Jax (Cocky Cage Fighter Series) (11 page)

When they left things were somewhat tense between the brothers, but when they returned they seemed back to their normal, playful selves. Well, as playful as Jax gets. I was relieved since I didn't want to be the cause of any sort of bad feelings between the two. Despite what Jax may think, I don't want his younger brother. Last night I just wanted to make him jealous, to take a little of the sting away from his flat out rejection of sleeping with me.

The guys are ready to hit the water after running their marathon and insist I join them. My pale skin is starting to get toasty, and although I enjoy their father's company from his seat next to me, I've missed the brothers' bantering.

"So how was your run?" I ask them as we waded into the water up to our knees.

"It was good," Jude answers, smiling behind his dark shades so I can't see his eyes. "We only got stopped, what was it Jax, maybe a dozen times or so by skanks?"

There was no ignoring the boulder of jealousy hitting the bottom of my stomach.  

"Two dozen." Jax chuckles from the other side of me.

"So, Page, what are you up to tonight?" Jude asks, after a good size wave crashes against us at waist level.

"Nothing that I know of," I reply.

"You should come with us to see the fights," he replies.

"Fights?" I ask.

"Yeah. In the Xanadu Theater, the one at the back of the hotel? It starts at eight. There's only one for a title, but there are ten other fights on the card. It'll give you a chance to see up close and personal what we do," Jude tells me. 

"Sure, sounds fun," I say. "If you guys don't mind me tagging along."

"I could probably use your security services to run off the cage cunts," Jax teases, the first words he's spoken to me since I made a fool of myself last night.

"Maybe I could get some of that yellow ‘Caution’ police tape to form a circle around you. Although, it'll probably take some big bouncers to handle that sort of job," I joke. About that time a wave breaks right in my face before I can turn my head away. I end up spitting out a mouthful of salty sea water. Yuck.

"You okay?" Jude laughs. "It's easier if you dive underneath the waves instead of taking them on face first."

Jax must follow the same advice, because he surfaces a good distance away from us in the calm part of the ocean. He swipes a hand through his dark hair, pushing it off his face as he turns around and looks for us. The motion makes the muscles in his chest and arm flex in the sunshine. God he looks freaking edible.

"We talked about you," Jude says, lowering his voice.

"What about me?" I ask, although I can probably guess. The embarrassment I caused myself yesterday.

"He wants you-"

I scoff.

"He does, and for the first time in his life he's actually making the decision to
not
carelessly fuck a woman."

"Yay me," I say, pumping both of my fists in the air.

"Because this time he cares. He doesn't want you to lose your law license because of him."

God, of course he's right. No stupid, silly fling is worth what I worked years in school for. But what's the harm when it's just us in the privacy of a hotel room?

"I also think he's scared," Jude says before ducking under a wave that splatters across my nose and mouth.

"Of what?" I sputter when he resurfaces.                                 

"That you're more than a one-night stand, which is unheard of for him."

"Why are you telling me all this, Jude?" I ask in exasperation.

"Because all it will take is another little push or two from you and he'll break. According to him, he hasn't fucked anyone in like two weeks. That's ten times as long as his previous record. Flash a little tit and ass, flirt with him. Hell, flirt with other dudes and I guarantee he's gonna snap."

"So you're saying I should keep making a fool of myself?"

"You're not making a fool of yourself. If he wasn't attracted to you and you kept at it that would be sort of sad. But I'm telling you, Page, he's more fragile than glass when it comes to giving into you."

"Well, here goes nothing," I say to Jude with a smile when we finally reach Jax.

…

Jax

I watch as Jude and Page take their sweet ass time getting through the waves. Despite Jude's assurance this morning that there's nothing going on with him and her, I can't help that familiar jealousy from rearing its ugly head.

"It's nice out here," Page says when she's only a few feet away. She's close enough that I can see her bikini through the murky chest-deep water, a skimpy purple one today.

Jude goes into back floating mode, which is easy to do here where the water's calm.

Page ducks all the way under the water and surfaces, adjusting the cups of her bikini. Her hair is braided in two ponytails today, and rather than make her look young and innocent she's so fucking hot she could be posing for a goddamn Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. My cock is throbbing painfully under my thin board-shorts. It's been so long for me, and she is just so fucking sexy.

I'm lost in my own head imagining running my tongue down her wet neck and in between her heavy tits when I'm hit with a face full of gritty saltwater. I swipe my palm over my face and look up to find Page laughing. I've been dying to get my hands on her, and she might as well have just sent me an invitation.

"You
can
swim, right, rich girl?" I ask her.

"Yes. I mean
no
. No, I can't." She shakes her head and lies unconvincingly while backing away.

I dive into the five feet of water and jerk her legs out from under her, pulling her down until her ass hits the sandy ocean floor. Page's hands shoot out, reaching for something to hold on to and finding my shoulders. She squirms and fights for a few seconds, pushing against me until she's back on her feet again.

When I resurface I expect her to look pissed. Instead she's actually smiling as she wipes the water from her eyes. I know it's a bad idea, and that I'm playing with fire, but I can't resist this. Flirting with her. Touching her. I'm a goner.

I lurch forward, scooping Page up in my arms. "Hey, Jude. Catch," I yell to him and then toss her in his direction. She lands with a squeal and a big splash right in front of him. Before she can get to her feet Jude grabs her up and throws her back to me. She lands with such force on this fall that the back of her bikini comes untied. Two triangles of purple fabric float to the surface of the murky water, leaving her bare breasts behind. Now all that holds her top on is the strings tied at her neck.

I jump in front of Page, blocking Jude's view, as well as anyone else who happens to be watching from the shore before she flashes them. I'm only a foot away from her and can clearly see the outline of her pale titties even through the distorted reflection of the water. God I'd give anything to reach out and touch them. My hands would only need to move forward just a little bit. Oh, but then my mouth would be jealous and need a taste.

"Um, Page?" I say, unable to look away.

"What you jerk?" she asks with a teasing tone.

"Your top," I tell her.

She glances down and gasps before submerging herself lower into the water.

Why did I tell her? Oh yeah, because it was the gentlemanly thing to do, and I didn't want her flashing the entire Jersey shore.

"Crap! Will you retie it for me?" she asks, spinning around and presenting her back to me.

I reach for the two floating strings, and unfortunately, tug them back into a bow for her.

"Thanks," she says, swimming away out to sea like she's embarrassed. Honestly it's not much more than what she showed me last night when she took her shirt off in her room.

"No one saw anything," I assure her.

"Saw what?" Jude asks when he swims closer.

"My top came undone," Page tells him.

"Well damn. How the hell did I miss that?" he whines.

Page shakes her head and flashes me a smile as she swims backwards. She stops suddenly, belting out a scream before yelling, "Son of a bitch!"

Since the woman never curses it must be something bad. She starts swimming frantically back toward me and Jude. "Go back! Watch out! Fucking jellyfish!"

Oh shit! She must've been stung by one of the bastards.

"Where did it get you?" I ask when she makes it back to us, her face scrunched in pain.

"Lower back...and leg," she says between pants.

"Is it bad?" I ask, although I know it's a stupid question as soon as it leaves my mouth. 

"God yes."

"Are the tentacles still stuck in you?" Jude asks. I have no idea what the hell he's talking about. He must've seen some shit about jellyfish on the Discovery Channel or something.

"I don't know!" Page exclaims. "I can't see it!"

"She probably needs to go to an urgent care and get checked out," he says to me as we head back to the shore. "You gonna take her?"

"Damn right," I respond to his question, making it clear that I'll take care of her and we don't need his help.

"Hey, I don't need to see a doctor! I'm fine. It's just a little burn," she says, and then she stumbles in the knee high waves, worse than when she was drinking the night before. "Okay a lot of burn, but I'm sure it'll stop hurting in a few minutes."

Jude and I exchange a look that says we're not convinced. I start to reach for Page to pick her up but want to avoid the area that's hurting. "Which side is the sting on?" I ask.

"Um, the right. Why?" she asks. Instead of answering, I simply show her by grabbing her up on the left side with an arm under her knees and the other around her upper back.

"Ow!" Page says with a wince.

"Did I hurt you?" I ask her.

"No, it just...hurts."

"You're not going to bitch and tell me to put you down because you can walk?" I ask her, as I head to where we've set up camp on the shore and my dad is still sitting.

Page shakes her head no, and then surprises me when she snakes her arms tightly around my neck to hold on.

"Damn, then you must be in serious pain."

"It's better now," she says, and when I glance down she's smiling up at me, her face only inches away from mine.

"Jude, did she really get stung?" I tease, holding her bottom up higher for him to examine her back and leg.

"Goddamn!" he mutters. "That looks like hell, Page."

"Yeah, and it feels like it, too, thank you very much," she replies, actually sticking her tongue out at me.

"Apparently it also makes you act like a five-year-old," I joke when we make it back to our chairs and towels. "Or maybe that's your braids."

"Here," my dad stands up from his lounge chair, grabs my black Baltimore Ravens hat from my pile of things, and says, "If you're going to touch her, at least try not to be so damn obvious."

I bend my knees, so he can put it on my head, and then he slides my dark sunglasses on my face.

"Good thing you don't have any distinguishable tattoos to give your identity away," Page says, eyeing my chest closely like there might be a microscopic one hidden that she's somehow missed.

"Not a one. I'm scared of needles," I tell her honestly, making her laugh. "And that information better remain attorney-client privileged."

"You could easily kill a man with your bare hands, but tiny little needles scare you?" she asks with a smile. Just the thought of the damn instruments makes me shiver.

Once Page is handed her beach bag and my wallet's thrown inside it, I slip on my flip flops and we start heading to the front of the hotel. I'm pretty sure there's an urgent care just right down the road. Doubt we'll even need a taxi.

"So what else are you scared of, tough guy?" Page asks after I carry her a few minutes in silence. 

I debate whether or not to admit my other fear. But when I look down at her warm, cobalt blue eyes I know I'd confess anything to this woman. Well, almost anything. I sure as hell can't tell her that I want her too.

"I'm claustrophobic," I tell her. "I can tolerate elevators as long as they're well ventilated, you know, not hot and stuffy. But if it's only a few flights, I'd rather take the stairs. Nothing worse that tiny boxes being held by a fucking string."

"Oh God. I'm sorry, Jax," she says in understanding, burying her face in my neck. I'd almost swear I felt her lips press against my skin. The woman is trying her best to break me. "Was it really bad? Those days you were in jail?" she asks.

I shrug, refusing to admit I'd freaked out like a pussy. "The county lock up back home wasn't so bad, but the one here? Nasty and hot as fuck. Instead of sleeping on a mat laid out on the grungy floor I slept standing up against the wall all night. Well, what little I did sleep. Thankfully I was only there for one night and my dad posted my bond the next morning."

"No wonder you were so angry that afternoon," she says softly, and I assume she means the day we met. "And you
really
don't want to go back, do you?" she asks as I cross a street, now only a block away from the urgent care on the corner.