Page 40 of Reputation (Toronto Royals #1)

Chapter Twenty Four

Eavie

The next day, the team traveled from Sin City to the City of Angels.

Eavie and Molly sat beside each other near the front, where Eavie spent the short trip trying—and failing—to get some work done.

Beside her, Molly slept with her head resting on the window.

When Eavie asked what time she’d gotten back this morning, Molly had simply said late .

She’d woken up tired and pushed a pair of sunglasses onto her face until she could take advantage of the flight to nap.

Molly wasn’t the only one recovering from last night’s partying.

The ordinarily chatty flight was silent, with soft snores emanating from some players as they slept.

She and Jax were among only a few to be hangover-free this morning, which was probably for the best. Otherwise, people might notice that they couldn’t seem to stop looking at each other or the smiles that passed between them.

Eavie tried her best not to, but that invisible pull had her eyes seeking him over and over again.

Other times, she felt a tingling creep up her arm or neck, and when she looked over her shoulder to the seat three rows down and across the aisle, their eyes would connect.

Since last night, the sexual current that pulsed between them went from strong to overpowering. Her blood instantly raced through her veins, and a heavy ache formed between her legs. It was the type of attraction that would burn her carefully crafted world to the ground.

Which was precisely why, despite her body’s begging and pleading, Eavie would turn around, fixing her eyes back on her laptop.

She knew she was already walking along a cliff’s edge.

She had contemplated how it had happened while she lay in bed last night, brimming with an aching need for the man who slept four doors away.

When she had emerged from her x-rated dreams, sweat beading her skin and heart racing, she’d reached for her phone, needing to talk to someone about last night.

Joyce picked up her FaceTime call on the third ring. “Hey, pacific coaster,” she said, smiling. “How’s the weather?”

“Good,” Eavie grumbled, still laying in bed. “We’re in Vegas right now, so it’s pretty hot.”

“God, I hate you. It’s done nothing but rain here since you left.” Joyce’s face scrunched as if she smelled something foul. “Anyways, how’s the trip going?”

“Fine,” Eavie started, her lips twisting. “That’s kind of why I called you. I need to tell you something.”

“Okay. What is it?” Eavie could feel Joyce’s eyes boring through the screen.

“Something happened with Jax last night.”

Joyce’s scream echoed through the phone, making Eavie turn her head away. “Oh my god! You slept with him! Fucking finally ,” Joyce squealed as she jumped around, the picture on the screen blurring. After another moment of ear splitting excitement, Joyce asked, “Tell me. How good was the sex?”

“No!” Eavie finally managed to interject. “There was no sex. We barely even kissed.”

Joyce pouted on the other end. “Well then, what happened?”

Eavie explained what had happened, first at the bar then when they went to get pizza. Finally, she recounted, in detail, the moment in the elevator when she had been ready to rip their clothes off and finally surrender to what was starting to feel inevitable.

“Fuck,” Joyce drawled once Eavie had finished. “Girl, how? ”

“How what?”

“ How did you not end up in bed with him?” Joyce asked as if it was obvious.

Eavie covered her face with one of the many pillows adorning her bed. “I don’t know,” she mumbled into the soft, down bedding.

“What was that?”

Removing the pillow, strands of blonde hair covered her face.

“I said, I don’t knowww,” Eavie repeated pathetically, drawing out the word.

She blew a raspberry with her lips. “That’s why I called you.

I’m so fucking confused.” Sitting up, she leaned back against the headboard, hugging the pillow to her chest. “Joyce, what do I do? I cannot sleep with him, but… fuck, I was so close to literally throwing myself at him.”

“I mean, I don’t really know, babe.” Joyce said. “It seems like no matter what you do, you can’t stay away from him.”

“Ugh, I know.”

“Look, Eavie. At some point, I think you’re going to have to make a decision.”

“What do you mean?” Eavie asked, brows drawing down.

“Either talk to Jax and be clear about why you can’t be with him. Or…buy a new set of that fancy lingerie you love and let yourself have some hot, wild, incredibly dirty sex with him.” At Eavie’s opened mouth expression, Joyce laughed. “You know, get it out of your system?”

“I have a feeling that would be a terrible idea.”

“Well, one way or another, you need to remove that man from your life, because as you said, legally, your contract prohibits it. So either draw the line and make it clear to him or just let the steam out.”

Eavie chewed on her lower lip, considering.

“What if…” she began, swallowing as she turned to look out the window.

“What if one night with him doesn’t let the steam out?

” Her heart raced as she voiced one of her biggest worries.

Something told her it wouldn’t be just one night when it came to Jax Morghan.

“I don’t know, babe. I can’t figure this out for you,” replied Joyce sympathetically. “But you do have a decision to make.”

How was she supposed to choose between him and her job?

When it came down to it, those were her only options.

If she chose to date him—because let’s face it, it would not be one night—she risked being fired, denied the offer of the permanent role, burning her reputation and references in the process.

If that happened, she had little hope she would find another position within the industry.

Not to mention, all the hours and hard work she’d put into getting here would be consumed in the flames of that decision.

Besides her own rules about getting involved with people she worked with, which was an all-around smart idea, she had sworn off guys like him since the day her reputation was left in tatters during her senior year of high school.

She still remembered the humiliation of being the school’s central gossip topic.

She had promised herself that she would never be in a situation where it could happen again.

Between her job and her past, there were too many complications here. Which meant, no matter how much Eavie wanted to, there was no chance she and Jax would ever be more than friends.

Reluctantly, she resigned herself to the fact she needed to figure out how to cool the heat between them.

Eavie tried to focus on working, but her mind kept wandering to the problem staring her in the face like a flashing red light.

Finally, after endless unproductive minutes, Eavie slammed her laptop closed and pulled out her AirPods.

Selecting a playlist, she rested her head back and stared out the window at the clouds, rolling the issue around in her mind for the rest of the flight.

She wanted him—that was humiliatingly obvious.

And God, it had been so long since she’d had an orgasm, even a battery-operated one.

She didn’t know how, exactly, that had happened.

She must have felt an urge at some point over the last few months.

After her last breakup, she guessed that part of her must have settled into a quiet slumber after being ignored for so long.

It waited, deep inside her, ready to reawaken at the chemistry that had flared like a volcano when she met Jax.

And now, it refused to go back to sleep until it was satisfied.

But what the hell was she supposed to do? It was too dangerous for her professional reputation. To add in the fact that Jax was a known player should have doused the flame inside her long ago.

That was another thing. Although she’d learned he showed the world someone different, hiding who he really was, he still entertained a rotation of women.

She may have seen the kind, caring, protective man underneath, but in the end, he was still a womanizer, and she would not risk her career to be another notch in his bedpost.

Unfortunately, the knowledge did nothing against the onslaught of feelings Jax elicited from her.

Why him? What was so special about him? There was no such thing as fate, or destiny, or whatever romance books and movies convinced women existed in the real world.

There was no way he could be the one right person for her.

It was ridiculous, folly…fantastical! She was not foolish enough to believe she had found her Prince Charming.

Just the thought made Eavie roll her eyes. But it also made her feel a little…sad. Despite being a realist and a feminist, the girl who grew up believing in heroes and princes wished life could be like a fairy tale.

She blinked away the melancholy and forced herself to move on from the pity party in her mind. She needed to decide what she wanted to do.

Dating him wasn’t possible, and she didn’t believe she could just sleep with him and be happy with it.

She enjoyed talking with him. He was surprisingly engaging.

If he were anyone else, she would consider being friends with him.

But then again, if he were anyone else, dating him wouldn’t be an issue, and she probably would have already slept with him.

Hell, she would have been in his bed the night they met.

Being friends meant being around him, which was part of the problem. Instead of desensitizing him to her, the more she was around him, the more her need for him grew.

Her mind spun round and round for the rest of the flight. By the time they landed in LA, she had made absolutely no progress on the issue. No matter how many times she provided herself with the arguments as to why she could not be with him, her heart refused to accept them.