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  “Hey, are you having a good day?” The noise from

  wherever Jaxon was sounded like people having a good time

  outside.

  “I am now. Are you done for the day?” She didn’t mind

  that Judith stuck around for the conversation, but she did

  lower her voice.

  “Just finished my office hours and talking to Bert and

  Viola. I missed you today.”

  “That’s good to hear. We might run late, so can you find

  something to keep you busy?” She laughed and tapped her

  nail on the phone. “Just make sure it’s not one of those

  needy coeds.”

  “I already have the coed I want, so no worries. Bert

  invited us to go to that art house theater by his house.

  They’re playing Pride and Prejudice, but I thought we’d stay

  home and cook you something.”

  “I’d love to see that. Thanks for putting it off until

  tomorrow night, Mr. Darcy. Tell him we’ll take him out to

  dinner somewhere fancy for his sacrifice. And I think I met

  someone he might love.”

  “He’ll have to tell you the story of the last guy, so don’t

  pout if he turns you down.” The rumble of Jaxon’s truck

  made Margot smile again. “How’s your TV love life going?”

  “Not as well as my true love life. I couldn’t convince

  Judith that kissing Britt on set would make me look like

  someone is gagging me, but the higher-ups have confused

  that with chemistry.”

  “If he tries anything other than what’s in the script,

  remind him that I’ll be happy to rip his balls off.” Jaxon

  sounded serious. “Your father taught me how.”

  “You’ll have to beat me to it, honey, and I don’t want to

  talk about that anymore. Make sure if you’re grilling you

  save me some. With any luck I’ll be home by…” Judith held

  her fingers up. “Nine.”

  “Call me when you’re on your way, and I’ll throw yours

  on the grill. Do you want me to come pick you up?”

  “You don’t mind?” She was sure how Jaxon felt about her,

  but she wasn’t above being reminded.

  “I’ll tell Bert we’ll make up tonight as well, and I’ll come

  now. They’re not going to strip-search me at the gate, are

  they?”

  “No, but that might be a possibility when I get you in my

  dressing room.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Jaxon came home a week later and flipped through the mail

  as she made her way to her office. She knew Margot would

  be home in an hour, and they’d finally have a quiet night in.

  She’d been looking forward to it. Their few minutes at night

  before sleep, and another few minutes before they went to

  work, weren’t enough.

  This life they’d made together surprised her on a daily

  basis. Margot was the type of woman who kept her

  enthralled. It was the best way she could describe it, and

  what they had wasn’t something she’d ever trade for

  anything. Love wasn’t something that had worked out for

  her until now, but Margot had been patient with her and had

  spent plenty of time convincing her to believe their love

  would work.

  The view from the back of the house was spectacular,

  and she took a minute to enjoy the pink and orange sky that

  made for a gorgeous sunset. This place was way out of her

  price range and a perk of Margot’s salary. Moving in had

  taken a lot of convincing as well, but Margot hadn’t given up

  there either.

  She loved the house, though, and the office Margot had

  decorated for her was perfect. She looked at the envelope in

  her hand and sighed. Another class reunion. Why were her

  high school classmates so dedicated to seeing each other so

  often? Add to that you had to pay for that privilege, and it

  made even less sense. Most of these people were assholes

  back then and hadn’t improved with age. It was like an

  asshole convention, and the people involved competed for

  the top spot.

  Not that she knew from experience, but Bert kept her up

  on the gossip from a place that hadn’t been home in a long

  time. The majority of the people they’d graduated with had

  stayed close to where they’d been born and would be buried

  there once their predictable lives were over. It was their

  mundane circle of life. She didn’t open the envelope and

  threw it in her bag. It would be like all the others she tossed

  out. Walking into her past was something she had no

  intention of doing. There was nothing there she wanted to

  visit or relive. Add to that it was actually their sixteen-year

  reunion, and it made even less sense. They’d missed the

  first year but were committed to sticking to the five-year

  increments. It was as if human evolution had missed a few

  links in her hometown. The fuckers she went to school with

  couldn’t even handle simple math.

  “Jax, where are you?” Margot called out as the front door

  shut. “Tell me you’re naked.”

  “I can be for the right incentive.” She sat on the corner of

  her desk and smiled when Margot walked in.

  “That sounds like a challenge, professor.” Margot peeled

  off the sweatshirt, and her hot pink bra made Jaxon inhale

  deeply. “You know how much I love a challenge.” The

  skintight jeans shimmied down Margot’s legs, and Jax was

  surprised to see white bikinis. “Lose the pout. You ripped the

  matching panties, baby, and I haven’t had a chance to go

  shopping.”

  “I’m not complaining.” She put her hands on the desk

  and waited. If there was another truth in the world besides

  the fact that she loved Margot, it was that she was

  incredibly beautiful and downright sexy. “And I promise to be

  gentler this time around.”

  “Who asked you to do that?” Margot stepped between

  her legs and kissed her. She tasted like chocolate, which she

  knew was one of Margot’s weaknesses. “I love that wild,

  can’t-control-yourself side, honey. It makes me hot.” Margot

  ran her hands from her shoulders down her chest to the

  alligator belt that had been a gift from her brother, Roy.

  “This morning was too rushed, so no more of that.”

  There were certain mornings…well, pretty much every

  morning, when she opened her eyes to Margot naked next

  to her and it turned her on. They hadn’t had time to prolong

  the enjoyment they took in each other that morning, but it

  didn’t mean they hadn’t reached the promised land, as

  Margot called it.

  “I agree with you,” she said as she sat up slightly so

  Margot could pull her pants down. She was now trapped in

  cowboy boots, with her jeans around her ankles. “It’ll be

  better if we move over to the couch.”

  “And lose my advantage? Not on your life, lover.” Margot

  yanked down the underwear she loved shopping for and

  smiled as she dropped to her knees. “Pay attention now.”

  She nodded like an idiot and tightened her hold on the

  desk when Margot put her mouth on her a
nd flicked her clit

  with the tip of her tongue. It was hard not to come right

  away, but Margot had a way of stripping away all her

  control. She put her hand on the back of Margot’s head and

  closed her eyes, trying to hang on, but it was impossible.

  “Fuck…fuck,” she said, fisting Margot’s hair and holding her

  tighter against her.

  “You taste so good,” Margot said, kissing the top of her

  sex after she’d come hard. “And I’ve been thinking about

  that all day long.” Margot stood and started unbuttoning her

  shirt as she kissed her neck.

  “I think about that on a daily basis too, ever since you

  stripped for me and blinded me to the world.”

  “You say the most romantic things.” Margot helped her

  off with her boots and pants so she could walk without

  killing herself. When Margot was done she pressed their

  bodies together and tugged on Jaxon’s bottom lip with her

  teeth. “That’s one of the many things I love about you.”

  “That you like the romantic sap in me is one of the many

  things I love about you.” She kissed Margot and ran her

  hands down her back until it was under her panties and on

  her ass. “This butt is also one of the things I love about

  you.”

  “That’s when I knew I had a chance, Dr. Lavigne,” Margot

  said, laughing. “I caught you looking more than once when I

  walked out of your classroom. Right now, you can look all

  you want. You’re entitled.”

  “Really? You won’t think I’m a pig for staring?”

  Margot put her hands around her neck when Jax stood

  and pulled herself up, so she could wrap her legs around her

  waist. “It’d make me think there’s something wrong if you

  didn’t.”

  Jaxon sat on the couch and smiled when Margot lay

  across her lap with her butt facing her. “You are perfection,

  my love.” She started at the back of Margot’s knee and

  moved her hand upward until she caressed Margot’s ass.

  “What were you thinking about all day?”

  “You, touching me like this—” Margot stopped abruptly

  when Jaxon ran her fingers down and through her wetness.

  “Yeah…like that.” Margot’s ass came up as if wanting more.

  “But you went inside, tease.”

  Margot turned her head and watched Jaxon put her

  fingers in her mouth. “Patience,” she said, putting her hand

  back where it’d been. “I had to check and make sure you

  taste as good as you look.”

  “There’s going to be hell to pay if you make me beg.”

  Margot wiggled on her lap and kept her head turned so she

  could see her.

  “You think so, huh?” She slapped Margot gently on the

  ass and loved the moan it got her. Margot was wet, and she

  hadn’t tortured her, so she slid two fingers in and waited to

  see what pace Margot wanted to set.

  “Oh yes,” Margot whispered. She pumped her hips

  slowly, but that didn’t last very long. “Please, baby…fuck

  me.”

  She knew from the few classes Margot had taken with

  her that she had a brilliant mind, but she could be succinct

  when she needed to be. The day of Margot’s graduation

  she’d walked up to Jaxon and handed her a note with her

  address and the time she’d be ready for their first date.

  Margot’s reasoning had been she was no longer a student.

  Because she wasn’t, they were free to do all the things

  she’d fantasized about in class, and they’d wasted enough

  time already.

  “Harder, honey, harder,” Margot said, moaning again.

  “Yes…yes…fuck yes.”

  She felt Margot tighten around her fingers when she

  stopped moving, but she kept her fingers still until Margot

  was ready to let her go. “You really were thinking about

  me.”

  Margot moved so she could sit up and put her arms

  around her neck. “Would you consider an acting gig? If you

  were my love interest on the show, those idiots could see

  what true chemistry is. Otherwise, you have to promise to

  make love to me every night so I can stay sane.”

  “Sorry, my love. You’re the star in this relationship, and I

  still haven’t figured out exactly what it is you see in me.”

  She lay back and held Margot on top. “Making love to you

  every night is a promise that’ll be easy to keep, though.”

  “You’re my person, babe. I knew that from the first time I

  saw you. My mom always preached, from the time it was

  important, to find the one who was real and didn’t have any

  hidden agendas.” Margot pressed her hands to her face and

  kissed her.

  “Your father is another story,” Jax said, making Margot

  laugh. “I doubt I was what he had in mind.”

  “Daddy loves you.” Margot kissed her again. “He just

  hides it well.”

  “We can agree on that.” Major General Wilber Drake had

  proudly served his country in the Marines until his

  retirement. He was the walking personification of rigid. “I

  think he’s been not so secretly plotting to kill me from the

  minute you introduced us.”

  “That’s not true.” The way Margot sat up a little made it

  hard for Jaxon to take her eyes off her chest. “He knows how

  happy you make me, and that’s important to him. And as

  much as I love my father, I don’t want to talk about him

  while I have you naked.”

  “Are you hungry?” She ran her hands down Margot’s back

  to her ass.

  “We’re not grilling anything, caveman. Let’s order some

  sushi after a swim.” Margot stood up and held her hand out

  to her. “Want to go out to dinner with me this week? I want

  to go somewhere with plenty of paparazzi.”

  “Did you hit your head on the way home?” She stood still

  as Margot stood on the sofa so she could climb on her back

  for a piggyback ride to the pool. “You never want to give

  those vultures the chance to make a penny off you.”

  “It was Judith’s idea, and it’s so brilliant I’m sorry I didn’t

  think of it myself. She figured if the studio execs saw us out,

  they’d rethink the new storyline with Britt. The bonus is, any

  plan that includes a date with you is something I can get

  behind.” Margot kissed the side of her neck and pressed her

  sex into her back. “And think. Once we get home, we can

  cut the pictures out of the national rags and put them in our

  scrapbook.”

  “We have a scrapbook?”

  “We could, but let’s talk about our date instead.”

  Jaxon turned off all the lights by the pool and got in with

  Margot still on her back. This was one of the main reasons

  Margot had fallen in love with the house. It had everything

  they’d both wanted in a home and they’d been happy here

  for two years. “I’d love to take you out but talk to them if

  this is really bothering you. Can they force you to do

  something you really don’t want to?”

  “It’s no secret how I feel about Britt, but it’s more than


  that. I feel disingenuous going along with this. Not to

  mention, it makes my skin crawl.” Margot held on to her as

  she headed for the deeper end. “I want you to be proud of

  me.”

  “Honey, it’s called acting. I love you, and while I’ll admit

  seeing you kiss someone else makes me crazy, it doesn’t

  mean anything.” She kissed Margot’s temple. “Don’t waste

  any time thinking I’m not proud of you. We both know it’s

  only a matter of time before you springboard into something

  much bigger. You’re better than everyone on the show, and

  they know that.”

  “You’re good for my ego, love.” The water temperature

  was starting to cool, so it was time for a shower. After the

  sex, no other exercise was necessary. “Do you want me to

  cook? If you really aren’t in the mood for sushi, I’ll make

  something.”

  “No, I’ll run out and pick up dinner. When I get back, we’ll

  have a picnic in the den and then go to bed. The weekend is

  almost here, and I’ve got a date.” She moved Margot in

  front of her and kissed her. “The rest will work itself out.”

  “I love your optimism, honey. You always say that, no

  matter what.” Margot wrapped her legs around her waist

  again as she started for the shallow end. “How was your

  day?”

  “The usual around this time of year. Most of my students

  are great and are ready to discuss the assignments, but a

  few think I’ve never heard of SparkNotes.” She rested her

  forehead against Margot’s. “I wonder sometimes how they

  made it this far, but like I said, it usually works itself out.”

  “I miss those times. You were the best part of my day.

  You still are.”

  “You’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met.” She put her

  foot on the first step and smiled when Margot laid her head

  on her shoulder. “I love you.”

  “I love you more.” Margot kissed the side of her neck.

  Everything they had together, this life, this relationship,

  was so much more than she’d ever thought she’d have

  when she left home all those years ago. Their night had let

  her forget the envelope she’d put away, but for some

  reason she remembered it now. Nothing was worth

  gambling all this, and going back home and exposing

  Margot to her family would certainly do that. Those thoughts

  made her stop moving. She wasn’t often embarrassed, but