17. Cabin in the Woods #2
"I escaped the house before it burnt down," Jax said, trying to burp Chloe. "And as I lay on the ground, staring up at the night sky, waiting to succumb to my wounds… I thought I'd be angry with you. But instead, for the first time in a long time, all I felt… was fear ."
Jax looked at Deja. "That I would lose you forever..."
Deja's eyes fell as she lifted the gown to cover her chest. "I don't know when Ian and Keith found me," Jax continued. "They hid me away from the world. Hired the country's top specialists to keep me alive."
Jax's eyes glazed over. "But it wasn't the doctors who decided I should live," he said, looking at Deja. "It was Roselyn who decided it wasn't my time. That I still had a purpose to fulfill. A job to finish. A wife to protect-"
Chloe abruptly burped, and Jax chuckled, gently rubbing her back. "A daughter to look after," he said, kissing Chloe. He looked at Deja again. "So she brought me back to you," he said, handing Chloe back to her.
Deja took Chloe into her arms again when Jax suddenly got down on his knees.
She looked at him, startled as he pushed her gown up her thighs and grabbed her knees, spreading her legs apart.
"J-Jax-" she started before her eyes instinctively closed at the way his lips caressed the inside of her thigh.
His fingers lightly trailed over her skin, leaving fleeting kisses, inching up her thigh.
"I need you to understand something, Deja," Jax said, squeezing her thighs. "You could stab me. Shoot me. Burn me alive..." He grabbed her chin, tilting her head down to meet his gaze. " Nothing will stop me from loving you. And absolutely nothing will stop me from coming back to you..."
Smiling, he gently rubbed Chloe's back. "And now, we have a family..."
Deja anxiously swallowed. "D-does… does that mean you'll stop killing?"
Jax chuckled, amused. "Of course not, Deja. Being a Reaper is as much a part of me as being in love with you. I have a duty as a Reaper as well as a duty as your husband and her father."
"How do you even know she's yours?" Deja muttered.
Jax smirked knowingly. "Come on, baby. You know the kind of man I am," he said, standing to his feet. "That girl is mine. And so are you." Gently grabbing her chin, Jax tilted her head back until she was looking up at him. She felt her stomach tighten from the dark look in his gaze.
"Please don't underestimate the severity of what I'd do to keep and protect you..." he warned.
Deja swallowed hard as he released her. She looked at him strangely as he leaned against the dresser. "You sound… different ..." she said.
Jax looked at himself in the mirror. "I met the devil. And in the process, it seems… became one myself..."
Using a damp rag to wipe the blood from his body, Caleb's gaze lingered on the scars scattered across his muscular chest. His eyes glazed over with nostalgia, staring at his reflection in the kitchen window as he traced a scar that curved over his pectoral.
"It was just a joke! Wait-stop!"
Caleb turned his head as blood suddenly splattered his face. He watched his brother step on the school athlete's face to rip the ax out of his skull. "Jokes are meant to be funny, asshole," Jamie said, spitting on his corpse.
Caleb's eyes followed his brother, approaching the next victim and drowning out their cries by hacking them to pieces. In just five minutes, they had turned the school’s boys’ locker-room into a blood bathhouse.
Caleb regretted telling his brother about the baseball team. He expected his teammates to target him after he was made Pitcher. Caleb didn't even want to join the team, but the coach insisted he capitalize on his strong arm and insane aim.
And Caleb would do anything that would keep him away from his aunt and uncle...
He had tried to hide his bleeding lip from his brother, but Jamie and Caleb were like one. It was impossible to hide anything from each other. Caleb had barely got out two words before Jamie had grabbed the ax from his locker and stormed into the locker-room, swinging mercilessly.
Jamie was insane. He got off on this shit. Caleb just gave him a reason. But where Jamie enjoyed killing, Caleb mainly saw it as an outlet for all his pent-up rage.
"Why the fuck are you just standing there? Rip the head off this motherfucker!" Jamie snapped.
Caleb shook his head. "That's enough, Jamie..."
Smirking, Jamie approached Caleb. "Come the fuck on, Caleb. Don't be a fucking pussy. These motherfuckers deserve it."
Caleb sighed. "I'm just not into this shit like you. I mean… I can't stop when I-"
"Then don't," Jamie said. "Bloodlust is not a weakness, Caleb. It's not wrong. It's a gift. From Roselyn." Jamie handed him the ax.
Caleb cautiously grabbed the ax and felt a fire light up in his belly as he looked down at one of his injured teammates. "C-come on, Caleb. We-we were just kidding, man," he begged. "It was just a joke."
Caleb raised a brow. "You're fucking hilarious..." he muttered while swinging.
The sound of the door opening snapped Caleb out of his thoughts as he reflexively flung his knife towards the door. Ian casually stepped to the side as the knife scraped Keith's shoulder. "The fuck is wrong with you?!" Keith snapped, setting Deja's dog down.
"...oops..." Caleb shrugged, going back to cleaning his chest.
"Why are you covered in blood...?" Ian asked with a raised brow, placing Deja's kitten on the floor.
"Because your brother doesn't know how to clean up his fucking messes," Caleb muttered.
Ian scoffed. "Well, that's inaccurate."
"Jax is a fucking stickler for cleaning up after himself," Keith snorted.
"I just had to order the quarantine of an entire hospital wing," Caleb said.
"Ooohh..." Ian and Keith said simultaneously.
"Sucks to be you," Keith shrugged.
"He has been acting a bit strangely since he recovered," Ian mused. "More careless, I suppose."
"He's gone from a pretentious bitch to a narcissistic king," Keith muttered.
"Keith, that's the same thing," Ian said.
Caleb shook his head. "The last thing I need right now is to deal with you motherfuckers. Especially after the way you've been fucking with me."
Ian smiled. "Just reminding you of your place, dear cousin. Besides, we're not here for you..." Caleb caught Ian's serious gaze. "...where is she?" Ian ordered.
Marinating in the warm bathwater, Deja watched Jax nuzzle Chloe with his nose while she cooed. This man acted like the man she originally fell in love with.
But Deja’s jaw was clenched, muscles tight. Jax's presence still kept her on edge. He still had a hold on her. Still instilled crippling fear.
But he was so different with Chloe. So gentle… She watched him put Chloe in a basket before he turned around, giving Deja his attention.
For a cabin in the woods, the house was fairly big with several bathrooms and rooms on 2 floors.
The house seemed to belong to their family.
Jax had undressed Deja, run a warm bath, and placed her into the tub.
He treated her as if she had never left.
As if she hadn't tried to kill him. As if she wasn't fearfully looking over her shoulder for him for the past 7 months.
Her eyes roamed over his body after he shed his clothes.
He looked bigger than before. Meatier . The knife and bullet wounds she had given him added to the canvas of violent scars on his body.
Jax climbed into the tub behind her and pulled her back against him, between his muscular legs.
She could already feel his erection pressed up against her back.
His fingers dug into her tense shoulders, massaging her.
She shivered as he affectionately kissed her neck.
"You just gave birth to my child, so I won't bother you until you're fully healed.
.." he said. Deja struggled to relax. His words felt ominous.
As if his tenderness was meant to catch her off guard. "Now… about you and Caleb..."
Deja immediately tensed up. "There's nothing between us."
Jax hummed into her ear. "My sweet Deja. I know you oh too fucking well. You wear your heart on your sleeve, baby. You don't lose feelings so quickly..." Goosebumps raised on Deja's skin as he affectionately pushed his nose into the back of her hair, kissing her ear.
"If he touches you without my permission again… I will make him bleed ..."
Holding the towel around her body, Deja led the way back to the bedroom as Jax followed, carrying Chloe. His threat against Caleb lingered in her mind. What the hell was wrong with this family?
Opening the door, she jumped, startled to see Ian sitting on the bed and Keith leaning against the dresser, both brothers impatiently waiting for her.
"About damn time-" Keith snapped irritably, glaring at Deja before he groaned with desire.
"Well, fuck. Look at you. Drop that towel and come here, baby, so I can get reacquainted with that body of yours. "
"Calm yourself, Keith. There's a child in the room," Ian muttered, looking from Deja to Jax, who was doting over Chloe.
"We've traveled over two hours, Jax. Stop hogging her.
" Jax grinned as he approached his brothers with his daughter.
Ian's cheeks flushed as his pupils dilated.
"She looks… I'm at a loss for words, actually.
.." Ian looked at Deja. "She's as beautiful as you. .."
Deja smiled nervously before glancing at the door to see Caleb with his hands in his pockets, silently watching.
"Holy fuck! She looks like a doll! Imagine how many people I'm gonna kill for this girl," Keith said, with his hands in his hair.
"Why would you just randomly kill people for her?" Ian asked, taking Chloe from Jax.
"Because! I'm a protective uncle, and nobody fucks with my Clo-Clo," Keith snorted.
"You're not calling her that," Jax warned.
"She's a week old. Relax," Ian muttered. His face brightened as he smiled down at Chloe. "Aren't you a little princess..."
"Why the fuck is she so cute? It's like… anger-inducing. Like I need to get out this cute aggression, and-" Keith abruptly punched the wall, cracking the wood.
"Alright, your baby-holding privileges are revoked," Jax warned.
"You guys are making me feel unsettled," Deja said, tightening the towel around her.
"You're actually quite distracting yourself, standing in that towel… completely naked underneath," Ian said, eyeing her with a raised brow.
"Well then, how about you both leave and change Chloe's diaper," Jax motioned to the door.
"Excuse me? I don't do diapers," Ian said, curling his lip in disgust.
"I'll do it," Keith said, taking Chloe from Ian. "Hey, Clo-Clo! My little gummy bear with those big-ass eyes lookin' like a fuckin' mini killer. I'm about to be your favorite uncle," he said, leaving the room.
"Keith, you just punched a wall! I don't trust you with a baby!" Ian snapped, following after him. Caleb watched his cousins leave before he set his eyes back on Deja. Their gaze lingered on each other for a moment before Jax walked behind Deja.
"Do you mind?" Jax hummed, looking at Caleb.
Grabbing Deja's towel, Jax slowly unraveled it, pulling it from her body, and leaving her naked in front of Caleb.
Deja sharply inhaled as she stared at Caleb while Jax's hands wrapped around her to hold her breasts, thumbing her nipples.
"I'd like to dress my woman..." Jax said, kissing Deja's neck while keeping his eyes on Caleb.
Caleb's jaw tensed as he tried not to submit to his anger. "Those two jackasses don't look like they'd know what to do with a baby, so… I'll go check on them..."
"You do that..." Jax groaned, grabbing a handful of Deja's bare ass. Deja caught the anxiously wanting look in Caleb's eyes before averting her gaze.
Caleb's nostrils quivered. His heart tightened with pain as he nodded. He closed his fingers into a fist before he turned around and walked out.
Lying on the bed, Deja looked down at Jax resting on her stomach with his arms folded beneath his chin.
He playfully traced her stretch marks. "I love these on you.
.." Jax tenderly kissed her stomach. "They're erotically beautiful .
They signify our love that you carried in your womb.
But they also make me want to spread your thighs and fuck you with my tongue until you melt into my mouth. .."
Jax's blue eyes flickered up at her as he bit his bottom lip. "I need to taste you, Deja..."
Deja's breathing shortened. "J-Jax, I… I just need a minute. Some air. Please."
Jax exhaled through his nose and groaned.
"...fine..." He moved down her body and, grabbing her thighs, pushed his face against her panties to kiss her pussy before he pulled back off the bed.
"I'll check on Chloe. Don't go far," he warned.
Deja waited for him to leave before her face fell into her hands.
Her mind was in such a frenzy. She felt like a madwoman. Swinging her legs out of bed, she pulled on a sweater and a pair of jeans before rushing out of the bedroom. She could hear the men in the living room, doting on her daughter, before she headed for the back door.
Stepping outside, Deja breathed in the fresh air before she vomited. Tears streamed down her face as she wiped her mouth. Anger, fear, and helplessness bubbled up inside of her before she vomited again.
She no longer had any control over her life, and it made her sick. But nothing made her feel more ill than the thought that Jax was right. She was as obsessed with him as he was with her. And it made no fucking sense.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Deja walked among the trees. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to figure out what kind of life she'd live now that Jax was back. Now that a baby tied them together. What kind of life could she give her daughter when half of her family were serial killers?
Deja immediately froze when she spotted movement in the trees a few feet ahead of her.
Two figures, wearing unsettling masks. It was when she spotted the weapons in their hands that she started to back away.
Deja kept silent as she tried to move without being seen or heard, only to bump into something behind her.
Slowly turning around, she saw another masked figure looking down at her, holding a baseball bat in one hand and a machete in the other.
He silenced her scream by violently smashing her with the bat.