There’s a knock at my door. It must be dad picking me up for dinner. I check myself out in the mirror one last time. I think I look good right now, but Jaxson’s opinion is the one that matters. If we can get through this dinner tonight, then I’m all his. If we get through it all without my father interfering, then there will be no stopping Jaxson and me from being together.
I want to give myself to him.
At the door, dad looks me up and down with a frown. He can see that I’ve made an effort. I blush. It’s a fancy hotel so I’ve been wearing nice dresses to dinner every night, but he can see that the hair and makeup I’m wearing is a newly added touch.
“You look nice,” he says, threading his arm through mine to guide me to the elevator. I shrug, pretending it’s not a big deal.
“I’m just trying out a new look.”
He sniffs. “Well, I just hope it’s for your benefit and not somebody else’s.”
I hold back a sigh. Dad has always been overprotective. He thinks no man is good enough for me. But even if I wanted to date someone my own age, he would be overly picky. I don’t think he realizes that my boyfriend is supposed to be my choice, not his. Still, there’s nothing I can do to change a man like my father. He’s stuck in his ways so I guess I’ll just have to accept that whatever is going on between me and Jaxson will have to stay our little secret, for now.
I see him right away as we enter the restaurant. He’s dressed in a sharp steel colored suit that compliments his strong surfer’s body. His longish hair is slicked back so that he looks like the perfect gentleman. His dark eyes meet mine from across the room and within moments, I’m a blushing mess. I’m glad I get a few moments to pull myself together as we walk toward the table he’s saved for us.
Jaxson reaches out to shake dad’s hand, and he reluctantly accepts. Then, in a bold and daring move, Jaxson leans over to kiss my cheek. I feel electricity sizzles between us from the brush of his lips against my skin, and I resist the urge to shiver in delight. My dad’s grip on my arm tightens, but I pull away to take my seat at the table.
“You look stunning,” Jaxson growls. He pulls out my chair for me and I get a glimpse of a future where we’re together, always this perfect and gentlemanly. I just know that if we were together he’d take good care of me. I take my seat.
“Thank you, Jaxson. You look good too.”
Dad grits his teeth as he sits beside me. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I swear he shifts his chair closer to mine protectively. Across the table, Jaxson’s eyes meet mine and his foot nudges me under the table. It’s immediately obvious that this dinner is a mistake. There’s so much tension here that I feel my chest tighten with anxiety. But we’re here now. I guess we just have to push through.
“Everything on the menu looks amazing,” I say, trying to break up some of the tension at the table. “I think I’m going to have the salmon.”
“I’ll join you,” Jaxson says. “I think you’ve got good taste.”
My dad grits his teeth. “So. Jaxson. How’s business?”
“Good,” Jaxson says curtly. There’s only silence after that. I guess that conversation is over. As much as I want to believe this whole feud is one sided and that my father is the one making life difficult, Jaxson certainly isn’t helping. He’s being so blunt with my dad that there’s no chance this will ever get resolved if he doesn’t change his attitude.
But I know why he’s doing it. Every time Jaxson looks at me, I can see this possessiveness in his eyes. He wants me to be his. I don’t think he likes the idea of sharing me...even with my dad...one bit. It’s like he wants it to be just me and him against the world. I’ll admit, I like that idea myself, but I can’t let go of my father.
Not even if Jaxson is the love of my life.
Jaxson
She looks amazing tonight. Too amazing. She makes me so hard just sitting there as we order wine and food. It’s certainly not the time or place to be getting aroused, but I can’t help myself. Whenever I’m around her, all I want to do is rip off her clothes and fuck her. I want to push deep inside her tight little pussy and make her come over and over again.
But with the way Sam is looking at me right now, I know that if I even look at Stella wrong, he’s going to start a fight. I could take him easily, but I know it would upset Stella, and that’s the last thing I want. If she’s going to be mine, I want to please her until the day I die. I’ll never put a toe out of line as far as she’s concerned because losing a woman like her would be the end of everything.
I know I need to try harder with Sam too. My anger at him isn’t even because of the past. It’s because he gets to have Stella and he’ll never approve of me even being in her life. All I want is to make her mine. I
