his latest shipment off, and after that? He could have his curvy beauty
all to himself.
“Sleep. If you need something, just yell,” he told her, getting
off the bed.
“Bossy,” she grumbled.
“Better get used to it, sweetheart. I like giving orders. I’m not
leaving until you get in bed.” Jax made his voice firm, resolute. Even-
tually, she slipped his shirt on. It fell to her knees. She reminded him
of a little girl as she settled in his sheets.
He rose to his feet, but before he took his seat, he flashed her a
grin. Jax knew she’d been watching him, waiting for his next move
maybe.
“Good girl. I’ll check on you later.”
****
Hearing the rumble of the truck engine, Lia tugged the collar
of Jax’s old shirt and sniffed. It smelled a little of him and laundry
soap. She didn’t think she could sleep, not after everything that hap-
pened.
The truck began to move. Certain Jax remained focused on the
road, she pried the sheet away, looked down at her body. Bandages
covered her entire body. Jax even took care of the soles of her feet.
Confusing. That was the word she associated with him, because one
moment he looked ready to eat her all up, and the next he looked
guilty, angry with himself.
Jax tended to her in a clinical matter, although she kept hoping
he’d kiss her again. Lia brushed a hand over her lips, recalling how it
felt like little fireworks went off inside her. Her body had betrayed
her. Her chest tightened, her nipples hardened, and her pussy turned
wet. All from a single kiss.
After being Dwayne’s fuck toy, she didn’t think she’d been
capable of feeling any desire for any man again. Jax was lethal. Com-
bined with the tender side he showed her while he fussed over her, it
sure made for one hell of a deadly combination. She curled into her
side, her favorite sleeping position, because after Dwayne was done
with her, she didn’t want to see his ugly face.
I’m not a good man, Jax had said.
Prison. The word kept flashing in her head, ringing alarm
bells. What did Jax do to land himself in prison? God. She’d been so
tempted to ask, and yet she didn’t miss the warning look in those in-
tense, faded blue eyes.
Jax was exactly the man her mother warned her away from,
but what did her mother know? When Dwayne came swaggering into
their home, Mary Reed had been fooled by Dwayne’s easy charm, just
like her. Lia didn’t want to think about that bastard, not tonight. She
clutched at the sheets. Did she escape one monster only to fall into the
hands of another?
Jax certainly seemed comfortable putting himself in the same
category as Dwayne, but the trucker was dead wrong there. No one
could be as nasty as Dwayne. Dwayne had no ounce of kindness in
him. All Jax did was treat her with courtesy.
Except when he looked like a predator, ready to pounce on
her. What if he had only been acting? What if his real intention was to
soften her up, the way Dwayne did only for his true colors to come
out later on? Jax could keep her here in the dark, only take her out
when he wanted some entertainment.
I’m being paranoid, she told herself.
What was she thinking? Jax helped her when he didn’t need
to. He’d fed her, treated her wounds. He had been upfront about not
being the good guy she claimed he was. No, Jax might be crass,
rough, but Lia preferred blunt honesty to a human snake any day.
Lia didn’t have plenty of choices either. She had no clothes,
save the shirt Jax loaned, and certainly no cash. Lia could hitchhike
home but the town of Blackwood Falls had never felt like home to
her. She spent most of her life longing to get the hell out of there, to
explore the world.
She’d been so desperate, she made the worst decision of her
life. She jumped at the first chance she got by going with a bastard
who only wanted to use her up and discard her after he got sick of her.
Mary had been all but happy to have the trailer all to herself.
No. There was no love lost between them. Going back to Blackwood
Falls in shame wasn’t an option. Lia could already imagine the smug
expression her mother would wear, that long-suffering look that said
she hoped Lia would never come back.
She shivered despite the warm blankets and Jax’s shirt. Lia
was on her own. She had important life decisions to make. Initially,
she planned on leaving Jax after she recovered her strength. There
was a chance he was every bit the bastard he claimed he was, but
she’d definitely seen goodness in him too.
Besides, Jax’s kiss remained branded in her mind. Dwayne
never kissed her, he always told her she’d only been good for one
thing. Jax’s rough kiss reminded her of the propriety way a man
kissed his wife.
Where did those line of thoughts even come from? Lia had a
long day. She couldn’t think straight, but at the very least, she knew
she’d stick around a little longer.
Chapter Four
“You’re looking a lot better today,” Jax muttered as Lia
opened the door and slid in.
Lia blushed for no reason, still unused to the sole attention of
the male sitting next to her. Jax raked his gaze across her body with-
out apology.
“I feel a lot better,” she said.
It was true. Most of her bruises had healed. They stopped by a
couple of stores a few days ago and Jax bought her new clothes and
anything else she needed. He wouldn’t hear of it when she promised
to pay him back.
“Yeah? That’s good. Got everything you need?” he asked,
nodding to the brown paper bag on her lap.
“Yes, plus those ham sandwiches and cigarettes you liked.”
Jax flashed that devilish smile at her again, making her heart
leap. He put his hand out and she handed him the cigarette box. He
opened it, slid one stick behind his ear. Lia knew he’d stop the truck a
few hours later and light it up.
Lia had been tempted to reach out, to run her fingers through
the thick silk of his hair but decided against it. Something was defi-
nitely wrong with her. Jax had been so careful of her ever since he
picked her up a few days ago. Dwayne had damaged her and yet here
she was, hungry to know the touch of this complete stranger.
“If you keep looking at me like that, sweetheart, you won’t
like what will come next.” His words sounded like a veiled threat, but
did he think she was that fragile?
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?” Jax frowned.
“Keep pushing me away.”
“Because a sweet little thing like you can’t handle a man like
me.”
Her heart started on a rapid rhythm now. “Are you sure about
that?” she dared to whisper.
Lia didn’t like the silence that settled after those words. What
was going on in Jax’s mind? Was he debating if she was trouble he
didn’t want or need after all? Lia wished s
he could take the words
back, maybe change the topic into something light or carefree. Would
that only make her seem fake?
God, Lia. You’re not on some damn date.
Before Dwayne, she dated a few guys in high school, but
they’d only been interested in her body. In the end, Lia had never
been good enough to be seen with him. She had to be the dirty little
secret they kept. It took a while, but Lia finally understood why. She
wasn’t like the vicious stick-thin girls in school who’d made it their
life’s mission to make her entire high school life miserable.
Lia was no longer in high school, though. She turned twenty-
one three months ago and spent the last year being dragged around by
Dwayne and being his personal fuck toy and punching bag.
She froze up when Jax ran his huge hand up her bare thigh,
but she didn’t stop him. Lia could have chosen something more prac-
tical to wear. He told her to get anything she wanted, after all. Yet she picked this sleeved blue dress because Jax said she’d looked pretty in
it.
Jax’s hand found her inner thigh now. Oh God. Her chest rose
and fell, her breasts felt heavy. Moisture flooded her pussy. If he went
any higher, he’d discover her panties were slightly wet. Jax took off
his seat belt and leaned in close until their faces touched.
“Tell me to stop,” he said, the devil in his smile.
Her breath hitched as he used his other hand to give her left
breast a squeeze. Lia moaned, thrusting her chest against his hand.
The truck felt suddenly hot, despite the air conditioning. The dress
plastered to her skin, an annoyance that got in the way of Jax having
full access to her body.
She shouldn’t be this aroused, not after what she went
through. On the heels of that thought, a contradicting one followed.
I’m a grown-ass woman, an adult. Why can’t I want the one man who
didn’t take advantage of me when he could?
“This is wrong,” she whispered.
At those words, he pulled away.
“Fuck!” Jax gritted his teeth.
“You misunderstand,” she quickly said. “It’s not what you
think.”
“What the fuck are you saying?”
Lia flinched at the harshness of his words and that seemed to
make things a lot worse.
“It’s not you. It’s me. There’s something not right with me.”
“Sweetheart,” he said in a dry voice. “There’s absolutely noth-
ing wrong with you.”
“Are you sure about that? I—I’m attracted to you. I know it’s
wrong, especially after Dwayne, but I can’t help it. I thought you were
too, but you’re sending me mixed signals.” Lia was babbling, so she
stopped talking before she said something she’d regret.
He stopped the truck to look at her. She swallowed. He looked
pissed. Sometimes when he got all intense and quiet, it unnerved her.
Dwayne used his fists to prove a point, but Jax’s silences felt worse
because she desperately needed to know what went on his mind. Lia
wished she hadn’t started this. The last thing she wanted was to fight
with Jax, but she needed to know, too.
“What’s wrong is the fact I’ve wanted you since you clung to
my damned truck like I was your only lifeline.”
“You were. There weren’t any other vehicles, but even if one
drove by, they’d have chosen to ignore me. I’m trouble.”
“You are.”
Lia cringed at those words. If Jax told her to get out, she
wouldn’t know what to do. She kept telling herself she could handle
herself, but bad memories of Dwayne kept holding her back.
You should be grateful I took you, you fat bitch. Her memories
of sex had been tainted by Dwayne’s verbal abuses and his sharp
hands that cut like knives. Before that, she’d only had sex once, with
a nervous high school senior who didn’t seem to know what he’d
been doing. Terry Waters came inside the condom after being five
minutes inside her, nothing like Dwayne’s punishing fucks.
“Hey.” Jax’s hard voice dragged her back to reality. She
blinked, only to discover he’d taken off his seat belt and cupped her
jaw. He tipped her head, forcing her to look at him. “Tell me what’s
going in your mind right now, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart. Lia had gotten used to the term of endearment,
loved it on his lips, even. Slut. Whore. Cunt. Bitch. All Dwayne
called her were foul, degrading terms, as if he conveniently forgot her
name.
I’ve wanted you. Jax said that, she reminded herself. He didn’t
see her as unnecessary baggage, right? If he’d only been a kind
stranger, he wouldn’t tolerate her being in his truck or buying her
clothes. Hell, Jax even rented a room so she could use the bathroom
after he dropped his shipment in the back.
“I asked you a question.” Jax’s tone was hard to ignore.
She met his gaze, because despite his kindness, she could nev-
er forget he was a predator in a man’s skin too.
“Nothing good,” she whispered. “Bad memories. Will you
help me forget?”
The desperation and need in her voice should have made her
flinch, but she didn’t care. She ran her fingers up his muscled fore-
arm, tracing one long scar there, buried under black ink.
“You’re not ready,” he told her, voice harsh. “I intend to make
you pay me back with that sweet and lush little body of yours, but af-
ter you’ve fully healed.”
If Jax thought those words would paint him as a bastard who
used women, if he hoped they’d scare her off, then he’d severely un-
derestimated her. Jax might be the bastard he claimed he was. The
scar on his arm told her exactly the kind of man he was—someone
used to violence, but scars didn’t scare her. Lia carried her own share.
Buried within that body of steel lay a heart that beat for her.
She smiled.
Jax narrowed his eyes and said nothing as he thumbed her lips.
They no longer cracked after she’d applied some Vaseline they
bought at a store.
“I want to be pretty for you, too.”
He leaned in closer, moved his hand to her throat, pinning her
in place against the seat. Jax slammed his lips over hers. Teeth
clashed. Tongues tangled. She panted, constricted by the seat belt. Lia
reached for the buckle, but he stopped her.
Jax paused, flashed her that wolfish grin. “I’d like to restrain
you sometime. See you squirm while I taste that fucking sweet pussy
of yours.”
Her heart beats kicked up a notch as he thrust his tongue down
her throat. His hand gave her left breast a squeeze, her nipple a twist.
Lia sucked in a breath as he pulled away, intense gaze on her, only
her, as if she became the focal point of his world.
Sudden possessiveness flared within in her, because despite
knowing a man like Jax probably had no trouble attracting women,
she wanted him to only look at her.
“I thought you wanted to wait,” she said, voice coming out
husky.
Jax rested his large hands on her hips a
nd fingered the material
of her dress. He ignored her earlier statement. “Did you wear this
dress for me?”
“Yes.” She groaned when he closed his mouth over her breast,
teeth grazing her nipple through the sheer lace of the bra. Lia chose
her undergarments with care too, knowing she wanted Jax to rip them
off her.
“I’m not going to take you yet,” he said. Lia only noticed the
cruel streak in his blue eyes, but it was a different cruelty from
Dwayne’s, one that made her heart pound frantically, her chest heave.
“What then?” she asked.
“I’m going to fucking give you a taste of what you’re getting,
sweetheart.” He gave her a considering look, then bit down on her
nipple. She moaned as they pebbled against her bra. He pulled away.
“Now lift up your dress.”
Chapter Five
Lia’s skin looked flushed, a shade of gorgeous pink from their
little play time. Jax smirked. She’d mark easily. Would she wear the
bruises of their fucking with pride? Jax knew he had to be careful
with her. He hadn’t liked the way she looked distant a moment ago,
going to some place he couldn’t reach.
He didn’t need to be a genius to figure out she’d probably
been thinking about the fucker who hurt her. Help me forget, she had told him. Oh, he planned on fulfilling that little wish of hers. He
hadn’t told her yet, didn’t want her to get all scared and decide to flee.
The moment Lia asked him whether it was fucked up to want
him, Jax made a decision.
He planned to keep her. No question about it. She’d fucking
be his, because he never wanted so much in his shitty life. He thought
he wouldn’t survive having someone else in the truck. He was wrong.
Jax liked how she asked his permission to turn the air-
conditioning off and lower her window, how she looked out at the
rolling fields, the trees and occasional inn, a tiny smile on her lips. He even didn’t mind how she snored at night. Sometimes she refused to
take the bed in the back to keep him company. Hell, he even liked
how she fussed over him sometimes, reminding him to keep hydrated
or that he smoked too much.
“Jax?” she asked in the present, tone tentative.
Keeping Her Forever Page 3
