Chapter Three
JESS
I had lain low for a week. I was tired of staying at home. Keeping Rock’s little girl, Daisy May, earlier this week had been a fun distraction, but I needed some action. Thinking about Hank and all that wasted time just drove me crazy. It was almost if I was begging to end up like my momma. Not that I didn’t love my momma—I just knew her life was hard.
Besides, as much as I liked dressing to draw a guy’s attention, I did not ever want to think I had to strip for men to make ends meet. My momma seemed to take it in stride. I just didn’t think I ever could. I liked my body just fine. I just preferred to choose who I took my clothes off for. Balding, fat policemen were not gonna get to pay to see me naked. So help me God.
I slid my feet into my red cowboy boots and tugged my short black leather skirt down until it covered my butt cheeks. Apparently, leather was back in this season. I loved leather, so that made me happy. I reached for one of my Jackdown T-shirts. I was going to go listen to Krit and his band tonight at Live Bay. Krit loved it when I wore one of the band’s shirts.
Krit had also loved it when I took it off for him. But those days were over. His sister, Trisha, married my cousin. We were family now, even if he preferred to say that didn’t count. Besides, Krit was not gonna be the guy to save me from my momma’s life. He was just like me: born into a low-class situation and trying to find a way out. We also enjoyed trouble just a little too much. The two of us together had proved to be dangerous.
Momma had already left for work tonight, so I went to her room to spray a little of her Chanel on my cleavage. She used it sparingly, and I wasn’t supposed to touch it.
When I was sure I was ready, I grabbed my truck keys and opened the front door. In my driveway sat a completely loaded black Hummer with dark-tinted windows. Who the hell was that? That wasn’t your average Hummer. It was the kind that was special-ordered. I closed the door behind me and walked down the two cinder block steps.
The driver’s door opened, and out stepped Mr. Porsche. In his hand was a baseball bat. Rock’s baseball bat. Oh damn, I’d forgotten it. Smiling in relief because Rock would’ve killed me had I lost it, I walked over to meet him halfway.
“You forgot something,” he said by way of greeting.
“Thank you,” I replied, taking it from him and sticking it behind my back in case someone drove by and caught me with a baseball bat. That was the last thing I needed after this week.
“Can I trust you with it? Or should I be available for any escape plans?”
Mr. Porsche had a dimple in his right cheek. I hadn’t noticed it before. “I think I’m hanging up my bat. Too much trouble,” I told him.
“Good to hear. Stories of your truck bashing made it all around town this week,” he said with an amused look. “Since the talk is that your escape vehicle was a Porsche, and no one believes Hank because they’re saying no one has a Porsche around here, I decided I’d better drive something else if I was coming over here.”
How did he know that? Sea Breeze was a small town, but it wasn’t that small. Locals didn’t share that kind of stuff with the summer people. He had to know someone with an in. “Who are you?” I asked.
“My name’s Jason,” he replied.
Jason. I didn’t know any Jasons. Other than Jason Condoy, who overdosed last year. I tilted my head and studied him a minute. “So, Jason, who do you know in Sea Breeze? I could have sworn you were right off the island. The Porsche and all gave that away.”
His grin grew and his dimple got deeper. I liked that dimple a lot. “My secret,” he said simply.
I glanced down at his designer clothing and reminded myself that guys like him were so out of my league. I was looking for a local with some potential. That was as good as I was going to get. This guy looked like he would fit in perfectly in Beverly Hills. “Yeah, well, thanks for this and for the other night. I appreciate it,” I said, deciding that prolonging this conversation was pointless.
“You headed somewhere?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m going out. A friend of mine is in a band,” I explained.
Jason didn’t make a move to leave. What was he doing?
“They’re playing at a bar,” I continued.
“You meeting someone there?”
Um . . . what? Was he actually about to ask to go too? No. I had to be reading this wrong. “Uh, friends will be there, I’m sure.”
“But no guy? Or is the friend in the band the guy?”
He was asking me if I had a date. Wow. For the first time in my life I felt at a loss for words. I just stood there, awkwardly staring at him.
“It’s okay. Really. Don’t look so panicked. I’ll see you around,” he said, then turned and started back toward his Hummer.
He was leaving. I had to say something. “No, wait. I’m not . . . There isn’t a guy. I’m just going to listen to the band and see some friends. If you want to come . . .” I trailed off, still having a hard time believing he wanted to be seen with me.
He stopped and glanced back at me. “You sure?”
Yes! I managed to nod and not act like an idiot.
His grin was back. “I’ll drive.”
Taking a steadying breath, I walked toward him and realized I still had the baseball bat in my hand. “Oh.” I stopped and held it up. “I need to put this away.”
“You can put it in the Hummer until we get back,” he said, walking over to open my door for me.
This was a first. No one had ever opened a car door for me. Ever.
“Thank you,” I said, looking up at him and deciding that I could get used to this.
“For what?” he asked with a confused look on his face.
“For opening my door,” I replied.
His eyes went wide and he stared at me a second, then leaned forward. “Jess, if guys don’t open doors for you, then they aren’t worth your time. No need to thank me.” Then he leaned back and held out his hand to help me up into the Hummer.
I was pretty sure I understood the word “swoon” finally. I slipped my hand into his, and he closed his larger one around mine and then helped me up. It was higher than my truck, but my legs were as long as my momma’s. Still, I liked having him help me.
When I sat down, I noticed his eyes on my legs before he lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Sorry,” he said with a slight blush on his face. Then he closed the door and I had a moment to compose myself.
Had I ever seen a guy blush? Other than my high school history teacher who I’d had a crush on and had made sure to let him know it. I felt very underdressed. My sexy little outfit now seemed . . . kind of cheap. Jason opened the driver’s door and climbed in. His biceps flexed, capturing my complete attention. I wondered what his abs looked like.
“Where are we going?” he asked as he cranked the engine.
“It’s called Live Bay,” I told him. “Ever heard of it?”
Jason smirked. “Of course.”
JASON
This was probably a bad idea. I wasn’t ready to tell Jess who I was. From the stories I had heard about Jess, I knew she was a troublemaker. I had intended to return the bat and leave. Although the things the group had said about her were amusing as hell, I got the impression that once she knew my brother was Jax Stone, that would be the only thing she’d care about. I’d be on her radar but for all the wrong reasons. And I was only here for a month to get some alone time before school started back up.
Seeing her walk out of the house in that tiny skirt that hardly covered her ass and that tight T-shirt had made me forget exactly why I hadn’t been planning to pursue getting to know her better. All those legs had made me weak. Rock had acted so protective of her when everyone was talking about Jess, and I could see the concern in his eyes when he explained her actions. He knew a Jess none of them had been given a chance to get to know.
I wanted to know that Jess. Because the sexy, half-dressed one who liked to use her body to make men buckle at the knees was pretty damn hot. I needed more, though. I was curious. That was it.
“You’ve been to Live Bay before?” she asked.
I glanced over at her. “Yeah, once,” I admitted.
“Surprising. Normally, the island people don’t make it over to our hangouts.”
The way she said “island people” didn’t sound appealing. “You got something against the island?” I asked, amused.
She shrugged. “Not really. Just a fact.”
She was right. Jax, however, had blown that out of the water. He had not only come off the island, he had chased a girl down and made her his. “You ever been on the island?” I asked. I turned into Live Bay, then glanced over at her.
She shook her head. “Nope.” She cut her eyes at me, and her long lashes fanned her high cheekbones. “Guys from the island don’t normally invite girls like me over for dinner.”
That was a shame. Guys from the island didn’t know just how entertaining Jess was. “Their loss,” I said, opening my door. I had to jog around the front of the Hummer to get to Jess before she jumped out all on her own with those boots on.
She raised her eyebrows. “You help girls out of cars too?” she asked.
Damn, what kind of guys had she been dating?
I held out my hand, and she grabbed it before stepping down. Her chest pressed against mine, and I sucked in a breath. Her tits were not only on the generous side, but they were soft.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling up at me with a knowing look in her eyes. I let her have her fun. She knew I liked feeling her chest, and she was keeping it right there for me to look down and see up close and personal.
I wasn’t going to look, though. She expected me to. She had already caught me checking out those legs of hers. I wasn’t going to ogle her tits, too. Instead I winked at her and stepped back.
“Ready?” I asked her.
The flash of disappointment in her eyes made me wish I had taken a look. I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t attracted to her. She may be flirty, but she was a female and she had feelings.
“Sure,” she said, forcing a smile and turning to head inside. I started to grab her arm and assure her that her body was perfect. But I didn’t. I had a feeling she was used to that. I didn’t want to be what she was used to. She viewed me as different, and I wanted to be. I wanted to stand out.
Why? I wasn’t sure.
I took several long strides to keep up with her and get to the door before her so I could open it. She stopped and watched me as I stood back and waited for her to walk in. A small smile touched her lips, and the flirty Jess was back.
I followed her inside. The music was already loud and the bodies were packing in closer to the stage. The band wasn’t playing yet, but it must have been getting close to time.
Several guys called out greetings to Jess, who waved at them in return. They all knew her. Even the bartender, who winked at her. This was not something I’d be able to deal with. Glad I was getting to witness it tonight.
I saw several male eyes shift from her to me. They were all wondering if I was with her. I could feel it. I didn’t move to touch her because she wasn’t mine. We had just come here together.
“Where’d you find this one, Jess?” a girl with dark brown curls and bright pink lipstick asked as she stared at me with open curiosity. Her eyes scanned my body slowly.
“He’s with me, Tiff. Pour ice water on yourself and move on,” Jess said, reaching back to grab my arm and tug me closer to her.
I was trying real hard not to grin.
“When you get tired of her claws, come see me. I’m sweet as a kitten,” the other girl called out as Jess pulled me through the crowd.
“Friend of yours?” I asked, amused by the stiffness of Jess’s shoulders.
She stopped walking and looked back at me. “Uh, no,” she snapped. “You stand out, island boy. It’s all over you. It’s gonna draw the gold diggers.”
“What, it’s not my good looks?” I asked, teasing her.
She started to say something and noticed the amused look on my face, and her shoulders relaxed. “You’re hot, island boy. I’ll give you that. So it’s the whole package. Just stick close to me because Tiff is only one of many.”
I nodded and she flashed me a real smile. The kind that made her eyes dance with amusement. “Come on. My friends are right over here,” she said.
I followed her through the crowd. I noticed Rock first. He was sitting at a table facing the stage. Beside him was Dewayne. No sign of Preston or Amanda. I took an easy breath. I could deal with Rock and Dewayne.
Although, I was a little nervous as to how Rock would react to this. I didn’t want to piss that dude off.
My secret would be out after Rock told Jess who I was. She already saw me as a rich boy who was out slumming it. I wasn’t sure her knowing that my brother was Jax Stone would change her view that much. Her not knowing had seemed important to me at first, but now I wasn’t sure she’d change like most girls did once they knew. I was used to girls going from interested in me to obsessed with me the moment they found out who my brother was. Having Jax as a brother normally got me any female I wanted for all the wrong reasons.
I’d know soon enough. If Jess began acting like one of Jax’s crazy fans and getting clingy, I was out of here. This would be our test. I really didn’t want this night to end. I had hopes Jess wasn’t a Jax Stone fan.