Fuck, this must be why I didn’t usually give a shit about the people I fucked. Caring was infuriating and exhausting.
And if I was honest, I loved the idea of pampering him and forcing him to take time to rest. Especially since when I closed my eyes, all I saw in my mind was his baby belly, and his blissed face after an orgasm. I blew out a long breath and went back downstairs to the reception hall. When I opened the door, Jaxson was stacking the folding chairs along one wall to be returned to storage.
“Did Jean-Paul stick you with all the cleanup work or is he still here?”
He glared and didn’t answer me, so instead of fighting with him, I went and grabbed two chairs, folding them up, and then took them to his growing stack leaning against the wall. I helped him with the drudge work. It took about forty-five minutes for us to get all the chairs put away. He came into the room with a large push broom, and I let him go, even though the janitorial staff would have done that. Instead, I just rolled up all of the microphones that belonged to city hall and put them away under the podium.
I kept taking the risk of staring at Jaxson, but the problem was, I had no idea how to fix this. I was right earlier—I hadn’t asked him to come here because this was a clusterfuck he didn’t need to deal with on his Saturday—but instead of him being thankful, he was just angry with me. Where was the justice? Where was the thanks?
“You have a lot of years of dealing with other people’s fuckups ahead of you. You should’ve just been grateful. Relaxed on your new couch.” I slammed a microphone down on the podium and crossed my arms.
“You want to do this here?” He strolled toward me, and I could tell he wasn’t about to throw himself on his knees and tell me how right I was while offering to suck my cock. My stomach ran warm and hopeful anyway.
“There’s athisto do? I’m your boss. You listen to me.”
He sniffed like I was a piece of dogshit on the sidewalk he hadn’t dodged, and my blood boiled. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to shake him or fuck him. “You can’tbuy me, Vane,” he hissed. “I’m not a fuck boy. I’m here to work.”
I glared and flinched on the inside. If he only knew. I’d been buying my men for years. “You think that’s what I’m doing right now? I’m… fuck, this is me being nice.” I slammed my hands on the podium, and there was a loud crack that echoed through the room as a microphone rolled off and smacked to the floor.
“I know that’s what you’re doing.” He pointed an accusing finger in my direction.
Rolling my eyes, I hopped down until I was standing in front of him. He was shorter, and I liked that he backed off. Not that I wanted him afraid of me, but his acknowledgment that I could be a threat stroked that same space inside my ego that loved thinking about knocking him up. I loved how masculine it made me feel, while at the same time I wanted him running to me for comfort, not backing away from me because we were squaring off.
“No, Jaxson, I was attempting to take care of you.”
“Take care of me? You want to fuck me!” His words rang around the room and I winced. For a split second, apology wrinkled his brows, but then he was right back to scowling.
“Listen up, you delightful man tart.” His nose wrinkled. “You don’t get to act like some sort of maligned virgin. It wasn’tmewho pushed myself onyou.”
His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open for a second, and superiority unlike anything I’d ever felt before had me smirking and internally gloating at his fish-out-of-water impression. “I didn’t push myself on you!”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t have chased you, is all I’m saying.”
His eyes widened, and I thought maybe I’d hurt his feelings. I was shocked as a regretful pang had me quickly saying, “Not that you’re not fuckable. You don’t need me to tell you that you’re a good-looking man. You’re probably the best one in the building.” His cheeks flushed, and I felt like a jackass, so I continued. “It’s pretty fucking rich of you to accuse me of buying you. You’re the one who wanted the job so bad you spread your legs, and I paid up. You already have it. I kept my end of the deal.”
He opened his mouth, face still a thundercloud, but snapped it closed again. He spun away from me. We didn’t speak as we finished clearing away the last of the trash and clutter from the media circus, but his anger had me feeling strange. Normally I didn’t care, one way or another, how anyone felt about me at any given time, so long as it wasn’t about to screw Ross or myself in an election year.
But I cared a whole hell of a lot that Jaxson seemed to be furious at me, and not just because I wanted to fuck him. I liked his playfully amoral attitude, and right now it was missing. He stomped to the large double doors that led out to the main entrance and yanked one open.
“I’ll see you at six?” I asked. “I’ll bring Mexican.”
He spun on me. “Are you fucking kidding? No.” He slapped a hand to his face and shook his head. When he let his arm drop to his side, his cheek had a handprint, and I didn’t like it. “We’re done,” he snapped. “If you can’t see that my life is at least as important as yourgame, I’m over it. I don’t need that.” He slammed the door after himself, and I stared for a long while as an unfamiliar emotion cycled through my gut, making me feel like my body was made of granite.
“Done? Done? Who the fuck does he think he is?” Real anger blazed to life in my chest and seeped all the way in my bones. My hand shook as I yanked my phone from my pocket. I’d never been so fucking pissed off in my entire life. I still wasn’t completely sure why he was mad—or maybe I didn’t want to understand because some of it had made sense,maybe—but I’d be damned if he would decide he wasn’t going to allow me to take care of him because I’d actually been a human-fucking-being for once.
I’ll be therein a half hour. Be ready.
I firedoff the text and didn’t get one back, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me. Jaxson Bell might be stubborn, but today I’d weathered nearly an hour of reporters who wanted nothing more than to find a single weakness—and it didn’t matter what it might be—to hang me with. I coulddefinitelyhandle one sweet belly boy who just needed to give in and let me make his life easier.
9
Jax
Istared at the text message, anger twisting low in my stomach. I had to resist the urge to throw my phone across the room. He wasn’t listening to a word I’d said. Yes, it’d been me who’d approached him, but Vane hadknownwhat I wanted from the start. It wasn’t the kind of relationship where he’d send me gifts like I was his mistress he kept hidden away; I didn’t need his charity. I’d thought he understood, that he’d come from the same place as I had—the desolate side of New Gothenburg where we had to work and trick our way for what we wanted. I had pride, and I wasn’t going to accept the expensive gifts from someone with money. I’d buy my own shit when I made my way to the top.
“Fucking bastard,” I growled at my empty apartment, glaring at the new emerald couch that was far too fucking comfortable to sit on. I hated how good it felt against my back, so much better than the old antique one I’d had before it. My gaze then slid to the baby belly resting against the wall. I’d left it there, waiting for this afternoon when Vane came to the apartment, but now it felt like it was mocking me, reminding me that I’d enjoyed the sex a lot, and as strange as this whole pregnancy kink was, I actually didn’t mind wearing the belly. There was something enigmatic about it, having Vane think I was the sexiest person in the world while wearing it. No one had ever stared at me the way he had while I wore it.
I fell onto the couch and threw my head back against it, sighing. It hadn’t even been a week and he had power over me, which was something I didn’t want to give any man. Sure he was my boss, but when it came to sex, I was in charge. At least I thought I was.
