Page 16 of Roots of the Wicked

Chapter Eight

Chase

The ridiculousness of the situation had me nearing my limits. Every time Jax denied my advances, it forced my mind to create defensive strategies that would turn out in my favor. I didn’t believe I was a spoiled man by any means, but when you lived in the type of world I was brought up in, where you could afford to have your every need and want met, you became used to people agreeing with you, even when they didn’t want to.

Jax wasn’t one of those people, and although I struggled to convince myself I didn’t like her blasé attitude, I did. Her defiant behavior was a turn on, and I believed she knew it. She posed the kind of challenge I wanted to explore. She was the kind of force that would never be fully conquered, but I’d give it my best shot.

She had been lavishing the ladies with compliments and attention while shooting teasing glances in my direction. “So, what do you ladies think about this wrist-watch phone?” Amanda and Kara would have oohed and aahed over anything she showed them.

Kara appeared head over heels in love with everything Jax, and Amanda, who a minute ago was glaring daggers at me for my lack of attention, had yet to drop her smile. The longer we followed them around, the more irritated I became. Jax made it clear that she was mocking me, and my irritation was now neck in neck with my yearning to satisfy my craving for a taste of her.

Her warnings were finally starting to sink in. We were the same in many aspects and if we went in the direction I wanted, we would be like two colliding boulders.

It was too bad the realization didn’t take away my interest in her.

Every time our eyes met, it made me acknowledge that she wasn’t going to be controlled unless she wanted to be. Which was a letdown, because I didn’t want to control her…just tame her. I contemplated letting her have her way, but only if it meant getting what I wanted.

Her every move drew my focus, so intensely, it alerted me to a new guest. His slight head nod in her direction didn’t go unnoticed before he made his way toward our circle. He was a bold one. So bold and self-assured that he elicited female attention from all around the room, including Amanda’s. I didn’t like it. This night wasn’t turning out the way I envisioned.

As the man made his approach, I noticed he didn’t stand out to me because of what he wore or how he looked. It was the way he stared at Jax. He wore a dark blue suit, the jacket unbuttoned and giving a clear view of a lighter blue dress shirt underneath. Long brown hair dusted his shoulders and his tanned complexion hinted he either spent a lot of time in a tanning booth or was possibly of mixed ethnicity.

His focused gaze on Jax grated on my nerves. It caused me to be defensive when I didn’t have a right to be. His slithering tongue snaked across his lips, and his eyes fucked her before he even said hello.

“Jax Motherfucking Saint-Pierre. Fancy seeing you here.” He was loud enough that he turned heads. He was a foul-mouthed fool who purposely didn’t acknowledge me, Amanda, or Kara. It was more than likely because his eyes were glued on Jax.

She turned slightly with her hand raised in an attempt to introduce the rest of us, but he cut her off. So that’s what we’re doing, I thought with a head tilt to the side. Amanda was even put off by the blatant show of disrespect, her lips parted in surprise as she cut her eyes in his direction. With a small chuckle, I was preparing to walk away. I muttered under my breath, “I don’t have to take this shit from anyone.”

I thought Jax was in the midst of a conversation with her friend when she tossed out, “You say something Chase?”

“No,” I replied, grasping that she hadn’t been ignoring me.

The man made a show of distracting Jax, again, and I was forced to remind myself that I wasn’t there with her.

When their conversation reached a stopping point, Jax ushered a hand toward her date.

“TK, this is my lovely lady Kara, and this is Chase and his beautiful date Amanda.”

We were only worthy of a smirk and head gesture in our direction. He wanted nothing to do with us because he had a thing for Jax, something I sensed right away. The lust and ravenous hunger in his eyes, when he stared at her, made my jaw clench tight enough to snap.

“Chase! Chase!” I knew what would follow hearing my name shouted in that manner. And unfortunately it wasn’t just a few fans asking after a picture, but a full on camera crew. TK placed a protective arm over Jax’s shoulder and turned her away from the approaching crew. Going as far as taking her completely away from the group. I remembered her warning me that she didn’t like the media, but seeing TK’s arm around her had me frowning instead of smiling for the approaching crew.

“Chase can we get a small exclusive on what you think about the expo tonight?”

“Of course,” I answered, plastering a smile on my face like I had trained myself to do. I took one last glimpse of TK with Jax. His hand was at the small of her back, and her date had joined their group as they moved even further away. Amanda took her spot at my side as she smiled with pride for the camera crew from WNYX, our local news. Thankfully, I remembered Amanda’s name when they asked who my date was.

It had taken me fifteen minutes to locate Jax after I was finished with the impromptu interview. Unfortunately, TK was still at her side. Judging by the infuriating expression on Kara’s face, she wanted him gone as much as I did.

Jax was the first to notice my approach, and I didn’t miss the smirk on her face.

“So TK, what do you do for a living?”

All eyes were now on me. Was I not supposed to participate in conversation?

“I dabble in information technology. What about you?”

“I’m the CEO of Swift Capital, Chase Taylorson.” I tossed out my full name in case he recognized it.

“Good for you,” he stated dismissively. The son-of-a-bitch turned his back to me and returned his full attention to Jax.

“Let me get out of your hair and see if I can find something at one of these booths,” He finally stated.

“So, what does TK stand for? Tech Krazy?” I asked no one in particular. The hint of irritation in my tone wasn’t lost on the group. Amanda and Kara’s gazes landed on me, but, seeing Jax laugh was a plus.

“Actually, it stands for Tech King. Don’t hate Chase, his skills are impressive.” Her eyes sparkled with a seriousness I didn’t miss. Her history with TK stirred my curiosity.

She pointed something out to Kara, not giving me a chance to satisfy my curiosity about TK. Soon after, two fans came storming in my direction yelling my name. Again, I noticed Jax stepping away, not wanting any part in my publicity. Amanda’s mean side-eye was leveled on me as well.

After my fans departed, I found Kara and Jax checking out language translator earbuds. Although my interest wasn’t in technology, the buds would help out on my next overseas trip.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Jax said before walking away. This was my chance, so I told the ladies I would refresh our drinks, and made a detour to follow in the direction Jax had disappeared.

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