Stolen Beauty (Jackson Family 1)

JAMES

I looked up as Adrian stepped into my office. He looked exhausted, and his hair was a mess. Blood was spilling from his shoulder, dripping onto my cream-colored carpet. My eyes widened in shock as I jumped up from my chair, accidentally waking Emmaline up in the process with the sound of my chair knocking into the wall behind me.

“Brother, what the fuck happened?” I snapped. He swayed, and I rushed forward, catching him before he hit the floor. My knees connected with a sickeningly loud smack with the floor.

“Your dad is in the basement,” he grumbled, his eyes sliding shut.

“Adrian!” I roared. Fuck! What in the hell had happened? Adrian was perfect at this part of his job. He’d never been hit by a bullet before.

I looked up at Jonah, one of the guards to my office. “Get Dr. Williams!” I barked at him.

He nodded and rushed off from his position by the door. Emmaline dropped to her knees beside me and ripped her shirt off. I glared at her for exposing her body, but she ignored me, pressing her shirt to his wound. Adrian woke up, roaring in pain, and Emmaline jumped out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding his hands coming up to wrap around her throat.

“Easy, brother,” I growled, reining in my temper so I wouldn’t finish the job and kill him for even trying to touch her. “She’s trying to help.”

“Shit hurts,” he muttered.

“Why the fuck didn’t you go to a goddamn hospital?” I demanded to know.

“I had a job,” he rumbled. I scowled. “I let down your woman by not putting proper guards on your room to protect her. I wasn’t stopping until I had my hands on him.”

“Jesus Christ,” I swore, shutting my eyes.

“Adrian,” Emmaline swallowed thickly, nervousness ringing in her eyes as she glanced towards his clenched fists, “I need to apply pressure to your wound. You’re bleeding a lot.”

He gritted his teeth and nodded. I watched as she quickly placed her hands back over her shirt on his shoulder. He groaned in pain, but he kept his hands in his lap.

“Little one, you’re looking a bit pale,” I commented as I ran my eyes over her face. She looked like she was on the verge of throwing up all over my office.

She shook her head. “I’m okay,” she said quietly. I gritted my teeth. I knew she wasn’t, and I had a feeling that all of the blood was reminding her of the night I wasn’t here to protect her – the night I had failed her. Her beautiful, brown eyes connected with mine, pleading in their depths. “James, please, not now,” she begged me. “He needs help.”

Gritting my teeth, I looked away from her, my eyes catching Dr. Williams and Jonah rushing up the stairs. “We need to get him to the infirmary,” Dr. Williams told me.

“I’m not moving,” Adrian growled. “Do what you need to right here. If I move, I’m going to pass the fuck out.”

“Emmaline, I need you to move,” I told her, changing my tone of voice so I wouldn’t scare her.

She quickly stood up, and she grabbed a pillow from the couch, holding it out to me. I nodded once in thanks to her as I placed it under Adrian’s head, laying him flat on the floor. After, I stood up, moving out of Dr. William’s way. Without a word, I unbuttoned my shirt and handed it to Emmaline. She blushed as she quickly shrugged my shirt on, buttoning it up. It swallowed her, but it would keep my men from ogling her.

Speaking of men ogling her, I shot a dark look at Jonah, and he quickly turned his eyes away from her. Gripping the side of her neck, feeling fucking volatile for anyone looking at her, I pulled her face to my chest and leaned down so my lips were at her ear. “You’ll be punished for that later,” I whispered so low only she could hear me.

She jerked her head up, anger sparking in her gaze, surprising the fuck out of me. “I was only trying to help—"

“My blazer wouldn’t have sufficed?” I asked her. She frowned up at me. I only arched an eyebrow down at her. “I don’t like anyone looking at what belongs to me, Emmaline,” I reminded her.

Anger burned and rolled in her brown eyes, and hurt also flickered before she smothered it. But it fucking floored me. She never got angry. She always took what was dished out to her.

But I couldn’t deny that it pleased me to finally see her angry about something instead of always laying down and taking what was shoved at her. She was growing, and she was becoming surer of herself and her position in my life.

That was a damn good thing. A queen needed a strong, level head on her shoulders.

“I can’t believe you,” she quietly seethed. “He’s bleeding, James,” she snapped up at me. “I’m sorry that I was more concerned with trying to help him than your stupid fucking rules at that moment.”

I gripped her chin, roughly yanking her face up to mine as my other hand gripped her hip, yanking her towards me. She glared up at me, those beautiful, brown eyes sparking with a fire that made me hard as fuck for her. “You should always remember my rules,” I reminded her. “I had Adrian handled.”

She clenched her jaw before she ripped herself from my grip. I narrowed my eyes at her. “I don’t accept your punishment,” she snapped at me before she turned and stormed from the room.

“Emmaline!” I roared. Everyone in the room flinched and turned their eyes away from me. I stormed out of the room after her. She was sprinting up the stairs, completely ignoring me. “Goddammit, woman, get your fucking ass back down these stairs!” I shouted.

Again, she ignored me. I jogged up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She slammed the bedroom door in my face, only fueling my anger. I growled as I shoved it back open, slamming the door shut back behind me.

But I was not expecting the woman in front of me.

Emmaline was on her knees, her shoulders shaking with sobs, not even two steps into our bedroom. She was scrubbing at her hands and arms, her nails cutting open her skin.

“Fuck, little one,” I breathed, all of my anger evaporating. Her anger and quick change in mood made so much more sense now. I quickly sank to my knees beside her and grabbed her wrists, placing them in both of mine. With my other arm, I pulled her against me, holding her head against my chest. “I’m here, baby,” I whispered. I pressed my lips to the top of her head. “It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. Her arms shook in mine. I held her just a little bit tighter, keeping her grounded. “It’s just – the blood – it triggered me.”

“I know, little one,” I soothed. “Come on. We need to wash your hands and your arms and bandage them,” I told her. “You’re bleeding.”

She turned her head and looked down at her arms. Her bottom lip trembled. “I didn’t even realize . . .”

“It’s alright,” I crooned. “Come on.”

I helped her up from the floor and led her over to the bathroom where I washed her hands and her arms for her. I kept her distracted by pressing light kisses to her throat and her jaw, keeping her attention on me and away from the blood washing off of her skin.