Page 9 of Kiss Me

Gabi

After waking up,I stayed in bed staring up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what had happened the night before with Jax. I was at a loss as to what had made him shut down so quickly.

One thing I knew, me staring at nothing was never going to give me answers unless I overheard Jax talking to himself, and that was unlikely.

Padding down the hall to the kitchen, I stopped short when I found Jax leaning against the wall looking outside, lost in thought. When he didn’t immediately notice me, I took advantage and finally got a better look at him with the morning light shining on his face.

It was as I thought, Jax was gorgeous from head to booted toe. His hair was black, and it looked as if it was a few months late getting cut but in a good way. In a way that made me want to run my fingers through his hair and clutch it tightly with his head between my legs. His dark eyes, even from a distance, looked out longingly, but with a hint of loneliness that made me want to soothe his soul. Yesterday’s dark scruff was longer and sexier.

Jax had to be at least six foot tall. His broad shoulders and sculpted chest filled out his long-sleeved, white Henley flawlessly. It was obvious that he took care of his body and treated it well. Muscular thighs and an ass that I wanted to squeeze filled out his jeans in all the right places.

Everything about the man before me turned me on, but with the distant way he was standing there, and after last night, it didn’t bode well that I would get a hint of what was underneath his clothes.

“Are you going to stand there all morning looking at me?”

His quiet voice shocked me.How long had I been staring?I shrugged. Surely, he had to be used to women ogling him. “It’s not a bad way to spend my time. You’re easy on the eyes.”

Jax shook his head and let out a deep chuckle. “You might be the only one who thinks so.”

My head shook on its own accord. Jax was crazy. “Are you searching for compliments?”

Letting out a deep sigh, Jax moved away from the window and headed into the kitchen. “I don’t have a lot to offer for breakfast. The milk is still cold if you want cereal, or I have granola bars. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting company.”

Halfway through whatever Jax had been saying, I stopped listening. My entire focus was on the scar that started at his left eyebrow, moved down to his eye, and curved around his cheekbone.

Clearing his throat after catching me staring at him twice in under two minutes, his lips turned downward. “Not so eye catching, now am I?” he turned his back to me and opened a cabinet. “Do you want anything to eat?”

“Not right now. I’m not really a breakfast person. Normally, I drink two or three cups of coffee, but thanks for the offer.”

“Until the power comes back on, I can’t offer you any coffee.”

“That’s okay,” I said softly as I took in his demeanor that had changed from languid by the window to now stiff as a board. I had made him uncomfortable with my staring.

He sighed and said in a flat voice. “You can ask about it. I know you want to.”

I hated to ask, but he was right; I did want to know what had happened. Jax’s eyes darkened and filled with pain. All I wanted to do in that moment was to reach out and make it all better, but I had a feeling that Jax wouldn’t be receptive. He’d think I was doing it out of pity; when really, it hurt to see him in pain.

“I… well… okay. How did you get that scar?”

His eyes locked on mine. “It was in a bar fight.”

Even if I had wanted to, I couldn’t hide my surprise. My mouth formed a silent ‘O’ as my eyebrows shot up. “Really?” I had no idea how I thought he would have gotten his scar, but it certainly wasn’t in a bar fight.

“I hate to disappoint you, but it’s not that exciting.”

A dismissive sound escaped me, but I wanted to know too badly to care. “Let me be the judge of that.”

Jax stood quietly for a moment before he started to leave the room. Was he trying to get out of telling his story? I followed only to end up in the living room, where he started working on the fire.

Instead of crowding him, I sat on his plush black leather couch. This was the first time I was getting a good look at what Jax and his house looked like. The sky was still gray and dark, and the large Christmas tree was blocking a good portion of the window, but it was better than what I had gleaned last night with my headlamp.

It was clear that the house was indeed old. The rooms were small but had been renovated; everything looked brand new. It was a little surprising for a single man who wasn’t even in his thirties yet, or at least he didn’t look it. The furniture was black or dark woods that were stylish, but also comfortable. An extremely large TV hung above the fireplace in typical manly fashion. His Christmas tree was nicely decorated in whites, reds, and golds, with each decoration strategically placed, or at least that’s what it looked like to me. If I had seen the same tree in LA, I would have assumed it had been done by a decorator. Who the hell was Jaxson Stone?

He stood after stoking the fire. Seeing me waiting patiently, Jax smiled ruefully and gave his head a slight shake. Sitting down in the chair by the fire with the scar side to me, Jax gazed into the now blazing fire.

“Two years ago, my girlfriend and I were at a bar. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back out, this asshole was harassing her. Even from the hallway, I could tell that she was uncomfortable. I did what any guy would do; I got in between them and in his face.”

My breath caught knowing something bad was going to happen, and I wrung my fingers together.

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