to keep a grin from spilling onto his lips. Her big brown eyes narrowed on him while a scowl formed.
“We can’t forget Sofie, now can we? To Sofie, for hanging around as a pretty face.”
Alana and London laughed while Sofie slowly held her hand up and flipped him the bird. Jaxon chuckled and finished off the rest of his drink. This trip was much anticipated. It wasn’t often that either he or London took time off from work. A vacation was just what they needed.
Having Sofie along was going to make it interesting.