From Rags

  As much as Connor knew that Dane was trying to get a rise out of him, he couldn’t help but give it to him. The idea that she was so far out of reach… “How would you like it if it was Niki, eh? If I knew where she was and wouldn’t tell you?”

  Dane smiled. “Ah, but Niki’s my wife. What is Jaxxon to you again?”

  Completely exasperated by his two mates Connor dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. “Alright,” he bit out. “You’ve made your point, Dane.”

  “And what point’s that?”

  It made him ache to have to say this. “I haven’t got any rights over her and I haven’t got the right to know everything that goes on in her life. There. I said it. Now where is she?”

  “I’m not so sure I’m comfortable passing on this information.”

  “Dane…”

  “Not until I at least know what you’re going to do with it.”

  “Only the same thing that you’d do if it was Niki.”

  “Now hang on a minute,” Warren quickly interrupted. “You can’t go over there and butt in on their holiday.” But he saw by the determined expression on Connor’s face that that was exactly what he was planning to do.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Dane said to Connor, “I’ll tell you where she is if you admit why it is you want to see her so bad.”

  “This isn’t some game,” he retorted.

  “If you can’t admit it to me, how are you going to admit it to Jaxxon? She doesn’t strike me as the type of person who’ll be okay with you turning up like that just for a shag or to prove the immature point that you can always find her. If she thinks that’s the kind of crap she’ll have to put up with she’ll end it right there. So, get some practice in, admit why you want to see her so bad.”

  As a last ditch effort to finding out her whereabouts without putting himself out there, Connor looked at his other mate.

  Warren shook his head. “I happen to agree with Dane.”

  “Well?” Dane raised his brows, waiting.

  Connor sighed. “Do you have to be such a twat?”

  “It’s genetic, sorry. Do you want to know where she is or not?”

  He slumped onto the couch and covered his face with his hand, sighing again. When he finally plucked up the nerve, he released his face. “I miss her, alright.”

  “And not just shagging her?” Dane wanted Connor to hear himself say it aloud.

  “No. Although I do miss that. I miss her. Happy now?”

  “Meribel, France.”

  “She’s gone skiing?”

  “I’m not sure where exactly they’re staying, but Warren knows.”

  Warren groaned. Why oh why did he mention the holiday to Dane? “Anna’s going to have my balls for this.”

  Dane smiled. “Well it seems to me, then, that you should go with him. You’re both going to have a lot of explaining to do. Might be best to have each other to lean on for strength.”

  Warren shook his head. “You’re loving all this, aren’t you?”

  “I told the pair of you that I would get you back for the shite you pulled at my bachelor bash and my wedding night. Oh and let’s not leave out the stuff you put in the best man’s speech just in case Niki didn’t already know I’d been a bit of a slut in the past. Excuse me for finding some sweetness in revenge.” He smiled, unashamed. “Go on then, get your arses on a plane and go see your girls.”

  At the risk of entering the world of stalking, Connor immediately booked a flight to take him to Jaxx.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Crap! Crap! Crap! The word circulated round Anna’s brain as she read the two text messages that Warren had left for her; the first was sent five hours ago with news of his and Connor’s upcoming arrival and the time of their flight. The next was to announce that they had arrived at France ‘safely’ – like she cared about that part – and would be there in something like forty-five minutes. He had sent the last one thirty-five minutes ago. If only she had checked her phone when she first got back instead of now just before they were going back out again!

  Crap! Crap! Crap! To think she’d been worried about impressing Warren! It turned out that he was going to be the one having to do the impressing because unless he had some way of getting back in her good books she was going to do a Jaxxon on him: she was going to kick him in the balls.

  Not five minutes ago Anna had been thinking about just how great Jaxxon was doing with some space away from Connor. The past few days had been such a laugh. Hitting the slopes. Going dog sledging. Almost getting concussion while ice skating. Drinking until all hours of the morning – well, that was mostly just Anna. Gulping down all that gorgeous French wine and cuisine. Abusing the hot tub and sauna. Trying to talk French and failing miserably. Not once had they mentioned the boys or anything else stress-related since they arrived. And now, thanks to the big gob on her boyfriend, the perfect holiday was going to be tainted.

  “Have a guess who has left over a dozen messages on my phone,” said Jaxxon as she entered Anna’s room.

  Anna’s eyes widened. “Saying what?”

  “Just that he wanted to meet up, completely unaware that I’m not even in the country.” The thought of that made Jaxxon smile.

  Anna winced. Crap! Crap! Crap!

  “I’ll phone him after we’ve been to the restaurant. Come on or we’ll be late for our table.”

  She considered telling Jaxxon about their soon-to-arrive visitors but if she did that then the person getting yelled at would be her rather than the two arses who were truly at fault – all she had done was trust her boyfriend with a secret.

  Grudgingly Anna sent a message to Warren strongly advising him and Connor to unload their stuff while she and Jaxxon were out. She contemplated telling them to wait there at the challet but then decided it would be better for Jaxxon to first see Connor while they were out. Anna figured that Jaxxon might very well go ape shit so if things were going to be smashed she would rather it not be anything from their challet. And, who knows, maybe the fact that they were in a public place would make Jaxxon contain herself. Of course it wouldn’t.

  Twenty minutes later they were at the front of the queue within the restaurant which was one big posh bugger in Jaxxon’s opinion. The walls and ceiling were covered with oak wooden slats. The floor was tiled in a colour closely resembling oak. It might have made Jaxxon feel like she was in a box if the ceiling hadn’t been so high. The fantastic part was that one side of the two-floored restaurant was all glass.

  Anna tried not to fidget and squirm but how the hell was she supposed to remain calm?! Those two idiots would have unpacked their stuff at the challet by now and be here any minute. There could be bloodshed. She saw that while Jaxxon was busy admiring the interior, the maître d' was gaping at her in a way that suggested he knew who she was. Something like twenty seconds later they were seated at one of the best tables near the glass wall. Considering that their booking had been last minute, it was obvious that this table hadn’t been reserved for them. It was a circular table, she noticed. Good, because soon they’d be needing to cram two other people on it.

  “I love it when that happens,” said Anna, referring to the special treatment. Even better, they were presented with a complimentary bottle of red wine when handed their menus. Immediately she poured herself a glass. She needed the calming effects of alcohol.

  Jaxxon looked at Anna curiously. “Are you alright?” The girl was chugging down that wine like it was the drink of eternal life. Come to think of it, she’d been restless since before they left and had been nibbling on her lip like she did when she was dreading something.

  “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Anna, what’s going on?”

  “Just remember that I love the bones of you, I really do.” She poured herself some more wine. Holy Mary Mother of God keep her calm, I’m begging you?!

  “Anna, make sense.”

  “And don’t forget that violence doesn’t solve anything. Well, it doesn’t solve everyth
ing.”

  “Why would I be inspired to become violent?” And that was when she felt it; that tingling down her spine as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Ever so slowly she swerved her head. She vaguely registered that Warren was chatting to the maître d'. Most of her attention was taken up by the figure beside him that, as always, had the most overwhelming presence…and was staring right at her. An oppressive sensual hunger struck her and desire instantly began to course through her body, heating her blood and twisting her insides. Even while she was mad as hell at him, she wanted him. What cheesed her off more was that a part of her was glad to see him.

  The instant Connor spotted her he felt like he could breathe again. The knot in his stomach untangled and the ache that had been throbbing in his chest for days stopped abruptly. But the throbbing in his pants didn’t ease one bit. In fact, it worsened as need assailed him violently. She was his addiction and going cold turkey had left him a mess. Seeing her eyes alive with fury only served to make his cock harder.

  Anna observed as Jaxxon and Connor’s gazes met and, instead of the verbal and physical explosion she was expecting, there was that same electrical exchange of pure, primal need between them that she saw at the charity event. Just like then, the people around them were caught up in the moment, in the excess sparks of desire that surrounded the couple. It was there and then that Anna came to a conclusion about Jaxxon and Connor: as much as their craving for each other was primitive and raw, their connection couldn’t be on just a physical level. A link that intense couldn’t only survive on sexual hunger. It would need the involvement of the mind and the soul just as much as the body.

  Jaxxon continued to hold his eyes as he stalked toward their table at a casual, non-threatening pace. He stopped before her and slowly bent down, pressing the softest lingering kiss to her lips. She wondered why she hadn’t slapped him yet. She wanted to. Really wanted to. But instead all she seemed to be doing, despite her anger, was devouring the sight of him. Their gazes never left each other’s the entire time that two more chairs were added and Anna and Warren took positions on either side of her, almost as if protecting her and Connor from each other. That then left him opposite her, which made it easier to snarl at him.

  Anna, scowling wildly at Warren, spoke first. “We were just about to order starters before you interrupted our meal and, also, our holiday.”

  Warren gave her a pleading expression. “Look, how about we enjoy the meal and then we’ll talk about it when we get back to the challet?”

  “Translation: let’s not argue in public?”

  Back to the challet? Jaxxon held back a growl. So not only had they interrupted the holiday but they were planning on staying. And in their challet. For them to have gotten inside it, Anna had to have left the key for them somewhere outside. Jaxxon would deal with her later. When she was sure she could speak without the sound being animalistic.

  “Garlic bread,” drawled Warren. “Haven’t had that in a while. What about you?”

  “The soup,” Anna said through her teeth. As much as she was glad to see Warren, she wanted to throttle him right now. So far there had been no outburst from Jaxxon. When she was silent, it wasn’t a good sign.

  Warren turned to the lump of stone on his right. “Connor? What do you want for Starters?”

  “For starters…” He hardened his gaze on Jaxx. “You can tell me why you left for France without even a goodbye.”

  Hoping to distract Jaxxon from giving Connor a very heated response, Warren quickly turned to her. “And you, Jaxxon? What’re you having?”

  Only one thing had stopped her from lashing out at Connor after his remark; she knew that was what he wanted. A reaction would show she was ruffled, unsettled. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her lose it. Plus, if she did lose it that would show she cared and he couldn’t be allowed to know that. She was resolute on keeping her rage controlled. But that didn’t mean she was going to sit and have a civil evening with him. She consulted the menu. “I’ll have the ‘Get Over The Fact That My Business Isn’t Yours You Prick’.”

  “I had to find out days later from Dane,” said Connor. “My two best mates knew exactly where you were, but I was purposely kept out of the loop.”

  She could almost believe he was genuinely hurt by that.

  “You couldn’t even manage a text message to let me know you were going away for a week? All you would’ve had to do was press a couple of buttons. Wouldn’t have even taken you two minutes.”

  “You’re going on at me about the simplicity of text messaging when you’ve just flown all the way to France to argue with me?”

  “Oh I don’t just want to argue with you.” The implication was in his voice, in his eyes.

  “Do you always follow your bed-buddies abroad?”

  Warren nearly choked on his wine, but no one at the table seemed to give a shit.

  “You’re not my bed-buddy,” said Connor quickly.

  “Oh?” She arched a brow. “Then what am I?”

  You’re mine, he found himself wanting to say. He leant forward in his seat. His tone was grave, cautioning. “Don’t ever make out that I think that little of you, Jaxx.”

  The appearance of the waiter was welcome, giving her a reprieve from her stare-out with Connor. They all ordered their starters and main meals. Other than those coming from Warren, each order came out robotic. It was then that Jaxxon noted that Anna’s mood was no better than her own. Maybe she hadn’t played a part in their coming here. The poor waiter nearly jumped out of his skin when Connor growled.

  “What was that for?” she snapped when the waiter scarpered.

  “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

  Anna snickered. “That was nothing compared to the stares she’s been getting over the past few days.” Yes, she wanted to cheese Connor off just like he had cheesed her best mate off. “If you thought you being here would discourage that, I’m thinking you’ll be proved wrong. Why do you think we got such a fab table? And then there was the complimentary bottle of wine. We’ve had a load of freebies since we got here because of how admired she is. Aww there was this one bloke who stuck a piece of paper with his phone number onto her ski pole. And another who sang a song to her on the karaoke.” She left out the fact that Jaxxon flipped him off.

  Noticing that Connor was getting even more frustrated, Warren gestured for Anna to leave it there. But with a wide smile on her face, she continued. “It was hilarious when that tall, blonde Viking-like bloke asked her to write her autograph on his pecks. It wasn’t so hilarious when that little old bloke asked her to. She’s had quite a few people come up and ask to have a photo with her. I don’t know how they even recognised her with all her ski clothes on. I think a lot more would’ve approached her if she wasn’t known for telling people to sod off.”

  There was a little silence then; Connor striving to remain in control, Anna trying to think of how else she could wind up Connor, Warren wishing he could get his beautiful girlfriend to shut up, and Jaxxon condemning herself for the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss that Connor had given her a few minutes ago. He’d never kissed her like that before, it was actually affectionate. And that fourteen year old girl in her wouldn’t let that fact drop.

  The Starters came then. The silence continued as they ate; Jaxxon and Connor staring at one another while Anna glowered at Warren and he looked at her apologetically.

  The way Jaxx seemed so calm and collected was nibbling at Connor, mocking him. Here he was digging deep for the strength not to drag her out the place, make her promise never to jet off like that again and then fuck her ’til she couldn’t take any more. She, on the other hand, was calmly sipping her soup and her posture was totally relaxed. He wanted her as prickly as he was. “The challet’s great, isn’t it. I can’t wait to try out my bed.” Connor held onto Jaxx’s gaze. “I picked the room that overlooked the outdoor hot-tub.” Her room.

  Jaxxon didn’t give h
im the rise he wanted. “It’s quite comfy that bed. I always end up falling asleep on the couch so you’re welcome to it.”

  “Not joining me?”

  “You came all this way for a shag? Oh, Connor, you should have just sent me a simple message saying you wanted to break off our agreement then you could have fucked who you wanted right on your doorstep.”

  He leant forward. “If you keep talking about fucking I’m going to lose my composure and throw you over my shoulder again. You remember what happened last time I did that?”

  Just the memory of that night, just thinking about him being inside her body again, had her clit throbbing. “Yeah I remember. It was alright.”

  “You’re doing a lot of pushing, Jaxx.”

  “Oh I’m sorry were you expecting a show of open arms?”

  “I don’t need your arms open, babe, just your legs.”

  His cocky smirk had her gritting her teeth. I won’t give him a reaction. I won’t give him a reaction. I won’t give him a reaction. But then, as if her hand had a mind of its own, it flicked the spoon in his direction and the dollop of soup splattered over his face and the top part of his black shirt. The giggle literally popped out of her. Anna was chuckling too. Warren seemed an equal blend of horrified and amused. Connor, however…well he looked like he wanted to rip her liver out and eat it.

  Grinding his teeth, Connor wiped away the soup and dumped the serviette back on the table. He had told himself that he wouldn’t retaliate, but she was still giggling and it was grating on his nerves. He took another bite of his garlic bread then slung it at her face. He managed to keep his laugh silent but he couldn’t stop his body from shaking. Both Anna and Warren seemed to be bracing themselves for Jaxx’s wrath.