Chapter 16
Melody
We zip through traffic and I notice the way that Jaxon drives like he’s a professional, zig zagging around cars effortlessly. Oddly enough, I don’t feel unsafe. It comes as a surprise. Maybe it’s because I’m so trusting of this man before me or that I know he would never intentionally hurt me, but whatever it is, I can’t get enough of it. It’s addicting.
As we round the corner to my street, the night is illuminated with red and blue flashing lights. Dread sinks into my stomach. What happened now? We pull to a stop in my driveway; the only clear spot to park with all the police vehicles everywhere. We exit the car and are immediately greeted by a sheriff who, judging by his appearance, may be in his late fifties and probably close to retirement.
“Good evening, young lady. Are you Melody Harper?”
“Yes, this is my house. What’s going on?”
“Well, someone tripped the alarm in your place. The inside has been ripped to shreds. I have to ask, is there anyone that would want to hurt you?”
“Well… I was attacked last year in Silicon Valley. They never caught the guy. It’s honestly the only person that I could imagine that would want to harm me.”
“Interesting… when did this attack happen?” he asks, taking notes in his notepad that he removed from his uniform pocket.
I give a look at Jaxon and he must get the hint because he moves back over to his car and leans against it. I’m not sure I’m ready for Jaxon to look at me any differently once he finds out what happened. I’m falling for this man, and I’m scared.
“It was June sixteenth of last year. My friends and I were out bar hopping. When I left the bar to catch my Uber, I was attacked and… raped.”
“Alright, ma’am, I understand this might be difficult for you to recount. Let’s save you the trouble and I’ll just have one of my officers pull up the report from the incident, okay?”
“I would be very grateful for that, thank you.”
The sheriff goes off to talk to one of his officers, and I make my way back over to Jaxon. His jaw clenches and he looks ready to kill someone. Fuck, he probably overheard what I told the officer.
I look up at him sheepishly, not sure what to say. I find that words aren’t necessary though as Jaxon pulls me into him and wraps his arms around me. It’s the first time in forever since I’ve been held like this, and I can’t help but to melt into his arms. Tears spring to my eyes, but I blink them back. I can’t lose my composure just yet.
“Thank you,” I mumble into Jaxon’s chest. His only response is to squeeze me a little tighter. I am in deep trouble with this man. If he keeps it up, he’ll own my whole heart.
We wait outside for what feels like an hour before the sheriff comes back over.
“Well, Miss Harper, we have documented all there is to in the house and took statements from your neighbors that heard the commotion. You’re free to go into the house, though I warn you, it’s a disaster. You probably need to spend a lot of time replacing things. And make sure to get your security system replaced.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and simply nod at the officer and offer him my thanks. Jaxon puts an arm around my shoulder and leads the way into the house. The police lights slowly disappear as everyone leaves the crime scene.
As we make our way in through the garage, the mud room and kitchen seem fine. Maybe the officer exaggerated it a bit?
I’m soon met with an obscene amount of damage in the living room. My couch cushions are completely slashed open, the curtains are hanging in tatters, and lamps and decor lay shattered on the floor. My hand flies to my mouth as I stare in disbelief. Why would someone do this?
With trepidation, I turn and make my way up the stairs. There is a slash along the wall leading up the stairs, as though whoever did it had a knife dug into the wall and dragged it all the way up. Chills run down my spine. What if I had been home? Would my body be mutilated to pieces right now?
Jaxon follows me up the stairs. Once I get to my room, I gasp. My bed is completely untouched, but there are what looks like blood splatters all over the walls and my dresser mirror. I walk farther into the room and see that my bed isn’t completely untouched like I thought. In the center of my bed lies a single white rose with splatters of red. The contrast is significant against the red background of my comforter.
I look over at Jaxon to see him clenching his fists. He looks like he wants to murder someone.
“We’ll catch whoever did this, Melody. Mark my words,” he all but growls to me.
I’m exhausted and probably coming down from the adrenaline running through my veins. Jaxon must see my exhaustion because he puts an arm around me and says, “Why don’t we go to my place for the night. I’ll send Brooke a text to head back home, and we’ll worry about her car in the morning.”
As I start to refuse his offer, he levels me with a glare. “There is no way you’re staying here tonight. Not with this psycho on the loose, no working security system, and nothing to protect yourself.”
I’m about to tell him about the gun in my nightstand, but before I can utter a single word, he’s leading me back down through the house to his car. Running on autopilot, I get in the car willingly. He’s right… as much as I don’t want to admit it, I can’t stay here tonight. What if he comes back to finish what he started?
The ride passes in a blur. Jaxon keeps one hand on my thigh the entire way, lightly rubbing my skin with his thumb. It’s so relaxing, I soon find myself lulling off to sleep.
“Melody, baby, wake up.” Someone is jostling me awake. I look up through half lidded eyes and finally become aware of my surroundings. It’s just Jax. We must have finally got to his house, except now that I’m looking around, we seem to be in some sort of parking garage.
“Where are we, Jax?”
“This is my parking garage. We will have to take the elevator to get to my suite.”
“You live in a penthouse suite?!”
“Yes, little sparrow, I do.”
Jaxon removes his seatbelt and then rushes out of the car to get my door. As I stand, I’m completely unsteady. The events of the night come rushing back to me, and soon I’m hyperventilating. I can’t believe this is really happening… The parking garage starts to spin, and the last thing I hear before everything goes black is Jaxon. “Melody, are you ok?”
I come to and realize I’m laid out on a sleek black leather couch. There is a fan above my head slowly spinning, casting a cool breeze on my skin. There’s something cold on my forehead; I reach up and discover a wet rag.
Footsteps sound from somewhere in the house, and eventually Jaxon comes in to view. He changed down into gray sweats and a fitted white T-shirt. He looks delectable. Whoever said gray sweats do something for a man, wasn’t lying. Jaxon sees me stir awake and comes right over, sinking down to his knees at my side.
“You gave me quite the scare, little sparrow.”
“Sorry, Jaxon. I don’t know what happened. How did you get me up here?”
“You fainted, I caught you just in time before your head hit the cold concrete. And I carried you up here in the elevator, of course.”
My skin heats under his perusal. I’m definitely not a light girl. I’m instantly embarrassed that he had to carry my weight up here. “Sorry you had to do that, it probably wasn’t easy.”
He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. “Don’t you dare start insinuating anything about your weight. I love every curve on this body. I’ll show you how easy it is.”
Jaxon stands up and hooks an arm under my legs and an arm behind my back before he picks me up. I let out a little squeal, imagining him dropping me to the ground. But what he does next surprises me. Not only does he lift me up, but he takes me down the hall and we enter a dark room. Jaxon flips the light and I’m looking at the biggest master suite I have ever seen, with a panorama view of the city lights below.
Jaxon turns a corner and brings us to a bathroom, where he sets me down. He lowers the toilet lid and moves me to sit down on it. He kneels down and ever so slowly lifts up my right foot to delicately remove my high heel. He places my foot down and does the same with the other. He looks up at me through his lashes. “You do something to me, Melody. I am completely enthralled by you.”
My skin flushes. This man has a way with words. I reach over to him and pull him up to me. My small hands frame his face and I lean in and place a kiss upon his lips. It quickly turns to molten heat as the kiss consumes us both. Jax stands, taking me with him, not once breaking the kiss. He spins me around and pins me against the wall. One hand is restraining my hands above my head, and the other one wraps lightly around my throat. The pressure he places on each side of my neck is exquisite, and soon I’m panting with pure need for this man.
“Hang on, little sparrow.” He breaks the kiss. “Let’s get you cleaned up first.”
Confused at what he means by that, I give him a questioning look. He turns to the walk-in shower that takes up half of his bathroom and turns on the hot water. His shower is grand, that’s for sure. It has a rainfall nozzle overhead and jet sprays coming from the two side walls. It looks like heaven, but I hope he isn’t expecting me to get naked in there with him.
“Melody, I can see your gears turning. Stop it right now.” He moves to lift my dress over my head and I swat his hand away.
“I don’t want you to see me naked just yet.”
“Little sparrow, I told you. I love every inch of this body.”
“It’s not that Jax... it’s just... I was in a dark place a year ago. I still wear the scars from that dark part of my life,” I admit, looking down at the ground.
He puts a finger under my chin, tilting my face up to look into his blue eyes.
“I said all of your body is beautiful, not just parts. All of you is a masterpiece to me.”
“Where are they,” he asks, reaching out a hand to me.
“My wrists and lower arms…”
“Let me see, Melody. Let me see every beautiful inch of you.” He slowly reaches down to the hem of my dress and begins to pull it up. I bite my lip.
“Hey, what did I say about biting your lip, little sparrow? I only have so much restraint, and right now I’m trying to be gentle with you.”
I quickly release my lip and give him a small smile. He continues to lift the dress until it’s over my stomach. I reach up my arms so he can fully pull it off. The cold air brushes my skin and I break out in goosebumps. All I’m left in is a bra and a thong panty.
Jaxon takes a step back and admires me as I am. “God, you are beautiful, Melody. I don’t care how many times I have to say it until you believe it, but you are absolutely breathtaking.”
I have no words for his admission, so I do the only thing I can think of. I start to take off my bra and pull down my panties, stepping out of them before placing them on my dress.
“Fuck, Melody… you’re absolutely perfect.” He steps forward and grabs my arm, peppering light kisses up over my scars and repeats the process with my other arm.
Although his appraisal turns me on, I’m not sure I have the energy for whatever he has in mind right about now. At least if the bulge in his sweatpants is anything to go by.
“Melody, what I wouldn’t give to push you against this shower wall and fuck you senseless, but I know you are not ready for that right now. Let’s take a shower and get cleaned up, then we can head to bed. It’s been a long night.”
Relieved, but also slightly disappointed, I nod my head and step into the shower and let the hot water sink into my bones. I watch Jaxon as he gets undressed. I was right when I saw his picture on Tinder. He is loaded with tattoos. I wonder if any of them have a special meaning… I take a moment to appreciate his physique. He reaches down to pull off his sweats and then he’s just in his boxer briefs. The man is sin personified. He stalks toward the shower, stopping only to take off the last barrier. He sheds his boxer briefs and if I thought he was impressive through his clothing, it has nothing on how big he actually is.
“Keep staring, Melody, and I’ll have you on your knees with my cock buried so far down your throat you won’t be able to breathe.”
I look up to meet his eyes so quickly, he lets loose a small laugh. I quickly move aside so he can join me in the shower. The room quickly steams up and it’s just the two of us in this world. He looks over to me tenderly, reaching behind my head for something. He comes back with a loofah and soap. Before I can get a word out, he lathers it up and starts washing my body. He starts with my arms, then my shoulders, working his way around my neck. He turns me around so he can get my back, and then he’s reaching around me and bringing the loofah across my sensitive nipples. I gasp at the sensation and look over my shoulder, giving him a glare. He puts his hands up in mock surrender.
Laughing to myself, I take the loofah from him and finish washing myself. The soap is a manly scent, but I don’t even care. As long as I get to be surrounded by this man’s smell, I am A-OK with it. Jaxon takes the loofah when I’m done and washes his body. We both make quick work of our hair and face. Even being completely cleaned, I still feel filthy thinking back to that night. I usually am pretty successful with pushing those thoughts away, but with the events that occurred at my house, I’m struggling to ignore it.
Jaxon must sense my inner turmoil because he comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me, placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head. I wish I could stay here forever.
Once the water starts getting cold, we both turn off the nozzles and get toweled off. Jaxon lends me a pair of his boxer briefs and a T-shirt. Both freshly dressed, Jaxon leads me back to his bedroom. I still can’t get over the view. It’s amazing. I never thought I would be a big inner city girl, but it’s beautiful. I can imagine watching the sun setting here every single night.
WHOA girl. Ok, slow down. I am getting too attached to this man too fast. What is it about him that has me so entranced?
Shaking myself out of my reverie, I see that Jaxon is waiting expectantly at the edge of the bed. When he sees that he has my attention, he holds out a hand and pulls me to him.
“Little sparrow, what are you thinking in that pretty head of yours?”
“Just that you’re wickedly handsome and attempting to steal my heart.”
“I don’t make attempts, Melody. I meant it when I told you I get what I want.”
I let out a little huff. He can be so infuriating. But isn’t that part of what I like about him, his possessiveness? He said it at the club, I belong to him. I think most girls would be pissed at that statement, maybe even call it a red flag; for me, it’s a fucking turn on.
Jaxon smirks at me. It’s like he can read my mind and knows I’m falling fast for him.
“Let’s lay down, little sparrow. It’s getting late and I know you’re exhausted.”
Climbing over him, I get comfortable in the bed and settle in. Before I can even get a “goodnight” out, I’m being pulled across the bed. Jaxon envelopes me in his arms, and I’ve never felt safer.