Page 36 of Bully's Second Chance
She stayed silent for a while before she nodded in my peripheral vision. “I figured as much when you warned me about the camera system.”
I chuckled. “I figured you’d give me an earful on it.”
She shrugged. “Sometimes, fighting simply isn’t worth it.”
“Well, I hope there’s never a point in my life where I feel that fighting for what I want isn’t worth it.”
We both sat there for a long time, gazing out over the endless expanse of the twenty-or-thirty-something acres I owned. I watched as whitetail deer weaved in and out of the woods, nibbling at the grass that sprouted at the edge of the trees. Every once in a while, one of them became brazen enough to trample through my backyard so they could pick at my fruit trees. I didn’t mind it, though. They were a graceful and beautiful sight on the days where I got lucky enough to witness it happen.
“Well, I’ll leave you to your thoughts,” Lily said.
And for some reason, the idea of her leaving me at that moment terrified me. So, the second she stood up, I wrapped my gauzed hand around her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. As I gazed up at her, she looked down at me, and we each took a silent moment to stare into each other’s eyes. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my lap and kiss her senseless. I wanted nothing more than to bend her over that fucking balcony railing and take her from behind while she cried out to the woods in pleasure.
Even as she licked her lips, I wanted to kiss them. Suck on them. Captivate them until she melted against me and wanted nothing more than for me to fill her up time and time again.
But, I settled for the obvious. “Thank you for the time you spent here helping out with Dad.”
Shock rolled over her face. “Well, you’re very welcome, Jax. I’m glad I could help.”
I kept hold of her wrist. “You know you can leave whenever you’d like to, right?”
Her eyes danced between mine. “I’m aware.”
I let go of her wrist. “So, I guess you’re going to go pack up?”
She turned to head back inside. “I promised you that I’d finish out the week here. It’s in our contract. So, I’ll be out Sunday evening, just like we agreed.”
I grinned. “A woman who stands by her word. I like that.”
She walked away from me and called over her shoulder, “I figured you would.”
As she exited my bedroom, I breathed a sigh of relief because had she stayed any longer, I wasn’t sure how I’d react. Every single part of me wanted to jump her bones and fuck her until all the terrible thoughts regarding my father faded away from memory. I wanted to lose myself in her for days on end, barely coming up for breath unless we both needed a break.
And now that I knew she’d be staying with me for the next three days, I wondered what in the hell I’d do to keep myself in check. You know, since we’d be occupying the same fucking space and breathing the same air until Sunday evening.
You’ve got this, Jax. You can do this. She’s just another woman.
But my heart and my soul knew better than that. They were smarter than that.
Much, much smarter than I ever gave them credit for sometimes.
14
Lily
“Here, Dad. Don’t strain yourself. Just lean up, and I can help you drink.”
“Dad, don’t use up all of your energy. You know I’ve got you. Just lean your head on my shoulder.”
“Dad, seriously. You’ve got to rest. I can put the lotion on your legs. Just lay back and get some rest.”
Every day passed like we were all moving through molasses, waiting for Mr. Levy to pass away. And every day, I caught yet another glimpse of Jax’s softer side whenever he was with his father. Every time I watched him scoop his frail father into his arms to take a bath, or whenever I saw him feeding his father, or even whenever I saw him rubbing lotion on the drier parts of his dad’s skin, it made my heart melt a little more toward him. He showed every emotion from love to care to worry and back again, and it was a side of him I wasn’t sure existed.
It tore at my heart, and I wished with all my might that I could take his pain away.
And in some ways, it made me upset. Whenever it was just the two of us, Jax was cold and hardened and distant. He was curt with his words and even shorter with his declarations, and there were some moments where it seemed like he couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with me. I wondered if it had anything to do with the talks I’d had with his father while he was away in Shanghai. But, for Jax to really be so disturbed by those revelations made me sick to my stomach.
Still, I kept on a strong face. If Jax needed to yell at someone, I made sure it was me so his staff could have a break. If Jax needed someone to boss around, I stepped up to the forefront and ran myself ragged with work so his staff could get home at a decent hour. The days bled into one another, and Sunday came and went. And when I didn’t pack up to go home, I wondered if Jax would throw me out.
