Page 64 of Reputation (Toronto Royals #1)

Chapter Thirty Five

Eavie

At the office the next day, Eavie quickly realized how much harder it was going to be to keep their relationship—or whatever it was—a secret.

Every time she heard his voice or saw him, a swift rush of heat and excitement washed over her.

She had to work hard to keep her focus on the tasks at hand and her eyes away, as her mind constantly wandered to him.

That afternoon, she passed Jax in the hallway as she walked with Sam. He was chatting with Brooks, on their way to a workout or PT. Her eyes connected with his as they approached each other, and the electrical current that ignited between them sparked.

As they brushed past each other, Jax subtly reached his hand out, his fingers skimming her waist in a touch that had her sucking in air.

The movement was so small, the touch there and gone, that she wondered if it even happened, but the effects blasted through her, making her crave his touch again.

She continued to look into his eyes as they stepped past each other, turning her head as far as it would go to keep their contact.

After two steps, he flashed her his panty-dropping smile and winked.

Licking her bottom lip, she shot him a flirtatious smirk before turning around and walking back to her office.

It had taken all her control to continue moving as his wink left all kinds of dirty, dark thoughts flooding her brain. Rolling her neck, she forced herself to push the delicious images from their weekend to the back of her mind while at the office.

The following two days, the team traveled to Jacksonville to face the Jackals on Tuesday and the Richmond Eagles on Wednesday.

With Jax being away, Eavie tried not to let herself miss him.

It was silly for her to—they’d only been sleeping together for a few days, and they hadn’t even been on a date.

Even with the logic of it, she couldn’t entirely suppress the slight twinge of loneliness as she left the office on Tuesday.

Sitting on her couch Wednesday evening watching the game, she contemplated her precarious position.

She knew she was already on thin ice with her feelings for him.

She had seen a different side to him—a vulnerable side that he kept hidden under his cocky exterior.

It called to a long-buried part of her to wake from its cage deep inside.

After they made love—honestly, there was no other way to describe what transpired between them—on Sunday afternoon, Eavie no longer knew what their relationship was. In a matter of hours, they had gone from seeing where things went, to sex so emotional it made her cry.

Regardless of what he’d shared, she knew keenly that he was still the casual type, something she now understood, knowing how cold and callous his fiancée had handled their breakup. The problem was she still wasn’t the casual type of girl.

Sighing to herself, Eavie accepted that while she didn’t know what this was between them or where it was going, she knew the depths of her feelings had gone beyond anything she’d felt before.

The team was back home Thursday, and she did her best to go about her day as normal as possible. Despite her efforts to stay professional, as she was walking alone down the hallway on the player’s level, she turned a corner and spotted Jax heading in her direction.

An automatic smile lit her face. Glancing behind him, she noted they were alone, and figured it would be safe to stop and chat with him for a minute, like any co-workers.

Before Eavie could open her mouth, Jax grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off her feet. Caught by surprise, she automatically wrapped her legs around him as he shoved them through a door into a dark meeting room.

Kicking the door closed, he pressed her against it, using his hips to pin her in place while he devoured her mouth. She let out a moan as his smooth taste exploded on her tongue. Jax kissed her deeply and thoroughly, not stopping until they were both gasping for air.

“Jax,” she said breathlessly. “We can’t do this. Someone is going to see us.”

“I missed you,” he ground out as he kissed along her jaw.

She sighed and tilted her head, giving him access to her neck. Despite her better judgment, she answered, “I missed you, too.”

“Let me take you home tonight,” he said between kisses.

With his body pressed against hers and his scent clouding her thoughts, all her efforts from the past few days to remember their unclear situation vanished like mist in the sun. She had no willpower to resist this man.

Pulling his mouth back to hers, Eavie kissed him again, tangling her fingers into his hair. Releasing his mouth, she licked her lips. “I’d like that,” she said.

When his cocky smile spread across his face, her eyes flicked to it as an answering heat roared through her belly. There was no way she could resist this man.

Giving him one last hard kiss, she loosened her legs from around him so Jax had to put her back down, holding onto her until she steadied herself. Placing her hand on his chest, Eavie pushed, creating a small amount of space between them.

She looked up at him coyly through her lashes. “Meet me in the garage at five thirty,” she said, her voice low and seductive but stern. “We can’t risk you coming to my office. This,” she pointed around them, “was already bad enough.”

She slipped out of his arms and cracked the door open without waiting for him to answer. Making sure no one was in the hallway, Eavie stepped through and continued on as if Jax hadn’t just stolen her breath and made her heart gallop like Snow’s hooves on the packed earth.

Eavie bided her time, making sure to be the last one at the office.

Mandy had left just after five, along with the remaining people on their floor.

By twenty after, the space was completely silent and at 5:29 PM, she grabbed her coat and bag and made her way to the elevator.

Even though she wanted to run down to the garage, Eavie forced herself to go slowly and calmly.

When she reached the garage, she glanced around. A few other cars were parked down there, but no people were around.

Walking to his car, she found Jax leaning against the bumper, waiting for her.

When she stopped in front of him, he leaned forward, giving her a quick, sweet kiss as if it were something he did every day.

Pulling back, he removed the hand hiding behind his back, revealing a perfect, dark blue rose.

Eavie let out a small gasp as a smile spread across her face.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“I saw it, and it made me think of you,” Jax said as she lifted it to her nose to inhale it’s fresh scent.

You have a fire in you that’s as rare and bright as a natural blue rose.

His words from Sunday spun fresh through her mind, making her whole body feel warm.

Grabbing her hand, Jax pulled her toward the passenger door. Opening it, he helped her climb in. When she was settled, he stole one more kiss from her before closing it.

Back at her apartment, he wasted no time getting her clothes off the second the door closed behind them.

Not that she was complaining, since Eavie was just as eager to get him naked.

As they tore at each other’s clothes, the articles hitting the floor one after the other, he backed her against the wall where he picked her up like he had that afternoon.

This time, he immediately lined himself up with her entrance before slamming himself in.

It was sexy as hell, and mixed with his absence from the last few days, had Eavie approaching her climax almost instantly.

Jax took her hard and rough against the wall until they both crested their climaxes. Breathing hard, they stood against the wall for a minute before he adjusted his grip and carried her to the bedroom.

An hour later, wrapped in her satin kimono, Eavie stood at her kitchen island, flipping through a magazine. The single blue rose sat in the center of the island in a small, skinny vase.

They’d finally left her bed when hunger had overtaken their need for each other. Sated for the moment, Jax had wandered into her bathroom as she’d come out to find her phone, on a mission to order something for dinner.

Reading an article in this month’s Vogue, she heard Jax pad his way through her living room to stand behind her. In a way she was getting used to, he wrapped his thick, muscled arms around her waist and placed a kiss in the crook of her neck.

“What did you order for dinner?” he asked.

“Greek,” she answered, turning to give his cheek a peck before she returned to the article she was reading.

As they stood in companionable silence, Jax still wrapped around her, her phone started buzzing on the counter next to her magazine.

Glancing over, she saw Austin flash across the screen. She felt Jax’s arms tense around her.

“Why is he calling you?” he growled, his voice laced with a dangerous, possessive edge that had Eavie’s toes curling.

God, what was it about him that made her find his possessiveness so goddamn hot?

“Ah,” she said, trying to keep the quiver of excitement from her voice. “He said he would call to set up another date when he got back from his trip.”

“And why does he think he’ll be getting another date?”

“Because that was before you and I…” She was unsure how to describe what was happening between them.

He grunted as he tightened his grip on her. When the call went to voicemail, Jax spun her around and threw her over his shoulder.

She squealed in surprise. “Jax!” she said, laughing at his overt display.

He marched toward her bedroom, one hand roaming up over her ass, where he squeezed the mound. “I think I need to remind you who you belong to,” he said through clenched teeth, obviously feeling like he needed to stake his claim.

Eavie chuckled at the palpable jealousy that was radiating off him. “Jax,” she said again, trying to sound serious despite the playfulness she was feeling. “Dinner’s going to be here soon!”

“Don’t worry,” he said, his voice vibrating through her. “I only need a few minutes to remind you who owns this pussy.”

Eavie sucked in a sharp breath at the dirty promise as he carried her into her bedroom and threw her onto the bed.