The Corruption of Mila (2 page)

“I don't know,” I said. “But you've got my interest piqued, that's for sure.”

He laughed, and it was a nice, genuine sound. It wasn't the awkward forced kind I heard from a lot of people, or the deep creepy guy kind. “I can be interesting when I want to be. I'll try to not be so careful, but I am a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of a person. There are definitely guards up, but they aren't the lying kind. I'm not as exciting as most people expect of me, I'll give you that much. But I do still know how to make an interesting adventure. What about you?”

“What about me?” I asked, not liking the shift of focus on the conversation. If Jax was guarded, I was Fort Knox.

“What kind of a person are you? What sort of things do you do in your spare time?”

I leaned forward. “I could show you.”

“It's trashy to kiss on a first date,” he said.

I hid my wince. “Not what I meant. You shouldn't be so presumptuous either. Who says I want to kiss you?”

“You can call that an example of my quirky sense of humor.”

“Oh, you were only joking, got it.” I rolled my eyes, but I was a little disappointed. Not because I wanted to lock lips with him, but a little flirting never killed a person. “Let's take care of the bill and I can show you my example of a good time. After eating all of this food, I could really use a good work out.”

He swallowed. “I'll do it so long as it has a PG rating.”

“Might have a thirteen tacked on to that as well, but I won't corrupt your innocence.” I winked and pulled out my wallet from my purse.

“I got it,” Jax said and handed over a credit card when the waiter came back to settle the bill. I didn't even get a chance to protest.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. A guy who paid for a date, especially one that wasn't going well, was definitely too good for me. We made plans, and I would follow through with them, but let me be clear when I say there were no big sparks and lustful thoughts. Jax intrigued me — a lot — and that was enough to make me not want to give up on the evening completely. Besides, I looked smoking hot. It had been a while since I last made the attempt at being so sexy.

When his card came back, Jax stood and waved for me to do the same. He walked next to me the entire trip to the front door, and I mean right next to me. While we didn't touch, he still made it clear that we were together, even if we weren't. Probably because the date wasn't over yet, and for at least another hour I was his. Upon opening the door, we were attacked by a bright camera flash. Immediately, Jax closed the door.

He groaned. “You've got to be kidding me.” Pulling out his cell phone, he made a call of the variety I never would have expected to hear in my life. “We're walking, lead the car away. Yes, I know, I saw all of the paparazzi. We'll be fine if we go out a side exit, no problem. If you take the car out, they might follow it. Take the night off. I should be fine.” And then he hung up. His gaze caught mine and my jaw must have been dropped or something because he raised an eyebrow. “What? Oh that's right; you don't know who I am.” He extended his hand for a shake. “Jackson Hamilton. Jax, for short.”

I dropped my purse on the spot. The contents of it spilled everywhere in an embarrassing mess. A bad thing because I didn't need him to see my kitten tissue baggie, punch card for individual pizzas at the local diner, or my book shop discount card. If he noticed any of those things, or anything else that had fallen from my purse, he didn't react. I'm pretty sure he missed it, which was a relief.

Cleaning up my explosion of stuff on the floor, I tried to not think about the fact that I was standing with Jackson Hamilton. Billionaire was the first word that came to mind when I heard that name. His father was the owner of Gizmo Corporation, so when Jax said he was high up in the company, he wasn't kidding. No wonder he was so familiar! He was the face of the company! Any time there was a new product, he gave the speeches, and he did a lot of the commercials as well. He was certainly good looking enough for the role, so it made sense. I just couldn't believe I didn't recognize him before. Then again, being made up for a camera changed things about a person's appearance. Plus, a girl like me didn't meet billionaires.

Talk about a fairytale waiting to happen. It stunk that he wasn't my type.

Chapter Three

“I'm sorry,” Jax said for about the fifth time in the span of five minutes. Those were the only two words in his vocabulary for that moment in time. Annoying.

I shook my head and walked with him through the dark alleys of downtown. “It's not your fault. You didn't call the paparazzi and ask them to show up and take pictures of you.”

“Still…”

“If you say you're sorry again, I think I'm going to beat you over the head with my purse.” I glared at him, trying to keep it light, but I'm pretty sure he knew I was serious because he winced. It got him to be quiet at least.

I took the time to think about everything I knew about Jax. Not like I stalked the gossip rags like a teenage girl for any information I could find on him or anything. The most I came up with was that he was twenty-seven, which made him three years older than me. No wonder Morgan decided to set us up. She probably thought I'd be a breath of fresh air for him, we'd fall in love at first sight, and then we'd have five million babies to fill up all of the rooms in our mansion. Yuck. That was nowhere near the future I ever imagined myself having.

After we walked a couple of blocks through the alley, we turned the corner and stepped back onto the sidewalks of the main street. I pulled my trench coat up around me, shivering. February was always freezing.

I chuckled. “Well, you were definitely right about making an adventure out of the ordinary.”

“There's nothing ordinary about tonight,” he said.

“That sounds like a cheesy pick-up line waiting to happen.” I glanced up at him. “I mean, if you were planning to add, ‘because there's nothing ordinary about you’ to it.”

Jax raised an eyebrow. “You aren't ordinary, but that's not what I was going to say. I was talking about the situation as a whole. Blind dates are not a normal thing, let alone ordinary. That's what the Internet is for.”

“I know right? That's what I've been thinking all night!”

We both laughed, and that was the first time we both found the same thing to be funny. I didn't let the moment last long.

I stopped walking and forced him to look at me. “Are you sure you want to keep this up? Because I would understand if you want to call it a night. I didn't know you were some kind of mega superstar, and I also know you probably want to maintain your pristine reputation. Where we're going, that might not happen. I mean, you've never been caught partying before in your life, right? People might think you're turning to the dark side.”

“You're not taking me to a gentleman's club are you?” he asked, smirking. “Mila, I agreed to this date to try something new. It's about taking risks, and I think you'll find I'm not as much of a goodie-goodie as you think I am. Granted, I'm not like my younger sister, who's probably killed her liver by now with how much she parties. And I'm also not my brother, who throws lavish parties in Paris every other weekend.” He paused, putting his hands into his pockets as we walked. “And I'm not a superstar. I'm an heir, but my talents are not celebrity status worthy.”

The guy could be a model if he changed out of the geek wardrobe and did a little more working out. I mean, I'm assuming. It's not like there were naked photos of him leaked anywhere, or even any shirtless ones for me to make an accurate judgment. Just from where I was standing, he seemed physically toned, but definitely more of the type to stay indoors and play video games. Regardless, he had total hunk potential if he wanted to make the effort. Who was he to talk about not having talents worth the status?

Rolling my eyes, I started down the street again. “Heir to a billion dollar corporation, celebrity. Same difference these days. The only thing you're missing is a reality show.”

“Ew.”

“I'll say.”

“Another thing we have in common,” he teased, catching up to me with in a few steps before matching my pace.

I snorted and pointed down the street to the warehouse district. A large neon light sign for “Waterworks” was lit up in bright blues, greens, and pinks. “That's where we're going. Feel up for it?”

His face sobered a little. “Like I said. I'm here to take risks, but after this we're going to do something I want to do.”

“Didn't you pick dinner?”

“Morgan picked dinner. I agreed it was a good place, so long as you weren't a vegetarian. She assured me you weren't.”

“Nope, definitely not. You saw how I ate,” I said and patted my stomach. I could have probably loosened the strings on my top a little because I was probably pregnant with a food baby.

Jax laughed. “I did. I liked it.” He extended his hand to me. “Do we have a deal? We do your choice activity, and then after, we'll do mine. PG rated of course. If we still don't click, no harm done, and then we've at least made a good try. Dinner didn't allow for us to get to know one another too well. There was way too much chewing involved.”

That was because I needed a reason to not talk, and especially to not open up to him.

With a sigh and some hesitation, I took his hand. “Fine, deal.”

Chapter Four

Waterworks was like an oasis in the desert. Outside it was a cold, dead, dark world; on the inside it was a tropical island paradise. As the name suggested, there was a lot of water inside. Waterfalls along the back by the bar and stage made elegant but snazzy decorations. A fountain near the entrance displayed a massive great white shark. Aquariums with exotic fish spanning every color of the rainbow entertained patrons sitting in red leather couches along the side wall. The employees wore Hawaiian garb. You know, those ugly flower-print shirts, leis, and the occasional cute girl walking around in a coconut bra or a bikini top. The club was a cheese fest, but it was one of my favorites because the DJ was amazing. Plus it was the closest I'd ever get to an exotic vacation.

Jax took a good look around, and I could tell by his wide blue eyes he was surprised. “Not what I was expecting at all.” He paused and peered out at the dance floor. “Are they dancing in foam? Is that a pole?”

“I told you there might be a little bit of thirteen added onto that PG rating,” I said with an innocent shrug.

“Let's go dance,” he said, offering me his hand.

I looked over at him, shocked he would make the suggestion without me having to drag him to the dance floor.

He caught my gaping and tapped my open jaw closed with a few fingers before grabbing my hand. “Why else would you bring me to a night club? I need to warn you, I'm not much of a dancer.”

“Dancing here isn't anything too complicated anyway. Wiggle your hips and do something sexy. You'll fit right in.” I smirked. “Or is that going to be out of your skill set too? You're not going to freak out if you dirty yourself up a little are you?”

Rolling his eyes, Jax stalked his way over to the dance floor. Was he mad or something? What did I say that was so wrong anyway? Or maybe I’d filled him with some kind of new determination. His expression was hard to read. The tension he held in his jaw suggested negative emotions, but the rest of him wasn't anywhere near as stiff.

I followed after him, closing the distance between us quickly before some hussy thought he was up for grabs. Not that I wanted him or anything, but why subject him to that? Some of the women in the club would not be so respectful of his wanting to keep things PG.

When we stepped onto the dance floor, I pressed myself close to him and started to get lost in the music. The dance always starts in my hips. They sway back and forth, matching the rhythm of the song. My legs and arms follow. I tried to keep a distance from Jax, so I wasn’t rubbing up against him or doing something else equally awkward. Doing something so forward would make him think I was interested. At the same time, I made sure we were, in fact, dancing together. Well, as much as Jax would dance.

He wasn't kidding; he really couldn't do it to save his life. His legs were completely stiff and he bounced in place. At least he kept time with the music, so that made things a little less silly looking. I could cover up his lack of skill with my body.

A few songs played, and it amazed me that Jax stuck around on the dance floor for so long. The club wasn't his scene but he hung in there. How could I not give him kudos points for that? He even put his hands on my hips, gutsy. I gazed up at him and smiled, our eyes locking. His blue eyes sparkled under the arrangement of lights.

Leaning in, he whispered into my ear. “I think that guy over there wants to dance with you.”

“Mmm, what guy?” I just about purred. Something about Jax's warm breath against my ear was enjoyable. I must have been desperate for some male attention. Then again, Jax was hot when I forgot about the good boy aspect and focused on pure aesthetics alone. Even his voice was nice. Not too low, but not too high either. It was smooth too, no grit or rasp to be found.

Jax glanced down at me, before pointing. “Three o'clock. Platinum blond guy in the silver shirt.”

Platinum blond? My heart started to pound in my chest, and not out of lust. I risked a glance toward where Jax was pointing and gasped, muttering a curse. Eli stood there, watching my every move from across the room.

“Let's get going,” I said, trying to keep calm and collected.

Jax frowned. “What's wrong? Look, if you want to dance with other people, you can. I won't get upset. I could use some water anyway. It's really hot in here.”

I shook my head. “No, it's fine. I'm done dancing. It's time to do whatever it is you want to do. We can grab some water on the way out.”

“Mila…” Jax sighed. “Fine, where's the exit? The lights are making me discombobulated.”

The strobe lights turned on full force then, it seemed, and fog started to pour out on the dance floor. I checked to see if Eli was still sitting down on the other side of the club, and found him missing. That should have been my big red flag, but all I could do was sigh with relief. Until I felt someone's rough grasp on my arm. I remembered those calloused hands all too well.