Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jackson
When I place Ava on her feet, she’s shivering, which rouses every protective instinct in my cold, black soul. I reach over and turn the bath on, testing the water with my hand.
With that running through my mind, I turn my attention to Ava. She’s standing in the middle of the bathroom, blinking at me, looking dazed. I mean, fuck, she was just attacked. I can’t exactly blame her.
She takes a shaky step toward the tub and says quietly, “Turn around. Let me…let me get in without you seeing me.”
I stand there for a second, heart pounding, while I contemplate all the different ways I can growl no at her. But that pleading look on her face guts me, and I know I’ve already lost the bottle. Blowing out a heavy breath, I cross my arms over my chest and turn around.
I hear the rustle of fabric as she carefully strips off her clothes, then the gentle splash of water as she gets into the tub. When I turn back around, she’s fully submerged.
“How are you feeling?” I ask quietly, kneeling next to the tub.
“I’m fine.”
She’s lying. I can see in the way she’s breathing, short and shallow. In the hollow look in her eyes. I know her. I know the way she moves, the way she breathes. I can read her better than anyone.
“What did I tell you about lying to me?” I ask.
Her shoulders sink, and she exhales slowly. “It’s just…a lot. I wasn’t expecting to be attacked today.”
The bath is still running, and it’s nearly full. I turn the faucet off, grab a towel off the shelf, roll it up, and place it under her head.
“The water feels so nice,” she says on a sigh, her eyelids drifting closed. “I wish I had a tub like this in my apartment.”
I drag my eyes down her naked body. Fuck, she’s beautiful.
Even my twisted mind knows this isn’t the time to lust after her, but the truth is, I’ve never been able to resist this girl.
Water beads on her skin, sliding in rivulets over the swell of her breasts, just visible above the surface.
My mouth goes dry, my tongue aching to chase every drop across her skin.
After just a couple of minutes, she perks up a bit. Finally, her eyelids open, and she blinks up at me. I imagine what she must see. Me, kneeling beside the tub, probably looking shaken, because that’s exactly what I am—shaken to my core.
When I walked in on that guy attacking her, I swear to God, my soul left my body. And all I saw was blood, and violence.
She moves her hands to cover her stomach under the water. “So, what’s going to happen to the other guy who attacked me?”
My jaw tightens. “Don’t worry about him.”
There’s a question in her eyes, and she opens her mouth to ask it, but in the end, she presses her lips together and turns her head away. Because she knows I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.
Whatever. It. Fucking. Takes.
And making that cunt pay is only the beginning. Lucas thinks it’s Shadow and Ash, and maybe he’s right, maybe he’s wrong. Either way, whoever’s behind this will wish they’d never drawn breath. I’ll hunt them down and tear their world apart piece by piece until there’s nothing left.
Dipping my hand into the water, I cup her breast in my palm.
I shouldn’t touch her. Not after what she’s just been through, but what can I say?
I’m a selfish bastard. I take what I want, and what I want is Ava—warm, vibrant, alive.
I want her hot breath on my neck. I want her thighs open and trembling.
I want to lick every inch of her body, mark her with my teeth, and hear her scream my name…
Shockingly, she doesn’t scoff and push me away. Instead, she turns her head back to look at me, her bottom lip pinched between her teeth as my thumb gently strokes her hard nipple.
“You’re not fighting me…” I point out.
Goddamn. Every last drop of blood in my body rushes to my cock. I’m so damn hard, I can barely think straight. My only thought is how quickly I can get inside this girl again.
She lifts a brow. “Is there any point in fighting you? You always get what you want, anyway.”
“And you don’t want me just as bad? Is that what you want me to believe?” I smirk, my eyes never leaving her round, creamy breasts. Is there anything more beautiful than this girl when she’s naked and vulnerable?
She shrugs a shoulder, droplets of water catching the light as they trickle down her arm. “Maybe I’m just inclined to let you have what you want…” Her eyes crawl up and catch mine, a tiny smile playing at the edges of her pink lips. “…this time.”
Fuck, my cock is so hard, I don’t trust myself. Now that I’ve had her once, she’s all I can think about—the feel of her body, the taste of her skin. Ava Baldwin is my drug, my dark obsession, and I’m hopelessly addicted.
When we were dating, we fucked more times than I could count.
I know every curve, every shiver, every sound she makes.
But that’s never been enough. What I crave—what keeps me awake at night—goes beyond the physical.
I want that side of her that she keeps locked away from the rest of the world.
I want to be the first voice she hears in the morning and the last hand she reaches for at night.
I want to be the guy she runs to when everything falls apart.
It’s not just fucking her body; it’s owning the space in her head no one else gets. And I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.
Somehow, I manage to pull myself away and sit back on my heels. I’m so damn keyed up, I swear to God, I could haul her out of this tub, spread her thighs, and fuck her raw until we’re both breathless and bleeding…
But there’s an echo inside me, a mantra pulsing in my brain—You’re the reason she’s suffering. She deserves better than you.