Falling For Jax (Falling Book 3) Read online

  “Oh, it all makes sense now. That was who Doreen saw you with months ago, wasn’t it? That is the bad boy with the tattoos? For goodness’ sake, Abigail, I cannot believe you have put us all in this position again. You told us we could trust you after everything that happened, but you’ve just gone and found yourself another thug, and yet again you seem to find yourself in a hospital bed because of it. What is wrong with you? Are you just plain stupid?”

  The moment I hear a sob from Abbi, I know that I have heard enough. I stand and pull the curtain back with such force that I actually pull it off some of its runners.

  “That’s enough. I will not stand here and listen to you talk to your daughter like that. She is suffering enough right now, she doesn’t need you making it any worse.” I walk straight over to Abbi and wrap my arm around her in comfort.

  “Excuse me, but this is none of your business. Who exactly are you?” she snaps, as she looks me up and down in disgust.

  “I’m the one who’s in love with your daughter, and I will not let anyone, even her own mother, talk to her in that way.” I say, desperately trying to keep a lid on my anger and emotions, and not shout so loud that we all get kicked out of the hospital. The gasps that come from the three of them as I say I love her, and the following silence, are almost deafening.

  “You love me,” comes a quiet voice to my left.

  “Yeah, baby, I love you so much it hurts,” I say, staring into her eyes so she can see just how serious I am.

  Her eyes immediately start filling with tears again, and as she blinks, one falls down onto her cheek. I lift my hand and brush my thumb over her soft skin to wipe it away. I leave my hand there and she leans into my touch. “I love you, too,” she whispers, so quietly I almost miss it.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Mrs. Evans shouts at the end of the bed.

  “Karen,” Mr. Evans snaps. It’s the first thing he’s said the whole time he’s been here.

  “I’m sorry, but this is crazy. Abigail, you cannot love him. I mean, look at him, what would everyone think? Look at all those tattoos,” she says, waving her arm up and down, indicating to mine. “And it looks like there’s a new one. For goodness’ sake, Abigail.”

  “You’re right, Mrs. Evans, there is a new one,” I say, as I reach up to pull the plaster off. Most of my artwork is just that, artwork, but tucked within are different personal reminders, memories and treasures that I hold dear. I pull the plaster off and lift my arm to show Abbi. There is no point in her parents looking; they will not get the significance of it.

  I watch her face as she studies my new ink for a few minutes. Mrs. Evans is still huffing, but I ignore her completely as I wait for Abbi to work out what the Roman numerals stand for. I see her counting in her head before her hand comes up to her mouth and more tears fill her eyes. “It’s the date we met,” she says, as her hand comes up to touch the skin around my new tat. “Twenty eight, eight, fourteen,” she says with a shaky voice.

  “Oh well, that’s just great. A tattoo of the date you met is meant to prove to me how you feel about my daughter, is it? Well, it doesn’t, so you can-”

  I snap. I can’t help it. In a low voice, I say, “I don’t care about proving anything to you. The only thing I care about it the woman lying in this bed that you, quite frankly, are being cruel to.”

  Mrs. Evans opens her mouth to say something, but Abbi beats her to it. “I think it’s time you left.”

  I feel my heart drop out of my chest at her words. She cannot be serious. After all of that, she is kicking me out. I turn to look at her to argue, but to my surprise, I see her glaring daggers at her mother.

  “I’m sorry I made you leave your holiday early, but if you can’t support me and my decisions, then I don’t want you anywhere near me,” she says, in such a strong voice that pride for her oozes from my every pore. She has done what she has been trying to avoid all these months - having to basically decide between her parents and me. But she has just done it, and I can’t even describe how I feel about the fact that they are the ones leaving and not me.

  We both watch in silence as her dad puts his arm around her mum’s shoulders and all but pulls her out of the bay. He turns around and mouths an ‘I’m sorry’ before heading off down the corridor until they are out of our sight.

  I turn to look at Abbi at the same time she turns her head to me, “Jax, I’m so-” she starts, but I cut her off by lowering my lips to hers. It only takes her a couple of seconds, but it feels like forever as I wait for her to catch up and open up for me. But when she does, the fireworks that ignite around my body are no different to that first kiss on Ryan’s sofa.

  Abbi

  When he eventually pulls his lips from mine, my lungs are burning from lack of air, but I don’t care. I could think of much worse ways to go than be kissed to death by Jackson Parker. Fuck, that boy knows how to kiss. Just one touch of his lips and my knees go weak. He only pulls back enough to rest his forehead against mine, and looks straight into my eyes. A shiver runs through my body, because it feels like he stares straight into my soul. He’s the only person I’ve ever met that truly gets me and loves me, despite all my slightly rough edges. I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m not always easy to put up with, but he seems to take it all in his stride.

  “So that was your mum, then. No wonder you’ve kept me well away from her!” he says, trying to make me laugh, but I can see his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s still very unsure of what I’m going to do next, I think.

  “Jax…” I try to swallow down my emotions; I’d like to get out what I need to say without more tears. “I’m so sorry for everything that I have done. It was so selfish of me, I know that, I do, but I just knew how she’d react to you, and I didn’t want that for either of us. I know I shouldn’t care what she thinks, but she’s my mum, and I can’t help wanting to make her happy. I’ve always been such a disappointment to her that I just want her to be proud of me.” I feel my chin start to tremble.

  “I know, baby,” Jax says, kissing the end of my nose. “How about you take a minute, then tell me everything from the beginning, I want to know everything, Abbi.”

  “Okay,” I whisper, but suddenly remember something. “I think you have some explaining to do as well.” His brow creases as he thinks about what I’ve said. “Well firstly, there’s the hair. I’m not sure how I feel about it, if I’m honest,” I say with a smile, which feels so good after all the crying and stress. “But more importantly, Ryan told me what happened with you last night.”

  “Of course he did!” Jax says, shaking his head slightly.

  “Hey, he’s just worried about you, baby, and rightly so by the sounds of it. So how about I tell you everything and you do the same? But not right now, though. I’m exhausted. Please will you just hold me?”

  “I’d do that forever, baby,” he says, kissing my nose again before wrapping me in his arms. I let out a huge breath and relax into him.

  Our peace only lasts a few minutes, because my phone vibrates on the bed. When Ryan came earlier, he brought me the bag I’d packed to spend a few days at his house, so at least I have clean underwear and pyjamas to wear now. I grab it and pull it up in front of me.

  Ryan: Mum and Dad have appeared at the house. Are you okay?

  Me: We are fine x

  Ryan: We?? By the way, Molly is on her way. She won’t take my word for it that you are okay!

  Me: Yes ‘we’! Love you, bro x

  “Are we okay, Abs?” Jax asks startling me.

  “If you’ll put up with me, then yeah, I think so. I’ve been so stupid, Jax. I understand if you don’t want me or can’t forgive me, but I’m in love with you and I don’t want to be without you again. I’ve been nothing without you.” And here come the tears again.

  “Oh, baby, I’ll always want you, don’t ever think that I don’t. I love you, too, if you’ll have me.”

  His lips come back to mine when I start nodding at him. And that
is how Molly finds us a few minutes later.

  “I don’t think that kind of thing is allowed in here!” she says with a laugh, making us break apart. “I was coming to see for myself that you are okay, but I don’t think it was necessary, really. It looks like Jax has your care covered! Mate, loving the new look. What is that about?”

  “New start and all that,” is all he says as he shrugs his shoulders before kissing my cheek.

  Molly walks over to where we are lying together on the bed, and throws her arms around both of us. “I’m so glad you’ve sorted everything out.” When she pulls back, she looks between us both before saying, “Coming from someone who Karen truly hated for quite a while, I can honestly say that, given time, she will come around. She will see what a lovely person you are, Jax, and she will accept you. Mind you, saying that, I’m back in her bad books at the moment, because she found out I’m the reason you two met - whoops!”

  I go to apologise to her, but she stops me, “Don’t you dare. It’s fine, I distracted her with this cute little outfit I picked up for the baby. Talk of her first grandchild soon distracted her.” She must see my eyes tear up at bit at the mention of her baby, because she grabs my hand, saying, “Oh, Abs, I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m gonna give you two a few minutes,” Jax says, obviously sensing we need some time together. “I’m going to get a coffee. Do either of you want anything?” We both say no and watch him leave.

  “I’m so sorry, Abs, I don’t want to upset you,” Molly says, while trying to rub her growing belly discreetly.

  “Molly, don’t, I don’t want you to hide my new niece or nephew from me because of this,” I say, reaching out and placing my hand on her tiny bump. “I’m so sorry if I scared you last night. I just knew you wouldn’t panic and would know what to do.

  “I’m here, whatever you need. Are you really okay, though?”

  By the time Jax reappears ten minutes later, we both have tears running down our faces, but are also laughing. He looks between us, looking confused for a few seconds, before muttering something about hormonal women while sitting himself back down next to me.

  “Right, Ms. Evans, I’ve come to discharge you,” a doctor says as he walks in with a clipboard. “We are just waiting for your prescription to come up from the pharmacy, then you should be all good to go.”

  “The spare room is all set up for you, Abs,” Molly says, squeezing my hand.

  “I don’t think so,” a stubborn male voice barks from next to me, making Molly snap her head around to look at him. “She’s coming home with me.”

  Molly knows Jax well enough by now to know that she will never win, so she just nods at him while looking at me, obviously to see if I’m happy with that. I just smile at her while the doctor goes on about my medication and how I should be resting for at least five days, but he is going to give me a note to have two weeks off work. Shit - school and uni. I’m so close to the end that I really don’t want to cock it up now. Fuck, I’m going to have to ring my tutor as soon as I can to sort it out.

  Molly stays until I’m free to leave so she can help Jax escort both me and my bags to his car. She gives me a tight squeeze, making me promise to ring her if I need anything. Once she has spoken to Jax, I see her wave and start to head over to what I now see is Ryan’s car. It’s only now I realise that someone must have brought her, because she still can’t drive with her cast on.

  “Why didn’t he come up?” I shout, thinking he’d been sat out here, waiting for her to visit me.

  “He dropped me off so I could have some time alone with you, and went to do some shopping. I’ll see you soon,” she says with a wave, and heads towards my smiling brother. Will he ever lose the lovesick puppy look around Molly? I wonder.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  “That sappy look on my brother’s face when he looks at Molly.”

  “Huh…”

  “What?”

  “He says I look like that when I look at or talk about you,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders, like it’s nothing.

  “Really?” I say, as a wide smile spreads across my face. Jax briefly looks over at me in question as he reverses out of the space. “I’ve always wanted someone to look at me like I’m their everything.”

  “You are my everything, baby.” He grabs my hand and brings it to his lips as he says this. God, I wish those lips were on mine.

  I rest my head back and look at him with a small smile on my face as I take in his stunning profile as he drives. And to think, I nearly threw this away.

  * * *

  When I walk back from the toilet, I see that Jax has got himself settled on the sofa. I may have only just had two earth shattering orgasms, but I can’t help the tingles that erupt in my lower belly as I take him in. When he notices me, his face splits into a heart-melting smile. Fuck, how I want a guy to look at me like that every day. When I get close to him, he lifts the blanket for me to get in with him, but I’m rooted to the spot as I once again run my eyes over every inch of him. I just can’t get enough of him. It’s like I’m scared this is all a dream, and he is going to disappear the minute I wake up.

  “You can touch as well as stare, if you’d like,” he says as his previous smile turns in to a knicker melting one, and fuck it all to hell, they would have melted if I had any on!

  “Now there’s an offer I don’t think I can refuse,” I say, lowering myself down next to him. “Your ink is stunning,” I say, while running my fingers over his shoulder and down his arm, taking in the intricate patterns.

  “Thanks. I designed them all myself.”

  “Wow, really? Do they have meanings?” I watch him think for a few seconds before he goes to answer. “Shit, I’m sorry, that was really personal. You don’t have to answer that.”

  “It’s okay. The main patterns are just designs that I have developed over the years, but hidden within are personal things…like here,” he says, pointing at his ribs, “That’s the date of my mum and dad’s wedding day. And here,” he says, lowering the waistband of his boxers to reveal his hip, making my mouth water, “Is a copy of my degree certificate. I got it the day I graduated.”

  I can’t help it - I reach down and run my finger over his skin and, without realising what I’m doing, I move down slightly to get a better look. “Wow, that is tiny but perfect. The artist that has done it must be seriously talented,” I sa,y as I continue to trace different lines of his tattoo mindlessly.

  “Uh…talented…yeah,” Jax groans out, which snaps me back to what I’m doing.

  “Shit!” I suddenly realise I’ve pulled his boxers down even further, and my face is practically in his crotch as I take in his stunning artwork. “Um…” I say, as I slowly remove myself from my compromising position. “Sorry!”

  “Don’t be. You can hang out down there as much as you want, baby,” he says with a sexy smirk. It didn’t escape my attention that he seemed to get a little excited during my perusal of his nether regions, and his boxer briefs look pretty uncomfortable right now.

  I run my eyes slowly up his stomach and chest, trying to hunt out other hidden things in his tattoos. A small laugh escapes me when I find a little pink teddy bear with ‘Chloe’ and a date written on its belly. My finger once again has a mind of its, own and traces the edges of the small bear.

  “That’s for my niece. I got it the day she was born.”

  “It’s so…cute?” I say with a laugh. This bad boy looking guy has a tattoo of a pink teddy bear. That single tattoo tells me so much about the person he is.

  My eyes continue their journey until I meet his eyes. They are so green they take my breath away, and the hunger in them is off the charts. “What is it about you?”

  “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

  “Fuck, did I say that out loud?”

  Instead of answering, he puts his hand behind my head and pulls my lips down to his.

  * * *

  “Baby…we’re home.” Jax’s words filter
into my sleepy head and I can’t help but think how right his words are. We are together; as long as he is with me, I am home. “You look happy,” he says as he unstraps me.

  “I love you. I’m always happy when I’m with you.”

  “Ah…I love you, too, baby. Now let’s get you up to bed so you can sleep properly.”

  I’m aware of him carrying me up to his flat and getting me in his bed, but as soon as my head hits his soft pillow, I’m fast asleep. The couple of times I wake up, he is right there next to me. Without even knowing it, he makes me feel safe just by being with me. Ryan has always been my hero, but from the moment I laid eyes on this amazing man, he’s given new meaning to the word.

  * * *

  I wake up the next morning to the smell of bacon frying, making my stomach growl loudly. It makes me realise that I barely ate anything yesterday. When I look up, I see Jax walking down the hallway towards me with a tray in his hands, but what really catches my attention is the fact that he is only in his boxers. I loved his body before, but his time at the gym with Ryan has both bulked him out and toned him up. Fuck, if I don’t want to run my tongue along the ridges of his new six-pack and deeper V line right now.

  “Stop looking at me like that, baby,” he warns, as he places the tray down on the bed and gets himself sat next to me.

  “I’m sorry…it’s just…fuck.” I reach out and run my fingers over his stomach.

  “Shit, baby, you can’t do that. This is hard enough as it is.”

  I glance down at his crotch as he says this, and can’t help but laugh. “You don’t say!” When I look back up to his face, he is just glaring at me.

  “Eat your breakfast, you pain in the arse!”