CHAPTER THIRTEEN: in which he nearly fails- JAMESON part 2

Present day

JAMESON

“Axel Sexton, so good to see you again.” Up close, she was even more beautiful. Her green eyes sparkled and her mouth curved into a genuine smile. Whatever beef Axel had against her, she held none for him.

My friend morphed his face into a nondescript mask. The tick in his jaw, however, gave away his dislike. “Hey, Shondra. How’s it going?”

Shondra’s beautiful smile widened, exposing her even white teeth. “Good, good.” She rocked back on her pumps and shot me a questioning glance, clearly waiting for an introduction.

Axel, it seemed, wasn’t in the mood.

“Jameson, I’ll catch you later.” My best friend, my brother, left us without another word. His abrupt departure caused an awkward silence in the space he’d vacated.

After a few seconds, I took the plunge and introduced myself. “Hi, I’m Jameson Thijssen.”

Shondra’s green eyes popped. She shifted her hand in mine and stepped back, looking me up and down.

“Jameson, Jameson. You look different with your glasses.” She squeezed my hand. “I’ve only seen pictures, but the real thing ... my, my, no wonder.”

Did she know me?

Her words made me wary, as if I were waiting for the sound of thunder after the bright flash of light. My hand grew clammier than Trevor’s under her regard, and I disengaged from her clasp.

“Have we met?” I asked, lifting a questioning eyebrow.

Shondra tossed her long hair over her shoulder and planted her hands on her wide hips. “Oh, don’t mind me.” She fluttered her lashes. I lost my train of thought. “How do you know Axel, Jameson?

Except for Vegas, I wasn’t normally loquacious with strangers. Shondra’s seductive aura, like that of a siren’s song, prompted me to speak. “Axel and I went to college together.”

She gave me a sage look and stepped forward, closer into my space. “Oh,” she said, her voice lilting, “that Ivy league thing.”

“Yep,” I said, shifting my stance from one foot to the other. Only Vegas had made me more nervous, and this woman was a close second.

What was it about her?

Shondra gave me an impish smile. “Is Axel always such an ass?”

A disquiet tingle rose within me. I felt the need to defend Axel like I had defended her against him. “Normally, he’s a good guy, but it seems you are the exception. Why is that?”

Shondra looked off into space and her eyes turned down as if she were witnessing a tragedy. “Your friend Axel is a little boy accustomed to getting his way, especially with women.” Her eyes changed into the scorching color of GOT’s wildfire and she shifted them on me. “When he finally grows up, he’ll be one hell of a man.”

I silently agreed, sensing something bad had happened between her and him. I doubted whether I would find out the “what”. Axel never ‘kiss and tells,’ and I respected that. As close as we were, I never told him about Vegas. Some things were better kept private.

But there would be no more of that. I needed Axel’s help in dislodging Shelia from my life. Thinking of our long-standing friendship and what it meant to me, my words to Shondra flew from my mouth, coming out a lot harsher than I intended.

“I guess you must not know him too well because he already is a hell of a man.” I bite back the rest, I want to say. I didn’t know this woman, and without getting into his personal details, I doubted she would understand why Axel was the way he was.

Shondra let out a huff, her round globes rising. “I’m sure he is—when he is not chasing skirts all over Chicago.”

Is she one of his conquests?

Shondra didn’t look like Axel’s normal type. He went for models, actresses and...that was it. All one-nighters from my understanding, but then again, I didn’t know for sure. Since our sophomore year at Harvard, and that incident with Tabitha Moore, Axel had been tight-lipped with his sexual prowess.

“Look, Shondra, Axel is an adult. If he wants to play the field who are we to judge?”

“Do you play the field, Jae?”

WTF?

The conversation had just hit the outer limits.

“Call me Jameson, please.” I said, fixing her with a curious stare. “And I’m married.”

For all intents and purposes.

I hadn’t had sex since Vegas, mainly because I hadn’t felt such a connection to anyone, and before her, Shelia had been my first and only for the three years of our marriage.

And although Vegas didn’t know it, she would be my last.

Shondra gave me another coy smile, and my slight anger dissipated under her engaging charm.

“Being married doesn’t stop attraction, does it?”

Heading into dangerous territory, but I want to see where it goes.

“No,” I answered shortly, my mind firmly on Vegas. “It doesn’t”

Shondra moved lightning fast. Before I could blink, she was a fingertip away. Honeyed breath fanned my face. Her perfume, flowers and musk danced in my airways. Shondra’s large breasts grazed my chest and the outline of her pebbled nipples revealed themselves under the silk of her dress.

Damn.

If I didn’t have Vegas on my mind, I would drag this woman into the nearest darkened space and give her what she so badly wanted.

Shondra looked up at me from beneath her lashes, a small smile on her lips. “You’re attracted to me, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.” Some inner voice told me not to lie to this woman, so I bared it all. “You are beautiful, confident, and sexy as hell. But like I said, I’m married.”

She cupped her chin and tapped a manicured nail on her cheek. “Hmm. You keep saying you’re married, but you say nothing about love. Interesting.”

Shondra stepped away, giving me breathing space. I nearly sagged in relief that the temptation she presented had faded. Only with Vegas had the pull towards a woman been so irresistible. Though with Shondra, it was as if she were excreting some sort of pheromone that had me under a spell.

Go. Now. Before you do something stupid...

“Uh, it was nice meeting you Shondra, excuse me.” Heady with the victory over the little brain in my dick, I took a step back in preparation to run for the hills.

Shondra’s soft voice stopped me just as I reached the door. “You passed my test, Jameson. You are welcome to see Vegas in my home, anytime you wish.”