This big man, who would be absolutely terrifying to me normally, wants to help me dress. I nod silently as he sorts through the clothes, a blue sun dress and white strappy sandals. Plain white cotton bra and underwear still in the plastic. I’ll never know how she had time…
“Cookie stores clothes here for when the woman has to shift unexpectedly,” Jax says. “Us men don’t really care if we’re naked, but the women? Generally they like to cover themselves.”
Gods bless Cookie. Jax pulls his shirt off of me and sets it aside, grabbing the dress and settling it over my head gently. He tosses the bra aside, gripping my breast through the dress as he pulls my underwear up with one hand and nibbles my neck from behind.
When the panties are settled on my hips, he reaches through the neck of my new dress and cups my breast. “I don't want to hide these…not yet…” he moans quietly, nibbling my ear and twiddling my nipple between his forefinger and thumb.
Instinctively, I press my rear against him and he growls as I rub against his hard cock.
“Later…” he says, his voice pained. “I promise that you can have every inch of me…but you need the healers…”
“Maybe the only healing I need is you…” I mumble, and he crushes me to his body with a pained sigh.
I can't believe I just said that…he’s making me crazy, making me say things I never would have before. But I don’t want to see healers. I want to see him naked in this bathroom right now.
There's a loud rap on the door, someone knocking so hard it shakes the whole room. “Jackson Wraith, if you don’t let my sister out of this bathroom right now…”
Ryder. Jax bites my earlobe one last time and then disentangles himself from me, walking over to open the door just as Ryder raises his hand to knock again.
“She’s all yours, for now…” Jax says, and the two men glare at each other in an unspoken challenge.
My heart swells with love. He’s possessive, protective, and the only one he wants is me.
Except before the warm feeling can spread, my chest constricts.
What have I done? I should have never come here!
Now I can never leave…him.
Chapter4
Jackson
Every fiber of my body tells me to block the door, refusing to let Ryder take Cricket. She’s mine, dammit!
My muscles twitch as he pushes by me and takes her hand. Just his hand on her is making me rage. I want to attack him, tear him apart. I will not lose Cricket! I won’t even let death take her from me.
I follow them down the stairs like a dark shadow, brooding and ready to snap. The bar below us is packed, both Dark Moon and Silver Dawn are here. Everyone looks away as we enter and I realize everyone heard her cries of pleasure. My chest puffs with pride. Let them be jealous, let them wonder what I did to make her scream so beautifully.
I roll my tongue in my mouth, curling the sides and savoring the lingering taste of her. I swear I could do that every night for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. My cock twitches as the mere thought of sinking inside her, but everything stops in its tracks when the silver white hair of my pack’s Luna comes into view.
Evelyn Richardson sits at the bar in her silk shawl, looking every bit like this is the last place you’d ever expect a woman like her. Long nails tap against the bar and she shifts her weight on the barstool uncomfortably.
“Luna,” I say in greeting, pushing by Ryder and kissing her hand in reverence.
I know I’m not imagining it when I see a flash of jealousy in Cricket’s eyes and that fills me with so much pride that I stand a little taller. I look over the packs as if to threaten them, as if to say ‘challenge me’. I have my woman now, and they don’t. Let them wallow in envy.
“Jackson, I’m not usually a woman to be kept waiting…” Evelyn starts, and all at once I remember I’m supposed to be humble in her presence. I nod my head in apology, marking the new lines on her face as age seems to take her more and more each day. “Is this the young woman, then?” she asks, holding her hand out to Cricket and smiling as she takes it willingly.
“I’m Cricket,” my woman says quietly as Evelyn pulls her closer.
“Akin to Huntington’s…” I hear Killian say as he descends the stairs two at a time behind me and shuffles through papers. “I found this in her backpack, everything was spilled out so…” He looks at me, then her, and then shifts uncomfortably as he tries to hide his severed arm behind his back. He moves past me and angles away from Cricket, giving her a wide berth out of respect for the bond that he must sense.
“With Olivia’s—Cricket’s—consent, I can request her record in its entirety once I get back to the office. What do you sense, Luna?” Killian asks, watching her closely as she pulls Cricket’s hand to her face and closes her eyes.
“You poor thing…” Luna says, her voice hitching as a tear rolls down her delicately lined cheek. “You must be in so much pain…”
Cricket waivers as the magic flows through her, and I grab her shoulders and support her so she doesn’t fall. Her delicate body sways as her breathing deepens, sounding regular that has me realizing how irregular it’s been.