Oh Connor was deeply regretting that he was there with Dane. All Connor had really wanted was to distract himself from thoughts of Jaxx. He had managed to ruffle her on Sunday and knew he couldn’t afford to allow her too much of a reprieve or a lot of recovery time. He needed to be right there taking up her breathing space if he had any chance of wearing her down. However he had also wanted her to sweat, wondering when he’d next show. Plus, a few days for her to cool off would help his cause. But thinking about her all the time wasn’t helping him keep to his plan.
If he was honest, they weren’t the only reasons he was staying away. It rattled him that he had such a driving urge to see her. Since kissing her on Sunday, he hadn’t been able to shake the memory of how she tasted, and he hadn’t wanted to. What he wanted was more. Maybe it was time to go and get it.
“Please tell me you’re done ’cause I’m freezing my tits off here!” griped Jaxxon, to which ‘Uncle’ Tony and his small crew chuckled. It was alright for them; they weren’t required to appear one with bloody nature in the chilly evening air wearing a thin dress.
“We’re done now, chick,” said Tony, almost drowned out by the bustle of the equipment being gathered to be loaded into the SUV which was parked down the hill.
Literally dithering, she leapt from the fallen tree she had been posed on and dived into her coat. She saw Tony’s smug look and shot him a glare that swore revenge. The idiotic man had come with the proposal of her modeling a collection of designer dresses made by a friend of his. Regardless of the fact that he was a popular designer, Jaxxon wasn’t keen on modeling skimpy things that revealed her body. Her response had been ‘Oh no’. Ollie had said ‘Sounds good’. Richie had said ‘I like that designer’. Their claims that she was out-voted meant jack to her, so Tony had resorted to gambling. He had bet her that she couldn’t get through a photo-shoot without swearing. Of course he’d won, so there she was in the middle of a woodland area having spent the day posing on rocks and protruding tree trunks.
“Just think, in a few weeks’ time you’ll be on that tour advertising the Allure line, sunning it up in places like Miami,” said Tony as he urged her to walk beside him down the hill. “You won’t be shivering then. Have you thought anymore about going to that trip to Milan before you go?”
“Still undecided.”
“Oh, chick, you don’t want to miss an opportunity like that. Others would kill to have a famous designer release an exclusive collection for them to model in their very own name. Did they want to use just your first name or was it your surname as well?”
“Tone, you must know by now that I’m not seeking the keys to Catwalk-dom. Strutting just isn’t me.”
“If nothing else, you can go over there and find yourself a fine, rich hubby whose life you can make miserable even while he adores you.”
“Funny, Tone.”
“Did Richie tell you about FHM magazine wanted you to pose for it?” he asked, smiling.
“You know very well what my response was to that. No way am I spreading myself all over a men’s magazine.”
Tony giggled. “Jaxxon, darlin, blokes will wank over that body of yours whether you’re in a men’s mag in your underwear or not, so what’s the difference?”
“I wouldn’t be comfortable on display like that.”
“Why? You’ve got the body for it, though I can’t for the life of me figure out how you can’t see that for yourself. Go on, give the men of your country something to add to their wank-bank.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Anthony Masters you are going to roast in the lowest level of hell.”
He laughed. “Oh, speaking of roasts, Lily asked me to invite you over for Roast Dinner on Sunday again. She also asked to adopt you but I told her that would be pushing it a bit.”
Jaxxon chuckled. “I wouldn’t miss one of your wife’s Roast Dinners for anything.”
“I’ll try to make sure my son doesn’t drool all over you this time. I suppose sticking him in the shed is always an option.”
“I still can’t believe Ant’s sixteen, he only looks about twelve.”
He nodded. “Don’t say that in front of him. The lads have always given him grief over it. Poor bugger – when you were in the annexe we swore him to secrecy so you wouldn’t have fans sitting outside the house, so now that you’ve moved out he told all his mates you used to live there and they didn’t believe him. He was guttered.”
“Aww.” Jaxxon giggled. As they continued toward the vehicles he told her which were his favourite shots and teased her about which were most wank-worthy. She swatted his arm for that. Jaxxon hadn’t thought much of the azure-blue convertible parked next to her Audi until she saw the figure leaning against it. Her heart stuttered and her stomach knotted. It had been three days since he had ‘visited’ her apartment; three days during which she had wondered when he would be in touch again, three days during which every time she had unlocked the door to her apartment she had wondered if he was waiting inside, three days during which she had hated herself for obsessing about it all.
Connor grinned at Jaxx’s scowl. He hadn’t expected a warm, welcoming reception, especially since he technically shouldn’t know where she was, but he wanted her to know how easily he could find her. As always, the urge to touch her had his fingers tingling. Seeing those bare legs of hers had his c**k rising to attention. That scowl…Did she have any idea what she did to him?
“You gonna be alright?” Tony asked her as the sexual tension smothered him like humidity in summertime. He saw the way the F1 bloke was looking at her and he didn’t like it. People stared at Jaxxon all the time but this was different. He made Tony think of a predator that had already caught his prey and was finding humour in watching it try to get away.
“I’ll be fine, Tone,” she reassured him with a nod and a half-smile. Then she stood in front of her car, keeping at least three feet between her and Connor. She could feel her body tightening with a carnal hunger. His primitive need for her was beating at her skin, making her close to vibrating with her own. He was so magnificently masculine that it hurt. As his dark, hooded eyes roamed over her a blast of heat coursed through her.
Once they were alone she spoke, “I won’t ask how you got my schedule.” The smoky tint to her voice betrayed her desire. Same way he got her phone number and address, she imagined. Ollie’s secretary was obviously easily charmed.