Page 12 of Unwrapping Spring Break

The elevator door opens, and we separate, with nothing more than amusement touching our lips. Well, at least until the doors close. Then Jax pulls me tight against him and resumes our kissing. Screw teenagers. I’m sure we must appear to be newlyweds. And honestly, I don’t care what we look like as long as he doesn’t stop kissing me.

It’s only a few moments before we’re interrupted by another ding. Jax grabs my hand as he leads me into the hallway, stops, and pushes me against the wall. He bites my lower lip and runs his hand over my tussled blouse. We dance down the long hallway, stopping between rooms to kiss, bringing out a higher level of desire in both of us.

We finally make it to the room, and I back myself up against the door and grin at Jax. “Do you have your key?”

He grumbles as he quickly searches his pockets. “Somewhere . . . dammit.”

I giggle as I open my purse. My keycard is easily accessible, and I hold it up between my first and middle fingers. “I have a key.”

Jax looks at the card, then smirks at me as he snatches it from my grasp. “Brat.” Then his lips are on mine again while he fumbles around with the card to unlock the door. When the door opens, we don’t break our kiss this time. I chuckle against him, then break away. I haven’t turned around yet as I reach for his hand to draw him toward the bed, but something is wrong.

His posture goes rigid. His entire attitude changes. There’s not a single hint of desire pouring from him. He ignores my hand, pulling away as though I might burn him. Confused and frustrated, I open my mouth to speak until I notice he’s focused on something behind me. I whip around and instantly see why his mood changed so drastically. Hell, my own desire freezes.

Fuck.

My dad sits on the edge of Jax’s bed while my mother is busy folding my laundry and placing it back in my suitcase, which is open on my bed.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Mother looks up at us, a crooked smile on her face. “Hello, dear.”

Chapter Ten

Jax

MyheartstopswhenI see Lily’s parents in our hotel room. The sight is better than any cold shower I’ve ever had. All the arousal coursing through my body leaves, and fear replaces it, leaving me to deal with the fallout. How much did Alexander see? How much has he pieced together? They must have found Lily’s things, since her mother is putting them back into the suitcase.

A glance at Alexander’s face tells me nothing of his thinking. But then again, it’s not surprising. He has a fantastic poker face when he needs it.

Someone needs to speak or her parents really will get suspicious. I look at Lily and give her a covert gesture to continue into the room. Thankfully, she takes the hint and returns her mother’s greeting while I approach her father.

“Alexander.” I put on my best professional smile. “Wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

He meets me halfway, and we nod, shake hands, and then pat each other on the shoulder. The familiar masculine ritual of greeting is reassuring. If Alexander were to be put out, he wouldn’t have come near me. It can still mean a variety of things, from whether he saw nothing or he caught on to what was going on and would have words with me later.

“I wasn’t given much of a choice.” His answer brings panic into me, right down to my toes.Had the client called him? Wait. No, there’s no way he’d be here this quickly.

His decision to come to the Bahamas must have been made earlier, before anything even happened.

He lets out a long-suffering sigh as he glances between the two women in his life. “Gretchen wouldn’t leave me alone until I booked us a flight here.” Shrugging, he turns back to me with a smile. “How did the first meeting go?”

Anger replaces the panic and rises inside me again. Something must show in my expression, because Alexander’s brow lifts. I open my mouth to speak but Lily beats me to the punch.

“It went to hell pretty quickly,” she says. My annoyance is nothing compared to the sharp edge in Lily’s voice. Her father turns toward her as she continues. “One of the owners grabbed my ass.”

“What?” Gretchen stops folding the clothes and joins the conversation.

Lily takes the opportunity to slam her suitcase shut, reminding me of the crushed condom box in the trash. I hope neither of them finds that.

Alexander looks like a storm cloud. “Come again?” It’s not an exact replica of Gretchen’s statement, but it’s close enough.

Gretchen steps toward Alexander and takes his arm. “Darling, let’s take this into the lounge, shall we? I don’t like being cooped up in a small room.”

He gives a gruff sigh but moves for the door. While his and Gretchen’s backs are turned, I give Lily a grimace and then follow them, letting Lily trail behind us.

All business-related talk ceases until we’re sitting in the lounge with drinks in front of us. Gretchen seems like a flake, but she knows how to get a group to do her bidding. If you try to do anything but what she wants, she can and will find subtle ways to make your life miserable. So, it’s easier just to go with it.

“Okay,” Alexander says, after a sip of his Manhattan. “Tell me what happened.”

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