“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me like that,” I say, crossing my arms. “Last time I checked, I’m still a human and therefore deserve the same damned respect. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to pee.”

Her eyes bug again, and I can’t help but notice how swollen her nose is. I do feel bad for that, however she’s not going to speak to me like a piece of useless trash. I walk into the bathroom, still thinking about the fact that Jax is having it off with his supposed “best friend.” I wonder if Red knows, because I saw the way he was looking at Tori.

Oh the tangled webs we weave.

I do my business and then head back out. Tori is gone, well, she’s not in the room anymore, and Jax is standing in the kitchen. I only notice just now that he’s wearing a pair of sweatpants and nothing else. Nothing. Else. My mouth drops open as my eyes slide over his incredibly hard, incredibly beautiful body.

He’s standing with his back to me, but even like that I can see how incredible Jax is. His back flexes and moves as he reaches for things, and the muscles beneath his skin are taut and seriously hot. His hips are narrow, dropping into a perfectly shaped ass. God. Yum. He turns and notices me staring at him. I quickly jerk my head away, and mutter, “I’m going to sleep again.”

“Why a bodyguard?”

I stop my retreat at his words. I turn slowly and stare at him. “Pardon?”

“Why did you do it? It’s not the easiest job in the world for a woman, and it’s clear you are dealt a lot of shit because of it. So why do it?”

I narrow my eyes. “Have you ever witnessed an act of true heroism, Jax?”

His eyes grow dark. “No.”

“Then you couldn’t understand.”

I go to turn again, but he keeps talking. “Enlighten me then.”

I grind my teeth and face him. “What for? So you can poke more fun at me? Don’t you think I’ve had enough for the day?”

“Come on, kitten,” he says, his voice teasing. “You and I both know you like the fun I poke.”

“Have you got a disorder?” I snap.

His brows go up.

“Because seriously, you’re broody one minute and then trying to tease the next. I’m concerned for your mental health, Mr. Shields.”

He bares his teeth at me. “Careful, kitten.”

“See,” I say, pointing to his face. “Disorder.”

He puts the cup he’s holding down and leans over, putting his elbows on the counter, resting his arms out in front of him. “I’m not asking to be a jerk, I want to know.”

“Because you heard Kyle waving his ego flag around earlier and you feel sorry for me?” I say.

“No,” he says simply. “I’m sure you’re a big girl and can take whatever that fuck knuckle throws at you. I’m asking because I want to know.”

I blink. Then burst out laughing. “Did you just call Kyle a fuck knuckle?”

He shrugs. “He is. His head is so far up his own ass I’m surprised he can walk straight.”

I can’t stop grinning.

“I’m glad someone else noticed,” I mutter.

“Why do you let him do that to you?”

I frown. “Do what? Speak to me like trash?”

“Yeah.”

“No offense, sir,” I say and his lips twitch. “But you spoke to me in a similar manner.”

His eyes flash and he turns away. “Yeah, well, I never said I wasn’t a fuck knuckle too.”

I am starting to think Jax Shields is more complex than I first thought.

“You really want to know why I do it?”

He nods, even though he’s not facing me.

“Well, believe it or not, I actually wanted to go into the armed forces, but my eyesight was poor. It’s always been like that and at the time, doctors could only do so much to correct it—I had Lasik but one of my eyes didn’t come as clear as they would have liked. I was devastated, because the position I wanted required perfect eyesight. A few years later I had a second surgery but the eye still didn’t improve, so I was forced to step back. After my dream went bust, I moped about, unsure what I wanted. One day I was out with my uncle, having lunch, when this man came past. He must have been someone important, because some of the ladies started fanning themselves. Anyway, he had a man dressed all in black behind him.”

Jax turns now and is watching me.

“Anyway like it was meant to be, this car drove by. The window came down and suddenly bullets were flying. My uncle pulled me to the ground, even though they were a little way ahead, but I didn’t miss the man protecting that guy. He single-handedly saved his life. I knew from that moment on that I wanted to do that—I couldn’t have the job I wanted, but I could serve and protect.”

Jax smiles. “You didn’t think of just becoming a cop?”

I grin. “No, I don’t know why but being a cop was never for me. I needed something different. I wanted to stand out.”

“Stand out you do, kitten.”

“Why are you calling me that?” I demand.

His eyes study my face. “Because you act like a tiger, but really, deep down, you’re nothing more than a scared little kitten.”

I scoff. “And you know me well enough after a day to know that.”

“Yeah,” he says simply, offering his cup to me.

I shake my head.

“How could you possibly read that much into me, in a matter of hours?”

He shrugs and leans a hip against the counter. “You took a lot of shit, but when it came to hurting Tori, you broke. I saw you crying in the car, and I saw the pain in your eyes when Kyle tore you apart earlier. You care, you’re not as tough as you’re trying so hard to be.”

“Did you forget I kicked your ass the first time we met?”

He smirks. “I went easy on you.”

I laugh and turn towards my door. “If you say so, sir.”

I reach the library and he calls out, “Maybe I was wrong about you, Delaney. Maybe you do have what it takes to do this job.”

I grin to myself and call out, “Careful, Mr. Shields, you might just come to like me.”

CHAPTER TEN

The next morning Nak calls me at the crack of dawn. With a grumble, I roll over and answer the phone. “Nak,” I say in a sleepy voice.

“Morning, Laney. Just ringing to check in. How is everything going?”

“It’s fine, I guess. I just woke up.”

“Did you do a late shift?”

I open my eyes wider. “Pardon?”

“A late shift?”

“I didn’t do any shift, Nak. Kyle told me he was doing the entire night shift and that I was off duty.”

Nak is silent. “Excuse me?”

Shit.

“It’s fine, I think he knew I was tired and—”

“He has strict orders, Delaney. You were to do half the night, and he knew it. I’m calling him. Sit tight.”

Before I can protest, he hangs up. Cursing, I get up and straighten my clothes before rushing out into the kitchen, where Jax and Kyle are standing. Kyle is just answering his phone, and I feel like hell for saying that to Nak. It just came out, I didn’t think Kyle had gone behind his back.