Page 27 of Undisputed Player
"Still, I'm impressed," I said, offering my most charming smile. "Most of us stop at T-Rex and call it a day. How's he doing, by the way? Leo?"
The question seemed to catch her off guard, and I watched her study my face as if trying to determine my angle. The suspicious look should have been insulting, I was Jax fucking Easton, after all, not some creep prowling elementary schools, but it made me want to earn her trust more.
No one outside the ring had ever looked at me and seen a potential threat instead of an opportunity.
"He's well," she answered finally, her tone careful. "Thank you for asking."
Fuck, she was beautiful when she was suspicious.
I had to fight to keep my expression neutral. Her eyes had sharpened, her posture straightened into something more defensive, and somehow that only made her more appealing.
What was it about this woman that had me so twisted up? She wasn't playing games, wasn't trying to entice me—in fact, she seemed to be doing everything possible to keep me at arm's length. And somehow, that only made me want to get closer.
I wanted her to be mine. It was so startling, so sudden and intense it nearly knocked the breath from my lungs. Not just for a night or aweek or however long my usual conquests lasted. I wanted her to belong to me in every way, forever.
I wanted to be the one who made sure she ate, who made sure she rested, who eased the burdens weighing on her slim shoulders. I wanted to wrap her in my protection and shield her from whatever was putting those shadows under her eyes.
I wanted her to need me, to rely on me, to look at me like I was the answer to prayers she'd stopped saying.
"Avery talks about him all the time," I continued, keeping my tone conversational while my mind raced with possibilities. "Says he's real smart."
She gave me a genuine smile then—small but real, lighting her eyes in a way that made my chest tighten with want.
There.That was what I'd been waiting for, that glimpse of the beautiful woman beneath the armor.
"That's so sweet," she said, and the warmth in her voice made something fierce and protective rise in me.
"Kids have excellent taste in people," I replied, holding her gaze and letting a hint of my interest show. "Something we lose as adults, sometimes."
Subtle. Real subtle.
She looked away, but not before I caught the slight flush on her cheeks. The color transformed her face, made her look more vulnerable, and I felt that strange mix of desire and protectiveness surge again.
I wanted to see more of that blush. I wanted to be the only cause of it.
"Mr. Easton?—"
"Jax," I corrected, and watched her mouth snap shut as if she'd been caught doing something wrong. The reaction sent a hungry thrill through me, though I wasn't sure why.
Maybe because she was the first woman in years to seem genuinely affected by my presence instead of calculating how to use it.
"Jax," she conceded, and hearing my name on her lips sent a wave of warmth down my body. Like her saying it was some sort of claiming ritual, marking territory I didn't even know I wanted claimed.
"I should finish helping the children," she mumbled, already turning away, already retreating behind those careful walls.
"Of course." I straightened, respecting her boundaries while making it clear I wasn't done. Not even close.
"Maybe next time we could talk about something other than dinosaurs. Coffee, perhaps?"
There. Cards on the table. No games, no manipulation, just honest interest.
She hesitated, and I could see the internal debate playing across her face like storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
The nerves radiating from her were almost palpable, and for the first time in my adult life, I found myself genuinely anxious about a woman's response.
I was used to instant gratification, to getting whatever I wanted immediately. But something deeper, something I barely recognized, made me wait.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," she finally said, her voice soft but firm.
