Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 66503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Aurora peeks along with me. “The bear?”
I turn to face her. “You.”
Her face flushes with heat. “I …”
I pull the flower out of my pocket and hold it up between us. “This. This is what kept me going for all these years.”
Tears well up in her eyes. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You gave me a purpose.” I grab her hand and push the flower inside. “Something to fight for.”
She looks up at me with those same doe-like eyes she gave me the first time we met, but I’m no longer that terrified little boy I once was. Through hardship and pain, I endured. Through sheer willpower, I became what I needed when no one was there to save me.
I didn’t suffer all those years just to destroy.
I lived through misery so I could find my way back to her.
So I could give her what she gave me.
Protection.
I wrap her in my arms and pull her close, hugging her with everything I have. “Your father didn’t find me because of you. Your kindness saved me.”
She puts her head on my shoulder, and we stay there for a moment, basking in the comfort of our collective pain, knowing we have each other when everything else has crumbled all around us.
I don’t need money, I don’t need a job, or even a home … as long as I have her.
“But we didn’t even find out your name,” she mutters after a while, still holding me tight.
“I did,” I reply.
She pulls back and stares into my eyes with wonder in hers. “How?”
I hold up the teddy bear and show her the bloodied piece of fabric that has the washing instructions on it. In tiny letters, a name is scribbled on top, in case the teddy ever got lost.
Jax.
CHAPTER 16
Aurora
Not one second does he let go of my hand as we drive all the way back to the beach house. I can’t stop glancing at him to catch a glimpse of the man who finally has a name.
Jax.
I repeat it in my head, but it still doesn’t feel real.
This is the name of the guy I spent all this time with in that damn cell, yet it’s still difficult to fathom he is the same person I once saved from my father’s wrath.
The pink hue of the flower’s petals peek through the opening of his pocket, a forever reminder of our connection.
But is it enough?
I swallow and turn to look at the beach house as the car stops in the driveway. I feel like our whole world has stood still since we returned to his childhood home, yet the sun is still shining, and the people are still bustling around the streets like nothing even happened.
“What’s wrong?” he suddenly asks.
My lips part, but I don’t know how to answer. “N-Nothing.”
He raises his brow at me. “Tell me. Now.”
I tuck my hair behind my ear. “It … It feels so different to come back here now.”
With his arm resting on the steering wheel, he turns to me. “Why?”
“I don’t know… like the people are still going about their day, while ours feels so … out of this world.”
He leans in, his hand slowly cupping my face and caressing my cheek with his thumb in a way that warms my heart. “Your heart is too big for your tiny body.”
I frown, confused. “What do you mean?”
“You care too much about people who don’t matter,” he says, and he places a kiss on my forehead.
I blush and smile. “So what do we do now? We just go back to the cabin and pretend nothing happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I don’t even know what to call you,” I say, biting my lip. “I know you as Beast, but your name is Jax, and I don’t know which one you prefer.”
He rests his forehead against mine, staring into my soul with those penetrative emerald eyes. “Beast. Jax. As long as it’s your voice calling, I’ll answer.”
God. The blush on my cheeks turns an even brighter shade of red than before.
“But Lex called you Beast to show his power over you. It doesn’t feel right.”
He clutches my face with both hands. “I am what I am. A name doesn’t change that.”
I nod a couple of times.
“Now call me …” he murmurs.
I’m drowning in those beautiful eyes of his. “Beast.”
The smirk that follows makes my heart flutter. “Say it again.”
“Beast.”
His eyes close, and he groans, almost as if he’s getting fired up. As though this horrible word that used to contain him and keep him prisoner now brings him power. Just because of my voice.
“I am your beast …” he says, licking his top lip. “And I will always be.”
I smile. “Even if I call you Jax sometimes?”
“Even then.” He opens the door and adds, “C’mon, let’s go.”
He gets out of the car, and with a sigh to calm down my lusty heart, I hop out too.