Page 116 of Just Friends
“Yeah”—Jax shot me a quick, sneaky look—“Piper helped me out with that.”
Curious, Austen tilted her head at me. “You had one?”
“I improvised,” I said, with a wink.
“Aaah.” Her eye twinkled with the implicit understanding that there was more to the story, but this wasn’t the time nor the place.
Reavo smirked at Jax. “Piper’s only been your girlfriend for what, ten minutes, and she’s already helping you not fuck up?” He gave me a wink. “I can already tell you’re going to make a great WAG, Piper.”
Jaxdraped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me near. “Hell, she already is.”
The shuttle sped us to the event center, veering left and right along the bendy road. Every turn was an opportunity to sneak a moment of intimacy. When we turned right, Jax leaned his big body against mine. Carnal desires swept over me as he pressed me into the window; I couldn’t wait to feel his sturdy mass on top of mine forreal.I wanted to feel like a tiny little thing beneath him, smooshed into our fluffy mattress beneath his two-hundred-something pounds.
Of course, I couldn’t let him haveallthe fun. When we turned left, I “braced myself” by planting my hands on the inside of his muscular thighs—hands which,whoops,had a funny habit of glancing between his legs.
He shook his head and snickered softly. “You’re going to torture me all night, aren’t you?” he whispered in my ear.
I huffed. “Torture?Youstarted it.”
“So?” he countered.
“So don’t start something you can’t finish.”
“Oh, don’t worry.” He looked me up and down, feasted his eyes on my cleavage, and wet his lips. “I’m gonna finish it tonight.”
The lust burning in his eyes ignited a yearning between my thighs. I crossed my legs to quell the throbbing, but all that did was make the wildfire spread. I was dying for his touch.
“I can’t wait,” I whispered in his ear, breathless.
***
The men and women of the Dallas Devils mingled in the sparkling chandelier ballroom, enjoying conversation over cocktail hour. Suit-and-tie waiters carried trays around the posh venue, offeringhors d’oeuvresand drinks.
Everyone was so sweet and eager to congratulate us on our new relationship status, but Jax and I insisted that the rest of the nightnotbe about us, but rather its original purpose: a celebration in honor of the WAGs. And so as much as I wanted to be by Jax’s side—or even better, back at our hotel room—we found ourselves split up again and again throughout the night, spending time with our friends instead. His teammates swept him away for beers and bawdy guy talk, and the girls whisked me away, wanting to know everything Jax said during our balcony talk thathadn’taired on the live-stream.
I groaned. “But you guys—this party is foryou.”
“And you,too,” Emma said sassily. “You’re one of us now, sister.”
The girls broke into a spontaneous chant.“One of us! One of us!”
“Oh, lord,” I muttered, but I couldn’t deny that I loved it.
Long story short? I gave ’em what they wanted. And once cocktail hour got the girls a little buzzed, I might even have told a select few where I’d found Jax’s pocket square.
“Holy moly,” Emma panted. “First, quiet Katerina stuns us with her dirty talk—and nowPiperpulls a move likethat?”
“It’s always the good girls, isn’t it,” Austen muttered.
“Where did you even come up with that idea?” Katerina asked, smiling.
I laughed. “I dunno! It just came to me in the moment. He needed something red, I was wearing something red—voila!”
“Well, it’s no wonder Jax can’t keep his eyes off you tonight,” Austen said, amused. “Seriously, have you noticed? Look. He’s checking you out right now.”
She slyly gestured across the room. I glanced over my shoulder and, sure enough, Jax—despite yukking it up with his boys—kept one eye on me. When he saw me looking, he flashed his dreamy smile, andughI couldn’t wait to be in his arms …
“Mm. I know that look.” Emma took a long pull from her champagne. “And I’m starting to think I need up my slut game.”
