Sexy Wreck

Chapter 2

Ian Somerhalder as Zeke Matthews (see photo above)

As was the feverish heat and undeniable hunger Axelle generated whenever she was near him, Zeke thought as the waitress delivered his second beer. He took a long drink f the cold brew, which did noting to extinguish the fire that has started i his chest and was gradually spiraling its way lower.

Dam her, anyway.

Setting the bottle on the table, Zeke reclined back in his chair, glanced at the woman sitting next to him, and met that direct, sultry gaze of hers that never failed to unnerve him. It wasn't so much the rare, extraordinary green color that disturbed him, but rather the way those eyes seemed to see past the footloose and fancy-free ruled he'd lived by the past years. Rules that kept his real emotions under wraps. Her pursuit felt personal, as if she found him much too intriguing to give up on. And quite frankly, her uncanny ability to unsettle him so effortlessly scared the crap out of him.

Thank God she had no clue how much she affected him. And she never would, he vowed, because he wasn't about to let down his guard, or allow her to rattle his control.

Then she smiled. A slow, sensual smile that affected him like a blow right to the gut. Just that easily, just that quick, he ached to kiss those pink, glossy lips of hers, wanted to eat her up, inch by delectable inch, and taste her in every hot, sweet womanly place. Most of all, he wanted to push her up against the nearest wall and let her feel exactly what she did to him.

Shrugging off his too stimulating thoughts, he lifter a brow her way. "What a coincidence meeting you here" he said, and didn't bother tempering the edge of sarcasm in his tone.

She laughed off his scorn, the lilting sound full of confidence. "What can I say? I'm a determined woman. When I find something I want, I go after it until I've exhausted every possible approach."

And what she wanted was him. "More like obstinate and too damned tenacious" he muttered, though loud enough for her and everyone else to ear.

"I think her persistence is very admirable." Jefferson lifted his beer to Axelle in a mock salute.

"Why, thank you." Axelle beamed at Jefferson for his support. "Being persistent has definitely served me well."

Zeke narrowed his gaze and pointed a threatening finger at his cousin, who'd dared to take her side. "Nobody asked you opinion, Jeffy, so I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself."

Axelle turned her attention back to him, amusement dancing in her eyes. "If you weren't being so stubborn, I wouldn't have to be so persistent."

She ran her fingers through her permanently tousled, chin-length, honey blond curls, combing them away from her face, a habit of hers he found too damn fascinating and tempting. Most of the rebellious strands sprang back into place, and Zeke's fingers itched to push them away again, just as an excuse to see if her hair was silky soft as it looked.

He wrapped his hand tight around his bottle of beer and scowled at her. "Don't you have a deadline that's come and gone?"

"I got an extension." She took a sip of her green martini, and he caught the scent of apples just before she slowly licked her lips and his libido kicked into overdrive. "I have one more week, and I've decided hat I'm going to make you my main priority and stalk you until you finally give in." Her tone was teasing, but her gaze told him just how serious her intention were.

Well, he wasn't going to be around for her to stalk, thank God. For the next three days, he'd be at the family cabin catching up on some R and R and enjoying a weekend of peace and solitude.

"Don't count on me changing my mind, sweetheart" he told her. "My answer is, and will always remain, no thank you."

"Aw, come on Adrian." Fiona piped in, disappointment lacing her voice. "This is for charity, for crying out loud. I can't believe you'd say no to something that would benefit so many kids at the Children's Hospital."

Zeke's jaw clenched tight, but he remained quiet. Fiona's comment made him sound cold and unfeeling, when his reasons for refusing had nothing to do with being selfish. Rather, he was self-conscious about baring so much of his less than perfect body to the thousands of people who purchased the magazine. But he wasn't about to reveal his personal, private reasons to Axelle or anyone else for that matter.

Rafael slanted Fiona in incredulous glance. "Contrary to popular belief, not all men are into being displayed as sexual objects."

"Since when?" Fiona argued, and leaned closer to Rafael, clearly relishing a debate with him. "Come on, admit it, sugar. Being the object of a woman's fantasies is a ice stroke to the male ego."

Rafael frowned at her, impatience and something more heated smoldering in his gold-flecked eyes. "I'll admit to nothing, except that you're a female chauvinist."

She propped her chin in her hand and batted her lashes at him, unfazed by his accusation. "I'm a liberated woman and proud of it"

Before Rafael could supply a comeback, Zion steered the conversation in a different and unexpected direction. "What about Jefferson here, Axelle?" Zion clapped the other man on the back. "He's in great physical shape, he's not bad on the eyes and he's single. Maybe yo could convince him to take his clothes off for your cause."

Jefferson looked mortified at the thought. "Uh, I don't think so."

Axelle laughed and took another swallow of her martini. "Don't worry, Jefferson. While you'd make quiet the eye candy for my magazine, you're off the hook." she reassured him, then shifter her unwavering gaze back to Zeke. She swirled the slice of apple that had accompanied her drink in the last bit of liquor, the popped it into her mouth and chewed. "You, on the other hand, are just what I'm looking for to complete my Outdoor Men magazine. Like the three other men who've posed for my project, you're the real thing.