Loving the Wild Card (3 page)

The snort that ran through her mind wasn’t voiced. Yes, she’d changed.
She was all grown up and no doubt so was he; but there was no way in hell he’d
changed that much. He must think her a fool. If he wanted to play mind games,
she was up for it.

“Good, I’m glad that’s settled. Give my regards to your family when you
get home. Goodbye Josh, I don’t think we’ll meet again.” Not waiting for a
response, Lux brushed past him on her way out of the kitchen.

Chapter 3

Josh really wanted to allow her to sweep past him so she could have her
grand withdrawal. That was his intention, but there was something within him
that prevented him from letting her have her way.

At the last possible moment, all that was needed was a slight shift of
his body to ensure she ran into him. “That was some exit line,” he teased. “I
suppose I should be thankful that I at least got that much, this time around.”

“Boy, you better move out of my way!” Lux warned.

Josh would allow her to voice as many reasons as she considered
necessary for never seeing him again; but they both knew being in each other’s
company again was inevitable. They fit; they had always fit. On the flight over
he’d reached a decision. He was done giving her the space she thought she
needed.

Looking down at his Lux, he was assailed by his feelings for her that
were never far from the surface. Knowing he had to tread carefully, he adopted
his most guileless smile. It wasn’t enough, she still took a step back.

“I came straight here from the airport. It’s late and I don’t have
anywhere to stay. May I at least sleep on your sofa?” Batting his long black lashes
at her, Josh hoped he looked pitiful enough for her to agree to his suggestion.

“Boy, don’t get on my nerves. With the amount of money you have, you
could go into town and buy a damn hotel to sleep in!”

He should have known better. “Luxandria!” Josh said in exasperation at
her comeback and the way she rolled her eyes at him.

“Oh, stop your noise. You can stay, but by the time I get up, the only
memory I want of you is the lingering scent of that cologne you must have
bathed in!”

Josh wanted to laugh. Lux always spoke her mind and it seemed nothing
had changed. What pleased him was that he didn’t have on any cologne. That
meant she was still attracted to his natural scent. It was the first tell-tale
sign that no matter what she said, her senses still recognized him as her man.

“Why are you grinning like that?”

“No reason,” Josh said attempting to hold in his pleasure at seeing her
again after so long. “You look good Lux,” he couldn’t help but say.

“Not interested, Joshua,” she frowned at him. “I already said you can
sleep here. I don’t need to hear anything else from you. I know I look good,
and do you want to know why?” Lux paused, but not long enough for him to
respond. “I look this good because I don’t have to worry about you and Samuel!”

“Hell, Lux, way to give a man an inadequacy complex,” Josh mocked with
false indignation.

“You know what, I don’t even what to speak to you for the rest of the
night. You make my head hurt.”

Jabbing him in the stomach, she attempted to pass by his big body. Josh
expelled a gush of air giving the impression she’d done some damage with her
poke. When she elbowed him in the stomach, he allowed her to pass. As she
continued on her way, his gaze followed her. She was everything he’d ever
wanted, and he’d told and shown her that. Even, after all these years, that
she’d been able to walk away from him when he’d bared his soul to her, still
hurt like nothing he’d ever experienced.

When she left, his father and brother had been his constant support.
Without them, he doubted he would be the man he was today. He was going to take
Lux home, but he didn’t know how she’d be received.

No doubt by now, Jason, Aviva, and MacKenzie all knew about his and Lux’s
relationship. In all honesty, Aviva worried him the most. He knew if she
decided she didn’t like Lux they were all in for a bumpy ride.

She was true to her word, Lux didn’t speak to him for the rest of the
night. She dumped bedding on the sofa and disappeared into a room slamming the
door in her wake. By the sounds coming from the room, Josh determined it was
the bathroom. When she emerged, she acted as though he wasn’t there. She then
opened, entered and slammed another door with finality.

When he detected no sounds coming from the room, he moved around the
house checking locks and making sure everything was secure. After he had
decided enough time had elapsed and with the stealth he was known for; he
opened Lux’s bedroom door, secured the room and searched for and retrieved her
passport and birth certificate.

Without detection, he returned to his makeshift bed. When he was as
comfortable as a six foot six man could be on a five foot sofa, he dialed a
number. “It’s me. I need your help.”

****

By the time Lux emerged fully clothed the next morning, Josh was up and
dressed. The damn sofa was so small, in the end he’d given up all attempts at
getting any sleep, plus his mind refused to still, assailed by one disquieting
scenario after another.

Lux might not grasp the severity of the situation, but he did. He felt
exposed, he was in an unknown country full of strangers with nobody to cover
his back. As far as he was concerned, everyone was the enemy and the only
person he could rely on was himself. He also knew containing Lux was going to
be his biggest challenge.

Josh silently watched as she walked by still ignoring him. Lux brewed
coffee and selected fresh fruit all without saying a word. When she dumped a
bowl of fruit and a cup of coffee in front of him, he was a little surprised.
Finished with her meal, he was further taken aback when a plate containing four
slices of toast landed before him.

“I know how you like to eat. I don’t want you to return home and tell
your family I didn’t even offer you a slice of bread, so I made you four.”

“Be still my heart. I’m glad you still care enough about my wellbeing to
ensure I keep my energy levels up. Why is that, Lux?” Josh asked with a
suggestive smile.

“Eat the damn toast or leave it, I don’t care!”

As she stomped away, Josh picked up the first piece of toast and made
quick work of devouring it. By the time she returned his plate and cup were
empty.

Standing by the front door, Lux waited, her foot tapping impatiently
until Josh joined her. Securing her house she finally turned to him and held
out her hand to shake his.

Josh somehow managed to withhold his amusement as he grasped her small
hand. Running his thumb over her hand, his eyes never left her face as he tried
to gauge her reaction to his touch. She was good, apart from a slight flare of
her nostrils, she gave nothing away.

“Well, I can’t say it’s been a pleasure seeing you again, Joshua. But in
all sincerity, I wish you well.” Allowing her to withdraw her hand, Josh
watched as she walked away and got into her car. As she started the engine and
backed away, adrenaline rushed within him and set him into motion.

She lived at the far end of a street that had only one turn to exit onto
the main road. Breaking into a dead run, Josh cut across neighboring front
lawns, cleared fences to reach the end of the road and positioned himself
directly in the middle of the street. There was no way for her to avoid seeing
him. He stood approximately two hundred yards away as she turned the corner.

Josh was aware of the moment she first saw him because she applied the
brakes with enough force for the vehicle to screech to a stop. Bracing his legs
apart, he stood his ground, his hands hanging at his side. His posture and
position daring her to come through him.

He should have known better. She gave him fair warning as she gunned the
engine. When he didn’t move, she came at him at full speed. Josh remained
perfectly still estimating when she needed to brake before she hit him.

They both knew they were on the business end of a game of wills that
neither of them was prepared to lose. As the car hurtled towards him, Josh
braced himself ready to move aside at the last minute. With Lux, there was a
possibility, she wouldn’t stop.

As she came closer, he could smell the burning rubber of the tires as
they sped over the tarmac. From his calculation of the rate at which she
traveled, she was going to mow him down in a few seconds.

Perversely, he liked the adrenalin rush. For the moment at least, he
still had the upper hand, how much longer that would last, he had no idea.

****

When she saw Josh standing in the middle of the road, Lux decided to
test him as there was no way she was going to back down from his challenge. If
he thought, he was rubber man she was about to put him to the test. Sweat broke
out on her forehead. She didn’t want to hurt him, she would never hurt Josh,
but she enjoyed pushing him to his limits, she always had.

They locked eyes as she sped towards him. He called her bluff; he didn’t
move a muscle, not even a twitch. Too late, she realized she was going too
fast, so there was no way to avoid hitting him. Everything slowed down as she
registered his stunned look and engaged the brakes for all she was worth.

Then the most incredible thing she had ever seen happened. His hands
made brief contact with the hood of the car before he pushed off and vaulted
out of the way. To her mind, his feat was implausible and it freaked her out
more than she could have imagined.

Finally coming to a stop, her head whipped around in concern. Catching
sight of him was to watch a furious Josh striding towards her.

Tracking his every move, Lux bit her lip as his long gait ate up the
distance between them. She wasn’t surprised when he nearly ripped the door off
its hinges to get to her. Gripping her by the arm, Josh pulled her out of the
vehicle. One moment her feet were on the ground and the next she was suspended
in the air, her arms plastered at her sides. And she was nose to nose with
smoldering, green-black eyes.

“I should put you over my knee and paddle your backside for pulling that
stunt! Why the hell didn’t you at least swerve?”

“I’d like to see you try it, Joshua!” Lux responded ignoring his
question. She wasn’t really frightened he’d carry out his threat; she was more
embarrassed with miscalculating her speed and braking time.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Josh asked.

“I was thinking, I told you to go away and leave me alone. I also
thought that as you chose to stand in the middle of the road, you apparently
thought you could stop a moving vehicle.” Lux delivered her response without
inflection.

“Luxandria!” Josh warned, his voice a rumble of irritation.

“You need to stop using my name like it belongs to you!” Lux flung back.

The stunned look on his face didn’t bother her in the slightest. What
bothered her was how close she had come to hurting him. If she were a better
person, she would admit it and apologize.

Something in his eyes changed. By increments, the fury seeped out to be
replaced by a look that bothered her even more than his anger. His nostrils
flared and he seemed to pull in her scent. Lux knew that look and stiffened in
reaction. She fought it, but her heart rate picked up speed.

In the seven years since she’d last seen him, she’d found out the hard
way that the attraction they shared couldn’t be replicated with any other man.
This reaction was exactly what she’d wanted to avoid; him touching her or being
this close to him. Their brief encounter of last night was all the proof she
needed that she had to stay away from him.

She couldn’t look away, couldn’t stop her heart from pounding nor the
thin veil of sweat from popping out on her forehead. Lux didn’t fool herself
that he missed her reaction to his proximity.

His eyes slowly descended to her lips and Lux held her breath as her
mind pulled up memories of being held in his arms. Her eyes fluttered closed as
she leaned closer to him.

Without warning, she felt the strong hands that held her by her
shoulders disappear. Her eyes opened just in time to see him step back to watch
her land on her backside.

“Why you... you did that on purpose!” Lux sputtered.

“Luxandria, all you had to say was sorry. Seems to me, if I have to eat
dirt the least you can do is sit in it,” Josh laughed.

Rising to her feet, Lux brushed off the seat of her shorts while giving
him the dirtiest look she could manage. Turning her back on him, she stomped
towards her car, feeling like a complete fool. If she could get away with it,
she was going to leave him standing exactly where he was.

“I’ll drive,” Josh said blocking her attempt at getting into the car.

Knowing he’d read her intention, Lux said nothing as she leisurely
walked around the vehicle and got into the passenger seat. Looking over at
Josh, she bit down on her bottom lip. He looked ridiculous as he sat behind the
steering wheel with his knees nearly pressed up against his ears.

“God dammit, Lux, could you have found a smaller car!” Josh grumbled
even as he searched for the lever to push the car seat as far back as it would
go.

Lux did her best not to laugh, but it escaped her. The sounds of
discomfort coming from him pulled her gaze towards his struggle. When their
eyes finally met they both burst into laughter. That this older and harder Josh
still retained his irrepressible sense of humor hitched at her heart.