by Jodi Vaughn
“Pool and beer. Count us in.” Braxton smiled.
“I’ve never played pool.” Kate arched her brow.
“No worries. I’ll teach you.” Braxton gave her a wicked look. Jayden knew where their lesson was going to end up. In the bedroom with Braxton’s stick.
“What time should we meet?” Jayden shook his head trying to dislodge the disturbing image from his head.
“Dinner is at seven. So let’s say seven ten.” Braxton deadpanned.
“Braxton, you’re not getting out of dinner!” Kate elbowed him in the side.
“Fine. Eight thirty.” Braxton rubbed his ribs.
“I’ll text you guys when we get there.” Jayden and Haley said their goodbyes before making their way down the sidewalk.
“So were you really planning on taking me to a bar or did you just come up with that when you saw your friends?” Haley cut her eyes at him.
“I had been thinking about it. I wasn’t sure how safe I would feel with you and all those college guys around. But now I’ve got Braxton for backup I think it’ll be good.” Jayden shrugged.
“Your friends are very nice. I like Braxton’s mate.”
“Kate saved Braxton’s life a few months ago when he got into a scrape.”
Haley cut her eyes over at Jayden. “You’re talking about the whole Assassins trying to kill him?”
Jayden stumbled to a halt. “How’d you know that?”
“I’m from Louisiana, remember. Plus my ex-boyfriend’s father is pretty high in command. The pack is not very discreet when it comes to handling their business. Everyone heard about how the Assassins tried to kill Braxton in Arkansas territory. They said Barrett blew into Louisiana and threatened to kill the Pack Master if he ever thought about crossing into his territory again without his permission again.”
“Shit. I had no idea.”
“Barrett really rattled the Pack Master to the point that he started sleeping with guards around his bed.” Haley grimaced. “I guess when I went to see Barrett after I started getting the letters I wasn’t really sure how he was going to react.”
“Did Barrett scare you?” Jayden scowled, fisting his hands at his side.
Haley shook her head. “The other Guardians tried to intimidate me when I tried to get into see him. There was one, Damon, who finally let me in.” Haley laughed. “I guess they thought I was like Dana, trying to get in to sneak a peek at the Guardians working out.”
Jayden took her hand and they continued their stroll along the sidewalk.
“Don’t get me wrong, Barrett is scary. I mean there is something lethal about him. I know a lot of the females swoon over him, but they all keep their distance. But there is a justice and ethical code that he has that a lot of the other Pack Masters have forgotten.” Haley shrugged. “He listened to me while my old Pack Master wouldn’t have ever given me the time of day. I count myself lucky to be here in Arkansas.”
Jayden nodded. She was right.
Barrett was a great leader and protector of the Arkansas pack. But there was something else Jayden’s instincts told him. He never wanted to be on the receiving end of Barrett’s dark side.
CHAPTER SIX
Once they arrived back at the house, Haley hurried to change into something more comfortable. When she walked in the living room, wearing her favorite red silk pajamas, Jayden froze.
“What’s wrong?” She did a quick glimpse downward, making sure she hadn’t missed a button. Nope all buttoned up.
“Nothing.” He cleared his gravel throat. “You feel like watching a movie?”
“Sure. As long as it’s not The Waterboy.” She rolled her eyes.
Jayden frowned. “What’s wrong with The Waterboy? It is a typical college movie, you know.”
“Yes, but it’s not funny after the fortieth time. That’s all Anthony wanted to watch.” She shook her head. “We always had to watch what he wanted to watch. I don’t think I’ve seen a chick flick in over a year.”
Jayden gave her wary look. “How do you feel about Olympus Has Fallen?”
“I love that movie.”
“But it’s not a chick movie.”
“But it has action and Gerald Butler. Those two things I can handle.” She smirked.
“Gerald Butler. huh?” Jayden aimed the remote and the movie started playing. “I would have figured you for a Brad Pitt kind of guy.”
“Definitely not.” She reached for the popcorn bowl off the coffee table and set it between them on the couch. “Let me guess, you’re a Megan Fox kind of guy.”
“Nope, wrong.” He smirked before munching on some popcorn.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’m more into blondes.” He gave her a long look.
So he liked blondes, did he? That was good. That was very, very good.
#
Jayden reached for the remote and turned off the TV. He glanced down at Haley asleep and snuggled against his chest. Her blonde hair fell over her eyes as her lips parted slightly. Her hand was pillowed under her face and rested over his heart
He didn’t want to move. He wanted to stay like that and watch her sleep until the sun came up.
She was breathtakingly beautiful. And she was so much more. She was strong. He’d known that from the first time he laid eyes on her when her abductors had tied her to that filthy bed.
After what she had been through, Jayden saw a strength inside her that made her want to keep going and not hide forever.
And when he was with her, he felt something he wasn’t sure he had ever felt.
He felt whole, like she’d been the glue to mend what had broken inside his chest.
That singular thought rocked him to his naked soul. Haley wasn’t for him. She deserved someone who wasn’t fucked up like him.
He closed his eyes and laid his head back, staring up at the white textured ceiling. Even when they were getting each other off in bed, he had made sure to keep himself covered. He didn’t want her to see his scars. He didn’t want her to know.
He breathed out a heavy sigh, hugging her closer.
When the time came, he’d let her go. He had to. But for this moment, he just needed to hold her just a little while longer.
#
Haley blinked against the morning light streaming through the window. She glanced to the right, but Jayden wasn’t there. She knew he wouldn’t be. She used to have nightmares all night, dreaming about the one man that threatened to harm her. When Jayden slept beside her, she slept soundly through the night. He had somehow kept the monsters at bay.
She flung back the covers and padded into the kitchen. Jayden, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, sat on a barstool with the cell phone pressed to his ear and his face fixed in a scowl.
Her heart hitched. Maybe it was Barrett with bad news.
“Granny, I’m sorry I didn’t call. I’ve been busy with this new job.” Jayden ran his hair through his hair.
Haley breathed out a sigh of relief and headed for the coffee pot. Jayden looked up and met her gaze.
Her heart melted as his lips quirked up.
“You know I can’t tell you where I am.” Jayden rolled his eyes and then sobered. “Please tell me you haven’t been harassing Barrett about my location.”
Whatever Granny said next had Jayden’s scowl back in place. Haley bit her lip and wondered at the dynamic between the two. She knew that Granny was his only living relative and that when he’d moved to Arkansas, Granny moved with him. But that day at the party she sensed that things between them were strained.
She doctored her coffee with sugar and creamer before heading over to the bar stool and sitting.
“Fine. I’ll tell her.” Jayden hung up and gave Haley a look of disbelief.
“What’s wrong? Is Granny okay?” She took a tiny sip of her coffee. The hot liquid warmed her as it slid down her throat.
“Granny told me to tell you that your order is in.”
Haley felt her face blaze. She had forgotten all about
that damn vibrator she had let Dana talk her into buying at Granny’s sex party.
“What I can’t figure out is how the hell she knew I was with you?”
Haley cleared her throat, thrilled he wasn’t going to ask her exactly what she had ordered.
“Are you sure Barrett didn’t tell her? Maybe she was worried and Barrett wanted to put her mind at ease.” Haley placed her coffee on the island counter.
“Maybe.” Jayden’s blue eyes narrowed on her. “Guess what else I didn’t know?”
“What?”
“That you ordered something.” He reached across the island and ran his finger across her wrist. She knew he could feel her pulse jumping under his finger.
Haley shivered and she pushed her coffee mug away. She was suddenly hot all over and no longer in the mood for coffee.
“I need to go get ready for class.” The words came out as a whisper. Her heart pounded in her ears like a drum and warmth crawled around in her stomach.
“No, you don’t. It’s Saturday. You don’t have class today.” Jayden leaned over the island, dangerously close to her cheek.
She licked her dry lips.
His gaze dipped to her mouth. His nostrils flared.
She was in trouble. Deep dangerous trouble.
“Haley, you didn’t answer me.”
Her eyes lifted to meet his gaze. “Maybe because you didn’t ask me very nicely.”
Jayden stood, his large muscled frame making the kitchen seem small. A predatory smile crossed his lips. “Is that right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not a very nice guy.” His muscles rippled under that damn skin-tight T-shirt as he took a step toward her.
She eased off the stool, keeping her eyes on him.
Haley took a step back, her heart beating in her ears. She could smell his scent, ocean and male. She’d memorized that scent the first night he’d come to rescue her.
“Haley.” He advanced, but Haley took another step back.
“Are you afraid, little wolf?” His heavy-lidded gaze looked her up and down. He didn’t seem to care that he was being very obvious.
“I’m not afraid.” Haley took another step away, but her back pressed hard into the hallway wall. She glanced away. She was trapped.
“You can’t get away from me now.”
“I wasn’t trying to get away from you.” Her chest heaved against the thin cotton of her pajamas. Lust flooded her veins.
“Then what do you call it?” He leaned in, his breath tickling her cheek.
“I was teaching you to dance.” Her face heated a thousand degrees. “You said you didn’t dance. I was showing you. It’s just two people moving their bodies together.”
His gaze darkened. “I definitely like the sound of that.”She was in over her head. Hell, the water was up to her eyebrows.
“Although, I know a better way than dancing to move our bodies together.”
She went wet, her core throbbing at his promise of pleasure. She was going to explode if he didn’t touch her.
He bent his head, nuzzling the crook of her neck. She moaned, her eyes drifting closed.
“Tell me what you bought,” he whispered against the shell of her ear.
“Why?”
“Because my imagination is driving me crazy.”
She pressed her palms against the wall to keep from touching him.
“Guess.”
He laughed low and deep.
“Okay. Little wolf. I’ll play your game.” He brushed his lips across her bare shoulder where her top had slipped off.
“Did you buy something sexy to wear?”
“No.” Her heart raced as she leaned into him.
“Tell me. Don’t make me get nasty with you. I just might make you blush.”
“I doubt that.” Haley squeezed her thighs together, stilling the growing ache.
“Did you buy a dirty movie?”
Haley felt her face heat as Jayden nipped at her collarbone.
“Guess again.”
He groaned against her throat sending tiny shivers throughout her body. Her head lolled to the side, giving him full access.
“Tell me.” He cupped her cheek forcing her to meet his gaze. Looking into those aqua blue eyes was like truth serum.
“I bought a vibrator.”
His nostrils flared as a low growl rolled out.
His face was strained with lust and control, as if he were holding onto his last thread of restraint. She didn’t want him restrained. She wanted to see Jayden wild and out of control.
She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his whiskered cheek. “I bought a vibrator to get myself off. I was tired of people telling me no one else was going to touch me. So I decided to do it myself.”
His lips, hot and soft, crashed down across hers. His tongue sought out hers in a dangerous dance as he pulled her tight against his hard body.
She moaned and ran her hands up his chest and laced her fingers around his neck. Her nipples hardened as she arched against him. His fingers found the edge of her top and slid under, to stroke her back.
“Take your shirt off.” Jayden licked her neck. She arched against him, dizzy with lust.
“You do it. I don’t want to stop touching you.” Her fingers ran under his T-shirt and played with the deep muscled grooves of his abs.
He pulled away and gazed down at her. His fingers found the top button of her shirt and skillfully slid the button free. She watched his large hands, marveling at how good he was going to make her feel with those hands of his. When the last button was freed, Jayden looked at her, his hands gripping her waist.
“Let me see you Haley. Let me see those pretty nipples that have been driving me crazy since I saw you.”
Feeling more desirable than she had in a very long time, she slid her top off her shoulders, baring herself before Jayden.
Jayden moaned, his intense gaze glued to her breasts. His hands tightened on her waist. He was asking her permission to touch her. He was giving her control.
“Touch me,” Haley breathed out.
“Tell me how you want me to touch you.”She swallowed, her throat dry from gasping with desire every time he touched her.
“I want you to touch my nipples with your hands and then your mouth. That’s how I want you to touch me.”
Like a tornado rising out of nowhere, Jayden’s blue eyes darkened. He released her waist and she almost slipped down the wall in a puddle.
Her gaze dipped from his eyes as his hands reached out. His fingertips brushed her nipples so softly she thought she would orgasm from such a simple caress.
“So fucking pretty.” His voice, rough and ragged, fueled her out-of-control desire for him.
His fingers traced her nipple in tiny torturous circles until she ached. He moved his attention to the other nipple, teasing the hard bud and making her writhe under him.
“Jayden, please.” She grabbed his wrists and pressed her breasts into his palm.
“What do you need, baby?” Jayden whispered, his gaze locked on hers.
“I need more. Touch me more.” She arched her pelvis into his and he growled.
“You have very sensitive nipples. Does that feel good?”
“Yes,” she hissed. “That feels so good.” She reached between them and grabbed his cock through his jeans.
“Easy, baby. You’re going to make me come too soon if you keep touching me like that.”
“More. I want more.”
He cupped her breasts in his hands, his fingers tweaking her nipples. A moan escaped her lips at the delicious sensation he was creating. Lust tingled between her legs until she thought she was going to combust.
He bent his head and sucked her nipples between his soft lips. She cried out, the pleasure so intense. She tightened her grip on his cock through his jeans. A low groan slipped past his lips.
She pulled his head against her breast. He licked and sucked and then moved to the next nipple.
; “I need more, Jayden.” Her fingers slid down to his jeans and unzipped him. She felt the head of his cock brush the back of her hand. She wrapped her hand around his thick shaft and she felt him tremble underneath her fingertips.
“Fuck, baby, you are going to kill me.”
She tried to drop to her knees, but he grabbed her arms, his eyes wild.
“I want to taste you.”
“Haley, I…”
“Do you not want me to put my mouth on you?” She held her breath, her fear of rejection once again seeping into her heart.
Jayden pressed his forehead to hers as his breath brushed across her skin. “I want nothing more than to feel that hot mouth on me, Haley. But I’m… flawed.”
She frowned as she looked up into his eyes. At once she saw fear and indecision.
“Everyone is flawed, Jayden.”
He shook his head. “No, not like me. I’m scarred.”
It hit her. He wasn’t rejecting her. He was afraid of being rejected.
“Blindfold me.”
His head snapped up. “What?”
“If you don’t want me to see you, then blindfold me.” She squeezed his cock harder refusing to let him go. He twitched in her hand.
Indecision flickered in his gaze and she knew if he thought too long he wouldn’t go through with it. She leaned in and licked his neck.
“Are you sure?” He pulled her away, searching her face for any hesitation.
“Yes.”
He swung her up in his arms and strode into the bedroom.
His bedroom.
Haley’s stomach tightened with pleasure as he set her gently down on the massive bed. He eased onto the bed holding her face between his calloused palms and gazing at her like she was a precious treasure.
No one had ever looked at her like that.
She blinked back the emotions spilling into her chest. How long had it been since someone had shown her that she mattered, that she was valued, that she was worthy?
“Beautiful.” Jayden covered her lips with his in a blistering kiss. She dug her fingertips into his silky blonde hair, clinging to him with a neediness she’d never known.
When he pulled his mouth away, he reached for his scarf on the nightstand. She’d talked him into buying that scarf when they’d gone shopping together.
