Jaxie's Menage Page 2

  “She’s gonna make it, man. She’s gonna make it,” Craig said.

  A cheer went up from the cockpit.

  Exhaustion and relief made Ewan’s shoulders sag. He dropped onto his haunches.

  “She’s going to make it,” Paul said softly. He slapped Ewan on his back, then Paul and Craig began bundling warm blankets over Jaxie.

  A chill swept through him as he watched her for signs of life. She was still so quiet. Was she alive? He leaned over her and he could barely feel her breath feather against his face.

  This had been too close. How long had she not been breathing? Would there be brain damage? Had she broken any bones? Were her insides crushed?

  He held his breath as Jaxie’s eyelids suddenly fluttered.

  She whimpered. It was the best sound he’d ever heard in his life.

  “Welcome back, babe,” Ewan muttered. Before he knew he was doing it, he descended his head and pressed his mouth against her quivering lips. Shockwaves of happiness swept through him as she returned the kiss.

  Warmth melted over Jaxie’s mouth. The pressure and the heat was so beautiful, it curled her toes.

  Someone was kissing her? She inhaled a breath. She smelled spice. It was nice. Familiar.

  Ewan?

  She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t.

  As she responded to the kiss, he suddenly pulled away. Disappointment shot through her. Who was kissing her? Or had they been doing CPR?

  “Jaxie? Can you hear me? It’s Rachel. You’re going to be okay.”

  Relief poured through her. Rachel was okay.

  “The hospital is in sight. We’ll be there in under a minute.” Royce called out from somewhere. Was he here too? She liked Royce. He was Ewan’s best friend and he worked with Ewan as a rescue worker. Happiness always bubbled inside her when she saw him. Lately, whenever he came into her club, something really nice flowed through her when she looked at him. It was similar to what she felt for Ewan. Caring. Lust. Some crazy need to have two men in her life and not just one.

  Man, she really had been living her dreams through all the friends, hadn’t she? Maybe it was time for her to start searching for her own dream?

  She was alive. She had a second chance at life.

  God help her, she wasn’t going to blow it.

  Chapter Two

  “I cannot believe how fast that snow came down that mountain,” Rachel said as she hovered beside Jaxie’s hospital bed and nervously straightened the wrinkles in the sheets that covered Jaxie’s legs.

  “I can’t believe both of you made it out of there alive,” Dr. Kelsie Madison said as she breezed into the room. She held a small clipboard in her hand and Jaxie let out a breath of relief when Kelsie smiled warmly at them.

  She’d been stuck in this hospital for the better part of the afternoon and now it was evening. She wanted out of here. She had a club to run.

  Jaxie frowned. Wow, she’d just escaped death and all she could think about was going back to work? Yeah, well, bills had to be paid. She’d start thinking on that bucket list the minute she figured out how to make some of it come true.

  “Since I know Rachel is practically family, I’m going to forgo the traditional patient/doctor confidentiality and break the news to both of you,” Kelsie said in a professional, no-nonsense tone that shot uneasiness into Jaxie.

  “Oh my God! Is she going to be okay?” Rachel gasped. “She was knocked out. Not breathing for a little while. She has pain when she breathes and she’s not using her right arm. She’s covered in bruises—”

  “Rachel, relax. The doctor is going to tell us that everything is fine, right, Doc?”

  Jaxie hoped that’s what Kelsie was going to say.

  Kelsie looked at her clipboard and began shifting through the papers.

  “The CAT scan of your head showed no problems. The body scan showed no broken bones.”

  Whew!

  “Yes!” Rachel cried out and leaned into hug Jaxie. Her arms were strong and warm as she embraced Jaxie. It was nice to have such a caring friend.

  When her friend moved away, Jaxie didn’t miss Rachel brushing away tears.

  Oh, geez, she really had given Rachel a fright.

  Kelsie gazed at Jaxie’s wrist, where she’d propped it on a pillow. It was swollen and bruised black and blue. Thankfully, her fingers weren’t blue anymore, and she could wiggle them without a problem.

  “Your wrist is sprained. The swelling will go down in a few days. If there are any problems, we can set you up with a physiotherapist.”

  “But why does she have pain when she breathes?” Rachel asked.

  “Her ribs are bruised and muscles around her diaphragm are pulled. Too many somersaults, I would imagine.”

  Jaxie shivered as she remembered being hurled around and around inside the snow.

  Kelsie returned her attention to Jaxie.

  “If the pain doesn’t go away within a few days, give me a call. Or if the pain gets worse, come back in right away.”

  Jaxie nodded. Despite the good news, she didn’t feel much like celebrating. She’d just had a close encounter with death. It could have gone the other way…

  “Rachel seems more relieved than you are. Why the frown?” Kelsie asked in a gentle voice that almost sent Jaxie over the edge into a washer of tears.

  No, she wouldn’t lose it. Not yet. Not until she was home and alone.

  “Are you kidding? Jaxie is going to be fine. She is the strongest woman I know. I’m so proud of her. So glad she’s okay.” The underlying tone of pride in her friend’s voice made Jaxie suck up her momentary depression.

  Rachel was right. She needed to stay strong. Needed to get back to living, but this time she would work and play fast and furious. She had a bucket list to work on.

  Man, she’d been so incredibly lucky.

  Without warning, Rachel swooped down and embraced her again. Wow, Rachel really cared. But Rachel had always cared for Jaxie. They’d known each other since they’d been able to walk. As they’d grown older, they’d been partners in a newspaper route and then both had gotten jobs as servers at the local ice-cream shop. When they’d both been sixteen, Rachel had moved away with her mom and dad.

  They’d lost touch over the years. When tragedy had struck Jaxie while she’d been in business college and she’d lost her mom and dad and two younger siblings in a plane crash, Rachel had reconnected with her, albeit long distance. After the death of her mother, Rachel had eventually moved back to town with her ill father.

  Rachel had recently put her father into a long-term-care facility, and Jaxie had tried her best to cheer up her sad friend. It was why she’d gone out skiing today with her. To help cheer Rachel up.

  “You’ve got a waiting room full of anxious friends. I am afraid they can’t all come in here. So with your permission, I can let them know you’ll be fine,” Kelsie said with a warm smile.

  “I’ll do it!” Rachel volunteered and quickly headed toward the door. “I can’t wait to see the smiles on their faces when I tell them how Jaxie looked death right in the eye and told him to stick it.”

  Silence permeated the room as Rachel left.

  “After your close call, it’s normal to be rattled,” Kelsie said as she sat on the edge of the bed beside Jaxie. She lightly patted Jaxie’s wounded hand.

  “If you need someone to talk to you can give me a call. Or I can set you up with a professional…”

  “I think I’m going to be okay,” Jaxie lied. Was she really going to be all right?

  “The offer stands,” Kelsie said and then she stood.

  “Thanks.”

  Tears bubbled up in her eyes and thankfully, Kelsie had already turned and was heading toward the door. Jaxie quickly wiped away the stray tears with the back of her good hand.

  At the doorway, Kelsie hesitated and turned.

  “I’ll send Rachel back in to help you get dressed. Then you’re free to go.”

  Jaxie nodded. “Thanks, Doc.” />
  “No problem. I’m just glad that you’ll be okay.”

  When Kelsie disappeared, Jaxie’s thoughts began buzzing about her bucket list and a wickedly delicious idea hit her. She was going to throw a Masquerade Ménage Ball, she was going to go, and she was going to make sure she experienced her hot ménage.

  That ménage was top of her list of things to do.

  Mercy! She was alive! She’d been given a hell of a wake-up call and she wasn’t going to waste any more time in making her dreams come true. And that included indulging in her naughty fantasies too.

  * * * * *

  Ewan absently poked a fork into his chicken salad and frowned as he read the newspaper laid out on the table. There was an article about how Jaxie had escaped death. His gut clenched as he remembered digging the hard-crusted snow from around her head and then while Rachel, Royce and the other guys kept digging, Ewan had fused his mouth over her cold blue lips in an effort to get her to breathe.

  “She’s one lucky lady, don’t you think?” Royce said from immediately behind Ewan. He turned and gazed up at his friend who winked at him and nodded at the paper.

  “Yeah. Lucky,” Ewan replied. Too close for comfort.

  Ewan reached out and folded the newspaper, then pushed it out of his way. He didn’t need to be reminded about the terror he’d experienced thinking that Jaxie was going to die. He never wanted to live through something like that again. No way.

  “You know what they say about second chances…” Royce said softly and let the words dangle over Ewan’s head like a hangman’s noose.

  Ewan didn’t reply. Now was not the time to think about Jaxie, although he had to admit that was all he’d been doing since they’d broken up and now he’d been obsessing about her since the avalanche.

  An unpleasant silence followed. He could almost hear the wheels churning in Royce’s mind trying to figure out how to work Jaxie’s unpleasant experience into Ewan’s subconscious.

  “Well, speak of the devil,” Royce suddenly blurted.

  For a second, he thought Royce was talking about one of his many ex-girlfriends who dropped in occasionally with meals for Royce. He had no idea why the guy didn’t stay in one relationship for long. Yet all his ex-girlfriends kept him around as a friend. Why couldn’t Ewan be like that with Jaxie? Just keep her around as a friend.

  “Hey,” came a soft voice Ewan immediately recognized. Shivers melted over him as he turned to peer over his should at Jaxie standing in the lunchroom doorway.

  It had only been a couple of days since her run-in with the avalanche, and aside from several yellowing bruises on her face, she looked sexy as sin in a violet-colored spring jacket that she’d unzipped, showing off a light-gray business suit with a low V-neck blouse that showed him the lush valley of her breasts.

  He inhaled slowly in the hopes his heart rate would relax. It didn’t. As a matter of fact, excitement shot through him at the way Royce moved toward her like a man on the prowl. Like a man who wanted her. Owned her.

  Ewan blinked as stunning shock waves swept over him.

  Why had he never noticed Royce’s interest in Jaxie before? Why didn’t it bother him that it suddenly appeared that another man wanted his woman?

  Confusion left Ewan staring at Royce. When Royce reached her, his arms went up and he placed his hands on each side of the doorjamb, preventing Jaxie from entering the room.

  “What brings you to our icy domain, lucky lady?” Royce purred.

  To Ewan’s surprise, Royce lowered one of his arms and brushed a finger along a bruise on Jaxie’s right cheek. It seemed such a gentle, tender touch that Ewan wondered if something was going on between them.

  An odd sizzle of curiosity snapped through him. Were they seeing each other? Had Jaxie come here to see Royce?

  The vulnerable way she looked at Royce, as if she might have feelings for him, mesmerized Ewan. She used to look at him like that too. Exposed, needy, wanting him.

  Damn, he’d really screwed things up with her, hadn’t he? His gut clenched as a huge wave of loss swept over him. A couple of days ago he’d almost lost her and fought like crazy to breathe life into her. Now it was as if he were losing her all over again. Yet, he couldn’t allow himself to spill his guts and just tell her how much he still loved her. For all he knew, she’d already moved on with her life.

  With Royce?

  Royce said something to her in a low voice that made her smile sweetly.

  Man, why couldn’t he be that easygoing around her?

  Royce muttered something else and Jaxie’s blue eyes sparkled happily, as she said something back. Royce chuckled and she laughed softly.

  The sweet sound of her laughter carved a hole right into his heart. She’d been flirty and sexy with him once upon a time, until they’d ended up married to their careers instead of each other.

  She giggled again and then frowned as she gazed past Royce’s shoulder over at Ewan.

  Royce must have noticed her reaction, because he suddenly backed away from Jaxie. She whispered something to him and he nodded and then quickly left the room.

  “Ewan, I need to talk to you for a minute,” she said, as a moment later, she pulled out the chair beside him and sat down.

  Man, she smelled nice. Like spring flowers and fresh air.

  “So, talk.” His voice sounded gruff and he immediately regretted what he’d just said. He should apologize for being brusque, but when she unexpectedly placed her warm palm over the back of his hand, all thoughts disintegrated into a rush of lust. His cock hardened and his heart squeezed with the need to wrap her in his arms and tell her how much he still loved her.

  “I want to thank you for saving my life.”

  He could only nod as he stared at her perfectly shaped fingers and the delicate shade of white polish with a tiny pink jewel placed in the middle of each seashell-shaped fingernail.

  “Rachel told me that you wouldn’t give up on me. That you kept trying to breathe life into me when most would have given up.”

  Irritation at Rachel’s betrayal made him pull his hand from hers. He ignored her expression of surprise as he quickly stood.

  “Look, just don’t read anything into it. I was just doing my job. I would have done the same for anyone. Okay? So, just relax and let’s go on with our lives, like it didn’t even happen.”

  Hurt screamed at him from her shocked gaze and his stomach twisted as if he’d just been sucker punched.

  Damn! Why was he treating her so badly? Suddenly he wanted to get away from her before he hurt her again.

  “Sure,” she said with a wobbly smile. Her cell phone began to ring and she cursed softly.

  “You’d better get that. I know how busy you are. Thanks for dropping by. I—I need to get back to work.”

  Without saying goodbye, he rushed toward the exit of the lunchroom. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

  * * * * *

  Royce’s fists tightened and he frowned as Ewan left the lunchroom through the other exit. A glimpse into the room showed Jaxie close to tears and her hands shaking as she clumsily dug a cell phone from her purse.

  He’d been listening at the other door and watching as Jaxie thanked Ewan. Anger flooded him at Ewan’s ungrateful reaction.

  Man, what was wrong with Ewan, treating her like that?

  He’d been about to walk into the room and give Ewan shit for behaving so badly toward a woman he still obviously loved, but his friend hadn’t given him the opportunity. He’d left like a bat flying out of hell.

  One minute the guy was giving his all to save her life, and when she’d started breathing, he’d kissed her. Now he was doing an about face and getting away from her as fast as he could.

  Royce watched her as she chatted on the phone. He should leave and give Jaxie some privacy, but he just couldn’t.

  Something inside of him fluttered whenever he looked at her or even thought about her. She was so cute. He liked looking at her. He enjoyed the elegant, sultry way she
moved.

  He also enjoyed how she changed her looks like a chameleon whenever he went to visit the Key Club. One week she’d be a hot redhead, and the next week she’d be a daring, black-haired minx.

  She was always cheerful, too, whenever he showed up at her club. Royce liked her because she made him feel at ease. She treated him like a long-lost friend whenever they saw each other.

  Lately, he’d been going there quite often, just to gaze at Jaxie while he nursed a beer after work. She was a busy woman and was always helping her staff, so he knew she didn’t have much time to talk, but she always spent a couple of minutes with him when he came in.

  She’d ask how his day had gone or if he was at the Club with a girlfriend. Truth was, he didn’t keep his girlfriends for very long. He just couldn’t commit to a relationship because he hadn’t found the right one. Instincts told him Jaxie could be that special someone. He would have asked her out on a date a long time ago, if she hadn’t been engaged to Ewan.

  Ewan was a good friend, and despite his breaking up with Jaxie, Royce knew Ewan was still in love with her. His behavior the other day when he’d desperately tried to revive her, just reinforced what he’d known all along. That Ewan was still in love with her.

  If he could just figure out a way to get those two back together, then he could maybe move on, knowing that Jaxie and Ewan were happy.

  “The dress already came? That’s great news, Rachel,” Jaxie’s thrilled voice snapped through the doorway as she spoke on her cell phone.

  Royce grinned. Women and their fashion. It seemed to cheer them up even when things were bleak.

  She lowered her voice to the point where he could barely make out what she was saying.

  “Yes, that’s right. The Masquerade Ménage Ball is two weeks from this Saturday.”

  Hmmm, a Masquerade Ménage Ball? This is news.

  Royce leaned closer to the open doorway and stepped to the side so she wouldn’t see him.

  “No, I haven’t changed my mind, and I told you I am not chickening out.” There was an edge of desperation to Jaxie’s voice now, and it grew louder with defiance.