Summary: Two months after the breakup, Samantha is finally going to see Jax again. But is she really over him?
Beads of sweat run over Samantha’s breasts as heat builds up within her body. Her fingers delve into Adrian’s hair, pulling him closer, deeper into her. He thrusts harder, groaning, kissing her exposed neck just above the spot he just sealed the wounds. It was supposed to be just another break during work to feed, but lately drinking her blood became so much more than a moment to sate his most primal need.
“You’re so deliciously wet. But I want you right there,” Adrian whispers, grabbing her thighs and pulling Samantha up from the couch, he walks across the living room and presses her against the glass wall.
“Oh god…” she whimpers. The sudden contact of her warm skin with the cold glass gives a chill on her spine. “Here?”
“The sun is almost setting. I want to come with you while we watch the last rays of light fade away.”
Samantha kisses him and smiles. “As you wish.”
Adrian puts her down, turns her around and holds her hips as he lines up his manhood on her entrance and plunges into her again. He cups her sex, opening it slightly and presses his digits on her clit, rubbing it fast as he drives into her senselessly.
She presses her lower arms on the glass wall and bends over, pushing her hips back to meet his pace. “I’m so close…”
“Wait for me, Samantha,” he murmurs, brushing his lips on her back, kneading her thighs.
“Yes!” she pants.
The sunlight reflects on the glass walls of building across the street, right in front of Raines Corporation. Beautiful shades of orange, yellow and red embellish the sky as the sun slowly disappears in the horizon. Adrian groans louder and slams faster into her.
Her legs tremble as waves of pleasure spread over her body, pushing her to the edge. “Adrian!”
He pulls her up, pressing her back on his chest. “Don’t close your eyes. Come for me, Samantha,” he whispers in her ear.
“Fuck!” Her hands reach for his neck, pulling him closer and she gives in, watching the sunset as they reach bliss together.
“That was…” Adrian eases out of her and turns her around. “…perfect.”
“Agreed,” she mumbles, resting her head on his broad chest and encircling her arms around him. She’s quite sure she would have fallen down if he wasn’t still holding her.
“Tired?” he smiles.
“That’s one word for it.”
Adrian chuckles and picks her up, carrying her in his arms back to the couch.
“We don’t have much longer, Adrian. The Council meeting is at 7:30.”
He looks at his watch. “There’s a lot we can do in ten minutes.”
“No. I’m not falling for that again. Last time, I ended up greeting the CEO of Isis Corp with messy hair and a blouse with two buttons missing and you didn’t say anything.”
“I thought it looked good,” he grins.
“Next time, I’ll let greet people with your fly open for you to see how it feels,” she scowls standing up, picks up her underwear and walks to the bathroom to freshen up.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” he shouts smiling.
Samantha walks out of the bathroom and picks up their scattered clothes from the floor, putting his clothes next to him. “Get dressed, Adrian. We have less than seven minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He stands up and quickly puts his clothes back on. “Is the gift for the newest Council leader ready?”
“Yes. I’ll take it to the conference room after the meeting.”
“What is it again?”
“Two shīsā sculptures. A shīsā is half lion and half dog creature from the Ryukyuan culture, very popular in Okinawa, the region where his family is from. They’re known as wards to protect houses from evil.”
“That was some serious Google research.”
“It wasn’t that hard to find out about it,” Samantha replies. However, she omitted to mention how she learned about it.
___
“This is so cool…” Her fingertips caress the tiny gold pendant of a dog and lion hybrid hanging on the golden chain of her bracelet. “I didn’t know shīsās could be used as pendants.”
“They can. They’re powerful amulets for protection.” Jax’s callous fingertips graze softly on her wrist. He smiles sensing her pulse quickening under his touch. “No harm will come to you as long as you’re wearing it.”
“This is lovely, Jax. Thank you.” She turns her head to the side to kiss him. “But here’s a question: can’t I just call my favorite savior?” She gives him a cheeky smile.
“Of course you can. But I may not be around all the time.”
“Why? Are you planning on abandoning me? Samantha looks over her shoulder to him and pouts.
“Never.” He smiles, pushing her hair to the side and kissing and nuzzling her shoulder as he pulls her closer to him. “But I’m not taking any chances. You need to be safe out there, Sam. I don’t know what I would do if I lose you.”
“Stay with me and you’ll never have to find out.” She turns around and stands on all fours on the bed, her legs on each side of his and winks before giving him a kiss.
Jax laughs, grabs her by the thighs and quickly throws her on the bed, pinning her down on the mattress as his body presses against hers. “Okay then.”
___
“Samantha?” Adrian calls.
“Huh?” She mumbles distracted.
“We’re here.” He stands before her outside the elevator, with his hand holding the door while she stands immobile inside it.
“Oh! Sorry,” she smoothes her pencil skirt and her hair one more time before she steps out of the elevator.
“Are you sure you don’t want to skip this meeting? I can make the notes myself and give them to you before we leave.”
“Why would I want to skip it?” She asks, walking a few steps behind him while checking his schedule on her tablet.
“This is the first time you’re going to meet Jax after what happened between you two. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“I will not be uncomfortable. He’s a Council leader, your new business associate and as your personal assistant, it’s my job to be there,” she says taking a seat on her desk.
“I know and I don’t doubt your ability to be professional with any of my business associates. But you have feelings for him and if–”
“Had. Past tense, Adrian,” she corrects, glaring at him for a second before turning her attention to her all-in-one computer.
“My apologies. But as I was saying, if you need to excuse yourself, I won’t mind.”
“I won’t. I’m fine,” she replied with her eyes glued to the screen.
“All right. I’ll be in the conference room. Send them in as soon as they arrive.” He gives her a concerned look, but she’s oblivious to it. All her attention is focused on her work. Adrian heaves a sigh and marches to the conference.
The Council members walk in, one by one and her heart begins to race. She doesn’t understand why. You have met ex-boyfriends before and you were fine. He’s just a guy you had sex with for a while. Get a grip, Samantha!
The elevator door opens one last time and Jax walks into the hall in his usual roguish yet alluring demeanor. Instead of the brown leather jacket, he’s wearing a black jacket and dark blue jeans. Her hands tremble, her mouth is dry, her heart skips a beat. But she has to be as professional as possible.
“Good evening, Miss Holden. I’m Nikhil Banderjee and Mr. Matsuo is here for the Council leaders meeting,” a man she didn’t notice getting in with Jax greets her.
“Good evening, Mr. Banderjee. You must be Mr. Matsuo’s assistant. We spoke on the phone about his schedule.” she extends her hand to him and he shakes it. “The Council Meeting will take place in the conference room.” Samantha stands and leads the way to them.
“I hope I’m not late,” Jax says.
“You are right on time.”
She opens the door for them and they simply nod before getting in.
Jax greets the other leaders of the Council and takes a seat on the main table, while assistant sits on one of the chairs nearby.
Samantha does the same, opening Adrian’s schedule on her tablet and with a notebook on her desk and she takes notes of the main topics as Kamilah starts the meeting. To keep herself from stealing glances at Jax, she stays with her head down, talking to Adrian only with it was necessary.
As the meeting comes to an end, the Council leaders take their leave, while Kamilah, Adrian, and Jax stay in the room chatting. Samantha sees the opportunity to grab some water before bringing Jax’s gift when a soft hand taps her shoulder.
“Excuse me? Hi, I’m Maisie Richardson, Ms. Sayeed’s assistant. Is she still here?” A girl about the same age as Samantha smiles.
“Hi, Maisie. She is at the conference room with two Mr. Raines and their new business associate.”
“Oh, thank god! Ms. Sayeed forgot Mr. Matsuo’s gift in the car and the driver didn’t see it, so I had to bring it back.”
“You’re right on time then. I’m about to deliver my boss’ gift for Mr. Matsuo too.”
“Won’t we end up bothering them?”
“No, I left the room to pick up the gift. They’re just chit-chatting.” Samantha bends down to pick up the gift box.
“Really? I can’t imagine Kamilah Sayeed and Adrian Raines chit-chatting with a business associate.”
“It happens more often than you think,” Samantha smirks, holding the gift box as she arranges her desk and stands up. “Follow me.”
“Thank you so much,” Maisie smiles while they march down the hallway.
“You’re welcome. I’m Samantha, by the way.”
“I know… I mean, we talked over the phone a few days ago and I recognized your voice,” she replies shyly.
“Good memory. Sounds like an ability Ms. Sayeed would want her personal assistant to have.”
The two assistants stand before the door and Samantha knocks softly.
“Come in, Samantha,” Adrian replied.
As both women walk in with the gifts, Jax cocks an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.
“We are grateful for your help with the fight against Vega. You are a great leader to your people and I’m glad to have you on our side, Jax. As a way to thank you,” Adrian gestures for the two assistants to approach. “Here are a few tokens to show our appreciation for your work.”
Maisie hands him the slim and rectangular flat box. He opens the box and smiles, taking his time to analyze the vintage tanto dagger. “Wow… I haven’t seen one of these in a while. Thank you,” he grins at Kamilah and at her assistant.
He puts the dagger back on its box and Samantha gives him Adrian’s gift. His eyes widen as he opens the gift and stares at it for a moment. His eyes flicker between Samantha and the two small shīsā sculptures. They’re the perfect size for his desk and they even match the decoration of his office. What the hell…? He knows this wasn’t Adrian’s idea. He is quite certain Adrian doesn’t even know what it represents. It was her idea. Why is she doing this? Jax swallows hard and looks at Adrian. “This is all very thoughtful. Thank you.”
Nikhil approaches his boss smiling, picks up the gifts and excuses himself to take them to the car.
The two other assistants politely leave the room as well. Maisie sighs relieved she gave the gift to Jax in time and that her boss didn’t scold her for taking so long to deliver it. Samantha, on the other hand, is a complete mess.
She keeps a smile on her face, grabs her shoulder bag from under her desk and excuses herself to the bathroom to freshen up. But as she walks into a stall, her bag falls on the ground as she sits down and her eyes well up. He didn’t even look at her. He silently acknowledged Maisie for Kamilah’s gift, but acted like she wasn’t even there? She knew to give him the shīsā could make her emotional, but she never thought he would be so cold with her. You’re so stupid. Why would you think he’d care? He hates you now.
Tears stream down her eyes unceasingly. The thought of him ignoring her all night is unbearable. She’s suddenly gasping, searching for air, clenching one hand on her chest as if trying to keep the little pieces of her heart from falling down on the ground. She covers her mouth with one hand and wails for heaven knows how long until her phone buzzes.
Samantha takes a deep breath, picks up her bag from the floor and leaves the stall. She looks into the mirror and opens her bag to fishes her makeup bag out and do a few retouches, then grabs the eye drops to get rid of the bloodshot eyes. She walks out of the bathroom, goes to her desk and starts organizing her things. A few minutes later, the three Council leaders leave the conference room.
Kamilah bids farewell to her and leaves, followed by her assistant.
As Jax passes by talking on the phone, she stands up. “Have a good night, Mr. Matsuo.”
He glances at her for a second but doesn’t stop. “Likewise, Ms. Holden,” he replies without looking back and gets into the elevator.
Samantha closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths again. As she finishes organizing her desk to leave, she finds Adrian smiling at her with an arm resting on her desk.
“Are you hungry? I have a client who just opened a restaurant on Bleeker and I asked him to make that chicken teriyaki you like.”
“I kinda have plans with Lily. Thriller movies marathon,” she smiles weakly.
“It’s just dinner, I promise. I’ll drop you off and you can take something to her. You know, my client may have also prepared ube ice cream just for you,” he articulated.
“Are you trying to spoil me or to feed on me, Mr. Raines?” She arches an eyebrow amused.
“Is it wrong to say both?” He smirks.
Samantha shakes her head grinning, grabs her bag and leaves her desk to hold his arm and walk by his side. “Fine. I wasn’t going to say no to a Filipino dish anyway.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” he whispers kissing her cheek as they walk to the elevator.
