Jax Read online

  “I’ll leave you two alone,” Jax said, backing out of the room.

  “Stay,” she whispered. “Stay with us.”

  Without a word, Jax climbed into the bed behind her and held her close as she eventually fell asleep.

  The heavy sound of her breathing was making his own eyes close, but he fought to keep them open. This felt too good. He wanted to stay up all night, savoring every moment of it. The delicious smell of her hair, the soft feel of her skin, the warmth of her body, the comforting sound of her breath that was finally relaxed and peaceful. He wanted to relish it all.

  He didn’t realize these feelings existed, let alone that he would ever feel them, and he wasn’t about to let a little thing like sleep deny him this little slice of heaven.

  His body finally won around three in the morning when he drifted off to sleep, happier than ever.

  Jax woke up to the sound of Benjamin stirring in the crib. Violet was still sound asleep so he quietly climbed out of bed and picked up the boy. He kept the boy’s head facing away from his mother so that he wouldn’t start crying and wake her up when he saw her.

  “So, I heard a secret about you,” he said to the boy as he carried him down the stairs. “Benjamin? Really? What kind of name is that?”

  Benjamin leaned forward with his mouth open and started sucking on Jax’s nose. The lion shifter laughed. “See? Beast suits you way better.”

  He placed the little guy on the carpet and got his breakfast ready. “Peaches this morning,” Jax said as he slid him into his new high chair. No duct tape necessary. “And then a big surprise that I think you’ll like. In fact, you’ll love it. It’s sleeping upstairs.”

  Beast, er… Benjamin, was a big fan of the peaches. He gobbled them down so fast that Jax opened up a second bottle.

  Jax was swinging the spoon around in the middle of a peachy airplane ride when Violet ran down the stairs with a huge smile on her face. Benjamin kicked his legs and slapped the tray in excitement when he saw his mother, desperately trying to get to her. She ran up to him and yanked him out of the high chair, hugging him so tight that Jax had to check that the kid was still breathing. He was good.

  After some tears from mommy and about a million kisses, she put him back in the chair and fed him the rest of the peaches. Jax got her a coffee and started making some French toast for her as the pair bonded once again.

  “Where did you get all of this baby stuff?” she asked, looking from the high chair to the car seat that was lying on the floor.

  “I bought it.”

  “You bought it?” she asked, turning around and staring at him as he flipped the French toast. “Really?”

  Jax shrugged. “What? Did you expect me to duct tape the kid to the chair or something?”

  Violet laughed. “Oh, geez. Could you imagine?”

  Jax cringed when she turned back around. “No,” he said, nervously. “I can’t.” Luckily, the only other person who knew about that wouldn’t be able to talk for another few years. Plus, Beast wouldn’t rat him out.

  Jax cleaned up the kid and played with him on the carpet as Violet ate her French toast and watched. “You’re a real natural with children,” she said, smiling as she watched him.

  “Me?” he asked, staring back at her in shock. “Not really. Can you believe that I can’t stand kids?”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe that.”

  “Well, I can’t.”

  She laughed as she took the last sip of her coffee, looking gorgeous with her messy hair. “I think you two look like best buds.”

  Jax smiled as he looked at the chubby little guy as he lifted his feet in the air, absolutely mesmerized with them. Maybe kids weren’t so bad.

  They cleaned up, showered, and the three of them went for a walk to the park. It was a cloudy day and looked like rain was on the way, but for now it was holding up.

  “What should I do about… you know?” she asked as they walked.

  “Nothing,” Jax answered. He had plans for him.

  “He basically kidnapped me for two years,” she said as she looked up at him with pained eyes. “I can’t let him get away with that.”

  “Oh, he won’t,” Jax promised. “Believe me, he won’t.”

  She rubbed the back of her neck nervously as she walked. “But he’s so strong.”

  Jax wasn’t worried in the least. He had dealt with two mated dragons this summer and came out on top. He could deal with a single tiger shifter.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “Let’s just enjoy the day. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to enjoy anything.”

  “Well, get used to it,” Jax said as he slid his hand over her shoulder. “Your bad days are behind you.”

  She smiled at Jax as they continued toward the park, and he couldn’t help but think that his bad days were behind him too.

  Chapter 9

  Violet

  “Don’t eat the sand!” Violet said as she grabbed Benjamin’s hand. He had a fistful of sand and he wasn’t letting it go without a fight.

  “Yucky,” she said as she pried open his fist and wiped out the sand. His cheeks turned a bright red as he cried out in anger. “I don’t know why he does that. Sand can’t possibly taste good.”

  Jax laughed as he shrugged his round shoulders. “Who knows with that kid? I tried to feed him some steak and he spat it out. I think his taste buds are a little messed up.”

  Violet’s jaw dropped. “You fed him steak? He could choke!”

  “Rookie mistake,” Jax said with an embarrassed grin. “It won’t happen again.”

  Those eyes. Violet couldn’t get over them. A beautiful amber color that matched his tanned skin tone perfectly. Every time he laid them on her, she felt her heartbeat pick up and her head go light.

  She knew she shouldn’t be feeling this way for another man so soon after her horrible ordeal with Anton, which hadn’t even finished yet, but she couldn’t help it.

  She didn’t have a choice. It was like their bodies had connected and decided they were meant for each other and their brains didn’t get a say in the matter.

  “Tell me about yourself, Jax,” she said when Benjamin forgot about his temper tantrum and started laughing at a leaf that was blowing by.

  “What do you want to know?” he asked as he took a handful of sand and let the grains fall between his fingers.

  “Everything,” she said, gazing at his face. He had a strong jaw with a prominent nose. A face that looked hard and intimidating until you saw the goodness of his heart that was buried down deep. She could tell that he didn’t like to show it to just anyone, and she felt honored that he was showing it to her and her son.

  “You have to be more specific than that,” he said, catching Benjamin as he tipped over. The three of them were sitting in the sand at the empty park, enjoying the calm before the upcoming storm. The black clouds were slowly coming in, but they were having a nice time while it was still dry in the peaceful park.

  “Where did you grow up?” she asked. She really did want to know everything but that was a good start.

  He took a deep breath as he scooped up another handful of sand and let it fall back down to the earth. Benjamin’s eyes widened when he saw it and leaned forward, trying to take a bite.

  “I didn’t have the best childhood,” he said with a tightness in his body. He looked uncomfortable like this was a part of his life that he kept locked away. “I don’t normally talk about it.”

  “Oh,” she said, dropping her eyes to the sand, worried that she had spoiled the mood. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

  “It’s okay,” he said as his body seemed to loosen and relax. “I’d like to tell you.”

  She gave him a moment to compose his thoughts, spending the time watching his handsome face as he stared at the sand falling from his hand.

  “I was born in Chicago,” he said after a while. “It was just me and my parents. My father was a big-time gambler and he was alw
ays getting us into trouble. One day he bet the farm on a football game, a farm that we didn’t have by the way, and he lost everything and more. Way more.”

  He shook his head as he stared at the sand. “I still remember his face when that kicker missed the final field goal. He turned white. He grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled it out.” Jax huffed out a short laugh. “He had a chunk of hair in his hand. He turned to me with a look that I’ll always remember and told me that I had three minutes to pack a bag.”

  “How old were you?”

  He let out a deep sigh. “Seven maybe. I don’t really remember. But I do remember my mother screaming at him. She was furious. I thought she was going to kill him.”

  Violet could picture him as a scared little boy watching his parents fighting and her heart went out to him.

  “After she stopped screaming and she realized the real danger that we were in, they packed their stuff and we ran downstairs to get in the car. I don’t know where he was planning on taking us, I’m sure he didn’t even know, and when we stepped outside, there were five men waiting for us.”

  His muscular chest started heaving up and down as he remembered it all. “They brought us back upstairs and, well, let’s just say that my parents didn’t come back out.”

  “Oh no,” Violet gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “Did you… did you see it?”

  He looked at her with the saddest eyes and nodded.

  “That was the first time my lion came out,” he continued. “I was as shocked as they were. I killed one of them and then jumped out the window, not knowing what the hell was happening. My lion ran for days until I ended up somewhere outside of Wyoming. I didn’t know how to phase from my lion back into my human form, hell I didn’t even know what the hell was happening to me. I had never even heard about shifters before. I was terrified when I woke up back in my human form, naked and shivering in the middle of the forest. I had so many mosquito bites by the time I found my way back to the highway.”

  “Oh, my gosh,” Violet whispered as she listened. The poor kid…

  “Someone picked me up, and a few days later I was in an orphanage.” He took a deep breath as he looked at her. “I was messed up. I felt like my parents had abandoned me. My father did with his stupidity, but my mother just got caught in the middle of it, I guess.’

  “That’s when I met Zane,” he continued. “He helped me through the bad time, showing me how to control my lion. He’s a bear shifter and he taught me some tricks. I don’t know what I would have done without him. The other kids…”

  Violet swallowed hard as she hung onto his every word.

  “Let’s just say I wasn’t the most popular kid in the place. I had it bad. They tormented me.”

  “Kids can be cruel,” Violet said softly. “Especially ones with no parents.”

  “I hated them. All.” He shook his head as he looked at Benjamin. “This little guy is starting to change my mind though. They’re not so bad.”

  Benjamin let out a high-pitched squeal out of nowhere and the three of them started laughing. It broke the tension and Violet moved a little closer to the sexy man with the dark past. She just knew that she was one of the very few that he had opened up to over the years, and it made her feel even closer to him.

  “How about some happy times?” she said, forcing out a smile at him. “Tell me the happiest day of your life.”

  Jax’s eyes softened as he looked at her. “Well, this one day,” he said, starting to smile. “I woke up next to the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. She was sound asleep and my chest felt like it was going to explode with gratitude that she was in my life. I just couldn’t believe it. I laid beside her for an hour, watching her sleep peacefully, hoping that not another day would go by that she wasn’t by my side.”

  Violet smiled as he continued.

  “Then the cutest little boy in the world started stirring and I picked him up, thrilled to spend the day with him. The three of us had a nice breakfast, and we walked to the park.”

  “Then what happened?” she asked, grinning at him.

  He licked his sexy lips as his eyes locked on hers. “Then I kissed her.”

  Violet smiled as her cheeks got warm. “I love a happy ending,” she said, feeling her pulse speed up.

  “Me too,” he whispered.

  Her eyes drifted closed as he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. It was soft and gentle and just plain perfect.

  He pulled away, leaving her head spinning and her body consumed in a burning desire for more. She knew in that moment that she was completely at his mercy. From now until the last day of her life.

  That’s what it feels like to kiss your soulmate.

  She licked his warm taste off her lips, leaned in and kissed him again. He let out a deep moan as she nudged his lips open with her tongue and slid her hand through his wavy blonde hair.

  They kissed until the clouds opened up and fat drops of rain began to fall on top of them.

  “Wow,” she gasped as she pulled away and looked into his beautiful amber eyes. “That was something.”

  He licked his lips and nodded, burning her with his searing gaze. “Definitely something.”

  Benjamin broke their trance when he started laughing after a fat raindrop smacked him in the forehead. The wind picked up and the rain started falling harder as thunder cracked in the distance.

  “Should we continue this at home?” Jax asked as they got pelted with rain.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  The three of them screamed and laughed and rushed back to the firehouse as they got caught in the rainstorm. And Violet had to admit, that so far it had been the best day of her life too.

  “What do you want to do now?” Violet asked with a smirk after she came downstairs. Benjamin was sleeping in the crib, out for at least a couple of hours for his afternoon nap.

  Jax’s hungry eyes looked her up and down. Her white shirt was soaking wet after they were caught in the rain and she purposely hadn’t changed it. It seemed to be having the desired effect on the sexy lion shifter.

  “First,” he said in a gravelly voice as he walked toward her, “I want to kiss you.”

  Violet swallowed hard as he approached. “I like the sound of that,” she whispered through her tingling lips.

  He slid his strong hand on her hip and pulled her close to him as she gasped. Her perky breasts pressed into his massive chest as he cupped her cheek and gently ran his thumb over her parted lips.

  “Then,” he continued, his voice deepening. “I want to take off your clothes and kiss every inch of your naked body.”

  Her heart started pounding as hard as the thunder outside. The rain was pouring down, slamming into the windows as her pulse raced in anticipation.

  “What else?” she gasped in a breathless tone. Her breath was catching in her throat with the intense way he was looking at her. She was so wet and it wasn’t from the rain this time.

  He tightened his grip on her waist and she leaned into him, unable to think about anything but his erotic scent and the heat that was saturating her body, making her warm between her legs.

  “Then I want to lay you on the couch, spread your legs, and taste your delicious pussy.” His rich voice was like a growl right next to her ear, and his hot breath was making her even hotter.

  “Fuck,” she gasped as he dragged his nose along her neck, gently kissing her goosebumped skin.

  “Then I want to take out my big hard cock and slide it in deep,” he growled as he pressed his erection against her stomach.

  Violet was practically panting as the rain hit the windows in a steady rhythm.

  She swallowed hard and looked up into his gorgeous, hungry eyes. “Then what are you waiting for?” she asked, already breathless.

  He didn’t wait after that. She moaned as he pressed his lips to hers in a deep passionate kiss, exploring her mouth with his silky tongue.

  Fuck, every kiss was better than the last. She couldn�
�t get enough of his mouth.

  “Arms up,” he whispered on her lips when he finally pulled away. Her hands shot up in the air as he grabbed the bottom of her soaking wet shirt and pulled it up her body.

  Her nipples were already achingly hard as he reached behind her and unclasped her bra. Violet arched her back as he slid off her bra and tossed it behind him.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said in his rich deep voice as he stared down at her naked chest. “I could stare at you forever.”

  “I was hoping for more than that,” she said with a grin as she unbuckled her jeans.

  The corner of his lip raised in a sexy smirk as he stepped back and pulled off his shirt in one smooth movement. His body was perfect. Sculpted abs with a carved V in his pelvis. His chest was strong and wide without a single hair on it. He looked like a model with his round biceps and thick forearms, and Violet couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She felt like he was way out of her league, but he seemed to be looking at her in the same way.

  His amber eyes never blinked as she finished unbuckling her wet jeans and slid them down her legs, taking her underwear down with them. She stepped out of them feeling a tingling excited rush at being so exposed for him.

  He held his breath as he stared at the tuft of hair between her legs with hungry eyes. Her skin was covered in goosebumps as she walked over to him and grabbed his belt buckle.

  His long dick was already rock hard, pressing against the inside of his jeans just waiting to be freed.

  She dropped to her knees and slid out his leather belt, her mouth watering as she unzipped his jeans. He was breathing so heavily as she slid her hands between his damp boxer briefs and his warm skin.

  Jax just grinned down at her, his eyes clouded with lust as she lowered his pants and set his beautiful cock free. It looked even bigger out of his pants, and Violet took it in her hands as her clit throbbed, trailing her tongue along the side of it, enjoying the heady taste.

  His eyes closed and his head dropped back as she took it into her mouth and sucked him off.