Shatter Me (The Jaded Series, #1) (32 page)

After several more minutes, my body can take no more and I shatter into a thousand pieces. Jaxon throws his head back and gives off a guttural growl to signal his own release.

My breathing is heavy and my head is resting against the wall when Jaxon comes back to reality.

“Shit, Angel, are you okay? I didn’t mean to lose control like that.”

I pick my head up and look at him. “It’s okay, Jaxon. I liked that you lost control. I like knowing I do that to you. You don’t scare me.”

Using one hand, he wipes my wet hair from my face and bends to place a soft kiss against my lips.

“Come on. Let’s get out and dried off before the water gets cold.”

Releasing the grip my legs have on his hips, I drop them to the floor. Jaxon shuts the water off and we both step of the shower. He dries me off first and then himself. I ask him to grab me a shirt, but he just shakes his head.

“No, I want to feel your bare skin against mine tonight.”

Still feeling nervous prancing in front of him naked but liking the idea of having a naked Jaxon against a naked me, I nod my head.

We settle into bed with him against my back and his arms wrapped tightly around me.

The next day has us all hanging out in Lilly’s backyard, laughing and talking. The weather is beautiful and the atmosphere is light. Jaxon is busy manning the grill with Mac, Andrew, and a few other guys. It’s funny to watch Andrew. He’s in his glory surround by a bunch of good looking men. He flirts relentlessly with each of them. None of them take it to heart and humor him.

Lilly, Mia and I are currently setting the tables outside with cutlery, food items, and anything else we may need. Tricia walks up carrying a big bowl of potato salad.

“I wonder how Anna is doing. Have any of you talked to her?” She sets the salad down on the table.

“She stopped by before she left yesterday. She couldn’t wait to leave. This is sort of like a vacation for her. She hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to leave Jaded Hollow.” Lilly says.

“She came by Jaxon’s yesterday morning as well and I spoke to her again yesterday afternoon while she was on the road. She’s so excited! I’ll give her a couple days before I try calling her. I’m sure Nick was surprised and wants to keep her all to himself for a while”

We all laugh because we know exactly what Nick and Anna will be doing for the next couple days.

I pick up my wine and take a sip as I look out to all the people milling about. Off to the left I see Jake and Jack bickering as usual. Those two grate on each others nerves, but you can tell they share a close friendship.

Next I see Sarah, Michael, and Maddie on a playground set. Maddie and Sarah are on the swings and Michael and another little boy are in the sandbox. They both bend their heads and whisper to each other. They each get up and run over to the girls and squirt them with the water guns they had hidden behind their back. The girls start squealing and running away with the boys chasing after them.

I laugh at their playfulness and am glad they have a normal childhood. I never had boys chasing me with water guns.

Hunter is standing with Ethan and Jesse talking.

There are still several people that I don’t know and some that I was introduced to once they arrived.

My gaze next moves to Jaxon, who is watching me. He gives me a small smile and a wink. I smile back at him and blow him a kiss. I’m amazed at how comfortable I feel in this setting. Weeks ago I would have been scared and nervous being in a crowd. Now the flutters and anxiety are gone. Jaxon and the people of Jaded Hollow have made this so.

I look over to Mia and see her shooting razor sharp daggers at Mac. I walk over to stand beside her.

“So, what’s up with you and Mac?” I ask her casually.

She looks at me and mumbles, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.

“Oh, come on, Mia. I can see the sparks fly between the two of you even if you both like to try to hide it.” I know I’m pushing, but I can’t help it. It is clear they have feelings for each other. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have such animosity between them.

Mia looks to me for a minute before replying, “Okay, how about this? I don’t want to talk about it. It’s nothing personal, Bailey, I never talk about what happened between Mac and me. It hurts too much so I try to forget about it.”

The pain in her eyes and the bitterness in her voice makes me withdrawal my inquiry. I’ve been in her shoes before, hell, I’m still wearing them. Having people ask about my past is hard. Talking about it makes it fresh. Yes, it’s gotten easier, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready.

“Okay, sweetie, I get it. But please know that I’m here for you if you need me. You were there for me and I’d like to return the favor if you want.” I reach over and squeeze her hand.

“Thank you.” She says.

Just then I feel an arm wrap around me and we both turn our heads to see Jaxon and Mac standing behind us. My eyes dart to Mia, whose eyes have become hard.

“I’ll see you later, Bailey.” She says before walking off.

I turn in Jaxon’s arms and plant a kiss on his lips. It was supposed to be a quick, innocent peck but Jaxon slips his tongue inside for a slow lingering kiss.

We break apart and I glance over at Mac, who I forgot was there. He’s standing there watching Mia walk away with a longing expression. He shakes his head and looks back at the both of us. His eyes land on me and he gives me a soft smile. I smile back at him and I know he sees the sympathy on my face.

Jaxon breaks the silence. “Mac has some information for us, Angel.”

“As you know, I couldn’t find any suspicious movements on Steven’s credit cards or bank accounts. I decided to branch out a little and look into some of his friends. I found a couple of them had withdrawn a decent size amount of money a couple weeks ago. I also found a few transactions made about halfway between here and Georgia. Now, this doesn’t prove that he’s here, although I believe he is, it does give reasonable suspicion. I’ve looked up his photo on the internet and I’ve got several people out looking for him.”

This information doesn’t help much with figuring out what Steven’s next move is but it’s still something. At least we have a picture of Steven out and about. When I left, I didn’t take anything reminding me of him with me, including any photographs. I’m glad Mac thought to look online for one.

“What do we do now?” Jaxon asks Mac.

“There’s nothing you can do now. Just stay vigilant. Hopefully, he’ll show his face soon and we can nab him.”

A few minutes later Hunter, who took over grill duty, announces that the food is ready. We all gather around the table and pile our plates full of food. There are burgers, brats, homemade potato salad, coleslaw, chips of every kind, baked beans, and a multitude of drinks and desserts. I help Tricia set the kids up with plates and set them on the smaller picnic table.

Bar-b-cues at the Walker resident is loud and crazy. Everyone talks to everyone and no one is left out. Even the kids are blabbering about. It’s one of the best gatherings I’ve been to.

Once everyone is finished eating, the woman start cleaning up while the men help entertain the kids. I’m standing in front of the sink shoveling food remnants in the garbage disposal when Lilly walks up.

“I see you’ve finally decided to open up to Jaxon.”

I look over to her and see a bright smile on her face.

“He hasn’t told me what you told him, just said that you had reason to be cautious. Even if he hadn’t told me you talked to him I would already know. I can tell by the way you are with him now. You’re more relaxed and open.”

“I did. It was hard and painful, but he has a right to know.” She just watches me for a few minutes. I don’t know if she expects me to tell her as well. As if she’s read my thoughts she drapes her arm around my shoulders.

“You don’t have to tell me, dear, but if you ever want to I’m more than willing to listen. From what you said it seems as though you didn’t have a good mother figure in your life. I know you’re an adult now and don’t necessarily need it, but if you’d like I’d like to fill the role.”

My eyes become watery at her statement. She’s right; I didn’t have a good mother figure. As a child, I always dreamed of having a wonderful and caring mom, but I learned early on that is wasn’t possible and my dreams finally went away.

I reach over and grab her in my arms. Resting my head on her shoulder, I say in her hair, “Thank you. I’d really like that.”

She steps back from me and I finish smashing up food in the disposal while she puts leftovers away in the fridge.

An hour later the sun is setting and Jaxon and I get ready to leave. After spending another thirty minutes saying our goodbyes, we hop in his truck and head home.

By the time we make it to Jaxon’s the sun is down and the moon is shining bright. When we walk hand in hand up to the front porch, I notice a folded piece of paper stuck to the door. Jaxon snatches it down and unfolds it.

“What’s it say?” I ask him.

“Fuck!” Jaxon says and then releases my hand. I watch as he balls it into a fist, rears back, and punches the door.

I jump at the loud sound. Jaxon notices and quickly pulls me in his arms all the while unlocking the door and rushing me inside. He closes it behind us and sets the alarm. He then finally hands me the paper.

I look down at it and immediately recognize the familiar handwriting.

You’ve touched what’s mine. Now, I take what’s yours.

My hand shakes as I clutch the paper tightly. I glance up at Jaxon and see him pacing. He has his hands running through his hair and he’s visibly agitated. He’s barely holding onto his control.

“What are we going to do?” I whisper, but he still hears me.

He comes to me and brings me into his arms. Resting my head against his chest, I feel it rumble when he talks.

“Don’t worry, Angel. I won’t let him get to you. You're mine and I protect and keep safe what’s mine.” His words were meant to reassure me, but they don’t. I don’t doubt Jaxon means what he says and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep me safe, but I’m still scared. Jaxon doesn’t realize the extent Steven will go through to get what he wants.

We pull apart, but he doesn’t release me. He holds my gaze with his mesmerizing eyes before kissing my forehead.

“I promise you, Bailey, he won’t get to you. You have my word. Do you believe me?” There’s worry in his eyes and I know it’s there because he wants me to believe him.

I
want
to believe him. I answer his question the only way that will help ease his worry.

“I believe you.”

He gives me a nod and lets me go.

“I’m going to go call Mac and let him know what’s happened. Why don’t you go grab a glass of wine and a beer for me and meet me in front of the fireplace?”

I walk away towards the kitchen and do what he suggests. After the stress of the letter, it will be nice sitting in front of a roaring fire snuggled up with Jaxon.

––––––––

J
axon and I are sitting out on his back deck sipping coffee. The sun has just risen and the birds are chirping. This has become our morning routine. It’s peaceful out here and we both enjoy the quiet. Sometimes we sit in a comfortable silence while other times we talk about anything and everything.

It’s been a couple days since we received the letter and there’s been nothing since. All has been quiet. Yesterday morning Mac stopped by to pick up the letter. He called last night to let us know there were no prints on it. He has a forensic team going over it for any clues that might lead them to Steven. Now we're at a standstill.

“Once this is over I want to take you somewhere,” Jaxon says interrupting my thoughts.

“Where are we going?” I ask him.

He brings my hand up that he’s holding and kisses the back of it. With his mouth still on the back of my hand he says, “Anywhere you want to go. Is there any place you’ve always wanted to travel to?”

I think for a minute and settle on the one place that’s always fascinated me.

“Okay, don’t laugh, but I’ve always wanted to visit New York City. I know it’s not the usual place for someone to want to visit, but I’ve always wanted to see Time Square, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, China Town, and ride over the Brooklyn Bridge.”

He chuckles lightly. “Hmm...that’s definitely not what I expected. I figured you would say Hawaii or Vegas. But New York it is. We’ll spend a week there and visit all the places you want to see.”

Getting excited about the idea of finally seeing New York, I jump up and straddle him. I bounce up and down on his lap and he laughs at my silly behavior.

“Really? We’re really going to take a trip to New York?” My voice is loud and I can’t contain my happiness.

His smile is huge when he replies, “Yes, we can take a trip to New York. And if I would have known you would do a happy dance in my lap I would have suggested it sooner.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

I give him my best smile and lower my head to give him a searing kiss. We’re both breathless by the time I pull away.

“Thank you.” I say against his lips.