He sidestepped into her path, and she stopped just short of running into him. Her body was an inch from his. The familiarity of her scent, her heat made him weak. He lowered his head, tilted his face until his nose touched her hair.
He couldn’t ever remember wanting anything or anyone this badly in his entire life.
“I…” she said, voice weak. “Didn’t mean…for this to happen. And I don’t understand…” She struggled but couldn’t seem to find the words.
Jax let his eyes close, but he didn’t let himself pretend Lexi was anything other than what he’d come to realize.
“Here’s the thing, beautiful,” he murmured. “You’ve scammed someone who’s been scammed enough to know what it looks like.” He pressed the palm of his free hand to her waist and felt the slightest flinch. “I’m street smart enough to recognize why a hot ticket like you is interested in me. And, baby, we both know it’s not sex when you could get that anywhere, with anyone you wanted.”
She put a hand on his forearm and leaned back. Jax slid his arm around her waist and pulled her up against his body. She gasped in surprise. Her hand tightened on his arm. Jax’s mind blurred with the pleasure streaming through him.
“After that night with you,” he whispered, “I swore I wouldn’t do this again. But…” He exhaled heavily, growled with the frustration of how perfect she felt, how badly he wanted her… He nudged her hair off her neck with his face and opened his mouth on her skin. One taste was all it took—he caved.
“Tell me what you want from me,” he murmured. “And I’ll tell you if I can ultimately fulfill your wish. That way neither of us will be disappointed later. What is it? An introduction? A part in a movie? An investment?”
A sound came from her throat, and her hand swept up his arm, over his shoulder, around his neck and pulled him close. She pressed her body to his, and God damn she made Jax’s blood boil. He groaned. Squeezed his eyes against the pain of disappointment.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I never thought… I’m just…so sorry.”
She pulled away, but Jax held on. Frustration growing with his desperation. “Just tell me, Lex. I wouldn’t go out of my way for anyone else, but I want you so badly—”
“Stop.” When she looked up, her eyes were smoky blue and swimming in unshed tears. “Just stop,
Jax. I’m not an actress. I’m a damn dressmaker. I don’t want anything from you. Nothing but the man I was with a month ago. I’m sorry you’ve been scammed in the past. I’m sorry I somehow remind you of others who’ve done that to you. And I don’t blame you for thinking the worst. It’s completely my fault for starting our relationship the way I did. It was stupid of me to hope something good could come of something started that way.”
Tears escaped her eyes. She stretched up and kissed his cheek. “Please think before you sell yourself out to another woman like that. You deserve better.”
She pulled away from him with force and pushed the exit door open by slamming the metal bar. Then she was gone.
Jax’s heart rate picked up. His brain pinged. Go after her? Was that what she wanted? If it was, this was the most elaborate scam anyone had ever used to get a favor.
By the time he pushed the door open, she was gone.
Chapter 18
Jax went back inside the club and straight to the bar.
“Hey,” he called to the bartender. “Do you know the woman who was—”
“Looked like you knew her well enough.” He gave Jax that you’re-an-asshole look. “Why are you asking me?”
He blew out a breath, pulled a hundred from his wallet, and put it on the bar. “Where is her shop?”
“Two blocks north. Lexi LaCroix Designs.”
Ah, fuck. Jax had been half expecting him to say, “What shop?”
Jax ran the two blocks, cursing himself. He stopped across the street from Lexi’s storefront, a corner spot in a series of new, quaint, stand-alone stores. Her front window was curved around the corner, huge plateglass windows displaying the most ornate wedding dress Jax could ever imagine as the centerpiece, a red gown on the right, a blue gown on the left, each a different design, each exquisite. The kind of dress his mother, sister, or date would wear to the freaking Oscars.
Haute couture. On Sunset Avenue in Los Angeles. Across the street from a Jaguar and Bentley dealership. A Bentley dealership. How ironic was that?
She hadn’t been lying or kidding or even exaggerating. She was exactly what she’d told him.
He swallowed, pressed his hands to his hips, and shook his head before he crossed the street. The shop was dark except for the lights in the window illuminating the dresses and highlighting signs declaring the store protected by surveillance cameras and a professional security system.
She’d probably gone straight home. Jax had no idea where she lived. He could call her, but she wouldn’t answer. Not that he deserved to have his call answered after what he’d just accused her of. He wandered to the edge of the building, glancing into the windows.
A sound behind the building caught his ear. He went around to the back, and found the typical small parking lot, packing boxes, trash cans…and Lexi leaning against the back door, fighting with the lock. Sobbing.