Jayden woke up feeling refreshed and alert. Despite the late night, he had managed to get a good sleep. He sighed with satisfaction as he stared up at the ornate ceiling. Then everything that happened the day before flashed back. The thought of Alex caused him to grin. He glanced to his left and noted she was still sound asleep. Damn! So last night hadn’t been a dream after all.
She groaned and stretched a little as he held his breath, wondering if she was going to wake up and see him ogling at her, thinking about her in such an ungodly manner. Oh yeah, he was thinking about her full lips, thinking about licking his tongue along the soft flesh.
She didn’t open her eyes or show any sign of waking up. He sighed with relief. Suddenly, she moved to him and snuggled against him, her head now on his arm, her face resting against his chest, and her hand resting on his stomach. Not to mention the fact that one of her legs was resting on the top of his. He stroked his fingers through her long hair. He couldn’t help himself and moved his face to hers so his nose touched her hair. A moment later, he drifted off to sleep again.
When he woke, Alexandra was watching him, her eyes large and curious as she studied him.
He said warmly, “Morning.”
“Sorry,” she said, “I don’t know how I ended up here.” She made a motion to move away from his arm. He stopped her and gently drew her back.
“Aren’t you sore?” she asked.
“No,” he lied, even though his arm was numb. He, however, didn’t mind. “So did you have a good sleep?”
Alex nodded as she gazed at him. She had to agree it had been comfortable sharing a bed with Jayden. Now, however, it was time for revenge. The only problem was she wondered if she had the willpower and the confidence to go through with it. She had never done anything this reckless before. In fact, she never thought she’d come up with such an idea. It was extraordinary and very unlike her, to say the least.
After the makeover, however, she knew she was now comfortable in her own body and was quite confident that she would be able to go through with her plan. Her hand, after all, had been forced. She had no other choice. Revenge was so sweet.
Jayden touched her nose. “What are you smirking about?”
“Nothing,” she replied, a delightful twinkle in her eyes. Suddenly, a fluttery sensation erupted within her. She sat up, trying to calm herself down. “I’ll go and shower now,” she said and quickly rolled off the bed before Jayden could pull her back.
“Don’t be too long,” he said lazily.
She glanced at him. He looked almost like a puppy wanting to be petted. She shrugged her slender shoulders as if she didn’t care and strolled to the bathroom, making sure she swung her hips just a little like those supermodels do on the runway. He’d surely appreciate that.
Jayden surely did appreciate that as he watched her until she shut the bathroom door. He rested back on the piles of pillows, gazing out the window at the lovely sunshine outside.
In the shower, Alex made sure she scrubbed herself well until her skin was glowing. Afterward, she went about moisturizing herself and doing her makeup as she was taught by Lisa, the beauty therapist, so she’d look naturally beautiful.
“You can do this,” she said as she stared at herself in the mirror. Two could play at his game. The tables had to be turned. She nodded her head with a determined look on her face. With only a thin towel wrapped around her slim body, her hair slightly wet, and her milky skin soft and glowing, she headed out the door. She made sure Jayden noticed her before she headed toward the walk-in wardrobe.
Jayden sat up, his interest piqued as he watched her finding her clothing in the big wardrobe. He wondered if seeing Alex every day and him pretending to be gay was a good idea after all. He also wondered how long he’d be able to last not exposing the truth that he was not gay, that he was attracted to her, and that he couldn’t stand not touching her.
“Jayden?” he heard her soft voice, so smooth and sweet like melted chocolate that it made him flare with desire. Shit! He needed coffee. He needed to clear his head.
He cleared his throat. Hoping he didn’t sound like a wolf in heat, he responded, “Yeah?”
“I need help. I don’t know which dress I should wear.”
“Yeah. Sure,” he said, shaking his head. Alex having a dilemma of choosing a dress to wear for the day? Surely not!
“I’m sorry. I mean, Kelly and Stephanie bought me lots of dresses. They said they wanted to see me in them. I feel like I’d let them down if I don’t wear them.”
“Understandable,” he said. “Why don’t you show them to me?” He swung his feet to the floor as he got up.
“Yeah,” she said, and out she came.
Jayden nearly had a heart attack. Right in front of him, with nothing on but her cute pink, lacy undies and bra stood Alex.
Jayden felt the breath knocked out of him. He tried to calm himself down and not make a scene. Only it was hard because Alex looked like a Victoria’s Secret model, who at that moment was showing their new season’s underwear collection. She was all so sexy and hot that Jayden couldn’t help but keep ogling at her and wanting nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss her. And do so much more.
“Well?” she asked, an eyebrow rising. “Which one?”
Jayden blinked. What the heck was she talking about? Oh right! The dresses, which were in her hands, one on either side of her.
“Which one?” she asked again.
“I’m not sure. Try them both on and see,” he suggested, at a loss because all he noticed was her milky soft skin and her shapely body that could make her a model—a lingerie model—if only she were a little taller.
“Okay,” she said, smiling. “Here.” She handed one for him to hold. Jayden absentmindedly took it and continued watching her.
Alex was actually very nervous. She thought he looked as though he were about to eat her whole. For what other reason would he stare at her so intensely? Like she was his delicious dessert?
Stay calm, Alex, the voice at the back of her head said. Be confident. Show him. After all, you want him to suffer, don’t you?
Besides, he wouldn’t be able to touch her because he was supposed to be gay.
She slowly pulled the light-blue, off-the-shoulder dress down her body, the light material touching and caressing her skin. After tying the string at her waist, she said, “Well?”
Silence. Blue eyes staring intensely.
“Well?” she repeated, a little nervous this time.
Jayden had to admit she looked amazing in it. “It looks good,” he said, wondering when the heck she asked him that question.
“Yeah, I like it, too,” she said, her hands smoothing the fabric about her waist. “Let me try the other one,” she said, undoing the string.
Jayden had a mental picture of what he would like to do to her next. After she had slowly taken that dress off, he’d like to pull her into his arms and start kissing her, and then—
“I’ll have to take my bra off to wear that one,” she said almost absentmindedly.
“Huh?” He jolted, wondering if she was going to take her bra off and get dressed right there in front of him.
Oh, yes, sweetheart, do that.
Alex bent low toward him so her face was inches from his. He glanced down and saw her creamy cleavage parading enticingly before his eyes. She grabbed the dress from his hand, stood up, turned on her heel, and strolled back to the walk-in wardrobe.
Damn! She wasn’t going to take her bra off in front of him after all.
A moment later when she returned, his eyes widened in delight. The printed sweetheart corset dress fit her perfectly, showing off her slim body, shapely legs, and not to mention those gorgeous breasts. Holy shit! It was only morning, and he was already excited. This was going to be hard, in more ways than one.
All right, Jayden, he told himself, Alex will be gone soon. Only a week more to go, and then she’ll be gone, back to good old New Zealand.
The though
t of her leaving, however, didn’t sit well with him. He realized he had become attached to her, that he liked her company, that he might have more feelings for her than he previously thought, and—oh shit—that he might be falling in love with her after all.
Alex put her hands on her hips and showed off the garment like a model would at the end of a runway. “What do you think?”
“I think it looks great,” he said, a tight feeling in his chest. He simply wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her and then tell her he loved her.
“Jayden, are you okay?” she asked, concern showing in her soft voice. She came to stand right in front of him and stroked her fingers through his blond hair. “Are you worried about your sister’s wedding?”
He looked up at her and thought, No, sweetheart, I’m worried what’s going to happen to me when you’re gone.
“It’s okay,” she said, sitting beside him. “Everything is going to be all right.”
Jayden didn’t know what came over him. It just felt right that he pulled her onto his lap. She obediently obliged and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then Jayden snuggled his face against the side of her neck and slowly started kissing her.
Alex sucked in her breath from the excitement erupting within her. She tightened her arms around his neck and groaned. His lips against her skin were so hot. She didn’t want it to end, but she knew it must. She only wanted him to want her, break down, and confess to her that he wasn’t gay and that he might be in love with her. It didn’t seem to be going that way, however, and she didn’t want to get hurt in the process.
She pulled back. “I’m hungry,” she announced. “Can we go down and have our breakfast now?”
Jayden blinked. He was still so lost in his own emotions and his want for her that it took him a few seconds to register what she said.
“Of course,” he replied, trying to regain his composure. “You go down first. I need a shower.”
“Okay,” she said, getting off his lap.
He didn’t feel like letting her go. He felt as though she were leaving him forever. His gut twisted with dread.
He watched her giving him a lovely smile before she shut the door.
“Jayden, what have you gotten yourself into?” he muttered under his breath as he got up. After showering and dressing himself in a pair of Calvin Klein jeans and a T-shirt, he headed down the stairs. He heard loud voices as he opened the dining room door. He saw his father earnestly talking to Sam, his future brother-in-law, who couldn’t seem to keep his hands away from Kelly. Alex was sitting beside Gracie on the far side of the dining table, having breakfast. They were chatting away like old friends.
“Jay,” Sam greeted loudly. “How are you? Long time, no see, man.”
“Hey, Sam,” Jayden greeted, smiling as he strolled into the room. He glanced at Alex, who was watching him.
“Good to see you,” Sam said.
“How was business in Hawaii?” Jayden asked.
“All sorted. Now it’s holiday time.” Sam chuckled. He looked at Kelly and winked at her, a promise in his eyes.
“Good. Hey, have you met my girlfriend Alex?”
Alexandra felt her heart melt because Jayden had just told Sam she was his girlfriend—in a sincere, warm tone.
“Yeah, Kelly introduced us,” Sam said. “Good choice, man.” He winked knowingly.
Jayden laughed. “So what’s the plan for the day?”
“Just me and my lovely bride today,” Sam said. “What about you?”
“Nothing planned,” Jayden replied sheepishly.
Alex picked up her cup of tea and sipped, disappointment building up in her stomach. So there’d be no chance of her ever seeing New York while she was here after all. She might as well go back to bed.
They chatted for a while longer, and then Sam ushered Jay to one side once he had the chance.
“Hey, mind if you do me a favor?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Jayden replied.
“I promised to spend time with Kelly today. I mean, I really missed her, bro. If you don’t mind, would you go to Tiffany’s to get our wedding rings for me?”
“Yeah, sure. Today?”
“Yeah. The payment is taken care of. Just need to fetch them. Mind you, it’s a surprise for Kelly. She hasn’t seen them.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks, man,” Sam said, patting Jayden’s back.
With the deal done, Sam whisked Kelly away, and Jayden went about having his breakfast.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 18