First Time For Everything

“I’d be a fool not to accept the new position,” he said.

“Forget what other people think.” She longed to get him to see reason. The kind of reason that involved the heart, not just the head. “What do you want?”

The pause that followed felt as though it lasted forever, and she could see the doubt etched on his face.

“I like the excitement of the chase of the investigation,” he said slowly. “I enjoy the challenge of the

trials. But the higher up the chain I go, the less hands-on the position will become.” His eyes honest, he gave a small shrug. “I’m happy where I am.”

“Then turn the offer down.”

He pressed his lips together. “It’s a big opportunity,” he said, his tone pure logic. “I’d be a fool to pass it up.”

Looking down at him, Jax sent him a pointed lift of a brow. “Is that you talking?” she said. His expression was more conflicted than she’d ever seen, and her voice dropped an octave, desperate to get through to Blake. “Or your father?”

The flicker in his eyes reflected the truth in her words.

Blake rolled his head to stare up at the sky again, his voice distant. “It’s hard to tell the difference anymore.”

Jax studied his profile, struggling for the words that would convince him to let the heavy weight of responsibility go. But she was experienced enough to know that those words might not exist, because although the car accident hadn’t left Blake with massive scars on the outside, he carried them heavily on the inside.

And as Jax had learned long ago, those were the hardest to heal.

A look she couldn’t interpret flashed through his eyes, and his breath came out in a frustrated whoosh. “And here I am, whining about my past, when you—”

Jax covered his mouth with her hand. She knew what he’d been about to say.

“This isn’t a competition,” she said, sending him a softly chastising look.

No way was she going to let him belittle his past by mentioning hers, as if his suffering had somehow been less significant in comparison. Pain was pain, no matter how it was served. And his certainly affected his choices for the future.

The sensual lips beneath her fingers sent a skitter of desire down her limbs. She had no idea how long her time with him would last. And she was hit with an overwhelming need to bury her worries about where he was headed, where they were headed, and simply make love to him again—both the former hell-raiser and the current rule-follower.

Her lips quirked into a gently teasing smile. “But if we’re comparing our physical scars...” Jax sat up and slid the straps of her one-piece down to her hips, exposing her skin and the numerous marks on her belly. She sent him her best sultry look, knowing he’d get distracted by her bared breasts. He always got distracted by her bared breasts. “My scars are definitely more impressive than yours.”

As predicted, heat flared in his eyes as they traveled down her curves.

His voice husky, he said, “Is this a competition?”

“If it was, you’d lose.”

She sent him her best seductive smile, and his sexy gaze lit a fire low in her belly, only to be tinctured by the burn of something else when his gaze landed on her abdomen.

Her breathing grew shallow, quick, as she willed herself not to move. They’d made love multiple times since that day she’d revealed her scars to him, but anytime he’d tried to touch one, she’d moved his hand to more important, more needy areas. Hoping to sidetrack his efforts.

But he’d talked so frankly about his own wounds, the least she could do was let him look at hers. And the moment was going well, until he reached out to touch one, and her heart dropped to her toes....

TEN

Despite the hesitation on her face, Blake didn’t budge as he looked up at Jax, his finger resting on her largest scar.

When she’d pulled her suit down to her waist, he was positive she hadn’t been thinking about having another serious conversation, much less one about her past. He forced his gaze to remain on her hazel eyes, though he longed to linger on her bared chest. If he’d been a weaker man, her distraction would have worked.

He swallowed hard, hoping he wasn’t a weaker man.