Dream Catcher

Chapter 10

"Why did you do that?" Dani asked Jax a little while later. The angry customer was long gone and she was still a little shaky from the ordeal of it all. She was never good with domineering men.

"Do what?" Jax asked.

"Stick up for me. Is it because you're a cop and you have some kind of complex?"

"Complex?"

Dani nodded, "Yeah. You know...like you have to save waitresses in distress or something."

"I don't know about that," Jax admitted. "You're the only waitress I've ever wanted to save up until today."

Dani suddenly felt uncomfortable. She cleared her throat, "Listen, I don't know what your deal is but stop trying. It's not going to happen."

"What's not going to happen?"

Dani lowered her voice, "You know..."

"Know what?"

"Why else would you be at the diner all the time? I'm not going to sleep with you. So you might as well drop the charming detective act. I'm already used to your obnoxious cop act."

Jax threw his head back and laughed, "Glad you find me charming...even if it's just for a little while. I hate to burst your bubble but sleeping with you wasn't on my mind...but clearly it was on yours."

Dani felt her cheeks get hot, "Yeah? Well you just said it wasn't which is past tense. So even if you weren't thinking about having sex with me a while ago you probably are at this very moment, right?"

Jax's eyes slowly roved over Dani's figure making her feel naked.

He slowly smiled, "That's a fact."

"Michaels!"

Jax and Dani turned to see his partner Roberto Montoya entering the diner and waving him over, "The captain wants us at the station."

Before he turned to leave, Jax turned to Dani, "The truth is, I was keeping an eye on you because there's something mysterious about you Dani Deleon. I still find it odd how you knew that gang member was carrying the necklace. Let's be honest. We both know he didn't show you the jewelry or the gun. Then there's that whole drama about that bitchy woman having an affair with her friend's husband. How did you know all that? Oh, and let's not forget those sketches."

"Carol's not someone her friends should trust and the sketches mean nothing," Dani said. She took a step back, "I thought you said you believed me about not knowing that tattooed man."

"I do," Jax said closing in on the space between him and Dani. "There's just something about you that I can't quite put my finger on."

He lifted his hand and pressed a finger to her chin.

Dani felt a shiver run down her spine. She turned her head, "You should go."

"Don't you want to say something else to me?" Jax asked. He leaned forward and whispered, "Like I can't wait to see you again. When will I see you again? I think I'm falling for you. Those are all nice options."

Dani eyes widened, "Are you insane?"

Jax laughed, "Not what I was expecting but with you nothing ever is."

"Is what?"

"Expected."

He turned to leave when Dani stopped him.

"Actually, I do have something to say to you," Dani said. "Three words to be exact."

Jax waited for her to continue, a smug expression on his face.

She gave an overly sweet smile, "Stop stalking me."

Jax's lips curled up, "I have three words to say to you too."

Dani braced herself as Jax leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "To be continued."

Later that night, the Maestro was again in search of a heart to claim. He spotted his next date while thinking of the waitress, Dani Deleon. She was special. He knew it. She was beautiful and feisty. She was also tough which would make her fun to play with. Still, there was something vulnerable about her. You had to really be paying attention to her to see it. She didn't like people to get too close to her. He wondered what her secrets were. What was she hiding? Her heart had to be perfect. He could feel it to his very core. He couldn't wait to find out if she liked classical music.

He cleared his thoughts and smiled as he walked over to the redhead sitting at the bar of The Pony House.

"Hi there."

Her red lips curved into a smile. She was wearing too much lipstick.

"Hi there," she echoed him.

He sat down in the booth next to her, "Are you here alone?" He knew she was. He'd been watching her for the past twenty minutes.

"And if I said I wasn't?" she asked.

He forced himself to smile, placing an arm around her shoulders and leaning towards her, "Then I'd have to kidnap you."

She giggled, "Is that so? Too bad it's illegal."

"That's true but think of the story we could tell our grandchildren."

She gave a teasing smile then, "Our grandchildren, huh? You're awfully confidant in yourself."

"I am."

"I wonder where you get all of that confidence from," she whispered, her eyes sizing him up. "You're not married are you?"

He laughed, noticing the engagement ring on her finger, "No."

"You're not secretly some serial killer either, right?"

"You mean the one they call the Maestro? The one that likes classical music?"

He could see her swallow her nervousness. He was getting too serious too quickly.

"R-right," she said.

"No, I'm not him. This doesn't seem like a place he'd go to does it?" he asked waving his hand around as the thumping base echoed around them. "Do you want to go somewhere a little less noisy?"

"No," she shook her head. "The news said women shouldn't be going off alone with strange men."

"I'm not strange, am I?" He placed a finger against her temple, slowly caressing her cheek and stopping when his finger was at the edge of her mouth.

"I-I don't know."

"If I was really the Maestro, I probably would tell you I hated classical music and that I hate the sight of blood, right?"

Her eyes narrowed in thought, "I guess so."

"Well I love classical music and blood doesn't bother me at all. So now you can believe me when I say I'm not the Maestro."

She was still a little confused but his hand was on her thigh and his lips were almost touching her cheek.

"Shall we get out of here?" he asked again.

She gave a slight nod and he stood up, holding out a hand for her.

A part of him was eager to get this over with. He didn't care for redheads but he needed to achieve perfection before it was Dani's turn. He needed to stay focused. The redhead was just practice. Necessary practice.

A/N: If you see this story anywhere other than Wattpad, please report it and let me know. I only publish my stories on Wattpad. Thank you.