Page 135 of Fierce-Jax

She was willing to bet he hadn’t slept much last night.

Since she surprisingly did, she wasn’t sure about Jax.

There was so much going through her mind, but she was at peace enough that no one was trying to harm her daughter.

That everyone wanted the best for Gianna.

At least that was her hope and her gut was telling her she needed to go with it for now.

“What is it you want me to do?” Jax asked.

“Are you mad at me?” she asked.

He’d held her last night in bed but hadn’t touched or comforted her the way she would have liked.

The way she wanted.

“No,” he said.

“But you’re quiet,” she said, moving to lie on his chest, her hand on his cheek.

She loved this beard he always had in the morning and sometimes wished he’d keep it.

The rough side of him was a turn-on.

“Because I’m not sure what to do,” he said. “I’m afraid of pissing you off and saying or doing the wrong thing but wanting to be there for you at the same time. It’s hard to balance.”

And the soft side of him came out more and she realized she was in love with this side the most.

“I discovered that balancing things in my life isn’t easy.”

“No,” he said.

“Can I tell you what I want?” she asked.

“Please do,” he said, his hand running down the side of her face.

“I want you to take my mind off of what I’m going to have to deal with when we pick up Gianna. I know my mother would have told my father and he’s going to be pissed.”

“As he should be,” he said.

She pinched him. “Now, now.”

“He’s going to be upset that your mother might have put herself at risk,” he argued.

“I know,” she said “And I felt bad, but my mother could have said no.”

“She wouldn’t have and you know that,” he said.

“I do,” she said, laughing. “And talking about this isn’t relaxing me.”

“What do you want me to do?” he asked. “You’ve never had a problem voicing things before. All but asking me out.”

She laughed. “Thanks for the laugh. I needed that. I wanted you to make love to me last night. I wanted to feel like you had me and would keep me safe because when I’m in your arms that is how I feel.”

He smiled softly, his eyes almost filling.

She’d never said a man was weak who got emotional.

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