He grinned. “I can’t give birth to babies.” She swatted his chest and Jaxton captured her hand and squeezed it. “Now, tell me. What happened?”
She stared at their hands as she spoke. “The head warden often came to my cell for inspections, to make sure my injuries were healing.”
“Because they whipped you more than once.”
She looked up at that and nodded. “Yes.” She looked back to their hands on his chest and he squeezed her fingers gently. “But the head warden had his own kind of inspection.” She closed her eyes, her voice a whisper. “He would strip me and force me to stand while he looked at me.”
Fucking bastard. Kiarra flinched and Jaxton loosened his grip on her hand. “Sorry, pet. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but just the thought of what he did to you makes me furious.” He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “Did he ever…hurt you?”
“Thankfully no.” She traced designs on his chest with her free hand. “The head warden died within a few months of my confinement, before he ever had the chance. They said it was a heart attack.” Jaxton harrumphed and Kiarra looked at his face. “What was that supposed to mean?”
Sulking wasn’t his usual way, but Jaxton didn’t care. “I wanted to kill him for you.”
She smiled. “In an odd way, that’s sweet.” She searched his eyes. “But you really believe me, just like that?”
The note of skepticism in her voice irritated him. “If given the choice between believing a clever, spirited, beautiful, if somewhat naïve young woman, or believing a man who worked for a system
that imprisons and tortures children, which would you choose?”
Kiarra blinked at his praise. She was unused to it, which meant Jaxton needed to do it more often. Kiarra didn’t know how much she had to offer the world. Certainly more than her lack of elemental abilities or her body. Hell, she could call him out on his shit for one thing, which was a task in and of itself.
Kiarra shook her head to herself and he wanted to know what she was thinking. There would come a day when she wouldn’t hide anything from him, especially since he wasn’t letting her go anywhere for the foreseeable future.
But right now, she still didn’t feel comfortable enough to confide in him without reserve. He was about to ask what was on her mind, but she beat him to it with her own question. “That’s oversimplifying things. What if I’m working for them?”
Neena would never let a traitor into their inner fold, but Kiarra didn’t know that. He lowered his face close to hers. “Are you?”
Kiarra raised her chin. “No.”
“Then don’t bring it up.” He tucked her short hair behind one ear. “I was trying to compliment you earlier, you know.”
“Was that before or after you started growling and scowling at me?”
Jaxton smiled. Kiarra might have some undesirables in her past, but she was stronger than the memories. Any woman who stood up to him was not weak in character.
He lowered his head, stopping an inch from her lips. “Well if growling and scowling is what it takes, I think I can handle that.”
Short breaths puffed against his lips. “To do what?”
He trailed the back of his fingers down her throat and up again. Her breath hitched, and Jaxton smiled wider. “To make new memories strong enough to overshadow the old.”
Kiarra raised an eyebrow. “You seem pretty confident about being able to do that.”
He moved to her ear and whispered, “It’s been working so far, but I might need to change tactics.” He bit her earlobe and waited to see how she would react. If she froze, he’d back off and merely hold her, but he had a feeling she was stronger than that. When she moved her hand up behind his neck and groaned, he gave a gentle nip and licked her ear. “Well, what do you think, pet? Shall we try a little harder?”
The fingers on his neck hesitated, but after he kissed the soft spot just behind her ear, she kneaded his skin and titled her head to the side. Jaxton took that as an invitation and kissed down her neck to where her neck met her shoulder and bit gently. He blew against her wet skin and Kiarra shivered, but this time in a good way.
Jaxton lifted his head and cupped Kiarra’s cheek. “I think it’s working.”
She tightened her grip on his neck and pulled his face down to hers. “Stop gloating and kiss me.”
Her mouth swallowed his laugh and opened to invite his tongue. As he darted and tangled inside her mouth, he drew Kiarra’s body closer, wanting her to know it was him and not a shadow of the past. When the sharp buds of her nipples rubbed against his chest, he groaned and rubbed his cock against her stomach, letting her know he wanted her too.
But it wasn’t enough. He grabbed her arse and lifted her onto his lap. Kiarra wrapped her legs around his waist, her core now against his cock, and despite the layers of clothing between them, he thrust. Kiarra groaned and moved her hips, the friction making him want to toss her on the bed and rip off her clothes. But he concentrated, determined to make this good for her, and started trailing kisses down her neck until he reached the neckline of the red dress she still wore from last night. He nuzzled the swells of her breasts and said, “I want your hard little nipples in my mouth.” He nipped the top of her left breast. “Lift your dress for me, pet.”
He could feel Kiarra’s breath on his face, but he watched as she lifted her skirt up over her bra, her actions unsure, lacking confidence. Jaxton could help with that. “So beautiful,” he whispered.
She flushed down to her neck and he found it adorable. He leaned down and licked her nipple through the lace of her bra before latching on with his mouth and sucking it through his teeth. Kiarra’s fingers threaded through his hair and she pushed her chest out in invitation. Jaxton nipped the tight bud and released it, wanting to free her breast and nibble on the soft underside before tracing her taut peak with his tongue. But just as he gripped the top of her bra to pull it down, his mobile phone rang.