Whatever the reason, he felt strangely disoriented, as if his world spun slowly but surely out of control.
He edged through the dancing crowd and headed for the main doors. He needed to get out of here before he did something stupid.
Like telling his wife this marriage had the potential to be more than a business arrangement.
Chapter 22
Ruby watched Jax leave the ballroom, head down, shoulders hunched, long legs striding, as if he couldn't wait to escape.
She knew the feeling.
Every second of this evening had been excruciatingly painful. Sapphire was the company spokesperson for a reason. She could work a room like a pro. Sucking up to a bunch of air-kissing schmucks didn't sit well with Ruby but she'd done it.
For Jax.
Sadly, the more time she spent with her errant husband, the more she came to realise she'd probably do this and more for him.
His rigid, immovable act had piqued her interest in a big way. She wanted to delve beneath his tough-guy exterior, wanted to discover why he closed off to anything beyond superficial. She couldn't figure out how they connected so well physically yet he remained distant emotionally. If she asked him, he'd say they had nothing in common beyond sex, but he'd be lying. They couldn't have a powerful physical connection without feelingsomething.
She didn't understand how he could hold so much power over her when they'd barely seen each other. They'd had sex agrand total of two times. Though technically, it had been five times on their wedding morning and four in the villa here since they checked in early this afternoon. She could totally relate to the cliché about quality not quantity being important.
They might not be spending much time together as newlyweds would but when they hung out together? Wow. Combustion.
How had she allowed one stubborn, annoying, recalcitrant billionaire to worm his way into her heart?
It wasn't love. She'd fallen in love before, recognising that heady, breathless, stomach churning madness that possessed her on occasion. Nothing too heavy, nothing too intense, a brief euphoric feeling that faded fast; falling in love as opposed to being in love.
With Jax, she had none of those symptoms. Instead, she craved him on an innate level she hadn't known existed before him. He tapped into a wildness within her, a yearning to be whoever she wanted to be without the constraints of living up to Sapphire's promise to their mother, the expectations of her company, and the responsibilities thrust upon her by her sister.
She'd bet Jax had been a bad boy in his younger days. He had that look of barely restrained power on a tight leash. Incredibly sexy.
"Something tells me that dreamy look in your eyes isn't for my dancing prowess."
She missed a step and trod on Otto's toes. "Sorry."
"Don't be." He swung her around to miss a nearby couple. “It would be nice to have a hot chick look that way about me."
"Sapphire's a hot chick."
An uncharacteristic frown creased Otto's brow. She'd never seen the guy anything but upbeat. "We both know Saph sees me as a friend, a convenience, someone she can trot out at social events when she needs to."
Ouch.
Ruby patted his shoulder. "We've practically grown up together. You can't blame her for relying on you."
"I don't. I just wish…"
Uh-oh. Ruby had no intention of playing go-between for Otto and Sapphire. She'd asked her sister once if there could be more than friendship between her and Otto, and Sapphire had laughed. Something Ruby could never tell Otto.
"How is Saph, by the way?"
Glad he'd moved away from the touchy subject of his unrequited love for her sister, Ruby perked up. "Great. Getting better every day."
Rather than Otto's frown clearing as expected, it deepened. "People have been talking."
Ruby trod on his toes again. "Sorry. About what?"
"Sapphire being sick. You taking overSeaborn. The company's financial troubles."
