Bending down, Alessia bit her lip as she picked up the bag.Something small and dark darted around in the bag, causing her to nearly dropit in the scream.
“Please don’t be a rat or a snake,” she whined as shecarefully untied it and looked inside. “Oh my God,” she squealed, reaching intothe bag and grabbing the furry black ball of heat with one hand.
“meow.”
Staring back at her was a tiny pair of ice gray eyes setamongst soft midnight black fur.
“Oh, my goodness,” she cooed, bringing the tiny thing closeto her breasts. She could feel that some of the ice-cold stream water hadgotten on him from the bag. Shivering and mewling desperately, he looked aroundin her hands.
“You poor thing,” lifting him up, she inspected the kitten'stiny body for any signs of injuries. "Those evil bastards, how could theytreat you like that? You don't seem to be injured, though," she informedhim and herself aloud.
The kitten just mewed harder. Cuddling him closer, Alessiawalked back to the embankment she slid down. The climb would take both of herhands to get back up. Looking back down to the kitten's wide eyes, shecontemplated putting him in her coat temporarily.
“Would you get too scared if I zip you up in my coat for afew minutes?” She asked aloud.
Looking down and under the bridge’s tunnel, she consideredfinding another way up. Above her, on the bridge, she heard a car door slamshut.
“Alessia!” The booming voice yelling her name shocked andelated her all at once.
Stepping back to see up towards the bridge, she saw Jaxleaning overlooking around until he spotted her. Some of the elation sheinitially felt died a bit when she saw his furious face.
“What the hell were you doing?” Coming around the side ofthe embankment where she fell down earlier, he knelt to one knee and extendedhis hand. “Come here.”
It wasn’t a request, it was in order.
Cupping the kitten tighter to her chest with one hand, shestepped up as far she could on the embankment and reached out for Jax’s hand.Enclosing his fingers around her hand, Alessia immediately felt his strengthtake over. With one easy pull, she glided up the sloped embankment and back upto the road.
"What the hell are you doing down there?!" Hiseyes were scanning her as if inspecting her for injuries, much like she did thekitten moments ago. With widening surprise, his eyes stopped on the blackkitten in her hands.
“I was rescuing this kitten and I got stuck down there,” assoon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted it. Great, she has beengone for only a couple of hours and he now knows she already somehow managed toget stuck in a creek. Deflecting, she threw his question back at him. “What areyou doing out here?”
“I saw your note and came to talk some sense into you. ThenI saw this.” Gesturing to the bridge where her bag sat near the road with anangry sweep of his hand.
There was a frantic energy to him that Alessia had neverseen before. Suspiciously, she gave him an assessing stare pinning him to thespot. “And just what did you thinkthiswas?”
For the first time, she watched a note of uncertainty passthrough his normally austere gaze.
“My God,” she smiled as the dawning realization overtookher. “Did you think I hurled my body over that incredibly dinky bridge tosomehow kill myself over the sadness of leaving you?”
“That’s not what I…” he began, scratching at his beard.
“meow.”
They both looked down to the kitten she had been stroking,who stared back at both of them with wide-eyed confusion.
"Okay, where exactly did the cat come from again?"One eyebrow lifted questioningly. Reaching out, he stroked the kitten gentlybehind his ears, completely unperturbed by the close proximity of his hand nearher chest.
Alessia forced herself to act as aloof as he was acting.“When I was walking, I saw a car slow down and throw a plastic bag out theirwindow and over the bridge.” Holding up the kitty higher for him to see.“Thankfully, I was curious and looked over the bridge and noticed the bag wasmoving.”
“Bastards,” Jax whispered, still stroking the now purringkitten, but Alessia could feel him staring at her.
Silence settled between them, only accompanied by theconstant purring coming from her hands. She told herself to stay strong and notmeet his gaze. Seconds passed like years, and her resolve crumbled. Looking up,her chest tightened at the dark waiting expression.
“Don’t leave.” There was a glint of hopeful need in hisblack eyes. “I’m an asshole who has obviously been alone too long and I knowthat, but I still don’t want you to leave. Not like this, not how we—I—left ityesterday.”
Alessia wanted to pace back and forth at his confession, tosit down to do anything as her hard-earned composure threatened to break.Pressing her lips together, she begged herself not to give in. It was anoverwhelming relief to hear him say those things, it felt so good to know thathe hadn’t reached his limit with her as the others had. But just because hesaid the words that she desperately wanted to hear didn’t mean she could givein.
“A minute ago, you thought I was committing suicide,” shegave him a sidelong look with a smirk.
