I brought my hand to my pounding chest and exhaled in relief. "I'm right here." I was glad to see him out of bed and enjoying the park. But he was still wearing the shorts and shirt he’d slept in. Looking into his dark eyes, I sought out any sign of his earlier nightmare. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I was worried when you weren't there when I woke up."
Jax was so sweet; he must've thought I was still feeling bad about Connor. "Aw, sorry, I didn't know when you'd wake up so I came to check this place out. Isn’t it wild? I’m loving this whole pirate theme. Arrr!"
He looked around, as if suddenly noticing we were in a water park and then returned his sight to me. "Good. If you like it, I’m all for it."
Even though his face had softened, I could sense an uncertainty in his voice. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"No . . . I just wanted to make sure you’re safe."
"How can I not be safe when I've got you as my personal bodyguard?" I asked with a big smile, swooning over Jax's concern for my safety. "The rest of the band and I are having a water gun fight. Care to join us?"
Crossing his arms, he squinted in the sunlight. "Now that I know you're fine, I think I'm just gonna go back to the bus and write."
My turn in line came up. I was impressed with their selection, and I ended up outfitting myself with two high-powered pistols that came with extra clips that I tucked into my bikini bottoms. "Oh, quit being such a party pooper. It'll be fun."
He shook his head slightly. "I’m not really in the mood."
I could tell he needed to have some fun too. "Guess I'll just have to get you in the mood." Inspired by our Wild West horseback riding trip, I brought up my pistols in a quickdraw motion and squirted Jax in the chest.
He casually looked down at the big wet spot on his chest then lifted his eyes back to me, a grin slowly spreading over his lips. "You're asking for trouble."
Seeing his expression lighten, I closed one eye, took careful aim, and fired a round at his stone abs. "Bullseye," I said with satisfaction as the contours of his six pack appeared through the wet cotton.
He pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it aside, baring the ink on his chiseled torso. With a twinkle in his dark eyes, he said, "Okay, now I can't be held responsible for my actions."
"Should I be worried about that?" I asked playfully. But with his shirt off, I didn’t know if I could be held responsible for my actions either.
"Depends. But first I'd better arm myself." He turned to the water gun vendor and picked out two double barrel water guns. He bent his arms and held up the guns, framing his face with them. "Gotta make sure I've got enough firepower."
"Looks like you've got more than enough firepower right there," I said, pointing to his biceps. I was tempted to give them a firm squeeze, but I restrained myself, wary that the band might see me feeling him up.
We moved away from the stand and headed back toward the band as Jax said, "You know that was a risky move soaking me back there."
"Oh yeah?" My brow lifted. "Does that mean you're going to punish with me a spanking now?"
"It’s a very real possibility," he said, low and guttural, making me bite my lip at the sound of his voice.
"Well, I don't think I did anything wrong." I flipped my hair behind my ear. "You can't come into a water park and not expect to get wet."
"I don't see that as one the water park rules," he said, pointing with his gun at one of the many signs posted throughout the park.
"It's an unwritten rule." I playfully shoved his arm. "Besides I could tell you needed someone to cheer you up. And I figured I owed you since you were sweet enough to cheer me up yesterday."
He stopped and his penetrating gaze sought out my eyes, sending a flutter through my stomach. "Guess that means I owe you one now too." He lowered his face and brought his lips to mine. The slightest brush of his lips sent a tingle sizzling straight down to my curled toes and I had an overwhelming urge to reach out and wrap my arms around him. But instead I pulled away.
I looked at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing, Jax?"
"I’m kissing you, what does it look like I’m doing?" he asked with a confused look on his face.
"Just . . . can we keep the PDA under wraps until we get a better sense of the band's feelings on this? Can you do this for me?"
His lips curved downward and he furrowed his brow pensively. But then his face relaxed and gave a mischievous smile. "Whatever you say Pepper, but you know that's going to be hard, since I want you constantly."
I could see he didn't like it, but I was happy that he listened and was willing to do something he didn’t want to do. I smiled. "Save it for later, Stud. And thanks for understanding."
As I walked alongside Jax, I couldn't help but notice women turning their heads to stare at us. Or more specifically, turning to stare at Jax's taut, ripped body. They lowered their shades, licked their lips, peeked out from behind magazines, and fanned themselves with those magazines. A sudden self-consciousness arose in me over how I stacked up in Jax’s mind next to these tanned and fit women openly flaunting their bodies and flirting.
From out of nowhere, a tanned and pretty brunette in a designer bikini stepped in front of Jax. "Oh my god, it is you! You're Jax Trenton! I'm your biggest fan! Would you take a selfie with me? Pretty please?"
I could sense Jax's lack of enthusiasm at the proposal, but he nodded and posed with the lady as she snapped a selfie with him and bounced away, obviously ecstatic. As I kept walking side-by-side with Jax, I realized that these women openly ogling his glistening body wanted my man. And Jax didn't want any of them—he wanted me. I threw back my shoulders and stuck out my chin proudly. Keep dreaming ladies.
The band came into sight, and I tried to bury the thought that them seeing Jax and me together would raise some questions in their minds. When we came up to them, I forced a smile and said, "Look who found me . . . "
Chewie groaned. "Oh great."
"What’s wrong?" I asked.
"Now the teams are gonna be all lopsided," Chewie said, his mouth wrinkled.
"Well," Kev said with his hand on his chin. "Me and Chewie are like sharpshooters, Sky not so much. I haven’t seen Jax play, but he’s good at everything so I’m sure he’s skilled. And Riley, you claim to be this Duck Hunt-trained master shot—"