19. Lex
Meeting with the guys on the same day I visited Nate was a questionable decision. After returning to Athena and burying myself in work, I texted them to request a change in venue–from their place to mine. My energy was tapped, and I didn’t have it in me to trek to Los Altos at eight pm.
There’s also a part of me reluctant to be back in their house for the first time since I gave myself to Shane and Linc. The temptation to lose myself in them is strong, particularly after the day I’ve had, and I don’t trust myself to keep it professional. I doubt Declan’s attitude will improve if I’m all over his brother and best friend. And I have no desire to see what happens when it gets worse.
My phone buzzes on the kitchen island as I pull wine glasses out of the cabinet. I’d grabbed a white and a red from the cellar first thing when I got home. I also perused my fridge for finger foods but came up short. Whatever Linc and Shane might say, wine can be dinner sometimes. Setting the last glass down, I snag my phone.
Linc: we’ll be there in two
Me: Perfect. Door’s unlocked, let yourselves in.
Linc: there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere
Shane: You’re a child
Linc: front door or back door?
Shane: Seriously?
I giggle, shaking my head at their antics. Wouldn’t hurt to play along a little.
Me: Up to you.
Linc: !!
Shane: Lex…
Linc: how do you expect me to talk about Solum when you drop shit like that in the group text?!
Declan: Easy. Talk about Solum or you can walk your ass home.
The faint noise of car doors slamming sounds from out front. Moments later, the door opens and Linc’s playful tone fills the hall.
“Given where we are, Dec, that’s not really a threat.”
I walk toward the three of them as they toe off their shoes. Declan glares at Linc, reaching over to smack him upside the head.
“Knock it off.”
“Hey!” Linc ducks away and turns to me, fake-pouting. “You see what I put up with?”
I cross my arms and smile. “Careful, Linc. The vein in your brother’s forehead is already out. That doesn’t bode well for our productivity tonight.”
“Fuck off, all of you,” Declan grumbles, reaching up to rub his forehead.
Shane cocks a brow at me as he saunters over. He’s wearing dark jeans and a white tee–the first time I’ve seen him out of a button down…if we don’t count the moment he stripped naked and revealed all that gorgeous tattooed skin. My eyes rove over him as he draws closer, appreciating the veins wrapping his forearms.
“He’s in rare form tonight,” Shane whispers, leaning in to kiss my forehead as he grips my upper arm. “Go easy on him?”
Grinning, I look up at him and shake my head. “Never.”
Shane’s eyes flash as he chuckles. “Atta girl.”
The easy praise from his lips sets off a flurry of wings in my belly. As I’m about to respond, Shane’s eyes lock on something behind me and he straightens, stepping back. I turn to see what caught his eye.
“Whoa, am I interrupting something?”
At the sound of the new voice, Declan and Linc freeze, then walk over to surround me, their squabble forgotten. Wait…are they protecting me right now? All three of them? What on earth…
I brush off the thought. “Jax, what are you–”
“Well, I know it’s a long shot, but I was kind of hoping to raid your fridge.” My affable houseguest rubs his neck and smiles sheepishly.
“There’s no chance of you finding anything, man.” Linc reaches out a hand. “You must be the nephew. I’m Linc.”
Jax grins and holds out a fist. “Nice. Jackson, but I go by Jax.”
Linc taps Jax’s fist, then turns to me. “Should I order food?”
“Wait, nephew?” Declan glances between me and Jax. “You’re her nephew.”
“Guilty!” Jax runs a hand through his dark blond waves. “I live in the pool house.” He gestures to the backyard.
“How old are you?” Declan presses.
Jax shrugs. “Age is just a number, man.” He turns to Linc. “You said something about food?”
I sigh, putting a hand on Jax’s back and directing him to the kitchen. The guys follow close.
“Get yourself a glass if you want wine, yeah? We’re having a business dinner, so you might be bored–”
“Nah, sounds sweet. But, uh, I’ll go grab a beer from mine. Be right back!”
As Jax jogs to the sliding door, the guys crowd around the island. Linc smiles as he pulls out his phone.
“He is not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“Nerdy little college kid, not a surfer dude.” He looks at his phone. “Pizza work?”
I shrug. “Better than–”
“Crackers and wine,” Linc drawls, arching an eyebrow. “I know.”
Shane narrows his eyes at me.
“What?” I blink innocently, opening the bottle of red. “Wine?”
“No, thank you,” Declan grunts, setting his bag on a stool. “Can we start?”
“Red, please,” Shane says.
I fight the urge to smirk at the dismissal of his friend’s snarky comment. “You have somewhere to be, Declan?”
I pour a glass and hand it to Shane.
Declan sighs, resigned. “I just want to make the most of the time.”
“Oh, we always make the most of Lex’s time,” Linc teases. He shoves his phone in his pocket, then opens the fridge. “Next time I’m bringing beer.”
“I got you,” Jax calls as he enters the room. “Brought a six.”
“Thanks.”
“You got it. So, what business are you all up to this late?” Jax offers a beer to Declan, but he waves him off. “Didn’t expect a party when I came over.”
“It’s a business meeting, not a party,” Declan mutters.
“Dec,” Shane warns, deep voice calm.
“Linc ordered pizza,” I say, moving to take a seat at the dining table near my laptop.
“My man!” Jax offers another fist bump, which Linc returns with amusement. “Tell me you’re a pineapple on pizza guy.”
Declan scoffs. “He is. No accounting for taste in our gene pool, apparently.”
“You’re missing out.” Jax levels a finger and stern glare at Declan. “That shit’s delicious.”
“Fruit does not belong on pizza!” Declan protests as Linc and Jax high-five.
Those two are going to be trouble.
Shane takes the seat next to mine. He reaches over and engulfs my thigh in his hand, kneading gently. Never have I been more pleased to be wearing shorts.
“Rough day?” he asks quietly while PizzaGate rages behind us.
I slide my hand over his, squeezing as I relax against my chair. “I’ve had better.”
He searches my eyes with his ice blues. Before he can respond, Declan storms over to the table and yanks a chair back, the legs screeching across the tile.
“Can we please discuss this interview I have in two weeks?”
“Of course.” I take a sedate sip of wine. “Have you drafted your recommended questions?”
His forehead bunches. “I thought your team was doing questions.”
“You were supposed to draft ones that would help tell the story from your perspective,” Linc chimes in, dropping into the chair on my other side.
Jax sits across from me and a couple of chairs down from Declan. He glances back and forth between us, a slight smile on his face as he sips his beer.
“Right,” Declan clears his throat. “That makes sense.”
I nod. “You met with our media team earlier this week. How’d it go?”
“Fine.”
Shane’s fingers start tracing light patterns on my thigh, the distraction of his skin on mine enough to keep my temper from rising.
“They mentioned you had concerns about being conversational. Would you like to do some QA now to practice?”
I watch, stoic, as Declan breathes deep and forces himself to relax. It’s obvious he’s nervous, frustrated, and I wish he would put words to the emotions running through him. The last six weeks made it clear that Declan doesn’t know how to ask for help. Thanks to insight from Linc, I also surmised Solum’s leader carried tremendous guilt for what he perceived as their lack of success. It kills him that he needed Athena, needed me, to make this dream come true. If he kept trying to do things on his own, when he had entire teams at his disposal, the failure I suspected he worried about would be inevitable.
Declan glances at me, then Jax. Sighing, he looks down at his hands. “I know how important this interview is.”
We all wait for him to go on. Jax catches my eye and winks, then takes a gulp of beer.
“Fine, yes. We can practice.”
“Good. I have some of our team’s draft questions pulled up. Linc, Shane, our analysts sent a report based on the last round of tests. They had a few suggestions. Why don’t you review those while Declan and I work on messaging?”
“Yeah, I saw the email come through on the way over.” Linc gets up to grab his laptop from where he left it on the island, then plops down next to Shane.
“I want in! Put me to work, Lexi.” Jax quips.
The guys all freeze and look at me in slow motion. Lincoln mouths the name back to me in question, a slow grin covering his face.
“Take notes, Jackson,” I order. “Declan, why don’t you pull up a doc so he can save them on your machine?”
“Sure…Lexi.” Declan raises a brow as he hands his laptop over.
Is Declan teasing me right now?
Jax chuckles. “Tried to call her Auntie once and she nearly killed me. Convinced her Lexi was a decent compromise.”
“Under what condition?” I demand.
My infuriatingly lovable nephew rolls his eyes. “Only at home.”
“Where no one else would hear it.” I give him a pointed look.
“I didn’t break any rules, Lexi. We’re home. Not my fault you have company for the first time in forever.”
My cheeks flush as Linc throws his head back and laughs while Shane chuckles. Declan smirks, his green eyes finding mine and flaring in amusement. I swallow roughly, feeling the weight of his playful attention in my core. Jax smiles and pokes around on Declan’s laptop.
“Just take notes, please,” I mutter, moving to sit closer to Declan and shoving my wandering thoughts down as I do. “And you’re in charge of getting the door when the pizza gets here.”
Two hours later, I walk the guys to the door. Jax is still in the kitchen, scarfing down the last of the Hawaiian pizza. Declan’s gaze lingers on me after he pulls on his shoes.
“Thank you, Lex,” he says. “Tonight was…helpful.”
I grin, crossing my arms and tracking the dip of his gaze to the hint of cleavage at my neckline. “You’ve come a long way, Declan. But I’ll know you”ve transcended when you can express gratitude without looking constipated.”
Shane pats Declan’s arm roughly. “Looks like you’ve got a ways to go.”
“Fuck off,” Declan grumbles, turning for the door. He glances back at me one last time, his lips curling into a smug little smile.
Linc steps up into my personal space, crowding his body against mine. “Can we break a rule and allow a string tonight? I don’t want to go.”
He ducks down and kisses my neck, gripping my waist in his broad hands. I reach up and thread my fingers through his soft curls, pressing my body to his.
“No strings, Linc,” I murmur.
Pouting, he straightens and peers into my eyes. He reaches a hand up to cup my cheek, his thumb on my cheekbone. I want to break my rules, want to fist his tee in my hand and drag him right up the stairs. But my nephew is in the kitchen. And you have rules for a fucking reason.
“I’ll see you soon.” I press my lips to his, kissing him sweetly.
He releases me with a lingering look, then squeezes my hand and follows his brother out. Shane is waiting behind him, hands in his pockets. He shaved his head again recently, and I’d admired how gorgeous he looked all night.
“Thank you for being gentle,” he says, his deep voice impossibly soft. “He’s…invested.”
“Who, Linc?”
Shane inclines his head.
Sighing, I lean into him as he presses his lips to my forehead. “I know,” I murmur.
“Good night, Lex.” Shane grips my arm briefly, then walks out and pulls the door closed.
I sigh, crossing my arms and hanging my head before turning to meet Jax in the kitchen. To my surprise, he isn’t in the kitchen–he’s standing at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall. I narrow my gaze.
“How long have you been standing there, Jackson Thomas?”
He smirks. “Long enough, Lexi Livingston. Come on, have a drink with me. I know you’re not going to bed for another few hours.”
Grumbling, I follow him back to the kitchen. “What do you know about my schedule?”
“Aw, Lexi. You wound me!” He winks over his shoulder. “I might be all fun and games, but I pay attention. The lights are on over here until midnight at least.”
“Why do you stay up so late?”
He smiles as he hands over my wine glass, pouring the last of the red into it. “My brain doesn’t like to shut off.”
“Well, sleep’s overrated, anyway.”
Jax draws back, brow bunched. “Like hell, it is. Sleep’s awesome.”
Chuckling, I lean against the island and regard him. “If you’re so observant, why’d you come over looking for food tonight? You have to know the fridge is usually empty, and I’m pretty sure the pool house has a view of the driveway.”
He grins, unashamed. “I’ve lived here for nearly two years, and you’ve never had guys over. Not once.” He shrugs and chugs some beer. “Had to make sure you were safe.”
I glare at him.
“Okay, okay, I was curious as fuck. Still am, honestly.” He tilts his head. “You like them.”
“Eh, Linc and Shane are pretty great.”
Jax just smiles, waiting.
“Declan’s a handful.”
“Never seen you back down from a challenge,” he muses.
I bark a laugh, still surprised by Jax’s ability to see through me. “True enough.”
Jax studies me. I often got the impression there was far more to him than the sunny, happy jock he seemed to be.
“You’re different with them. Free. Never seen you laugh so much, either.”
“Are you psychoanalyzing me, kid?”
“No clue. Am I?”
Shaking my head, I take my wine glass to the sink. Jax cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher while I walked the guys out.
“Thanks for your help tonight.”
“Of course. Worth it to see you happy.”
Is that what I am? Happy?I pause, letting that question and his words sink in. Jax isn’t wrong–I do feel free with the guys. Well, Lincoln and Shane mostly. If I’m honest, I don’t curb myself around Declan, either. He gets the same version of me the other two do, though his reactions certainly aren’t the same. Aaand, I’m done with this topic.
“I saw your dad today.”
Jax’s expression flickers. He glances down with a sigh. “How’d that go?”
“About how you might expect.”
“Forget him. Let’s go back to your guys.”
My guys?I like the sound of that a little too much. “They’re not mine.”
Jax gives me a “whatever you say” look. “They could be. Pretty sure Shane volunteered for the position every time he served you pizza, brought you water, and topped up your wine tonight. He wasn’t playing waiter for anyone else.”
Holy shit. Warmth blooms in my chest at the realization he’s right, but I push it away.
“I don’t have time for a relationship, Jax.”
“Bullshit.”
My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”
“Look at Van. He’s married, kid on the way. Does he still show up for you and Athena?”
“Of course he does.” I’m happy as hell for him and Cami.
Jax cocks a brow, then downs the last of his beer. “If Van can do it, you definitely can. You’re way more balanced than he is. Like, way more. Anyway, he’s never been happier. You deserve that.”
He tosses his beer bottle in the recycling bin, then kisses my cheek.
“Night, Lexi.”
“Night,” I mutter.
He smiles and ruffles my hair before I can duck. Squealing, I dance away as he laughs and lets himself out. As he closes the sliding door, I replay his words in my head. If Van can do it, you definitely can. The question is, do I want to?