Free Aftershock by Sylvia Day Page B

Hollywood starlets. “She’s jealous. She has a Rutledge, but...” She lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Ted isn’t Jackson or Parker.”
    I silently agreed with that. “It’s nice seeing you again,” I said instead.
    Her mouth curved. “You and I are lucky women. Trust me, Jackson’s stamina won’t fade with time.”
    My brows lifted. Even though Regina was nearer to my age than her husband’s, she was still Jax’s stepmother. It felt weird talking to her about sex with our men.
    Jax appeared in front of me, taking my flute and passing it to Regina. His dark eyes hot on my face, he caught my hand and pulled me into him. “Dance with me.”
    He led me onto the dance floor, his arms coming around me. “You’re the most beautiful woman here.”
    “Flattery will get you everywhere.” It was heady being in Jax’s arms in public, nearly as heady as being held by him in private. “I have to say, though, that I’d rather not work with stylists who are also working with Allison. I don’t like her, Jax.”
    His fingers stroked over my back. “She’s not one of my favorite people, either, but she’s married to Ted. She’s family.”
    “I’m done with her treating me like I’m the scratching post for her claws.”
    “She can be a raging bitch,” he agreed, “but she has those claws for a reason. You’ll need them, too, Gia.”
    I treated him to a sulky stare. “I know you think I’m not strong enough to deal with your life, and I’m going to prove you wrong. That said, I am not going to go out of my way to spend time with people who give me grief.”
    “So, the part about us acting as a team...that only applies to things you choose?”
    “That’s not fair! I would never ask you to just suffer quietly while people insult you. I respect you more than that!”
    A muscle ticked in his jaw. “It’s not about respect, Gia. I shouldn’t have to tell you that I’m going to talk to Allison about how she approaches you—that should be obvious. But whether we like her or not, we’ve all got to work together.”
    “I don’t have to do anything for her.”
    “Then do it for me,” he snapped. “This is my life. I was very clear about how unpleasant some parts of it may be for you.”
    I was startled by his vehemence. “You don’t like this any more than I do. I know you don’t. You don’t want to be here, at this party. It’d be different if you were asking me to hang in there because of something that’s really important to you, but that’s not the case!”
    “I made my bed, Gia,” he said tightly, his face hard and remote. “And you made the decision to lie in it with me.”
    I shook my head, trying to reconcile the Jax in front of me with the one I’d first met. That Jax had been fun-loving, larger than life, a hedonist in many ways. “I don’t understand you. Life is short, Jax. Why spend time doing things that don’t make you happy?”
    “Doing you makes me very happy.”
    I shoved at his shoulder. “Be serious. This is important. I really need to know.”
    He didn’t answer me for a minute, long enough for one song to end and another to begin. I felt a change move through him, the quickening of his breath and a tightening of his hold on me. “The time for me to make a different choice came and went a long time ago.”
    “That’s a cop-out. You’re not even thirty. Your whole life is ahead of you and nothing is behind you that you can’t fix.”
    Jax looked over my shoulder, his gaze distant and unfocused, as if he were seeing something I couldn’t. “Sometimes you can’t go back,” he muttered. “You just have to face the consequences and own your mistakes.”
    “You don’t have to keep making new ones.” I cupped his cheek, returning his attention back to me. “We’re starting over, Jax. We’ve got a second chance to get it right. Let’s not waste energy on people and situations that just drag us down.”
    He heaved out his breath, then pressed a quick