“God, that’s so hot,” she murmured. “Watching you move like that…”

A growl ground deep in his throat. He’d passed that tipping point. He couldn’t stop now. It was too good. Too intense.

“Sonofabitch, Lex, that’s so damn good.” His voice shook. He sought the peak like a man possessed. Pushed up on his forearms to gain more leverage. And oh fuck, yeah, he clawed for that goal. “Don’t stop, Lex.”

“Ask nice,” she said with that devilish tone that set him on fire. “I like hearing you beg.”

“Fuck, I wish…I was…pumping into…your dirty mouth…”

She squeezed him harder, and Jax jumped straight to the edge of orgasm, but before he reached it, she released him, and he just hovered there on the edge of ecstasy, in unbelievable anguish.

“Lexi,” he growled from behind gritted teeth. “Please. Don’t. Stop.”

“That’s so hot. You can have my mouth next time.” Her hands moved again. “I’ll go as long as you do. Come on, Jax, rock me.”

His frenzy worked his muscles hard, thrusting up and back, her hands smooth, strong, erotic, until the orgasm came so hard, he screamed into the pillow and nothing but stars coated the backs of his eyelids.

Twenty

Lexi checked her makeup in the bathroom mirror and replaced a stray strand of hair into the artful twist Jessie Love’s stylist had created before the wedding. She glanced at the time on her phone—nine p.m. Then at the message Jax had just sent from his late arrival at the airport.

JAX: Sure miss you. When do you think you’ll be free?

She sighed, smiled. He’d only been gone two days, and it felt like forever. This was going crazy-fast. This sudden relationship she’d never consciously agreed to but now couldn’t face life without. Over the years, she’d heard hundreds of stories about how the couples she was working for had met. She’d listened raptly to every strange, funny, romantic tale. Knew these types of whirlwind, you’ll-know-its-right-when-you-find-him kind of instant relationships happened. And thrived.

She’d just never expected it to happen to her.

Or with a man like Jax. He was both everything she wanted and nothing she needed. Or rather what she’d been telling herself she hadn’t needed.

They’d been texting and talking on the phone nonstop since that night at her studio, and Lexi felt like she knew Jax better than any man she’d dated in years. Yet, she didn’t really know what mattered most—who he was, how he could damage her life.

He’d been trying to tell her, bringing it up at every opportunity, but she’d been stalling, putting him off. When he told her about his past and whatever he felt this burning need to tell her, she wanted it to be in person. From the moment he’d told her he’d never do anything to damage what she’d built, Lexi knew, without a doubt, he had the ability to do just that.

She realized then that was where his subtle but deep sense of confidence came from. One that Lexi found both attractive and soothing on a subconscious level. On a conscious level, she knew too well it also lulled her into a false sense of security.

LEXI: Miss you too. Unfortunately the reception is showing no signs of letting up. Will keep you posted.

She slipped her phone into her wrist purse, took a fortifying breath, pasted on a professional smile, and headed back into the throngs.

The rock band on the northernmost patio of Greystone Mansion played a really great rendition of “Heaven” by Theory of a Deadman and made Lexi ache for Jax. She turned toward the patio on the opposite side of the complex to check on the mother of the bride.

The click of her heels on the marble terrazzo drowned in the music of voices and laughter floating on the soft summer Beverly Hills air. She nodded and smiled as she passed guests she recognized. Everyone who was someone was here, including some very big movie stars, billionaires, musicians, and the mayor. The level of security was almost stifling.

She squeezed between one of the mayor’s guards and the doorway onto the patio, patting his arm. “Excuse me, Emilio.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He turned with a serious expression, met Lexi’s eyes, and smiled. His dark gaze heated and skimmed over her body. “Oh, hey, Lexi.” He put a gentle hand on her arm. “Can I grab you for dinner next week?”

He’d asked her out every single time he’d seen her. Her path tended to cross with the mayor’s relatively often at these events. “No, but thank you—”

“For asking,” he finished, his grin sparkling in his handsome dark face. “One day, Lexi, you’re going to say yes.”

She squeezed his arm and skirted the patio slowly, searching for Jessie’s mother. The woman stood among a group of rich and famous, a glass of wine in one hand. Lexi scanned her slim body, searching the gold dress for any imperfections. When she found none, she spotted a bridesmaid in crimson and continued around the patio toward her. This woman had very large breasts and was pushing the design of the bodice to its limits—even though Lexi had reinforced the fabric with a corset-like structure.

“Lexi.” A hand closed over her arm. She turned and faced Stan Love. “I haven’t gotten that dance you promised.”

The musical quartet assembled near the fountain started playing “Somewhere in Time,” a piece that always reached into Lexi’s heart and tugged. She smiled, took his hand, and walked to a small area alongside the band.

“One of my favorite pieces.” She sighed as the older man took her smoothly into his arms and picked up an elegant, slow waltz.

“For one of my favorite women.” He smiled down at her, his gaze she could only describe as paternal, even though she’d never known her father and had never had a paternal source in her life.

They danced for a few moments in comfortable silence. Stan was strong, well-built, and smelled of spice and citrus.

“What a beautiful day, Stan,” she murmured. “You must be so proud.”

“She’s my baby,” he said. “They’re all gone now. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself.”

Lexi laughed. He was one of the busiest producers in Hollywood. “I’m sure Claudia will keep you plenty busy,” she said of his wife. “But I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. With no more of your babies to marry off, I might go out of business.”

He chuckled. “I happen to know of a young man who would like to take up a lot of your time.”

Oh Lord. She’d had two dozen people try to set her up in the last twelve hours. Still, she feigned mild interest.

“Jax asked me to put in a good word for him.”

Lexi stumbled. Stan smoothly carried her through the step until she’d fallen back into the rhythm.

“He thought that might be your reaction,” he said, grinning down at her.

She lowered her gaze to Stan’s open collar. He’d taken off his tux’s bow tie the second they’d left the church. Lexi’s gut burned with an automatic flight reflex. And when all she’d been able to think about or want for the last three days was Jax, the reaction both confused and troubled her.

“He mentioned that he’d worked for you.” She finally managed to say something coherent. “He had great things to say.”

“It’s mutual.”

She glanced up, tried to read his clear blue eyes. They were sparkling with amusement. Lexi relaxed. “That’s it? He asked you to put in a good word for him and that’s all you can manage?”

“He said not to overdo it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Do you always take direction from your stuntmen?”

“From this one, always.”

“Stan, you look like a cat that just emptied the canary’s cage.”

He laughed, head thrown back, eyes closed. The sound bounced off the mansion’s stone walls and drew every gaze on the small patio. Stan stepped back, turned her in an underarm twirl, then swept her right back into his arms.

“What is so funny?” she asked, grinning up at him, wishing he had been her father. Or wishing she’d had a father half as wonderful. Or had a father at all.

“Nothing, nothing. I admit, I had hoped Jessie would catch Jax’s eye, then Connor swept her off her feet and, well, there’s no accounting for who you fall in love with, is there?”

That comment knocked her on her ass. The song ended, and Stan released her, but Lexi held fast to his hand.

“Wait…what…? You can’t just say that and walk away.”

Stan cupped the back of her neck and pulled her close for a kiss on her forehead. He whispered, “Try not to let this place run your life, Lexi.”

She pulled back and found his blue gaze filled with affection and…wisdom. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“I’m telling you what I’ve told every one of my kids—as long as you rule LA and LA does not rule you, you’ll find success.”

Claudia stepped up to them, then wrapped an arm around her husband’s waist and Lexi’s shoulders. “Don’t try to make me jealous, you two.”

Lexi stepped back, and Stan pulled his wife into his arms but kept his gaze on Lexi. “He said his plane came in late, but promised me he’d show.”

Then he pulled his wife into a spin, a dip, and kissed her. Applause erupted around them. Someone’s hand slid over Lexi’s arm. She startled, glancing up into Emilio’s rich brown eyes.

“I got a break. If you’re not going to have dinner with me, at least let me have one dance.”

Lexi did her best to be mentally present for the dance with Emilio, but a new fear had taken root. Jax would be here. In the midst of her biggest, wealthiest client pool. And now, her apprehension over being associated with a bad-boy type dimmed, as her other bigger fear took shape—the confirmation of Jax’s power in these circles. He was far more capable of taking her business under than Steven had ever been, and in a far more subtle way. A few targeted comments and the word would spread. Rumors would grow.

Even as she tried to tell herself Jax would never try to trap her that way, never manipulate her that way, her damn flight reflex had Lexi searching for excuses to escape. But she’d never left a reception before her bride. Never. And she certainly wouldn’t desert her largest client of the year thus far over an irrational fear.

The song ended, and Emilio switched topics from his security detail for the mayor to Lexi. “I’d like to get you away from all this. Be able to talk to you when you’re not so distracted.”

He kept an arm around her waist well after they’d cleared the dance area. She didn’t mind the touch when they were dancing, but now, it made her skin tight with discomfort.

“I’ve got to check on my bride,” she said, smiling up at him. “Thanks for the dance.”

Emilio reluctantly released her with a grin and a soft, “Someday you’re going to say yes.”

Lexi paused in a quiet area of the gardens and shook out her arms. Suddenly, pins and needles stabbed her neck and spine. Her heart beat a little wildly. She couldn’t think straight. Her mind, always so open with the big-picture view at an event, narrowed to pinpoint focus, and she couldn’t widen it past Jax. Past seeing Jax at an event like this. Past what he might do when he saw her. Past how he could try to control her if he chose.