“Hey.” He kept his tone hushed as he brought that hand back down to his lap. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I know.” She said it as if she actually believed him. “It’s just…I keep seeing those men.” A well of unshed tears filled her eyes as she stared into his. “Chasing us. Shooting at us. I really thought that was it.” Poppy swallowed hard. “I thought they were going to kill us both.”
Her voice cracked at the end, and suddenly all he could think about was making it better for her.
“Come here.” With his hands on her hips, Jax guided her around his knee so that she was standing between his thighs. “You’re okay, Pop.”Thank fuck for that.“I know what happened earlier was scary, but I promised to protect you, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“But at what cost to you? You were shot because of me.”
“A scratch.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Poppy shook her head. “The fact remains that you were put in danger because of me.”
“All part of the job.”
“Then maybe you should quit.”
“Quit being a P.I.?” He frowned. “Why would I do that?”
There was a slight hesitation in her answer, her eyes leaving his to focus on her feet. “Because I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you.”
Ah, darlin’.
“I feel the same way about you.”
The admission wasn’t intentional, but it was out there, and Jax couldn’t take it back.
Poppy looked back up at him. “Really? Why?”
That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?
Whydidhe feel such a strong connection to a woman he barely knew? A magnetic pull that, whether he liked it or not, made him ready to tear the entire world down just to keep her safe.
Jax didn’t know the reason behind the strong, unexplainable feelings he had for this woman after only a few days, but he also wasn’t going to lie to her.
“Honestly? I have no fucking clue. But one thing I do know…” He brought her even further into the V his legs created, his gaze dropping to that plump bottom lip. “I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
“Because I’m your client?”
“No, Kitten.” With a slow shake of his head, Jax brought both hands to her face this time, framing her soft cheeks with a gentle touch. “Because you’re you.”
“Jax…”
“Penelope…”
He wasn’t sure who moved first. One minute, he was staring up into those dazzling eyes of hers. The next, he was kissing her, their mouths tangled in reckless abandon.
Jax stood from the tub’s edge. He picked her up as if she weighed nothing, carrying her into the bedroom and straight to his bed.
Laying her insatiable body onto the mattress, Jax followed her down. He kept his weight steady, his forearms taking the brunt to keep from crushing her.
Have to protect her. In every imaginable way.
Including making absolutely, one hundred percent sure that she wanted this as badly as he did. Because if they did this…if he was with her in this way…it was going to change things between them.
This is going to change everything.
And he couldn’t fucking wait.