Page 61 of Reputation (Toronto Royals #1)

Chapter Thirty Four

Eavie

Peeling her eyes open, sunlight blasted her, and she quickly squeezed them shut, regretting emerging from the dreamy sleep she had been in.

When the circles of black stopped dancing behind her eyelids, Eavie slowly opened them again.

Beyond the massive windows, a breathtaking view of the city skyline greeted her.

She smiled blissfully as she remembered where she was. Jax lay behind her, her back plastered to his warm chest as his arm draped across her waist, holding her tightly to him.

This was heaven.

She wanted to wake up to this every morning. After last night, she had started thinking about how they could possibly make that happen.

She was falling for him, so much so that the threat their relationship posed to her job had started to feel less intrusive.

Not that she was willing to throw it all away for him, but it no longer seemed like such an obstacle.

She’d opened up to him last night, and he’d reciprocated.

They may not know where this was going or if it was serious, but Eavie found herself feeling…

happy. Maybe, for once, things would work out.

Carefully, she lifted Jax’s arm so she could shimmy out of the massive bed.

Sitting on the edge, she glanced over her shoulder, admiring Jax as he slept.

His ridiculously handsome face was relaxed in sleep, the thick muscles of his chest rising and falling with his steady breathing.

His sharp jaw was covered in stubble that had abraded her skin last night, making her back arch in ecstasy.

Eavie could gladly watch him sleep, running her fingers across his strong brow before stretching her body along his, waking him as she aroused him. Her pussy clenched, thinking about being filled again, but the tensing of the muscles reminded her that he had used her last night.

Smiling to herself, she huffed a quiet laugh, knowing if she stayed in bed, her aching body wouldn’t get any reprieve. Bending down, she picked up the shirt she had tossed on last night, the one he’d practically ripped off her when he’d carried her back to bed following their mutual confessions.

Walking on a cloud of sated lust and happiness, Eavie tiptoed out of the bedroom and down the hallway. Humming to herself, she continued to smile dreamily as she went to get a glass of water…and coffee. She needed coffee.

They couldn’t continue with these late nights. She needed to maintain her cognitive functions, and Jax needed energy for his training and games. They wouldn’t be able to make up for the late nights and sleep in like this after this weekend. She didn’t even know what time it was right now.

Just as she stepped out of the dining room, the front door clicked open. She froze, panicked, as voices floated into the entry.

What the hell?

Before Eavie could move, three people stepped around the corner. They, too, stopped when they spotted her, regarding her with a mix of curiosity, confusion and annoyance. Heat bloomed on her cheeks as she stood in front of these strangers, wearing only Jax’s shirt with the top three buttons undone.

Smashing her lips together, she stared at them like a deer in headlights. Lifting one hand, she held the top of the shirt closed as she smoothed the bottom down with the other, trying to make it cover more of her nakedness.

In front of her was a man and two women.

The man was tall, with brown hair and gray eyes.

He had broad shoulders but a lean frame.

The one woman had golden brown hair. She was shorter, maybe an inch or two shorter than Eavie, and had a rounded figure.

The two of them looked to be in their midfifties.

The last woman was younger—twenty at most. She was a younger mirror image of the older woman, but matched Eavie in height.

She took in the three of them as they did the same to her. Her eyes settled on the man again, and the way his eyes crinkled as he looked at her with curiosity reminded her of…Jax.

Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck .

This was his family, and they’d just caught her stalking through their son’s condo, wearing next to nothing, braless as her ass nearly hung out the tails of the shirt.

What were they doing here?

It was then she noticed the grocery bags they were carrying. They didn’t say anything about not meaning to walk in unannounced, and they looked at Eavie as if her presence was unexpected. Had Jax been expecting them?

She was going to kill him.

Eavie cringed internally, thinking about other, more compromising things they could have walked in on.

“Oh look, a stray seems to have wandered in,” his sister mumbled to the others, though Eavie heard every word.

Eavie flinched, but couldn’t blame his sister for the comment.

She knew how this looked. God only knows how many other women they’ve seen make the walk of shame.

If Eavie had found another woman walking around half naked in Eric’s apartment after going through what Jax did, she’d probably be equally as protective of him.

“Isabella,” the older woman admonished. She turned an apologetic smile on Eavie, but didn’t counter the words.

Eavie almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Just when she thought things between her and Jax were more settled, something else was thrown in their path. Would this relationship ever be easy?

“Why do I keep waking up and finding you gone?” came Jax’s voice from the other side of the dining room.

He was dressed in a pair of low-hanging sweats, which, based on the fact she could see the sharp V at his hips, was the only thing he had on.

Normally, she would love the sight, but his nakedness only served to make hers feel more relevant.

His stormy eyes were fixed on her in a predatory manner as he stalked across the room toward her.

“I had plans for you this morning,” he growled, completely missing the urgent shake of her head or her wide, panicked eyes.

When he cleared the dining room, reaching greedily for her, he finally caught sight of the other people standing in his condo.

“Oh, shit,” he said, drawing the word out. He looked at his family, the resemblance clear now that they were all together. “Today’s Sunday.”

“Mhmm,” the woman, who Eavie assumed was his mother, murmured. “We called this morning.”

He looked at Eavie with apologetic eyes. Their softness soothed her embarrassment at the awkward moment and the idea of what his family must think of her—almost.

“I completely forgot,” he said to her. “We have brunch as a family on the last Sunday of the month. I forgot it was my turn to host.”

“Oh,” Eavie said, glancing at his family out of the corner of her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest to hide the fact that her nipples were poking through.

She could still feel the heat radiating from her cheeks and wanted desperately to get out of here as fast as possible so she could drown in her embarrassment alone.

“I’ll just grab my things and go.” Ducking her head in shame, she stepped past Jax, but his hand shot out, grabbing her by the waist.

“No, wait,” he said, looking at her with a frown. “Stay.”

His entire family collectively held their breath. Eavie could feel their surprise as she stared at Jax, eyes wide. “Stay?” she repeated.

“Yes. Have brunch with us. I’d like you to meet my family.”

Eavie lowered her voice. “Jax,” she began, shaking her head. Was he seriously asking her to meet his family? Like this?

“Eavie, please. I want you to stay,” he said firmly, the look on his face full of so much emotion. That one look had her caving. She knew this was big for him, and though he couldn’t offer her his heart, he was offering her this.

“Wait, you’re Eavie?” said Isabella, hip cocked to the side. Eavie glanced at her quickly, confused. How did she know her? The pinched look from before was replaced by a smirk, pulling at his sister’s mouth as her head tilted to the side. “Jax mentioned you at Thanksgiving.”

She looked back at Jax, debating, reading the honesty in his eyes. Sighing, she nodded. “I should go change, though,” she began, pointing toward his bedroom, but then stopped.

She had no clothes here and didn’t think her costume from last night would be appropriate for a nice family brunch. Unsure, Eavie turned wide eyes up toward him, the panic back.

Reading her thoughts, Jax pulled her into his body, his eyes seeming to take in her state for the first time.

He angled himself so he was standing in front of her, trying to hide her half-naked state with his body—not that he was any more covered than she was.

Each piece of clothing they were wearing combined to make one outfit.

“Izzy, could you please get her some clothes?” he asked his sister.

His sister’s face scrunched. “Why doesn’t she have her own clothes?”

“Izzy, please,” Jax said a little sharply. Breathing through his nose, he softened his voice. “Please, just grab her something. We were at a party last night, and she didn’t bring anything with her.”

Unfazed, his sister shrugged. Handing the bag she was holding to their mom, Izzy turned and crossed back through the entryway toward her bedroom.

Jax turned Eavie in his arms, gently pushing on her lower back to guide her back to his bedroom. Over his shoulder, he said to his parents, “We’ll be right back.”

His dad chuckled, obviously amused, but his mom’s eyes narrowed on them, scrutinizing what was happening between Eavie and her son. It made her more nervous than she already was. This honestly couldn’t get any worse…could it?

Turning the corner, Eavie practically ran to his room, stopping halfway to the bed when she saw the state of the sheets. Hearing the door close, she whirled on him.

“Jax,” she screeched. “How could you forget they were coming today? Oh god,” she said, placing her palm on her forehead, beginning to pace. “This is so bad. I can only imagine what they think about me.”