Page 35 of Furious
10
TRISTAN
Sinceyouwantedtosee my back.
Tristan squinted at his phone, quickly grabbing his glasses from the nightstand and waiting for the attached picture to come into focus. When it finally did, his eyes widened as his cock rose.
Underneath those seven words was a scandalous picture of Jax’s back that ended below his ass, showing off the dark, geometric pattern that fanned across his shoulder blades and down his spine.
Tristan enlarged the photo, looking at the intricacy of the ink, the way the lines merged. Despite having good intentions, his eyes eventually drifted to the bottom, studying the curve of Jax’s cheeks, and he stared for so long that his snooze went off.
Putting his phone down, Tristan rolled out of bed, looking at the tent in his pants. Jax had flipped some kind of switch inside of Tristan, because he hadn’t been this horny since he was a teenager. At least now he didn’t feel guilty about taking care of himself in the shower, and visualizing Jax on his knees again had Tristan coming in a frighteningly short amount of time.
Drying off, he put on loose clothing and ran through his physical therapy routine. His knee had recovered, but it twinged every once in a while, telling him that he still needed to do the exercises.
The sporadic reminders of his injury brought up more doubt. He still wanted to do another thru, but would he pay a heftier price this time around? And what about Jax? Did he really want to leave whatever was happening between them for six months? Because things wouldn’t be the same when he came back.
But Tristan didn’t have to think about that right now. For the time being, he’d enjoy Jax’s company, keep his maître d’ job, and bank his paychecks. Well,someof his paychecks.
Glancing at his phone again, he tapped the screen, wanting another quick peek at Jax, but a new message sat front and center.
Got the $$. Ur boyfrend is a fuking jerk.
That’s all the thanks he got for sending her money. Tristan knew he was being stupid, that Eve was using Rain as leverage to extort him, but both RainandMason had been through a lot. If a little cash kept them happy, then Tristan didn’t mind giving it up to see them thrive.
Putting on everything but the tux jacket, Tristan headed to The Pointe. This was their first work day after the almost perfect date, and nervous excitement fluttered in Tristan’s stomach at seeing Jax again.
Turning his headset on, Tristan practically skipped to the kitchen, but Jax seemed to be full of agitation instead of anticipation.
“Where is it?” He didn’t even look up as Tristan walked in, too busy hunting around, his head on a swivel. “Did someone take the celery I just put down?”
His eyes had a pinch to them, and Tristan could tell that Jax was in more pain than usual. Was there any way to reduce his suffering? Even a little? Surely there were options that Jax hadn’t thought of, and Tristan had some ideas, but he didn’t want to overstep.
“Can I help you find it?” He tried to radiate calm, but Jax wasn’t having it.
“Yeah. Hi, Tristan.” Jax’s deep brown gaze met his, full of irritation and masked agony. Turning away, he glanced at the cluster of cooks and servers watching. “Was it one of you?” His tone had a bite to it, and both Tristan and Angelo perked up.
Tristan stepped in front of Jax, blocking his line of sight.
“Let’s walk around. Where was the last time you saw it?”
“At this station.” Jax tried to look around Tristan, but he swayed to the side.
“Retrace your steps. Where did you get it from?”
“The walk-in,” Jax gestured toward it, clearly exasperated, but Tristan had infinite patience for him. In fact, it was easy to give Jax grace. He carrieda lot, and while he had difficulties balancing his frustration, he wasn’t a bad person. He was in pain, and Tristan was here to assist.
Quickly looking over his shoulder, Tristan noticed that most of the servers and chefs had scattered, so he guided Jax to the wall-sized refrigerator. As the cold washed over them, he noticed that Jax was hobbling, but his gait picked up as he reached the shelf with the celery, moving a box. “What the fuck?”
“Is that it?” Tristan looked over Jax’s shoulder at a stalk of celery that sat by itself, apart from the others.
“Yeah. IknowI took this out. I may be hurting, but I’m not crazy.” His tone had dropped to a grumble, and Tristan could feel the anger radiating from him in waves.
“You’re not. Maybe someone brought it back in here by mistake?” Putting his hands on Jax’s shoulders, he tried not to flinch at the murderous stare he got in return. “This is the time to try being calmer. Breathe with me?”
The glare lessened in intensity; in fact, Jax instantly became contrite. “Okay.”
“Inhale on a count of four. One, two, three, four. Good, hold it - one, two, three, four. And now exhale, two, three, four, then rest - two, three, four. Wonderful!” Thankfully, no one came into the walk-in. “Now, let’s do that again.”
