Chapter 3

Jax's POV

The thump of the beat was starting to get on my nerves. And the chick next to me wasn't helping. Ella, Elisa... umm, Eloise, or whatever her name is—as if I care—kept rubbing her silky bare legs against mine. And here I am, instead of taking what is being offered to me on a platter, I am thinking of a certain brunette with big baby blue eyes. Honestly, I didn't expect her to be what she is. I thought she would be... I closed my eyes to stop myself from imagining things that I don't want. I gripped the liquor glass tight and emptied the liquid down my throat. It burned like hell because I am not a drinker. Not by choice, though. The last time I had, I was a mess. I shouldn't have had it then and I shouldn't have it now. It triggers sickness. But today it's different. That girl is going to ruin me; I have a strong feeling about it. No matter how much I drank, I just couldn't stop thinking about her eyes. When she looked at me, it felt like she pierced into mine.

So I decided to just have at least one glass to calm my nerves and distract myself from my disorientation that is none other than my firecracker roommate.

"Looks like you are enjoying what I am doing," the girl purred against my ear, snapping me out of my thoughts of my doe-eyed roomie. She traced my stubble with her polished nail and settled her finger against my lips. I watched her lick her lips in anticipation. My libido took a downhill dive. What the hell! I have never experienced this. I cleared my thoughts and tried to give my full attention to the purring babe now.

I mapped her up and down. She is sexy; I have to give that to her. The golden hair framed her heart-shaped face. Her silvery eyes held a sexy night promise, yet I was not interested. Damn the eggplant.

She leaned further and brushed her assets against my bare arms. I growled and pulled her against me, crashing every inch against my hard muscles. Yet I felt nothing at all. No kick of desire. I think I need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

I closed my eyes and all I could see was her scared eyes, full of apprehension, yet fear of something. Her pouty little lips parting in invitation. The quivering of it suggested she was nervous, but her breathing told a different story altogether.

"You want me," the girl in my arms touched her lips against mine. And everything inside me stopped. No, I don't want this. Shit, I led this girl on and I have to stop her before it goes out of my hand.

I pulled her hair to stop her from assaulting my lips and purred against her. "If you don't stop, then I will take you in front of this audience," I lied.

"That sounds like a promise, J. Or are you all talk and no play?"

I gave her my trademark, knee-melting smile which works around the women. Then started walking backwards without breaking the eye contact.

"I will call you soon, honey; keep that thought in your mind." Then, without wasting a single second, I turned and walked away.

Damn! The headache. Shouldn't have boozed. It's all her fault. The way she blew hot and cold is beyond my understanding. One moment I saw something in her curious eyes and the other moment she is shoving me and barking at me to move away. And here I am, ruining my perfect night out thinking about that crazy woman, whereas I could have fooled around with that fake-boobed girl.

I lazily returned to the house, my headache escalating. My head feels like it will burst out anytime. Argh!

I opened the door and went inside. It was eerily quiet. Looks like the crazy woman is sleeping. Thank goodness for the silence, a relief to my throbbing head! After taking away my sleep, she is sleeping peacefully. Perfect. After a few steps, a sound stopped me dead in my tracks.

I carefully eyed the living room. My eyes adjusting to the darkness. It looks cleaner than the way I last saw it. I stumbled into the living room and saw a red ball on the sofa. A ball that snores. Yep, a ball snores when it deflates. Try it, if you don't believe me.

Wait! That's not a ball. It's a human. It's... it's her. Snoring softly. But the actual question is, why the hell is she sleeping on the sofa? I went towards my point of attraction. I could only see her white face. Her entire body was covered with her red quilt. Hair splattered all over her face. How adorable. The more I looked at her, the more I discovered her features. I won't call her beautiful as such, but there was something about her that held my interest. Her face was round. She was kinda chubby. But her body was petite as far as I remember. A dash of light brown freckles dusted her nose—a very strong nose. Her lashes were decent. But her mouth, holy hell. It was sinful. Lush, ripe, beautiful. One could write poetry on them. As if she could sense my thought, she let out a little whimper and then adjusted her head on the pillow, making her lips pouty. Shit! How can a sleepy, adorable ball make me feel uncomfortable in places. I adjusted my jeans and lingered beside her for a few more minutes.

I was wrong. She is beautiful. Almost angelic. Not my kind, though. Hell, not at all my kind. And I will make sure of it. She is off-limits. Argh. How can I let myself get affected by this woman? The headache, which was momentarily gone vacationing, came back.

Urgh! Moving towards my room, I decided to take a couple of Advils and sleep off this mess I have landed myself into.

As I gulped the tablets down my choking throat, the glass slipped from my hand and clunked hard on the wooden floor. Thanks for being so bloody drunk. Sighing, I started to move towards my room.

Oh, hell. The walking red. She just scared me, yet she's clutching the quilt against her chest as if I scared her.

"Relax," I tell her. "It's me."

"Don't come near me," she wailed.

What the f*ck? I turned around and switched on the lights. She flinched and closed her eyes tightly, then opened them as if clearing her vision.

"It's you," she sighed. Relief marking her face instead of fear.

I was curious about her behavior. What ticks her. Though I shouldn't give a damn. But the sweat beaded on her forehead inflicted something inside me. She was clearly scared as hell. And why do I care, anyways?

She rubbed her forehead with her horrendous nightshirt which was full-sleeved. No wonder she was perspiring.

"Why were you sleeping on the couch?"

"I... I..." she stammered, trying to make sense of the situation, maybe.

"Is it an invitation, Eggplant? Were you thinking that I will lift your sleepy head and tuck you to bed?"

Her baby blue eyes went huge.

She sank back into the sofa. "You are an unbelievable a**. So full of yourself."

Ah! Finally, I got her back.

She tried to get up from the sofa, but her butt hit it back with a thump. I frowned.

"Damn!" she let out a little protest, as if fighting some pain.

She dragged her body towards the hand rest and leaned to get something from behind.

Crutches.

She gripped them hard and pulled her body up. The quilt pooled around her feet and she let out a curse.

Once she was steady enough, she placed the damn crutch on the sofa and picked up the quilt.

I don't know why I stayed glued to my place. I didn't offer her any help. Probably because I thought she was used to this kind of situation. She seemed so strong that I didn't feel a single ounce of pity. I quickly glanced towards her leg and saw her putting her entire body weight into her right foot while she managed to fold the damn thing.

Once done, she took the crutch once again and headed straight towards me. Goodness, I am proved wrong once again. She is not only beautiful; she is damn gorgeous with those messy hair locks. Fiery yet adorable.

"Don't even think of touching me, mister. Sleep or no sleep, I can take you down anytime."

I was amused. She’s gotta be kidding me. She is not even half of my size, and here she is talking about taking me down. I can't help but smile.

"You think because I walk with my crutches I am weak? You are wrong. This is my shield. One hit in the right place, I can make you see stars and you will forget how to make babies."

That's enough. I took a step forward. She took a step back. I didn't care she was on her crutches. She has the balls (ugh, read: vagina) to threaten me with that damn thing. We were almost nose-to-nose when she lost her balance and fell back on the sofa.

Her baby blue eyes were big like saucers.

"Don't..." But her words never came out after that because I silenced her with my finger. Her lips trembled against my finger and I cursed inwardly. What am I doing?

"Let's see how strong you are, baby," I lifted her up in one fluid motion, startling her.

For a moment she was too stunned to react, but when I started walking, she twisted and started hitting me with her small fists.

"Put me down," she protested. "Now... or I will bite you."

"Try that and face the consequences."

I took her to her room and dumped her on the bed roughly. Her eyes were wild. She scrambled back to the farthest corner of the bed and scowled at me.

I went outside and got the quilt and threw it on her face.

"Lock your room when you sleep. I don't want your sweet a** outside."

With that, I turned and shut the door with a thud. After a few seconds, I heard a click.

Thank god. I slumped against the door. I have my reasons for putting her inside the room. I don't want her to witness. Period.

I looked at the crutches which were lying on the floor. I ran my fingers through my hair. I just couldn't take it when she failed to stand. I just couldn't see her like that. Why is this happening to me? Why do I care? Those crutches disgusted me. I hate them. Period. Especially in her hand. So many questions crowded in my aching head. Why did she use crutches? What's wrong with her leg? Why was she so scared when she first saw me? This is not how it was supposed to happen. I am supposed to hate her, not help her. It's all going to change tomorrow. I'll make sure it does.

I went to my room and threw myself on the bed. Sleep was far, far away.