CHAPTER TWENTYMary Jo #2
I see goosebumps prickle across her skin. I shrug out of my sweater. “Here.” I try to figure out how to put it on her without the arms. I settle on pulling it over her body and the back of the chair.
“Thanks,” she mutters.
“I have food.” I pull out the granola bars. She doesn’t seem interested but I break off little pieces and when I offer them to her, she eats them. We sit in silence for awhile with just the sounds of her eating. Something rustles in the garage. I jump and look over my shoulder. It’s a barn cat.
“How did you meet Jayden?” she finally asks.
“He kidnapped me,” I say.
She looks at me. “You’re not together?”
I take a step back, horrified. “What? No!”
She doesn’t look convinced. She leans her head back and closes her eyes. “I’m not sure why he sent you out here but I’m tired. Thanks for the food.”
“How do you know Jayden? Who are you?”
She cracks her eyes open, looking annoyed. “I’m Sage. His ex?”
I stand, stunned. It feels like the world stops spinning and the only things that exist are her, me, and this room. His ex? Jayden has an ex? Of course he does. I look over her gorgeous form and feel anger trickle through me.
A deep laugh startles both of us and I whip around.
Jayden is standing in the doorway, hands up against the doorframe, leaning into it. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
“Kitten, what are you doing out here?”
I move to step back but freeze when his eyes narrow on me like a predator. “Let’s get you back inside. It’s cold out here.”
“Fuck you. You can’t keep her out here like an animal.”
He looks bored, and pushes off the doorframe. “This is your only warning. Let’s go, or I’ll make sure she misses her next feeding.”
My mouth drops open. He waits expectantly. When his eyebrow quirks up I jump and scramble over.
“Good girl.” He grabs my wrist. “Say goodnight, kitten.”
“Fuck you,” I mutter again.
He gives a sharp jerk that yanks me to him. I slam into his chest and look up. Before I can react, he grips my chin and pulls me in for a kiss. It’s harsh and claiming. He pulls me out into the main garage and shuts the office door before I yank my mouth away.
“Let her go! She didn’t do anything. You can’t just take people and say they’re yours!” I pry at the fingers holding my wrist. They don’t budge. “We’re people, damn it. Let go of me.”
He doesn’t say anything, just pulls me toward the cabin. Panic mounts in me. My heart is pounding, and I claw at his hand now.
“Fuck you, fuck you,” I chant. “Let me go.”
We get through the front door, and I launch myself at his eyes.
“Jesus.” He jerks his head back and wraps his arms around me.
One of my arms is pinned up by his head and I grab at anything I can get.
Hair, skin. Everything in me tells me to get away from him.
That I won’t survive if I stay with him.
That he’ll suck the soul out of me and make me smile while he does it.
“Let me go!”
Jayden wrestles us to the couch where he drops us down, him on top of me. He tucks his head into my arm so that I no longer have any space to swing at him. I grunt and struggle, but he’s heavy. He’s touching all over me and weighing me down.
I keep fighting but he just lays there, holding me. Soon I’m winded and I still my movement, panting. My heart races, trying to catch up with my fight. With my need to run. Gradually, it slows. I stop sucking air.
Above me, Jayden starts to relax. His heartbeat is steady against my chest.
“Get off me,” I growl. But there’s no bite to it.
“No.” His fingers start to run through my hair. He’s gentle and methodical. He untangles every snarl one by one. I close my eyes so I don’t have to look at him.
His weight is a warm pressure that makes my body want to fall asleep. I shake my head to rouse myself. I can’t believe I want to fall asleep after what I just saw. He doesn’t move, just keeps combing his fingers down my scalp.
I want to stop feeling what he’s making me feel, but I can’t move. I fight him and myself for a long time. Soon there are longer and longer periods where I close my eyes, sleep heavy in my limbs.
The last time I startle awake I glance over the top of the couch to the hallway. I blink once then open them again, sleep making my vision blurry. I think I see Cole standing there, watching us. But then I sleep.
***
I wake feeling strangely relaxed and rested. I blink and see sunlight streaming into the living room. There’s a warmth at my back.
I stiffen. Jayden is lying next to me. We slept here all night. I look around without moving too much. We’re still alone.
Fuck. Jayden’s breathing is even and soft. He’s spooning me with his arm around my middle. I try to lift it off me so I can slip away.
“Lay still, kitten.”
I jump. Fuck, he’s awake. At first, I’m embarrassed that I fell asleep, but then I get mad. I try to get up again, but he pulls me back into him, tighter than before. Then I feel how hard he is behind me. And how big.
“Stop. Moving,” he growls.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” I hiss. His arm is a weight against my waist. He nestles his nose into the back of my neck.
“In a minute.” He lays there, just breathing me in. Why is this man so comfortable? So dangerous and comfortable at the same time.
Dangerous to more than me. I stiffen.
With a sigh, he finally lets me go. I get up and go to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face for a long time. I hear Cole’s voice, and the two men go back and forth.
When I come back out, I’ve steeled myself. They’re both cooking breakfast; bacon and eggs and…pancakes? My mouth waters.
“You gonna give any of that to Sage?” I cross my arms right outside the kitchen.
“No.” Jayden doesn’t even look at me. “Scrambled or over easy?”
“I’m not eating shit until you let her eat.”
Cole flicks up an eyebrow. He’s in a white shirt that makes him look even more tan. He strolls over to me and brushes a hair behind my ear. “Spicy this morning, hmmm, little one? I’ll fuck the attitude out of you if you want.”
I shove him back. Or, I try. His massive frame doesn’t move. “Don’t touch me.”
He smiles, then grabs the back of my neck. He squeezes hard enough it hurts and leans into me. “Jay asked you a question.”
I glare at his blue eyes. “Did you brush your teeth this morning? Nasty.”
He crushes his mouth to mine. His lips are bruising, punishing. He bites at my lip, hard. I gasp and taste blood. He swoops his tongue into my mouth and licks along the tops of my bottom teeth. I taste spearmint and blood.
“You be the judge.” His eyes light with mirth. With the hand on the back of my neck, he shoves me toward the kitchen island. “Eat.”
I stiffly sit on the barstool. “I’m not going to, and you can’t make me. You starve one of us, you starve us both.”
Jayden sets a plate in front of me with bacon, scrambled eggs, and a pile of pancakes drenched in golden syrup. “We can and will make you. You aren’t going on a hunger strike for her.”
I shove the plate away. “Just what bad thing did she do? Break up with you? As a matter of fact, what bad thing did I do? I’ve never met you before, and I wish I never had, you evil, kidnapping mother fuck—”
Cole is behind me in a blink. He fists my hair and yanks my head back, laughing in my ear.
“God, that smart mouth on you. I love it.” He digs his fingers into my jaw and I cry out from the pain of it.
Something moves above me, and Jayden forks food into my mouth.
He then clamps his hand over my mouth and pinches my nose.
I can’t breathe. I panic, thrashing back and forth, but Cole’s hold on my hair is hard and burns.
“Chew, swallow, and you can breathe again.”
I feel like I’m choking. I claw my hands at Jayden’s arms, earning me an eye-watering tug on my hair.
“Chew. And swallow.” Cole’s breath is hot in my ear.
I keep fighting, but it gets me nowhere. My lungs burn. Finally, I chew whatever is in my mouth. It’s tasteless. I swallow. It’s hard to with my neck cranked back.
They immediately let me go. I suck in deep breaths, the air sweet. I look at Jayden and his pupils are dilated.
“You going to keep doing that for every bite?”
“Fuck. You,” I say. But I grab the fork and stab it into some eggs.
“Good girl.” Jayden goes back to eating.
I don’t have an appetite anymore, but force myself to eat. The pancakes have a bitter taste to them, and I almost spit them out. “What’s in this?”
“No excuses, kitten. They’re fine. Eat.”
I try another bite, but they taste wrong. “Did you put too much baking powder in?”
“We can go back to feeding you if you like.”
“No. I don’t ‘like’.” I glare and force the rest of the food down. “Can I go to my room?”
“No.” The men start cleaning up breakfast.
I glare at them, feeling stuffed. They chat on about the weather and how it’s supposed to snow tonight.
A wave of dizziness passes through me. I blink.
“Gonna drop to the teens tonight too.”
The salt and pepper shakers start to wave, then return to solid again. Jayden stands behind me and wipes the table.
Warmth floods me. What is going on? I try to stand but it takes a long time for my legs to move. Jayden stays behind me, still talking to Cole.
“I—” My tongue feels fuzzy. I blink. When I open my eyes, I’m slumped over the table. I feel happy. Something tells me I should be upset. I just grin and look at the crumbs on the wood. Pancakes. The pancakes! They put something in my pancakes.
I try to get up, but now my legs really don’t work. Cole moves in front of me. Mirth fills me and I laugh. I have no defenses against them now. I just laugh harder.