Beautiful Savage (Savage & Ink Book 2) Read online

  Blaine drives us back to his house and I barely remember getting cleaned up and changing into some of his clean clothes before we head to the hospital.

  It’s past three in the morning, yet when we walk through the door to Alexandra’s hospital room, she’s wide-awake, as if she’s been waiting for us to come back.

  The moment her gaze lands on mine, I nod, and she covers her mouth with her hand, understanding what went down.

  I spare her the details, because honestly, I don’t want to relive them. The sight of blood flowing onto the ground beneath his head will stick with me for a while.

  She doesn’t say anything, she just sits up and holds her hand out, letting me know that she wants me in bed with her. So I climb in beside her and pull her against my chest, holding onto her as if my life depends on. She holds me just as tight and it lets me know that we’re going to get through this fucked-up night together. I never want to let her out of my sight again. Not for a while at least.

  “I’m going to sit here for a while. Hope you guys don’t mind.” Blaine takes a seat in one of the chairs and runs his hands over his face.

  No one talks.

  I don’t think any of us knows what to say right now. All I know is that I can breathe again for the first time in days, knowing that motherfucker will never be able to hurt Alexandra again. I’d do it over and over again if it meant she’s safe and happy.

  She’s my world, and without her I can’t fucking breathe. I won’t risk anyone hurting her or taking her from me again . . .

  IT’S BEEN ALMOST TWO WEEKS since I was released from the hospital, and other than the yellow remains of the bruises left behind from Jasper, everything has gone back to normal for us.

  The small bit of normal we were able to experience before everything turned into shit, at least. It’s been a long, hard road to get things to where they are today. Seventeen years with me to be exact, and Jax never gave up on me once any of the times he’s been in my life. He’s proven to me multiple times and in many ways that he never plans to.

  Every day we’re together my love grows deeper for him and my trust for him strengthens.

  A smile takes over when the salon door opens to Jax and Mark walking inside. Today was my first day back here and Jax has made it his mission to stop in every other hour.

  “Oh, it’s you again?” I tease as he moves in behind me and wraps his arms around me. An instant feeling of warmth and happiness surrounds me as he pulls me in close.

  “Damn straight it is.” He smiles against my neck, before kissing it. “Think the girls will let you go early? I miss you like fucking crazy.”

  “I already told you no the last five times you asked. You can’t have Lex.” Madison steps out of the backroom, her face turning red when she notices Mark sitting in her chair. “You’re in the wrong chair, handsome. Ava’s is right there.” She points at the chair next to hers. “And she’s on break right now.”

  Mark smiles, before running a hand through his messy hair. “I thought I’d change things up this week. Mind giving me a cut?”

  Madison seems nervous as she runs her hands over the front of her jeans. I hadn’t noticed it before, but it’s pretty clear now that she has a crush on Avalon’s uncle. From what I can tell, Mark isn’t much older than her, maybe four to five years, and it’s hard to deny that he is a damn good-looking guy.

  A bit different from Blaine, in the more clean-cut with tattoos sort of way, but as far as I’ve heard they’re no longer sleeping together, because Madison is tired of him being incapable of opening up and committing.

  “This should be interesting,” Jax whispers in my ear. “Let’s go next door and grab some lunch while they talk.”

  “We’ll be next door. Want anything?” I add in passing.

  Madison waves me off as if she’s in a hurry to get rid of us.

  The moment we step out of the salon, Jax backs me against the building and kisses me hard and deep, wrapping his hands into my hair and groaning as if he’s been waiting forever to get me alone.

  When he breaks the kiss, I smile against his lips and wrap my arms around his waist, getting used to the way it feels to be able to touch him whenever I want. “Keep kissing me like that and I’m going to have to quit my job, so we can be together twenty-four-seven.”

  He moves his hands down to grip my ass. “The only thing I’d hate about that is seeing all the assholes eyeing you over at the bar. Besides, Ava and Madison would probably rip my balls off or kill me if I took you away from them. Especially the crazy one inside.”

  I laugh and slap his chest when he nods toward the salon. “So, are you going to take me to lunch now? Whatever the hell it is that I’m smelling has my mouth watering.”

  “Only if I get to have you for dessert after . . .” He moves his mouth up to brush over my ear. “I’ve been dying to make you come all day.”

  His dirty words heat me to my core and I almost forget we’re in public until Ava clears her throat beside us. “Am I going to have to kick your ass, Jax?” She smiles and pushes Jax’s arm. “If Royal can’t take me away during the work day to fuck me like he wants to then I can’t let you take my colorist. Business has tripled since she joined us. Feed her and bring her right back.”

  I laugh into Jax’s firm chest as he picks me up and pretends to carry me to his truck.

  “Twenty minutes, Jax!” Ava gives Jax a small smile and a wink before she disappears into the salon.

  Jax looks down at me in his arms, before placing me back on my feet. “Well, shit. Twenty minutes isn’t enough for what I want to do to you, so I guess I better do what I’m told.”

  “That’s probably best, because you’re going to need your balls later.” I grab his beard and pull him in for a kiss, taking my time to enjoy the feel of his soft lips on mine, before I ask him what I’ve been trying to hold back. “Are you sure you’re okay, Jax?”

  “I don’t regret what I did if that’s what you’re asking.” He flexes his jaw and looks down at me. “I won’t hesitate to take another man’s life when it comes to you, Lex. Do you hear me?” His hands move up to cup my face. “There’s nothing more important to me in this world than you. Do you understand that?”

  I nod, my heart beating faster from his confession. “We better hurry and eat.”

  He kisses me again, before guiding me to the door of the little burger spot next door.

  I know there’s nothing Jax wouldn’t do for me and there’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for him in return.

  He’s my Jax and I’m his Lex. Have been since I was eight and there’s nothing in this world that could change that . . .

  It’s been a quiet night here at Savage & Ink. Not that I’m complaining, because I’ve been contemplating closing the bar down early. I want to get home and finish what Alexandra and I started before Blaine’s dumbass called me in early, so he could go home and sleep his hangover off from last night.

  He’s been spending a lot of time getting demolished over the past week and I haven’t seen him this way since his sister died. It has myself, Royal, and Mark keeping a closer eye on him just to make sure he doesn’t drink himself into an early grave.

  Blaine may be the biggest pain in the ass I know, but he’s also part of our family. I hope he gets his shit together soon or finds a woman able to do it for him, because we all know he needs one to help level him.

  I was hoping that woman would be Madison, but he went and fucked that shit up, just as expected. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s been an idiot when it comes to women.

  “ . . . some bullshit, I tell ya.” Ted lifts his bottle and shakes it. “Another one, Man.” I grab him a new beer and toss his empty one into the trash. He’s still salty as shit about being assaulted by Mark, so he’s been grumbling about the “pig” since he walked through the door.

  I haven’t listened to a damn word that has left his drunken mouth other than him asking for more beer.

  I look down at my phone when i
t vibrates across the bar. My annoyance is temporarily replaced with happiness when I see who it is.

  Alexandra: Miss me yet?

  Jaxon: Fuck yes, baby. This night is dragging.

  Alexandra: I miss you too. Which is why I’m almost there . . . too bad you’re not alone.

  This woman knows I’ll give her anything she wants, which is why these pricks are about to find their way out the door much sooner than they expected.

  I press down on my painful erection and toss my phone down in front of me. I haven’t had sex with my woman in almost two weeks and my body is craving to devour every inch of her.

  “Time to leave. You have thirty seconds to finish your drinks and be out the door, before I drag you out one by one. The time starts right fucking now.”

  I get a few grunts from around the room, but this is an easy crowd tonight. Every last person in here knows not to question me, or any of the other guys when we give them an order.

  That’s why everyone complies, and in less than thirty seconds I’m standing here alone, watching the door, and sipping on a glass of Jack.

  A few minutes later, the front door opens and Alexandra steps inside, wearing the sexiest goddamn dress I have ever seen. I tilt my glass back and watch as she locks the door behind her.

  She takes a moment to observe the empty room, before taking a few steps, stopping beside the jukebox. “I told you people are intimated by you. That’s so damn sexy.”

  “Is that right?” I stand up and walk toward her, stopping once our bodies meet. I slide my hand into the back of her hair and gently tug it, so that she’s looking up at me. “Does that turn you on?”

  I watch the curve of her throat as she swallows. “Yes.”

  “Good,” I whisper against her throat. “You look so incredibly sexy that I’m about to bust my load just from looking at you. I’d rather be inside you when I do.”

  A small smile tugs at my lips when I notice goose bumps form across her smooth, tanned skin. I love how my words alone are enough to work her up. With a growl, I grip her thighs and lift her up, allowing her legs to wrap around my waist.

  She moans into my neck when my hard cock presses against her pussy. “I couldn’t wait for you to get home, Jax. I’ve been dying to have you inside me since Blaine interrupted us earlier.” Her mouth moves along my neck, making its way up to my ear, where she whispers, “Fuck me.”

  Her request sets me off, causing me to desperately reach between us to pull my throbbing dick out and enter her, slow and deep. She’s so wet that one thrust is almost enough to make me come, but I bite my bottom lip and still for a moment.

  “Fuck, baby. It’s been too long.” I move my hands around to grip her ass, spreading her cheeks apart as I begin moving in and out of her.

  Each time I enter her, her moans become louder and more satisfied and I know from the sounds she’s making that she’s just as close to coming as I am.

  “Not yet, Lex.” I back her against the jukebox and move my hand up to grip the back of her neck. “Hold on with me, baby.”

  She shakes her head and digs her nails into my arm. “I can’t, Jax. Not if you keep moving.”

  I smile against her mouth, because I feel the same way. We haven’t enjoyed each other’s body in so long that not coming right away is close to impossible.

  With a small groan I push inside of her and stop, before moving my lips up to meet hers. I capture her mouth with mine and kiss her, showing her that she’s mine and mine alone. I want her to know that no other man will ever touch her again as long as I’m alive.

  “Move, Jax.” She grips my biceps and begins riding me, coming down deep and hard each time.

  “Fucking shit, Lex,” I groan.

  We’re both breathing heavily, seconds away from losing control as I walk us over to the bar and set her down. As soon as she feels the surface beneath her ass, she leans back and grips onto anything she can get her hands on. “Harder, Jax. Keep going.”

  Using all of my strength, I pound into her, taking her deep each time, not stopping until she screams out her release and squeezes me with her thighs.

  She smiles below me and reaches beside us for the bottle of whiskey I was drinking from before she showed up. My cock twitches inside her at the memory of what happened the last time whiskey was present during sex.

  Leaning up, she brings the bottle to my lips and sloppily pours it back, some of it going into my mouth while the rest drips down my neck.

  She grips my shirt and pulls me to her, making it easier for her to run her tongue along my neck, licking the liquor from my body.

  “Take your shirt off, Jax.”

  I do as she says, fighting to catch my breath when she pours the whiskey down my chest and slowly licks it off, looking up at me.

  I’m so turned on that I grip the back of her neck with both hands and fuck her slow and deep, groaning out moments later as I fill her with my cum.

  “Damn . . .” I smile and pull her to me, so I can kiss her. “I don’t want to go that long without being inside you again.”

  She smiles against my lips, running her fingertips over my sweaty, wet chest. “It won’t happen again.”

  “Good,” I whisper, running my thumb over her cheek bone. “Let me clean up and get you home.”

  After I clean up our mess, we head home and take a quick shower, before spending the rest of the night out back, lying on the grass with her in my arms.

  It’s moments like these that mean the most to me. Just the two of us, together, like when we were kids.

  I knew from the first time I held her against me that it was a feeling I wanted for the rest of my life. I may have only been nine at the time, but I had never been so certain of anything in my life, and that hasn’t changed.

  If thirteen years of being apart wasn’t enough to erase her from my thoughts, there’s nothing or no amount of time in this world that can . . .

  Six Months Later . . .

  I CLOSE MY EYES FOR a moment and enjoy the feeling of the light breeze hitting my face. It’s been scorching hot for the last few days and today is the first day it’s been possible to step outside without breaking into an instant sweat.

  Contentment fills me as the voices of our family surround me. The family I’ve grown to love and admire over the months. I’ve never felt so at home in my entire life, and I never once imagined having a single person to call family, let alone a group of people who mean so much to me.

  As much as I want to erase what happened with Jasper six months ago from my mind, the fact that Jax took a man’s life to protect our future solidified there was nothing that could keep us apart again.

  Jax loves me and treats me like I’m not only his girlfriend, but his everything. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t remind me I’m his world. Others may look at Jax and see a savage, but I look at him and see life, and how he gave mine back to me.

  “You look really happy.” I open my eyes to see Ava smiling at me. I didn’t even know she was watching me.

  “I am,” I say honestly, pushing away from the picnic table. “Happier than I’ve been my entire life. And the news we recently got made me the happiest girl in the world.”

  Ava’s smile widens and I can see in her eyes that she’s truly happy for us too. It makes me all giddy inside when I think of all the things we can do as a family.

  I get ready to say just that when Jax slips in behind me and wraps his arms around me. He gives me a soft kiss on the neck, before rubbing his hands over my belly. “I still can’t believe that in less than thirty-six weeks I’m going to be a fucking dad.”

  “Language!” Ava pinches Jax’s arm and rolls her eyes for about the hundredth time since the cookout started. “If one of you grown men need to be told one more time to watch your mouth, I’m going to throw you out on your butts before it’s even time to eat.”

  I can’t help the huge smile that takes over at hearing Jax say he’s going to be a father. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing
those words come from his mouth. “You’re going to have to work on that dirty mouth before our little one comes. I’m going to need to work on not cussing so much too. We’re both bad, Jax.”

  “Why does it matter?” Blaine steps through the sliding door and closes it behind him. “I’ve been cussing since I was three and I turned out just fine.”

  “God help us,” Royal mutters from the grill. “You’re far from fine, so everyone watch their mouths around Kylie. The last thing I need is for her to take after one of you assholes.” He grins, because he knows he’s just as bad.

  “Really?” Ava shakes her head and tries not to smile when Royal grabs her hip and pulls her to him. “You cussing every time you tell someone else not to isn’t helping any. We’ve been having this discussion for almost two years now.”

  “Kylie knows better. I’ve had plenty of discussions with her.” Royal walks over to the pool where Kylie is playing with her dolls and bends down to her size. “Tell Mommy what you are not to do, angel?”

  Kylie laughs and jumps up and down, as if what she’s about to say is funny. “Don’t repeat anything my uncles say. Especially Uncle Blaine.”

  “There you go,” Royal says with a satisfied smile, before picking Kylie up and kissing her on the side of the head. “She listens to Daddy.”

  “Really?” Blaine throws his arms up, as if he’s offended that everyone thinks he’s the worst of all of them. “Don’t be mad because I’m the coolest uncle she has. She’ll learn on her own once she’s old enough.”

  “Think we should let our child call him uncle?” Jax asks beside my ear, before wrapping his hands in my hair and pulling back, so he can kiss me on the mouth.

  “Hell yes! Who wouldn’t want me as an uncle?” Blaine grabs a hot dog, shoves it into his mouth, and then jumps into the pool fully clothed.