Reckless (Renegades 1)

Her stomach twisted with excitement.

Walk, Lex. One foot in front of the other.

Eight

Lexi’s mind blurred between the moment she took the first step and the moment she stood in front of Jax’s door. She focused on the numbers—seven-one-four—pulled air through her lips, and pressed her hand to the cool, painted metal.

As the door opened, light from the hall cast a wedge of soft yellow on the deep blue carpet in the entry.

Lexi swept her gaze over the dim interior setting and found Jax’s shadowed form where he sat on the arm of the sofa deeper in the suite’s living room. Hands lazily clasped in front of him. Jeans, bare feet, white T-shirt…maybe. Too many shadows to tell for sure. Which was good. If she thought she was nervous in the hall, her heart was about to jump from her chest now. The darkness helped.

She stepped into the room, closed the door, and pressed her back against it, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. Silence seemed to swamp the space, the quiet so complete Lexi swore it compressed her lungs.

“You lied, sugar. ” His first words startled her, like a touch from the dark, but the distant bathroom light showed he hadn’t moved. His voice, low and languid, created a sultry, sensual sensation all through her body, as delicious as the thought of melted chocolate on salty, warm skin.

“Lied?” She sounded like she’d run the stairs to his room. “About what?”

She glanced to her left, through a doorway that must have led to the bedroom. Another door that could only be for a bathroom stood open a few inches, just as he’d promised.

“You’ve got a sweet voice. ”

She jerked her attention back to him as he stood from the sofa. Taller than she’d expected. Broader than she’d expected.

A different kind of nervousness squirmed through her chest. Her hands clenched, the palm of one hand digging into the edges of her phone. “W…what did I lie about?”

“Your body. ”

He stepped closer, and the first cut of unease shot crackling heat through her chest. Had she misread him? Was she misreading herself? If this was passion, it was more intense than anything she’d ever felt. Overwhelming. Obsessive. Dark.

She found the door handle at her back with her free hand. Curled her fingers around it. “Is…is that a problem?”

“Why?” he asked.

Her brow pulled. Why what? She couldn’t remember what they’d been talking about. This was so out of her scope. She should never have tried to play in Rubi’s league.

“I’m not sure…” she started.

He closed in. His scent drifted to her—fresh, spicy.

Real. So in-her-face real.

This was no fantasy. Two hundred pounds of stranger stood less than two feet away. Her throat closed. She turned, pressed the lever, and pulled the door open. “I’m sorry, I don’t think this…”

The door shut. Lexi gasped, her gaze darting up. The shadow of Jax’s hand lay against the white door. Her mind froze. The sound of her own heartbeat filled her ears as his heat washed the length of her body.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic.

“Hold on, baby. Hold on. ” His voice, soft and apologetic, took some of the sting out of the fear.

She kept one hand gripping the door handle, the other flat on the door, and tried to slow her breathing.

“You’re okay. We’re okay. ” His hand disappeared from the door. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. You can leave, Lexi, honey, anytime you want. I just… Talk to me, Lex. Then if you still want to go, open the door and go. ”

The regret in his voice felt like a rock in her gut. Mortification made her stomach ball into a fist. “I’m sorry too. I don’t know what I was thinking coming here…”

One of his hands lay gently on the top of her head, then slid all the way down her hair where it ended past the middle of her back. The touch felt good. Sweet. A few nerves released their tension.

“Wow,” he murmured, “I should have added extra long to the possibilities. I love it. ”