She pushed herself two steps forward, out of the darkness of the short hallway leading into the suite’s living room. With one hand pressed to the wall, she used the other to ease aside one edge of his jacket, giving him a better peek. “Would it make you feel better to know I have on a bra and panties? Ones I bought today, while I was thinking of you?”
From where she stood, she could make out his shadow. He was sitting in a chair, leaning forward, arms resting on his knees. He’d left the curtains open, and the lights of the city turned the sheers a soft blush.
“You’ve…” he started, his voice thick, “…modeled. ”
The excitement twisted on her and pinched. Lexi’s past included many men who she’d come to learn had been with her for the sole purpose of telling buddies they were sleeping with a model. She’d never wanted or enjoyed the superficial lifestyle, but it had paid well. A handful of years modeling on the side had given Lexi enough cash to launch Lexi LaCroix Designs.
“I have,” she admitted. “A long time ago. How could you tell?”
“The way you move, the way you stand. ”
Lexi swallowed and asked him what she’d asked in a different way at the airport. “Have you modeled?”
He laughed. The sound slid over her like a touch, and need rose to the surface. “You didn’t get a good look at me, did you? I’m thinking your lights-off idea is a good one. I…dated a few models. ”
She echoed his laugh. “Models don’t date unattractive men, Jax. And I have fifteen-fifteen vision. Rest assured, your looks may have been an initial draw, but they aren’t the reason I’m in your room dressed in next to nothing, ready to do anything you want until my plane leaves in the morning. ”
Jax’s breath left his chest in a heavy whoosh, followed by silence. Lexi could swear the air in the room grew heavy. Thick. Tight. And not in a good way.
The shadow of Jax’s head lowered, and a muffled curse filtered through the room.
Lexi’s stomach pinched. She stepped forward with an urge to fix—mend whatever tear she’d just made between them.
“Then why?” His frustrated question stopped her. The hurt anger in his voice chilled all the heat in her belly.
He stood and came toward her. Lexi fell back a step. As soon as he rounded the arm of the sofa, the distant light from the bathroom whispered over him. He was shirtless, jeans unfastened and hanging low on his hips. His hair lay flat, pulled off his face, probably wet from the shower. The dim light hit on his straight nose, angled jaw, broad forehead. The hell he wasn’t model quality.
And that body… God, he was fucking built. The shadows hinted at ridges of muscle from his shoulders to his belly, some of which she’d already felt, but seeing it… The hunger she’d suffered all day tried to break through her fear.
“Why?” he asked again, standing
close enough to touch. “Why are you here, dressed in next to nothing, ready to do anything I want until your plane leaves in the morning, Lexi?”
Her stomach clenched. But his tone wasn’t angry as she’d thought. He was hurt. Suspicious. Jaded.
Lexi tried to search his expression but couldn’t see any more than his flexing jaw. She swallowed back regret and reached up. Ran her thumb over the rigid, pulsating surface. “What happened today? You didn’t question me this morning. ”
“I was reminded that you and I seem to have a similar problem—having people want us for reasons other than what they give up front. ”
Lexi remembered his friend’s words at the airport. “It’s not a good time for him. ” Yet she’d started a flirtation, accepted an invitation, then tossed in her own stupid mind games on the guy. Guilt tainted her excitement. She was always trying to please everyone else, always trying to anticipate what a client would want, need, love, and give it to her. But she hadn’t done that here. She’d only been thinking about what she wanted, not how it might affect him.
“I’m sorry. That’s…never a good feeling. But that is the beauty of anonymity, right? People can’t want something they don’t know you have. ”
He didn’t immediately respond, then asked, “What happened at your meeting?”
“I’d really rather not talk about it, but since I can tell it’s important to you…” She shifted on her feet, trying to figure out what she wanted to say. “It…didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped. ” She let out a breath, all the frustration and worry and disappointment flooding back in. “I was under the impression I was specifically chosen for this partnership. But I found out at lunch, while the designer really wants me to join her, she has a board of directors who are interested in a couple of other top designers. They’ve decided to turn this into a competition, which doesn’t please me at all. Not because I can’t win, because I know I can—”
She stopped suddenly, realizing how conceited that sounded. “I mean…I’m not saying that because I’m full of myself. I know because I’ve participated in so many to get where I am, that I know how they work, I know the ins and outs. I know what judges like to see, how they score, how to present pieces in a unique way. I know how to win competitions the way some people know how to take tests.
“Anyway, I’m already operating at my limit. I don’t have the bandwidth to stretch myself even thinner. ” She could feel the stress rising again. Just talking about it made a strap of steel tighten around her chest, forcing pressure to her head. “But if I don’t take this opportunity, I’ll continue to be overwhelmed. ”
This wasn’t a good time for either of them. “I’m sorry, Jax. I…have too much going on to be a good…” A good what? A good fuck?
Jesus, she was twisting her own mind into knots. She shoved her hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Do you…want me to go?”
“No. ” He reached out and gripped her arms. Firm but not painful. The light touched on his tattoo—something she’d forgotten all about. “No, I don’t want you to go. I’m just…I just want to know why you want to be here with me. The real reason. The truth. ”
She collected her scattered thoughts. “I’m here because I like you. Because you’re fun and thoughtful and interesting and sexy. Because you make me feel more than I’ve felt in what seems like forever.