Jaxson's Angel (4 page)

Angel was a little taken aback by the look of awe coupled with a softer emotion he wore on his beautiful face. She'd never really had a "relationship," but only because she'd never had time for one. Of course, she'd never been interested in such things before either, but she was now.

The feelings coming to life inside her were new and exciting, just like this new chapter she was about to start in her career, so maybe a relationship would work out to her advantage now as well. She cautioned herself to take things slowly, though. Jaxson's own brother had called him a ladies' man, so she would certainly be smart to proceed with caution. She had no intention of leaving this vacation with a broken heart.

"So what would you like to do tomorrow?" he asked.

"You're the one who knows the area, so surprise me." They were heading back to the car when a big yawn took her by surprise. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be. The sun and the heat will really take it out of you. Colton mentioned you were from up north, so the humidity will probably take some getting used to as well."

"Probably so," she agreed. Jaxson, playing the gentleman, held the door for her to climb into the car. "Thank you."

"Not a problem."

It was a short drive to the beach-house with the setting sun casting a warm glow over everything in sight. Angel managed to write down her favorite book's title so Jaxson could familiarize himself with his brother's writing and hopefully realize the talent behind it.

In fact, the more she thought about it, the hero in that book could match Jaxson almost exactly in both personality and description. Would he notice?

"I want to show you something," he said, taking her hand and leading her up to the house.

"All right." She had no clue what he wanted to show her, but if it resulted in another kiss then she was definitely interested.

When they reached the porch, he quickly led her around to the spiral staircase leading up to the sundeck. "After you."

"Ever the gentleman," she teased, and nearly melted when he answered with a crooked little grin.

When they reached the top, Jaxson came up behind her to whisper, "It's not quite as good as the view from the condos, but it's still nice."

Nice? It was
amazing
. The sun was slowly sinking into the water, with clouds in varying shades of yellow, gold, and orange lending to the picture perfect sunset. "You certainly don't get to see something this spectacular in the city. It must be so nice to be able to see it every day."

"It is. I love watching the sun set in the evenings. I find it relaxes me, helps me to unwind after a long day." Jaxson's voice was soft, still only a whisper, despite the fact they were all alone. "I better head out, though. You need some rest, and I've got some reading to do before bed."

Angel turned to issue a reply and ended up the recipient of another bone-melting kiss. This time, he kept things light and sweet, pulling back far too soon to suit her.

"Wow" was the only word she could come up with.

"Yeah, I better go now, though, before all my good intentions fly out the window." He gave her that endearing half-smile again before turning away, leaving her staring after him and wondering if there was any way at all for her to keep her heart safe.

* * * *

Jaxson was anxious for Colton to get there. It had been three days since Angel's arrival, and every day they'd spent the evenings together. The only problem was, he was falling hard and fast for the woman, but had no clue if she harbored any serious feelings for him in return. Maybe Colton could shed some light on that for him. After all, they did spend the beginning of the day together while Jaxson ran the morning charters.

The bonding, which had already begun, gave him glimpses of her emotions, but only when they were very strongly felt. Fear was a major emotion easily felt, but love was a little trickier. You could love a friend as easily as you could love a pet, but people misinterpreted that sort of love for
real
love far too often. Jaxson wasn't sure if it was the real deal for her or if he was just a vacation fling.

In truth, he'd never felt more insecure in his life, and he didn't like it one bit. Usually, if a woman lost interest in him or wanted to just remain friends, he was cool with it, but not with Angel. He
needed
her, craved her, dreamed of her…he was rapidly approaching obsession where she was concerned.

That was another sure sign of a mate; the intense attraction and need for your other half. It's also what could drive a werewolf to insanity. If their mate denied the mating after a bond had already formed, then the wolf was left in perpetual agony, forever denied the one person who would complete him. Once a bond formed, it was a done deal. The wolf was now attuned to his mate, for better or worse, until one of them died. That could be an unspeakable torture if a wolf's mate found another to love in his place.

"Hey, why the sour look on your face?" Colton had arrived right on time, but without Angel today. Obviously guessing his first question, Colton explained, "I kinda got the feeling you wanted to talk, so shoot."

"Do you think Angel loves me?" he blurted. Man, he just didn't know how else to ask a question like that, and his nerves were in such a state that beating around the bush simply wasn't an option. "I mean, do you think she cares enough to maybe overlook the whole werewolf thing and still be with me?"

"It's only been three days, Jaxson. She's human, so she has no clue about the bonding or anything else that goes on in a mating either. You need to just stay calm and keep doing whatever it is you're doing, because it seems to be working just fine."

"What does that mean? Did she say something?"

Colton laughed and walked over to the cabin door. "She says a lot actually. We usually spend the morning talking about everything from book characters, which remind her of you, to various story plots, which she thinks you would enjoy." He placed his lunch in the little fridge and turned back. "She is always talking about you. It's kind of cute. I think it's safe to say she likes you for sure, but you need to remember she's not from here, and she's only visiting for the week."

"She could stay longer though." Jaxson wasn't ready for her to leave. He never would be. "She could stay with us."

"While that's fine with me, you also need to remember she has a life back north. She has a home, and friends, not to mention she needs to find another job now too. Angel wants to start her own literary agency, and it'll take a lot to get it up and running," Colton cautioned. "I don't want to see either of you get hurt, but with the bond already in effect, I'll admit I'm getting pretty nervous myself."

"Me, too."

"You? I never would have guessed."

"Sarcasm doesn't become you, brother." Jaxson sighed. "I'm not even sure what I'm doing anymore, Colt. It's getting harder and harder to pull back when we're together. I kiss her and I almost can't stop. I know it's confusing her when I pull away, I can feel it, but if we take things to the bed, then the bonding will be completed and I refuse to do that to her without her knowing everything."

Colton looked thoughtful for long moments before he finally spoke again. "You could use the books to open with. They pretty much go right along with the mating bond as far as description goes, and she's read them all. It would be a way to start on the topic at least." He shrugged. "I'm sorry I can't really help you any further, but writing about this kind of situation is a good bit easier than actually having it happen in real life. At least in writing it, I can control the outcome and reactions."

"Yeah, but I've read some of your books now," he confessed. "Angel was right about one thing. Some of your characters do resemble yours truly. I guess my good looks and suave personality just make me the perfect candidate." Jaxson puffed up his chest and gave his biceps an exaggerated flex.

"And Angel must be positively swooning over your modest nature," Colton remarked while trying to hide a grin.

"As she should be." His smart remark had Colton laughing outright. "Speaking of Angel, I'd better be going. I'm taking her to see the bands tonight out on the beach."

"Sounds like a fun night, you two enjoy it."

"I'll do my best to see she does." Jaxson gave a wink and jumped off the boat, feeling a little more comfortable with his chances where Angel was concerned and just plain anxious to be with her again.

* * * *

The music from a local rock band was deafening, making conversation impossible unless you put your heads together, and of course that led to nuzzling, nibbling, and a hot necking session in full view of the surrounding crowd.

Yes, things were getting very physical, very quickly, and Jaxson was finding it harder and harder to pull back. The urge to claim his destined mate was like a living thing inside him, clawing its way to the surface.

He needed to explain things. Every time he pulled back from her, he felt her confusion…and her hurt. How could he even begin to explain this all-consuming need to mark her as his and merge their souls for eternity?

His brother's advice came to mind, and Jaxson decided it would be the next best thing to just blurting it all out. Now he just needed to get her someplace quiet. Lucky for him, she had the same idea.

"Can we go?" she asked, barely making eye contact with him now.

Uh, oh
. "Sure thing. I'll go get the car and be right back." He darted off, leaving her on the sidewalk and no doubt even more confused over his actions.

He'd just decided on a good way to ease into the conversation when he began to feel uneasy. At first Jaxson figured it was his own nerves over the impending revelations, and then he realized it was Angel.

She was standing in a circle of four men, who were obviously intoxicated and attempting to flirt with her when he pulled up.

"Here's my ride, so I've gotta go now," Angel announced while waving to Jaxson.

As he brought the car to a stop, Jaxson's vision swam red when he saw one of the men swing Angel's slight body over his shoulder and begin spinning while his buddies whooped and hollered their encouragement.

Jaxson flung his door open and vaulted out. Angel continued to pound on the man's back and shout profanities with such skill, Jaxson stumbled to a halt and stared for a moment.

She had a mouth worse than any sailor! The effect, however, was utterly comical coming from her petite and proper self.

"That's quite a potty mouth she's got there, maybe she needs a spanking," one drunk called.

The one holding her took the suggestion seriously and gave a solid smack to her bottom that had her squealing in outrage…and the red haze was back.

"Put her down," Jaxson growled, fully aware his eyes were now more silver than blue. The eyes of his wolf.

"Chill out man. We were just playin' around a little. She ain't hurt," another drawled.

Angel stumbled briefly when she was set down, but she quickly recovered and snarled, "I'll give you 'hurt' you sorry sack of—!" The wail erupting from the man, after Angel's swift kick to his groin, drowned out the last of her comment and effectively dropped the guy to the ground. His friends all backed away from the clearly ticked off woman before them.

Jaxson fought off a smile, knowing his fangs had come down. He'd been dangerously close to shifting in his rage and needed to get himself in check, and quickly, before his physical changes became very noticeable.

Angel was radiant in her anger with her cheeks flushed, her green eyes a bit wild, and her chest rising and falling with each breath.

And his wolf wanted her.

Now
.

Angel took one look at him and immediately came to his side. "It's alright, Jaxson, they're just drunk and being stupid."

"They touched you," he snarled. "He hit you." He cast a murderous glare at the pitiful male still writhing on the ground before Angel took his face in her small hands and turned it to hers.

"I'm all right, and I think I gave worse than I got anyway." She gave him a sly, playful smile, and easily calmed the beast inside of him. "Let's go home now, okay?"

Jaxson smiled down at the little firecracker that was to be his mate. She was strong, and he could only pray she was strong enough to understand.

* * * *

Aside from his checking to ensure that she was indeed unharmed, the ride back to the beach- house was made in silence.

"I read a few of Colton's books." His statement effectively ended the silence, and tension, building in the cramped confines of the car.

"That's great! What did you think?" she asked as she got out and made her way to the door.

"I think I owe him an apology, actually." He gave her that crooked little grin she loved so much, and shrugged. "I assumed he was just writing mushy junk to try and get girls."

Angel laughed. "He certainly has a lot of female fan-mail, but he's always said he wants a woman who is interested in him for
him
and not for his novels."

"I can understand that. What I liked the most, though, was the bond between the man and woman in the stories." He leaned against the doors frame, all lean muscles and southern charm.

She smiled at the enticing picture he made. "I know. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a bond like that really existed?"

"What if it did?" He sounded so serious all of a sudden, and Angel found herself curious. Would he balk at her answer? Would he think she was one of the millions of hopeless romantics just waiting for her Prince Charming? She was about to find out.

"If it were me, I would embrace it." His shocked look prompted her to explain. "To have a man who, by destiny's own design, is perfect for you, would be an amazing thing. I couldn't imagine what a bond like that would even feel like. I mean, he describes it as them being able to feel each other's emotions and of having a soul-deep connection lasting forever…"

"Or until one of them passes away," he said quietly. "Then the other either wastes away pining after their lover, or they go insane from the loss."

"I don't remember that being in any of his books. Is Colton putting a new spin in his next novel?" she asked, excited by the prospect.