Page 35 of Jaxon

"Shit, isn't that the truth. It's my dad. He's in the house and asking where I am."

"He really thinks he's your fucking prison guard, doesn't he?"

"I told you—he's a control freak. And to answer your question—yes. And now, as much as it pains me to tell you this—get dressed and get your hunky ass out of here."

Bridget pulled on her bikini, and I reluctantly got dressed.

"We need to get you to the pedestrian gate unseen." She put up her hand. "Let me go out and make sure the coast is clear." She was trembling slightly.

I stopped her before she skittered away. I took hold of her shaky fingers and kissed the backs of her knuckles. "I'm not afraid of your dad. I'll sneak out right now, but one day, your dad and I are going to have a serious fucking conversation, and I don't give a shit how much money, power and how many thugs he has protecting him. I will walk away the winner."

Tears pooled in her eyes. "I wish I had your confidence that this is going to turn out right." She kissed me. "I'm working on a plan, one where I don't have to subject you or your family to my father's wrath. It's in early stages, but I searched around in his office today, and—well—I might have found something, something I can use against him. It might be nothing, but from the anxious, uptight phone calls and chats I've been overhearing between him and his business associates, it's not all unicorns and butterflies with Walsh Investments."

"So, you're going to fight blackmail with blackmail?"

She smiled. "Oh wow, not just hunky and amazing in bed but smart too."

"Yep, I'm the full package, baby, and by the way, thinking about you spying around is making me so fucking hard right now."

Bridget shook her head. "I think if I sneeze, it'll make you hard." She took my hand and then smiled back at me over her shoulder. "By the way, I like that—knowing how quick I can make you hard." She winked and stopped at the door. "Give me a second to check the path to the gate." She returned a few minutes later. "All clear." She looked me up and down. "Any possibility you can make yourself—I don't know—less visible? Smaller?"

I crouched down a little, and she laughed. "It's like trying to sneak a grizzly bear out of the zoo. Let's go."

CHAPTER 16

BRIDGET

Ispent the rest of the afternoon sitting in my room daydreaming about Jaxon. I could still feel the heat of his hands on my skin, the urgency of his kisses on my mouth and body, the thickness of his cock between my legs. I'd been staying in my room a lot lately, but a growling stomach sent me out the door of my little sanctuary and down to the kitchen. I froze halfway down the stairs when I heard Alex's deep, taut tone coming from Dad's office.

I hurried to the kitchen to grab a few snacks. I planned to head down to the marina and sit on the boat and watch the sunset. Constantly sneaking around my own house would have been comical if it weren't so damn tragic. For a few years, I went along with the whole plan, the notion of marrying Alex and taking my proper place in my dad's society, but now I wanted nothing more than to be away from all of it. Jaxon had done that. I realized how happy I could be no longer surrounded by wealth and privilege and people who only cared about those two things. I stuffed some cheese and mayo between two slices of bread, wrapped the sloppy sandwich in a linen napkin and yanked a cold iced tea from the fridge. My heart raced the entire time I made the sandwich. It made me pause to wonder how my life had taken such a drastic turn—suddenly making a sandwich had to be a clandestine activity.

I raced to the front door and was sure I'd made a clean getaway, but as I ran across the yard, Alex called my name from the front steps. I ignored him and hurried to the pedestrian gate, the gate where just hours before Jaxon and I had kissed for a good five minutes before we could tear away from each other. The gate snapped shut behind me, and I ran toward the marina with my pathetic picnic dinner.

A glowing sun was just starting to drop down toward the horizon. The ocean was agitated from an offshore breeze, and the resulting ripples glittered gold in the late afternoon light. The ripples also caused the yacht to bob up and down in its slip. I climbed on board and walked straight up to the helm. I sat in the swiveling captain's chair and slumped down in an effort to hide. The sandwich was simple and, after the long walk to the marina, warm and mushy, but it tasted good. I washed it down with the tea. A text came through, and my newly filled stomach tightened. I expected a nasty message from Alex, some curt lecture about ignoring him, but it was from Jaxon. I laughed out loud about my physical reaction at seeing his name on the screen.

"I can't stop thinking about you." It was short and to the point, and it sent a shiver of excitement through me. For the first time in my life, I was falling in love. I was starting to understand the "head-over-heels" phrase. It had been a few years since I'd hopped and flown across the gymnastics mat, but thinking about Jaxon made me want to run and do a front flip.

I dialed his number, and he picked up on one ring. "I can still feel you touching me," I said.

He sucked in a deep breath. "Shit, there I am again. Hard as fucking steel. I've got to see you tonight."

"Let me see if I can escape the castle and the ogre tonight. No promises." I added.

"Or I could just show up, carry you away and tell the ogre to fuck off."

"As much as I have dreamed about that exact scenario, let's try it my way first. Boring and staid, I know, but in the end, we could still end up very naked."

"Not sure if I have the patience for boring and staid, and I don't even fucking know what staid means, but I don't like the sound of it. Find an escape route, darlin'. Just let me know when and where to pick you up."

"You drive a hard bargain, Jaxon Stone. I'll talk to you later." I pushed the phone into my pocket just as footsteps landed on the deck.

I ducked down but then realized it was futile.

"Bridget? I figured you came down here to the marina." Alex had on an obnoxiously green Polo shirt and white shorts. He worked hard to always look as if he was just walking off the set of a Ralph Lauren commercial. I'd really grown to hate the pampered, rich boy look.

I stood from the captain's chair. His eyes swept up to the helm. "There you are. We need to talk."

"No, we don't." Before I could get down the stairs to the deck, he climbed onto them to come up.

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