Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Strolling into Dax’s office the following afternoon, I gave him a little wave as I half-greeted-half-sung, “Surprise.”

Sitting behind his desk, looking the emperor of his domain, he locked those mismatched orbs on me, the set of his mouth softening. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

I closed his door and then walked toward his desk. “Of course you didn’t. It wouldn’t have been a surprise otherwise.”

His gaze dipped to the plastic bag I was carrying. “What’s this?”

“Grub. I spoke to Benjamin,” I added, referring to his delightful PA. “He said you didn’t have a lunch meeting today and would be here, so …” I lifted my shoulders, feeling a teensy bit awkward at the thought that he might well dislike my having appeared uninvited. But something warm and intense seeped into his gaze, relaxing my insides.

Dax pushed out of his chair. “I see. And what inspired this?”

“Nothing in particular. It just occurred to me that wives sometimes do this sort of thing. I can’t neglect my civic duties any more than you can neglect yours.” Or, more to the point, I’d quite simply wanted to see him and I saw no need to fight it.

He hummed and ushered me over to the lounge area. “You succeeded in surprising me. Not many people manage to do that. Yet, you do it frequently.”

Resting the deli bag on the coffee table, I felt my mouth curve. “I admit, I find some enjoyment in keeping you on your toes.” It was only fair. He kept me on mine.

His lips hitched up. “I’d sensed that much for myself.”

“For the record, do you class my lunchtime visit a good surprise or a bad surprise?” I asked, keeping my voice casual, not wanting to show just how much it would sting if the answer happened to be “bad.”

He dipped his head slightly, his eyes diving into mine, gleaming with something I couldn’t quite name that made my belly flutter. “Good.”

Relief warming my insides, I gave him a winning smile. “Excellent answer.” A whoosh of air sounded as I sank onto a leather chair.

He claimed the seat across from me, reminding me of the last time I was here. So much had happened since then that it felt like a lifetime ago, but not in a negative way. It was more as if my life now felt split into Before Dax and After Dax.

“So,” I began, “did you make anyone cry today?”

“Cry?” he echoed, his brow puckering.

“Yeah. You know. Sob. Weep. Bawl. Wail.”

He responded with a flat stare. “I know what ‘cry’ means. I simply have no idea why you think I might reduce someone to such a state. I’m not your father.”

Snickering, I rummaged into the deli bag and pulled out two bottles of water. I could not deny that my dad was renowned for making his employees blubber. “You think I’m fooled because you’re all ease and charm toward your coworkers? Please. You make a point of knowing them all by name and making them feel ‘seen’ so that they’ll be even more scared to disappoint you than they already were.” I set the bottles on the table. “And it works.”

Mirth swimming in his eyes, he rubbed at his jaw. “Hmm. Well, as far as I know, there have been no tears shed among my employees today. But it’s early yet.”

“Somehow, I knew you were gonna add that last bit.” I dug out a club sandwich and handed it to him. “Here.”

“Thank you. How’s your day going so far?”

“Pretty well.” I fished my own sandwich out of the bag and then unwrapped it. “I spent all morning in my office, as usual.”

“So did I,” he told me, nabbing his drink. “I have some external meetings coming up, though.” He unscrewed the cap from his bottle. “What are you doing this afternoon?”

“I have a meeting with a museum manager who wants to throw a cut-the-red-ribbon event to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit.” I took a bite out of my sandwich, almost groaning in delight as the tastes of eggs, cress, and mayonnaise exploded on my tongue. “I also have to meet with a wedding photographer, but that shouldn’t take long.”

Between sips of our drinks and bites of our food, we chatted about this and that. It was nice. Different. And I regretted not having done it sooner.

I hadn’t been sure how he’d respond to my showing up like this without warning. I’d almost called him earlier to check if he’d be okay with it. But I’d decided to instead take the chance and surprise him. I was glad I had, and I made a mental note to do it again at some point in the future.

Once done with our lunch, we used the wet wipes to clean our mouths and hands. I tossed all the trash into the deli bag and then looked at Dax, about to ask if he wanted one of the complimentary mints. Instead, I stilled … because a heat was building in his eyes.

“What?” I asked, my stomach doing a little flip.

He drummed his fingers on the armrest, his focus solely on me. “I was just remembering when you walked into my office months ago. Remembering how I wanted to bend you over my desk and fuck you right here.” His fingers went still. “I’ve decided I’m going to do it now instead.”

Before I knew it, I was behind his desk, my front plastered to its surface, my skirt hiked up around my waist, and he was pounding into me like he was in the grips of a goddamn sexual fever.

I was so high on the bliss coursing through me, making me wind tighter and tighter, that I was barely aware of the buzzing sound that came from his office phone until he ceased thrusting and pressed a button.

“Yes?” he asked flatly, nothing in his voice giving away that he was smack bam in the middle of fucking. Hell, he didn’t even sound out of breath.

“Sir,” began Benjamin, “A Mr. Grayden Ackehurst is at the reception desk downstairs. He wishes to speak with you.”

The words sliced through my pleasure-filled daze, making me go stock-still.

“Does he now?” Dax muttered, rearing his hips back, withdrawing his cock in a smooth glide until only the thick head was inside me. “Tell them to let him up.”

Let him up? Ugh.Both frustrated and disappointed that we’d have to stop, I reluctantly began to straighten. But a hand pressed down on my nape, pushing me back down against the cool wood, eliciting a surprised gasp from me.

“No, we’re going to finish,” Dax rumbled, shoving his cock deep. “When he walks in here, you’re going to have my come inside you.” He resumed fucking in and out of me, his angle perfect, his thrusts hard, his pace wild.

I grabbed at the edges of his desk to anchor myself as the tension in my belly built and swirled and contracted. A hand sank into my hair and roughly wrenched up my head. He said something, but I didn’t hear it, because my orgasm chose that moment to swallow me whole.

He slapped his palm over my mouth to muffle my scream and powered into me harder and faster. With a grunt-growl-groan, he wedged his cock unbearably deep as his own release burst over him.

Normally, I’d have gone pliant against the desk as I recovered from my orgasm, but I didn’t have time for that. As soon as Dax withdrew, I mentally pulled myself together, straightened up, and then turned to face him. “Just so you know,” I said, panting, “I’m making a mental note to bring you lunch at least once a week from here on out.”

His mouth quirking, Dax zipped up his fly, once again fully presentable since he hadn’t so much as opened a shirt button, let alone removed any clothing. “I’ll make sure I’m available.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” I made quick work of righting my clothes and snatched my panties—the only layer I’d shed—from his office chair. “What could Grayden want?”

He gave an uncaring shrug. “No idea.”

“Is it normal for him to show up here?”

“No.” Dax smoothed a hand down his tie. “He’s never done it before.”

Huh. “It’s kind of weird, then.” Especially since, considering Dax recently gave him a verbal warning to stay away from me that would not have washed down well, Grayden would surely be in no way inclined to seek him out.

“Hmm. It would be best if you—”

“Don’t ask me to leave.” I lifted a hand. “If it turns out he’s here on business or something of the like, I’ll go straight away and let you both get on with it. But I want to first make sure he isn’t here to confront you or cause problems.”

Tipping his head to the side, Dax let his gaze roam over my face. “Always determined to have my back.”

“It’ll be easier for you to not fight it.”

“As it happens, I don’t wish to fight it.”

“Now that’s a great response.” I took a step toward the private bathroom attached to his office.

“Don’t clean up yet.”

I tilted my head in question, confused. But then his earlier words came back to me … When he walks in here, you’re going to have my come inside you.

I hadn’t taken it as anything other than a comment said in the heat of the moment. Until right now. I studied his expression. “You’re serious?” He looked it.

“Humor me.”

A knock right then came at the door.

Muttering a curse, I swiftly pulled on my underwear, ignoring the light of amusement in his eyes.

“Yes?” Dax called out.

Benjamin pushed open the door, a placid smile on his face. “Sir, Mr. Ackehurst is here to see you.”

“Send him in,” said Dax.

Grayden entered with purposeful strides, his spine straight, his shoulders back, his head up, his expression all-business.

His step faltered at the sight of me, and the reserved look on his face cracked like a frozen lake. “Addie,” he said in surprise.

I absently smoothed a hand down the back of my unkempt hair. It was impossible not to feel awkward right now while I stood here freshly fucked, my knees rubbery, my mind a little sex-dazed.

A muscle in Grayden’s cheek ticked, and his jaw turned to granite. Well, it didn’t take a highly observant person to sense what had happened here before he arrived—my skirt was all wrinkled, my cheeks were all flushed, and my eyes probably still had a post-orgasm glaze going on.

Benjamin looked from me to Dax, nodded politely, and then left.

The sound of the door closing seemed to jolt Grayden into action. Clearing his throat, he wiped all emotion from his face, sliced his gaze back to Dax, and took a few more steps into the room.

His own expression equally neutral, Dax stared back at him. There was nothing at all welcoming in his eyes or posture. Or even unwelcoming. There was just … indifference.

Looking at the two men now, it was hard to believe they’d once been friends, even though it had been back when they were teenagers. They were total opposites nowadays.

Grayden straightened his tie. “I didn’t realize you had company. Actually, it’s good that Addison is here. This matter concerns both of you, after all.”

I blinked. It was strange hearing Grayden refer to me as “Addison” rather than use an abbreviated form of my name—he’d never done it before, not once.

Why this “matter” would relate to myself and Dax, I didn’t know. God, if this was about Felicity or Blaise again …

“What do you want?” Dax asked him, very little interest in his tone.

Grayden planted his feet. “Mimi asked me to speak with you on her behalf.”

I frowned, confused. “Mimi?”

Dax glanced down at me. “He’s her lawyer.”

Oh. I hadn’t known that.

“She relayed to me the conversation she had with Addison,” Grayden told him.

“She did, did she?” asked Dax, passing by me as he rounded the desk to stand a few feet away from his visitor.

“Yes. She feels bad about it.”

I pulled a face. Unlikely.

“She should feel bad,” said Dax.

“I don’t dispute that,” Grayden assured him. “Neither would Mimi.”

Beyond doubtful and in a whole new realm of skeptical, I folded my arms. “If that’s the case, why hasn’t she so much as sent an apologetic text to him?”

Grayden seemed to grudgingly slide his gaze to me. “She feels that what she did warrants a face-to-face apology. But she knows that Dax is too angry to see her, and he made it clear that she isn’t to approach you again.” His focus returned to Dax. “She asked that I be a voice for her; express her regrets and pass on her request for you to hear her out.”

Ah. Given that this had to be the last place he wanted to be, Grayden probably hated that Mimi had asked this of him, but he’d come anyway. It was a reminder that, though he might have been something of a pain recently, he was actually a good guy. Considerate. Supportive. Always there for his clients. He just had a habit of recklessly tossing around promises like they were candy.

Dax twisted his mouth. “Well, I’d say you’ve earned your fee, then.” He cast a look at the door—a gesture for Grayden to leave.

Instead, Grayden sighed and gave him an imploring look. “Will you at least consider meeting with Mimi? I understand that you’re angry with her, but all she wants is the chance to apologize. You’re important to her, Dax. There aren’t many people who are. She doesn’t want to lose you.”

“Then she shouldn’t have fucked with my wife.” Dax gave a slight shrug. “Simple.”

Grayden pressed his lips together for a long moment. “Mimi is confused. Hurting.” He shook his head slightly, adding, “She doesn’t understand why you would marry someone out of the blue the way you did. Maybe if you explained, maybe if you sat her down and told her about the pact, she’d feel better.”

A line appeared between Dax’s brows. “I don’t need to explain anything to Mimi.” He paused, looking Grayden up and down. “I don’t know what it is with you and her, but both of you seem to believe that my marriage is somehow your business. It isn’t.”

Amen.

Grayden’s eyes flared, and he looked as though he’d bark a retort. But then he pulled in a steadying breath and unclenched his jaw. “Have a heart, Dax. Mimi would have been your sister-in-law had fate not been such a bitch. She’s not asking for anything other than maybe a few minutes of your time. She just wants to mend things.”

Dax very slowly cocked his head. “Do you know what she said to Addison?”

Grayden averted his eyes. “Mimi gave me a rundown of it, yes.”

“Then why would you think I’d feel inclined to pander to her feelings?”

A good question for sure.

Grayden shot him a sardonic look. “Let’s be fair here, neither you nor Addison are all that wounded. The things Mimi said would have hurt a couple deeply in love, but that’s not the situation we have here. You simply wish to make a silent but firm statement that you won’t tolerate certain behavior toward your …” He trailed off.

Dax lifted a taunting brow. “My, what?”

Hesitating, Grayden coughed into his fist. “Look, I appreciate that you and Addison are married—”

“Do you, though? Because that’s not the impression I get from you.” Dax took a single step toward him. “Nor do I get the impression that you’ve acknowledged to yourself that you no longer have any rights to her. No contact—that was what you promised her when you left her. Correct?”

“Yes,” Grayden gritted out.

“But you didn’t stick to that promise, did you? You kept finding excuses to see or contact her, because you didn’t want her to forget you and move on too fast. Even when I later entered the picture, you didn’t do the smart thing and fully drop off her radar. And now here you are, yet again involving yourself in business regarding her.”

Grayden’s head flinched back as his eyes widened. “Whoa, I’m here on behalf of my client—nothing more.”

Dax’s expression called him a liar. “You’re not truly here for Mimi’s sake. The truth is that you don’t like being on the outside of Addison’s life. You’ll use any excuse to somehow touch it; to remind her that you exist. And I have to tell you, Grayden, I’m fucking done with it.”

“That’s not—”

“It’s time you let her go,” Dax stated, his tone nonnegotiable. “I get that you’ll struggle with it—maybe even for a while. But you’re going to need to push past that. Some men might get off on others coveting their woman, but I don’t.”

A dark spite surged to life behind Grayden’s eyes. His cheeks reddened, his jaw hardened, his breaths came faster. “Well, you know what I don’t like? I don’t like when a guy I once considered a friend marries my ex.”

“She was mine first.”

“Yours?” An ugly scoff came from Grayden. “You two had a fling years ago. That hardly counts. And you might now be her legal spouse, but that’s just paperwork. It doesn’t equal a relationship. She’s no more yours now than she was back then. She’s not in any way important you. No. You might have married her, but I love her.”

I gaped at the sheer nerve of this motherfucker. He’d broken his promises to me. Walked away. Reconciled with his ex. Defended said ex and her son when they recently screwed with me. And now he was claiming he loved me? Honest to God?

“Don’t give me that shit.” Dax shot him a look that was a perfect blend of impatience and disgust. “You don’t love her.”

Grayden’s brows snapped together. “Fuck that, Dax, I—”

“In fact, I don’t think you ever did.”

His mouth dropping open, Grayden jabbed a finger at him. “That is not true.” His gaze cut to me. “You know that is not true.”

“If you honestly cared so much about Addison, you wouldn’t have given her up.”

His eyes flying back to Dax, Grayden dropped his hand to his side. “I went back to Felicity for my kids’ sake. Nothing else could have made me leave Addison. Only my girls.”

“So you say. And maybe that’s true. But you share Felicity’s bed, don’t you? Share the bed of a woman you know made a play to destroy the happiness you had with another.”

Grayden spluttered. “It wasn’t like that.”

“It was exactly like that,” Dax asserted. “If you loved Addison, you’d be hating Felicity for what she did. You’d loathe her for making that play; loathe that it worked; resent every minute you spent with her. You wouldn’t be able to kiss her, touch her, sleep with her.”

Grayden stared at him, lost. He’d never looked at the situation that way before, I realized. The truth was … neither had I. But yes, Dax was right. And the fact that none of this hurt me really showed just how totally over Grayden I was.

“W-what am I supposed to do?” Grayden demanded, defensive. “Take a vow of celibacy?” His gaze sliced back to me. “He’s twisting things, Addie. It’s … I … You know he’s wrong. You know I love you. Don’t you?”

Not bothering to hide my doubt, I steadily stared back at him.

His lips flattened. “You can’t really agree with him on this.”

“Of course she can, because she isn’t stupid.” Dax took another step toward him, his eyes twin points of intensity. “We live with our choices, Grayden. You made yours—it wasn’t her. Like it or not, she’s mine. Any baby that grows in her belly will be mine. The come that’s right now leaking out of her is mine. You have not one thing to do with her. Focus on your kids and the ex-wife you went back to. They’re the ones who need your time and attention.”

It was really wrong how much the whole M word dazzled my hormones when it came out of Dax’s mouth. I should be used to it right now; shouldn’t get all tingly hearing it anymore. But no, I hadn’t yet built an immunity to it.

A crimson flush swept up Grayden’s neck and face. “I hear a lot of ‘She’s mine.’ You know what I don’t hear? I don’t hear you say you care about her. Can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me, hand on heart, that Addie means anything to you? Can you? Seriously?”

Dax leaned toward him slightly. “Yeah. Yeah, I fucking can.” Quiet words that carried the punch of truth and made my heart squeeze.

Grayden’s mouth snapped shut so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d cracked a tooth.

“Now get out of my office,” Dax told him. “And if Mimi tries sending you to do any similar errands, don’t bother obliging her. I have no time for you or her.”

Grayden dragged in a rattling breath. He looked at me, his eyes tormented and his face expectant … like he thought any moment now I’d speak up and insist that, no, he loved me.

Yeah, nah.

Finally, he muttered a curse and then barreled out of the office, not bothering to close the door behind him.

I blew out a long breath. “That was intense, to say the least. I must admit, I was not expecting Mimi to make this move. Has she used an intermediary before?”

Staring at the open door, Dax gave his head a small shake. “No, though I suppose it’s possible that she made the request of someone. This could simply have been the first time anyone agreed.”

I doubted many people would have felt inclined to try involving themselves in Dax’s personal business this way, especially in a matter so sensitive. But, as he’d already covered, Grayden had an ulterior motive. He’d wanted to poke into my life, resenting that he was on the outside of it.

“It’s weird that she sent him to you,” I remarked. “I know you and Grayden were once friends, but it’s no secret that you’re currently at odds with him, his partner, and his stepson. She’ll be well-aware that you wouldn’t want to see Grayden. I have to therefore question where she saw the wisdom in having him advocate on her behalf.”

Dax turned to fully face me. “The answer is: She didn’t. She sent him here because she’s pissed and felt this was a good way to annoy me.”

“Playing games again,” I muttered. Someone really needed to tell her that she was a grown woman. “At least Grayden should now stay off the scene. After all you just said to him, I don’t believe he’ll try contacting me again. You gave him a wake-up call.”

Dax pursed his lips. “I don’t think it was so much what I said that got through to him. It was what you didn’t say. It was that you didn’t step between us, speak in his defense, or swear that I had it all wrong.”

I felt my brow crease. “There was nothing to say in his defense. He was way out of line. And full of shit. In any case, I wouldn’t have spoken up for him. My loyalty is to you.”

Dax’s gaze brushed over my face, warm and unwavering. “Yeah, I know,” he said with an easy confidence.

I swallowed, my throat thickening and my chest squeezing. There were times I thought the day would never come that he fully trusted I’d always stand by and with him. And now here it was, and it hit me far deeper than I’d thought it would or could.

Motherfucker, I was falling hardfor this man. Seriously, seriously hard. And fast.