Page 7 of Jaxon's Pursuit

“That was a very dark place and I was lost. Until I saw your light and realized there are really good men out there.” She squares her shoulders and sets her cup down, picking up her purse.

“Come home with me, Jaxon.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to rush you.”

She looks at me and smiles a soft smile that radiates joy and hope. “You never would.”

“I’ll go but we don’t need to do a damn thing. I’m just happy to spend more time with you.”

Her eyes glisten with tears and I swear to god, my own eyes prickle. “I know. And that’s why I trust you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met.”

“I’m just a man, darlin’. A man in love with the most beautiful angel on this planet.” I mean it too. She’s more woman than I deserve but fuck if anyone’s taking her away from me. She’s mine.

She nods, lips tilting. “I’m yours, Jaxon. Forever if you want me.”

I throw a tip on the table although really the service was terrible but nothing’s going to hurt my mood right now. I’ve never been so happy.

I grasp her hand and hustle her out the door. “Forever it is then, darlin’.”

Chapter Four

∞∞∞

Jaxon:

Ruby’s smile is so tight it looks like her lips are going to crack. “What’s wrong?” We’re standing outside the door to her town home and the street is dark behind us. I can hear people shuffling by, hollering to each other and laughing. It’s ironic that she has her home in the middle of all of this but she hid herself behind this door, venturing out only briefly to shop for necessities.

She huffs out a little breath. “I don’t want you to feel bad when you see my place. It’s not exactly…homey.”

“I doubt if it’s as bad as you think it is. We don’t have to do this now, you know.” I can see the vulnerability in her eyes and it practically guts me. It hurts my heart to think how unsure of herself she is.

“Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. I spent the last fifteen years hiding in here. It’s just a prison of sorts.” And it’s true. The piece of shit that attacked her put her in a prison as sure as he put himself in one. His was deserved. Hers wasn’t. Just the product of one innocent mistake from a naive girl who didn’t get the chance to really live.

But she is going to live with me. Figuratively and literally. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making her happy, giving her the freedom and security to be everything she can be.

I take the keys out of her hand. “Are you sure about this?” At her shy nod, I unlock the door and step inside. My head swivels back and forth. The walls are covered in black and white photos. Pictures of different wildlife. A mother deer nudging a spindly-legged fawn out in front of her in a sun-dappled field. A rabbit in mid-hop. A bear lumbering across a rushing stream, head down, scoping out its next meal in the water. So many different lively photos of life in all its wild glory. But all of them devoid of color.

“Are these yours?” I breathe out. She nods her head, ducking her eyes shyly. “Baby, don’t do that. These are amazing. You are truly gifted. The way you can feel every heartbeat, every little struggle of survival. It’s stunning.” I turn towards her, frowning. “Is this what you didn’t want me to see?”

“I feel like I was these pictures. Like my whole world was in black and white until I met you.” Her eyes shift away from mine and she moves nervously behind a chair using it as a shield. That tightness rips through my chest again.

“Why would you hide all this? Lack of color doesn’t change the fact that they’re amazing.” I wave my hands at the walls absolutely crammed with life.

“I didn’t want you or anyone else to laugh at my work. I started going to the gym to get more comfortable around people. My agent arranged a one-woman art show for next month right before my book launches. It was her suggestion to go to the gym and train. Try and relearn how to be a human she said.”

My temper boils as I think of how that uncaring comment must have hurt her. “And you said she’s your friend, right?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty much my only friend. If I didn’t have her checking in on me I don’t know what I’d do.”

I can’t tell her the truth now but soon enough I’m going to make sure that that bully gets her comeuppance. And gets fired. I’ll help her. I’ll find her another agent. Anything she needs but she’s not going to suffer at her hands much longer.

I smile and sit down in the chair, patting my knee. “Come sit with me, darlin’.”

She strolls around the chair and sits on my lap, hands twining around my neck. Her slim fingers ruffle through the back of my hair and set off a shiver of ecstasy through my body. I want her so much but I don’t want to rush her.

I keep my hands to myself and smirk slowly. “Any chance of a tour, beautiful? I’d love to see more of your work.”

Her emerald eyes flash. “Don’t you want to…be with me?”

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