"What if she took some of my blood?" Jax asked without looking at Caroline. "Would that be safe for her and would it take care of the concussion or any fractures she may have?"
"It definitely would and it wouldn't take much. Nothing is displaced so it wouldn't heal wrong, that much I can tell." Slade nodded. "You claimed her so you have that right. If you do give her the blood, someone will still have to keep an eye on her for a few hours. If she goes to sleep, she should be woken up every half an hour. If you find it hard to wake her up, then you need to call me or get her to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible."
"Claimed me?" Surprise flickered through Caroline, though she didn't know exactly what that meant.
Jax ignored her question as he stuck his hand out, shaking Slade's hand. "Thanks."
"No problem." Slade made to grab his bag, but Jill already had it. "Make sure to call me if anything changes."
"We can stay if you want us to," Jill offered, and Slade nodded in agreement.
"We'll be fine," Jax assured them. "But thanks."
Sid and Sloan walked in as Slade and Jill left. "You okay?" Sloan frowned, staring at her swollen face.
"I'm good," Caroline lied. "What's going to happen to him?"
Everyone knew exactly who she was talking about, but it was Sid who answered. "Well, right now Jared is recounting Damon's beheading skills, while Damon sits in the backseat next to the bastard." Sid grinned. "He may not survive the ride to be booked because it looks like he's about ready to have a stroke, he's so scared."
"He'll be taken care of." Sloan gave her the answer to what she was really asking, but he didn't go into detail. "We can promise you that you will never have to deal with him again."
Caroline nodded. No longer able to ignore the shaking in her hands spreading to the rest of her body, she needed to have a moment to herself. "Excuse me. I'll be right back." She headed quickly to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Touching her throbbing cheek, she slowly made her way to the mirror. Her appearance shocked her. Swollen and bruised from her jawline to her eye, she'd known her vision was getting funky in her right eye and now she understood why; it was almost swollen shut. She lifted her chin to see what that looked like and gasped at the bruising around her neck from Rod's fingers.
Swallowing hard, she tried to keep the sobs away, but the more she looked at herself, the more upset she became. She had been so wrong about Rod and that scared her. Actually, Rod's craziness from moments earlier terrified her to the point she felt like she was losing it. Tears rolled down her face, dripping from her trembling chin.
She barely heard the knock on the bathroom door, but her throat was so tight with tears, she couldn't respond.
"Caroline?" Jax knocked again as he opened the door.
She couldn't look at him, didn't want him to see her weakness and fear. She wanted to be strong for him, but was failing miserably. He appeared behind her. His eyes locked onto hers in the mirror before he turned her around and took her into his arms.
"You should have let me kill him," Jax whispered into her hair. "But I will promise you this, he will never hurt you again."
"I couldn't let you kill someone over me." Caroline sniffed, her tears slowing. "He's not worth it."
"But you are." Jax pulled her away to look down into her bruised face. "Never doubt that."
"I can't stop shaking." Caroline rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
Jax picked her up and carried her out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, laying her gently on the bed. "If you take some of my blood, you will heal quickly." Jax tilted her chin, his gaze going to her face and neck. Anger darkened his eyes.
"You would do that for me"?" Caroline touched his hand. "Lana said that is reserved for mates."
"I claimed you as mine in front of my brothers," Jax replied, his eyes never leaving hers. There was no hesitation in his voice. "We will not do the mating ceremony, but you are mine, Caroline. My blood is your blood."
"Please don't be saying this because you feel sorry for me." Caroline frowned, her eyes feeling heavy.
"Hey." He shook her gently. "Stay with me."
"I am." She opened her eyes wide; well, at least her uninjured eye opened wide.
"And I never say anything I don't mean." Jax moved a strand of hair off her face. "I think you should know that about me by now."
"I do." Caroline's eye drooped slowly.
"Caroline, you need to stay awake." Jax grasped her arm, pulling her up gently.
"I am, but I just feel really sleepy." Caroline tried to focus on Jax, but she could hardly keep her eyes open. "My face really hurts. Can't you just wake me up in half an hour? I think I'll be okay."
"Fuck this." Jax used his fangs to puncture his wrist and then moved it toward her mouth. "Take my blood, Caroline. I can't stand to see you in pain."
Caroline placed her lips against his wrist. The first taste of his blood was a shock. It was warm and had a spicy metallic taste. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was foreign to her taste buds. Yet the more she took, the more she wanted.
"That's good, babe." He pulled his arm away.
"Can I lie down now?" Caroline asked, but instead, she crawled up onto his lap, rested her head on his chest, and that was all she remembered.
Chapter 16
Jax lay with Caroline in his arms all night, waking her every half hour. He watched as the swelling and bruising faded from her face. She was almost completely healed.
He had never shared his blood with anyone. The woman in his arms was the only person, human or vampire, who had his blood running through her. His protectiveness for her was overwhelming. He would have killed for her yesterday, but her words had stopped him. Only her words.
She moved restlessly, indicating she was trying to wake up. He held her closer, breathing in her scent. It had been a night of firsts for him because he had never lain in a bed with a woman he'd had sex with. In truth, he had never lain in bed with a woman in his arms until that moment.
Her eyes fluttered open, closed, and then fluttered open again. He knew when she realized she was in bed with him, but instead of pulling away, she snuggled closer, holding him tighter. He didn't want this to end. He could lie with her for days, even weeks, holding her, and that threw him a little.
"How you feeling?" He watched her closely.
Her head tilted slightly so she could look up at him. Her hand slowly reached for his face. "Better." Her voice was husky with sleep. "I think."
"The swelling and bruising is almost gone." He wasn't for sure about her neck because he couldn't see it, but he knew without a doubt that was healing also.
Slowly she sat up, getting her bearings. "That's amazing." She gently felt and poked at her cheek. "It doesn't even hurt."
"You still have a headache?" He tilted her chin up so he could see her neck.
"No, not at all," she said, surprised, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Jax."
"For what?" He frowned, feeling uncomfortable. He didn't get many thank-yous and didn't know exactly how to say "'you're welcome."'
Caroline's eyes widened slightly. "Well, you got a minute, because the list is quite long?" She smiled before reaching out and wrapping her arms around his neck to give him a long hug. "I'll just say for everything, and leave it at that. Obviously, you don't like thank-yous or praise. So, I won't make you uncomfortable."
"And that's why I l—" What the fuck was happening to him? He didn't know what the hell love was so no way in hell was it going to be spewing from his mouth.
"Why you what?" Caroline tilted her head to stare at him.
Jax didn't know what in the hell to say. They just sat staring at each other. Quickly, he pulled himself out from under her and stood. "Why don't you…?" Jax ran his hand through his hair. "Do what you do in the morning and I'll go start some coffee?"
"Ah, okay." Caroline looked at him, confused, as she swung her feet over the side of the bed.
Stay
ing close, he watched as she slowly stood, stretched, and took a step. "You still feel dizzy?" He wouldn't leave her until he was sure she was okay, even though he wanted to run like hell out of the room.
She turned to give him a bright smile. "Actually, I feel amazing." She took a few steps and then stopped. "You should bottle that stuff up, Jax. You could make a fortune. I feel like a million bucks. You think I can have a sip every once in a while as a pick-me-up?" she teased.
Jax actually laughed, momentarily forgetting that he'd almost said the word he didn't even think was in his vocabulary.
"At a low cost, I think we could work something out." He winked at her, making sure she was okay before heading downstairs. Caroline was turning his world upside down and he actually felt pretty good about it. Yeah, the world had to be fucking ending or some shit. There were too many 'firsts' happening to him in the span of a few hours, and even though he felt good, maybe even happy, he had a strong feeling that wouldn't last. Something big was coming, it always did.
******
Caroline had showered, dressed, stared at her face in complete awe and was now sitting across from Jax, drinking coffee and enjoying his company. She couldn't believe he had stayed and held her all night. She remembered each time he had gently woken her, asked her questions before allowing her to go back to sleep. And then that morning, she was almost sure he had come close to saying he loved her. She'd debated with herself as she showered, and even as she sat directly across from him, whether that was what he was going to say before he'd abruptly cut himself off.
Honestly, it didn't matter. If he didn't say the words she felt, she could live with that… she hoped.
"What happened yesterday?" Jax interrupted her musing with something she definitely didn't want to talk about, but the look on his face told her that was exactly what they were going to do.
"I was painting and thought I heard someone on the porch." Caroline frowned, remembering her shock at opening the door to find Rod standing directly in front of her.
"And you opened the door without asking who it was?" Jax guessed correctly.
"I didn't even know if anyone was out there," she defended herself. By his narrowed gaze, she knew he was not happy. "So yes, I opened the door and Rod was standing there with his brother in the yard."
"Go on." Jax took a drink of coffee, watching her closely over the rim.
"I asked him what he was doing there." Her hand shook as she brought her coffee cup to her lips. "Is this really necessary? It's over."
"It is." Jax frowned. "And it's far from over."
"What do you mean, it's far from over?" She set her coffee down before she sloshed the hot liquid all over her.
"Stop changing the subject." Jax eyed her knowingly.
"It's still the same subject," Caroline hedged. "How am I changing the subject?"
"What did he say, Caroline?" Jax was no fool and knew exactly what she was doing.
"He said he was there to take me back. He had given me time to realize my mistake." Her voice trembled. "I told him that he made a mistake coming here and to get off my property. That's when he grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the house."
"When did he hit you?" Jax's voice had changed and so had his eyes. They were black instead of their usual beautiful gold.
"He said he wanted to see our house, but I refused to let him in." Caroline looked away from Jax. "And he hit me. You know the rest."
Jax sat, saying nothing for a long time. She became fidgety and uncomfortable under his stare, to the point she got up and poured more coffee for herself before sitting back down. She sensed his eyes on her the whole time.
"Jax, can we please talk about something else?" She finally broke the silence. "I don't want you to be upset with me."
"I'm not upset with you." He finally spoke. "I'm trying to keep myself from leaving and killing the son of a bitch."
"Oh, well, I don't want you doing that either. It's not worth it."
Jax gave a sinister laugh. "Yes, it would be totally worth it." As quickly as he laughed, his face changed. "He will never lay a hand on you again. That I can promise you."
Caroline could only nod because she was afraid if she opened her mouth, the sobs she was holding back would escape, and she was so over crying. After a few minutes of more silence, she felt it was safe to speak without blubbering. "So what are your plans for today?" She tried for a normal conversation.
"I was supposed to start the training program, but Sloan let me off." Jax got up to put his cup in the sink. "He really cares for you."
"Who? Sloan?" Caroline shrugged. "He has to. My sister is married to one of his Warriors." She laughed.
"No, that's not it," Jax added, but then dropped it. "Blaze and Sid can get things started."
Okay, this conversation was strange. Was he bringing up Sloan liking her for a reason? When he turned and wouldn't meet her gaze, she knew. Call it women's intuition.
"I don't have feelings for Sloan Murphy." By the flash of relief that disappeared a split second later, she knew she had been right. She also knew not to dwell on it because that wasn't the kind of man Jax was. He threw something out there, wanting to know without actually asking. She understood it, answered it, and would leave it at that. It also made her heart skip a beat to even imagine he was jealous, but she wouldn't use that to her advantage.
The only reply he gave was a nod, without meeting her gaze.
"And please don't change anything because of me. I'll be fine. Go do your training, Jax." Caroline hated to be a nuisance to anyone. "I have so much to do with school starting next week."
"Next week?" That got his attention. "Adam said it doesn't start for two weeks."
"No, we're starting a week early because of snow days." She frowned. "And why does that matter?"
Jax didn't answer her right away; instead, he pulled out his phone and typed a text. Actually, he didn't look like he was planning on answering her at all.
"What's going on?" Caroline pushed. "Why does it matter when school starts?"
"We're going to plant Adam, Steve, and Jill in your classroom," Jax answered with a tone that indicated it was a done deal.
"They can't do that." Caroline frowned. "Is this because—"
"They are doing it and yes, it is because of Mika," Jax cut her off. "None of the women are being left alone."
"Jill is a woman. Isn't that putting her in danger?" Caroline didn't like this idea at all. "And isn't that spreading you guys thin? I know how busy you are."
His eyes shot to hers. "Jill is a Warrior and a damn good one at that." Something flickered in his eyes before it was gone. "And our women will not be left unguarded in the face of danger. It's a done deal, Caroline."
A terrible thought occurred to her. "Am I putting my kids in danger by teaching them?" Caroline gasped.
Jax didn't answer right away, but when he did, there was a fierceness to his voice. "We won't let anything happen to you or the kids." Then he added, "This is a precaution. Trust me."
Caroline stood and walked toward Jax, putting her arms around him. "I do trust you." She did trust him, with all her heart.
Chapter 17
As Jax walked into the warehouse, his mind was elsewhere. He had dropped Caroline off at the compound. She had insisted yesterday that he go to training, but he'd flatly refused. He hadn't been ready to leave her alone yet and still felt that way, but he had responsibilities.
The workout area was full. He walked through, making his way toward Blaze and Sid. Everyone stared, but got out of his way. He spotted Katrina sitting alone. From what he could tell, she was the only female in the group. She was quiet and kept to herself. He didn't know much about her, but that would soon change.
Sid had filled him in on the phone about how the first session had gone. They'd mainly gone over rules and what was expected—to get ready for an ass kicking they'd never forget—and then did some hardcore conditioning.
"Well, we lost ten already." Sid grinn
ed when Jax stopped in front of them. "And after tonight, I expect to lose a few more."
"Is Katrina the only female?" Jax once again glanced her way, then surveyed the rest of the group, which was sizing him up.
"Yeah, and she looks a nervous wreck, but she's a determined little thing." Sid nodded in her direction.
"So you say we lost ten so far?" Jax cocked an eyebrow when Sid's grin widened with a nod. "Okay, let's see how many more pussies we can flush out today."
"Even though you stabbed me, I can't help but like your Native American ass." Sid followed Jax to the middle of the mats, with Blaze right behind them.
"I'm Jax Wheeler." Jax's voice boomed through the warehouse. The low rumble of conversation stopped at his first word. "Looking at you, I can tell if you are VC Warrior material and right now, I can tell you half of you will be running out of this room crying like bitches."
Jax paused for effect.
"I'm not here to hold your hand. I'm not your friend. I'm training you to keep order and possibly save lives. I take my job seriously and if for one minute I feel you're not right for this job, I will personally escort you off this mat and out the door." Jax's eyes narrowed, seeing one of the larger candidates roll his eyes. Without saying a word, he walked over to stand in front of him. "You got a problem with your eyes?"
The large candidate looked around at the others who seemed to fade away from him. "No." Even though he said one word, it sounded cocky.
"No, sir." Jax's voice was deadly.
The guy hesitated. "No, sir," he repeated, not sounding at all like he meant it.
An audible gasp filled the room when Jax punched the guy in the eye. "Now you do." Jax growled. "Get the fuck off my mats and out of my building."
Jax heard a few "holy shits," Sid's included, as well as mumblings. "Anyone else?" Jax took the time to look each candidate in the eye before turning toward Blaze. "Get them running and warmed up."
Blaze was grinning from ear to ear, but at Jax's order, the smile disappeared. "You heard him," Blaze shouted. "Get your asses moving!"
"Bad day?" Sid laughed, following Jax off the mat.
Jax (The Protectors Series) Book #8 Page 11
