a soft ache since he had made love to her. It hadn’t hurt enough for her to notice it, but now that she was more clear minded...
Jamie gasped. He spoke in her ear. “Feel this?” His hand pressed against her neck, and the place irradiated with heat. Jamie held down a whimper and bit her lip, feeling tingles run along her body. If she had been wearing panties, they would have been drenched.
“Yes...” she whispered, hoping that it prevented any sources of arousal from escaping through her voice. Of course, her body was a whole other thing. She had to cover her breasts so he didn’t see her peaked nipples, and it didn’t help the blush that was getting worse by the second.
“Is it making you hot?” he growled, his hot breath washing over her ear. Jamie couldn’t stop the shudder that wracked her body, or the nod that she gave him.
He pulled his hand away from her neck and put it on her stomach, right under her breast. Jamie let her head fall back against his chest as his thumb rubbed slow circles on her skin, pressing and massaging, stealing her very breath.
“That is how I know you are mine,” he murmured. She felt his lips at her temple, kissing her softly. Jamie almost glared at him, but found that she didn’t have enough strength. He was just so...calming. “And if anyone ever touches what’s mine? They die.”
“Like Chris,” she said softly, the image of Talon beating the living daylights out of him flashing through her mind.
“Not like Chris. He was lucky you were there, or he would be dead.” He paused. “Next time, I won’t be so merciful. One wrong look, or touch, or even thought, towards you, and the fucker will be dead within a second. I won’t go through the preliminaries of using my fists, either.”
Jamie knew he was telling the truth. Knew he was being completely serious. Knew that she could be the reason he could end up in jail. And what did that do to her? It made her pant. Honestly, seriously, pant. Unlike Chris, he was possessive over her -- not what she looked like. Not the money she had.
She should hate that he was possessive of her at all, but how could she when it made her feel wanted? She stared down at her hands, hating herself.
Later on, Talon tucked her in and left. He had needed to talk to Lucian, and ever since they had gotten out of the tub, he had been distracted to the point where she couldn’t say a word to him.
Head hurting, eyes aching, and her mind turning, it wasn’t long before she was asleep...and dreaming of things that she had buried long ago.
~*~
“Jamie, you’re an adult now. And this means you need... time away from the house.”
She stared at her mother as if she were crazy. What was she talking about? Jamie was barely sixteen, still drooling over boys, and going to school. Her parents were adults, but she wasn’t. Didn’t want to be, in fact. Too many people came to visit you, talked about boring things, and then left with a cool difference that had always left Jamie angry.
“But Alexis was coming over soon,” she said, hoping it would be a good enough reason. She really had no clue what her mother was talking about. Time away from the house? As in leaving?
“I called her mother, and she understands that you will be gone for some time. Your father and I agree that it is time for you to... mature. Away from us.”
Jamie felt as her heart thundered in her chest. They wouldn’t send her away -- what would they do without her? What would her teachers think? And....where would she stay? Her other family had never really talked to her at all, and there was no one willing to take...care of her. Besides her parents and her friends, Jamie had no one. And she didn’t want anyone else.
So why were they sending her away?
“Away from you?” she repeated dumbly, ears ringing. Away. Gone. Not with her mother.
She stared into her mother’s cool blue eyes, feeling like this was all too much like last time. Except now, her father knew, and he hated her. He didn’t care about her. Was he the one sending her away from her mother? Hurt shone in her pale eyes as she backed away from her mother like she was a monster.
“Yes. You will be taken out to Colorado, where....