Worth Forgiving (MMA Fighter 3)

“Oh. That.” He sounds deflated. “He’s sort of freaking out. He saw the picture on the news.”

“Do you know when he’s coming back?”

“Tonight.”

I close my eyes. Caden is going to be a disaster. He gets jealous when a guy I don’t know looks at me the wrong way. I don’t even want to think about what he will be like seeing my picture in the paper in another man’s arms.

“Okay. I have to go. Have to be at work at two.”

“I’m going to be there in five minutes.”

“You can’t.”

“Why not?” Reed sounds blatantly insulted.

“Because.” I pause. “I need to talk to Jax.”

“We can go see him together. You can fill me in on the way.”

“Jax is here. I’ll call you later, okay?”

Reed screeches so loudly, I pull the phone away from my ear. Jax smirks and shakes his head…right before he takes my phone out of my hand. I listen to one side of the conversation.

“Reed?” Jax pauses and listens before responding, “Do you know when he lands?”

“Yeah. I don’t trust him either. I’m not letting her out of my sight.”

“Okay. Later.”

He pushes a button and hands me back my phone. “Looks like we get to have that conversation with Caden sooner, rather than later.”

“Jax. You don’t know him. He’s not always logical.”

Jax shrugs. “That’s why I’m not letting you out of my sight till we have a chat with him.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know it was you in the picture.” I’m grasping at straws.

“So? I’ll tell him.”

My eyes bulge. “Why would you do that?”

Jax stands, slipping on his sweat pants calmly as he speaks. “Because I’m not going to run away from it. This isn’t a one night thing for me, Lily.”

“He’s going to freak, Jax.”

Jax leans down, his face in mine, “Don’t worry about it.” It’s more of a stern warning than a suggestion. Then he kisses me chastely on the lips. “I’ll put the coffee on. Freak out for five minutes if you want. Then meet me in the shower.”

Jax heads for the kitchen and I do exactly what he said. Sit, freaking out for five minutes until he returns with a steaming mug of coffee for each of us. “You done now?”

I sip my coffee. It’s exactly how I take it. Briefly, it makes me feel better. “Done what?”

“Freaking out.”

“Not really?” I respond with a question, not a statement.

He takes another big gulp of his coffee and sets the mug down on the end table. “Take another sip,” he instructs, before swiping my mug from my hands and setting it besides his. Then he scoops me up into his arms, the sheet covering me falls to reveal my naked body.

“What are you doing?” I ask, not really caring what he’s about to do now that I’m in the warmth of his arms.

“Taking a shower.”

***

The press outside the gym quadrupled overnight, Jax wraps his arm around me and does his best to shelter me from the clicking cameras. I have no idea what time Caden will show up at the gym, but I’m glad he’s not there when we enter.

I go behind the front desk and get myself settled in. Jax stands watching me fidget nervously. “You going to be okay?”

“Yes,” I lie, trying my best to avert my eyes by grabbing a pile of waiting mail. But Jax just waits. Calmly. Patiently. Standing there looking completely undaunted by the fact that all hell is soon going to break loose, he waits till my eyes reach his and I still as he speaks.

“It’s going to be fine. He won’t get the chance to raise his voice, no less lay a finger on you. I promise. Trust me.” He pauses, his eyes probing mine. “Let me take care of it. Okay?”

Incredibly, I believe him. Somehow, I just know everything will turn out okay, so long as he’s near me. I smile. It’s weak, but genuine, and it earns me a dimpled grin back from Jax. Jesus, even worried and exhausted from two days of life altering sexcapades with this man doesn’t quell my desire when he turns on the charm.

“Go!” I point in the direction of the gym, giving him an order. “You’re incredibly distracting. Don’t you have someone to beat up or some tycooning to do?”

Jax’s eyebrows raise in surprise, but he chuckles and walks off shaking his head in amusement.

The afternoon flies by, without both Joe and I here for a day and a half, it takes me hours to get caught up with mail, telephone calls and getting next week’s schedules put together. Every once in a while I’d look up, my eyes scanning the room to find Jax. Each and every time, he was already looking back at me by the time my eyes found his. I think Jax may have been on a higher level of alert than I even was. I’d noticed he’d positioned himself for his afternoon workout and sparring so that he can keep an eye on me. It was sweet, so very different from the way Caden kept his eye on me. Caden’s never felt protective or warm, instead it was possessive, territorial. And not the sexy kind of possessive I see a sliver of in Jax. His possessiveness is about me. Caden’s is about him.

By 8PM, an hour before closing, my nerves have gotten the best of me and I almost jump out of my skin every time the door opens. The rattle of the bells somehow training me like Pavlov to hold my breath as I wait for the person to walk through. I try to sketch, but creativity doesn’t mix well with restlessness and anxiety.

Jax comes to the front desk. He’s set up a makeshift office in the corner of the small kitchen and I’ve caught him on more than one occasion raking his fingers through his hair looking stressed himself.

“You okay? You look stressed.” It’s my turn to check on him.

“Yeah. Just some work fires I needed to put out.”

“Mmmm…” I tease, “I like firemen.”

Jax leans his elbows on the counter, lowering his frame down so our faces are level. “Better than tycoons?” he questions with a flirty challenge in his voice.

I’m just about to respond when the bells interrupt, bringing me back to the impending doom I’m facing. Jax seems completely unaffected and doesn’t budge at the sound of the door opening. I let out a sigh of relief when I see it’s only a late night regular. He waves and goes right to the gym.

“You really are afraid of him, aren’t you?” Jax wonders aloud.