What had been even greater was seeing Anna’s delight at Warren being genuinely proud of her skiing abilities. Even sweeter, although he was an expert skier he had insisted on staying with Anna the entire day on the intermediate slopes, wanting that time with her. Warren then instantly went up in Jaxxon’s estimations. And suddenly, at the sight of Anna’s happiness and the playful scowl on Connor’s gorgeous face, Jaxxon was glad that he and Warren had come.
They decided to try a different restaurant that evening and then afterwards they went to one of the bars. It was one that Jaxxon and Anna hadn’t tried yet and, to Anna’s delight, was open ’til the early hours of the morning. Jaxxon was surprised by how stylish the interior was. Despite the massive use of colour nothing clashed and the décor was perfect for the atmosphere. Sporadically situated around the bar were clusters of leather sofas framing artistic, white, snowball-shaped tables that had a flat surface.
It was while Jaxx and Anna were in the restrooms and Connor was at the bar with Warren that he heard a friendly male voice behind him drawl his name. Connor turned to see, just as he had known he would, a fellow F1 driver. “Kev.” They slapped each other’s back in greeting as they usually did.
After Kev and Warren exchanged a greeting, Kev asked, “So how’ve you been, Con?”
“Alright. You?”
“Great, yeah. I’m over here for my birthday, I’m having a private bash upstairs in the VIP room. You and Warren should come up.”
Before Connor could respond three women and two men surrounded Kev and he quickly began making introductions. “Connor, you know my girl Lorraine and my sister Kim. Next to Kim is her bloke, Roy, and a mate of mine, Peter. And you must recognise this one.” He gestured to an incredibly sexy blonde whose single had just reached number one in the charts.
Connor had seen her a few times before now. A singer. She shot him a seductive smile that was filled with sexual promises. She seemed about to say something to him – in fact, she might have done: his focus had immediately shifted to the husky laugh and the ‘isn’t that just bollocks?’ that travelled through the door of the restrooms ahead of Jaxx. Again he was torn between smugness and irritation when heads turned to look at her. She was looking as sinfully gorgeous as always, dressed in a black, satin dress. But once her eyes met his he was thinking of nothing but her. As usual his need for her hit him like a sledgehammer, stealing his breath. All he wanted to do was roll up that dress, snap her thong and then drive deep inside her. It always left him with the same feeling: like coming home. Suddenly he was very homesick.
As she and Anna headed toward Connor and Warren, Jaxxon sensed the sudden tension in Anna. Following her gaze she saw a woman who was eyeing up Connor and standing a little too close to him. For once, Jaxxon didn’t struggle with the identity of the celebrity. It wasn’t a face you could forget. Lotti Rivers: a platinum selling solo artist known worldwide and was, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful people Jaxxon had ever seen. To her surprise, Connor snaked an arm around Jaxxon’s waist as soon as she neared him, making her senses suddenly hyper and that lust she was feeling intensified ten-fold.
“I hadn’t believed it,” said Kev. “Kim told me it was in the papers that you were all loved up but I said no way.”
Jaxxon wasn’t surprised when Connor tensed at the word ‘love’. Most males would, especially if the relationship wasn’t serious. She bit his earlobe and squeezed his arse – he was then officially distracted.
“You up for it, Connor?” asked Kev, gesturing to the indoor balcony of the VIP room. “Come on, you can’t refuse the birthday boy.”
“Jaxx, Anna, this is Kev, a mate of mine. He’s having a party upstairs.”
“You should come, it’ll be a good laugh,” said Lotti. To Connor.
Jaxxon saw that he was intending to say no because of Lotti. As much as the last thing she wanted was to be around this floozy, she wasn’t going to let it show. Not to her, not to Connor. It would reveal too much about what she felt. “Are the drinks free?” she asked Kev.
“All night.”
“It would be a crime to turn down free ale.” The VIP room was similar to the floor below but the furniture was better quality and practically everything sparkled. A mix of blue, silver and white balloons decorated the place – dozens of them were resting on a net that was hanging above the dancefloor, obviously intended to shower the dancers at some point in the night. There was an extravagant buffet – not yet open, Jaxxon noticed with disappointment.
She wasn’t sure who was more surprised when Connor laced his fingers through hers, him or her. But he didn’t release her hand as they strolled to a table and she didn’t retrieve it. Not even when they had parked themselves next to each other on a leather sofa. Strangely, the contact felt…nice. Of course his usual possessiveness was there in his manner but it wasn’t beating at her, suffocating her, tiring her. It made her feel safe and protected.
For a short while Kev, Lorraine and Kim spent some time talking to them. Jaxxon found them to be pretty down-to-earth people. Kev actually made her think of Roland, only he was without that geeky intelligence that she found Roland adorable for having. While the boys talked ‘cars’, Lorraine and Kim asked Jaxxon and Anna about modelling and Ollie. Then Lorraine begged Jaxxon to tell her if the rumours that once circulated about her and Bruno had any truth in them. Instantly Connor, who had obviously been keeping one ear on the conversation, tugged her to him and said he wanted her to himself now. Rather than be offended, Lorraine and Kim had said ‘awww’. Jaxxon didn’t see what was sweet about that.
It occurred to Connor that he had been experiencing a lot of first times on this trip. Here was another: he actually felt uncomfortable by the presence on an ex-acquaintance. He didn’t remember much about her other than her name being Elena. Or maybe it was Elaine. Suddenly he actually felt ashamed of the life he’d led. A life that he would at some point go back to, but he wouldn’t go back to it the same person. No, because Jaxx would take a chunk of him with her when she left his life, she just wouldn’t know it.
Jaxxon picked up as easily on his discomfort as she did on the snarl coming from the voluptuous red-head at the bar who looked ready to gouge someone’s eyes out. “I can’t work out whether that snarl is directed at me or you. I take it that you were going through a period of having low standards when you shagged that one.”