From Rags

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 everything.”

“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 him 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.

Jaxxon was totally dignified in her movements as she removed the buttery grease and breadcrumbs from her face and hair. Then, moving too abruptly for him to have prepared himself, Jaxxon snatched her dessert spoon and launched it at Connor. It hit his forehead with a thunk, which only made her chuckle again. Then he sloshed his glass of white wine all over her favourite cashmere sweater, hence Anna’s horrified gasp, and he had more or less signed his death warrant. She booted him hard in the shin and simultaneously flicked vinegar and salt at him. Pre-empting what she going to do next, Connor seized the opened bottle of wine and placed it on the neighbouring table. That just pissed her off even more. She reached onto the table behind theirs and grabbed their bottle of – ah ha – red wine. Connor warned her with a look but she just smiled as she splashed as much of the contents of it on him as she could. Then she slammed the bottle down onto the table and glared at him.

“You drowned me in red wine,” he said disbelievingly.

“That’s right, prick.”

“And I reek of vinegar.”

“You ruined my favourite top.” She turned to Anna then. “Toilets?”

Although Anna was terribly conscious of the deathly silence and the amount of eyes on them, she didn’t feel the need to shrink in her seat as she normally would have. No, it was the boys’ fault and, besides that, she was drunk so for now it didn’t matter. As if what was happening was perfectly normal, she casually gestured to the ladies’ restrooms as she sipped more wine from her glass. Jaxxon, of course, stomped off.

As she stood examining the stains on her sweater, debating whether it could be saved or not, a string profanities flew from Jaxxon’s mouth. God she wanted to kill that bloke! It wasn’t enough for him to turn up out the blue and interrupt her holiday, oh no he had to go and ruin her favourite top as well! Sure, it was only a sweater but it was the first thing item of clothing she bought with her first wage from Ollie. It had sentimental value. She didn’t have many things that could be considered sentimental to her. She had always made a point not to have any such things having grown up in a place where things generally weren’t yours for long. Just when she tried snapping out of the mind state of not relaxing or treasuring anything…Urgh! If he had any sense of self-preservation the miserable little arsehole would be scarpering out of here! At that very second, the door slammed open, arsehole barged in and locked it behind him. So he didn’t have any sense of self-preservation.

Connor had entered the restroom with every intention of giving her an intense verbal rollicking, but then he found her stood in only her bra and pants and his intentions quickly changed. He slowly advanced on her.

She shook her head wildly, gasping at the barefaced cheek of him. “Do not think you’re having your way with me, McKenzie.” Her eyes helplessly dropped to his muscled chest as he removed his soup/vinegar/wine-soaked shirt. She forced them back to his face. His own eyes contained lust and heat and desperation and…something else, something she didn’t recognise. “Look, you’ve had your fun: you’ve ruined my holiday, you’ve ruined my evening, you’ve ruined my favourite sweater! Just go, and don’t ever come near me again.”

He halted. “You think I came here to mess up your holiday? You think I would do that? That I would ever want to do that?”

“Yeah, to punish me for daring to go somewhere without asking you first.”

“This isn’t me punishing you or playing some game.” Dane had been right, he was going to need to tell her the truth if he had any hope of stopping her from finishing this.

“You expect me to believe that you got on a plane and came all the way here just because you felt like a shag?”

“I came here because I missed you.”

That shocked her to silence. She might have laughed if he didn’t look so serious. He must have meant he missed being inside her, it had simply come out wrong. “And you couldn’t wait until Monday?”

“No, I couldn’t. As much as you drive me bloody mental and make me want to spank your arse, I missed you.”

There it was again. “Your dick missed me, you mean.”

“My dick as well, yeah.” He began advancing on her again.

Completely knocked by the things he was saying, she found herself suddenly mentally off-balance and was backing away rather than standing her ground. She hadn’t even taken four steps before her back met a wall. She should have been fighting him, condemning him, cursing him. But those three words had totally thrown her, especially when the desperation in his eyes gave emphasis to that claim; desperation that she could also feel sizzling in the air. He had never looked at her like that before. And so, instead of denying him, her body reacted by sending tingling sensations to her clit and releasing a rush of moisture from her core.

Connor snatched the sweater from her grip and flung it aside then crammed her against the wall; his forearms resting either side of her. “And you missed me,” he whispered against her neck, enjoying the feeling of her skin against his.

She snorted, hoping her voice wouldn’t come out shaky with her desire. “Do you think I consider a food fight to be a mating ritual?”

His voice was low, velvety and seductive. “If I put my finger inside you right now, it would come out wet, wouldn’t it?” She swallowed hard and he smiled internally as he spoke into her ear, “I need you just as much, Jaxx.” To prove his point he grinded his rock-hard erection against her. “I’m obsessed with you. Addicted to you. You’re a blow to my self-control, do you know that?”

Now Jaxxon was even more thrown. His iron control was what gave him his strength against everything he had been through and protected him from more hurt. What he was basically saying was that she had a power over him that made him vulnerable. She made him vulnerable and yet he’d come to her.

He brushed his lips against hers. “I know you’re pissed with me, Jaxx. But you don’t really want me to go. What you want is for me to drive as deep inside you as I can and fuck you.” He tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth. “Don’t you? Here. Now. Right up against this wall.” Ever since she had told him she loved a good shag against a wall he hadn’t been able to get the image out of his head. As he felt a shiver ripple through her he raked his fingers through her hair and devoured her mouth with his.

Jaxxon felt another shiver run through her; his kiss was coated with all his pent-up arousal but it was also a drugging kiss, something that wrenched at her soul. And she didn’t have a hope in hell of fighting him. Not after his admission. But then why fight it when she needed this too? Giving herself over to the sensations, she locked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as she opened up fully to his kiss.

Relief surged through Connor. She wasn’t pushing him away, she was being as gorgeously responsive as always. Then lust fogged his mind and all he wanted to do was lose himself in her. But not before getting reacquainted with this delectable body that was his. He roughly cupped a breast and she groaned into his mouth. He loved that she liked things intense just as he did. His mouth then landed on her nipple as he sucked and bit it through the black lace, making her arch her back so that she was curving her body into his. Wanting to give her some of the relief her body was begging for, he quickly and nimbly dealt with the buttons and zipper of her pants and then slid his hand inside her thong, cupping her.

Jaxxon groaned again. How did he always manage to do this to her? One touch and she was primed for him. Sometimes he didn’t even need to touch her. The sensations that he ignited were as agonising as they were pleasurable, as unbearable as they were addictive. Only he could ever do this to her. She knew that just as surely as she knew that she had missed him.

He burrowed a finger inside her. “So wet,” Connor murmured against the lace of her bra as he added another finger. He lifted his head to watch the pleasure flit across her face as he fucked her with his fingers. Then she was practically riding his hand, frantically seeking relief. As much as he loved the sight of her like this, it wasn’t enough, he needed to taste her. Abruptly he sank to his knees and yanked down her pants and thong. She stepped out of them and her shoes. Then he lifted one shapely leg and hung it over his shoulder. He swiped his tongue between her folds and groaned. Her taste was like…There wasn’t a word good enough to describe it. It had all his senses exploding. He’d missed it.

“Oh God,” she rasped as he tortured her with sensual licks.

“Not God, Connor,” he said, now flicking her clit with his tongue and then swirling around it as he dug into his back pocket for a condom. “Say it.”

Why was it that he always seemed to want her to say his name?

“Say it.”

She might not have if she hadn’t heard the tearing of a wrapper and then the lowering of a zipper. Thank God! She needed him inside her quickly. “Connor.” Then he was stood before her, the leg that was hung over his shoulder now resting in the crook of his arm. Holding her eyes, he plunged into her. A noise that was something between a moan and a sob tore out of her. For once he wasn’t treating her like she was fragile, and she delighted in the burning sensation of him stretching her. “Deeper.”

“Oh I’ll fuck you deeper,” he assured her in a harsh tone as he palmed her arse and lifted her, rearranging her position so she could lock both of those luscious legs around his waist. “But first…” He brought a hand down hard on that perfect arse.

Jaxxon jerked in shock. Did he just spank her?

“Yeah, I did. That was for just drenching me in wine and vinegar and soup.” He did it again, wrenching a gasp from her. “That was for jetting off without a word and not even answering my calls.” This next spank was harder, causing her to gasp loudly. Moisture flooded his dick – so it turned out that she liked being spanked. “And that was for even thinking that I never cared about you.”

Just as she was about to curse the bastard, he plunged into her again, going even deeper this time. The pain was as sweet as always, making her groan and shudder. She felt his tongue lick over her pulse and then he was sucking on the patch of skin there. She had missed his hot tongue tasting her body like this, had even missed his bites. Almost as if he read her thoughts he bit down on her neck.

“Ready to take all of me?” When she nodded he gripped her hips and withdrew, then he slammed into her seating himself to the balls. Her muscles clamped around him like a tight fist. “Jesus, babe.” He had needed this, her, so badly. He sought out those brown eyes that he knew would have that wild, stormy look in them. “Jaxx, I need to fuck you hard.” His tone made it clear it would be rough and fierce.

“Good.” His nostrils flared, his eyes darkened and then he was pounding into her with jackhammer thrusts. She had to bury her face into the crook of his neck to try to muffle the endless stream of moans and groans and gasps and sobs that were literally erupting from her throat. Minutes later a huge, lingering orgasm washed over her but he didn’t stop. He continued to surge into her in that masterful way of his, building the friction within her again.

Connor knew that the press of her nails into the flesh of his back was drawing blood but if anything, it only spurred him on. Like he needed spurring on! He was hanging by the thinnest thread but he didn’t want it to end. It had scared him that she had seemed to want time away from him. He needed this; needed to be inside her, needed to hear her moaning his name, clinging to him, coming apart around him.

“Connor, I’m going to come again.”

He pounded even harder, clutching her arse even tighter as he did. “Now, Jaxx.”

Her release ripped through her entire body, shattering her. She sank her teeth into the juncture between his neck and shoulder to muffle her scream.

“Christ, babe,” he growled as her muscles clenched around him and triggered his own forceful climax. When his brain eventually switched back on and he was finished gasping for breath and being rocked by reverberations, he kissed her gently. “Admit it, you missed me.”

She tried to hold back a smile but half of it surfaced. “Maybe a bit.” Though he’d confessed his weakness for her, Jaxxon couldn’t bring herself to do the same. It was worth noting that if she did he’d poop his pants thinking she wanted more. But that wasn’t her reason: she couldn’t do the same because whereas he’d walk away from this okay, she wouldn’t. He missed her because she was his addiction – addictions can be cured. He’d walked away from her once before and been just fine. She missed him because she cared about him too much for her liking. That wouldn’t go away. She knew that because she’d cared for him this much since she was twelve, even when he’d left. Still she was resolute that if her feelings ever evolved into something stronger she’d be gone faster than Houdini out of a knot.