Afterburn

everything I’ve got.”
    “For a few weeks?” I trembled from the effort of staying away from him when he was all I craved. “A few months?”
    “Gia.” Jax scrubbed his hands over his face. “Damn it. Take what I can give you.”
    “It’s not enough!”
    “It has to be. Christ... Don’t ask me to turn you into one of them!”
    I jerked back, startled by his vehemence. “What are you talking about?”
    He turned his back to the house and picked up the bottle of champagne, drinking deeply.
    Confused, I studied him and saw only mulish determination. I looked past him into the ballroom, seeing the glittering couples inside. Lei appeared at that moment, walking onto the terrace with Chad on her arm.
    In that moment I understood how badly I wanted to unravel the mystery of Jax, bad enough that I didn’t care how much it was going to cost me.
    “Mind if we join you?” Lei asked as she and Chad approached.
    Her eyes caught mine. I sank onto the bench, my body still throbbing with unappeased hunger.
    Glancing at Jax, I found his eyes on me. A challenge was there in those dark depths. I held my hand out for the champagne, gripping the bottle by the neck when he handed it to me.
    I lifted it in toast and drank to that dare.

Chapter 6
    D ON ’ T DISAPPEAR . See me again....
    Jax’s last words, whispered in my ear as we said goodbye, haunted me on the flight back to New York.
    If I tangled with him I’d get hurt, because I would hope. I wanted more. But what choice did I have? I had to know what had gone so wrong before and what was still holding him back now. I’d always assumed it was me—who I was, where I came from—not meshing with who he was and what he wanted long-term.
    I glanced at Lei, who was seated across from me on the plane, as she opened her clutch and withdrew a folded piece of paper. She slid it over and I smoothed it out on the table in front of us. I read the first paragraph, shot a look down to see the signature at the bottom, then lifted my head.
    “Oh, my God... You got Chad to sign?”
    “It’s a tentative agreement,” she qualified, “based on getting Isabelle and Inez on board—and you overseeing the first restaurant—but it’s got him on the hook.”
    “Wow.” I refolded the document carefully, taking in the fact that I’d just been handed a major responsibility. “I can’t believe you had this with you. Did you know he’d be there?”
    “I suspected, knowing Ian.”
    I handed the agreement back to her.
    “Rutledge took care of you tonight,” Lei noted. “Ian tried to throw you to the wolves, but Jackson kept you too close for that.”
    And he’d wanted me even closer.
    I shrugged off her unspoken query, not wanting to get into something so deeply personal. “By the way, Parker Rutledge explained the connection. Ian introduced Parker to the latest Mrs. Rutledge.”
    “Did he?” Lei’s elegantly arched brows rose. “Then it’s likely Ian knows Regina Rutledge intimately.”
    “Are you kidding?”
    “’Fraid not.”
    “Okay, then.”
    She leaned her head back against the seat. “Let’s enjoy the weekend. Turn off your phone, forget about work. Just recharge. We’ll hit it fresh on Monday.”
    That sounded perfect to me. “I’m more than game, but I’ll leave my phone on in case you need me.”
    Lei smiled. “I won’t need you, I promise. I’ve got a date this weekend.”
    “All weekend?”
    “I’m overdue.”
    I laughed. In the year I’d been with Lei, I hadn’t known her to date. She was due for a good time, all right. So was I. “Rock it.”
    She shot me a look. “I plan to.”
    * * *
    W HEN I GOT HOME , it was just past two in the morning and everyone was asleep. I padded to my room on bare feet, eager to strip and scrub down to my bare skin.
    I was reaching for the concealed zipper on the side of my dress when I caught sight of my reflection in the mirrored closet doors. I paused, really taking a good hard look at myself.
    Was Jax attracted to the polished businesswoman I’d become in a way he hadn’t been to the girl I was before? Was I okay with that?
    “God.” I sat on the edge of my bed, wishing someone were awake that I could talk to. If Nico had been around, he’d be up. He was a night owl.
    Impulsively, I reached for the phone on my nightstand and speed-dialed him. It rang three times before he answered.
    “Hey,” he said. “This better be good.”
    I winced at his irritated and slightly breathless tone, suspecting