Scandalous Series

“You’re hiding something,” El accused, taking a bite of her warm apple pie. We were spending this breezy Sunday afternoon together, catching up. “Why so quiet?”

“I’m just tired. I told you about the new job, right?” I shrugged, hoping she wouldn’t push for more. I’d mentioned my job change, how the opportunity had just fallen into my lap. But El, being El, had a knack for seeing right through me.

“Ah, the mysterious new job.” She smirked, licking apple from her spoon, her eyes, green as a river, sparkling with mischief. “Stone Enterprises seems like a good move, if you ask me.”

I sat up straight, glaring at her. “How the fuck did you find out?” I hissed.

“I followed you,” she said, nonchalantly.

“You followed me? When? ~Why?~” My voice was rising, my tone growing sharper.

“Because I knew you were lying to me and I wanted to know why. I followed you to work before my shift at Sunny Daycare and, well, there you have it.” Her expression softened. “My best friend has been lying to me.”

“I haven’t been lying, El,” I pleaded. “It’s complicated. I can’t even begin to explain.”

“Explain what?” She scoffed. “That you’re working for the guy your brother warned you about? I’m not judging, babe, I just—” She paused, choosing her words carefully.

I braced myself for what was coming.

“You’ve changed, Haley. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but you’ve changed.”

“Maybe I have,” I admitted, “but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

“I don’t either.” She smiled. “El, you like him, don’t you?”

I shook my head. “I don’t— Who— I—”

“Relax! Your secret crush is safe with me.” She winked.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Detective El was on the case. I felt guilty for shutting her out, but I couldn’t deny my feelings for Jax. Maybe, like El said, it was just a crush. An infatuation that would fade with time. I hoped.

Memories of Friday night flooded my mind, making me blush. Thankfully, El was too engrossed in choosing her next dessert to notice. She knew enough, and I wasn’t ready for her to dissect what was happening between Jax and me.

I wasn’t ready to admit what we had done. What I had allowed to happen. And I couldn’t even think about Leon, but I knew I would have to answer his calls and texts eventually and face reality.

“How’s your hot brother?” El fanned herself with the menu. I rolled my eyes.

“Leon and I had a little… disagreement. We haven’t spoken in a while, so I don’t know how he is.” I shrugged, surprised at the sadness I felt admitting this.

Leon clearly had feelings for Fiona, and he was confused; had I just made things worse?

“Haley, he loves you. I’m sure you guys will sort it out.” She squeezed my hand reassuringly, and I had to fight back tears.

“Yeah.” I nodded.

I needed to talk to him, but I knew a big part of why I was avoiding him was because of where I was working. He would never forgive me. I felt like such a shitty sister.

***

Two weeks passed and there was no sign of Jax. He was absent from work and there were no more unexpected late-night visits. No one seemed to know where he was or what he was doing, just that he was “away.”

I had his number in my phone, but I couldn’t bring myself to text him. I mean, I was nothing to him.

I was meeting Leon later that night at a bistro we both liked. I was a bundle of nerves and excitement. But I knew I had to stop avoiding him. We needed to talk, clear the air, and move on. If the opportunity to mention Stone Enterprises came up, I would try to take it.

I rushed home, changed into casual jeans and a cream blouse, and called an Uber. By the time I reached the bustling high street, it was almost eight o’clock.

When I walked into the dimly lit bistro, I spotted Leon right away, sitting in a booth near the center.

When Leon saw me, his eyes lit up and he stood to greet me.

“Lee,” I breathed, throwing my arms around him.

“Haley bear.” He laughed, hugging me back.

“Can we not fight again, please?” I wiped away a tear that had slipped out. “I really don’t like fighting with you.”

“Ditto, kid,” he said softly.

I slid into the booth and made myself comfortable. The bistro smelled amazing and my stomach growled in response. I glanced between the menu and Leon as he shrugged off his jacket.

For the first half of the meal, we acted as if nothing had happened, as if everything was normal. We joked and reminisced about the crazy things our mom used to say.

Then, when I heard him sigh, I knew what was coming. It was inevitable, right?

“I’m sorry for getting mad at you, Haley,” Leon said calmly. “I just didn’t know how to handle the situation.”

“You could have listened to me.” My voice started to crack. When did I become so emotional?

“Put yourself in my shoes. I really like her, Hale. And she was upset. I…I panicked.” He ran his hand through his hair.

“She lied,” I said.

“No, she didn’t,” he replied too quickly.

“Leon, she did. I didn’t tell her you weren’t interested in her,” I said, my brow furrowed. “Why would I?”

Leon just shrugged, looking a mix of upset and confused.

“She mentioned that you’re always worried about me and that we”—I waved my hand between us—“are too close.” I leaned back, letting out a sarcastic laugh.

“Sounds like a misunderstanding, Haley. She’s still upset, but she’s willing to meet you and clear things up.”

“For you, I’ll make peace with her.”

“Thank you.” He nodded, relief washing over his face.

“I just want you to be happy,” I said, taking a sip of my red wine.

“And I want the same for you. I can’t bear the thought of anyone hurting you.”

“I understand, Leon. But that’s my battle to fight. Not yours. Okay?”

“I get it. It’s just… I still see you as the little girl who climbed trees, wore braces, and always did her homework on time. You know?”

“Well, I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m all grown up.”

“I know,” Leon said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “You’re happy, aren’t you, Haley?”

“Yes. I am,” I replied, truthfully.

“You haven’t seen that jerk around, have you?”

“Who?” I asked, playing dumb.

“Jackson,” he spat.

“No,” I said, shaking my head.

“Good. That asshole finally got the message,” Leon said, signaling the waiter for the check. “He really thought he could mess with me through you.”

“Hmm.” I twirled my wine glass, hoping he’d change the subject. I couldn’t bring myself to talk about Jax.

“Did you know his dad’s dying and all he cares about is taking over the company?” I wanted to know more. “Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know. Some people are just evil, Haley. Especially when money’s involved.”

His words echoed in my ears, but they didn’t sit right with me. Jax was a jerk, but I didn’t sense that deep-seated evil. I realized I wasn’t scared of him like everyone else seemed to be.

Should I be? Am I falling into his trap?

Who was I kidding? I was already ensnared.

When I got home that night, I changed into my comfy sweatshirt and shorts. My mind was a whirlwind. I was glad Leon and I had resolved our issues, but it somehow made things worse.

Now I felt even guiltier for what I was doing behind his back. When I was mad at him, it didn’t feel so bad. The more he expressed his hatred for Jax, the harder it was for me to tell him the truth.

A noise from the kitchen startled me. I grabbed a large umbrella as a makeshift weapon and cautiously approached the kitchen. “Who’s there?”

Another noise made me shriek, my heart pounding. Taking a deep breath, I rushed into the kitchen.

My jaw dropped when I saw Jax rummaging through my fridge. He was wearing a long brown trench coat, his hair a wild mess.

“Jax,” I called out. He turned around and smiled.

“Put the umbrella down, Nurse,” he slurred, stumbling toward me.

“You’re drunk.” I grimaced, watching him struggle to stay upright.

His knees gave out and he collapsed onto the floor.

“Did you break into my house?” I stood over him, fighting the urge to help him up.

“I’ll fix it,” he grumbled. “I’ll write you a check.” He managed to pull himself up.

I followed him into the living room where he collapsed onto the couch. His chest heaved with each breath. He looked lost.

“Jax.” I sat next to him. He was staring at the ceiling. “What’s happening?”

He closed his eyes. “Keep talking to me,” he whispered. “I needed to hear your voice.”

“But why are you here?”

“Please, Haley.” He sat up and looked at me. His dark eyes were pleading. “Please.”

“Well. Okay, then.” I said, unsure and confused. I took a shaky breath as Jax leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. His hand was shaking, his knuckles were red and raw, like he’d been in a fight.

Seeing him like this, so broken and lost, it stirred something within me. I couldn’t explain it. I wanted to protect him. I wanted to heal him. I wanted to take away his pain.

“I went through all the old documents and found some discrepancies, like gaps in the figures and dates. But we can discuss that another time.”

“Hm,” he grunted, softly.

My hand moved on its own to brush a stray strand of hair from his forehead. He moaned in response. I kept my hand in his hair, gently combing through it with my fingers.

“It’s my best friend’s birthday next week. I’m planning a surprise Harry Potter party for her at my apartment.” I scooted a little closer to him. “I hope I can pull it off.”

Jax smiled. “You should dress up like the hot redhead. I’ll let you play with my wand.”

“Yeah, right.” I snorted. “You’re not invited.”

Jax groaned as I continued to run my fingers through his hair.

“I haven’t told Leon about working for you,” I confessed.

Jax’s eyes opened and he looked at me. He must have seen the guilt and worry on my face.

“I don’t get why you stress over such trivial stuff,” Jax grumbled.

“It’s not trivial,” I shot back. “I’m keeping this from him.”

“He’s an adult. He’ll deal with it.”

“He’s my brother!” I leaned back in my chair.

“And what a damn shame that is,” Jax muttered, clearly annoyed.

“You’re unbelievable.” I shook my head in disbelief.

“Thanks.” Jax grabbed my plush blanket, made himself cozy, and shut his eyes again. “Listen, Haley. I know you love working at Stone’s. You absolutely adore it. So why the guilt? If your brother truly loves you, he’ll want you to be happy.”

Jax had a point, but it didn’t erase the fact that I was betraying Leon. Doing what I promised I wouldn’t, keeping secrets from him. It was all just a colossal mess.

“He’s been like a father to me,” I finally said.

“Father.” Jax scoffed. “You don’t need a damn father. They’re useless.”

“Tell me about your dad, Jax.”

“Why do you want to know about that old jerk?”

“Jax!” I cringed. “He’s dying.”

Jax opened his eyes and I saw the anger he held within them. “Good riddance.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“You need to stay out of my business, Haley,” Jax warned. “You seem to know more than you let on.”

“Those are things that I’ve heard. I work for you, of course I’m going to find this stuff out. My brother knows things too.”

“I should knock your damn brother out.”

“How dare you!”

Jax laughed. “I’m sorry, it’s just you’re trying to sound all angry—” He laughed again. “It’s so damn cute.” He put his hands up in mock surrender. “Alright, I’m sorry, Haley. Okay? I didn’t mean that about your sweet, saintly brother.”

“What are you doing here, Jax?” I asked with a sigh.

“I don’t damn know. I was at the bar. One of the barmaids kindly offered to suck my dick, but I turned her down. And for some damn ridiculous reason, I found myself here. All I wanted was to hear your voice, smell your hair.”

I shifted uncomfortably at his words, trying my hardest not to blush. My heart rate had picked up and I couldn’t stop the heat making its way through my body.

“Taste your sweet pussy again.”

“You need to stop,” I whispered.

“Are you going to stop me, Haley?” His dark eyes locked me in place. His hand wrapped around my lower back and he pulled me on top of him. My legs straddled his hips. “You’re so scared of doing the wrong damn thing. What about what you want?”

His thumb brushed against my bottom lip roughly. “You want this, don’t you?” He fisted my hair and pulled back, exposing my neck. His nose touched and tickled my skin, trailing down to my collarbone.

I breathed out quietly, biting back a moan.

“Do you know the things I want to do to you? To your body?” His hot tongue caressed my bare skin.

I closed my eyes.

“The things I could teach you, Haley.” He licked his way up to my earlobe.

I shivered with delight.

“You want this, don’t you?” His lips were now inches from my own.

“No,” I whispered. “I can’t.”

Jax’s large hands came around my waist, then he positioned me above his hard erection and moved my body to grind on him. His hardness rubbed against my pussy under my shorts.

I moaned softly, trying to stop myself from losing control. I began to move on my own, grinding against him slowly, sensually.

Jax threw my sweatshirt over my head, exposing my white camisole top.

We stared at each other, breathing each other in.

“Take what you want, Haley,” he whispered.

I became greedy, chasing the pleasure as I moved on top of him. I threw my hands around his neck, pulling him in. My lips were an inch from his.

“Take it,” he said before I touched his lips with my own.

The feel of his hot mouth on mine caused fireworks to go off in my head, my heart and my stomach. I kissed him softly, moaning into him, breathing him in. My hand caressed the back of his neck and head.

I hadn’t realized how much I’d wanted this until this moment. I could still feel his hard bulge beneath my shorts and suddenly felt so overdressed. I planted sweet kisses along his jaw and down his neck, watching him close his eyes with pleasure. When I pulled away, my face was flushed my body quivering with need.

Jax opened his eyes and smirked. He was so beautiful it hurt. “My turn.” He groaned, catching me by surprise when he caught my lip between his teeth. He kissed me harder, stronger, more passionately.

His tongue entered my mouth, exploring me. I sucked on it, trying to find a rhythm to this invasion. Soon I was lost in our own world. Jax had taken me over. My heart fluttered each time he moaned, each time he stroked my hair, each time his tongue flicked mine.

“Fuck, Haley.” He moaned, tearing himself away from me. “I have to get the fuck out of here.”

“What? Now?” I asked breathlessly as he stood up.

“Yes. Now,” he answered desperately.

“Was it something I did?”

“Fuck! Haley, just—” He looked like he was battling with himself. “Move out of my way.”

I stepped aside, stunned at what was happening. My eyes began to water and my swollen lip trembled. He opened the front door and slammed it shut behind him.

Tears started to stream down my face as I crumbled to my knees. It felt like I was gasping for air, as if he had taken a piece of me with him when he left.

It was undeniable that my emotions for Jax were intensifying, but I didn’t have the strength to handle them.

He made my heart pound, he made me feel more alive than ever. But to him, this was all just a game.

***