Page 91 of The Never List
“Who’s that, butterfly?” he asks, tilting his head in that lethal, predatory way he does.
Rylee leans in close, inhaling deeply like she’s trying to memorize his scent. Jax visibly swallows, watching her lips with a hunger I can feel in my soul. “People who don’t dream,” she finally says.
Jax aims that wide, maddening smile of his at her. The one that usually sends people running in the opposite direction, but not Rylee. She holds his stare, her blue eyes brightening as she studies his lips.
And then Jax laughs—not his threatening, sardonic laugh—his real, raw, unsuspecting laugh. He reaches up and tugs on a loose strand of her long blond hair. “Like I said.” He releases her hair. “Clever little butterfly.”
Rylee studies that smile for a few more moments before she pushes off his thighs, taking a few calculated steps away from him. She glances at me and flashes me a mischievous wink.
A laugh rips from my chest. Kal and Pierce join in, but Jax goes quiet, blinking a few times as if he’s just remembered they aren’t alone. Something passes betweenthem, something I can’t read. But after a few heartbeats, they both relax as if they’ve come to some sort of agreement. It’s the first time I’ve seen them look at each other like they don’t want to rip the other’s throat out.
“Seems I’m not the only one who likes to play mind games,” Pierce says, dipping his head to Rylee in compliment.
She grins at him and does a little curtsy. “I’m excited to play with you,” she says, then cringes at the way it sounded, which has us all laughing again.
I reach for her wrist, gently hauling her into my lap. She falls against me with a little pleasant squeal as I wrap my arms around her, tucking my head over her shoulder. “Your month with me isn’t over yet,” I say, nipping at her neck.
Pierce stands up, sliding his hands into the pockets of his suit pants as he looks down at the two of us. “Be glad of it, Axl.” He reaches for her hand to plant his signature kiss on the back of it. “Because once I hold her, I may never let her go.” He grins seductively at Rylee, and my kittenshivers.
“Get off my ship,” I say playfully. “Before you steal my girl’s attention and I throw you in the sea.”
Rylee laughs, shaking her head at me. “Haven’t I proven I can share?”
Kal barks out a half cough, half laugh, following Pierce across the boat.
“You can,” I say. “But that doesn’t mean I want to all the time.”
She goes liquid in my grasp, soft and pliable in a way that has me growing hard within seconds. What is this woman doing to my control?
“We’ll see you in a week,” Pierce says before climbing down the stairs of my ship and onto the beach.
Kal smiles at Rylee before following him, leaving just us and Jax, who is staring out past the bow of the ship, contemplative.
“We still need to figure it all out,” Jax says, never once looking our way.
“I know,” I say, sighing.
“Figure what out?” Rylee asks, going a bit rigid against me.
Jax rises, crossing the ship and pausing before the stairs. “Everything, little liar. Every. Single. Thing.”
He’s gone in a matter of breaths, leaving Rylee with a confused and slightly fearful expression. She turns in my lap, shifting a leg so she can fully face me. “What did he mean, Axl?”
I smooth back her blond hair, staring into her concerned eyes, trying to break through the few walls she has left between us. Leaning in closer, I brush my mouth over hers, working her lips in a lazy sort of way until she relaxes against me again.
“I’ll tell you about it,” I say, and she leans her cheek against my hand. “But first, there is somewhere I want to take you tonight.”
She looks at me with a slow, easy smile. “Another date?”
I return her grin. “Can we have too many?”
Something serious flashes over her eyes, her features settling into a look I can’t quite place—almost like she’s regretting something.
“No,” she hurries to say. “Never.”
I kiss her again, taking my time to trace the lines of her mouth. I gently smack her ass—not enough to mark her, just enough to make her squeal again—and lift us, gently settingher on her feet before I head to adjust the sails on the ship.
She follows me, curiosity making her eyes bright. “Where are we going?”
