Page 66 of Crossed By the Stars
“That means I have a handful of days to convince you of the truth. We’re worth fighting for. A life full of love will always be worth it.”
Jada
DIAMONDS
“The world is for us to take
If every mistake we make
Binds us together strong
Turns into right our wrongs.”
Performed by Imelda May
Written by May, Skarbeck
I gave up arguing with him.My body was screaming at me, and my heart felt battered, a war going on inside it, but I wouldn’t let Dax be the one slaughtered by it. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t let him give up the love of his family for me. He was one of the only good things in my world. Violet and him. Dawson had his own demons and mistakes that haunted him. We’d added to them between us, but Dax and Violet were bright and shiny.
I’d surrendered to Dax in a vulnerable moment. He’d seeped into all my cracks, and I’d have to find a way to push him back out and seal them behind him so that I could have the strength to force myself away from him again.
But for now…for the couple of days we were hidden away here, I could pretend that there was a world where I wasn’t Jada Mori and he wasn’t Dax Armaud. I’d pretend that we were lovers on vacation and allow us these moments.
I fell asleep with his arms wrapped around me, my body and heart exhausted.
The pain woke me several hours later, just as Dax was putting down another tray of food on the dresser. He’d put on a pair of sweats that hung low on his hips and a fitted T-shirt, casual in a way the world rarely saw him.
I moved, and I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped me before I bit my lip and held the rest of the groan in. I was almost as sore as that first day in the hospital. I’d needed Dax to make love to me. I’d needed it more than I’d ever needed anything in my life, but the consequences were clear. Pain. A harsh reminder that this would end in the same way for both of us…agony.
Dax’s head turned to me, brows furrowing in concern.
He brought a glass of water over and picked up the pain medication from the side table, palming one before handing it to me. I shook my head.
“I don’t want the strong stuff.”
“Don’t be stubborn. You can take this for a couple of days. It doesn’t mean you’ve returned to your old ways.”
I didn’t know if I hated or loved it that he knew those were my thoughts, just like I didn’t know if I hated or loved that he’d seen me through all of my different stages—innocence to wild child, to lost cause, to businesswoman.
“They’ll make me sleepy,” I told him.
He nodded. “And you need to rest.”
I bit my lip, eyes running over him, his sweats at eye level. I reached out and ran a hand along the mound hiding behind them. “If we only have these moments, I don’t want to waste them sleeping.”
He chuckled, low and deep, sitting down and causing my hand to fall back to the bed. “You need to heal. It’s time for a new deal.”
I huffed. “You completely refused to listen to mine.”
He smiled, showing his teeth, eyes twinkling. “Aren’t you glad I did? Space was definitely not what we needed.”
I tried to sit up, and the pain welled up through me again. Even with as little as Dax had let me move, my body was protesting. The endorphin rush while we’d made love had completely hidden my aching muscles. It had been a much better drug than the ones that would make me groggy. But I had a feeling I wasn’t going to convince Dax of that.
“The deal is, you take the pain meds while we’re here—whenever we’ve done too much.” He winked. I simultaneously wanted to kiss him and hit him.
“Just one. Just tonight,” I said through gritted teeth.
He tried to hide his smug smile. He was getting his way too often. I’d chalk it up to my injuries, to the stunning admission that had left his lips, theI love youstill hanging around us, and the fact that I hadn’t said it back.
