Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males (34 page)

Except now the stakes were higher.
 
When Gordon had given up that land, it
had been a costly mistake -- but there were more properties coming on the
market every day.
 
Business was
booming.

Now, you had to be more careful. The market had
crashed.
 
There were still
opportunities for growth if you were savvy enough, but they were fewer and
farther between. This new land was as close to a sure thing as you could
get.
 

Jaxon wanted it.
 

And, he realized now, so did Cuban.

“Just thought it might be time for the two of
us to sit down and have a meeting,” Cuban said jovially.
 
“We’ve both been in the same line of
work for what, three years now?”
 
It
was a thinly disguised jibe.
 
Jaxon
had been working in real estate development for ten years now, had been a
player for the last eight.
 
But
Cuban was making it seem as if Jaxon hadn’t been on anyone’s radar.

“Sure,” Jaxon said.
 
“I’m in the middle of something right
now, but how’s next week?”

“Next week’s not good,” Cuban said.
 
“I was hoping we could get together on
Tuesday.”

It was a clear indication he wanted to talk
about the property Jaxon was thinking of.
 
The auction was going to be on Friday morning.
 
Which meant Cuban wanted to try and
intimidate Jaxon before then.

Jaxon thought about telling Cuban to go screw,
and just showing up at the auction on Friday and taking his chances.
 
But he wanted to feel Cuban out, get a
sense of how much money he was willing to spend, how much this property really
meant to him.
 
Of course, taking the
meeting would mean he’d have to fly out tomorrow.
 
But he could always come back
afterwards, stay for another week or so and help Katie and Adam with the baby.

“Sure,” Jaxon said nonchalantly.
 
“How’s eleven?”

“That sounds great, Jaxon,” Cuban roared.
 
“See you then.”

Jaxon clicked off, then turned back toward the
bedroom and opened the door slowly.
 
Anna was still sleeping, her breathing soft and even, her face
peaceful-looking against the crisp white pillowcase.

Jaxon set to work getting the things together
that Katie had requested.
 
He shot
off a quick note to Anna, letting her know that he was returning to the
hospital, that he hadn’t wanted to wake her, but that he would be back soon.

Then he kissed her on the forehead and left.

C
hapter
F
ive

Anna woke to find the room dark, with just a
sliver of sunlight streaming through the window.
 
She startled, forgetting where she was
for a moment.
 
Then it all came
rushing back to her.
 
Katie.
 
The hospital.
 
Jaxon.

Jaxon.
She squeezed her eyes tight, regret flowing
through her.
 
How could she have let
that happen?
 
She had vowed to
herself that no matter what, she wouldn’t fall for him again.

Where was Jaxon, anyway?
 
She rolled over and grabbed for her cell
phone.
 
There was a note on the
nightstand, and she picked it up.

Anna,

Went to
the hospital to drop off the things Katie wanted.
 
Didn’t want to wake you.
 

 
Be back soon,

 
J

Yeah, right.
 
She didn’t believe for a second that he
would be back soon.
 
She sighed and
laid back in bed, trying to shake the groggy feeling that had settled behind
her eyelids.
 
She would rest for a
few more moments, and then she would get up and go home.
 
First, though, she should call Katie.

She reached again for her phone, but before she
could get to it, the door to the bedroom opened.

Jaxon stood there, his hands in his pockets, a
sheepish look on his face.

“You’re awake,” he said.

“You came back,” she blurted before she could
stop herself.
 
Relief flowed through
her, astonishing her with its intensity.
 
She hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted him to come back, how much
she’d wanted to make sure she saw him again.

“I told you I would be right back,” he
said.
 
“Didn’t you get my note?”

“No,” she lied.

“Are you still tired?” He was moving back to
the bed, kicking his shoes off.
 
“I’m exhausted.”

“Yes,” she admitted.
 
“I’m still tired.”

“Good.”
 

His shirt came off next, and Anna couldn’t help
but stare.
 
Yes, she’d just made
love to him, and that had been delicious, but she hadn’t had the chance to
really look at him, to take in his body the way she was now.
 
Broad shoulders gave way to a strong
chest gave way to a flat stomach gave way to a line of hair that slid down his
muscular torso and disappeared into his pants.
 
She shivered.

Jaxon moved closer, unbuckling his pants and
giving her his trademark grin.
 
Suddenly, she was very aware that she was still completely naked, with
only a thin sheet and a flimsy blanket covering her.

His boxers came next, and then he slid into bed
next to her, his naked body instantly warming hers.

“Come here,” he whispered.
 
Anna was powerless to resist, and he
wrapped his arms around her, holding her close against his chest.

And as Anna drifted off to sleep, she’d never
felt so protected in her whole life.

***

He kissed her awake, his mouth tracing soft
kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, her neck.
 
She stretched lazily.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Ten o’clock.”

“At night?’

“Yup.”

“We slept all day.”
 
She thought briefly about how her sleep schedule
was going to be all messed up
 
Usually, she hated that.
 
Anna had always been an early to sleep, early to rise kind of girl, ever
since college.
 
If she didn’t get a
head start on the day, how was she supposed to get things done?
 
But she was having a hard time getting
worked up about anything right now.
 
In fact, she felt more relaxed than she’d felt in a long time.

Jaxon was tugging the blanket down her
body.
 
She could feel his hardness
against her back, and the fact that he was so turned on got her turned on.

She rolled over, and this time, he slid right
into her.

She moaned as he began to move inside of her,
biting her lip to keep from getting too loud.
 
He kissed her, his tongue probing
against hers, his hands in her hair.
 
He was more insistent this time, like he knew what he was missing and
couldn’t take another minute of going without it.

He continued his steady, intense rhythm,
sliding his finger down over her breasts and over the curve of her stomach
until he found her clit.
 
He stroked
her as he continued to fuck her, moving faster and harder.

“Oh my God,” she gasped.

It was the wrong thing to say, and as soon as
the words were out of her mouth, she knew it.
 
He immediately slowed down, his finger
moving in smaller and smaller circles, his cock stopping almost completely.

“You didn’t think I was going to let you come
that fast, did you, Princess?”
 
he
asked huskily.

“Please,” she gasped.
 
“Please, don’t stop.”

He began to move again, so slowly she thought
she might go insane.
 
She tried to
move faster on him, but he held her hips firmly, controlling the pace.
 

Every time her orgasm built to the point she
thought she wouldn’t be able to hold back, he would stop, like he had some kind
of direct connection to her body that was telling him to slow down.

Then, finally, he began to quicken the pace,
his fingers and cock working to create a storm of pleasure that started between
her legs but radiated through her whole body.

They came at the same time, her orgasm ripping
through her as he filled her with his come, their bodies completely in sync.

“Oh my God, Anna,” he said as he kissed
her.
 
“You are amazing.”

They laid back against the sheets, sweaty and
satisfied, not saying anything, just holding each other, lost in the moment of
contentment.
 
The moon shown through
the skylights over the bed, giving the room an ethereal glow.

“Are you hungry?” Jaxon asked.
 
His fingers moved up and down her back,
stroking her skin.
 
She closed her
eyes and imagined him writing something on her back, the way she used to do
with her friends when they were kids.
 
“I LOVE YOU” she imagined him writing.

“I’m starving,” she admitted.
 

They ordered Thai food from a hole in the wall
delivery place.
 
When the food came,
Jaxon pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, then handed Anna one of his
Bruins shirts.
 
She pulled it on,
trying not to be obvious about the fact that she was inhaling the scent of his
laundry soap, wanting to feel that connection to him.

They padded downstairs and opened the
containers of food, spreading them out on Katie’s big maple table.
 

“That’s a lot of food,” Anna said, surveying
the spread.

“I’m an amazing orderer,” Jaxon said.
 
He pulled down two plates and instructed
her to sit down.

She did as she was told, taking a long sip from
the glass of cold iced tea he’d set down in front of her.

He fixed her a plate, piling rice and pad thai
and curry and dumplings into a spectacular, scrumptious mound.

Anna dug into the food, suddenly ravenous.
 
The long day of sleeping and sex,
combined with the stress of last night’s unexpected trip to the hospital had
left her hungry.
 
The food was
piping hot and filling, and Anna savored each mouthful, enjoying the rich food.

“This is delicious,” she said.

“It’s all in how you put it on the plate,”
Jaxon reported.

“Oh, really?”

“Really.”
 
He took a bite of rice. “It wouldn’t taste the same if it’s not arranged
just so.”

“Well, thanks,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

They lapsed into an awkward silence, both of
them eating, the only sound the clink of their silverware against their plates.

“Anna,” Jaxon said finally, “I need… I mean, I
know it might not make any difference, but I owe you an apology.”

Her heart sped up and her pulse quickened.
 
“You don’t owe me anything,” she
said.
 
It was a canned
response.
 
Of course she wanted him
to apologize, wanted him to say he was sorry, wanted him to tell her that
leaving her had been the biggest mistake of his life, that he couldn’t believe
he’d ever let her go, that his life hadn’t turned out the way he’d wanted it to
because she wasn’t in it.

“No, I do,” he said.
 
“That night, I just left you waiting
there.
 
It was inexcusable.”

“We were just kids,” Anna told him.
 
She reached for her iced tea and took another
long sip.
 
The cool, sweet liquid
slid down her throat, and she hoped it would bring down her body temperature.
She felt like her face was flaming.