Cheap Shot (12 page)

Looking alarmed, she tried to sit up. “It
was never like that between us. You have to believe me. I never slept with
him.”

Jaxon eased her back on the cushions “I do
believe you.” It would have killed him if she had, but that wouldn’t change the
way he felt about her. “Just relax. Can I get you a pain reliever?”

“No, thanks, Dylan took care of that. I
think I’d like to go back to bed.”

“Sure,” he said, helping her up.

She held his arm for support. “Jax, can I
ask you a favor? You can say no if you want to.”

There was nothing she could ask of him that
he would refuse. “Sure, what is it?”

“Will you sleep with me tonight?” Her face
tinted with color as she bit her lip. “I don’t mean it like that. I just
meant…”

“I know what you meant,” he said, slipping
his arm around her waist as he led her down the hall. “You don’t want to be
alone. You want someone to hold you.”

“Not just anyone,” she whispered. “You. I
want you to hold me tonight.”

Just when Jaxon thought she already had all
of his heart, she managed to steal another little piece. “You got me, angel.
I’m all yours.”

*   *   *

Sela woke up to a sight she hadn’t seen in
too long… a half-naked Jaxon tangled in her sheets. She rolled over, propping
her head in her hand as she admired him. When he was resting, the lines fanning
out from his mouth and eyes were softer, making him seem less intense. His dark
eyelashes were so long, they skimmed his cheeks when his eyes were closed, and
she had the overwhelming urge to kiss him.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes opening gradually.
“What are you doing?”

“Admiring how gorgeous you are.”

He groaned as he pulled her close. “Stop.”

His solid chest against her felt like
heaven. “Does your lip hurt?” She traced a fingertip over the cut.

He chuckled. “Honey, I’ve been in more
barroom brawls than I can count. That was nothing.”

She knew Jaxon could take care of himself,
but it still bothered her that he’d felt the need to fight because of her. “You
were pretty heroic last night, coming to my rescue that way. I should at least
make you breakfast to thank you.”

“I’ll make the breakfast,” he said,
brushing her hair off her face. “I want you to spend at least half the day in
bed, just to make sure you’re over the worst of it.”

She couldn’t deny her head still felt
heavy, but she felt much better than she had last night. “I’ll be okay. A nice
hot shower might make me feel better.”

“Are you sure about that?” he asked,
looking concerned. “I wouldn’t want you to get dizzy in there. You could slip
and fall.”

“What makes you think that?” Sela thought
it was sweet that he was so concerned about her well-being. The old Jaxon had
always been protective, but he kept her at arm’s length, letting her know it
had more to do with the fact she was a woman than it did that she was
his
woman.

“I couldn’t sleep after you drifted off,”
he admitted. “I researched the effects of roofies, and it said headaches,
dizziness, and nausea are all pretty typical.” His lips thinned into a tight
line. “I still can’t believe that bastard had the nerve—”

“Sssh,” Sela whispered, gliding her lips
gently over his. “I don’t want to think about him right now.” She placed her
palm on his tight abs and felt his muscles tense. “I’d much rather think about
the fact that I have an incredibly sexy man in my bed offering to make me
breakfast.” She reminded herself they were supposed to be taking it slow, but
Jaxon’s chiseled body would tempt a saint.

He covered her hand with his. “I should
probably apologize for stripping down to my boxers last night.” His voice was
low and husky. “But it was hotter than hell in here.”

“Sorry about that,” she murmured, her eyes
falling to his lips. “The air conditioner’s not working properly. I’m waiting
on the landlord to fix it.”

“I’d like to blame it on that,” he said,
his eyes traveling over the sheet covering her. “But I didn’t get hot until
that sleep shirt came off.”

“I...” She must have gotten hot and pulled
it off, forgetting she wasn’t alone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

He laughed. “Honey, I’ve seen it all
before. I’d love to see it again, but that will have to wait until you’re
feeling better.” He threw his legs over the side of the bed. “Why don’t I get
started on that breakfast now? If I lay with here with you any longer, all bets
are off.”

Sela should remind him she hadn’t decided
whether she was strong enough to pursue a relationship with him again, but his
broad tanned back made it difficult to think straight. The phone tore her out
of her musings, making her groan when she saw the name on the caller I.D. “My
parents. I should get it. If I don’t, they’ll just call back, or worse, my
mother might stop by.” She could only imagine Andrea’s reaction if she found Jaxon
in her daughter’s bed.

“You get that. I’ll be in the kitchen if
you need me.”

“I’m not sure you’ll find what you need in
the fridge,” she said, trying to remember the last time she’d been to the
grocery store.

“No problem, I’ll run out if I need to,” he
said over his shoulder. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ve got it covered. Just
talk to your parents.”

That was the last thing she wanted to do,
but she didn’t have a choice. “Hello.”

“I heard what happened at High Rollers last
night,” her mother said, her breath coming in short bursts. “Are you all right?
Your father and I—”

“How did you find out?” Sela asked.

“It made the local news. It’s not every day
the owner of a nationwide bar chain beats up a former pro athlete in his own
establishment. I don’t know why I’m surprised. That beast is liable to do
anything.”

Sela crushed the phone against her ear as
she tried to hold her temper. Her mother had obviously heard only half the
story. “You don’t know what really happened, so I’d appreciate it if you got
the facts before you started calling people names.”

“Don’t use that tone with me, young lady.
I’m still your mother, and I called because I was worried about you. We both
are. I knew you shouldn’t have gotten mixed up with him again. Nothing good can
come of it. He’s completely out of control. A loose cannon—”

“Jaxon may have saved me from being raped
last night.” Sela let those words sink in before she said, “The guy he beat up
slipped something in my drink.”

“What are you talking about?” Andrea
gasped. “The news didn’t say anything about that. If that was his excuse for
acting the way he did, I wouldn’t buy it. He’d resort to any under-handed trick
to win you over.”

Sela held the phone away from her ear and
stared at it in disbelief. Just when she thought her mother’s behavior couldn’t
get any more outrageous, it did. “I didn’t say he
tried
to slip
something in my drink. He did. I felt it.”

“How do you know Jaxon didn’t do it? Maybe
he was the one responsible, and he tried to blame it on some innocent man.”

“Innocent man?” Sela’s blood boiled when
she realized her mother was siding with a man who’d been plotting to assault
her. “Didn’t you hear what I said? Jaxon came to my defense. Had it not been
for him, I hate to think what could have happened to me last night!” Sela was
shouting, but she didn’t care. Her mother had it coming. “Instead of tearing
him down, you should be thanking him for saving me!”

“You’re so dramatic, Sela.” Her mother
sighed. “I’m sure he built the story up to make himself seem more heroic.”

“I can’t believe you’re saying these
things. I went to the hospital. The tests found drugs in my system.” She looked
up to find Jaxon leaning on her doorway. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed to him.

He waved her off.

“And Jaxon sure as hell wasn’t responsible
for any of it,” Sela continued. “The fact that you would even imply such a
thing is unforgiveable.”

“You’re sleeping with him again, aren’t
you?” Andrea demanded.

“If I were, he wouldn’t have had to slip
something in my drink to get me back into bed, would he? That kind of shoots
your little theory all to hell, doesn’t it, Mother?”

“Don’t get smart with me. Was your father
right? Are you sleeping with him again?”

“That’s none of your business!” She took a
deep breath, but it did little to calm her nerves. “If you and Dad can’t
support my decisions, you can stay the hell out of my life!” She hit the
disconnect button, her hand trembling as she slammed the phone down in the
cradle.

“Wow,” Jaxon said, whistling. “I knew they
hated me, but this takes it to a new level, doesn’t it?”

Sela felt like crying, but she refused to
allow her mother to reduce her to tears. “I’m so sorry you had to hear that.”
She ran a hand through her messy hair. “She was way out of line.”

“It’s okay.” Jaxon sat on the edge of the
bed and pulled her into his arms. “I’ve given your parents plenty of reasons to
hate me. I broke their little girl’s heart, and they’re afraid I’m going to do
it again. If I were them, I’d hate me too.”

“Don’t give them a pass,” she whimpered, in
spite of her vow not to cry. “The way they’re behaving is inexcusable. I can’t
believe they’d suggest that you could do something like that to me.”

Jaxon drew back and looked her in the eye
as he caught a tear sliding down her cheek. “There are days when I hate myself
for what I did to you, but you have to know I’d never hurt you again.”

It was easy to believe him when she saw the
sincerity in his eyes, but he’d said those words before and shattered her heart
almost beyond repair. “I want to believe you.”

“But you can’t. Not yet. I get that.”

Sela reached for his hand when he pulled
away. “It’s not that I don’t still have feelings for you. I do.” But was she
still in love with him? Even if she was, could she ever trust him again? Could
she believe he was in it for the long haul?

“I guess that’s a start.”

“Where do you see us going, Jaxon?” She
never thought she’d ask him that question again, not after he’d shot her down
so many times.

“I’m in love with you.” He rubbed his thumb
over the back of her hand. “It’s as simple as that. I never thought I’d be able
to think about forever with anyone, but I don’t want to lose you again.”

Sela frowned. “Are you saying you’d marry
me just to keep from losing me?”

“I’m saying I’d do whatever it took to make
you happy. If you wanted to get married… if that would make you happy, I
would.”

She withdrew her hand, wondering if he even
realized he was insulting her. “I don’t want a man to marry me just to make me
happy. I want someone who wants to marry me because it’ll make him happy,
because I make him happy.”

Jaxon frowned as though she wasn’t making
any sense. “Of course being with you makes me happy. Would I be trying to get
back with you otherwise?”

Sela pulled the sheet tighter around her,
feeling too exposed. The lack of clothing didn’t make her uncomfortable, but
the prospect of opening herself up to a man who still seemed to be on another
plane as far as commitment did. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

She saw the fear in his eyes and felt a
modicum of relief that she wasn’t the only one who was terrified. “A woman
doesn’t want a man to marry her out of a sense of obligation.” She couldn’t
believe she had to explain that to him, but he really did seem clueless. “I get
the feeling you’d be satisfied with a casual relationship forever. Seeing each
other, maybe living together, that would be enough for you, wouldn’t it?”

“I haven’t really thought that far into the
future.” His eyes were downcast when he said, “A few weeks ago, I was just
concerned about getting you to speak to me again. I never expected we’d be”—he
gestured toward the un-made bed—“back here so soon.”

“Then this is happening too fast for you?”
Sela didn’t know why she was disappointed he hadn’t changed as much as she’d
hoped. He may be willing to say the words she wanted to hear, but he still
didn’t have the guts to back them up.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” When he didn’t
respond, she said, “I think it’s time for you to go now. I’ll be fine on my own
from now on.” She wasn’t just talking about the headache. Jaxon had reaffirmed
what she already knew, and she’d be better off alone than with a man who made
her feel like marrying her was a price too big to pay.

“Look, this came out all wrong. Just
because I haven’t thought about the future doesn’t mean we won’t get there
eventually.”

She tried to mask her sadness when she
looked at him, but she suspected he knew her well enough to see right through
her. “Eventually? Are we talking months, years, maybe never?” When he didn’t
respond, she said, “That’s what I thought. I don’t want someone who needs
forever to decide if I’m the right woman for him. He should just know. In his
gut.”