JAXON

“You really accepted to be a mascot? Have you seen how chaotic those fundraisers are?” Xavier asked, staring at me with an amused look on his face.

I didn’t. All I knew was that she had asked, her doe eyes staring at me with some level of softness to it. And I was gone.

She would have asked me to rob a bank and I would have done it in a heartbeat.

Why?

Because there was something enchanting about Eden Theodore that held me captive to her quirks.

“Fuck, what is wrong with you!” I hissed, rubbing the back of my head that Xavier had so nicely slapped.

“You zoned out, I thought that I should bring you back to reality,” he mumbled, staring at me like he had done me a favour.

“I will snap your bones,” I hissed.

“Yeah yeah, back to the fundraiser, you do know that it is a dog charity fundraiser?” he asked.

I shrugged.

“Jaxon, you fucking hates dogs!”

He wasn’t wrong, but Eden liked them and that meant that I had to endure it.

“I don’t really think that I see what the issue is,” I said, plopping down on the chair, as I browsed through my phone.

My jaw tightened, and my eyes hardened at the picture staring me. Zayn had posted a picture of himself and Eden on some stupid date. I hated the smug look on his face.

It had to be just more than seeing Zayn that caused this rage. But I wasn’t ready to dig deep into that.

“I hate this bastard,” I hissed, dropping my phone on the side of the counter.

“Zayn?”

I nodded. I was seeing him more than I usually would want to. Dating Eden meant he used every opportunity he had to show up at my house.

Each time, I faced the penalty of spending the rest of my life in jail and disappointing Eden. The latter always won.

“He will be your brother-in-law soon, shouldn’t you at least tolerate the guy?” Xavier asked.

I stared at him with a hardened gaze, “How the fuck are we friends?”

He chuckled, “Look, the playoffs start soon, how are you going to get the coach to sign you off to attend some event?”

Shit! I hadn’t thought about that.

“He will,” I said in a smug tone.

The door opened, and I watched as Eden and her best friend, walked into the room. What was her name again? Isaac? Isabelle?

She squealed the second her gaze met her boyfriend, “You didn’t tell me you…”

I zoned out, my eyes focused on Eden as she moved around the kitchen. A soft smile crossed my lips, She hated crowds, and I knew that, I could see it in her eyes. But she was a loyal friend and that means that she will wait until her friend is done before they rush back to her room.

I could feel the excitement bubbling at the back of my mind. Eden had a debt to pay.

“Jaxon, thank you for agreeing to be our mascot,” her friend said with a smile on her face.

Fuck, she is expecting a reply. And she would need me to say her name.

“Isla, do you want a drink?” Eden asked.

Isla, how the fuck did I think she was Isaac?

I could see the knowing look on Eden’s face, she knew just how horrible I was with names.

“Anything for a great cause,” I said, my tone barely masking the sarcasm.

Eden smiled, her cheeks flushed as she tried to look busy. She had been standing there for more than a minute, staring at the glass jar.

Cute.

She had the dangerous cuteness that could bring men to their knees. She didn’t know that. Didn’t see the way boys fell over themselves trying to get her attention.

I smirked, but they couldn’t approach her not when they knew that they would be feeling my wrath.

Her friend was still talking, explaining the goal and aim of whatever it was that they were doing. But my eyes were on Eden, recalling how soft her eyes had looked when she had begged.

Almost like she could hear my thoughts, her eyes met mine, her cheeks flushed as she bit her lower lip.

I swallowed hard.

Fuck! She had no idea of what that did to me.

Isla laughed, breaking the tension in the room, “You know that you will really look good with some kind of glitter and…”

“No glitters,” I said, cutting her off.

I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t spend another minute staring at her with that longing look in her eyes. The same look that makes me want to throw caution to the wind and have her against the table.

“Xavier, let’s go,” I hissed, my tone sounding harsher than I intended.

Just as I neared Eden, I slowed my pace, cocking my head as I whispered, “My price has just increased,”

Her breath hitched, just the way I liked it.

My fist stayed clenched by my side, fighting the urge to touch her plump full lips. I could imagine what they would taste like.

Xavier arched an eyebrow, staring at me with a puzzled look on his face.

“Don’t wait up,” I said, walking out the door.

“What was that about?” Xavier asked, the minute we stepped into the car.

“What?” I asked, staring at him like I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Taunting Eden, I thought you had stopped that,” he commented.

It was funny, “Just having some fun,”

“Does she know that?” he asked, sounding like he was unimpressed.

“It is nothing like that,” I said, trying to play it off.

Xavier laughed, “It is fun when they fall, but you will never be there to pick them up,”

My hand tightened around the steering wheel. He was wrong, I wasn’t playing with her feelings.

She was special, Eden Theodore was something I couldn’t understand.

And I had every intention of unravelling every part of her.