It always amazes me how well my brother is doing. He and his best friends own Trinity together. And their company has its own plane. Just like Connor’s parents, ours would be proud of all three of them. They’ve dominated the business world, the tech world, and the sports world all at the same time. They combined their strengths and made a lucrative marketing company.
“I have to leave so Jax is going to stay here and watch out for you until I get back in two days.”
Ah, now the pieces of the puzzle are all here. I’m being put under house arrest with Jax as my warden. Wonderful. You would think for someone about to turn twenty-eight, Logan would be more lenient towards his younger sister, but you’d be wrong.
Jax decides to enter right as I’m about to protest. Which is good because I know it would be pointless. Logan wouldn’t leave me alone, especially after an Emergency Room visit. Turning away from Jax, I give my brother the biggest smile I can manage. I’m vaguely aware of Jax making more noise then he should, but I solely focus my attention on my brother.
“Make sure to say hi to Connor’s parents for me.” I know that they will get together since Connor’s adoptive parents now reside in the bay area. “I’ll be fine. Call me when you land.”
“Always do.”
Our eyes are drawn towards Jax when he lets something drop to the floor next to my bed. I can’t even hide my irritation when I see the air-mattress. Jax is just as bad as my brother. The drugs they gave me are kicking in and it’s becoming harder to fight off sleep.
For some reason, my witty personality seeps through my hard exterior. I’m usually closed off, barely muttering a “no” when I’m upset. Well, until recently. I’ve been standing up for myself a lot more.
“Ummm no. There’s a perfectly usable bed in the guest-room with your name on it, Jax.” I hope he doesn’t listen to me. Even though I can’t have him, his presence brings me comfort.
In his most mocking voice Jax says, “This is my new bed.” He points down at the air mattress. “Oh, and I sleep naked.”
I have to look away from Jax as I remember a time when his sweaty, naked body was gliding over mine as he slid inside me. I don’t want Logan to suddenly ask questions.
“Leave her alone. I swear if I find out that you slept naked in the same room as my sister, I will cut off the favorite part of your anatomy.”
Jax is smart enough not to say anything. A few minutes later, Logan leaves after I promise that I’ll call him immediately if I need anything. I’m so exhausted that I don’t have the energy to watch Jax walk out of my in-suite bathroom wearing only red boxer briefs.
I wake up, distraught and in a lot of pain. I regret ever opening my eyes this morning. My head feels like I decided to play chicken with a bus and lost, severely. Once my equilibrium returns, I manage to lean against my pillows. I attempt to brush my hair in a somewhat presentable style with my fingers.
I can’t help wanting to look good for Jax. I shake my head, knowing that nothing will ever happen between us. That notion floated away a long time ago. Giving up, I attempt to climb out of bed.
When I can finally manage to stagger to my feet, I notice that Jax spread my robe out on the duvet. He was even kind enough to move the blow-up mattress against the far wall so I wouldn’t have to maneuver around it with my crutches. That would just be asking for trouble. After I knot the silk sash to my robe in place, I hobble on crutches to the bathroom to freshen up before I go search for him.
Peering into the mirror, I almost don’t recognize the person staring back. I’m facing a complete stranger. I have a nasty bruise turning a wonderful shade of purple on my forehead and there aren’t enough brushes in the world to calm my hair. But what’s different is my eyes. Instead of being vacant, a look that I have grown accustomed to, there is a fire in them for the first time in six years. I look like I’m finally alive again. Just as quickly, the fire is gone.
I can’t shake the feeling that it’s time for me to move forward. I need to make a decision. I need to either start living, or I need to give up . . . for good. As I leave my bedroom I realize that I don’t have a choice to make. I already made it. I made it a year after the accident when I decided to seek help. I want to live . . . I just don’t know how.
I make my way to the living room before I call out for Jax. It’s hard to ignore the disappointment that immediately follows the silence. I limp my way to the kitchen, hating the crutches. I fight the smile that wants to appear when I see a note from Jax in his neat handwriting.
Had to run out to buy you a new phone since you decided to take your poor, helpless phone down with you. I’ll bring home breakfast so don’t eat. I already called the bakery and explained why you won’t be in for the rest of the weekend so don’t bother getting dressed for work. Take the medicine I left out for you with a glass of milk
-Jax
Call Logan.
Rolling my eyes, I do as I’m told. I’m annoyed that he placed all of my medicine on the counter for me, even going as far as grabbing a glass, as if I don’t know where I them. Men. Shaking my head, I open the fridge. After I take the medicine, I snag my house phone and wobble to the living room. I collapse onto the couch as gracefully as I can manage with a sprained ankle.
While waiting for him to answer, I wonder if Logan will make Jax stay the entire time he’s away. Logan picks up on the third ring, and by his worried greeting, I have my answer to my unasked question. Yes, Jax will be my new shadow until Logan returns. Hey, things could be worse. I could be locked up in a basement with a serial killer. Okay, so it’s not that bad, but I would enjoy myself a lot more if Jax would stop playing with my emotions.
“How are you feeling? I know you didn’t sleep that good.”
“How do you know how I slept? I swear if you put cameras in my room last night I’m going to kill you. That’s taking overprotective brother syndrome to a whole new level, even for you.”
“HA HA HA, Addie. No, I didn’t need to put a camera in. I had the next best thing . . . an actual person to watch over you for me. You kept him up all night.”
My brother isn’t as funny he thinks he is.
“How could I have possibly kept Jax up all night? I was out in seconds once the pain meds kicked in.”
“You were tossing and turning all night while sleep-talking.”
And just like that, all of the air leaves me. There are too many horrible possibilities of what I could have said last night. I hope it wasn’t anything about my unrequited love. Crap, suddenly I don’t want Jax to come home.
“Everything you said was incoherent, but you were talking gibberish all night and kept Jax up. So I would be a lot nicer to him than you’re being to me.”
“I’m always nice to Jax.” Deciding to change the subject I ask, “So when are you going to take over babysitting duty?”
Logan hesitates before answering. Not good.
“We won’t be back until Saturday night now. Take it easy and try to listen to Jax.” Pausing, he says something to Connor that I can’t hear and then I have his full attention again. “I just need to know you’re safe.”
It’s hard to hide my irritation. I think it’s time for my brother to treat me like the adult I am. “Fine, I’ll play nice since you gave me soooo many options.”
“Great, Addie. I knew you would see it my way. Listen, I have to go. I love you.”
“Love you too,” I say before he hangs up.
I hate that they all treat me like I’m still five and that I can’t take care of myself. All three of them need to realize that I’m twenty-four. Jax is the last person that I need to take care of me.
After discarding the phone on the coffee table, I will myself to relax. My mind drifts over last night’s events and as much as I want to, I can’t dismiss the feeling that I know Kohen. There’s something about him that’s telling me that I know him from a long time ago. That thought is beyond idiotic since I met him for the first time when he rescued me at the gym. He didn’t even k
now my name until I told him. I chalk it up as seeing him in the building before in passing.
I don’t know why I can’t stop thinking about him. It’s not like we’ll end up dating. I never date. My last date was six years ago with Jax. For a moment I wonder what it would be like to date someone in the open, not having to keep everything a secret; every caress, every smile, every kiss. All too quickly, the image evaporates. Kohen seems like a great guy, too good of a guy for someone like me. The guilt of what I’ve done weighs heavily on my shoulders, crippling me. He deserves someone who isn’t haunted by the past.
Even though I keep telling myself that it’s pointless to continue thinking about him, I can’t help smiling whenever I picture his face. As much as I wish I could just ignore this foreign attraction, that might be hard since we live in the same building. I know I need to think of how to go about the whole Kohen thing, but by the time I come up with a game plan, my medicine has kicked in. My last thought before sleep pulls me under is Jax’s strong arms around me.
The aroma of bacon wakes me. Someone’s fingers brush my hair out of my face. I open my eyes. After rubbing the sleep out of them, I’m able to focus on the second best sight in the entire world.
Food.
Jax crouches beside me with a platter of food and orange juice on the table. My mouth instantly fills with saliva as I take in all of my favorite breakfast foods in front of me. My stomach growls so loudly I’m sure people in Brooklyn can hear it as clearly as if they were in my living room.
He chuckles as he passes me a glass of orange juice. I give him a small smile when I notice the straw. For some unknown reason I’ve always hated drinking orange juice without a straw. As much as I want to comment on the fact that Jax is the only person that seems to remember my quirks, I don’t. I know it will only cause an awkward silence. Some things are better left unsaid when it comes to us.
He hands me my platter full of food; eggs, hash-browns, bacon, a bowl of freshly cut fruit, and a stack of pancakes, along with my new iPhone.
“Thanks!” I notice that he somehow managed to back up my phone so all my music is already on it.
Nodding, he says sternly, “Eat all of the food.”
Before I realize what I’m doing, words spill out of my mouth. “Do you think I should call him?”
His grip on his fork tightens. “Who?”
Well if he wants to play dumb . . . “The hot doctor who rescued me.”
He chokes on his food. Miraculously, my next bite of hash-browns taste better than it did a second ago. Must be because Jax isn’t as in control of his feelings as he would like to be.
“Maybe we can double?” he asks.
And just like that I lose my appetite. Don’t do it, I repeat in my head as I eye my bowl of fruit. I snatch a few pieces and throw them at his handsome face.
I shrug. “Whoops.”
He stops eating and glares at the fruit scattered on him. When he finally looks back at me, I laugh. He’s biting his cheeks to keep from smiling, his emerald eyes sparkle with excitement. Even with fruit in his lap, covering his expensive suit pants, he’s still ridiculously hot.
In a movement so fast that I don’t even see it coming, Jax has my platter of food on the floor, and in the next second he dumps a glass of water all over my head. That’s the exact second I know I will kill Jaxon Chandler.
I wipe my wet hair out of my face angrily. “Ahhhhh I’m going to kill you! I can’t believe you just did that!”
The ice cold water drips down my hair and down my back. I’m now freezing and my shirt is practically see-through. Spotting a few ice-cubes on me, I fling one at him but he ducks out of the way. I hate his fast reflexes.
“Relax, Ads it’s just a little water, it won’t kill you.”
Jax has the balls to chuckle then sit back down on the couch and eat like he didn’t just dump water on me. WATER! The nerve this man has sometimes! Gah, I want to scratch his eyes out in his sleep.
“A little water, Jax? Are you kidding me? You dumped your ENTIRE glass of water on me!” I scream at the soon to be dead man.
Jax waves his hand at my little outburst. “Calm down, Ads.”
I flick my orange juice at him. Wrong move, it splatters all over my suede couch. I groan, thinking how long it’s going to take to clean. My gaze wanders to Jax’s perfect, orange-juice-free face. Not good. I know that evil twinkle in his eyes, it’s an expression that I have gotten very familiar with over the years.
“I swear, Jax, you better not! I’m hurt and I swear if you even think about it, my revenge will b—” I’m not able to finish my rant before he scoops me up and throws me over his shoulder.
Hitting his back I start yelling at him, but does The God even listen to me? Nope. Instead he smacks my backside so hard I’m sure I now have a clear imprint of his hand. My heart-rate picks up the second I realize we’re in my bedroom. That intense pull I always feel towards him comes back in a huge wave, as if it’s going to devour me. My heart beats so loudly I’m positive that he can hear it.
As Jax walks past my bed, I quickly realize what he has planned. I smack his toned butt as hard as I can manage in this position. Jax lets a growl escape his throat that I’m sure is supposed to be a warning, but all it manages to do is excite me. When he opens my bathroom door, I squeal and try with no avail to get down from his iron-like hold on me. Finally reaching his destination, he turns on the shower. I scream and hit his back harder with each smack, but it doesn’t even faze him, he just smacks my now very red butt again.
HARD!
Holy-hotness I might have a bruise, but I don’t think that I have ever been so instantly wet before in my life. Oblivious to how turned on I am, Jax just laughs as he steps into the cold shower with me on his shoulder.
He quickly repositions me so that now I am cradled in one of his arms, while his other hand grabs the shower head and drenches me in cold water. This is the moment that I despise playful Jax! The water is freezing!
I start fighting his hold more once the shock wears off. I manage to capture the shower head so that I can soak him, too. After a few seconds Jax laughs in a way that lets me know that my turn is over and he quickly yanks the shower head out of my hands and begins a new war of making me as soaked as he possibly can.
Vindictive jerk!
Just because I laughed at him, he carried me into my shower and decided to soak me with cold water. He couldn’t even turn it to hot. The fact that I’m injured angers me more because I can’t retaliate. We’re both dripping and our soggy clothes cling to our bodies, outlining everything.
My attire leaves nothing to the imagination. And Jax . . . he looks like the Greek-God that is feeling gracious enough to show his presence to us mere mortals. All of a sudden, he takes in my near-naked appearance as if he just realized the same thing I did. His eyes change from playful to hunger. It’s all consuming, he’s all consuming. That pull surrounds us, so thick I can almost taste it.
Suddenly I am no longer freezing. I’m shaking, but it’s not from the cold. When he sees me shiver, he places the shower head back and turns the water hot. I slowly slide down his body when he unwraps his arms around me. His hands go to my hips to steady me while I stand on one leg. He is so close to me that my breasts press into his hard chest.
Hot water pours over the both of us, as steam fills the air. I hold my breath . . . neither of us makes a move. He watches me, waiting, his eyes locked onto mine. Devour me, Jax. With such slowness that he’s barely moving, Jax lifts one hand from my hip to my face, and traces my jawline back and forth with his fingertip.
“Ads.” Jax uses his nickname for me as if it’s the most pleasant name he’s ever uttered, but I can still hear the pain laced in his voice.
I notice the abrupt change in the air around us and in him. He’s no longer looking at me with such hunger that I can taste his need. He’s now the tortured man that always stops us from being together again. I know that this is over.
“Use me to suppo
rt your weight so you can get out of your clothes and finish your shower while I bring your crutches in. I’ll help you out when you’re done.”
With the moment long gone, he turns his head away from me. As fast as I can manage, I strip out of my clothes and once Jax is sure that I don’t need any further assistance, he steps out of the shower and grabs a towel. I don’t attempt to stop him as he leaves.
Chapter Three
Glancing around my abundant closet, I finger the hanger holding my work clothes. I shake my head while I think of all the reasons it’s a bad idea. Jax will be pissed, he’ll tell Logan . . . I can’t think of anything else. Two, just two reasons why I shouldn’t pull the red shirt that has Sweet Tooth embroidered over the right breast off its hanger. Thinking about sitting on the couch next to him, wanting him but knowing he will never give into us again, is too much. I smile wickedly as I drop the towel. I don’t need a babysitter. Jax can be mad all he likes.
After getting dressed as quickly as possible, I hobble back to my bed to retrieve my phone only to realize that it’s still in the living room. So much for sneaking out of here to decorate cakes. I huff in exasperation. This isn’t going to go over well at all.
He seems to have no care in the world as he reads something on his iPad. He hears me, it’s impossible not to with my wood floors, but he ignores me. Good. Hopefully I can swipe my phone off the table and leave before he notices. I bite my lip as I try to bend down for my phone. I avoid him entirely as I straighten back up. As I turn around to leave, I exhale.
“You don’t think you’re going to work do you?” he asks, startling me. “I already called in for you.”
I glare over my shoulder at him. “Last time I checked, you’re not my father and I’m a big girl. I don’t want nor need you calling into work for me.”
He shrugs. “Either way, you’re not going in.”
“Watch me.”
I don’t even make it a step before he’s behind me. He runs his nose through my wet hair and speaks so close to my ear that his lips brush against my skin. “You know I can’t let you go.”
Beautifully Shattered (The Beautifully Series Book 1) Page 4