Jax (Cocky Cage Fighter Series) Read online

  "We just spent the day in AC. Luckily Page was able to get the video today or we would've been shit out of luck," I tell him.

  "I also spoke to a valet that remembered seeing...the bitch when she was leaving that night," Page speaks up for the first time since we've walked through the door.

  "You did?" I ask in surprise.

  "Yes. His name is Steve Sanders," she replies proudly. "I've got his contact information and I'm going to draft up an affidavit that he's agreed to sign. He said she was fine and perfectly happy when she asked him to get her a cab. Her appearance was somewhat disheveled, but that's to be expected. He didn’t see any redness or bruising on her neck, either."

  Dad's eyebrows shoot to the ceiling and he gives a small smile, like he's impressed with the attractive young attorney. Lord knows I am.

  "We’re hoping to get Jude's statement, since he was in the hotel room next door," she tells them.

  My little brother slowly gets to his feet, sending a pissy look my way, probably for besting him in front of Page.

  She turns to him and explains, "If you'll tell me anything you heard, I'll type it up and then get you to print and sign it."

  At that Jude smiles wickedly at her. "Well, at first it sounded like she was bitching, something about Jax never calling her. Then after that it was 'Fuck yesss! Oh! Oh! Oh Godddd!'" He uses a falsetto to make his imitation sound more authentic.

  "Geez," our dad mutters, shaking his head before thankfully retreating.

  Page is still blushing, but she quickly finds her composure. "So you didn't hear her say 'no' or 'stop''?"

  "Nope, definitely not," Jude responds, flashing her his dimples. "The only thing I heard after the bitching were cries of pleasure."

  "And how would you know what a woman sounds like when she's getting off?" I joke with him.

  "Shut the fuck up!" my little brother snaps at me. "If you weren't such a whore then maybe you wouldn't be in this mess, charged with rape and shit!"

  "That’s an excellent point, and he's agreed to stay away from women until the trial is over," Page tells my brother.

  "Ha! Jax staying away from women? I give it less than a week!" Jude laughs. I have to admit that his guess is rather generous.

  "Hey, I can easily stay away from women," I respond. "The problem is getting women to stay away from me."

  "Has he always been so...cocky?" Page scoffs loudly and asks Jude.

  "You have no idea, sweetheart. Have you seen his apartment yet? There's wall to wall mirrors in that bitch so that at any given moment he can see his oversexed cock multiplied by infinity."

  Page throws her head back and laughs. "You're adorable and freakin' hilarious. I bet you have to beat the girls back with a stick."

  Was the ice princess actually flirting with my little brother? I was stunned and…jealous, which was nothing new.

  "Trifling trashy cage cunts are always trying to hit this," Jude says, running his palms down his naked upper body, making Page giggle like a little girl again. "But unlike my bro, I'm looking for quality, you know, a beautiful classy woman like you, and not secondhand sluts bought in bulk. Jax has been fucking every skank that flashes a little tit or ass his way since before he could drive."

  "Oh, please cut the bullshit before I knock your ass out," I groan, not happy with Jude telling Page about all of my sexual exploits, even though she basically knows as much. "Page, you can set up anywhere, then let me know when you’re ready and we can get the shit printed," I tell her. "Are you hungry?"

  Her eyes finally leave Jude's to meet mine. "Sure, I could eat something. I had a busy day while you lounged at the pool."

  "What a lazy ass," Jude mutters as he tries to punch me in the gut. "You going soft during your hiatus from the cage?"

  "I can still take you," I say, dodging his fist, and nailing him in the side with mine.

  "Ugh. Damn it," he grunts, clenching his ribs. "Yeah, you outweigh me by twenty pounds, and are three inches taller, asshole."

  "Excuses," I counter, heading for the kitchen before I make my brother bleed.

  …

  Page

  It's fun watching Jackson and Jude joke and tease each other. My brother and I have never been close, since he's six years older than me. When we were growing up Logan had been just as condescending to me as my father.

  After Jackson told me that he and his brother were opposites, I hadn't expected them to look so much alike. They could pass as twins! I guess he was referring to their personalities, since Jude has the exact same dark hair, although almost completely shaved, and eerily similar midnight eyes. Jude seems happy and outgoing unlike his introverted, brooding brother. He's incredibly charming, probably able to make women swoon just by flashing his adorable dimpled smile. And I couldn't help but notice in his state of undress that, even though he's a little slimmer and a smidge shorter, Jude has the same rippling muscles as Jackson. The only attributes Jude lacked were his older sibling's cockiness and scorching hot natural swagger.

  "You finished flirting with my brother?" Jackson asks when he strolls back into the living room.

  "I wasn't flirting with your brother," I scoff, looking up from my laptop. "We've been working on formulating the most accurate wording for his affidavit." I can't help but smile as I remember some of Jude's more hilarious versions.

  "Uh-huh. Ready to eat? Stuck-up rich girls like fajitas, right?" he asks snidely, crossing his massive arms over his puffed up chest.

  "I'm not stuck-up."

  "Yes, you are. You're an elitist bitch, and you think you're better than everyone else," he snaps, making me gasp at the insult.

  "No, I don't. And you're the one being a judgmental jerk."

  He barks out a laugh. "A judgmental jerk? Is that the best you can do? What else you got for me, ice princess?"

  "You know, I'm really getting tired of your snarky comments about me being a spoiled rich girl," I tell him. Setting my computer down I get to my feet, slapping my fists on my hips to show him I'm seriously tired of his attitude.

  Jackson smiles in response, like I'm missing out on some inside joke. "But if I didn't make 'snarky comments' then I wouldn't get to see you like this, trying to look angry."

  That momentarily catches me off guard. "You…intentionally provoke me?" I ask in confusion.

  "Hell yes. And unlike the asshole on the phone, I wouldn't spank the shit out of you to punish your smart mouth. I'd fuck you so good you'd forget your name, along with whatever it was you were pissed about. You wouldn't be able to sit down the next day, but only because you'd beg me to keep pounding my cock into you until you pass the fuck out."

  I’m paralyzed by his crude words, mostly offended, but a small part of me is so instantly aroused I think I might combust where I stand. It's the annoying anatomy between my thighs, pulsing and suddenly so wet the moisture coats the inside of my panties.

  "You can't…that’s not..." I stutter.

  "Quick, what were you pissed about less than thirty seconds ago?" Jackson asks.

  "Ah, what?" I'm drawing a blank about everything in my life prior to the speech he just gave. I know my name is Page...something-another. That's it, that's all I've got.

  "I guess I don't need to fuck you to make you forget since just talking dirty does the trick." Jackson doubles over with a full belly laugh. "You should see your face, princess. Priceless!"

  He's making fun of me, taunting me. He didn't actually mean any of the things he said, he was just trying to get a rise out of me. "You're an a-hole."

  "Well, this asshole does have food ready if you're hungry," he says before heading back down the hallway still chuckling.

  Since it's either stand in their living room and sulk or finally have something to eat after a full day of going without, I follow him. The house smells delicious, like green peppers and sautéed onions. Just inhaling the aroma has my empty stomach growling.

  Quickly finding the kitchen, Jackson thrusts an empty plate in my direction before he sits d
own, joining his dad and brother at the dining table with his plate of food. It's then that I finally notice what's missing. Where is their mother? Jackson has never once mentioned her.

  I decide it's none of my business, and after making two fajitas, I take the empty seat beside Jude, mostly just to annoy Jackson since he thinks I was flirting with his brother.

  I fold up my tortilla tightly, noticing Jude and Jackson forgo the shells and are only eating meat and vegetables, and lean down to take a bite. Holy moly, these things are delicious! When I open my eyes from savoring the flavor all three men are looking at me.

  "Do I have something on my face?" I ask, grabbing my napkin and patting the corners of my lips.

  "You eat funny," Jackson says before digging his fork back into his food.

  "What?"

  "You're all delicate and shit, like a girl," Jude explains.

  "Um, okay?"

  "We're not used to having any ladies join us for dinner," their dad explains from the head of the table. "One of my sons is a whore and the other is celibate. Between the two I may never have daughter-in-laws or non-bastard grandchildren."

  I can't hold in my snort of amusement. It's hilarious that he's so blunt!

  "That's definitely unladylike," Jude says in response, which causes warmth to spread across my cheeks. "Now you fit in a little better with us."

  "Gee, thanks," I mutter. "And thanks for letting me join you for dinner. These are great," I tell them, digging into my fajita.

  "So how are you going to respond to that picture of you two?" their father asks.

  "What is this picture I keep hearing about?" I ask.

  His dad pulls his phone from his pocket and hits a few buttons before sliding it across the table to me. Jackson intercepts it before I can see it.

  "Ah, fuck," he groans when he looks down. Now I really want to see it.

  "Let me see!"

  "Um, you really don't want to see this right now, Page. Maybe later."

  "Give me the phone, Jackson!"

  "No."

  I wipe my hands on my napkin then pull out my own phone from my pants pocket. In the search engine I type Jackson's first and last name then wait for the images to load.

  "Son of a…biscuit eater!" I exclaim, and cover my mouth when the first photo pops up. It's a side view of me and Jackson at the pool earlier. I'm clenching his arm that's around my waist as he presses my body against his huge, mostly naked one. His head is bent down awfully close to my ear, which makes it look like he's kissing me. The title of the article from a sleazy gossip magazine says, "Felony charges forgotten while MMA fighter Jackson Malone fraternizes with his legal staff."

  "Whheeeww," Jude whistles when he leans over to look at the phone in my hand.

  "She was about to fall," Jackson explains.

  "Sure, the old, 'I broke her fall excuse'." Jude chuckles.

  "This is so not good. I can't believe my dad hasn't called to yell at me yet. Dang it, he'll probably take me off the case!"

  "No. I don't want you off the case," Jackson says right away, sparking a warmth inside me despite the current circumstances.

  "If there is even an appearance of a conflict I'll have to get out, or I risk losing my law license."

  No wonder Elliott was pissed. This is bad, and it does look like something's going on between me and Jackson even though it's completely innocent. Okay, mostly innocent.

  "Maybe that's just a still shot from a video, like what we did with the hotel surveillance video. If we can find someone out of all those people around the pool that captured the whole thing then it won't be an issue, right?" Jackson asks.

  He has a good point. "No, probably not."

  Jackson sits his dad's phone down and pulls out his, while I put in a few keywords for videos. I finally come across one on a video sharing site with Jackson's name and today's date. I hit play, hoping this is it. And thank you cheese and rice, it’s us from before I turned around through my embarrassing slip and windmill, and finally his save and then release.

  "Got it!" I tell him, handing over my phone.

  Jude and his dad both jump up from their seats to go and take a look at it over Jackson's shoulder.

  "Huh, that really is what happened," Jude admits disappointedly, then returns to his plate of food.

  "That's a relief," his dad says before heading back to his seat to finish eating.

  My phone starts ringing in Jackson’s hand. He frowns and stretches across the table to hand it back to me. "It's your dad."

  "Hey, Dad," I answer.

  "Goddamn it, Page! What the hell were you thinking! I didn't give you permission to go to Atlantic City, and I sure as hell never expected you to screw around with our client!" He yells at me like I'm an unruly teenager.

  "It's just a misunderstanding. There's a video-" I start to say, but he interrupts.

  "Not only are you fucking things up with Elliot, you're already fucking this case up after we just got hired!" he yells, making my eyes water at his harsh chastising. He's always expressed his disappointment in me, but never at this level. I stand up to leave the room and breakdown in private, but before I can escape, Jackson reaches across the table and jerks my phone from my hand.

  "Mr. Davenport? This is Jackson Malone," he says. His eyes are focused on the hardwood floor as he paces with his usual fluid grace alongside the dining room table. He reminds me of the angry caged tiger at the zoo, plotting who he's going to maul first once he escapes. Oh, and he will escape.

  "If you look on the internet there's also a full video showing I caught Page before she cracked her skull on the cement. And if we'd waited just two more damn days to subpoena the hotel video surveillance footage, it would've been gone. Permanently. Fucking. Erased. And then we wouldn't have the blown up photos of the bitch leaving without any marks on her neck, contrary to the pictures the prosecutor gave Page in the discovery today. Oh yeah, and Page wouldn't have found an employee that actually talked to the bitch when she was leaving the hotel that night. If it wasn't for her getting shit done, I'd be fucked, waiting around for someone else at your firm to finally get off their ass. From now on this is her case or we're done," he says in a growling tone, making it clear that he's pissed and dead serious, before he hangs up on my father.

  I remain standing at the table absolutely dumbfounded. I've never heard anyone talk to my father that way. I've also never actually had someone defend me before, either. And in that moment I'm completely helpless when a little tiny sliver of my heart becomes his.

  Chapter Six

  Jax

  That motherfucking son of a bitch! It takes all my willpower not to pulverize her phone to prevent her from having to put up with his shit again. Instead, I sit it gently back down on the edge of the dining table.

  When I look over at Page her wide eyes are on mine. I wait for her to bitch at me about how she can take up for herself. Of course I know that, but for some reason when I saw the tears welling in her eyes, and sadness replace her usual stubborn strength and confidence I just snapped. She's been working her ass off to defend me, even though she thinks I'm guilty, so standing up to her father's completely wrong accusations and totally out of line criticisms were the least I could do.

  "So what's for dessert?" Page asks in an exhale, ending the silence, and sitting back down all prim and proper and shit at the table.

  "Dessert?" I repeat, amazed when she doesn't bitch at me.

  "Yeah, you know like ice cream or chocolate. Maybe cookies? Dessert is the best part of every meal."

  "Fighters don't get to have unhealthy shit like dessert," I reply at the same time Jude says, "We've got some Oreos."

  My dad gets up and leaves the table, giving me a disappointed look when he passes. He probably thinks I was out of line with Page's dad. Screw that.

  "Oh yeah!" Page replies excitedly. "Oreos would be awesome. If it's not too much trouble, could I also have like a small glass of milk, too? Or do fighters not drink milk, either?" she asks with
a smirk in my direction.

  "Yes, we have milk, and for you, sweetheart, I'd bring the whole fucking cow," Jude responds, making Page laugh and me groan before he's up and ducking into the kitchen.

  Before I can sit back down her goddamn phone starts ringing again and vibrating on the dinner table. Only instead of her dad, this time it says, "Elliot" on the screen. Awesome. I'm raring to go 2-0 tonight with another telephone showdown. Since I'm closer I grab it before she can.

  "Page's phone," I answer.

  "What the…who is this?" the angry man asks. "Where's Page?"

  "I'm sorry, but since Page and her fine ass are unavailable tonight, it looks like you'll just have to spank yourself."

  "Jackson!" Page hisses, lurching across the table but still unable to reach me. "Give me the phone!"

  "Who the hell is this?" the asshole asks. "Do you have any idea who the fuck you're talking to?"

  "Let me tell you who you're talking to. You're talking to a crazy motherfucker who will beat the shit out of you if you lay another finger on her ass without her express written permission to do so. And I don't give a fuck what soft, pussy job or title you have, buddy. You could use a big healthy dose of watch your goddamn mouth when you talk to her before I knock a few teeth out of it." I end the call, chest still heaving with adrenaline. Fucking bastard. I finally hand over the phone to Page's outstretched hand, knowing she's going to bitch me out for sure this time.

  "That…was the funniest shi...znit I've ever heard," Page says, looking up at me with a smile.

  "Shiznit?" I ask with my own grin, breathing deep to calm myself down. "What are you, ten?"

  "Excuse me if every other word out of my mouth is not filth like yours."

  And it is a damn fine mouth, I can't help but notice. Plump pink bottom lip, fuller than the top which forms a perfect fucking bow. I'd love to force those lips apart with a gasp of pleasure. Or watch them part even wider when they wrap around my hard cock. The cock currently pressing against the fly of my jeans so hard it'll likely have a permanent zipper imprint down it.

  Jude returns with the pack of cookies and a glass of milk, giving Page a low bow when he says, "Here you go, m'lady."