“Years ago...you would’ve just been a child...we worked together. We were both young and ambitious. We were good friends and we had plans to go on and start our own business eventually. But starting a business was always going to be a risk, and we didn’t have the kind of money we needed for a venture like that. Of course, he had a wife and kid to think about too, so he wasn’t going to be ready to take any risks for a long time.”
Stella nods. “That makes sense. So what happened?”
I sigh. “I was poached by another company. One that was willing to pay me triple what I was earning back then. I knew I had to take it. I planned to use the extra money to save up and start the business your dad and I had planned. But he was angry with me. He said I was selling out, giving up the dream. He wouldn’t listen to me when I insisted that I was just setting up our future for us. He told me he never wanted to see me again.”
Stella blinks. “But...but that’s ridiculous. It wasn’t like he had the means to start a company then either. Surely he saw that you were doing it for both of you?”
I shrug. “Part of me thinks he was just angry that it was me moving on without him...maybe he thought that as a young bachelor, I was living a dream he’d never have. Don’t get me wrong, he loved family life. But he started a family at such a young age. He never had the same freedom to take risks like I did. But anyway, I tried to contact him a few years later. I figured he’d had time to calm down by then, and I’d saved up enough money to go solo and start the business venture we’d dreamed up. But he didn’t want to know...so I did it without him.”
Stella chews on her lip. “I can’t believe this. And he's still angry about this? It was his own fault! All he had to do was trust you.”
I shrug. Though I act like I don’t care, losing Sam as a friend all those years ago has haunted me for a long time. I’ve missed him. We clicked in a way I haven’t with anyone else in years. But the past was the past, and it was what it was.
But if he thinks he can stand in the way of me and Stella...well, he’s got another thing coming.
Stella looks sad, I lean in and cup her cheek. The electricity between my skin and hers makes me want to rip her clothes off right here, right now. But I have an idea that will get her down to her underwear in seconds. The moment for being sad about Sam has passed. I want to enjoy myself.
“Don’t worry about him. Just for tonight, forget all about him. Let’s have some fun, hmm? Try and relax. Enjoy the moment...just you and me.”
Her beautiful eyes meet mine, and she offers me a small smile. “I think I can do that.”
I stand up with a grin and shrug off my dinner jacket. She watches in awe as I begin to unbutton my shirt. I take it off, revealing my toned chest to her. She looks completely in shock, but I can see the lust in her eyes.
“What use is a pool if we don’t swim in it?” I say in a husky tone.
CHAPTER FOUR
Stella
As Jaxson slides into the pool wearing nothing, but his underwear, I stand at the side of the pool still fully clothed. My heart pounding like a drum in my chest. I want to be in the pool with him right this second, but I hold myself back. I know if I get into the water with him, I won’t be able to resist. If he kisses me, I’ll kiss him back. If he tells me he wants to run off together, hell, I think I’d do it. I need him more than anything else in the world.
But I have my dad to consider. He’d never agree to me being with Jaxson. His stupid pride is getting in the way, even years later now that he’s a success in his own right. I shouldn’t care about his opinion on my love life, but I do. I want him to approve.
But as Jaxson dips quickly under the water and resurfaces with his hair wet and his torso deliciously bare, I know I don’t have a choice. He offers me a seductive smile.
“Are you coming?”
I take in a shaky breath. I’m going to have to strip in front of him. But maybe that’s what he wanted all along. I get the feeling he’ll enjoy the show. Slowly, I reach for the bottom of my dress and lift it up and over my head. My face disappears inside the fabric, but when I pull the dress free, the first thing I see is Jaxson’s hungry eyes roaming over my body. He wants me.
And I want him.
Standing in my panties and bra, I feel self conscious for a moment, but I can tell Jaxson likes what he sees, so I tell myself that I should have more confidence in myself and my body. I sit on the edge of the pool with my feet dangling in the cold water. He swims close to me, his body coming between my legs. Without saying a word, he grabs my waist and I wrap my legs around his body, sliding gracefully into the pool. The coldness of the water shocks my system for a moment, but when I open my eyes and meet Jaxson’s gaze, all I feel is heat.
“Stella,” he growls. There’s a blanket of stars above us, but he looks at me like I’m the brightest star in the sky. “I want you.”
I’m trembling, my legs still wrapped
