Leaning back in her chair, she did her best to refrain fromletting out a huff as she folded her arms. “Fine.”
Checking the boil on her soup one last time, Alessia caughther reflection in the darkened kitchen window. With her hair wet and down fromher shower, it hung freely down past her shoulders to her hips. The sound ofthe water running in the bathroom told her Jax was beginning his own shower.Sitting down on the couch, she began toweling off the excess water in her hairwhen the bathroom door burst open.
Turning around on the sofa, Alessia's eyes went wide at thesight of a still wet and shirtless Jax rushing out of the bathroom, pulling uphis jeans.
“Wha…what’s wrong?” She managed to stammer out weakly, hereyes still unwillingly glued to the sight of dark hair peeking just above thegroin area of his low-slung unzipped pants.
Since her eyes never made it up to his face, Alessia couldonly determine his mood from his bare feet stomping across the floor to thefront door.
“My motion lights just came on,” snatching up his rifle bythe door, Jax stepped barefoot into his nearby boots.
Quickly, her mind raced to put the facts together from hisstatement. He must have been showering when he saw the lights come on throughthe shower window. Getting up from the couch, Alessia saw him grab the frontdoor handle.
“Jax, no,” gripping panic seized her heart at the thought ofhim going out into the dark.
Running over to him, she stopped less than a foot away as heturned back to give her a hard, confused look.
“Just stay inside, I will…” he began roughly.
Nearly bouncing from one foot to another, Alessia shook herhead. “No, stay inside,” she pleaded. “What if there’s something out there?What if it’s the bear from earlier?” Just thinking of all the possibilities ofwhat could be waiting beyond that door made her breathing grow shallow.
Giving her an exasperated look, Jax nodded. “Yeah and that’sexactly why I’m going out there, to chase off the friend you made and make surehe knows that this section of the forest is my territory.”
Again, he turned back around toward the door with theintention of leaving. Grabbing his bare arm, Alessia dug her fingersdesperately into the hard flesh of his bicep. She could feel the bulge ofmuscle tighten beneath her hand.
“Please don’t go,” she begged. She could feel thedesperation tightened her throat painfully, but she refused to cry. “Please,just stay in here with me.”
As if fully realizing how much she was afraid, Jax's eyeswidened for a second as he stared down at her. His skin felt like silken fireunderneath her fingers, reminding her over and over again, she was stillclutching on to his arm. But Alessia wouldn't let go. She ignored the alarms inthe back of her head, reminding her this man was half-naked. And although shekept her eyes from roaming down his naked hard chest, she could stillpractically feel every taut muscle with every other sense of her body. Neverwas she more aware of her frumpy flannel pajamas than she was now.
Lifting his hand, Alessia watched Jax’s midnight eyes followthe motion of his own hand as he gently snaked it under the fall of her hairnear her cheek. Goosebumps rose across her flesh as she felt the radiatingwarmth from his hand drift past her neck as he lifted her hair back and overher shoulder before settling his hand on the round of her shoulder.
“Go back in front of the heater, sit down and finish dryingyour hair,” his tone was even and gentle, giving her no clues as to what he wasthinking. “When I come back, we will watch a movie.”
Turning away from her, he walked through the door with hisrifle.
When he eventually came back in a few minutes later, Alessiawas so relieved she felt immediately drained. Walking back inside, he told herhe found nothing before walking back into the bathroom. She expected a lectureor, at worst, teasing regarding her earlier panic, but she was grateful he saidnothing.
Later that night, they ate their soup on the couch in frontof the mounted flatscreen TV on the wall. Images flickered by on the screen,but Alessia could hardly pay any attention to them. The need to apologize wason the tip of her tongue. It was apparent to her now that in order to live outhere, one had to be strong—a lot stronger than what she was being right now.For the past year, it felt like all she had been doing was running from herproblems. Never running out to face them head-on like Jax did tonight. Maybe ifshe was stronger, she would have dealt with Gary more directly. Punched him,thrown hot water in his face, or just summon the courage to call the cops.
Stealing a glance at his profile, she kept her mouth shut.She had to stop whining and being so weak in front of this man. From the momentJax met her, he had been saving her one way or another. Alessia was starting toforget herself that she was more than just a victim. She was more than just agirl on the run and that she had so much more to offer this world than thiscurrent sad image.
~*~
Jax felt her catlike eyes stare at the side of his faceduring the movie. There was a lingering tension floating in the air betweenthem as she sat there noticeably lost in her thoughts. No one should be thateasy to read, he thought as he pretended to focus on the movie. He wasn’t surewhat was on her mind tonight but he was crystal clear as to what was plaguinghim.
Clenching his fists just as the thought of his idiocy, herecalled the feeling of brushing her damp hair over her shoulder for thehundredth time. What an idiot! Jax had no clue what possessed him to dosomething so dumb. The look in her surprised eyes, the gentle slope of herneck, the impossibly wonderful scent of that accursed shampoo she used. Fuckinghell, she was affecting him. Affecting him in the very way, he told himself itwouldn't when he let her stay, and in the very last way, she needed right nowin her life.
The credits were rolling ahead of him and the room wasquiet. He didn’t even need to look over at her to know she had fallen asleep,but he did anyway. Curled up, with her feet tucked underneath the blanket, herhead rested against the arm of the sofa. Long, dark wavy brown hair draped overher shoulder like a cape. Feeling the muscles in his jaw twitch, he turned awayand got up. Tonight was the first time Alessia had ever touched him, the memoryof her fingers digging into his arm was jarring, he couldn’t get it out of hishead.
He hoped it was the first and last time.
Chapter 9
“God, you cruel fuck, what else do you want from me?” Jaxmurmured into the cold night air.
That day started off so well too. Alessia had made a bigdelicious breakfast out of nowhere and without reason. He wasn’t sure if thegesture was in thank you or an apology for something, though he didn't reallycare, the food was delicious. Since it was raining, he stayed inside doing the variouschores he had been putting off. Fixing a loose handle on the sink, cleaning outthe woodstove, and other menial tasks he purposely saved for rainy days.Alessia had turned on some music and began humming to a song as she tried herhand at canning peaches.
She had laughed when she warned him about her expertise incanning. "When you open this in however many months, and they end upkilling you, my bad."
