Save Riley (3 page)

I stared at her for a moment.
Your grandmother just passed away.
Did she really just say that?

“But ... She wasn’t sick,” I stammered.

“She had a heart attack.”

My body went numb as I tried to grasp onto the fact that my grandmother, one of my favorite people in the world, was dead.

“I have to go,” I said getting shakily to my feet.

“Of course,” Anya said. “Take some time off and let me know when you’re ready to come back. Your job will be waiting for you.”

I nodded and opened the door to the office. I went over to my purse and picked it up with shaky hands. Because I hadn’t zipped it I could see the light flashing inside.  I fumbled for it and left the break room with tears blurring my vision.

I was hoping it was my mother but it turned out to be Jaxton.

Beautiful picture, Ms. Riley. I apologize for the delayed response.

I didn’t bother texting a response. I hit the small phone icon next to his name and listened to the phone ring. Once, twice, until he finally answered.

“Miss me did you?” he asked with a laugh.

“My grandmother just died,” I replied in a shaky voice as I pushed the doors open and walked out into the night air.

“What? Where are you?” he asked in concern.

“I just walked out of work. I’m sitting on the sidewalk outside. I don’t know what to do, Jax,” I replied as the tears finally began to flow.

“I’ll be there in a minute, I was down the street,” he said before he hung up.

I dropped the phone into my purse and my purse onto the sidewalk next to me, as I put my face in my hands and burst into tears.  Customers walked in and out of the store and some stopped to ask me if I was okay. All I would do is nod and hope they would go away.

Five minutes later, I heard a pair of footsteps making their way quickly toward me.  Someone sat down next to me and I felt a strong arm go around my shoulder.

“I’m here, Ms. Riley. It’ll be okay,” Jax said as he held me close.

I put my head on his shoulder and just sobbed until I couldn’t any more. Until the tears dried up and until it was almost physically impossible for me to breathe.  Jax would run his hands over my hair while he held me and at one point put his cheek against my hair, inhaling deeply.

I finally pulled away from him and rubbed my face with the back of my hand. I sniffled a couple of times before I got to my feet, him standing up next to me.

“Do you want to know why I’m really crying?” I asked.

He pushed my hair behind my ears and nodded.

“Because I don’t have any money. I can’t afford to go to the funeral,” I explained, dangerously close to tears again.

“I can help you, Ms. Riley. If you‘d let me, I can help you with that. But I would have a couple of conditions,” he said softly.

“You don’t even know me and you want to help me get to my grandmother’s funeral?” I asked with a sarcastic laugh.

“Yes, Ms. Riley. But like I said, I have a couple of conditions.”

“Fine. Name them, I’ll do anything to be able to go,” I replied blinking back tears.

“The first is that you let me go with you. I won’t be in the way and your family won’t even know that I’m there. I just ... It would sadden me greatly to know that you’re going through that without me.”

Whatever.

I nodded.

“And second is that you spend a little time with me when we get back. I’d like to get to know more about you before I decide,” he said.

“Okay,” I agreed with a nod. “I’ll let you come with me and I’ll spend time with you, if you can get me to and from the funeral.”

“Done,” he said with a triumphant smile.

T
wo days later we were at the airport. Jax had been quiet up until today when he called me and told me that he would be picking me up this morning.  He was even quiet on the ride here and while we stood at our gate. 

“Thanks again,” I said, desperate to break the silence.

“Don’t thank me yet, Ms. Riley,” he replied. “Thank me after; when we’ve had some time alone together.”

I sighed and turned my face. I didn’t know what he was expecting would happen, but I didn’t plan on much other than hanging out and watching some movies, possibly. I wouldn’t allow it to go further than that.

The gate attendant called for our rows to board and he put a hand on my lower back, gently giving me a push. I glanced up at him and he smiled slightly as he fell in line behind me.

We walked down the hallway and onto the airplane where I looked around for our seat numbers. Once I found them, Jax took my carry on bag and put it in the overhead before sliding his in and securing the door. He sat down next to me and fastened his seat belt. I opened the shutter that was covering the window and looked outside. I didn’t get a chance to fly very often and I loved watching the world grow smaller and smaller below us the higher we went.

Jax leaned over and shut the shutter. I gave him a dirty look and opened it again, prompting him to lean across me and shut it again.

“Is there a problem?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“I don’t like the window open during takeoff,” he explained with a shrug.

“Well, I do,” I replied opening the shutter again.

A smirk appeared across Jax’s lips. He leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes.

“You’re disobedient. I kind of enjoy that,” he said. “But you
will
close that shutter when we take off, Ms. Riley.”

“I will?” I asked raising my eyebrows at him.

“Yes.”

His eyes were still closed and his head was still back against the chair. He seemed so damn confident that it was starting to drive me a little crazy. I wouldn’t mind if he asked me to close the shutter, but doing it himself and then telling me that I would when the plane took off was a bit much.

The flight attendants finally started going through their safety routines and the captain finally made the announcement that the plane was going to take off, noting that we were second in line on the runway.

As the plane backed away from the gate, I put my chin in my hand and watched out the window. I was excited for the takeoff even though the end result would be a heartbroken family and a funeral.

I sighed as the plane slowly rolled forward. One more takeoff and we’d be next. Five minutes later, the engines on the plane came on as we started to roll down the runway.

“Ms. Riley; the shutter,” Jax said quietly.

I looked at Jax whose eyes were now open. His head was still leaned against the seat, but he was looking at me the same way he did in the Sci-Fi section of the bookstore. Dangerously and intensely, mixed with a hint of seductiveness.

“What about it Jax?” I asked tiredly.

“Shut it.”

“No.”

Jax gave me his sexy grin before he leaned over and pressed his forehead against the side of my head. He used his fingers to gently move my hair away from my ear.

“I’d rather not do this to you so soon and in such a cramped environment if I don’t have too,” he whispered. “Close. The. Shutter.”

The heat of his breath on the side of my face, the way his fingertips trailed along my neck when he moved my hair, and the grazing of his lips against my ear sparked something in me that I never felt before.

Submission.

With shuddery breaths and a shaky hand, I reached for the shutter and brought it down just in time for our plane to take off.

“I
’ve never been to Louisiana,” Jax remarked as we walked through the Louis Armstrong International Airport.

“I haven’t been here in five years,” I replied.

“Was that when you left, Ms. Riley?” he asked, glancing at me.

I nodded.

We walked in silence after that. I led him out the main doors wondering how the hell we were going to get to my parents’ house from here.

“I saw signs for rental agencies inside, Ms. Riley. Should we take a look?” Jax asked.

“Yeah. Catching a cab from the airport is going to cost a fortune and I already owe you,” I replied.

“Yes you do,” he said with a small smile creeping across his lips.

I rolled my eyes as we went back through the terminal toward the rental car counters. Jax walked over to the closest counter with a female behind it and put his bag down. He leaned across the counter with a dashing smile and began to chat with her.

She was bright red and giggling within seconds. I watched him reach a hand across the counter and take the pen from her shirt pocket and wink at her before he started filling out the rental information.

And for some odd reason, I felt jealous. I felt damn angry that he had seemed to have forgotten why he was in Louisiana to begin with and that I was standing only twenty feet away from them watching.

The rental car agent looked over at me and gave me a friendly smile. A smile that said, “I’ll be with you in just one second.” I returned it with a look that said, “Keep your hands to yourself or I’ll rip your hair out by the root.”

Her smile faltered. Jax finally looked up and shoved the paperwork and pen across the counter toward her.

Two can play this game.

I knew that I potentially had enough money on my credit card to rent a car, so I went to the counter three spaces down from Jax and the Giggler. The guy behind the counter smiled brightly at me and I couldn’t help but notice how pretty his blue eyes were.

“Hi there. My name’s Mason. What kind of car are you interested in?” he asked cheerfully.

“Something small and compact. I won’t need much space, it’ll just be me and my bag,” I responded loudly.

I felt Jax’s eyes turn to me, but I refused to return his look. Mason gave me a half smile and turned his computer screen to face me. Seeing as though I knew it would be hot in New Orleans, I was wearing a pastel yellow tank top and my short denim shorts. I lifted myself off of the floor and leaned over to get a better look at the screen. And also to give Mason a better look at me.

“How about that one?” I asked pointing at a white Toyota Corolla.

I glanced up at him and saw that he was staring at my breasts.

“Mason?” I asked with a giggle. I kicked my legs a little since they were dangling above the floor, to add more to the flirtation.

“Um, sure,” he said, tearing his gaze away and turning the monitor back to face himself.

As he started to tap the keys on the keyboard, I felt a hand firmly land on my ass. I yelped and dropped down off of the counter. Before I could turn around, Jax pressed his body firmly against mine, pinning me to the counter.

“I think we’re okay here. I booked us a rental already, Ms. Riley. Sorry to waste your time,” he said to Mason.

I tried to take a deep breath to protest but I found myself starting to feel a bit lightheaded. My air supply was starting to become cut off by being held against the counter at the waist.

“Apologize, Ms. Riley,” Jax whispered softly into my ear. “Tell him you’re sorry for wasting his time.”

“Sorry for wasting your time,” I managed to gasp out.

Jax backed away from me and took my bag. The look he gave me reeked of satisfaction as he nodded toward the door and I followed him out into the parking lot.

We reached a dark red Mercedes SUV and he pushed a button on the remote he was holding. The hatchback slowly opened and I raised an eyebrow.

“A Mercedes? Isn’t this kind of expensive?” I asked him.

“I was going to get a smaller car, non-luxury, until I noticed your display. Of course, that upped the ante, Ms. Riley,” he said as he took my bag and put it in the back.

“This isn’t a game, Jaxton. We’re here because of a funeral; my
grandmother’s
funeral, might I add,” I retorted.

He smiled and lifted his bag into the back of the SUV, before he walked around to the driver’s side door. I heard him open it and watched him climb in before closing it again.

“Besides,” I continued once I was in the passenger’s seat, “
you’re
the one that practically accosted that girl at the counter. I didn’t see you apologizing to her for that.”

“How did it make you feel to see that, Ms. Riley?” he asked, adjusting the mirrors.

I stared at him. The urge to slap him across the face for playing this stupid game was so strong in me, but I figured that he might like it for some reason, so I didn’t. Instead, I just pulled my seat belt on and looked out the tinted window.

Jax set the keys on the console and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, “I asked you a question, Ms. Riley.”

“I’m not deaf, Jax. And please cut out the ‘Ms. Riley’ stuff,” I replied with a heavy sigh.

“I rather like it,” he said with smile. “Your blatant disobedience. This can prove to be quite fun. Would you like to know what I want from you now, Ms. Riley? In exchange for all of this?”

“You already told me. That you come with me, which you have, and that I spend time with you when we get back,” I replied curiously.

He finally turned his eyes toward me but the smile had left his lips. In fact, Jax looked so serious that my hands instinctively went to the door handle. I was ready to jump out and run if need be.

“Yes. But there’s something you need to sign in order to spend time with me. I have it with me; you can choose to view it when we get to the hotel or you can wait until we get back,” he said.

“Hotel?” I asked in confusion. “I thought we were going to stay at my parent’s house.”

“I told you that your family would never know I was here didn’t I Ms. Riley? I won’t attend the services and I won’t go near your family’s home. That was part of the deal,” he replied.

I opened my mouth and closed it. I couldn’t argue with him there, but I also wasn’t going to stay with him in the hotel. I planned on staying at my parent’s home and that’s what I intended on doing.

“Would you at least drop me off at their house?” I asked him.

“No, Ms. Riley. I couldn’t risk having them see me. They’d ask too many questions,” he said quietly. “I will, however, pay for your cab fare to and from the hotel.”

I knew it. He thinks I’m staying with him. Fuck that.

“Jax, I’m staying with my mother and father while I’m here,” I replied evenly.