Page 6 of Jaded Soul

“Look at me, beautiful,” I murmur, my lips mere inches from the shell of her ear. She does, turning her head so we’re face to face. I rest my forehead on hers while rubbing my thumb gently across her knuckles as she continues to squeeze my hand. “I don’t know what you’ve been through or what brought you here, but you have people who care about you now. We look after each other, especially me and my MC brothers.”

“I’m fine,” she whispers unconvincingly. “Besides, it’s not your personal responsibility to make me happy,” Rowan says with more confidence. I feel her walls coming back up, not only in the way she speaks but how her body tenses.

Rowan leans back, breaking our connection.

“If I can’t make you happy, can I at least make you safe?” I blurt out. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but it’s an honest question.

“Why?” she asks again.

I untangle our fingers and lift a hand up to her face, gently swiping my thumb across her jawline and down her neck. Christ, her pulse races beneath my touch, her cheeks glowing the most adorable shade of pink.

“Everyone deserves a safe place to land. I don’t think you feel very safe right now. Am I right?”

Rowan doesn’t say anything, she just blinks a few times, tears gathering in her hypnotizing eyes.

“Order up for table twenty-six!” the cook yells, interrupting our conversation.

My girl gasps and curls in on herself as if trying to disappear. When she realizes there’s no threat, Rowan straightens up, pretending like nothing happened. I saw it, though. The fear in her eyes. The instinct to hide in the face of danger. I hate whatever happened to her to give her that reaction.

“Row, can you grab that for me? I’ve got a mess to clean up at table eighteen,” one of the other waitresses asks.

“Sure,” Rowan says, taking a deep breath and plastering on her fake smile. She rolls out her shoulders, brushes off her apron, and stands from the table, ready to go back to work.

I stand with her, unsure how to end this conversation. She showed me a tiny piece of her pain, her truth, her soul. I don’t know how, but I’m going to find out everything about her and lock her precious heart away, keeping it hidden deep within mine. No one will break it ever again.

4

ROWAN

Iweave my long hair into a braid and toss it over my shoulder before running out of my apartment. I’m going to be a few minutes late, but I’m hoping no one will notice. A small smile tugs at my lips when I think of at least one person who will notice when I don’t show up right on time;Jett.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him these last few days. Okay, I’ll admit, the man has been on my mind since I first saw him last week. But this is different. After we held hands and he whispered such sweet words to me, how could I not fall head over heels for him?

The idea of the tall, chiseled, gorgeous man with mysterious dark green eyes protecting me and wanting me to be happy feels too good to be true. In my experience, that means it probably is.

Besides, I know nothing about having a relationship or being with a guy. My father didn’t want me to have friends let alone boyfriends. Too many eyes on his shady dealings. Too much collateral damage. At least, that’s what he always used to tell me.

The sound of a motorcycle engine rips through the air, stealing the breath from my lungs. It’s not just any engine on any motorcycle. I recognize the pop and crackle of this bike fromback home. It’s not my dad’s motorcycle, it belongs to one of hisassociates.

I frantically look around for somewhere to hide as the sound grows closer. My heart is stuck in my throat while my pulse pounds inside my eardrums, making me lightheaded and disoriented.

He found me. He found me. He found me…

I stumble forward as the world spins and then closes in around me until I can only see a small pinprick of light. My throat constricts, making my breaths ragged and desperate. A cold sweat breaks out over my skin and I’m about to pass out when another sound filters into my consciousness.

“I’ve got you, beautiful.” Jett’s warm, deep timbre soothes my aching heart and loosens the grip of anxiety ever so much.

I try talking but only a pathetic whimper comes out.

“It’s okay, Rowan. I’m right here,” he murmurs as he circles his arms around my back and presses my body against his much larger one. “Breathe for me, angel. Just focus on taking a slow breath in.”

He inhales, silently encouraging me to do the same. I follow his lead, matching the steady rhythm he’s setting.

“Good girl,” he praises. I shiver at the thought of pleasing Jett.I want to be his good girl.

“I, uh, I’m…” I hiccup, cutting myself off from rambling more nonsense.

Jett cups the back of my head, tenderly weaving his fingers in the long strands of my hair. Gently tilting my head so we’re face to face, Jett leans down and presses his lips to my forehead in the sweetest gesture.

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