Chapter 21
Jaxon
Nobody.
Did she not understand that for the first time in years I was finally able to breathe again? That during the last couple of days I’d looked forward to getting up in the morning where before I’d done so out of routine?
Yes, the fact she was hiding her past from me was annoying, perhaps even dangerous, but the woman had peeled away layers with her banter and vibrancy.
But hell, no. Anna was not going to get away with silence and ignoring my requests that easily.
Before I’d had time to process what she’d told me, she’d fled the room, grabbing her clothes as she was leaving. What in the hell? Where did she think she was going?
I glared at Zorro, shaking my head as I did. “You growled at me, buddy.”
I’d be damned if he hadn’t done it again, this time the low, throaty snarl accompanied by an admonishing look. I had no clue dogs could so easily put someone in their place.
“Fine. I shouldn’t have barked at her. No pun intended, buddy. But she drives me crazy and she’s hiding something that could place our family in danger.” Or at minimum place herself in harm’s way.
Now I was talking to my dog as if he understood everything I was saying.
Woof.
I closed one eye when I turned my attention toward him. “What? Should I go after her?”
He harrumphed as he’d done before but with more effort.
“Fine. But she’s going to listen to me.” He cocked his handsome head just before I rushed from the room, taking the stairs two at a time. We would talk whether she wanted to confide in me or not. Games were not allowed.
She appeared on the top landing, glaring at me with all the gusto I’d seen from her at least a dozen times before. “Get out of my way.”
She’d yanked on jeans and a sweatshirt, but if she thought the baggy clothes would keep me from taking what I wanted, she was wrong. Dead wrong. The feisty woman was not going to say to no to me.
I glanced at the bag in her hand; the fact she’d quickly gotten dressed made a series of emotions flash from deep within. “You are not going anywhere.”
“You can’t keep me your prisoner. I won’t allow it.” She shoved me with enough force I slipped on the top stair.
While I wildly grabbed for the railing, managing to snag it with my hand after rolling down four steps, she gasped.
Still, with all my effort, I managed to land on my ass, the brutal thud almost as painful as when she’d tried to smash my head in. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“Just trying to make you leave me alone.” She had her hand pressed against her mouth, which muffled her words, but didn’t do a damn thing to her laugh.
Her soft and adorable laugh that irritated the hell out of me.
The sound that drove me wild, including right now.
I pushed myself to my feet, noticing Zorro was sitting at the bottom of the stairs. I’ll be damned if my dog wasn’t happily grinning at me as well. In my own house.
“That’s not going to happen, Anna.” I righted myself, taking a single long stride and was on the landing once again. When she backed away, I advanced.
She repeated the move.
I did so again. Only this time I grabbed the duffle bag, tossing it aside.
“I’ll call the police,” she breathed, her eyes falling ever so slowly to my already fully aroused cock. Around her I stayed both alert and aroused.
“Go for it. They will enjoy the fact I have a beautiful woman staying in my house. Oh, wait. You’ll need your phone, but it’s safely locked away.”
“You did not!”
“Yeah, I did.” I continued crowding her space, but she’d stopped moving, preferring to stand even taller than before. Gah, she was such a tiny thing. I could easily crush her with a single hand.
Only that was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted nothing more than to protect her.
“Why?” The way she was standing up to me was as surprising as the woman. And her desire to make her own way in life while also fighting all the same urges I had regarding the nonsensical need to have someone in my life. She’d captured it perfectly. That person or that pup was a weakness.
But goddamn it, this woman had done something to me that I couldn’t explain or shove aside.
Only a few days into barely knowing anything about her and the possessive need was off the chain.
As vibrant as the hunger. “Because I don’t want you to be hurt.
” I was now towering over her, noticing how much her breath had hitched and how aroused her nipples were.
Even the scent of her desire was stronger than before.
“Then don’t hurt me.”
“It’s not me you should worry about, il mio angelo perduto. I might be the only person who can keep you safe.”
“Why do you care? Why, Jaxon? You barely know me as you’ve said. In your eyes, I’m nothing but a lost angel.”
“Because I do.” I cupped her face and as soon as I did, she pressed one hand against my chest, her fingers kneading my skin.
“I care for you, Anna. I’m not one to say those words easily nor do I understand all the reasons why.
You’re right. I don’t know you very well, but I sense you and I are very much alike.
” I lowered my head, drinking in the essence of her desire.
“How so?” She leaned into me, her breathing as labored as mine.
“We’re a little bit lonely, a little bit broken. But very much determined to be who we want to be. Warriors.”
My answer drew a smile, slow and practiced as if fearful she’d allow me to see her most vulnerable side. What she might not realize as of yet that she’d already exposed her greatest personal weakness.
Missing her father.
Whoever he was, he had given her a gift that he’d likely done to keep her safe.
My instincts about her had been correct.
She was a mafia princess.
All the signs were in place. Perhaps she hadn’t realized the clues that had begun to put the pieces of her personal life’s puzzle together, but I missed nothing.
She’d been brought to New Orleans, but unless she was the best damn actress in the world, she had no understanding of the potential war she could have dropped into the middle of.
Unless her father had called in favors.
Irina Novikov would know. Of that I was certain. The older Russian woman couldn’t keep me at arm’s length for long. With a plan in motion, now I could spend the rest of the night fulfilling my desires.
And in doing so, I’d ensure my guest fully embraced that she wasn’t merely staying the night. She would stay as long as I so desired.
And in my mind, that would be a very… very long time.
“Is your name Anna?”
Her nod was slow, allowing me in through the cracks that she’d welded together in a protected cage of her own making.
All for a dream. Did she have any idea that her father’s sacrifice could have placed him in harm’s way?
“Anastasia. Papa used to call me Anna when he was angry with me.” Her memory was bittersweet.
“Anastasia,” I breathed. “Beautiful.”
Perfect for my lost angel.
Only she was no longer lost.
I’d found her.
And planned on keeping her.
As I’d done before, I captured her mouth, only this time, I wasn’t in a hurry. I wanted to taste all of her, to enjoy every moment of having her writhing underneath me. The kiss was intimate, reeking of passion, yet a slow and easy burn that continued to build with every passing second.
Anastasia brushed her palms up my chest while leaning into me. She was the one who darted her tongue into my mouth, exploring while I slipped my hand behind her neck. The feeling of having my fingers tangled in her hair was far more enjoyable than I’d realized in my past experiences.
Then again, every experience with Anna… with Anastasia was entirely different than what I’d had before. Which was only one reason why I craved her with every ounce of my being.
I cupped her face with one hand, holding her in position, but she’d given up her fight, clinging to me in a possessive hold of her own. She was a fighter, yet another reason I adored her.
But the need to protect was as strong as it had ever been.
Including with Rose.
Within seconds, she was pulling me into the bedroom I’d given her, a guest room that suited her personality. Spunky as fuck.
When our lips finally pulled away, we were both breathing heavily, even laughing as I ripped off her sweatshirt.
She continued touching me, rubbing her fingers up and down my chest as she guided me toward the bed.
I was the one who ripped down the comforter.
She was the one who tossed a few of the pillows off the bed.
Then I took over, pushing her down onto the sheets, wrangling with her tennis shoes and jeans while she playfully fought me.
As soon as the task was completed, she crawled backward on the bed, peering up at me with eyes full of longing but a hint of fear as well.
But when I eased onto the sheets, she reached for me, pulling me down ever so slowly until I was nestled between her legs.
As I pressed the full weight of my body down on hers, she arched her back and slid one arm around my waist. “Make love to me, Jaxon. Please.”
“My sweet Anastasia. My beautiful, perfect angel.”
And so, I thrust my cock inside her sweet pussy.
This time the intimacy wasn’t about taking her body.
It was about claiming her heart.
Anastasia
Every time he whispered my name, I was pushed further onto a cloud. Not quite cloud nine but something as near to pure rapture as I’d ever found. I hadn’t expected to care about him or for him to allow his guard to fall even a little around me. That wasn’t Jaxon Prince.
At least not the one I’d been allowed to see.
He was powerful and strong, angry at the world and controlling, the latter mostly with himself. He refused to accept simple joys that every traditional family allowed.
Why? Because he was fearful of doing so.
I wrapped my legs around him while he brushed his lips across mine. There was nothing like the feel of his full weight pressed against me, keeping me under him. I was breathless from both desire and the rush of adrenaline and excitement that came in a packaged deal with the handsome man.