33. Jax #2
“You’re letting me drink out of your titty cup?” she asks, taking the shot glass out of my hand.
“Yes.” I sit down next to her. “This glass I’m happy to share with you.”
She lets out a small laugh. “But you won’t share my cock cup?”
“Never.”
She downs the shot like a pro and passes the glass back to me. I pour her one more. It should help take the edge off.
“Thank you,” she says as she drinks her second shot.
“Want another one?” When she shakes her head, I pour one for myself before placing the empty glass and bottle on the coffee table.
Turning my body to face her, I notice there’s a small bruise forming on the side of her mouth.
I run my thumb softly over her cut lip. Everything in me wants to kiss it better.
“Are you going to tell me what happened today?” She needs to talk about it. Bottling it up won’t help.
“There’s not much to tell,” she says. “He’s one of my regular clients.
He’s always creeped me out. I was in the middle of waxing him when Naomi popped her head in to say she was leaving.
” I had no idea she had male clients, and that thought doesn’t sit well with me.
“This guy has said inappropriate things to me in the past, but that’s as far as it’s ever gotten.
I guess the fact that we were alone … he decided to take it to the next step. ”
“He didn’t … you know … do anything to you?”
“He tried. When I told him to leave, he grabbed me by the hair.” She clutches the blanket and wraps it tighter around herself. “He pushed my face towards his waist, and when I insulted him by saying he had no dick, he backhanded me.”
My body gets ridged when she says that. I roll my head from side to side, trying to keep my anger at bay. “I want to kill him for laying his hands on you.”
“I got my revenge, don’t you worry.” I don’t doubt that for a second.
“After he hit me, I regained my footing and stepped forward.” She pauses for a few seconds.
“I wrapped my hand around his dick. It was already hard. The stupid idiot smiled when I did that. He thought I was going to get him off. I held it as tight as I could, and using all my strength, I flicked my wrist until I heard a sickening pop. He went instantly limp as he fell back onto the bed … when he started screaming like a little girl, I knew I’d snapped it. ”
“Fuck.” My face screws up at the thought. My hand instinctively moves down to my crotch. My ball-busting ninja strikes again. “You snapped his dick?”
“I think his exact words were, ‘You broke my dick, you fucking psycho bitch’ , I didn’t stick around to find out.
He was screaming in agony as I ran from the room and out into the street.
A passer-by saw I was distressed, so he stopped and asked if I was okay.
” Her gaze moves down to the floor. “When I told him what happened, he called the police.”
We sit there in silence for a few minutes. I’m trying hard to remain calm after everything she’s just told me. I honestly have no words right now. I’m angry at myself that I wasn’t there to protect her.
When she finally lifts her head and looks at me, I see tears in her eyes. “It was awful, Jax. All I could think about was not seeing you and Maddie again.”
I pull her into my arms, and she cries softly into my chest.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I stroke my hand over her wet hair. I’m sorry for so many things .
I draw back from her when there’s a knock at the door.
“Are you expecting anyone?” she asks.
“Nope. I’ll see who it is, I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay.” A small smile tugs at her lips as she gazes up at me.
I’m really glad she’s here.
“Brendan,” I say when I open the door.
“Hi, Jax. I’m sorry to come here unannounced, but Sophia called me and told me what happened to Candice. Can I see her? I won’t stay long.”
“Of course.” I move to the side so he can enter. “She’s just through there,” I say, pointing towards the lounge room.
“Brendan,” I hear Candice say. “What are you doing here?”
I stand in the doorway and watch, giving them some space.
“Your mum called and told me what happened,” he replies, pulling her off the lounge and into his arms. “I’m sorry for dropping in like this, but I needed to come and make sure you were all right. I would’ve come earlier, but I was in court.”
“I’m glad you came,” she says, sliding her arms around his waist.
He pulls back slightly, looking down at her face. “Are you okay?”
“I will be,” she answers as her gaze briefly flickers to me. “Jax has been looking after me.”
Affectionately placing his hand on the back of her head, he pulls her face into his chest. I’m grinning as I watch them together. He cares for her, that’s clearly evident. I know how much her own father’s absence has hurt her over the years, so this is nice to see. Brendan is a good guy.
He continues to hold her for a short time before placing a soft kiss on her hair and letting her go. “Your mother has invited me over for dinner, so I best be going. I just needed to see you first.”
“I’m happy you came,” Candice says, smiling up at him.
He pulls a business card out of his pocket. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay,” she says, taking it from him.
“I mean it, sweetheart. I’m here if you need me. Always.”
“Thank you.” She’s grinning, but I can also see the tears glistening in her eyes from here.
Leaning in, he places a tender kiss on her forehead.
“Take care of yourself. I’ll call in and see you tomorrow once you’re back at home.
” I follow him to the door as he’s leaving.
“I’m going to make that bastard pay,” he says as soon as Candice is out of earshot.
“The police prosecutor is a friend of mine.”
“I’m pleased to hear that. I want to kill him for laying his hands on her.”
“Makes two of us.”
“Hello,” I say quietly when I walk into the kitchen to answer my phone.
“It’s almost ten, Jaxson Albright,” Sophia screeches. “When are you bringing my baby home? I need to see her.”
“She’s fallen asleep on my sofa. I don’t want to wake her. I think it’s best if I bring her home in the morning.”
“The morning? You said you were going to drop her home once Maddie was asleep. That was almost three hours ago.”
I exhale a frustrated breath. I know Sophia’s upset, and I know she’s concerned about her daughter, but there’s no way I’m waking Candice up. She’s my first priority at the moment and doesn’t need her melodramatic mother watching her every move. She’d hate that.
“As I told you earlier, she’s fine. Upset, but you know as well as I do that she won’t dwell on what happened today. She’ll deal with it and move on like she always does.”
“I just need to see her with my own eyes. I’ve been a mess all afternoon. She’s my baby, Jax.”
I roll my eyes. She’s twenty-four years old and far from a baby.
“Hold on,” I say. Walking back into the lounge room I snap a quick picture of a sleeping Candice and attach the image to a text.
I manage to take the picture from an angle that made her bruised cheek and cut lip look less prominent.
Otherwise, Sophia’s liable to get in the car and come over. “You have a photo coming through now.”
“Let me take a quick look. Aww, she looks so peaceful. Thank you for that. How has she been since we last spoke?”
“Better than I thought she’d be. How’s Maddie?”
“She’s fine. I didn’t tell her what happened. I didn’t want to worry her.”
“Thank you.”
“Naomi, Candice’s boss, has been calling all afternoon. She’s so upset that this happened. She’s tried calling Candice, but she won’t answer.”
“I haven’t heard her phone ring. It may be on silent or switched off. I’ll let her know in the morning when she wakes.”
“As much as I want to see her, I’m glad she’s with you, Jax. I know you’ll take care of her.”
Guilt floods me when she says that. I’ve been such an arsehole to Candice lately, but Sophia’s right, I will.
Once I end the call, I head back into the lounge room and stand beside the sofa looking down at Candice.
My mind’s been all over the place since she confessed her love for me.
But if anything positive is to come out of the attack, it’s made me realise just how much I need her.
It’s time to put this hurt and betrayal aside and move forward.
We’ve already wasted too much time fighting the inevitable. I can’t do it anymore.
Sliding my hands underneath her body, I effortlessly lift her into my arms.
“Jax,” she whispers, as her eyes flutter open.
“Shh,” I say. “I’m just carrying you to my room. I want you here with me tonight.”
The corners of her lips tug up as her arms snake around my neck. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”
I flick back the blankets and lay her down on the mattress then pull the covers up around her chin. I smile when I straighten to full height. I’ve missed seeing her in my bed.
“You’re not sleeping in here?” she asks. The disappointment is visible on her face.
“Yes. I’m just going to jump in the shower. I won’t be long.”
“Okay.” She’s grinning again as she closes her eyes and snuggles into the mattress.
Sharing a bed with her probably isn’t a wise move, but I’m not leaving her alone tonight.
The light is streaming into my room when I open my eyes. I look over at the clock on the bedside table—it’s only 6.42 am. Candice is still wrapped tightly in my arms. I have a few more hours before I have to give her back.
When I climbed into bed after my shower last night, she’d already fallen back to sleep and I had to fight the urge to pull her into my arms. Instead, I just laid there and watched her, all the time wondering what the future held for us.
Around midnight, she became restless, and started whimpering in her sleep. It was only then that I gave into the temptation and pulled her into my arms. It seemed to work, because she settled straightaway.
I tug her a little closer, who knows if, or when, I’ll ever get to hold her like this again? I place a soft, lingering kiss on her hair.
“Morning,” she mumbles against my chest.
“Morning. I thought you were still asleep.”
“I’ve been awake for a while. I was just pretending to sleep so I didn’t have to let you go. I felt you kiss my hair, by the way.”
“Did you?” I chuckle.
She lifts her head off my chest and smiles. The first thing I notice is that the bruise on her cheek has darkened overnight. “How are you feeling this morning?” I ask, to divert the conversation away from the kiss.
“I’m here with you, so I feel great.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to have her here as well, because fuck me, I am. My eyes keep wandering down to her injured lip. I run the pad of my thumb gently across it. I’m still angry that this happened.
“Does it hurt?”
“A little. Maybe if you kiss it better, it won’t hurt so much.”
“Candice,” I breathe. I miss her, and I know I want her—I’ve never stopped wanting her—but I can’t rush into anything with her right now. For both of our sakes, I need to be sure.
“I’m sorry,” she says, sighing. “It was worth a try.” She untangles her body from mine and lies on her back.
“Hey.” I roll onto my side and face her. The moment I do, she shuts her eyes, refusing to look at me. “Look at me. Candice.”
“It’s okay, Jax. Honestly.”
“No, it’s not.” She opens her eyes and turns her face towards mine. Without saying a word, I place a soft kiss on her bruised cheek and then on her cut lip. “Does it feel better now?” I ask.
“No. My lip still hurts; you may need to kiss it again.” She’s grinning as she speaks.
Sliding my arm around her waist, I turn her body back towards mine and draw her closer.
My eyes close when our mouths meet again.
I’ve missed her sweet lips. She moves her hand up to cup my face as my lips linger against hers.
Neither of us take the kiss any further.
It’s just a simple peck, but my cock is so hard right now it aches.
When she finally pulls back, she rests her forehead against mine. “I love you so much, Jaxson Albright, it hurts.”