Chapter 336
Jaxx’s Point Of View
“I’ll be right back,” I whispered against her mouth, reluctant to leave even for a moment. Her lips were soft and warm, and I wanted to stay there, breathing her in, letting the simple act of her presence steady the frantic rhythm still echoing in my chest. “Don’t move p>
“Where are you going?” she asked, her hand instantly twitching toward my arm, her fingers brushing the bare skin as though she couldn’t bear to have me out of her sight for even a second. The vulnerability in that gesture nearly broke me. The fear in her eyes that I might not return cut deeper than any physical wound, deeper than anything I’d felt in years of carefully guarding myself against exactly this kind of attachment.
“Laundry room,” I explained, keeping my voice calm and reassuring, stroking her cheek with my thumb. “And then to the car. I need a change of clothes. Five minutes, tops. I promise.” I held her gaze, letting her see the truth in my eyes. I would always come back to her. That wasn’t a line, wasn’t something I said to comfort her in the moment – it was a fact as solid as my own pulse.
She nodded slowly, though her fingers lingered on my arm for another heartbeat before releasing me, as if some part of her still needed the physical proof that I was real and present before she could let go.
I walked down the hall to the laundry room, reaching into the pocket of the wet pants to retrieve my silver pocket knife. The weight of it in my palm was familiar, grounding, a small piece of normalcy in a day that had splintered into chaos. I set the knife on the counter, then tossed the soaked trousers and briefs straight into the washing machine, hitting the cycle button before walking out the back door into the bright afternoon heat.
The contrast between the cool house and the warmth outside was jarring, almost disorienting, like stepping between two entirely different worlds… the fragile sanctuary I’d built upstairs and the harsh reality waiting just beyond its walls.
My Mercedes still sat on the lawn, the engine finally silent. The sight of it there, parked haphazardly on the grass, was evidence of my panic, my desperate need to reach her. I hadn’t even registered pulling onto the grass when I’d arrived; the only thing that had mattered was getting to her, consequences be damned. I opened the back door and grabbed the duffel bag from the leather seat… an emergency bag I always kept packed with a change of clothes in case I couldn’t make it back to my own place.
Habits from a life that required quick exits and constant readiness, remnants of a version of myself I thought I’d left behind until today reminded me how quickly old instincts could resurface. I pulled out a pair of grey sweatpants and a clean black t-shirt, quickly sliding them on right there in the driveway, not caring if any neighbors happened to see. Modesty felt like the least of my concerns.
I locked the car, grabbed the wet towels from the foyer on my way back inside, and tossed them into the dryer before heading toward the kitchen. My mind was already planning ahead – she’d need comfort, distraction, something normal.
Something to remind her that life could still be simple and sweet, that not everything had to be weighted with fear and consequence. I opened the freezer, my eyes landing on a pint of dark chocolate ice cream sitting on the top shelf. Perfect. Small victories, I told myself, but small victories were what we needed right now.
I grabbed a spoon from the drawer, tucked the pint under my arm, and headed back up the stairs, taking them two at a time in my eagerness to return to her. Each second away from her felt like an eternity. I needed to see her face, needed to make sure she was still okay, needed to anchor myself in the simple reality that she was safe. The image of her on that bathroom floor kept flashing behind my eyes no matter how many times I blinked it away.
When I walked into her bedroom, Elena was already under the duvet, looking tiny and fragile against the massive white pillows. The sight of her there, so small in that big bed, made something protective flare in my chest, fierce and immediate, the kind of feeling I hadn’t let myself experience in years.
I climbed onto the mattress, sliding under the covers beside her, and pulled her straight into my arms, propping my back against the headboard. The warmth of her body against mine immediately settled something restless inside me, some frantic, clawing energy that had been building since the moment I’d found her.
“Here,” I said, handing her the pint and the spoon. She took it without a word, but her eyes lit up slightly as she dug the spoon into the chocolate and started licking it. The quiet rhythm of the room finally felt normal again, a small pocket of peace after the chaos, the kind of ordinary moment I hadn’t realized I’d been craving until it arrived. I watched her take a few bites, noting the way some of the tension had begun to ease from her shoulders, her spine losing some of its rigid, protective curve.
But after those few bites, she set the pint down on the nightstand, turned her body, and crawled right into my lap, straddling my waist in her oversized t-shirt. The sudden shift in her demeanor caught me off guard, though I welcomed it, grateful for any sign of the spirited woman I knew hiding beneath the fear. She picked the spoon back up, scooped up a generous amount of ice cream, and held it right against my lips.
“Eat,” she commanded, her big eyes staring down at me with a sudden, stubborn intensity that would have been intimidating if she weren’t so damn adorable.
I wrinkled my nose, tilting my head back against the headboard to avoid the spoon. The cold metal brushed my lower lip before I could escape it. “No. I don’t want any, Elena. That’s for you p>
Elena narrowed her eyes, her brow furrowing into a hilarious, fierce little glare that made her look like a grumpy kitten trying to be threatening. “I don’t care if you want it or not, Jaxx. I’m feeding you,” she declared, her voice taking on that particular tone that meant she wouldn’t back down.
The determination in her expression was almost comical given the circumstances, and something in me ached at how quickly she’d rallied, how hard she was fighting to reclaim some semblance of control. “Open your mouth right now or I’ll wipe it all over your chest p>
I let out a soft chuckle, my hands coming up to rest flat against her hips, my thumbs brushing the soft cotton of her shirt. The warmth of her skin beneath the fabric sent a familiar current through me, grounding me in this moment, in her, in the fragile normalcy we were trying to build out of chocolate ice cream and stubborn affection. “You wouldn’t dare p>
“Try me, stupid,” she snapped, leaning closer until her nose was practically touching mine, her breath sweet with chocolate. The intimacy of the position made my pulse quicken, desire and tenderness tangling together in a way that left me slightly breathless. “Open up p>
I shook my head, a slow smirk spreading across my face as I finally relented, opening my mouth to let her slide the sweet, cold chocolate off the spoon. The ice cream melted on my tongue, but I barely tasted it… too focused on the way her expression shifted from fierce to satisfied, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, a smile that felt like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.
“You’re incredibly bossy for someone who was just crying ten minutes ago, you know that p>
Elena smacked my bare shoulder with the back of her hand, a soft thwack echoing in the quiet room. “Shut up, stupid. Less talking, more eating p>
She scooped up another bite, shoving it toward my mouth again, her movements gentle despite her sharp words. There was something healing in this playful exchange, something that felt like reclaiming normalcy, like proving to both of us that laughter could still exist in the same world as fear. “You look like you need the sugar anyway. Your face is all tense and scary p>
“My face is perfectly fine,” I mumbled around the spoon, my hands tightening slightly on her hips as the playfulness between us finally began to dull the sharp edges of the afternoon’s horror. This simple, ridiculous moment was exactly what we both needed. The weight of what had happened still pressed down on us, but here, in this bubble of chocolate and teasing, we could breathe.
I swallowed the ice cream, my expression turning a bit more serious as I looked up into her lovely, messy face. The steam from the shower had made her hair curl wildly around her cheeks, and she looked so beautiful it made my throat feel dry.
The vulnerability in her eyes hadn’t completely faded, but something stronger was emerging… resilience, trust, maybe even hope. I could see her fighting her way back to herself, piece by piece, and it made me respect her even more fiercely than I already did. “You’ll be leaving with me to my personal house next week,” I said, my voice dropping into a firm, non-negotiable register.
The decision had been made the moment I’d seen her crumpled on that bathroom floor. I couldn’t unsee that image, couldn’t unknow the terror that had gripped me, couldn’t pretend any version of normal life was safe enough for her anymore. “The estate house in the hills. The security there is tight… nobody gets past the perimeter without my personal biometric scan. You’re not staying here alone anymore p>
I expected her to argue. I expected her to give me that typical pride, to tell me she could take care of herself and that she wasn’t going to be hidden away in some fortress. Elena had always been independent, sometimes stubbornly so, and I’d come to love that about her even as it occasionally frustrated me to no end. I braced myself for the pushback, already preparing my counterarguments, ready to fight her on this if I had to, ready to lay out every reason why this wasn’t negotiable.
Instead, Elena just stared down at me, her big eyes softening into something incredibly deep, steady, and entirely trusting. The shift in her expression made my chest tighten almost painfully. She set the spoon down on the nightstand with a soft click, wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, and buried her face right against my throat.
The weight of her surrender, her complete faith in me, felt heavier than any responsibility I’d ever carried. It was humbling and terrifying all at once, the realization that she trusted me so completely, so unconditionally, after everything that had happened.
“Okay,” she whispered softly, her warm breath tickling against my collarbone. Her voice carried no hesitation, no doubt, just simple acceptance. “I’ll be anywhere with you, Jaxx. Anywhere p>