My heart swells as I watch her hand move up and down the horse’s forehead, a slight smile of success on her lips. She’s fucking perfect.
Thinking back to the first time I saw her, it was like a cosmic shift, I felt it deep inside and I knew things would never be the same. It was later that day when Mason told me she didn’t trust men, he let me figure it out myself, but the rage I felt woke up something that I usually keep locked up unless we’re out on a job.
The level of fury that I felt for her that day surprised me. It shouldn’t have, considering I watched my mom being raped to death for days, and then worried they would do something to my little sister.
It was weeks later before Mason told me the details from his perspective, but I could feel the wrath rattling me from the inside out. I barely contained it. Mason described what he saw, and I felt it come alive, just beneath my skin. The sensation is like my skin splitting as it’s pulled from every corner of my body and if I’m not careful, it can take over.
It’s only happened a few times, the first time was the day I killed two guards for killing my sister. She was only seven, and they planned to do unspeakable things to her. For revenge. To get revenge for something my father had done, those men killed my little sister.
I don’t remember what happened. My cousin Vasilei said I managed to get the knife from one and I slit his throat before I cut the other guard from stem to stern. He said it happened so fast that they barely saw it coming. To this day, when he tells the story he jokes that I’m part berserker.
I don’t remember any of it.
But my sister was still dead.
When Callum said the fucker’s name, I could feel the claws scratching on the walls, begging to come out and play. I may be paying a certain DA and his son a visit.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MARLEY
WHEN Iwas a little girl, I was afraid of the dark, and on those occasions when I would wake up from a bad dream, my mom would always ask me if I wanted hot cocoa. It didn’t matter if it was twenty degrees or a hundred degrees outside, hot cocoa and sitting at the table with mom made everything better.
Because of that, cocoa is a staple in our kitchen. Kinley has some memories of cocoa with mom, but Tucker and Breanna don’t, so I kept the spirit of it alive by becoming the hot cocoa fairy in mom’s stead. Not only did it warm my heart to carry on mom’s tradition, it made late night sibling conversations at the kitchen table over a warm mug some of my favorite memories.
The dream that has my heart beating wildly in my chest and my sheets wrapped around my hips tonight wasn’t like the dreams I usually have. This time it was carnal and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew it was Jax between my legs. All I could see was the top ofhis head, and the tattoos on the hands holding my thighs open were his.
I orgasmed in my sleep.
I’ve never done that.
The raw erotic passion I was feeling in the dream while watching his fingers dig into the skin of my thighs had my body so hot that I woke up in a mess of sheets and twisted shorts, the haze of sleep had me confusing the sheets hugging my hips and thighs with his hands. But I was alone.
Even with the air conditioner on in the house, I feel claustrophobic, so I made a cup of cocoa before I step out onto the porch to get some fresh air. I know it sounds counterproductive to drink hot cocoa while hot, but the kind of hot I’m feeling right now won’t be affected by cocoa or anything else.
This side of the wrap-around porch faces my stables, it’s the nicest part of the porch and connects directly with the kitchen. I was sitting in this exact spot, after Mason was forced to leave to go to the Army, when I got the idea to rehab horses.
Since the thought of doing anything that took me from home, where I felt safe, filled me with so much anxiety that I could barely breathe, I asked Dad if he would build me my own stable for abused horses. He had it built within a year and I was getting calls from people for help as soon as word was out that I was up and running. It’s been a very lucrative business and one that brings me more reward than I could ever wish for.
The air is still comfortably cool at night and the tree frogs chirping and singing is music to my ears. I sit in one of the large wicker chairs and sip my cocoa.
The moon is a little more than half-full, the soft silver light gives everything a pretty glow and a deep sigh fills my lungs. My body is still buzzing from the dream, and my thoughts keep replaying every memory of my conversations with Jaxover the past few weeks.
He’s been here since the wedding, and since the flower delivery, he’s been like a magnet showing up everywhere I go. They tried to limit my time in the yard with the horses, but I told them they could all shove it, I won’t be a prisoner in my home, and I won’t let my horses down because some dickhead thinks he’s something special.
He fixed the shelves in my stable and I could hear him talking to the horses when they were in their stalls while he worked. It was kind of cute and I caught myself listening to him speak to them in his native tongue.
We’ve kind of started a little game. He says something in his tongue and I try to guess what he says based on the context. I’m getting better. Some things he says are starting to sound familiar.
Is it weird that I’m more afraid of some of the things he’s said to me, and the way he looks at me, over the past couple of weeks, than some crazy jerk leaving a murdered cat on our porch? I’m worried that I’m getting used to him being around, and I’m starting to like it. This is bad.
It will only hurt more when he leaves.
He’s become bolder with his touches, too. Just this morning at breakfast he placed his hand on my lower back when we both walked to the coffeepot, and he stood to the side to let me go first.
It wasn’t just a simple touch. His warm palm was like the warmth of the sun on my back between my shoulder blades before it slid down to just above the waist of my shorts before he dropped his hand.
There was a time when something like that would have sent all my red flags up at the same time, but with Jax, that small caress sent a shiver up my spine and goosebumps made all the hairs on my arms stand up. I know he saw it, he was right next to me and from the corner of my eye I could see himlooking down at my arm.
