“Nothing about this,” I signal to him and the room beyond, “is okay. I won’t be in your movie after all, Mr. Wilson. I just wanted to let you know that before I leave.”
“Wait. You don’t want to do that, my dear,” His voice has an edge to it, a warning. “That would be career suicide.” He shakes his head. “Don’t be a prude. You knew perfectly well that I was inviting up to my room so we can really get to know one another. Now come in here so we can finish what we started.” He grabs my wrist and pulls me toward him.
My insides burn with fury. Through the buzzing of anger in my head, I vaguely hear my name being called down the hallway. Before I can wonder which unfortunate hotel employee is witnessing this, my training kicks in. I twist my arm free the way Jaxon taught me to and throw a perfect punch straight into Harry Wilson’s stupid, ruddy face. His head snaps back, and his eyes roll before he falls onto the ground, knocked out completely.
“Malia!” This tim
e I recognize Jax’s voice and turn to see him running down the hall to me.
My hand throbs in pain, and I stare at Jaxon, trying to figure out how he can be here.
He rushes to me and takes hold of my shoulder like I might be on the verge of collapse. “Are you okay?” His gaze roams over my body, checking for injuries. I manage to nod, still confused. Jax turns his attention to the unconscious Harry Wilson on the ground. His hairy legs are propping the door open, and his robe has come loose to reveal a pale bulging stomach. Not a pretty sight.
“Whoa.” Jax looks at me appraisingly. “Nice right hook. Perfectly executed and clean follow through. It’s good for him that you knocked him out, because I was about to beat him up.”
“You heard him?”
“I stepped out of the elevator when he was opening his door. As soon as he laid his hands on you, I came running. But you handled it well.”
Maybe a little too well. I gesture to Harry’s prone figure. “What do we do about him?”
Jax shoves Harry’s legs into the room and the door shuts. “He’ll survive, even if he doesn’t deserve to.”
He puts a hand at the small of my back, and we begin to stroll back toward the elevator. “Jax, I still don’t understand. What . . . what are you doing here?”
“Apparently, helping you cover up your assault,” he says with a grin.
“In Hollywood?”
He looks at me, all the joking gone from his expression. “I needed to talk to you.”
I stop and stare at him. “You flew here because you wanted to talk to me?”
He takes my hand and a sharp pain makes me flinch. He examines my knuckles. “We better get some ice for that hand.”
We finish walking to the elevator and Jax presses the down button. The doors open and a bellhop wheels out a cart with covered plates.
Jax points at Harry’s room. “The man in that suite has had a bit too much to drink. You might want to check on him.”
The bellhop nods, unconcerned. Maybe Harry is a regular here.
We enter the elevator, and Jax pushes the button for the lobby. He then takes my hand in his. “Let’s see if you broke any knuckles.” He gently follows the line of my bones, one at a time. He pauses and looks at me over our hands. His blue eyes are intense as they focus on mine. My heart races, and it takes everything I have not to close the small distance between us.
He returns to examining my hand. “I heard you say that you don’t want to be in that movie anymore. Is that on account of the half-naked director?”
I wince a little at some of the places Jax prods. “The half-naked director sealed the deal, but no. I made up my mind before he opened the door. And for the record, I was only supposed to sign a contract that he supposedly left in his suite.”
Jaxon nods. His fingers dance over my skin so tenderly that his callouses are the only indication he’s a rancher and not an artist or a piano player. I can’t stop myself from imagining those gentle fingers roaming all over my body, and my stomach tightens with desire. I push the thought away, but Jax must feel the shift in me because the corner of his mouth turns up at the side. “So, why’d you turn it down?”
“He wasn’t my type.”
Jax stops his progress long enough to give me an exasperated look.
I give him a smirk. “Oh, you mean the role. I realized there are other things that bring me more joy.”
He continues to examine my hand, but much more slowly, as if he’s in his own thoughts. What thoughts are swimming around in that beautiful head of his?
“Why are you here, Jax?”