Page 74 of Reputation
Jax
After watching Eavie leave with her date, his hand placed low on her back, Jax lost all interest in the woman sitting next to him.While he tried to listen to her constant chatter and not-so-vaguely disguised attempts to seduce him, he couldn’t keep his mind off Eavie.
Since the game against LA, he’d tried to stay away from her.He figured being near her wreaked havoc on his focus.Mistakes like that could not happen, not with the pressure he felt to perform, to score goals and win the championship.
He was angry with himself that he’d let her pull his attention.Jax prided himself on his ability to focus so singularly.Until she had burst into his life.
Eavie had been right when she accused him of ignoring her, and that wasn’t fair of him.She had done nothing wrong.The only thing he could think of to reset himself was to stay away from her.
As it turned out, the absence of her had been worse.The woman plagued him night and day to where he thought he either had to have her or go mad.
That’s how he’d found himself wandering by her office earlier this evening.He’d finished a late training session in the gym, and his need for her drove him to seek her out.He hadn’t known what he would do when he saw her, but he just needed to talk to her.Maybe if he told her how he felt, she would…fix it?
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.Instead, when Jax had stopped by her office, it was empty.“She left already,” called Mandy from across the hall.Jax turned, walking into her office.“She has a date tonight, so she left a little early.You just missed her.”
A tight ball formed in the pit of his stomach.Clearing his throat, he asked, “Really?”He tried his best to sound only casually interested.“Where was she going?”
Mandy stood from her desk and grabbed her coat.“Lila,” she said, seeming not to notice his discomfort.“Did you need something?”
“No,” he said, taking a step back.“Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow.Have a good night.”He gave her a smile before retreating to the elevators.
He’d had a heavy ache in his gut since he’d left the arena.During his drive home, he’d also felt a simmering anger at the nameless man getting to spend the evening with Eavie.Not wanting to spend the night in his quiet condo, plagued with thoughts of Eavie on a date, his restlessness had driven him to make a stupid decision.
Picking up his phone, he’d called Daisy to see if she was free for dinner.She probably wasn’t the smartest option, considering she wasnotone of the women whose interest was limited.But her pursuit of him meant that no matter if she had plans, she would say yes to him.So, like the obsessed stalker he was becoming, Jax ended up at the same restaurant where Eavie was on her date.
He could now add that idiocy to his growing list of fucks up.He hadn’t been thinking at first—some need to see her driving him there without stopping to consider what he was doing.Only after he’d seen her face when Daisy had walked up had he recognized how bad an idea it was.
Two bad decisions down, you’d think he would have learned.But there was something about Eavie that made him act irrationally.So, figuring he would go three for three when she stood up from their table, walking gracefully toward the bathroom, he’d followed.
God, she’d looked incredible in her little black dress.The stretchy fabric hugged her curves and her lips—herredlips—begging to be fucked.It took every ounce of his control not to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to his place to do just that.
Instead, he’d kept calm long enough to excuse himself and follow her discreetly to the bathrooms.As soon as they were out of sight, his possessiveness had taken over, and like she accused him of doing, he became someone else, pulling her into the storage room.
Alone in the space, he’d been ready to pour his heart out to her, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he remembered he didn’t have one to give her.It had died in his chest two years ago.So, rather than saying any of the things he had wanted to tell her, he’d said… nothing.
I can’t do this anymore, Jax.
Her words had cut him deep, like the blade of his skate slicing through his skin.She was right, but apparently, that made no difference to his body.He wanted her, despite his mind’s warnings about going there with someone like her again, because he knew she was special.She would never be a one-night stand.But what else could he offer her?
Watching her leave with the guy—Austin—a fit of fierce, intense jealousy rose within him and settled in his chest.For the rest of the evening, he couldn’t stop thinking about Eavie, wondering if she had invited her date inside her apartment, thinking about whether they were in bed together right now.A wave of nausea washed through him at the thought of another man’s hands touching her in places that belonged to him.
Only, she didn’t belong to him.
She’d made it clear where she stood, and he had no right to think of her as his.But she had also admitted she wanted him.Still, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t quiet the thoughts of her with another man or squelch the piercing jealousy in his chest.
So, instead of inviting the luscious blonde next to him to his condo and enjoying a few hours of bliss between her legs, he found himself walking through his front door alone a few hours later.
He looked around his three-bedroom condo, wondering what Eavie would think of it.His furniture was mainly gray or black and modern.The whole space was masculine, something he had always liked about it.But now, he felt as if something was missing.No, not something.Someone.He felt like the space was missing a feminine touch—Eavie’s touch.
Shaking his head, he headed for the built-in bar in his dining room.Pouring himself two fingers of whiskey, he downed them before realizing his mistake.He’d grabbed the bottle of bourbon without thinking, so instead of using it to dull his thoughts, he was only reminded of her again.
And apparently, because he liked to torture himself, he poured another two fingers before taking his glass into the living room.He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window and leaned his forearm against it, looking out over the view of the city below.
Sipping on his drink, he closed his eyes and imagined that instead of having gone home alone tonight, Eavie was here with him right now.He thought about all the things he would do to her, tasting all of her, fucking that gorgeous red mouth with his cock.He wondered what her cries of pleasure would sound like, what she would feel like when she came.He knew one thing for sure—neither of them would get any sleep if he did ever get her into his bed.
Shockingly, thoughts of her naked in his bed weren’t the only things he imagined.On the heels of those ideas, images of her standing barefoot in his kitchen flashed into his mind.They were followed by pictures of her laying on the couch, dressed in one of his t-shirts, and nothing else, resting against him as they watched TV.In his mind, he could see the small changes her presence brought in his too-large condo.
With a groan, he opened his eyes and stared through the glass window.Enough was enough, he thought to himself.The woman was plaguing him, and he knew the only way to get her out of his head was to get his hands on her—and he intended to do just that.
