Page 4 of Jaxon

The boat horn blasted through the air, once again ruining the moment.

"If I ever step on that deck, I'm gonna ram that horn right up his ass so that every time he talks, he makes that obnoxious sound." I leaned down for another kiss.

"You're dripping." Bridget motioned down to the wet sand that was now a mosaic of blood spatter. "We need to get you some first aid. Any chance you have a kit in your WaveRunner?"

"Nope. Stella carries the first aid kit. It's kind of her thing because she lives with two brothers who are prone to needing first aid kits."

Bridget reached up and rubbed her fingers lightly over my short beard before pressing her hand against the side of my face. Up until now, it had been all fun flirtation, but the second she placed her hand against my face, a heavy feeling sank through my chest. "I dragged you into this, and I don't see a way out. I'm sorry, Jax. It was stupid and impulsive of me to jump off that boat, but I spend every day looking for a way to escape my life. You were there and you looked like a fucking god sitting out there on your jet ski, and all I could think about was how fucking amazing it would feel to be in your arms."

I wrapped my arm tighter around her. Her thin body felt so vulnerable in my grasp that I had to hold back my urge to hold her even tighter.

"And I was right about that," she said with a light smile and dropped her hand from my face. "But it was selfish of me to include you in my tantrum. Just take me back to the boat."

Her last words struck like a knife in that same heavy chest. "Is that what you want?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"Darlin', trouble is my middle name, or at least that's what my mom says. And I've got a plan. You ready for another ride?"

"Back on the jet ski?"

"Yup." I took her hand and led her back to the WaveRunner. I paused and looked at her. "Just how good a shot is he?"

She shrugged. "You're a pretty big target, and he only managed to graze your arm."

"Good point." I started the jet ski, and she climbed on behind me. "Hold on tight."

"Not a problem." She curled her arms around my waist and hugged me from behind. She pressed a kiss against my shoulder. "I'm ready."

I turned the nose of the jet ski toward open water. We flew over the choppy waves barreling toward us. Bridget squealed with excitement every time we got airborne. It would have been a fun ride if I wasn't worried about the dick on deck with a gun. The asshole had dropped anchor, which gave us enough time to get away before he could pull up anchor and turn his vessel around.

I rode a wide berth around the yacht. It took the jerk a few seconds to realize what was happening. He raced to the helm and then doubled back, suddenly remembering the anchor.

We both held up our middle fingers as we flew past.

Bridget snuggled tightly behind me. "Best day ever."

CHAPTER 2

BRIDGET

We pulled into a boat marina I'd never seen before. We'd given Alex the slip, but I was sure he wasn't far behind. Jaxon must have sensed it, too. He hurriedly moored the WaveRunner next to his sister's. We got off and he grabbed my hand and led me along the wobbly, splintery planks of the dock.

"Jax, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Someone yelled from one of the boats. Jaxon waved but kept going, his head down in determination and his grip tight around my hand.

His stride was as massive as his build, and I found myself running to keep up with him. I tripped on one of the planks. With amazing reflexes, Jaxon twisted around to catch me before I face-planted.

"Sorry, Gidge, I'm in a hurry to get off this marina."

It was the first time he'd called me by my nickname, and I liked the way it sounded. Only people I truly cared about were allowed to call me Gidge. I'd always been Bridget to Alex, which was the way I wanted it.

I glanced back toward the ocean. The late afternoon sun reflected harshly off the water. I squinted out toward the harbor entrance and saw Alex's boat just rounding the jetty. "I see him." I turned forward and hurried my pace again to keep up with Jaxon's big steps. My bare feet weren't helping matters. I stepped off the weatherworn planks without picking up any splinters but managed to stub my toe on a dent in the cement. I stumbled again. "Ouch, shit, my toe."

Jaxon spun around and held out his arms. "Climb on my back. We can go faster, and you'll still have feet at the end of this."

I laughed as I hopped up onto his broad back. He wrapped his arms around my legs. "Hold tight." He took off at a run.

"You say that a lot, sir, and as I've said before—no problem." I closed my arms around him tighter, and our bodies bounced together as he jogged away from the marina and onto a sidewalk.

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