Chapter Fourteen
Estelle
We pulled into a circular driveway paved with stones, and the Bentley's engine came to a stop in front of massive glass doors that made up a fancy main entrance of sorts.
Before I could open the car door, Jax was out of the car and opening it for me, his hand extended. The gesture was so old-fashioned I couldn’t hide the smile on my lips. This was old money, I suppose.
He didn't let go until I was standing beside him, and even then, his hand lingered at the small of my back, warm and possessive.
"Welcome home," he whispered, his breath warm against my ear.
I glanced up at him, confused, then at Avery racing toward the entrance with Leo in tow.
It was their home. Not mine.
"They'll be fine," Jax promised. "The house is completely secure. No one gets in or out without my say-so, and my housekeeper is around.”
His hand at my back pressed just a little harder, guiding me inside, and I let him because the alternative was standing in his driveway like a gaping idiot.
The entryway opened into a vast living area with soaring ceilings and walls of glass that framed the ocean view like the world's most expensive painting. The floors were polished marble that gleamed like mirrors, the furniture all sleek lines and soft fabrics in shades of cream and gold.
Everything gleamed—the staircase, the glass tables, the massive chandelier that hung like a frozen waterfall from the ceiling twenty feet above our heads.
This was wealth beyond imagination, luxury so vast I could barely comprehend it.
"This is..." I trailed off, unable to find words.
"Home," Jax finished for me. "At least, it's supposed to be. Sometimes it feels more like a showroom."
He leaned in, his cologne wrapping around me. "But you make it feel right, princess."
I flushed, heat creeping up my neck as I struggled to find an appropriate response. This was exactly the kind of smooth talk that had gotten Giselle into trouble, the practiced charm that wealthy men used to seduce women who should know better.
"Avery, why don't you show Leo your toys?” Jax suggested, his thumb tracing small circles against my back. “I put them in your room.”
Avery nodded eagerly, pulling Leo down a hall that was bigger than my entire apartment. "Come on! Jax brought all my dinosaur stuff!”
I watched them go, that familiar worry rising in my chest like flood water. In my world, you never let children out of sight, never trusted that safety was guaranteed, never assumed the best-case scenario.
"I should?—"
"Let them be kids for a while," Jax interrupted, his hand still warm against my back. "The room has cameras if you're worried. I can show you the feed.”
His thumb pressed possessively into my hip, and I shivered despite myself.
"I'm not worried," I lied, because admitting fear felt like showing weakness. "I just..."
"You're not used to letting him out of your sight.” His voice was understanding rather than judgmental. "I get it. But you're safe here, princess. Both of you."
He stepped in front of me, crowding me back against the kitchen island. His hands came up to bracket me in, palms flat against the marble on either side of my hips, trapping me in a cage of masculine heat.
"You can breathe, Estelle. I'll watch over you."
The words, his closeness, the way his hands trapped me without quite touching—it was too much. The memory of our kitchen encounter flooded back, and I could practically feel his fingers working the tension from my neck and hear his voice calling me beautiful.
I forced myself to step sideways, pushing out of his cage before I could do something catastrophically stupid.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "You don't have to be scared of me."
I wasn’t scared of him. I was scared of how much I wanted him to touch me, to keep holding my hand, to keep looking at me like I was the only thing in the world. It was terrifying, knowing his reputation and who he was.
Especially knowing he would inevitably break my heart.
I didn’t answer but gave a little nod, letting my gaze wander around the kitchen.
"So," Jax said, settling against the arm of an opposite sofa, his posture casual but those piercing blue eyes intent on my face. "Tell me about yourself, Estelle. Beyond what I already know from Avery's endless stories. "
What could I possibly tell this man about my life that wouldn't sound pathetic compared to all this marble and gold?
"There… isn’t much,” I mumbled finally, voice small. "I work at the academy and take care of Leo. That's pretty much it."
Jax's eyes narrowed slightly, blue flames dancing with patient amusement, like he knew I was deflecting but chose to let it slide. "And before Leo? What did Estelle Moore do then?"
The question was innocent enough, but it probed at wounds that had never fully healed, at a past I'd buried under necessity and survival. Before Leo, there had been Giselle—reckless, beautiful Giselle who'd trusted the wrong man and paid for it with her life.
There had also been a string of dead-end jobs and cramped apartments, the constant struggle to stay afloat in a world that seemed determined to drown me, even before Leo.
"I worked," I mumbled again, staring down at the reflective marble. "Different jobs. Nothing as nice as the academy."
Jax studied me, patient but hungry, like he had all the time in the world to unravel my secrets.
"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" he asked, carrying that low rumble that seemed to vibrate through my bones.
I blinked. "Make what easy?"
"Getting to know you." He held my gaze. "I want to know you, Estelle. The real you, not just the careful mask you show the world."
My heart stuttered in my chest, panic and something warmer warring for control. Why would someone want to dig through defenses I'd built from necessity?
"Why?" The question came out breathless.
It seemed to amuse him, his mouth curving into a smile that probably launched a thousand fantasies. "Why not? You're interesting. You're beautiful." His gaze remained on my face. "You're more extraordinary than anyone I've ever met."
I almost laughed at that, the sound bitter.
Me, extraordinary? I was nobody —a woman from the slums trying to give her nephew a better life than she'd had.
There was nothing extraordinary about scraping by, about counting pennies, about lying awake at night wondering if love would be enough to keep us together.
"I'm really not," I deflected, looking away from the intensity of his gaze before it could strip away what was left of my composure.
"You really are," he countered, carrying absolute conviction. He took a step closer, making my heart pound. "You don't see it, do you? How extraordinary you are?"
Another step closer, and suddenly I could smell his cologne again. I backed up, my back meeting the marble counter behind me again. "Jax?—"
His smile softened, but a predatory edge remained in those blue depths, suggesting he was very aware of my body's betrayal. "I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable, princess. Just stating facts."
The endearment sent that familiar shiver down my spine, settling between my thighs. Every time he said it, I felt myself weakening, felt the walls I'd built around my heart developing dangerous cracks.
Before I could formulate a response that wouldn't reveal how he was affecting me, the patter of small feet announced the children's return. Avery came running into the kitchen like a tiny hurricane, Leo following more cautiously behind her, but his eyes were wide and bright with happiness.
"Jax!" Avery bounced on her toes, curls flying. "Can we swim? Please? I told Leo about the pool and how it has a waterfall and everything!"
Jax's attention shifted immediately, but his hand found my hip as he turned, the contact burning through the thin fabric of my dress.
"Did Mommy leave your swimsuit here?" he asked Avery, and the word 'Mommy' coming from those lips in that deep voice made me stifle laughter; it was cute.
Avery nodded enthusiastically, practically vibrating with excitement. "It's in my room!"
I studied Leo, who was looking at me with a mix of hope and uncertainty. He wanted to go swimming in a pool overlooking the ocean, with Jax Easton watching my every move .
The thought of being nearly naked in front of him, of those blue eyes taking in every flaw, every sharp angle of my body, made panic rise in my throat.
"I don't know," I began, but Leo's expression made the words die on my tongue.
"I have extra suits," Jax cut in, his eyes finding mine with laser focus. "For both of you. And towels, of course. The pool is heated, and there's a shallow end where they can stand."
His hand squeezed my hip, thumb tracing along the waistband of my dress. The touch was light, almost innocent, though I was sure it wasn’t.
"You'll look beautiful in anything, princess," he murmured, the words meant for my ears alone.
I was beginning to realize that Jax Easton was way too prepared for everything, way too good at anticipating needs I didn't even know I had. He had extra suits, just my luck.
I looked at Leo again, at the barely contained excitement in his green eyes, and felt my resolve crumbling like a sandcastle at high tide.
"Please, Elle?" Leo asked, his voice small but hopeful, carrying the weight of every disappointment I'd ever had to deliver. "I've never seen a waterfall.”
And there it was—the unconscious reminder of all the things I couldn't give him, all the childhood experiences he missed out on because of our circumstances. The guilt was crushing and familiar.
How could I say no to that? How could I deny him this one perfect afternoon just because I was terrified of letting Jax see too much?
"Alright," I conceded, the word escaping like a sigh of surrender.
The smile that broke across Leo's face was like sunrise, bright and pure and worth every moment of discomfort I was about to endure. Avery squealed with delight, grabbing Leo's hand.