Page 18 of Jaxon

Jaxon woke me twice from a luxurious sleep to make love, and each time our bodies entangled with heat and a passion that almost overwhelmed me. I found myself falling harder and harder for the man. We'd finally fallen deeply asleep in each other's arms when my phone rang from somewhere in the room. I knew the sound too well, and it made me bristle. My dad insisted I have a special ringtone just for him, so I'd make sure to never miss his call. It was one of his many control tricks. He wielded power like a wicked witch wielded her wand, always for destruction and never for good.

Jaxon's soft snore assured me the phone hadn't woken him. The party downstairs had ended, and the house was quiet except for the creaks of its old bones and the occasional push of wind outside. I lifted Jaxon's arm off me. He growled in protest but was too out of it to open his eyes. I tiptoed across the room toward the sound of the phone. I found my dress and pulled it on as I fished my phone from the pocket. The screen said Dad. It always amused me since I'd never thought of Nathan Walsh as anything but the man who loomed over my life with a disapproving scowl.

I took the phone out to the hallway. "What?" I asked in a whisper. I continued to the stairs and tried to sneak down them. I flinched with each squeaky step. I made it to the entry. "What do you want?"

"You need to come home, now," Dad said in a chillingly harsh tone

"No."

"You're with him, aren't you? Jaxon Stone." He said the name with deadly precision to let me know he knew everything.

"Not sure if that's any of your business." I was pushing the limits with him, but I was done skulking around in the shadows pretending I was living any kind of life under this man.

"His dad is Hunter Stone, and his mother is Amy Stone."

"So, you had your assistants up all night checking him out? Well, kudos to Hunter and Amy. They raised an incredible man."

"Hunter's motorcycle shop and Amy's bar and grill are on leased land."

"Not everyone can buy up everything in sight," I reminded him.

"No, you're right. You think you're going to stay with this piece of trash?"

"He's not trash. You know who does qualify for human trash, though? Alexander Hurst. I want nothing more to do with him."

"Is that what you think?" There was a pause, long and silent enough to send a chill through me, and it had nothing to do with the drafty house.

"I don't want to marry him, Dad. It'd be nice if you sided with your daughter for a change. I'm staying here … with Jaxon."

"Just so happens the land that their shop and bar are on belongs to Allan Greer. You know Allan. I play golf with him at the club. He owes me. An old bet on a game that I won. One word from me, and they lose their lease and their pathetic livelihood."

I wanted to kick myself. I should have seen it coming. I knew damn well he was going to have some diabolical plan ready to go to shit on my life. That was how he rolled. "You're going to ruin their lives because I want to be with their son?"

"That's right, Bridget. I will bring hell down on the whole fucking family. Now stop embarrassing yourself with this trashy behavior and get your ass home … now."

"I don't have a car." I blinked back tears. I'd lost. It had taken only a few minutes, and the man had once again cut me off at the knees and brought me to heel.

"Then I hope you're wearing comfortable walking shoes. You'd better be in the breakfast room tomorrow at eight, or I will give Greer a call and get started on destroying the Stone family. Some of their spawns have been causing trouble for us down on Croft Beach, so I'd actually enjoy bringing them down. Not that they have far to fall," he chuckled. "See you in the morning."

The tears were flowing faster now. I was such a fool for thinking that I could somehow pull this off, that I could somehow spend the rest of my life in Jaxon Stone's arms. I tiptoed back up the noisy stairs. Jaxon looked massive and incredibly hot lying on his back with the white sheet draped loosely around his hips. He'd stolen my heart in such a short time. I wiped at the tears as I searched for my shoes. I pulled them on and watched him sleep for a few more minutes, memorizing everything about him. I could still feel the heat of his touch as I crept out of the room. I gave up trying to be quiet on the rickety stairs. The front door had a squeak of its own. The sounds of the old house followed me as I slipped outside and into the cool night air.

CHAPTER 7

JAXON

My alarm rang. I searched blindly for the phone and tapped "snooze" on the screen. It would give me ten more minutes with Bridget, and with the way she stirred every inch of me, that was all I needed. I stretched and turned over in bed and landed on an empty mattress. I sat up straight. "Fucking hell." I glanced around the room. The pink sundress was gone. Bridget had left without saying a word. Now I knew what it felt like having someone sneak out on you in the middle of the night. I was notorious for the same move, and it seemed I was getting a taste of my own bitter medicine. We hadn't even taken the time to exchange phone numbers. Now she was back in Oceanview. She might as well have been on another planet.

I lowered my feet to the floor. My shoulder ached, but it was nothing compared to the dull thud in my chest. Why had I stupidly convinced myself I had a chance with someone like Bridget Walsh?

I trudged to the bathroom to shower and get ready for work. I still hadn't come to grips with her sneaking out as I searched futilely around the kitchen for food. "Theo!" I yelled. "There'd better be groceries in this kitchen when I get home tonight!" I shouted at the top of my lungs to make sure it reached his room.

"Right here, King Kong." Theo rubbed his temples and winced in pain. "Fucking Cru—I knew I should have skipped those last shots."

I slammed shut the cupboard. "There's no food, and that's your fault!" I yelled to make sure the sound was loud enough to make his head pound.

He held up a hand asking for mercy. I had none to give. "Why are you in such a bad mood? Fin said you got back with that rich girl, you know, the enemy."

"She's not the enemy, and she's not back. Just make sure there's food in this kitchen when I get home. It's your fucking turn."

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