Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

engine.
    “I know being with me isn’t easy. But I want you to understand that no one has me, or has ever had me, except you.”
    I swallowed, emotion building inside me. I nodded, not sure my voice would work.
    He slipped a curl behind my ear. “I’ve never met anyone who has seen past the star and found the real me inside. But even if you hadn’t found the Jax the world doesn’t know, I would be yours. When you smiled at me that first time, I was a goner. I just got lucky with the rest of you.”
    I wanted to lean in to him, but I didn’t.
    “Come on, let’s go for a walk before I start kissing you again and am forced to use superhuman willpower to stop myself.”
    I laughed, and we climbed out of the Jaguar. As we walked toward the water’s edge, Jax took my hand in his.
    The night breeze and the sounds of the waves were soothing. It was easy to forget reality out here.
    “When I came home last night, I wanted to call you right away and realized I couldn’t. It proved really hard to go to sleep without hearing your voice and knowing you were okay,” Jax admitted.
    “I’m sorry you couldn’t call me, but it makes me happy to know you missed me too.”
    He laughed. “I didn’t just miss you. I obsessed over what you were doing and if you were okay and who you were talking to. I realized I’m going to have a really hard time when the summer is over. And now that I’ve touched you and had you come apart in my arms, I can’t stand the thought of sharing you. I know that sounds selfish because of who I am. But I don’t want anyone else to touch you.”
    He stopped, and I turned to him.
    “I have a charity event I’ve got to be at next week. They’re auctioning off some of my things, and I have to be there too. I want you to come with me.”
    My heart hammered in my chest. Going with him into his world wasn’t something I’d ever expected to do. “I don’t know. I have work and my mom.”
    “Please, for me. Don’t make me go again without you.”
    I turned away from his pleading eyes. They made me want to promise him anything. “Jax, I won’t fit into your world. I don’t have any clothes to wear to something like that, and I have no idea what to say to people or how to act, and the cameras will make me a nervous wreck.”
    He stepped up behind me, pulled me up against him, and rested his chin on my head. “You’ll be dressed by my personal stylist, and you won’t have to speak to anyone but me. Yes, the cameras will be going, but all you have to do is smile. I’ll never leave you alone, except when I have to sing, and then you can stand backstage and wait for me.”
    I wanted to make him happy. I wanted to know every part of his life, but it terrified me. “I don’t know,” I whispered.
    We stood there for a long time without words.
    Finally, he turned me around to face him. “Please. I need my air.”
    My resolve crumbled, and I nodded. “Okay, I’ll talk to my mom.”
    His earnest face broke into a grin, and he kissed me again. He held back, and it made me want to press closer. He pulled back before I could press him.
    “You taste so good,” he whispered. He ran his fingers through my hair and curled a strand around his fingers. “I love your hair,” he said softly, and continued playing with it.

Chapter Ten
    JAX
    The way Sadie’s eyes had lit up with excitement when I touched her had me thinking all kinds of things I didn’t need to be. From the way she’d come apart in my lap from such a simple touch, I had no doubt she was innocent. Then she’d also been so fucking tight, there was no way she wasn’t still a virgin. That was something that I had a hard time imagining. Were guys in Alabama idiots? Blind? How was it that Sadie was so untouched, as gorgeous as she was? It made no sense, but I could already feel a possessiveness taking over me. I’d never been possessive over any girl. I hadn’t had to be. Normally, I was pushing them away or hiding from them. With Sadie I wanted her beside me all the time. And after today I wanted her in my arms, or on my lap. Who was I kidding? I wanted her in my bed.
    That wasn’t something that was going to happen, though. My plans to leave hadn’t changed. I had to leave when the summer was over. I had a tour scheduled, and my life had no room for relationships. At least, not the kind that I’d want with Sadie.
    “Why are you frowning?” Sadie asked, and I pulled her closer to me. I hated the idea of walking away from