When he broke the tree line, riding into the open, the sun blinded him. Before his eyes adjusted, his name filled the air in a chorus of shrill screams.

“Oh my God, it’s Bentley Chamberlin! Bentley! Over here, Bentley!”

The name took him off guard. Jax hadn’t heard anyone scream Bentley in so long, he experienced a complete disconnect of past and present, reality and memory.

By the time he reached Ty, the true movie star was back up on his horse and local cops were physically holding fences in place against the surging crowd.

The commotion freaked Jax’s horse. The stallion pranced in circles, rearing. Great drama for the fans, might make for some stellar photographs too, even kept a steady adrenaline drip to Jax’s blood, but it also wore him the hell out. This horse was higher strung than a wannabe starlet at the Academy Awards.

“I love you, Bentley,” came from women in the crowd.

“We miss you,” shrieked someone from a different direction.

“When are you making another movie?” another woman screamed.

Ty turned his horse in a circle, waving to the crowd. “Time to get back to work.”

He and Jax cantered along the fence line together to continued, but fading, screams.

Ty’s shit-eating grin didn’t sit right with Jax. “Still think she doesn’t know you, Chamberlin?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to think anymore. Everything he thought he’d come to believe over the last twelve hours was tangled in his head.

They slowed to a trot as they neared the edges of the filming area.

“I’m not telling you not to see her, bro,” Ty said. “And she may very well be as sweet as you think. But we both know how these women operate, and you’ve taken enough hits for the team. I’d like you to see what’s coming for a change.”

“Ty,” Russ yelled. “What did I tell you about sneaking out to meet your girlfriends? You’re looking at the ceiling of your room the rest of the night, boy.”

“Aw, Dad…” Ty slumped his shoulders in a perfect imitation of a scolded child and walked his horse forward. “I didn’t plan it. She was just…there. I didn’t even kiss her.”

The rest of their exchange dimmed as Jax’s mind drifted to Lexi. To everything that had passed between them. But he couldn’t make any solid truth out of anything.

And even if she was still at the hotel, even if she would see him again tonight, Jax doubted anything would help him see what was coming with this woman. She seemed to prefer keeping him in the dark.

Twelve

Jax stared out the side window of the Lincoln from the backseat on his return to Spencer’s. The driver was probably in his midseventies, courteous and quiet. Which worked great for Jax. Because he needed to think.

He looked down at his phone and read the message Lexi had finally sent around five p.m.

LEXI: Sorry it took me so long to answer. The meeting went long—you know how women can talk—I went shopping after, picked up a surprise for you and then fell asleep when I should have been working. Thank you for leaving your jacket. I napped in it—naked of course. Can’t stop thinking about you. Can’t wait to hear about your exciting day. I’ll be waiting.

At the end of the message, she gave him her cell number, one he could actually see on his phone, and said she’d removed the secretive application that had hidden it from view.

“Shit,” he whispered and dropped his head back against the seat.

There were half a dozen sweet comments in that one message. And now every damn one was tainted by the revelation of just how instantly recognizable he still was. He had to either confront the issue head-on or drop it and let things play out, and he couldn’t decide which.

He hadn’t told Ty about the message. Had been looking for an opportunity to get Russ alone, but when he’d found himself standing at the cooler with the man, chatting about the loss of the Bond contract, Jax hadn’t been able to bring Lexi up.

He pocketed his phone and looked out the window again. The sun was setting. Jax was exhausted. His muscles ached. His ass was killing him. Sex would be an interesting proposition, though he’d make it work if…

If what?

“This is ridiculous.”

He rested his elbow on the edge of the window and his forehead in his hand. He made small circles on his temples. Twenty-four hours ago, he hadn’t even been interested in fucking anyone. Twelve hours ago, he was perfectly fine with a simple one-night stand. Now he was considering not sleeping with a woman who’d kept him hard all day because of the possibility she knew who he was?

“I’m insane.”

He pressed his fingers to his eyes. He was just tired. Stressed. Still reeling over what Veronica had done. Hell, hard to put it behind him when everyone kept bringing it up. What difference did it make if Lexi wanted something from him, anyway? She was great. It wouldn’t kill him to introduce her to someone or help her out in some other way.

“Fuck.” The thought made his stomach knot.

Yeah, actually, it would. What would kill him was knowing she’d come on to him with the favor in mind, not because she’d been attracted to him. He was sick of being used. Worse, of being fooled into being used.

The car slowed, and Jax decided he’d let things play out. Take everything one step at a time.

He tipped the driver and dragged his filthy, sweaty self through the pristine, marbled lobby. He felt like a snail leaving a trail and darted self-conscious glances toward the sunken lounge and dimly lit bar. A number of beautiful women dressed the tables, a few of those blonde. But of course he had no way of knowing if any were Lexi.

He vowed to take the stairs if anyone else got on the elevator with him. No use in subjecting others to this sight or smell—but the car was empty, and Jax stepped in. He glanced at his reflection on the mirrored wall, winced at the grime, the way his hair stuck out all over, the cut on his forehead, then turned and hit number seven.

At his room, he slipped his key card into the door, turned the handle, then paused. This was where Lexi had stood a little less than twelve hours before. She’d been nervous, he’d been sure of it at the time. Now he wondered if he’d been projecting his nerves onto her. Or if she’d been reading him and playing off those nerves to see if he’d respond to them.

“I’m a lunatic.” Jax pushed open the door, forcing his mind away from what he’d done to Lexi right there in the hall that morning. He flipped on the light and tossed his key card on the side table while glancing at the sofa, commanding his mind not to remember what Lexi had done to him right there.

Which, of course, didn’t work. He saw her shadow lower to her knees. Saw her head between his legs. Blood roared that direction.

He growled, pried his gaze away from the sofa, and turned toward the bedroom while stripping off his T-shirt. Pulling it over his head, he sighed, anticipating the feel of the shower. He tossed his shirt on the bed but was already dragging clean, folded clothes from his freshly washed duffle, which the staff had set on the dresser.

Something crinkled when his shirt landed.

Jax turned and lifted his shirt. A paper bag indented the comforter. A handwritten note on the front in ink said, In case you didn’t get time to eat. ~ Lex

She must have had the staff deliver it, the same way he’d had them deliver his jacket. A painful, tingling burn erupted high in his chest, as if he’d been stung by bees, and the emotion that followed tightened his throat. He blinked quickly to clear his eyes, reached down, and dumped the contents of the bag on the white down comforter.

An apple, a protein bar, cashews, a small plastic container of fresh blueberries, and a four-piece box of Godiva chocolates.

Warmth spread through his body as he stood and stared at the food. He huffed a pathetic laugh and murmured, “This is what it feels like?”

Or what it would feel like if it were real. To have a woman think of him during the day. Anticipate his needs and fill them before he even realized they would be needs. This was what it would feel like to know he mattered to a woman. Really mattered.

Jax ate the cashews while the shower water warmed and he undressed. Took the blueberries into the enclosure with him and devoured them while the hot water pounded his muscles. He tossed the carton into the sink across the room and dropped his head back under the spray. With the edge of his hunger sated, relief streaming through his muscles, and a beautiful woman waiting for him, a deep sense of…rightness filled Jax. A sense of comfort. A sense of peace. A sense of… He opened his eyes. Water droplets dripped off his lashes.

Happiness. Deep happiness.

“Don’t set yourself up, dumbshit.”

If nothing else, Lexi had shown him what he was striving for. Now, at least, he knew what it looked like—metaphorically speaking. Knew what it felt like—or could feel like.

He dried off and pulled on clean underwear and jeans. Drying his hair with one hand, Jax sat on the bed and picked up his phone. He tapped Lexi’s name, and options came up. Instead of texting her, he hit the button to dial and held the phone up to his ear.

On the third ring, the phone picked up, and a soft, sleepy, female voice said, “Hello?”

Jax opened his mouth to speak and found his throat closed.

“Hello?” Lexi said again, more alert this time. More query in her voice.

“Hey,” Jax finally got out, then swallowed and shook his head at himself. “It’s Jax.”

“Hi…” She drew out the word, her voice lifting with pleasure and surprise. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting to hear your voice. What a nice surprise. I…” She laughed softly. “Fell asleep again. I haven’t slept this much in months. Sexual satisfaction seems to do a lot for me.”

Jax couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

She let out a long, languid sigh and moaned softly. Jax pictured her—as much of her as he could picture—rolling around on a bed just like the one Jax sat on, in nothing but his leather jacket, stretching the sleep from her gorgeous body.

“That’s a nice visual. Still in my jacket?” he asked.

“Yes. God, it smells so good. Like you and leather.”

A hot streak of lust speared his belly and stung his spine. Jax clenched his teeth to hold in a moan and dropped his head back to stare at the ceiling. If he saw her now, there would be no talking. His mouth would be way too busy tasting her body. He licked his lips, and the mint of toothpaste made him think of the snacks he’d eaten before he’d brushed his teeth.

“Thanks for the food. I was starving when I got back. It was perfect.”

“I’m glad. Did you just get in?”

“About twenty minutes ago. Just out of the shower.” He had to force himself to say, “Are you hungry? Do you want to get something to eat?” when he really wanted to order her to his room.

“I’m starving.” The tone behind those words said exactly what she was starving for, and Jax’s already half-hard cock swelled against his jeans. “But what I’m hungry for can only be found on the other end of this phone.”