Mr. Right Now: Vol. 3: Drinks On Us Tonight (8 page)

“Cole.”

He cringes, thinking he’d made a clean escape from the hospital without running into Jax. He turns to see her sitting on the bench waiting for the bus. His heart sinks when he sees the state she’s in. Thick black lines sit below her eyes, her skin is pale, and her hair’s a mess.

“Hey.”

“Avoiding me, huh?”

“No, Jax, no,” he lies, thinking he needs to avoid her because she deserves so much better. “I was asleep when you texted me, and then it’s been emergency after emergency at the club.”

“With woman after woman, right?”

“No, I haven’t been with another woman since you, Jax.” And he isn’t lying about that. In fact, after Dalton, he’s done nothing but himself.

He holds his hand out to her and is surprised when she takes it.

“I just want a ride home and am too tired to wait on the damn bus.”

Jax’s stomach growls a few times on the way to her house. Using his hands-free cellphone, he orders Chinese. Jax watches him from the corner of her eye, even nodding off a couple of times. After a few blocks of fighting her sleep, Jax gives in. Cole parks the car and pets her cheek, realizing how much he’s missed their banter and her touch in just a day and a half.

She doesn’t flinch when he gets from the car and opens her door. Cole scoops her up in his arms, and she stirs a bit but nestles into him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I like you, Cole.”

I like you, too, Doc.” He kisses the top of her head as he walks to her front door.

“I like the way you make me feel. Just give me one more night.”

Her voice is full of sleep, and he wonders if she even realizes what she’s rambling on about.

“What if I said I want you more than once, but if you really knew me, you would never want me again?”

“Cole, just be with me one time.”

He doesn’t respond, scared by her proposition, and wonders if she’s even fully conscious. He feels Jax’s heavy breathing on his neck and knows for sure that she’s passed out.

He reaches around in her pockets to find the key ring without dropping her. He finally finds it and unlocks the door, and it’s not an easy task. He lays her on the couch and then heads straight for the door. He knows he should leave and doesn’t deserve another minute with her, but then who would pay for the Chinese? Cole jogs out to his car for his bag with all of his work stuff in it, and then heads back up.

Being the greedy bastard he is, he props Jax’s head on his thigh, balances his laptop on the arm of the couch, and starts going through unread emails. After hundreds of deleted junk emails and responding to various vendors, he finally shuts the lid to his laptop and checks his watch. It’s been over an hour since he called in the food, and he begins to get pissed because as soon as Jax wakes she’s sure to be starving.

As if she can read his thoughts, she begins to stir around on the couch. He lifts his MacBook to sit on the coffee table, and she bolts straight up, crashing into it.

“Cole,” she screams, grabbing her forehead.

“Doc, I’m right here.”

She jumps into his lap and straddles him while still holding her forehead.

“I know you’re a player, Cole, but you asshole, you made me want you, and I know you don’t settle, and all I thought about during the longest shift of my life was you.”

He makes her face him. “Jax, I wasn’t with another girl, and yes, I may be a player, but I want to be better with you. You’re right, I was ignoring you.” He places a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m not good enough for you, and I don’t want to break your heart.”

There’s a knocking at the door, but neither of them moves.

“It’s not your choice if I put myself in a situation to have my heart broken or not.”

A louder knocking invades the small apartment, and Jax’s stomach growls again.

“The food’s here, Doc.”

“Coming,” she yells loudly. “It’s my choice, and I want you, Cole Sterling.”

She raises from his lap. Cole stands up with her and seizes her by the waist before she goes for the door.

“You have to promise not to judge me on my past.”

“I’m in, Cole.”

He feels like a bastard for cornering her, but then again she made her point that she’s a big girl and gets to choose whether or not to be with him. He goes to the door and settles up the bill for the Chinese and turns to see Jax readying the table.

“That little nap did you well. Your color is even back in your cheeks.”

“I do feel better.”

“Crazy night?” Cole sits and begins taking the food from the bags.

“Insane, and it didn’t help that I was on shift with Dr. Fuckface and was running on low fumes to begin with.”

“Why low fumes?” He arches an eyebrow.

“Well, a couple nights ago this steamy man made passionate love to me.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Want to practice?”

“No, you need to eat.”

“Then you’ll fuck me.”

“Oh, I’ll do something to you, Jax.”

***

He rolls over and lets go of her for the first time since he fell asleep. Cole peers up at the alarm clock and is shocked to see that he actually slept in until seven a.m. He checks his sleeping beauty lying next to him, and she’s completely out. He places several kisses along her neckline before he gets up to relieve himself. No matter what happens between the two of them, whether they last weeks or months, he’ll never forget the look on her face when he went down on her.

She nearly kicked his front teeth from shock, but then after he reassured her, Jax finally let her legs relax. He checks the mirror for the missing patch of hair on his scalp. Her screams and legs squeezing his face and her taste lingering in his mouth are things he’ll never forget.

“Cole.”

Her voice is panicked and makes him feel guilty.

“Bathroom, Doc.”

He hears her body thud back against the mattress, and he hurries to get back to her.

“Hey, sleepyhead.”

“Hi.” Jax grins back at him. “Thanks for not leaving in the middle of night.”

“You’re stuck with me.”

“I’ll take you.” Jax holds her arms up, and Cole climbs up the bed and runs his face along her legs then her torso, stopping at her neck and kissing her, and then moving up to her face and settling between her legs.

“I missed you, Doc.”

He rubs against her core, ready for her again.

“I missed you, too.”

He reaches over to the nightstand and grabs his last condom, and then kisses Jax.

“Morning sex is my favorite.” Cole relaxes back on his heels, rolling the condom on.

“Another first for me.”

Sinking into Jax will never get old, and that thought scares the living shit out of him. She’s his new addiction. Jax moans, arching her back as he fills her to the brim. In most situations, he can last several minutes. Hell, he’s be known to fuck for an hour, but Jax sets him off like a time bomb.

He tries focusing on ugly, nasty thoughts, but the feel of her warm center pulsing around him doesn’t help. Then she moans and he feels himself tipping over the edge. He struggles to hold, but when she yells out her release he follows, unable to resist her any longer. Cole collapses on top of Jax, sated and breathing heavily.

“Just one more time.” Jax smiles against his shoulder.

Cole chuckles at her request, and then he hears his phone. Rolling off of Jax, he answers it.

“Hello.”

He listens to Dax and club business while Jax traces the tattoos on his chest.

“Okay, I’ll see you at the club.”

He hangs up the phone, grabbing Jax by the hips and setting her on him.

“Do you work today?”

“No.”

“Want to spend it with me?”

Jax cranes her neck to the side, thinking over his question. Cole reaches up and plucks her raised nipple.

“Stop.”

“C’mon, can’t be that hard of a decision.”

“Fine, but...”

“You do know your wagers got us in the situation.”

“You complaining, boy?”

“Not at all, and I’ll do whatever you have in mind.”

Jax curls her top lip. “I have the bi-annual dinner with my sister and her modelesque hubs.”

“I’m in.”

“Two Fridays away.” Jax reaches down and kisses Cole’s forehead.

“I’m in. Shower and breakfast?”

“No.” Jax smiles. “Shower, sex, that thing where you go down on me, breakfast, and then more sex.

“There’s my naughty nurse.”

“Does being with a Sterling scare the shit out of you, Birdy?” Jax runs her finger around the rim of her glass.

“Naw, Dax is my home, and Cole is like a big brother.”

It’s been almost two weeks, and she’s spent every free moment with Cole. Granted, between their work schedules there’s not a lot of time, but when they are together there’s nothing but hot lovemaking.

“I heard Chloe gets to go home.” Birdy downs her red drink. “And that she’s having a girl.”

“Yeah. It’s very exciting, and the baby is doing well. I guess they’re moving into a new apartment.”

“I heard that. I still think they should live at the penthouse.”

“Birdy, a hotel isn’t a home.”

“It’s mine.” She giggles.

“What are you drinking?”

“Oh dear baby Jesus, Cole hasn’t got you one. It’s the Signature Sinner. The bar is kind of Dax’s project.”

Jax has heard Cole talk about the club on several occasions but never really paid attention to who did what, since she figured club life was not her thing, but after spending a couple afternoons here with Birdy she has come to enjoy it. And it’s mostly because of Birdy; she’s easy to love, and shoots it straight. Jax has never told Cole, but Birdy has actually confirmed several times when Cole has turned down women in the penthouse.

“Do you want one?” Birdy asks.

“Yeah.”

Birdy bounds up to the bar and comes back with several red drinks.

“Dax would shit if he saw me drinking this much, but they’re delicious.”

“I’m not really a drinker, Birdy.”

“Me either, but if you think sex with a Sterling is good sober, try it drunk.”

She laughs at Birdy’s admission and can only imagine. Several drinks later, the two girls have convinced Creed to turn on some jams for them to dance to. Birdy, who’s innocent, doesn’t play into the game of taunting the boys behind the bar with titties, but Jax does. She hikes down her shirt, squeezes her arms together, and pushes her girls up on the bar. After several minutes, Creed finally cranks the music for them, and serves them another drink.

“You’re Cole’s girl?” Creed asks, grabbing Jax’s hand before she can take a drink.

“Well, I’m not really…”

“Yes, she is,” Birdy pipes up. “Cole talks about her in his sleep. It’s the cutest thing ever. Dax has never seen the man in love.”

Jax watches Creed’s jaw tense up, and then she replays the word love over and over in her mind. They’ve maintained their playful banter, nicknames, and role-playing. She even had Cole dressed up as policeman the other night.

“I don’t know about the L-word.”

Music begins to blare and Birdy drags Jax onto the dance floor.

“I love this club,” she screams, waving her arms around. “But I know I won’t when they officially open. Dax plays music for me while he’s working, and I dance.”

Jax watches Birdy sway her hips to the rhythm of the music and instantly feels out of place. The song is catchy as fuck, and she recognizes Justin Timberlake’s voice, but she still feels like an outsider. Everything seems fine when it’s just her and Cole in their few spare moments at home under the sheets, but when club or hospital life is thrown into the mix, everything seems a bit off for her. But that’s the story of her life.

A slight grin breaks across her face as she watches Birdy bust out all sorts of dance moves. She tries to move her hips, but just feels all sorts of awkward.

“Let me help you, Doc.”

Arms wrap around her middle and her favorite scent invades her nostrils. Cole begins to sway to the song, and it reminds her of a steady beat that he usually pounds into her. Jax wards off any naughty thoughts and the tingling sensation developing between her thighs.

Dax joins Birdy, and it’s clear the two have had practice dirty dancing, grinding, or bumping whatevers, because they look like pros on the dance floor. Their carefree spirits cause her to loosen up a bit, following Cole’s dance moves. He spins her around and guides her arms to hook around his neck. His hands snake around her waist then land on her ass cheeks. His lips press against her and go in for a taste.

“Mmmm.” Cole pulls away with his eyes clenched. “I see Birdy has been feeding you drinks.”

Jax takes another taste of Cole before responding. “They’re sweet and tasty, and I think I drank one too many.” Jax drops her head to his shoulder. “But I hear it’s even better to fuck a Sterling drunk.”

Cole’s deep chuckle resonates over the thumping music, and Jax silently curses Birdy for filling her with wild ideas.

“Sounds like you want a test drive, Doc.”

“Maybe.”

“I didn’t think Birdy knew how to run the music.”

Jax leans in to speak louder in his ear. “She didn’t. She asked Creed, and we had to show a little cleavage.”

“Stay away from that motherfucker.”

His response throws her for a loop. “Why?”

“I’m serious.” Cole cups her cheeks in his hands. “Don’t ever talk to him.”

Jax begins nodding, but is still thoroughly confused by Cole’s reaction. It’s clear he’s pissed off. A Nicki Minaj song comes on, but Cole keeps their bodies moving to the perfect rhythm.

“Fuck me.” Jax pulls his face down to his. “Take me and fuck me.”

The pain covering his face is real, and she would do anything in this moment to make it vanish. It must be club business, something she has no control over, but wants to make better. It must be the Nurse Nancy coming out in her.

Cole stops in his tracks, takes her hand, and leads her down a long, dark hallway behind the bar, and she doesn’t miss the scathing glance Cole shoots Creed. There’s bad blood there. She’s not sure what it’s from, but there is certainly a lingering stench.

He comes to halt in the middle of the hallway. She can barely make out the outline of his face, but can distinctively hear his zipper being undone. Her hands reach for him and land on his broad shoulders. The next sound she hears is the foil packet ripping, and then several more moments pass until she feels her leggings being dragged down to the floor. Her body is propelled upward, and then he’s in her deep.

Jax throws back her head and arches her back, letting a scream escape. Cole covers her mouth and engulfs her cries as he pounds into her. A light at the end of the hall flickers on, and Creed stands in the glow. His presence doesn’t stop Cole from his punishing thrusts. Jax keeps her eyes on Creed, who clearly is watching them.

In a quick movement, Cole places Jax on her feet and then bends her over a stack of boxes, entering her from behind. The action is swift and catches her off guard, causing her to scream again. He fists his hands in her hair and tugs, and when she looks up, Creed is still planted at the end of the hall watching. Jax peers over her shoulder to see Cole staring right back at him.

She’s not sure whether it should make her hot or bothered, but when Cole drops a free hand down to her center and begins playing her, she forgets all about Creed and loses herself as she tips over the edge.