Heart's Secret

Jaxon smoothly gave both women an appreciative smile that neither encouraged nor discouraged their pursuit. It was a gift. His mother used to brag endlessly about him being a born charmer. He couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t love or more importantly when women didn’t love him. In his adolescent days he played doctor so much it was assumed that he would become one.

He didn’t, but he still played one from time to time.

“Well, if it isn’t my lovable fiancé,” Kitty cooed as she sauntered over to the small table. For Honey’s benefit, she lazily but very dramatically draped an arm around Jaxon’s shoulders. “Glad to see that you could make it.”

“Of course.” Jaxon smiled. “You know I always keep my promises.”

Kitty’s smile broadened as she eased down onto his lap. “In that case, what do you say to you and me hooking up after the show?”

“I’d say I love to,” he admitted, running a finger beneath her chin.

Kitty lit up like a Christmas tree.

“But—I can’t. I’m flying out of the city tonight right after I watch your set.”

Caught between disappointment and flattery, Kitty’s smile faltered. There wouldn’t be any point in complaining or pouting. That would be the fastest way to chase Jaxon Landon away. She had been playing her cards right all this time, she wasn’t about to screw it up now.

“Well, I’m glad you made it tonight.” She caught sight of Bishop nodding his head, signaling for her to get ready for her number. The only problem was that she was all too comfortable leaning against Jaxon’s firm muscled chest. Not only did he feel good, but he smelled divine.

Jaxon glanced at his Rolex. “Showtime.”

Reluctantly, Kitty climbed out of his lap but then caught sight of Richard Myers coming in the door. The man was as predictable as the seasons. “Well, it looks like I have another fan tonight.”

Jaxon followed Kitty’s line of vision and felt his general good mood take a nosedive.

“Oh, cheer up. You could do with a little competition,” Kitty said and sashayed her way backstage.

“Yeah. You could do with a little competition.” Dale chuckled under his breath as he slid one last Benjamin between Honey’s string thong at the end of her dance.

“Thank you, baby.” She blew him an air kiss, but tossed a wink over her shoulder at Jaxon.

Dale caught the sly move and sighed. “Fifteen hundred dollars down the tube.”

Jaxon grinned. “I don’t know. It seems like you were enjoying it to me.”

“My dick is hard if that’s what you mean.” Dale smirked. “But it doesn’t mean that I’m going to get any tonight.”

“I don’t know.” Jaxon shrugged. “You could always go home and screw your wife for once.”

Dale laughed. “I might have a pocket full of Viagra, but that doesn’t mean that I’m that desperate.”

Jaxon’s head rocked back with a rumbling laugh. “You’re a complicated man, Dale. No doubt about that.”

“Speaking of complicated, when the hell are you going to fill me in on this vicious rumor circulating around town?”

Jaxon’s smile ballooned. “It’s a long story.”

“You’re in luck. I like bedtime stories.”

Jaxon shrugged and leaned forward. “Let’s just say it’s a little joke at my grandfather’s expense. I took Kitty up to my grandparents’ place this weekend. Figured I’d try to get them off my back about settling down by bringing a woman they would never approve of as my fiancée. I never knew a man could turn so many different shades of purple.”

“Should’ve known.” Dale’s smirk stretched into a callous grin. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you and Carlton are two peas in a pod.”

“Don’t even joke about something like that.”

“The truth is an inconvenient thing, my brotha. Inconvenient indeed.”

“Hello, gentlemen,” Richard said after finally making his way over to the table. “Mind if I grab a seat?”

“Knock yourself out,” Jaxon said, determined to be unfazed by the intrusion.

But Richard had a sixth sense when he was gettin’ under Jaxon’s skin and he reveled in it as he took his seat.

As if to spare them from having any further conversation, the club’s music changed and the main attraction got underway. Jaxon gladly turned his attention toward the stage. Kitty stretched out a long, curvy leg from behind a red curtain. Every man in the joint hooted and whistled their approval only for Kitty to pull the leg back as if she was suddenly too shy. The next time there was a little more leg, plus the curve of her hip. A very nice hip at that.

“The girl is a pro,” Dale praised. “I’m getting so hard, I just might have to go home and screw my wife.”

Jaxon laughed. “God forbid.”

“All right, so he’s good-looking,” Zora said, handing back the Forbes magazine, and then surrendering herself to the wonderful massage Alejandro was performing on her back and shoulders. This was day two of Melanie’s relentless campaign.

“Don’t forget rich,” Melanie reminded her as she too let her eyes drift while a hunky masseur worked knots out of places she had long forgotten existed.

“C’mon, Mel. You oughta know by now that I’m not impressed by a man’s bank account. The brotha I want in my life has to have a good heart and won’t feel threatened by a strong woman with her own bling. I’m so over men who try to make me feel bad for being independent.”

Melanie laughed. “Oh, I musta hit the sistagirl nerve. I feel ya.”

Zora chuckled. “Nah, girl. I’m just keepin’ it real. I get more grief from men about the money I’m pullin’ down than a little bit. The few relationships I have been in all start the same. ‘Baby, you know I looove you,’” she imitated with fake, deep baritone. “‘I don’t care about you making that long money. Just long as you’re bringing all that sweet lovin’ to me.’”

Melanie cracked up.

“Don’t act like I’m the only one. You’re not exactly broke, either.”

One side of Melanie’s lips quirked up. “I realize as successful women, we have a unique set of hurdles to deal with. But we can get over them.”

Zora peeled open one eye to stare at the friend lying on the massage table next to her. In the brief silence that followed, she thought how hypocritical Melanie was.

“I’m telling you, Zora. You and Jaxon Landon will hit it off,” Melanie insisted, hammering the wild idea that Zora was the perfect woman to really reel in Jaxon Landon. Of course she was going on nothing more than a hunch, but her hunches had a 95 percent batting average. There was also a lot of luck riding on this, too. Zora was perhaps one of the few women in elite New York circles who hadn’t gotten wind of Jaxon’s reputation.

And what a reputation it was.

The women who had been with Jaxon had described him as a certified sex freak and bragged that he had a libido to put the Energizer bunny to shame. He wasn’t opposed to doing it anytime and anyplace. Normally, Melanie wouldn’t take on a client with such a voracious sexual appetite. They were usually too hard, if not impossible, to tame.

But to Zora, there was just something about Melanie’s instincts that told her she was on the right track. The two women had met back in Melanie’s brief stint modeling. She had liked Zora instantly. She wasn’t like the other girls in the house where they lived with other models. She had a real brain in her head and it didn’t surprise her in the least at just how fast the world and the fashion industry fell in love with her. It also didn’t surprise her that Zora turned the platform into an enormous business opportunity.

“Just meet him,” Melanie said, sounding sooo close to begging. “What harm is there in just meeting the man?”

Zora released a long sigh. Her resistance was starting to wear down.