Chapter 11
Jaxon
We barely killed the engine before everyone started moving. I looked up at the townhouse as if it held all the answers to the want running through me.
“You can park right there!” Nerissa yelled, directing the moving truck behind us to the single parking space in front of the house.
“Be right back,” I said, already stepping away.
No one questioned it.
The front door opened easily, warm air spilling out to meet me. The place hit me all at once—light, clean, intentional. Savannah, through and through.
The townhouse was modern European in a way that felt effortless rather than forced.
Pale wood floors stretched wide beneath my boots, a complement to the denim-blue painted walls.
Tall windows let in the last bits of the setting sun, leaving soft shadows across the space.
Everything had a purpose—not that I'd expected anything less from a woman like Savannah.
A cream sofa stretched along the windows with a wooden coffee table in the center. I reached for one of the books stacked neatly on top, shaking my head at the title.
“Of course they're law books,” I said, chuckling.
I put the book down and was about to look around for her when her voice drifted down from upstairs.
“Nerissa? I'll be right there!”
Saved me the time of looking for her.
I took the stairs two at a time, glancing in rooms until I found the right one.
And there she was.
My trouble.
Her door was ajar, light spilling out into the hall.
I creaked it open a little more, pausing at the threshold to just look at her.
Savannah stood by her desk, laptop open, sleeves pushed up her forearms. She was so focused, she hadn’t heard me—biting her bottom lip as she scanned whatever was on the screen.
What I wouldn't give to bite that lip…
I hadn't seen her since our date night, and there was something to be said about the way she looked right now. Anticipation warred in my chest, bringing up the heat from last night.
Fuck, if just seeing her was causing this reaction, what would touching her be?
I drew a breath to steady myself and rolled my shoulders back.
Get it together, Jax.
Abandoning the threshold, I moved quietly into the room and closed the distance between us until I was right behind her. Then I slid a hand around her waist, electricity humming through me at the connection. She tensed instantly and I smirked, leaning in so my mouth brushed the shell of her ear.
“You’ve been ignoring me, trouble.” A sweet little gasp escaped her lips. “That isn't any way to treat your boyfriend, is it?”
She spun out of my hold so fast I barely had time to register it. When she was at least three feet away from me, she crossed her arms tight over her chest like armor.
“I have not,” she said quickly.
She still wouldn’t look at me.
I leaned back against the desk, folding my arms, watching her carefully. “Uh-huh.”
Her jaw tightened. “I’ve been busy.”
“Busy,” I murmured. “That's funny. Your phone seems to work just fine—and Nerissa's.”
That got her.
A flicker of recognition and embarrassment crossed her face before she smoothed it away.
Then I said it.
“The picture.”
Her cheeks flushed instantly, soft color blooming like I’d brushed my thumb there myself.
“That was a mistake,” she said, looking to the window. “I meant to send it from Nerissa’s phone to mine.”
“Funny what one little mistake can do,” I drawled.
She finally looked at me, no doubt catching on to my suggestive tone. Her eyes held mine, the air between us stretching thin and humming like a live wire.
I let my gaze drop deliberately. Slowly. Taking her in in the way I hadn’t allowed myself to since the first night we met. God bless whoever invented leggings because the way they were clinging to her thighs was heaven.
I would give anything to—
“Well, it was a mistake, so don't get any ideas.”
“Me? Ideas? I wouldn't dream of it, trouble.” She narrowed her eyes at the smirk donning my lips. “Why would I get any ideas when my girl sends me a sexy lingerie—”
“Don't.”
She stepped forward and shot a warning glare at me.
I raised my hands in obvious surrender, though I could tell she saw the mischievous glint in my eyes.
“God, you're so infuriating. Makes me want to return your gift.”
My… what?
Furrowing my brows, I tilted my head at her and asked, “What gift?”
She stepped closer to me and reached around to the desk, grabbing up a small box tucked beside her laptop. I raised a brow when she held it out to me, expression carefully neutral.
I blinked. “What’s this?”
She shrugged, suddenly very interested in the edge of the box. “It's your birthday.”
Something warm cracked open in my chest.
A grin tugged at my mouth before I could stop it. “Did my girlfriend buy me a present?”
She rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. “Just open it before I take it back.”
I did.
Inside sat a sleek black watch with a matching leather band that was smooth to the touch. The clockface was minimalist even with the black background, and the golden strokes and tickers shimmered in the light.
I lifted it out slowly, turning it in my hands. Before, I threw the idea of a gift out there as a joke. I sure as hell wasn't expecting her to buy me anything.
“This is… incredible.”
She smiled then, small and pleased. “I figured maybe with that, you’d start showing up places on time.”
I huffed a laugh. “Low blow.”
Before she could react, I stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.
My arm slid around her waist, pulling her flush against me.
I felt it—felt the way her body went still before her arms came up, tentative at first, then wrapping around my waist. Her cheek was pressed against my chest while my head was buried in her hair.
That scent.
Cherries and vanilla had never smelled so good.
We stood there longer than necessary, my hand splayed across the small of her back, fingers skimming the exposed skin just at the edge of her top.
“Thank you,” I murmured into her hair.
She shivered.
Being here with her wasn't supposed to feel this easy—this good. In pulling away, my lips brushed against the base of her neck, and I felt her dig into my shoulders. When I pulled back, I didn’t let go right away. How could I?
The look she gave me was like she was searching my soul. I didn't dare look away, wanting her to see the heat threatening to claw through—just as I saw the heat blazing behind those dark irises of hers. My gaze dipped to her lips and my arm tightened around her waist when her lips parted.
“We—um,” she said, clearing her throat and pushing away from me, breaking whatever spell tugged at us. “We should probably head downstairs. To help.”
“Right.”
She took another pointed step back.
“And don't forget we have another appearance tomorrow. The wedding shower.”
I laughed. “What the hell is a wedding shower?”
Her mouth twitched. “It’s a stupid twist on a bridal shower, only this way, both the bride and groom get gifts.”
“Sounds like a scam.”
“If there's one thing Lori and Chase have in common, it's getting gifts.”
My eyes rolled. “Match made in heaven, clearly.”
Savannah blinked at me, and I winced.
“That's not what I meant.”
“No, I know. Doesn't matter, anyway. It's in the past.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I’m actually heading out of town this weekend.”
Her brows shot up. “You are? Where are you…?” She paused, then shook her head. “No, it's none of my business. But you should’ve told me.”
I tilted my head. “You haven’t exactly been responding to my messages, trouble.”
Her cheeks warmed. “Those texts were different.”
I raised a brow. “Different how?”
She groaned, frustrated and embarrassed all at once. “You know what I mean.”
“Uh-huh.” I chuckled softly. “Look, there's no set time for the trip. We're heading to Sunset Creek this weekend—me, the guys, and Nerissa.”
“For what?” she asked, wary now.
“My birthday,” I said. “We try to go every year before the snow hits.”
“Isn't it a bit too cold for beaches and barbecue?”
I gave her a smirk. “All part of the fun. The guys and I have a longstanding competition over who can stay in the water the longest. Ari lost last year, so he's gearing for that rematch.”
She giggled. “You're all crazy.”
“Crazy is good sometimes,” I added, smiling at the pleasant sound. “You could come. If you want.”
She didn’t answer right away. I could see her weighing it—logic against instinct, rules against whatever lived in that quiet space between us.
Before I could say, We'll have to keep up our little rouse, Nerissa’s voice shrieked up from downstairs.
“SAV—JAX—WHY ARE YOU TWO HIDING? WE NEED HELP UNLOADING!”
Savannah exhaled a quiet laugh beside me. “We should probably go help them.”
“Yeah, let's go.”
I could still feel the imprint of her against me, the warmth she’d left behind like a ghost pressed into my chest. I watched her turn toward the door, the sway of her hips unintentional and devastating.
Yeah. Helping. Sure.
We headed downstairs together just as Ari came barreling in through the front door with a box nearly as big as his torso.
He stopped short when he saw us, narrowing his eyes at me and adjusting the box.
“Just because your girl is here doesn’t mean you get to slack off.”
I snorted. “Relax, relax. I’m helping.”
He muttered under his breath as he walked by us. Shaking my head, I passed Savannah and brushed my hand across her waist. Her breathing hitched, but I didn't turn back to look at her.
Because nothing good would come from that—trust me.
An hour later, we were all sprawled across Savannah’s—and Nerissa's now, I guessed—living room like casualties of war.
Ari groaned as he twisted to crack his back. “I’m never lifting anything again.”
I laughed, dropping onto the arm of the couch, a little too close to Savannah. “That’s what you get for lifting with your ego instead of your knees.”
He flipped me off without even looking.