Page 18 of Jackson

He let out another soft laugh—a delightful sound. “Is this you not takingnofor an answer?”

Yes.

“Well, only when it comes to hydration.” I slipped a bottle out from the top shelf and handed it to him. “I never play about that.”

He uncapped it and took a generous swig. My coat looked massive still hanging off his shoulders and dwarfing his already petite frame. But somehow, it looked good on him.

Reallygood.

Right, even.

It had me thinking about putting him to bed in one of my t-shirts next.

My stomach clenched at the thought, possessiveness rearing its ugly head once more.

I wanted to keep him here permanently but there was no way the COs were going to allow that. Chances were that as soon as the sun was up, a bus would be rolling by to pick all four of them up and ship them back off to SAC for poor conduct.

It hurt my heart to think that Ayen would be caught up in all of that when it was obvious to anyone with two fucking eyes that the poor kid was way too scared to even be involved in any of that drama. Maybe he had been fucking with the cards initially, but I highly doubted he instigated that fight or was ever involved in it in any capacity.

I couldn’t see him as the type.

Especially with how I’d found him curled up in himself while he shook through his panic attack.

Fuck, seeing him like that had really upset me. More than I cared to admit. He wasn’t supposed to be scared here, none ofthe inmates were. So walking intothatand seeing him shielding himself like he was ready for someone to start wailing on him had me tearing through that damn cabin in order to get to him.

Getting him out of there had been my only priority. Getting him to safety—tome—was the single thought that had been rattling through my brain.

Ayen capped the half finished bottle again and stared at it for a long moment while I leaned against the door of my fridge, watching him. The cool air from it felt nice against my skin even though it wasn’t that humid out tonight.

“Why... are you doing all of this?” He glanced up at me. “I... You defended me to Stinner...”

I shrugged. “He was being an ass.”

Which was true, in a sense. That CO coming out of the cabin hot and ready to pick a fight had my protective instincts flaring instantly. There was no way I was going to let Ayen go with him when he was already scared. Turning him over to a CO like that would keep me up all fucking night worrying about him.

Ayen frowned at me. “But he’s the CO… it doesn’t really matter what his attitude is like. Aren’t you supposed to… Uh—” He cut himself off, his lips pressing together tightly.

“‘Listen to him?” I guessed. “Not at all. He’s in my neck of the woods.”

“You own this place?” His eyes widened in curiosity.

Damn was he cute.

I fisted my hands together, pretending they were holding onto him.

“Kind of. I run the program and have been for a decade.” I lifted away from the fridge door and let it swing shut.

His eyes widened more. “Wow, that’s amazing.”

“Thanks. It’s been quite the wild ride.”

“I bet tonight has added to that list...”

I shrugged. “They weren’t the first to fight on the property and they won’t be the last. Sometimes it happens when you give someone a little too much freedom too soon.”

He nodded slowly, looking back down at his water bottle with a concentrated look on his face. I wondered what my words meant to him.

Did he relate?

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