Page 19 of False Start, Real Passion

A battle for control. For power.

And as I stand there, phone clutched to my chest, I know one thing for certain. Sleep won’t come easily tonight. Not when Jaxon Reid is the one haunting my dreams.

And maybe, just maybe...

I don’t want him to stop.

Chapter six

The Retreat

Theautumnleavescrunchunder my heels as I step out of the sleek black car. Inhaling deeply, I steel myself for the impending disaster that is this couples’ retreat. As if fixing Jaxon Reid’s bad boy image wasn’t enough of a challenge, now I have to play his doting girlfriend for an entire weekend. In the middle of nowhere. With his entire team watching.

“Just smile,” I mutter under my breath, smoothing down my pencil skirt, “and sell the fairytale.”

I spot Jaxon across the parking lot, his broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his fitted t-shirt. He catches my eye and winks, that infuriatingly sexy smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. What fresh hell is he planning to unleash on me this weekend?

Shouldering my bags, I make my inside the rustic wood-and-leather lobby. A woman at the front desk gives me the once-over. Her eyes say serious, buttoned-up PR specialist; her lips say sympathetic, like the driver’s had.

“Checking in?” she asks, polite and expectant.

“Michaels and Reid,” I say. “I assume you’ve got us in the cabins.”

“That’s right.” Her smile stretches wide. Too wide. “We’ve got you in a cozy spot for the weekend—Cabin 7.”

The room spins a little. “The same cabin? “I’m sorry, there must be some mistake. I’m supposed to have my own accommodations.”

The cheerful attendant shakes her head. “No mistake, Miss Michaels. You and Mr. Reid are in Cabin 7. The honeymoon setup. One room, one bed. Super romantic.”

“You mean—”

“You mean perfect,” Jaxon’s voice cuts in. He sidles up next to me, all broad shoulders and cocky warmth. “What do you think, babe?”

I think I’m going to pass out. Or murder him. Or both.

“Sounds…quaint,” I say, shooting him a look of pure, unadulterated fury. He drapes an arm around my waist, pulling me closer, laughing as if he can hear the frantic beating of my heart.

This weekend will be the end of me.

Jaxon insists on carrying our bags to the cabin, like the charming fake boyfriend he’s supposed to be. I trudge beside him, silently questioning my life choices as we follow a gravel path to what I imagine is my impending doom.

“It’s only a couple of days,” I mutter under my breath, mostly for my own sanity. “We’ll survive.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” he says, grinning. “Especially that whole sharing a bed part.”

The cabin looms in front of us, its wooden steps creaking like the gates of hell opening wide. He opens the door with a flourish, waving me in like I’ve just won a fabulous prize.

“After you, my lady,” he says.

And just like that, I’m thrown headfirst into my worst nightmare:

One bed. One bathroom. Four walls. Zero room for professionalism.

Most importantly…no escape.

“You’re kidding, right?” I say.

He shrugs. “We’re supposed to look close, right? Can’t get much closer than this.”

---