Page 39 of Reputation (Toronto Royals #1)

Since his engagement had ended, Jax had stayed away from women like her.

With his heart having been destroyed in the process, when he’d moved to Toronto, he’d decided to focus on his career.

Playing for the Royals gave him the opportunity to accomplish the one thing he hadn’t yet in his career—to win a championship.

With his age and lack of a championship becoming more and more of a discussion in the industry, Jax had locked away whatever he’d had of his heart, abandoning any dreams of a wife and family.

“Is this the same friend from the night we met?” he asked.

“Yes, that’s Joyce. She’s been my best friend since university. She’s small, but always the life of the party,” she joked.

“What did you do when you were here for your birthday? Go to any strip clubs?” he teased.

She laughed loudly, her head tilting back.

“Yes, actually. I was dragged to a Magic Mike show,” she said, shaking her head.

“But we spent more time at the pool and saw a couple of other shows like Treasure Island . I love Cirque du Soleil and insisted on seeing it while we were here.” She sighed, face bright with happiness.

“But we didn’t really do any crazy partying.

We never made it to see these fountains, though.

They are beautiful,” she finished, gazing at the water again.

He let silence fill the space between them for a moment. “They certainly are,” Jax finally murmured. His voice came out deeper, softer than he’d expected.

He watched a shiver trace across her skin. A blush spread across her cheeks, and Jax found himself again wanting to trace the flush of color with his lips, follow it down her throat and see if it spread anywhere else on her body.

The reaction was something he noticed she did whenever he paid her a compliment. It was as if she wasn’t completely comfortable with her beauty. He liked that about her. She had to know she was stunning, but it made her even more beautiful that she wasn’t someone who flaunted it.

Eavie turned to look at him, and he held her gaze tightly. She studied his face, and he imagined she saw the lights from the fountain reflected in his eyes and, underneath, the fire that burned in his veins from his need for her.

She bit her lip as she traced her eyes lower, down to his chest, then lower. Hunger flared in him, and something of what he felt must have shown on his face as he watched her play with the plump pink flesh of her pillowy mouth.

A moment later, she released her lower lip, clearing her throat. “We should probably get back to the hotel,” she said, glancing around nervously at the people milling about.

He hesitated for a heartbeat, not wanting the night to end. Reluctantly, Jax nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. They dropped the garbage in a nearby trash can before continuing the journey to the hotel.

As he fell into step beside her, she asked, “So, how come you don’t drink much?”

“Mostly because of hockey,” he answered. “I find that I’m sluggish after a night of drinking. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to let loose when we’re on a break—during the summer and all that. But,” he paused, catching her eye before he continued. “I like to be in control.”

Another blush started to span against her cheeks, and she turned away before he could watch it grow. Still, a deep satisfaction spread through his chest at his ability to make it appear so often.

Ignoring his comment, she changed the subject. They continued chatting as they made their way back to the hotel, laughing and taking in the atmosphere of the streets of Sin City. It seemed no corner or street wasn’t crowded with people or lit up with flashing, neon-colored lights.

Entering the lobby of the MGM Grand, just like outside, there were people everywhere, despite the late hour, coming and going from the casino, making their way to the bars or restaurants. Together, they wandered over to the elevators and waited silently for one to arrive.

Again, Jax found he didn’t want the evening to end. The problem was, his practical side knew he needed to say goodnight before he destroyed the small amount of progress he’d made with her.

When the gilded elevator arrived, they stepped on, along with a large group of other guests. The elevator was so full that Eavie ended up standing in front of him, her body perfectly flush with his.

Holy fuck, she felt like heaven .

His body held perfectly still as every one of her curves aligned with him. He had no hope of hiding his growing erection from her since it sat nestled against her ass. As long as she didn’t move, he might just survive the torture.

When the doors opened, the other passengers shifted to let a few off. One bumped into Eavie, causing her body to rock against him. He stifled a groan as his hands landed on her hips, steadying her.

He heard her sharp intake of breath, but she didn’t look back at him. When the doors closed, he expected her to move away with the extra space that had been created, but to his immense satisfaction, she stayed where she was.

His fingers tightened on her hips as he pulled her closer, tightening her to his body.

They were standing in the far corner, with everyone’s backs to them.

He took advantage of the fact no one was looking and brushed the fingers of his hand down her bare spine, beginning at her neck and stopping only when he hit the material at her lower back.

He caught the imperceptible shiver she gave and enjoyed when he felt her lean back against him.

He lowered his mouth to her shoulder that was angled to the wall, unable to resist a taste.

Lightly, he brushed his lips against it, tasting her softly with his tongue and mouth. This time, he felt her shudder.

Once again, the elevator doors opened, and the last of the other passengers got out. When they closed and the elevator began its ascent to their floor, he slowly turned her around.

She peeled heavy eyes open, and the desire he saw once again nearly brought him to his knees. He looked down into her bright, blue eyes, clouded with passion, turning the irises into pools of melted ice. It was the same look she’d had in her eyes when he’d asked her to go home with him that night.

Her height, with the help of her heels, brought them so close together she could stare into his eyes without having to crane her neck, and his lips were only a breath away.

They were standing so close, her body still pressed against his.

Everything about her called to him. He should let her go, allow her to step away so they could both get some air and some sensibility.

He knew how delicately he walked with her.

She may have moved past his mistake from weeks ago, but one wrong move on his part could cause their precarious truce to crumble.

Yet, he continued to hold her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, lift her up, and carry her to his room.

He wanted to pick up where they’d left off the night they met.

He wanted to learn every move her body made, every sound he could elicit from her lips.

He wanted to rip away her icy exterior and understand what had happened to make her that way.

There was no way she didn’t have a ghost of her own, one that had caused her to shy away from compliments and build a wall around her emotions.

Dangerous, his mind screamed at him. A woman like her was dangerous to his carefully crafted life. Still, he knew that despite his own arguments, there was no way he could let her go.

Slowly, one millimeter at a time, Jax lowered his head. The gesture was reminiscent of when he’d pulled her into the hallway, telling her all she had to do was say stop, and he would. Now, he was giving her ample opportunity to pull away.

He waited for her to, but she stood frozen, until his mouth brushed hers with the barest of touches. All he had to do was lean forward slightly, and their lips would connect. He could feel the static pull—was dying to feel her lips again, crush her mouth in a dominating kiss.

“Eavie,” he groaned against her mouth, his lip bumping her pillowy ones.

“Yes,” she breathed.

His hand drifted up, cupping the back of her neck. Just as he was about to close the distance and connect their lips at last, the elevator doors swooshed open with a startling ding that rang between the breath of space between them.

Jax exhaled as he felt the spell break. He tightened his fingers in her hair as he brushed his lips against hers one last time before he stood up, letting her go.

He watched her take a deep breath as he fought to control the tension in his body. Slowly, she stepped back, holding his gaze for a second before turning and stepping off the elevator.

He waited a moment, making sure he was collected enough that he wouldn’t throw her over his shoulder and march her into his room. When he finally stepped off, he followed her down the hall, hands firmly at his sides.

Jax’s room was a few doors down, but when they passed it, he kept going, fully intending to walk her to her door to prolong their evening for as long as possible.

Realizing what he was doing, she laughed a little breathlessly. “You don’t have to walk me to my door. I think I’ll make it safely the rest of the way,” she said, gesturing to her suite at the end of the corridor.

He flashed his crooked smile. “My mother taught me to always walk a woman to her door. ‘It’s the gentlemanly thing to do,’ she would say. Even as a grown man, I fear her wrath if she were to find out I didn’t.”

“Surely watching from your door, only four down from mine, would satisfy her?”

“You don’t know my mother,” he insisted, shaking his head. “She’s the strongest, most independent woman I know. Still, she drilled proper manners into my brother and me, and there was no room for argument.”

Eavie smiled as they reached her door. Turning to face him, he heard her breath catch in her throat.

He’d stepped forward to stand almost chest-to-chest with her when she hadn’t been looking.

She must not have expected the move, but she didn’t step back either.

After her initial surprise, he could have sworn he saw her lean toward him.

“Well, thank you for seeing me to my door,” she said breathlessly. “Your mother would approve.”

“It was my pleasure, Cinderella,” he replied, again giving her his crooked smile.

In the next instant, the smile was gone from his mouth. As he looked into her eyes, all the humor from a moment ago vanished. This time, when he leaned down, he kissed her.

It was quick but enough for him to get a hint of her taste—sweet and spicy. It mingled with the flavor of bourbon. Fuck , he didn’t think he could ever indulge in the spirit again without associating it with her.

It took everything inside him to pull away, but he knew he had to. Kissing her had been an indulgence, one he couldn’t resist, but it was meant to be a reminder to her, so she wouldn’t forget what was between them.

She stood frozen in place, her cheeks flushed. He let his breath wash over her mouth before he stepped back. Goosebumps pebbled her skin as her eyes hooded over with desire.

The stamp of open longing on her face tested his control as he experienced what felt like a punch to his gut. He took another step back casually and smiled at her before he did something more than he’d intended.

Without giving her a chance to speak, he said softly, “Goodnight, Cinderella,” and walked backward down the hallway.

She blinked, challenge flashing in the bright blue irises. Slowly, she gave him a wide, flirtatious smile. Sparks that had his blood heating flashed from her eyes. “Goodnight… Mr. Morghan ,” she said, emphasizing his last name, then turned to unlock her door.

He laughed deeply as he continued his backward journey down the hallway, refusing to let her out of his sight until the last moment. The damn woman knew how to fight back, and, God help him, he loved it.

She looked over her shoulder as she stepped into her room, giving him one more stunning smile before the closing door took her from his view.

This woman, Jax thought as he turned to unlock his own door, was going to be the death of him.