I exit my room to find Jax sitting on the couch, bouncing his knee in agitation. He looks handsome and ready for the Shanghai gala in his black button-down shirt and pants. As if dressing up means conforming to society’s expectations, he ditched the bowtie. His muscles bulge against the expensive material of his shirt.
Basically, Jax is the worst kind of temptation. For my job. For my mental health. For the insane, lusty feeling inside of me that wouldn’t mind taking him up on his offer to hook up. But good thing I value my job more than a quick fuck with Britain’s baddest bachelor.
“Well, you don’t look half bad.” His lip twitches at the corner before settling on a scowl instead.
I snort. “Your compliments suck.”
“I’m the last person you want to compliment you.”
“Because you lack any tact?”
“Tact isn’t our issue.” His British accent enunciates his words.
“It’s my issue with you.” I tap my pointer finger to my chest.
“What would you like me to do about it?”
“Would it kill you to be nicer to me? Hell, how about less moody?”
He runs a hand across his stubbled chin. “You want the honest answer?”
“Sure?” Except my voice sounds anything but sure.
“We aren’t cut out for sweet moments and special words.” His eyes scan my body again as he closes the distance between us.
I ignore the rush of energy coursing through me at his perusal. “Okay then. What kind of moments are we meant for?”
His hand brushes across my face, eliciting the slightest shiver from me. He grabs a strand of my hair and rubs it between his fingers, analyzing it as if it holds all the answers. “The kind that only end in disappointment.”
“I’m proud of you. Not all men can own up to their faults in the bedroom.” I tap his chest, hiding how much my heart races at his proximity. My hand warms as it trails down the buttons of his shirt to flatten a wrinkle.
“Disappointing is the last word you’d use to describe me in the bedroom.” His voice drops low with a rasp.
“Oh really?”
His hand flexes as if he wants to touch me again before he places it in his pocket. “I’ve always been better at showing, not telling.”
“Fitting since you have the emotional range of a five-year-old. They follow the same concept.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “I can assure you in all the years I’ve been with women, I can safely say they haven’t complained.”
“Probably because you’re the one leaving before they have a chance to speak.”
“Ahh, learning my tricks already?”
“Tricks insinuates they’re sneaky. You’re forgetting it’s my job to learn everything about you.”
His eyes darken. “Even the bad parts?”
“Especially those. It makes this job more interesting.” I push my palms together and wiggle my fingers, giving off my best evil genius impression.
“Not the fact that I’m devilishly handsome and have a killer accent?”
I roll my eyes. “Nope. I would label that a con.”
Lies. His accent and looks are very much a pro in this situation.
“Because you find it hard to resist me?”
“Ehh. I’m not into guys who act like you do.”
“And that is?”
“Like they’re above me.”
His mask of disinterest slips for a moment. “That’s not how I feel.”
“That’s how you come across, which is all the same. It’s okay. I’m a big girl and can handle men like you. You’re not the first client who has treated me this way.” I walk toward the main door to exit the suite. My silk champagne dress clings to my body, making it difficult to make long strides.
Jax catches up to me easily. He grabs onto my elbow softly, turning me toward him. “I can’t speak for other men, but I don’t think I’m better than you. Quite the opposite, actually. You’re too—” he bites down on his lip as he scans my body once more before lingering on my face “—good for someone like me.”
“Someone like you?” I stare at his hand, trying to understand why my skin pebbles at his touch.
His thumb lazily brushes across my skin. “I’m better suited to destroy someone’s happiness than be their reason for it.”
I let out a deep sigh. “Are you always going to speak in statements shrouded in confusion?”
“I’m like Jim Carrey’s Riddler.”
“Out of all the movies you could reference, you choose George Clooney’s Batman franchise? I’m losing all my respect for you.”
“The fact that you have a little respect for me at all is concerning.”
“Don’t worry, it’s dwindling by the second.”
He shakes his head, fighting his smile before settling for a scowl. “Let’s go. Time to get this shit show over with.”
“Why do you hate sponsor events?”
“I hate everything that isn’t racing my car. I’d much rather drop off the face of the planet than deal with a new crowd of people every week who ask me too many questions.”
We both walk into the hall and toward the elevator. “I think you chose the wrong career path then. Racing and celebrity status are synonymous with one another.”
Jax presses the button. “Trust me, I wasn’t thinking of the consequences when I was younger.”
“Because you’re more likely to get anxious around others?”
“Part of it.”
Vague, but I let him keep his secret. The elevator doors open, and we enter.
I press the button for the lobby. “How long have you been anxious?”
“Since forever.”
“And it’s gotten worse?”
“You’re not a therapist. Stop poking around my brain searching for answers.”
I laugh as I lean against the railing. “It’s called having a conversation. You should try it sometime with the opposite gender. You’d be surprised what women can talk about when you’re not fucking them into silence.”
“You’re cute, goading me into more dirty talk. Does it get you hot and heavy thinking about me with other women, wishing it was you?”
Oh, shit. Nice going, Elena. Enjoy talking yourself out of the mess you created.
I roll my eyes. “Nope.”
“Yet you like to bring it up. Why is that?” His smirk annoys me.
My eyes narrow at his lips. “It’s called a joke.”
“I can assure you sex with me is anything but.”
I scrunch my nose in distaste. “Yuck. You’re like a five-star review from the owner of a sketchy Chinese buffet restaurant.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“No one should trust your glowing recommendation until they try it themselves.”
A burst of laughter escapes him. “How the bloody hell do you come up with half the shit you say?”
“I have a quick tongue. It’s a talent.”
His eyebrow lifts as my words sink in. Well, shit, stupid tongue is more like it at the moment.
I attempt to recover. “Let’s ignore that. And we’re going to be spending a lot of time together so maybe you can learn to speak about things other than sex.”
“Are you always this bossy?”
“I prefer the term assertive. Bossy tends to carry a negative connotation, especially for women.”
His eyebrows raise. “You’ve gotten a lot of shit for being a woman working in F1, haven’t you?”
“What gave it away? How there are barely any women around the racing paddock or how all the men ignore me in the press room?”
He shakes his head. “Another reason to hate people.”
“I don’t see it that way. I think of it as another reason to prove people wrong.”
Jax and I walk into the Shanghai gala thirty minutes later. Crystal lights hang from the ceiling, casting us in a golden glow as Jax navigates us through the crowd. Luxurious doesn’t begin to cover it, with waiters walking around offering hundred-dollar glasses of champagne and food straight out of Gordon Ramsey’s kitchen.
Jax’s attitude takes a nosedive once he’s forced to speak to strangers for longer than five minutes. I chalk up his irritability to unwillingly having to play nice for hours on end.
“Ah, Elena. I thought it was you. I’ve been trying to find you for an hour, hoping you’d save one dance for me.” Elías’s voice gains my attention.
“Elena needs to stay by my side this evening. Maybe you can try again—I don’t know—never?” Jax shoos him with his hand, conveniently extending his middle finger.
“He’s joking. Ignore him.” My eyes narrow at Jax.
“Good. I’m going to ask the DJ to play one of your favorites. I’ll be back.” Elías shoots me a secretive smile.
“Stop leading him on.” Jax’s growl of a voice makes my blood run hot in my veins.
“It’s one dance with a friend. Stop making such a big deal of things.”
Jax’s jaw clenches, the shadows lingering where the chandeliers don’t shine. “Friend?”
“It might seem like a foreign concept to you, but men and women can be friends without having sex.”
“That’s bullshit. Liam and Sophie are a perfect example of what happens between two friends.”
I roll my eyes. “Elías and I have known each other for years. It’s not like that between us.”
“I didn’t ask for an explanation. Do whatever you want.” He walks away, dismissing me.
I ignore my budding annoyance as I search for my friend. Elías is easy to spot near the DJ booth, striking up a conversation with the man working the turntables. He shyly smiles at the DJ as he walks away.
He pulls me out onto the dance floor, spinning me in a circle to “La Bicicleta.”
“So, you and the DJ?” I waggle my brows.
He shakes his head. “You know how it is.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine how you feel.”
“It’s hard in a sport like this. I don’t want to be the first…you know.”
No time will ever feel right for Elías to come out to the world. With his career, he remains secretive about his sexuality despite how much it pains him to hide a major part of himself.
“I’m sure that’s scary, but times have changed.”
Elías’s voice drops to a whisper I struggle to hear over the music. “I don’t know about that. I hate when guys assume I’m going to hit on them because they have a dick and a good ass.”
“I would hope in today’s day and age, people would be more accepting.”
“I don’t want to be the one to test it out. At least not yet. Definitely not now after scoring a contract with a top team.”
“Whenever you’re ready, you let me know, and I’ll help you.”
Elías smiles. “What would Jax and I do without you?”
“While you may forget your answers to questions during a press conference, Jax might end up as the next trending Twitter hashtag. And not for a good reason.”
“You’ve got to admit, hashtag JaxAttack is pretty damn catchy.”
“Almost as catchy as the STD he’s bound to get from whatever woman he hooks up with at the club.”
Elías’s chest shakes as he laughs. “Say what you will, but he brings out a fire in you I haven’t seen in a while. I was getting worried, you know, but I didn’t want to say anything last year. You looked tired and sad, and I wasn’t sure if you were stressed or if it was because of other stuff with your grandma…”
“I don’t want you worrying about me. Especially not about the other stuff.” My eyes scan our surroundings.
“Someone has to. How’s her new facility working out?”
“It’s expensive but worth it. They even send me pictures of her every day, and she calls me once a week. Supposedly she’s become friends with her roommate.”
“I’m glad to hear she’s happy. She could have been there years ago if you had only accepted my help.”
“I’m not a charity case.”
“And yet you help everyone else who is one.” He offers me a small smile.
“I can afford the place now because of this job. With the monthly payments to help Jax, I’m able to pay for her place and my loans, plus my apartment. I’m even looking at a slightly bigger place now.”
“That’s good. I don’t like where you live.”
I roll my eyes, ignoring him.
His frown doesn’t let up. “Are you still getting those nightmares?”
“Elías… No quiero hablar de eso.”
Call me superstitious, but I haven’t had a nightmare since the start of this season.
“I think you and Jax have more in common than you think. You both avoid talking about shit bothering you. At least with you, I know what happened. But with him, obviously, he screams bad boy with a sad past. What do you think?”
“What sad past? His parents are alive, they support his race career, and he has access to anything money can buy. He’s the poster child for what happens when mommies and daddies give their kids everything. What more could he possibly want?”
Elías turns me in a circle. “Maybe you’re not asking the right questions.”
The crowd eerily parts, revealing Jax, brooding in a corner with Liam and Noah.
As if he senses me, his eyes meet mine. Every nerve in my body lights up. His smirk screams trouble and unspoken promises, and my body’s response to his attention worries me. My attraction to Jax threatens the carefully laid plan I made to help him. But I shove those thoughts aside because I’m here to learn exactly what makes Jax Kingston tick.
Turns out I get to work with the biggest challenge of my career thus far. While some might be intimidated by Jax’s poor attitude and brooding, I can’t wait to start repairing him from the ground up.
I flash him a broad smile that has his eyebrows pinching together and his frown deepening.
Bring it on.
