Page 39 of Jealous God
I blinked at him stupidly. Had he just said that? Sensing my shock, his laughter died. Holding out his hands in surrender, he carried on. “I love the club, and I love my brothers, but none of them would ever make you happy. So, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying anything bad about them. All I’m saying is that you look happy.”
I frowned. If I looked happy, then why wasn’t he? Because he wasn’t. One look at his face told me that. “And that’s a problem because?”
“It’s not a problem until it is, El.”
I rolled my eyes. “Cryptic much. Explain what you mean.”
“You know what it means.”
I opened my mouth to tell him, and then snapped it shut. Because he was right, I did know. The silence between us lengthened until I finally found it in me to admit it.
“Because this all ends when we get home.”
He nodded his head. “And you like this guy. You won’t want it to end. You tell yourself you’ll be ok with it, but I know you, El. You fall fast and hard, and Jax will break your heart and then...”
I swallowed hard. Yeah, I knew what happened then. “And then the Sons get involved.”
TWENTY-THREE
Jax
There was something mouth-wateringly wholesome about her. When she stripped off the hard outer shell, of course. It didn’t hurt that she had stripped everything else off as well. Her delectable curves were barely encased in the tiny pale blue bikini she had donned, and with water dripping between the valley of her breasts, it was a wonder that I hadn’t gone into the ocean and dragged her off Erik’s surfboard an hour earlier. But somehow, I’d managed to control myself. Partly because if I had, the others would have never let me hear the end of it. And partly because she looked like she was having fun. Her laughter filled the air even above the crash of the waves and the high-pitched screeches of the gulls.
I liked seeing her have fun. Because it seemed so alien to her, and I didn’t want to spoil that for her.
“Are you still sticking to this nonsense that this ends when you get home?” Tate asked as he reclined topless next to me. There were no tattoos on his skin, but it caught everyone’s eyes, regardless. He looked like some kind of tanned Greek god. And he was totally oblivious to it, which just attracted people even more. Not that we had to worry about that much where we were. The stretch of beach was practically deserted. It was Erik’s favourite place to stop when we were on the road. If he could have bought it, I was certain he would have.
I side-eyed Tate. “Who told you...ah, Dion.” I shook my head and my eyes found her again. She appeared to be spending more time in the water than on the board, but it didn’t seem to bother her.
“So…?”
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s only been a few days and…”
“And you only have a few more left. Are you telling me you're ready to let that…” he motioned towards the waves and Elodie’s girly giggles. “...go, so soon?”
Was I? I wasn’t the sort of guy to get into a relationship. I never had been. But I hadn’t even hesitated in claiming her for the remainder of the tour. Could I happily wave her goodbye when we got home without a second thought? Could I let her go, knowing full well that our paths might never cross again? Without finding out ifsomethingcould happen between us.
“Didn’t think so.” Tate crossed his arms behind his head.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t need to. She’s under your skin, brother. You might not realise how deep, but you will.” Cracking open one eye, he met mine. “You let her walk away from you and you are going to realise that shit hurts.”
“Speaking from experience?” I couldn’t help asking.
Tate’s powerful shoulders moved. “I’ve had my heart broken a few times. We all have.”
“Not me.” My eyes were back on Elodie. She was up on the board now, her feet planted firmly apart. Catching my look, she raised her hand in greeting, lost her balance and fell backwards with a splash and a small scream. I laughed before I could help myself.
“That’s because until now none of us were sure you had a heart, Jax.”
I barely heard him. “Shit, she shouldn’t be under the water, not with her stitches.” With a bound, I was on my feet, knowing it was already too late. She was drenched from head to toe.
“See what I mean.” With a groan, Tate sat back upright. “You care about her.”
“I just don’t want her to open those cuts. That shit will hurt.” But was that really it?
“Erik has covered it in some kind of waterproof band aid, so sit your ass back down unless you want to admit to me that you’re going into that water because you can’t keep your hands off her.” A smug grin flashed across his face. And it was the kind of grin I wanted to wipe off because he had hit the nail on the head.
