by Bec Botefuhr
Jack stands and walks over to me. He smiles, but I can see something else behind his glance.
“Do you mind if we have a word?”
“Um, sure.”
“She’s mine Jacky boy, hands off.” Jax says, his tone is playful, his eyes are not.
“No problems Cap.”
I follow Jack outside, and he turns as soon as the door closes. “I have been meaning to ask you, I did not know how but, you felt what I felt yesterday?”
I look away. “I’m not sure what you are talking about.”
“I felt it, and I know you did too.”
I sigh. No point in lying. “I felt it.”
“Then you know…I have gifts.”
I glance up. “You do?”
“A few yeah, nothing special but you also have them?”
“One.”
He raises an eyebrow and indicates that I keep going.
“I am a healer.”
“I thought as much. So are you a taking healer or a personal healer?”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Do you take it on yourself from others or do you just heal yourself?”
“Both.”
“Both?” He gasps.
“Yes, I can take on others hurts and I can heal them from myself. Of course, it is a lot slower than I imagine you are thinking. A broken bone takes around four hours to heal, the worse the injury the longer it takes.”
“Incredible.”
“So, I am going to ask what you already know is coming. How am I like this?”
He looks away quickly. “I don’t know.”
“Are you lying Jack?”
“No, I honestly do not know.”
I nod. “Please keep this to yourself, I am not exactly in a good position for people to find out.”
“Of course.”
“It’s nice to know I am not alone.”
He smiles and strokes my cheek. “It is.”
I blush and turn to walk back inside. Jack follows. The crew are still playing, but Jax is not in the room any longer.
“Where’s Jax?” I ask Rusty.
“Out back love.”
I walk through the bar and into the apartment. Jax is in the lounge room changing, and when my eyes set on him, I gasp. He has no shirt on and has only just pulled up his jeans, oh my, what an amazing body. He is sculpted, smooth and has tattoos across his chest and down his left arm. His chest is solid and tight. His stomach rippled and taut. I blush.
“Like what you see, darlin?”
“Err, I…sorry, I did not mean to barge in.”
He walks over, shirtless.
“Will you put a shirt on?” I whisper. God, if I get any redder I will combust.
“Can’t handle it?”
“No.”
He laughs grasping my hands and laying them on his chest; I whimper and shake my head. His skin is warm and firm beneath my palms.
“Stop it!”
I remove my hands and turn my eyes to the floor. Do not look, count it away; one, two, three…
“Look at me.”
He grasps my chin, raising my eyes to his. He leans down and presses a soft kiss to my lips.
“Touch me.” He demands, taking my hands and putting them back on his chest.
I cannot help my hands; they move on their own. Up and down his chest, over his arms, down his back to his backside. Oh god. I pull back, but he is too quick. He grasps me and lifts me onto his hips, he walks forward until we fall onto the couch. His body lands over mine, he does not break the searing kiss. I feel panic rise inside me, as his hands trail up under my shirt and over my bra. My nipples hardened at his touch, and I moan. Too fast, this is too fast. I could not just do this, not here, not like this. I push his hand out and break the kiss.
“Please, not now.”
He growls but moves his body from mine, pulling me up with him.
“I can go slow princess, but I can’t wait forever.”
“I just need more time. I am not saying no.”
He kisses me once more, then stands and pulls on his shirt. “I gotta work.”
Great, he is mad. I straighten my hair and walk back out to the pub behind him; a few customers are in now and the music is ramping up. I sit at the bar and watch Jax work; he is quick, smooth and charming. I watch as he smiles at the girls and laughs with the men. He has a certain feel about him; it makes women fall at his feet and men envy him.
I watch as a very attractive blonde walks in, then saunters over to the bar. She leans onto it, exposing lush breasts and grips Jax’s shirt. I blink as he takes her face in his hands, and slants his mouth over hers. She slides over the bar and wraps her legs around his waist. It comes like a blow to the face; he is not going to wait for me to take my time. I feel heat blaze in my cheeks as I stand and walk over, grasping the girl and yanking her back.
“Get.” I hiss.
She glares at me. “Back off, bitch.”
“Or what?”
She punches me, hard. I fall back into the bar, but come bouncing back quickly enough to slam her into the nearby wall. She falls hard, and I hear her wrist snap with a loud crack. Her screams fill the air and she stands, sobbing.
“I will sue you for this Jax Watts. This is assault. I am a hairdresser; my hands are my life.”
“Calm down, you punched her first.”
“You’re going down. You better have a lot of money pirate.”
I look at Jax’s face and see he is worried and angry. He glares at me with pure rage. This is my fault, and I have to fix it. I step forward and grasp the girl’s wrist, taking her snap into my own. I clench my jaw as I feel the searing pain glide up my arm as my own wrist breaks, and hers heals. I cannot let on what I am doing, so I pull her close as though I am talking with her. Nobody knows any better. Her eyes widen as her wrist heals.
“You say one more word and I will sort you out. I just fixed your wrist, but you say nothing, to no one. I am high up; I can take you down quicker than you can take him down. I am the princess. I can have you locked away quicker than you can say fake titties. Now get out, shut your mouth and do not come back.”
I let her go, and she falls against the wall.
“It’s just a bruise, she was just leaving.” I say, calmly.
“Sorry Jax. It is just a bruise; I will be fine.” She smiles weakly, before leaving the pub.
I turn and walk the other way, panting and sweating as my wrist sears, shooting pain up my arm. I slowly make my way into the back apartment and fall into the lounge room. Jax comes rushing in behind me, followed by Rusty and Jack.
“Why the fuck did you do that?”
I swallow, clenching my wrist.
“Something’s wrong,” Rusty says, taking my arm and spinning me towards him. “Why are you holding your hand, did you break a finger hitting her?”
Jack clicks then and he curses, grasping me and glancing down at my protruding bone.
“Jade!”
“How in the fuck did you break your arm?” Jax yells. “The other girl broke her arm, but you didn’t, I was watching. What the hell is going on?”
“Jade is special.”
“You don’t fucking say, how did she break her wrist?”
“Jack, no.” I beg.
“We have to tell him, he will find out…”
I swallow. “I am a healer.”
“What?”
“She is a healer. She can take others injuries or sicknesses and heal them. Then, her body will heal her. That break will be gone in a few hours.” Jack explains.
“Bullshit.”
“Look at her wrist Cap, you saw for yourself what happened out there.”
Jax stares at me. “Is this true?”
I nod.
“How?”
“I don’t know. I have always had it.” I moan.
“Enough now, she is hurting. Get some ice Rusty.” Jack demands, sitting me down.
I scream as my bone begins realigning itself.<
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“What is happening?” Jax says, his eyes darting from Jack to me, and then back again.
“She is healing.”
Rusty comes back with an ice pack; it helps. I know in a few hours; it would be no more than a sore hand. Jax sits beside me, wiping some hair from my face.
“Why did you do that?”
Rusty and Jack take the hint and leave the room.
“You said you didn’t want to wait,” I hiss in pain. “You were going to fuck her, because you didn’t want to wait for me.”
“I said I have other women, you know that.”
“I know.”
“Lay down, we will talk later.”
I do lie down; my mind is too foggy to think. I do not want to think. I manage to drift into a restless nap, and I can hear the music from the bar die down. I hear voices later in the night, only bits and pieces. I think it is Jax and Rusty, talking about me. Saying that I could stay, my parents were not home. Then, I feel a blanket trail over me and I fall into deeper warmth.
I wake sometime during the early hours of the morning; the night sky is still pitch black out. I feel a hand trail over my face in a gentle caress. I open my eyes; only a small lamp is on, shining just enough light for me to see it is Jax.
“Hey,” I croak. “Is something wrong?”
“You fought for me.”
I move, so my elbow props my head up. “I am sorry about that Jax. I never meant to cause a problem.”
“No girl ever fought for me like that.”
“It’s called the green eyed monster pirate; surely you have seen it before?”
“Nah, the girls around here know their place and don’t fight for my attentions. My wife…well she loved herself more.”
“No one ever fought for you?”
“Nope.”
“Well, I am flattered that I got to be the first.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I know it was stupid. I just could not get my head around the fact that because I was not ready, you would just go and take another.”
“I have other girls, you know that. I also told you to be careful not to fall for me.”
“It’s not about falling for you Jax; it is about wanting something you can’t have.”
“That’s where you are wrong. You can have me, if you want me baby girl.”
His voice is soft and luring. I shiver and pull the blanket up higher. “I know that now. I just do not know…if I can share. So maybe it’s better if I don’t.”
“Right now, I have no interest in looking elsewhere. I am quite content with you.”
This surprises me. “You are? Then why were you kissing that girl?”
“I kiss girls Jade; I like the feeling, and it is just my way of telling them I think they are beautiful. I had no intentions of taking her to bed.”
“You thought she was beautiful?”
“It’s a statement.” He smiles.
He touches my cheek, then brings my face closer to his and kisses me very softly.
“You are so confusing, you know that?” I whine.
“I know.”
“It’s hard for me to accept all this after a few days. I feel like I am crazy, being so involved with somebody I hardly know. You could be a serial killer, and I would be jumping right in…”
He laughs. “I am not a serial killer darlin.”
“Well I certainly hope not, because I would fight you. I wouldn’t be one of those lay down and accept my death types of girls.”
“I have no doubt about that.” He murmurs into my hair. His breath on my neck makes me shiver.
“So, why are you here?”
He shrugs. “I said I would talk with you, and I am.”
“It’s like…two am.”
“You’re right, it is. Do you want me to go?”
I think about it, but my answer is instant. “No.”
He presses his lips to mine, bringing me into a slow, deep kiss. I moan and let him slide his body onto the couch next to mine. It is only then, I realize he is naked. I gasp and shuffle backwards, only to meet the back of the couch, which promptly shoves me back forward.
“You’re naked.”
He chuckles. “And?”
“Oh Jax, I am not ready yet.”
“But you’re not saying no?”
“No. I want to try it with you, just not tonight.”
“That’s ok baby girl, we can play in other ways.”
“Whoa, what?”
He kisses me again, sliding his hands up my shirt until he meets my bra. With skilled fingers, he unhooks it and it slides it off. He reaches around, taking my nipple into his fingers and rolling it gently. The sensation is quite delightful. He deepens his kiss as he rolls my nipple, making me gasp and squirm. Suddenly, he moves it off and yanks at my underwear. I feel nervous, grasping his hand to stop him.
“What are you doing?”
“I am not going to hurt you.”
He shoves my hand away and slides his fingers into my panties, then begins to probe. I panic a little when he slides his fingers into my most sensitive flesh, and begins a light stroke. The pleasure is overwhelming, taking me to heights I could have never imagined. I cry out and grip his arms; my nails dig into his skin as he quickens the pace, and begins stroking me with fierce intent. I scream as my first ever orgasm rocks my body. After a moment, he pulls his hands out and kisses me once more.
“Well…” He says after a moment.
“I…never…wow.”
“Was that your first?”
“Yes.”
“You never did it to yourself?” He seems quite surprised by this.
“No, why would I?”
“For pleasure…”
“I had no need for pleasure, until now.”
He moves and I feel his very firm erection press against me.
“You're…”
“I just touched a very beautiful woman, of course I am hard.” He growls.
“Does it hurt?”
He laughs but it is strained. “Not, exactly.”
“Then why did you growl at me.”
“I want release too, and it will throb like that until I get it. Fear not little girl, I will sort it out later.”
“With somebody else?” I cry, and then scold myself for my stupid outburst.
“No baby, with my hand.”
“Oh…”
“I can wait kid, but not forever.”
“I don’t want you to wait forever. I could…I mean…I could make it go away, couldn’t I?”
“Sure you could.”
“How?”
“With your hand, with your mouth…”
I make an odd whimpering sound, and then my heart begins to pound. “Will you show me how?”
I reach my hand out, and he takes it in his, lowering it until it rests on his erection. I freak out at the size alone and begin to tremble. His skin is hotter down there; softer, silky even.
“It’s…huge.”
He laughs, shakily. “Thanks.”
“We won’t fit you know.”
“We will, now stop talking.”
He closes my fingers over his length and with his hand over mine, begins stroking up and down. I quite like the sensation that fills me when he moans in my ear, I like the little swirl of pleasure I get in my stomach, knowing he likes it. He removes his hand from mine, leaving me to do it on my own. I follow his lead and continue stroking up and down, slowly, and gently. He groans, his abdomen tightening against my other hand, which is splayed out across his stomach. He growls loudly, until finally he shoves my hand from him and lets out a guttural sound.
He rolls off the couch and walks into the bathroom, I flush, did I do something wrong? Was it enjoyable? When he comes back out, he sits beside me on the couch. I try hard to keep my eyes off his magical body. He is so utterly beautiful. He yanks me into his arms and kisses my lips firmly, then lets me go.
“Thanks mate.”
“Thanks?” My voic
e comes out hurt.
“You were real good.”
“My hand you mean?”
He gives me that heart wrenching half smile. “Yeah, your hand.”
“I wasn’t so bad?”
“For the most boring part of sex, you made it crazy good.”
“That’s the most boring part?”
“What we just did, is without a doubt the dullest part.”
I blink. “That was the dullest part? It was mind blowing.”
“You got a nice shock coming.”
“I guess we should go to sleep. Do you want me to go home?”
“Nah, sleep here.”
I smile, weakly. “Thanks.”
“I will see you in the morning.”
He kisses my head, before standing and walking out. At his bedroom door, he turns and says, “Just so you know; that would top any other time, with any other woman.”
I smile half the night away at that comment and fall into a blissful, deep sleep.
CHAPTER 4
When I wake in the morning, the lights of the house are on, and Jax’s bedroom door is open. I stand, pulling on some decent clothes and running my fingers through my very scraggly hair. I can’t see Jax, so I assume he is out in the pub. I go to find him. He isn’t in the bar, but some of the crew are having breakfast. When they see me, many eyes widen.
“You stayed with Jax?” Rusty asks.
“On the couch, nothing happened,” I grumble. “Is there any coffee?”
“Sure lass, on the counter.”
“Thanks.” I murmur, with a sly grin.
I pour myself a coffee and then ask where Jax is. They tell me he is outside hanging out the washing. I laugh, snorting some coffee over the countertop. The pirates roar with laughter.
“My god, a pirate doing washing.”
I walk out, still laughing but pause when I catch sight of the view. The scene is perfect. The sun is beaming down over the clothesline and there is Jax, with only his jeans on, reaching up and pegging a sheet. I feel my body heat when I see the way his back moves, the way his muscles pull under his skin. I feel hot, sweaty, and my heart begins to throb. I am falling for this man; I know it now more than ever. With a bundle of confidence after last night, I walk over and slide my arms around his waist. He stiffens for a long moment, and then relaxes.
“Hey mate.” He says, not moving from his position.
I press a kiss to his back and trail my fingers up and down the taut skin of his abdomen. When I rest my cheek against the back of his shoulder, his skin is warm and soft. He has a unique smell, one of his very own. It is a Jax smell and its mind blowing. I think it is his deodorant, mixed with natural male pheromones.