From Rags

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Not bad, McKenzie,” repeated Anna, shocked. “Oh, Jaxxon, you didn’t.” It had been days since she had last seen Jaxxon and she been waiting desperately for the scoop. Whatever she had expected to hear, it wasn’t that Jaxxon decided to have a rendezvous at night time in a wooded area. Brilliant. But ‘Not bad, McKenzie’…Dear God.

“For all I knew one shag was all he was after,” said Jaxxon defensively, swinging Bronty’s lead in the humid air. The dumb dog was fascinated with a pine comb at the moment. Each time she walked him in the park she became more and more concerned by the fact that her dog didn’t seem to do anything typical of canines. He didn’t go round pissing and shitting, marking his territory. He didn’t sniff everyone and everything he came into contact with. He didn’t try to chase other animals. It was almost as though he had no innate instincts that told him how to behave. “I thought I’d play it casual so it was painless for both of us to walk off.” It would never be truly painless for her though. She knew that for sure Wednesday night.

“I guess I see your point. But ‘Not bad, McKenzie’.”

“At least I commented on the shag. All he did was pounce on the idea of me walking off after just the one time. He sounded like a girl to be quite honest. I don’t think I’ve ever met a bloke who minded being used for sex.”

“So what does that tell you?”

She knew what Anna was getting at, but Jaxxon was smart enough to know that Connor would never want more than what they had now – which was very little. “That his ego is too sensitive.”

Anna shook her head, smiling. If only Jaxxon could see her own worth instead of viewing herself as a moody bitch, Anna might have a shot at convincing her of what she herself believed: Connor McKenzie would never let her go, even if he didn’t realise it himself yet. “When are you seeing him next?”

Tingles abruptly scurried along Jaxxon’s spine. The nape of her neck felt itchy. Someone was watching her. Just like when she went shopping with Anna that time, it felt wrong. Like the gaze was sending a bad vibe. Still managing to hold onto the thread of the conversation, she replied while scanning her surroundings, “I told him to phone me.” There were people around the park but no one who gave her cause to look twice. Was she getting paranoid?

“He’s a bloke so that could take days. They like to play it cool so they don’t seem desperate, as if the way they ravish us when they do see us doesn’t tell us differently!” They both winced as Bronty tried to eat a bee. “Do you fancy trying that new bar, ‘Frankie’s’, later?” When Jaxxon groaned she added, “Come on, we never hit any bars last weekend.”

“Only because we went to the charity event.”

A loud bark-growl had them both jerking around. Jaxxon felt her eyebrows shoot up as she found Bronty in the kind of pouncing position expectant of a lion, glaring at a bloke who – judging by his attire – was a jogger. She could only guess that the bloke had given Bronty a fright when he sprung out of the trees onto their path. “Bronty, you daft sod. Sorry,” she told the jogger when she approached. “He’s a bit odd to tell you the truth.”

“I-it’s, er, alright, he’s just, er, protecting his mistress.”

Jaxxon gave Bronty, who hadn’t moved a muscle, a little shove. “Oi, snap out of it. And stop posing like that.” She looked at Anna. “Do you think he knows he’s a dog?” Anna was too busy staring open-mouthed at the jogger to answer. Jaxxon knew that look and what it meant. It wasn’t unusual for celebs to stroll about this park. But damned if Jaxxon could recognise him. She again took in his athletic build, his dark eyes, his high cheekbones and tousled dark hair. She also took in the fact that he didn’t have an ounce of sweat on him, which was surely odd for someone jogging around, especially in this heat. And then there was the look on his face…He seemed nervous. Had the look of someone who’d known exactly what they wanted to say but been put off. Like stagefright.

“Alright, well, bye.” She took a frozen Anna by the arm and guided her away. The bloke did start jogging then. Yes, she was being paranoid.

“Now that is one divine man,” said Anna, finally back to Earth.

“Who is he?”

Anna looked at her like she was loopy. “That’s Luke Winston.” Jaxxon looked none the wiser. “Don’t you know who Luke Winston is?”

Jaxxon shook her head. “He looks a bit familiar.”

“So he should. He was in a boy-band when he was younger and now he’s an actor. Doesn’t he have the most gorgeous arse!”

No, Connor does¸ thought Jaxxon. Alright, whoa, where the hell did that come from? She really did not want to end up in the state of mind where she compared and contrasted every bloke she met against Connor. For one thing, that would make her a very sad individual. Also, she knew perfectly well that no one would ever measure up to him. No one ever had in the past eight years, and that was before they’d even shagged – and what a bloody good shag it had been. She would be destined to life as a spinster. Not going to happen. Yes, a night out where loud music could drown out her thoughts would do her the world of good.

Connor’s muscles ached deliciously after his work-out. And so they should. He’d spent longer hours than usual at the gym; practically abusing the exercise bike, the rowing machine and the specially designed weights that helped develop the muscles required to withstand the g-forces and racing conditions. It might look like all an F1 driver had to do was sit on their arse and steer, but there was more to it than that.

Connor had to ensure that he worked on his neck muscles; a lot of stress was put on them considering that the helmet weighed 7kg and the g-force could send his head lurching and bobbing. He also had to concentrate hard on keeping up his upper body strength so that he could tackle the twists and turns of the speeding the car and the physical stress coming from the g-force. For similar reasons, exercising his arms and wrists were important. And of course there were his legs; a driver’s braking power depended massively on the strength of his leg muscles seen as the pedals of F1 cars were made to be stiff.

He thought it was ironic that he trained his mind to be alert and prepared for anything – how else would he handle a speeding car and be totally attuned to every movement? – and yet the reappearance of one person in his life had thrown him completely. During training seemed to be the only time that he was actually in control of his body; a body that craved Jaxx in a way that scared him. His theory was that if his body had been well worked, it wouldn’t be so unruly. So, yeah, he’d overworked himself a lot lately.

Nonetheless, whenever she crept into his thoughts his cock roared to life. How was it possible that he thought of Jaxx so much? But, then, how could he not think of her? How could he not think of Wednesday night? It had felt so good to be inside her. She had been so responsive to his touch. So hot and tight around him. So gorgeous as she came, screaming.

And then she had topped it off with ‘Not bad, McKenzie’.

Not bad, McKenzie?! It had been amazing, that’s what it had been. He’d never had a shag like that in his life.

Then she had scarpered like the hounds of hell were chasing her. Had that been regret? Or was it that what happened had meant so little to her? That he meant so little to her?

Christ, why was he stressing over this? He should be glad. She was his favourite kind of woman; she understood that sex didn’t mean the involvement of ‘feelings’, she didn’t have this need to bask in the bloody afterglow, and she didn’t put any pressure on him. She had just got her jollies and left, not even hinting for a compliment on her performance or if she was the best sex ever. The irony that this woman was the best sex he’d ever had wasn’t lost on him. He wondered if that meant it’d take longer for him to burn off his craving for her.

The chiming of his mobile phone stole him from his contemplations. The name on the screen of his Blackberry was ‘Warren’, an Olympic runner who had been a good mate of his over the years. “Hello.”

“Connor, you busy right now, mate?”

“Just got out of the shower. About to have a beer and wind down. What’s up?”

“Er…I’m at that new bar, ‘Frankie’s’, with Clive and Mick.”

That explained the background noise. “I’m not really in the mood for that tonight.”

“I think you might change your mind when I tell you who I’m looking at right now. Jaxxon Carter’s here, she’s with the really cute, leggy model who went to the charity event with her. And, er…”

Connor’s entire body tensed and his jaw locked.

“Well, that actor Luke Winston’s hovering around her.”

Little bastard.

She probably should have been politely concentrating on what Luke was saying, but Jaxxon was busy wondering if there was such a thing as Celebrity Fright Syndrome and if Anna suffered from it. She hadn’t said a word since the bloke had appeared at their table a half hour ago, just stared at him like he alone held the keys to the secrets of the universe. The bloke certainly held a secret…but Jaxxon had yet to figure out what.

Oh on the surface he seemed totally fine and the evening had so far been alright, if you discounted the fact that he had sat with them without waiting for an invite. He didn’t seem conceited, he hadn’t mentioned either of their careers, he hadn’t plowed her with extremely personal questions. They were just two people talking which was kind of refreshing. But there was just something not quite right. He was so nervous and couldn’t meet her eyes for very long. A few times already he had tried to get her to leave the bar with him. Also, he was trying to get her plastered. Poor thing didn’t know she’d worked in a pub for years and could handle her alcohol better than most blokes – not that she wasn’t the teensiest bit tipsy. The only reason she hadn’t sent him away with a kick up the arse was that she was certain he’d be plastered before she was and then maybe she could coax his big secret from him.

“Oh bugger.”

Jaxxon nearly jumped when Anna spoke. So she was alive then. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re not going to like this.”

As Jaxxon followed Anna’s gaze, she inhaled sharply. Connor and a cluster of blokes were stalking toward their table. He was in predator-mode, it would seem. “A wolf dressed in Armani clothing.” It had only taken a second of seeing him before the memory of Wednesday night was all over her. It didn’t help that he looked good in his grey shirt and black pants.

As he came to stand before Jaxxon, only the mahogany table between them, there was a wordless exchange between them. His tense posture, twist of the lips and raised brow asked if there was a reason why another bloke was so close to her that justified allowing him to live. Her shrug, casual swig of her drink and a twirl of her ankle said that she wasn’t affected by his crap and didn’t have to explain herself to him.

She watched as Connor’s eyes slammed down on Luke who was settled in the bulky armchair beside where he was standing, looking from her to Connor and back again. Luke hadn’t the missed the ‘fuck off’ blazing from Connor’s eyes, but he seemed to be waiting to see if Jaxxon would object to him going on his way. She didn’t. She knew it was in his best interests to be out of Connor’s sight. Something told her that Connor would be like this until he had tired of shagging her. She could only hope that she had burnt him out of her system before then.

Jaxxon had expected that Luke might shoot a snarl at her or Connor, but he had the oddest look in his eyes. She was sure she saw a flash of shock and also of betrayal, but the emotions weren’t directed at either her or Connor. What was with this bloke? Almost the second after Luke had vacated the seat, Connor flopped into it. This meant they were sat directly opposite each other as they stared the hell out of each other. Honestly she felt like a cowgirl about to have a showdown.

“It’s Anna, isn’t it?”

Following the male voice, Jaxxon turned her head and saw what she had never expected to see: a celebrity had seated himself next to Anna and she didn’t freeze.

“Yeah, hi,” she said a little shyly. “You’re Warren, right?” Of course Anna was faking her uncertainty. She knew exactly who this bloke was – he was a gold-medal winner for God’s sake! She had first seen him in the flesh at the charity event. He had smiled at her a few times but they had never got round to talking. Probably because she had made it her business to get drunk to distract Jaxxon from Connor’s antics.

“And you’re Jaxxon,” said Warren as he looked passed Anna at the woman who he had thought Connor was going to devour in the middle of the charity event. He didn’t know an awful lot of what, if anything, was going on between them, but he knew Connor. He’d seen how possessive his mate was of her and had figured it might be best to warn him that there was now another bloke coming onto her. Turned out he was right to do so. He handed Connor a Budweiser, noticing at the same time that it was what Jaxxon was drinking too.

Jaxxon nodded. “And you’re the one who snitched to Connor that I was here tonight.” There was no way that Connor was already here when he saw her. It was obvious by the frustration on his face that he had been stewing on his emotions for a while which suggested having dragged himself here from somewhere else.

Warren smiled at her astuteness. “What made you think it was me?”

“You’re finding way too much pleasure in this awkward little situation. Plus, it gave you an excuse to hang around Anna. Upset her, you’ll lose your bollocks.”

She said it so matter-of-factly that he laughed. “Fair enough. That ginger one there is Clive, the tubby one is Mick. Both my brothers-in-law.”

Jaxxon nodded at the blokes sat on either side of Connor. It was almost like they were flanking him. She smiled at that. Connor gave her a questioning look but she said nothing. There was a long silence at the table. She realised that Anna and Connor’s mates were all fixated on her and him, watching and waiting to see how this was going to play out: Was Jaxxon going to blow her fuse after Connor’s display of ownership? Was Connor going to pop a vein after seeing her with Luke? She considered warning them that there was likely to be unsuitable language from the outset and scenes that some people may find disturbing.

It seemed that over the years Connor had forgotten just how often he had had to chase idiots away from Jaxx. The problem was she had a body that made a bloke think sinful thoughts. It had always gotten her attention, and always the wrong kind of attention. Boys had seemed to automatically think that if she had a body so alluring she was some kind of seductress and was up for anything. Then there was the fact that her sister had been very loose with her body; boys tended to then reason that if Jaxx was Leah’s sister, she must be easy just like her.

From minute one Jaxx had brought out his primitive instinct to protect. It didn’t even matter if the boy seemed harmless. If he was a male and too close for Connor’s liking then that male needed to be on his way…because she brought out another primitive instinct in him too: to possess. Every wicked curve of her body called to any red-blooded male. She was edible. And he wanted another taste. He hadn’t thought of anything else since the second she drove away the other night. Having her again was the only thing that would calm the raging lust coursing through him, the only that’d feel right. He itched to touch her so much that he found himself tapping his restless fingers on the arms of the chair. He wanted to drag her out of there and fuck her to unconsciousness. Disliking the way she looked so unperturbed, he made sure he said something that would get him a response. “Oh there’s nothing quite like finding a randy bastard sniffing around your woman.”

Jaxxon looked at him with mock sympathy. “Oh Connor. How you do love to delude yourself. I’ll say this one more time: I belong to no one.” She was impressed at how steady her voice was given that her insides were coiling with a vicious hunger for the raw, carnal pleasure she knew he could give her. There was no denying that his body was designed for it. She could vividly recall the feel of him, thick and hard and long, inside her. And going by the way his lips were curved into his cocky smirk, he knew that she was recalling it.

“You felt like you were mine the other night.”

It probably should have bothered her that he had announced that for his mates to hear, but the world thought they were shagging anyway after what the tabloids had printed. “Sex doesn’t give you ownership rights.”

“My body owned yours the other night, and you know it.”

It nettled her the way he said that; like she was at his mercy, like her body was his to bloody command or something. “It’s so sad, Connor. The way you’re being all cocky and boastful you sound like a teenage boy who’s just finally popped his cherry. It was a quickie in the woods, no need to get carried away with yourself.”

“I’m getting carried away, am I? As I recall it, you were the one screaming.”

“If you think that makes me anything like the other women who follow you around like you’re the Pied Bleeding Piper then you’re very much mistaken. And you’re just as mistaken if you think I’ll tolerate your possessiveness.”

It was a struggle to keep his voice level. “And you’re very mistaken if you think I’ll ever be alright with another bloke being near you, let alone touching you. I see red every time.”

“Try to imagine how little I actually care.”

He couldn’t help smiling. She was pushing him but her ballsy responses and the frustration shimmering in her eyes only made his dick harder. It wasn’t easy reigning in his eagerness to have her when he could sense that she was just as affected by the sexual tension as he was. “Be as pissed off with me as you like. It won’t change the fact that Wednesday night will happen again. But you already know that, don’t you.”

There it was again: that insinuation that she had no control over things. Fair enough, she didn’t have much at all. But she knew that he wasn’t as in control as he liked to think. Maybe it was time to fight fire with fire. “You know, McKenzie, these games of yours – getting my private schedule, swooping in and scaring off other blokes, breaking into my apartment – are pretty annoying. I’m not usually a fan of game playing, but I’ve got a good mind to make an exception here.”

The calculating gleam in her eyes had him intrigued. “I’m up for it, Carter.”

“You don’t know what it is yet.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“So over-confident…” She sighed wistfully. “Anna, what time is it?”

After consulting her wrist-watch, she replied, “Eleven.”

Jaxxon fixed her eyes on Connor. “I’ll bet that you won’t last until half-past eleven to get me out of here.” There was no point in acting as though there wouldn’t be a repeat of the other night. They both wanted it. It would happen.

A crooked grin appeared on Connor’s face. She knew just how desperate he was to be inside her again just as she knew that turning down her challenge was as good as admitting aloud that desperation and that she had managed to splinter his iron control. She had cornered him good and proper. Pride wouldn’t let him admit his weakness. “Alright.”

Jaxxon shifted in her seat, leaning back until she was lounging in it and her pants were slightly sagging over her hipbones. Connor saw and his nostrils flared.

Anna looked at her curiously. “Comfy?”

“Oh yeah. I wouldn’t normally chance this position, it makes my thong ride up my arse, but since I’m going Commando…” Connor’s eyes darkened and she smiled inwardly.

Anna laughed to Warren. “She’s actually telling the truth. She never wears underwear with her low-cut pants.”

“Just think,” Jaxxon said to Connor, “if I’d been wearing a skirt, I could have done a ‘Sharon Stone Basic Instinct’ move and flashed you.”

Just the thought of that had Connor swallowing hard. “Maybe next time.”

“So tell me a bit about yourself, Warren,” said Jaxxon.

“Er…Born and raised in London. Twenty-eight. Got five gold medals.”

“What’s your favourite sex position?”

Stunned, he ended up stuttering his response. “I, er, I d-don’t know.”

“Oh come on, we’re all adults here.”

He chuckled. He liked Jaxxon Carter, she was good for Connor. She would never take any of his shite without dishing it back. “I like having a woman on top.”

“Anna, what’s yours?”

“Same, actually.” She wasn’t just saying what she thought might excite Warren, it was true.

Jaxxon tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Personally I prefer behind taken from behind.” Someone made a choking sound. “But I do like a good shag up against a wall.” She smiled at Connor, watching as his Adam’s apple bobbed.

Connor took a long guzzle from his bottle; her words were conjuring all kinds of images in his head. His cock got impossibly harder. Now all he could think about was fucking her against a wall. He was going to kill her for this. He’d fuck her first. But then he was going to kill her. He glared at her warningly, but she seemed unfazed.

“What about you, Connor?”

“You’ll soon find out, won’t you.” His eyes became glued to her mouth as she took a small swig of her drink then circled the tip of the bottle with her tongue. His entire body clenched. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to encourage her or throttle her. Then she took as much of the neck of the bottle into her mouth as she could and swirled her tongue around it before sucking it. “Bitch.” He hadn’t realised he’d said it aloud until she smiled smugly.

She swiped a drop of fluid from her chin. “I can’t believe I’ve just dribbled. I usually swallow no problem.”

He groaned aloud this time then took another long, comforting guzzle from his bottle.

“Connor, have you ever wanked thinking about me?”

Half of his drink went down the wrong tube and the other half he spluttered back up.

“That’s a nasty cough you’ve got.”

There was water in his eyes when he looked back at her. “Have you ever got yourself off thinking about me?”

She shrugged delicately as she said, “Of course. With the help of my vibrator.” Hell if she had one! Though she’d always been curious.

Had he been taking another gulp of his beer, Connor would have coughed that up as well. His voice was hoarse and shaky. “Vibrator?”

Anna had to hide her laugh as every bloke at the table became riveted. It wasn’t just Jaxxon’s words, it was those famous eyes and that sultry voice and the way her sensual mouth moved as she talked.

“I pushed it in and out, in and out, imagining it was you,” she said in what she hoped was a hypnotic tone. At the same time she threaded the neck of the bottle through her closed fist. “I played with my tits and my clit, pretending it was you. And I came screaming your name.” She took another swig of her Budweiser. “Then I sucked the vibrator clean.”

With that, Connor sprung from his chair, snatched the bottle from her hand which he handed to Anna, then dragged Jaxx to her feet and threw her over his shoulder like she was an unruly child. All in the space of about four seconds.

“Oi!” she shouted.

“Not a word, Jaxx,” he gritted out as he stalked toward the door. He had never been so hard in his life. There was probably an imprint of his zipper on his cock. It was all her doing, and she was going to see to the problem personally. He couldn’t care less at the moment that he had just lost control – and in front of people. All he cared about was having her.

Jaxxon continued to shout at him and pounded his back with her fists as he exited the bar. He didn’t even slow down. Desperate times, desperate measures…She slid her hands down the back of his trousers, grabbed the band of his boxer shorts and tugged hard, determined to give him the world’s worst wedgie.

Connor stiffened then writhed then tried walking faster – nothing alleviated the pain, it only worsened. So this was what it was like to wear a thong. He yanked hard on her legs and slid her down his body as he reached his convertible which was parked quite illegally to the side of the bar. He tried to fling her inside but she took on a starfish pose, spreading out her arms and legs to hamper his attempt. Out of patience and uncaring of anyone who might be watching, he boldly cupped her. Instantly she retracted her limbs and began sliding into the car to escape his grip. But just before he had a chance to shut the door she snatched the car keys from his hand and scooted over to the driver’s seat. As the engine roared to life he gave her a warning look. “Jaxx.” It was a warning she ignored.

Grinning, Jaxxon took the handbrake off and began driving the car at a crawling pace. She had no intention of revving off. For one thing, she had been drinking, and two, Connor would have a hernia. But the horror on his face was priceless. As he dived into the passenger seat, reaching for the handbrake, she was opening the driver’s door and heading back to the bar.

As mad as he was, Connor couldn’t help laughing. He put the car in park and jogged after her. He caught her easily, she was laughing so hard she could barely move. Her jerked her back against him, then twirled her round and hoisted her up, urging her to curve her legs around him. “You’re a tease,” he said, still laughing with her. Then he brought his lips to hers and devoured her, pressing her body close to him. She didn’t fight him, she opened up to him like she was as hungry for the contact as he was. That in mind, he couldn’t get them in the car fast enough.

“You taking me back to my apartment?” she asked, all innocence, as she clicked her seatbelt into place. Judging by the direction he was heading, the answer was no.

“Not a bloody chance. You’re coming home with me and you’re going to do something about this hard-on that you caused and then deliberately aggravated.”

“I can do something about that right now.”