Setting the drawing pad down, he turned to look at her. She was still in the same position except her eyes were open and sleepily staring at him. "I wanted to check on you."
"I"m good." She yawned. "Just very tired."
"And that"s what worries me." Slade frowned, walking toward the bed.
"I"ve got some human in me, Slade. Before I was turned, I could sleep all day," Jill sighed, closing her eyes. "Don"t you have a date or something?"
Slade frowned down at her, not liking that dig. "If you are referring to the phone number you handed me, you little smarta.s.s, it"s on the DMV floor."
Jill opened one eye to look at him. "She was pretty and obviously into you."
"Yeah, well, it seems I"m preoccupied by a pain-in-the-a.s.s woman who seems to constantly want to p.i.s.s me off," Slade growled. "Now sit up and let me check your head."
Jill slowly pulled herself up. "I"m not the one who ran off like a little bitc-"
"Watch it," Slade ordered with narrowed eyes as he sat on the edge of the bed. Gently, he used his fingers to pry her eyelids open wide so he could check her pupils. "Look up at the light." He repeated the action with the other eye. "And I didn"t run. Does that hurt?" He pushed on her head in different positions after he was done checking her eyes.
"Well, you walked out pretty quickly." Jill was looking up at him, and then grimaced when he hit the sore spot on her head.
"I needed to let off some steam." Slade pulled his hands away.
"You said it was a mistake," Jill countered, not giving in.
"No, I said it shouldn"t have happened," Slade corrected her.
Jill carelessly shrugged one shoulder. "Same thing."
"And once again, no." Slade shook his head trying not to smile. Usually, women who continued with the same issue over and over again got on his last nerve and he"d find any excuse to split, but Jill was entertaining when doing it. "A mistake is something I would never want to do again."
That seemed to stump her. She opened her mouth to say something then snapped it shut, looking away as she hugged her legs to her chest, putting her chin on her knees all the while looking at the wall. "So you would want to do that...again...with me?"
Slade"s lips curved up in a grin. "Listen, Jill. This is complicated."
Her head snapped back toward him. "No, Slade, it"s not. You either want me or you don"t. That"s not complicated. It"s a simple question requiring a simple answer."
The pressure of wanting to do the right thing had Slade itching to punch something. He wished it was that simple, but it wasn"t. She didn"t understand what was at stake.
"And your silence tells me all I need to know." Jill lay back down and curled up. "Close the door when you leave."
"You don"t understand," Slade growled, struggling to contain his frustration. "I"m doing this for you."
"Excuse me?" Jill swiftly stood, actually standing on her bed and threw her hands on her hips. "You"re doing what for me? Driving me f.u.c.king insane?"
Slade also stood, making them eye-to-eye. "Yeah, well, welcome to the world of the insane." His angry tone matched hers. "You think this s.h.i.t is easy for me?"
"Oh, what, coming in and f.u.c.king me, getting your jollies off and then walking out?" Jill put her finger to her lip as if thinking really hard. "Hmmm, let me think. Yeah, a.s.shole, I think it"s easy for you."
Don"t smile, Slade told himself. d.a.m.n, but she was cute as h.e.l.l when p.i.s.sed. "My jollies?" He couldn"t help repeating.
"Don"t you dare make fun of me." Jill pointed at him in warning. "How would you feel if I came into your room, f.u.c.ked the h.e.l.l out of you then ran out as if it was the biggest mistake I"d ever made?"
"First of all, don"t ever ask a man that question, because...well, just don"t, and I didn"t run out," Slade ended on a sigh. This was not getting them anywhere. But he did know one thing, if she was to come to his room and f.u.c.k the h.e.l.l out of him, she would go nowhere, but he kept that to himself since she didn"t seem in the mood to listen. She was revved up for a fight.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Doc," Jill hissed. "Let me make this easy for you-"
"What? You going to give me more women"s phone numbers?" Slade shot back.
"No, that was a mistake," Jill sneered. "I wouldn"t want to do that to another woman unless she was my enemy."
Slade crossed his arms to keep from grabbing her, which is what he wanted to do, but not to harm, unless it was a bare a.s.s spanking. A p.i.s.sed-off Jill was s.e.xy as h.e.l.l. Her skin flushed, her eyes bright with anger, chest heaving as she shouted out; her quick wit turned him on like nothing else ever had. He wondered how far he could actually push the little wildcat.
"Listen, baby..." It looked like the fires of h.e.l.l flamed her eyes, answering the question of how far he could push her. Not very far apparently.
Jill threw out her hand, the force pushing Slade toward the door. "Do not call me baby!" She gave a hard push with her hand, her eyes still on fire with anger.
Digging his heels in, he fought against her power. Slowly, he lifted his hand, pushing with his power against hers. "Don"t forget, I"ve got the same power and I know how to use it."
Frowning as her feet moved backward on the bed, Jill visibly tried to push back harder, but it was no use; she was moving quickly toward the wall. Slade followed by stepping up on her bed as if it was just a small step. She struggled with everything she had, but it was no use. He had her plastered against the wall, both hands up above her head without him even touching her, only his power kept her prisoner.
"What are you going to do now, bada.s.s?" Slade tilted his head, looking down at her. When she struggled to move, he smiled. "The things I could do to you right now."
A fire of a different kind lit her eyes, before a smirk curved her lips. "Go for it, Warrior." Her voice lowered in a s.e.xy timbre. "Then you can run out when you"re finished." Her voice changed to sarcastic in a flash.
"One of these days, I"m going to smack that sweet a.s.s of yours." The smile never left his lips and his eyes promised he would do just that.
"Promises... Promises," Jill responded as if she couldn"t care less, but her harsh breathing told him otherwise.
"Listen, and listen good, Jillian." He bent so his mouth was close to her ear, but his eyes still stared into hers. "Once your initiation is over, you are mine. Make no mistake, I will have you again and again, but for now, you focus on getting through initiation."
She sucked in her breath, biting her lower lip.
"If you"d keep that mouth of yours closed and listen, this whole situation would be different." He breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent; his c.o.c.k hardened painfully in his jeans. "But then again, that mouth of yours has its benefits because without it, I wouldn"t have you exactly where I want you."
"And where..." her voice cracked, causing her to clear it, "where"s that?"
"Plastered against the wall under my total control." He moved his head around, their lips brushing against each other as he made his way slowly to her other ear. "And that...baby...makes me hard." He pushed into her, showing her exactly how hard he was. The flare in her eyes let him know she liked being in his control, which made it that much sweeter.
He could feel her body tremble, could smell her need and wanted nothing more than to fulfill that need, but she was going to have to learn to listen and not automatically think he only wanted one thing from her. Oh, he wanted nothing more in the world at that moment than to sink deep into her tight warmth, but Slade wanted her and he was done hiding it, but she was going to finish the program before anything more happened between them.
"But-" Jill"s voice was harsh with need.
"There are no buts, Jill. I"m your trainer. That is most important right now," Slade replied before she could even finish her sentence. "This is the way it is and the way it will be. Finish the program and then we will see where we go from there."
Their faces were inches apart, breath mingling and Slade had control...until her wet, pink tongue snaked out to moisten her lips. Pushing away from her, he released his power, turned stepping off the bed, heading for the door. Jill followed him.
"So that"s it?" Jill stood on the end of the bed. "You"re leaving...again?"
Slade turned enough to look at her over his shoulder. "You heard what I said, Jill. Finish the program." His eyes ran over her body; his mind, as well as his hard c.o.c.k, demanding he walk back and take her, ease his misery and hers, but he was stronger than that. He meant what he said. He would not be the reason she failed or got killed. He was her trainer first and foremost, and at that moment, he hated his f.u.c.king job.
Walking out of the room was probably the hardest thing he had ever done. Before he could take a step, something big hit the door behind him. He smiled, shaking his head. Yeah, he was going to pay for this stunt, but their focus needed to be on her training and nothing more. Taking a step, he groaned, looking down, but first he needed to take care of his need. d.a.m.n that woman was going to kill him or drive him insane. His mind quickly wondered how she would ease her need. "f.u.c.k!" He shook the thoughts from his head, and walked faster to his room. Yeah, he was going to go insane.
Walking into a weight gym, Jax realized he had been right. The guy was a muscle head. "You see him anywhere?" Jax asked Sid, looking around.
"No." Sid walked over to the counter where a cute girl with a preppy ponytail and tight workout clothes stood at a computer. "h.e.l.lo."
She looked up, her eyes widening at Sid, then shooting for Jax. "Hi." She smiled, putting on her best sales face. "You guys interested in a membership?"
"h.e.l.l, no," Jax grumbled.
"Actually, I am." Sid laughed loudly, rolling his eyes. "And I"m trying to talk my buddy into joining with me, but he"s being a hard-a.s.s thinking he don"t need it."
The girl"s eyes ran up and down Jax, and from her expression she agreed; he didn"t need it. Then her sales" face returned. "You are in great shape." The girl nodded at Jax. "But this is a great gym with all the state-of-the-art equipment to help you stay in great shape."
"That"s what I told him," Sid sighed, shaking his head before looking back at her with his biggest smile. "So, can we take a look around before making the decision?"
"Sure!" Her excitement at a possible b.u.mp in salary by signing two new memberships had her grabbing papers. "I"ll get everything together on this end. You guys go check it out. I know you won"t be disappointed. Plus, we are the only twenty-four hour gym in the area."
"Thank you." Sid smiled down at her, making her blush. "I"m sure we won"t be disappointed in what we find at all."
Jax had already taken off. It was pretty empty since it was two o"clock in the morning. The place was big, and as Jax was about to give up finding the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Sid chuckled, pointing toward the back corner.
"He really is a douchebag," Sid smirked. "He"s going to be so happy to see me."
Looking to where Sid was pointing, Jax spotted the man immediately, standing in front of a mirror that covered the whole wall while pumping weights and looking at himself before flexing. "He"s mine," Jax reminded Sid.
"Just got your back, brother." Sid nodded, looking slightly disappointed as they made their way toward the iron-pumping a.s.shole.
Rod was too busy looking down at his muscle to notice two figures behind him in the mirror, but once he looked up, it was a photo moment because the look of shock on his face was cla.s.sic. Sid with his crooked you"re getting your a.s.s beat" smile and Jax"s I"m the one beating your a.s.s" glare couldn"t be misconstrued.
Dropping the weights, Rod tried to make a run for it, but had nowhere to go. Jax grabbed him by the back of the neck, forcing him down on a weight bench.
"What do you want?" Rod"s voice didn"t fit his body image. He sounded like a scared girl, his voice high with fright. "I didn"t do anything to Lana." His eyes shot to Sid.
"And you"re very lucky for that," Sid growled down at him.
"You like hitting women?" Jax smacked him on the back of the head, hard. "Does it make you feel like a man, you piece of s.h.i.t?"
"No, it was an accident." Rod"s lie p.i.s.sed Jax off even more, making him smack the back of his head harder.
"Try again, motherf.u.c.ker," Jax sneered down at him. "Do you know what my tribe did back in the day to men who abused their women?"
"No." Rod"s voice shook almost as bad as his body. "And I didn"t abuse Caroline."
Jax grabbed Rod by the throat, getting in his face. "You"re not even fit to say her name."
"Ah, Jax." Sid tilted his head, watching Rod"s face change colors. "I was hoping to prolong his suffering for a while; it"s more entertaining that way."
With one last squeeze, Jax shoved his neck away. "A woman should be honored, not beat on by little p.r.i.c.ks like you." Jax knelt down in front of Rod so the b.a.s.t.a.r.d could see the truth behind his words.
"So what did your tribe use to do?" Sid sat down on a weight bench next to Rod. "I"d really like to hear the story."
Jax"s smile turned evil as his fist clenched tightly; his piercing black eyes never left Rod"s. "First, after the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was found, he was tied to a tree. The elders allowed all the women to inflict punishment, but not kill. When the women were finished, the woman who had been abused had her turn, and it wasn"t pretty. Indian women could be more ruthless than the men."
"Go on." Sid leaned closer as if really getting into the story, which was f.u.c.king with Rod"s head.
"Once she was finished, the women would go back to their daily routines while the men took over." Jax"s face took on a menacing look. "If it was rape, his c.o.c.k was cut with expertise off his body. The shaman would sew him back up to make sure he would live so every day he could see his rotting raping c.o.c.k hanging from the woman"s camp."
"Holy s.h.i.t. Can someone really live without their d.i.c.k?" Sid leaned back, really thinking about that. "Then again, who the f.u.c.k would want to?"
"If it"s done right, they can, and believe me, our shaman had it down to an art and even showed men in the tribe how it was done so the punishment would live on after he was gone." Jax watched the sweat roll down Rod"s terrified face, a primal satisfaction filling his body.
"Let me guess." Sid snapped his fingers and pointed at Jax. "You were one of those men the shaman taught."
"I didn"t rape her. Is that what that b.i.t.c.h said? She"s f.u.c.king lying." Rod went to stand up, but was slammed back down.
"Shut the f.u.c.k up and listen," Jax warned, his eyes black as night.
"Yeah, I want to hear the rest, Rod." Sid"s face indicated he was loving every f.u.c.king minute of this.
"In my tribe, the punishment reflected the abuse," Jax continued. "If a man hit a woman, his hands were removed. If he bit a woman, his teeth were removed, and not in a pleasant way. Everything was done so that the b.a.s.t.a.r.d would live with his punishment and disgrace, every day."
"So what if they called her a b.i.t.c.h?" Sid asked, using his head to point at Rod.
"Then the nearest male would punch him in the mouth." Jax did just that before pushing Rod all the way back on the weight"s bench. "This is your only warning. If you ever come near Caroline or her family again, I will hunt you down, and believe me, you don"t want me hunting you down because once I find you, and I will find you, I will relive my roots and deal out every punishment I"ve ever learned. It will be painful and you will be hideous, but you will live. You understand me, motherf.u.c.ker?"
Rod nodded, tears rolling out of the side of each eye. He tried to answer, but choked on the blood from his mouth. "Yes," he finally muttered past his broken teeth and swelling lips.
Sid walked over with a bench lift bar loaded down with weights, setting it down across Rod"s chest. "I"m kind of impressed, Rod. If I was you, I"d be scared enough to p.i.s.s myself." Sid let go of the bar so all the weight kept Rod immobile, before he looked at Jax. "Hey, didn"t you guys scalp people also?"
"Yes." Was all Jax said as he pulled out a b.u.t.terfly knife, opening it with flare. "Our knives were a little bigger, but this would do."
Sid nodded, and then looked down at Rod"s crotch as his red shorts became darker with p.i.s.s. "And there it is," Sid grinned. "Figured that would do it."
Jax leaned over Rod. "Remember, you cannot hide from me."
Rod nodded and squeezed his eyes shut, a low keening coming from his throat.
As Jax and Sid walked toward the exit, Sid grinned. "Now that was fun."
Jax mumbled, still in his rage-mode.
"So what tribe were you with?" Sid glanced at him sideways.
"The one you didn"t want to f.u.c.k with, white man." Jax pushed his way out the door.
"Point taken." Sid nodded with raised eyebrows, and then smiled. "I"m going to like you, Chief. Now let"s go home and I"ll fix you up some grub."