Page 13

CHAPTER 13

Jax

D ee Gallagher didn’t cry.

I was pretty sure she’d consider it a cardinal sin to shed a single tear where anyone could see, and she’d probably set herself on fire before admitting she needed help. So, when I saw the tears in her eyes, every protective instinct inside me screamed to take care of my woman like I was some fucking caveman. And when it came to Dee, I did feel like a possessive alpha male that I didn’t recognize. I wanted to put my fist through Big Gil and Cillian O’Farrell’s face for hurting Dee, for making her cry . She was one of the strongest women I knew, and I couldn’t stand her sorrow; I just couldn’t.

I held her as she sobbed her heart out on my bed. It killed me not to be able to just fix this problem for her, but I vowed that I would. Cillian O’Farrell would rue the day he caused my Dee pain. Big Gil…well, he didn’t give a shit about Dee or anyone else. He’d only respond to more money or a better offer.

I stroked her back.

“I’m losing…everything,” she wept.

Damn it! What was a man to do when he saw his strong woman break down like this? My first and only instinct was to go on my knees and promise her that nobody and nothing would ever cause her pain again. Yeah, tall order, considering life didn’t work that way, and even more importantly, I didn’t work that way. I wasn’t this man who protected and coddled a woman. And Dee wasn’t the kind who’d just accept a coddle without kneeing me in the balls, except when she was devastated, as she was now.

I felt the prick of tears in my eyes in response to her anguish.

Fuck me! I’d gone ahead and fallen in love with Deirdre Gallagher, pub owner and gorgeous red-headed Wild Cat of Ballybeg. I had. I had fallen in love with a woman I’d barely kissed. I had fallen in love with a woman I hadn’t even had sex with. How the hell old was I? I wasn’t a teenager. Kids did shit like this, not grown-ass men like me. And, yet, here we were. She was crying, and I wanted to break something.

“Hey, baby.” I kissed her hair. “I’m going to make it all better. I promise.”

She pulled away and blinked, her sharp green eyes snapping into focus. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, baby, I know.”

“Stop calling me baby,” she admonished.

“Okay, baby, I won’t.”

Her face crumpled again, and she leaned her forehead on my chest.

Shit, this stung. Seeing her like this—it got to me in a way I didn’t expect. I hadn’t felt this way about Dani. No, I hadn’t. Dani had left a mark, sure, but this? This was something else entirely. Something deeper. Amara was right; all the signs pointed to it—I was in love.

It took a while, but she finally pulled away and sat, her hands on her lap. “I’m fine,” she mumbled, her watery, red-rimmed eyes ablaze with grief.

“Uh-huh.” I dropped a kiss on her lips. “You look real fine, sitting here by yourself like you’ve just lost a poker game to the Devil.”

Her lips twitched like she wanted to smirk but couldn’t quite manage it. “I have lost the game, and the Devil’s taking my home.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and I backpedaled, wanting to lighten the moment. This needed to stop. She couldn’t keep crying. I couldn’t stand it.

“No, you haven’t. You’re gonna kick his behind as you kick everyone’s.” I stroked her wild, curly red hair.

“I think I’m the one who got soundly beaten this time, Jax.” All humor left her and me.

I cupped her cheek. “You know, if you take a bath and eat Ronan’s full Irish and then take a nap, I promise you’ll feel better, and then you can kick my arse.”

“That’s nice of you, Jax, but I can’t. I have to?—”

I got up and picked her up bridal style. She squealed. “What do you think you’re doin’?”

“Getting you into the bathtub,” I said, as calmly as if we were discussing the weather.

“Jax Caldwell, you put me down this instant!” she screeched, her fists thumping against my chest, though she didn’t exactly have much force behind it.

“Can’t do that, Dee. You’re running on fumes, and if you won’t take care of yourself, someone’s gotta step in.”

She kicked her legs, but I had a firm grip and wasn’t about to let her go.

“You’re mad! Completely feckin’ mad! I’ll drown you in that bloody tub!”

“Fair enough.” I carried her into the bathroom, kicking the door open with my foot. The tub was already filled with warm, soapy water, steam curling into the air. “But first, you’re getting in.”

Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare?—”

Before she could finish, I stepped to the edge of the tub and lowered her in, fully clothed. She spluttered as the water splashed over the sides, soaking my shirt and the floor.

“Jax! You absolute eejit !” She sat up in the tub, swiping water out of her face.

I grabbed a towel and tossed it over a nearby stool, grinning despite the death glare she was giving me. “There. Nice and cozy. How’s the water? Too hot? Too cold?”

“It’s wet, you jackass!” she snapped, though the sharpness in her tone didn’t entirely hide the faint twitch of amusement tugging at the corner of her mouth.

I knelt by the side of the tub. “You can yell at me all you want, Dee. I’m not leaving until you promise to relax for once in your life.”

She glared at me, her wet hair plastered to her face. “I’m relaxed. I’m perfectly relaxed.”

I raised an eyebrow and reached for the hem of her drenched sweater. “Alright then, let’s help you get comfortable, Wild Cat. Can’t exactly soak properly in all your clothes, can you?”

She slapped my hands away, but her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. “You’re an arsehole and a pervert.”

“And you’re exhausted.” My tone softened, and I cupped her cheek again the way I had before. This time, she didn’t swat me away. “Dee, let someone take care of you for once. Just this once. Give me that, yeah?”

Her shoulders slumped, and the fight left her. “I can’t, Jax,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “If I stop, everything will fall apart.”

I shook my head, brushing a strand of wet hair out of her face. “Nothing’s going to fall apart, baby. You’ve got Ronan, you’ve got the whole village behind you—and whether you like it or not, you’ve got me.”

She looked at me for a long moment, the tension in her face slowly easing. Finally, she sighed and leaned back in the tub, water sloshing around her. “You’re still an aresehole!”

I smiled. “I’ve been told.”

I helped her out of her clothes, and it took a minute because wet jeans weren’t the easiest to take off a body, especially when I was distracted by said body.

Once out of her clothes, she closed her eyes, soaking in the warmth of the bath. I could see her through the water, but I turned away. It seemed wrong, even though I desperately wanted to see my Dee naked. But I wanted it to happen when we were in bed, wanting one another, and not because one of us was exhausted.

“Fine. You win,” she murmured drowsily. “But if I fall asleep in here and drown, it’s on your head.”

“Fair enough.” I stood and grabbed a towel to dry myself. “Now, relax, and I’ll make sure you get your breakfast—and we can leave the arse-kicking for when you’re fully rested.”

Dee pouted, her eyes still closed. She looked fucking adorable. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to argue.”

“I’m very lucky, darlin’ Dee, and not only because you’re tired.”