“Fucking amazing,” he mutters. He places his hands on my shoulders and attempts to push me down.
“Uh-huh, my rules, remember?” I say, shaking my head. He laughs, his eyes twinkling with amusement as I continue to palm his erection. “What’s it worth to you, Jaxon? Feeling my lips wrap around your cock, sucking, my tongue circling around your rod.” I chuckle and gently press my lips against his as my finger circles the tip of his cock. “Am I making you want me?”
“I always want you,” he growls. He grabs a handful of my hair and forces me down onto my knees. “You win, Char. Whatever you want, okay? Now suck.”
I grin and do a little victory dance in my head as my lips close around his erection. He gasps, his grip on my head tightening as I take him all in. My tongue moves up and down his length seamlessly as I bring him to the point of release. I get him just where I want him and then I stop. I look up at him and wait for
him to realize. His eyes fly open and meet mine. I can barely hold back my amusement as he stares at me, confused.
“What happened?” he asks.
“We’re bargaining, right? Someone wise once taught me, ‘Don’t give away the prize until you get what you want.’ So”—I bat my eyelashes—“I’m getting what I want.”
He crosses his arms, clearly not seeing the funny side of the situation.
“And what exactly, is that?”
“I want to know about Brynne.”
Chapter 23
Jaxon
I can hear the hesitation in her voice. I know exactly what she’s talking about, but all the same, I play dumb. “What?”
“Brynne,” she says, her eyes narrowing.
I sigh and sit down on the edge of the bed. She sure knows how to kill a mood. A moment ago she had her mouth on my cock, and now she wants to talk about my ex-girlfriend?
I hate talking.
Expressing how I feel is not something I’m used to, or very good at. More than anything I want to divert the conversation, but I know she needs this. She needs something to see that I do trust her.
“She left.” I shrug, not sure how to put into words what I’m feeling. “Just like that. No warning, no explanation. Women don’t just leave me, Charlotte. It’s easier to just close myself off than to try to explain something I don’t understand myself.”
“You have no idea where she is? What happened to her?” I ask.
“No idea at all. The police questioned me. The media ran away with some bullshit story that I killed her. People like drama, so they believe it. If the world wants to see me as a monster who’s capable of that, then what can I do?”
“You could tell your side of it,” she says.
“That’s what I’m doing, right? That’s our arrangement?” My voice grows cold. “I’ll give you what you need, Charlotte, but you’re not going to make me out to be some sob story. I don’t need pity.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do,” she protests. She shakes her head, confused. “This isn’t about the story. It’s about you and me. I see glimpses of the real you, but then all too quickly you close up. Why won’t you let me in?”
“Because everyone who I let in eventually leaves me,” I reply quietly.
My eyes meet hers, and for the first time there’s no mask. I so badly want to reach out and hold her but I can’t. I can’t drag her into my hell when I know how this story ends.
“You don’t want me, Charlotte. All I’ll end up doing is ruining you.”
Chapter 24
Charlotte
The single rose sits delicately on my bed. Smiling, I reach for it, careful not to prick myself on the thorns that line the long, green stem. Its blood-red petals are perfectly formed, its beautiful aroma engulfing me as I lean in and breathe.
Just when I’m beginning to doubt whether I can do this anymore, he does something like this. It’s only a small gesture, but after our talk last night, it means so much.