Tempting Sydney (22 page)

His lips tilted up. “Nope. I just wanted to give this to you.”

I took the box from him, gently pulling the lid off the top. I opened it and parted the tissue paper inside. My mouth fell open when I saw it. It wasn’t something I’d usually wear, but I loved it. “You got me a bracelet!” I said, staring at the dark material and beads. The material looked like hemp, but it was multicolored, alternating between black, dark blue, and lighter blue. It had three beads. A large, black oval bead was in the center, surrounded by a smaller black bead on the right side and the left. As I tilted it in the light, I caught a glimmer of color, but I couldn’t make out what color it was exactly—it kept changing. From blue, to purple, to a hint of pink. The beads, and the craftsmanship of the hemp, were absolutely stunning. Jax’s voice pulled me from my bracelet admiration.

“I made it for you.”

My gaze flashed to him, his eyes soft and his expression a little vulnerable. He’d stunned me wordless. If there was anything I thought Jackson West might do as a hobby, bracelet making would have been dead last on that list—right next to dressing in drag. When I was finally able to form words, I said, “You make bracelets?”

He shrugged. “It helps me focus and relax.”

I wanted to know where this particular hobby had developed. “When did you start making jewelry?”

He didn’t answer for a long time; instead, he took my wrist, and tied the bracelet on with a complicated knot. His thumb gently rubbed back and forth on my pulse point. “About eight years ago.” His eyes met mine. “You can’t ever take this off. It has to break and fall off instead.” He leaned over, his breath warm on my neck. “That means my mark could be on your wrist for years.”

My whole body tingled. “Is that some sort of bracelet making rule?”

His lips slid into a soft smile. “No. It’s just bad luck if you do, and all of your hair will probably fall out.” He leaned back lazily, resting his arm around my shoulder. “But go ahead and risk it if you want.”

I frowned, not liking that threat—fake or not—at all.

I looked down at the beads on my wrist. The colors were beautiful, and I couldn’t believe he’d actually made something for me. My attempt at learning to knit had almost cost my mom an eye, so I understood the time it took to learn a skill like that, and learn it well. Jax had, and I was honored he was willing to share his talent with me. “It’s beautiful, Jax. Really. I couldn’t love it more.” I reached across his lap and grabbed his free hand. “Thank you!”

His lips formed a wide, relaxed smile, and he exhaled a breath. I could tell he was happy I was pleased with the gift. “The colors reminded me of She-Ra.”

I laughed, examining it again. “I can definitely see that.”

I looked over, noticing his bracelet as well. The dark matte beads were strung together, side by side, and held with some sort of plastic. I’d always wondered about it, but I’d never mentioned it. I tilted my head toward his wrist. “Did you make your bracelet, too?”

“I did.”

I looked at it a little more. It was masculine, and sexy. The matte color reminded me of something Batman would drive. “I like it.”

“Me, too.” He kicked a leg out, stretching. The movement, combined with his arm around me, made his shirt ride up, showing off his incredibly cut abs. I was so distracted, I almost didn’t hear his next sentence. “If you’re good, maybe someday I’ll tell you what your beads mean.”

Wait. What? “The beads mean something?” Like, he’d taken special care to pick out the right ones? Now I was fiercely curious about them.

“They do.”

I looked down at the beads again, like I might be able to divine their meaning with my stare. Unfortunately, the beads weren’t in the mood to chat. “When will you tell me?”

He looked at me and grinned. “When you go out of town with me during your Thanksgiving break.”

My jaw dropped. I might have stopped breathing. I’d told him I was staying in Winchester during Thanksgiving break this year. I was going to order pizza and celebrate the holiday by watching movies,
House Hunters
, and eating junk food. I’d planned to invite Jax, and thought he might be able to help me burn off the junk food. “Seriously? An out of town trip? That’s…serious.” I immediately thought of all the things that could happen on a trip like that. Alone. In a romantic location with just the two of us and probably a lot of alcohol, soft bed, flower petals, and bubble baths. I swallowed. Hard.

His expression was a combination of seduction and mischievousness. “Are you up for it?”

I looked over at him and glared at the challenge. “I think that’s a better question for you, Mr. Werewolf.”
He licked his lips. “Oh, that won’t be a problem.” He smiled slowly. “Will you come with me?”

I held his eyes. “Repeatedly.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Good, it’s settled then.” He stood and we walked back out to his truck.

“So, where are we going?” I asked, thinking about the romantic bed and breakfasts in Colorado that he’d surely researched and reserved for us. I hoped he hadn’t booked the Stanley Hotel. Everyone seemed to love the place because of Stephen King, but it just creeped me out.

What he said next made me stop in my tracks and almost fall over. “We’re going camping.”

“C-c-camping?” I stuttered out.

“Yeah.” He must have noticed my look of utter horror, and inability to stand upright. “Don’t give me that look. It will be fun, I promise.”

Jax and I had seriously different definitions of the word “fun.” I suddenly had an idea and turned to him, my eyes glimmering with hope. “Like camping in cabins? Is that what you mean?”

He gave me a funny look. “No.”

My bottom lip went to the side in a worried frown. “So an RV?” I’d camped in RVs before. They weren’t ideal, but they had running water, and toilets that didn’t make you feel like one wrong move would make you fall into a horrible, smelly, bacteria infested abyss. Yes, I thought, nodding my head inwardly, I could handle an RV with minimal trauma.

He grinned. “Nope.”

Dear goddesses. I closed my eyes. “Please tell me there will be showers and flushing toilets.”

“There are toilets, but not flushing.” My breath staggered. “And no showers, but the lake we’ll be camping next to is nice, and we can hike to some hot springs.”

That sounded…unhygienic.

Jax laughed again at my distress. “We’re going to pitch a tent—in more ways than one—and spend the weekend together.”

I’d just remembered something very important and smiled, thinking it was definitely my way into a hotel. “Can’t pitch a tent in winter. Soooo, I’ll start looking up hotels? Do you want one with a pool? Because I
really
like heated pools. And jacuzzis. ”

He looked at me sideways and grinned. “Actually, you can put a tent up. People camp during winter all the time.”

“They do? Why?” I asked, genuinely baffled. “Are they all asylum escapees?”

“No,” he said, blue eyes bright and teasing. “They just enjoy being outside.”

They were bat-shit crazy is what they were. But since Jax seemed like he might be one of them, I refrained from saying so out loud. “So we’re camping in the cold? The lake won’t matter! It will be freezing!”

He chuckled. “You know, I think this proves what a nice guy I am. A jerk would let you go ahead and think we were spending the holiday camping in the tundra. But, since I’m not a jerk—and because I want you to pack a bikini—I’ll tell you the truth.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, not happy about the direction of the conversation, or our potential trip straight to hell.

“We’re camping in Arizona. Nice and warm. Nothing to worry about.”

Six hours in a car with Jax should have been wonderful. And it would have been, if I didn’t feel like we were about to spend the next four days smelly, uncomfortable, and as possible food for wild animals. We’d left right after my classes finished. I’d spent most of the drive studying—since my professors were sadists who didn’t believe the law took holidays. We’d arrived in time to see the sun set. I had to admit, the amethyst, fuchsia, orange and crimson hues over the Arizona sky were breathtaking. They would have been even better if we’d walked into a nicely equipped hotel room and gotten busy on an actual bed after the romantic scene. Instead, we were setting up camp.

“Here.” I said, handing Jax some papers as he pulled stuff out of the truck. I’d printed the information out before we left just in case my phone didn’t have service and I couldn’t access them in my cloud. Good thing, because I didn’t have service and my only way to connect with someone was to yell across the canyon.

He glanced at them as he took the papers from me. “What are these?”

“Research. Dangerous plants and animals we might encounter in the park.”

A laugh started deep in his chest. And didn’t stop. I punched him in the shoulder. “Hey! It’s not funny! Some of these things can kill us. We need to be aware.”

He shook his head and handed me the sleeping bags. “Sweetheart, I’ve been camping in this area for years. I know about the potential dangers.”

I pressed my lips together. “How fantastic for you. But I don’t. So I need to be prepared. I’m glad one of us thinks things through.” I took the sleeping bags to the tent. I’d offered to help him set it up, but after I broke two tent pegs, he said he could take care of tent preparation on his own. That offered me a valuable lesson about how if I didn’t want to do something, I just had to do it poorly.

“You’ll at least be a little safer from bears. Winter and all. They’re hibernating.”

I shook my head. “Not yet they aren’t. I checked. They’re filling up to prepare for hibernation. Which means they’re hungry. And we’re probably the perfect size.”

He gave me a sidelong glance as he took more stuff out of the truck. “You’re being a little dramatic.”

“Oh, you’ll see drama when a bear comes into camp. You just wait. And I’ll also say I told you so as I’m running away—faster than you.” I stopped thinking about bears, scorpions, and rattlesnakes when I saw what he was holding. “You brought an airbed?” My mouth fell open in shock.

“I thought I’d have a better chance of getting your pants off with a comfortable work space.”

I blinked. “Good thinking. You’d have an even better—I’d dare say excellent—chance at that if we packed up right now and went to a nice hotel. I saw plenty of them on the way here.”

He grinned. “Eh, I like a challenge.”

By the time we finished organizing the camp site and made, then ate dinner, I was exhausted. I wanted to fall into bed and sleep for days. I yawned and stood up. “Where do you think you’re going?” Jax asked.

“To crawl onto the airbed and try to sleep. Wake me up if a bear tries to eat you.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap, his lips pressing a light trail of kisses down my neck. “I want to show you something first.”

I narrowed my eyes. I had a feeling I knew what that something was. And it involved him removing his pants. He read my look. “No, not that. You’re too tired to handle it.”

“That doesn’t sound like something better-than-a-werewolf Jax would say.”

He grinned. “I’m the gentlemanly werewolf type.”

He put his arms around me and I snuggled into his chest, enjoying the feeling of his warm embrace. I’d complained about the trip a lot. Really, a long road trip and camping were the last things I wanted to do after an exhausting weekend of studying and then three days of exams before the Thanksgiving break. I was hoping for a chance to relax, and didn’t think I’d get it in the current environment. But as I breathed in the earthy smell of pine needles and fresh air, and listened to the sound of animals and the water from a creek near the camp, I realized I
was
relaxed. I didn’t need a fancy hotel or a spa. I really enjoyed just being here. Together, in Jax’s arms, and without other people around.

The campsite was deserted, probably because of the holiday, and the fact that it was winter and not many people ventured into the wilderness at this time of year…not even in Arizona. The night was unpolluted by man-made lights and sounds. There were no distractions; just me and Jax. For the next three days. I sighed at the thought and held him tighter.