Not yet. I will, I promise.
“To whom are you making promises, now?” Jax’s deep, sleepy voice roused over my shoulder and reverberated into my ear in the wake of his warm breath. “Should I be jealous?” he asked, languidly amused. He’d obviously glanced at the message over my shoulder. I felt anxious that he could have seen who it was from, yet, I didn’t want to keep anything from him, either. This situation could go either way.
He moved enough for me to shift onto my back so I could look over at him. I lifted a hand, reached up, and cupped his cheek. “As if.”
His sumptuous lips curved up into a lazy smile. “It could happen.”
“How?” I pressed wryly, shifting once more until I was facing him. He took my hand and pressed his open mouth into the palm as his eyes peered into mine. He was rumpled and so sexy with his hair mussed from a night of love play, and my fingers threading through it, there was a soft scruff on his jaw that I’d come to love. It made him look dangerous and sensuous. “I mean… you’re you.”
The amusement left his expression. “Yes, and you’re you, Addison. Don’t you know how you affect me?” He used one finger to trace down my face from my cheekbone to my chin as he bent and kissed me leisurely, yet thoroughly, his hand sliding into my hair to cup my head. I opened my mouth to give him access, and his tongue played with mine, teasing it into a response. My heart and mind thrilled at his admission, even if it wasn’t one of undying love.
I ran my hand up his chest and over his broad, muscular shoulders. He was all man; demanding and sure in his ability to give pleasure.
Passion flared between us as he rolled me beneath him and settled into the cradle of my body, clearly aroused. When the phone, now laying on the bed behind me, dinged again Jax froze. His lips lifted from mine, despite my attempts to keep the kiss going. “Must be some promise,” he muttered good-naturedly.
I licked my lips and rushed back the lock of dark hair falling over his forehead as he looked down into my face. I arched up into his erection. I wasn’t sure if I was hoping to distract him or just that my body always had an insatiable hunger for his.
He obligingly pushed his hips forward to grind his hard flesh into mine. We were both without cloths so it would only take a shift of my hips and he would slide inside me. I could feel the moisture pool and my body clenched in anticipation. If it weren’t for the furrow in his brow, I would have.
“Can’t you tell me?” he coaxed gently. “Come on.”
I stopped to gaze up at him. His eyes were soft and imploring, with something that seemed like vulnerability lurking in the blue depths. “It’s nothing.” My fingers lingered on his cheek and my leg hooked the back of his thigh.
“Isn’t it?”
I smiled in delight. Happiness at the prospect filled my heart to exploding. “Are you jealous?”
“No,” he admonished. “But I don’t want secrets between us.”
I sobered, my hand still laced in the soft strands on the side of his head, playing, trying to offer comfort incase my next words stung. “The text was from Luke.”
Relief flooded his features. “Oh,” he smiled and bent to resume kissing my mouth. “Is one of your assignments late?” Jax murmured. “I think I might have some pull to fix it.”
I placed my fingertips on his jaw to stop him. “No, that’s not it, Jax.” I shook my head. “He thinks I’m a good writer and wondered if you’d be open to my replacing your missing T.A. Jeff, right? Luke needs help with the workload of so many students.”
Jax’s jaw hardened as anger filled his expression, and then he pushed away and rose from the bed. I sighed in regret even as I watched his magnificent male form walk away from me to gather the jeans that he’d left on the floor the night before and slide them on commando, his movements as smooth as a jungle cat.
I silently lamented that his perfect ass was now hidden beneath the denim. Jax faced me as he buttoned the waistband and slid the zipper up, a scowl placed firmly on his face. “Even if I’d consider it, why didn’t he tell me he was overworked himself? He had you ask me?” he was incredulous. “Does he know what’s going on between us?” he asked, accusingly.
I sat up abruptly, holding the covers around my bare chest, shaking my head indignantly. It hurt me that Jax didn’t trust me.
“No!” I didn’t understand why he was so angry, but clearly Luke’s trepidation was warranted. “He was talking to me about my work and said he really liked it, but…” I hesitated, remembering Luke’s insistence that Jax might think he wasn’t focused on his T.A. duties if he was working on a book of his own. I certainly understood. Jax could be onerous in his expectations, and the workload in his class was heavy. Given his current suspicion of Luke’s motives, I struggled with how to respond so I wouldn’t add fuel to the fire of his mood.
“But, what, Addison?” Jax demanded, turning to glare at me.
I thought about trying to joke with him but thought better of it. I felt myself flush under his scrutiny. I wanted to help Luke, and I was starting to get angry myself, so I ignored the nagging voice inside my head. I really wanted to help Luke, and so, I would. Just because I was in a relationship with Jax, didn’t mean I couldn’t do what I wanted. As far as I was concerned it had little to do with Jax. Did he tell me what he did every moment we weren’t together? No.
“But… you do assign a lot of work, and I get how he can’t handle it all himself!” I got off the bed dragging the sheet with me. The rest of the bedding tangled with it and fell to the floor and I struggled to get free so I could get dressed. “In fact, I feel a certain amount of guilt about it!” I stormed. I tugged hard at the offending material angrily.
“Why, for fuck’s sake?” He stood, bare-chested, dressed in his well-fitting jeans, his hands in his front pockets. It was a casual pose; if it weren’t for the tenor of his voice and his pissed off expression, I’d be ready to climb him like a tree. Through his anger, his eyes roamed over my naked form with a hunger he couldn’t disguise. I didn’t care how I felt about him, this was getting to be too much.
“Because working with me means you dump more in his lap, obviously!” I spat out, scanning the room for my clothing that had been discarded the night before.
“Pfft!” Jax dismissed. “He shouldn’t have come to you to fight his battles for him. It was a pussy thing to do. Why did he think you’d have any influence if he didn’t know we were involved?” he shouted.
I was frustrated by the tangle of material at my feet and finally gave up, finally stepping out of it, and letting the sheet fall to join the offending bedding. I was naked and Jax’s eyes burned over my skin. I could feel the intensity of his gaze as if it were fire. “I don’t know! Um… maybe because every woman you meet wants to fuck you, I guess!” I threw over my shoulder with a huff. I quickly found my black lace bra and panties and scurried into them, rushing around to throw on my blouse and jeans. His gaze burned every inch of my skin like a physical touch. Even when I wasn’t looking at him, I felt it.
“Maybe he wants to fuck you!” Jax fumed, following me around the room.