Witness

48| Jaxon

Jaxon's POV:

I shouldn't have slept with Emery. Normally, I prided myself on my professionalism, and this was a line I should not have crossed.

The issue was, though I had always considered myself to be a strong man, when it came to Emery, I was fucking weak. So, so weak.

Still, even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn't get myself to regret my decisions that lead me to this; to waking up with the most beautiful woman in the world in my arms.

I studied her face as she slept. Normally, Emery slept restlessly; always tossing and turning; always whimpering and trembling. I wasn't sure she even knew how frequently she had nightmares... but I knew.

Last night, despite the terrifying day, she only cried out once. I tightened my grip on her, she curled in, and luckily, that was the end of it.

Now, as I stared down at her beautiful face, it was nice to see her looking relaxed. That adorable little crease that forms between her eyebrows when she's worried was completely smooth as she slept; smooth as her flawless, sun kissed skin.

Her light blonde hair was sprawled in silky waves on the pillow, as it had grown quite a bit since her last hair cut. I watched her even breathing through her full, parted lips; lips so soft I was addicted to kissing them. I wanted to place a gentle kiss on her tiny button-nose, and then brush my lips lightly across her full lashes that were masking her blue-green eyes.

She was so. fucking. gorgeous.

And there were men out there who wanted to hurt her; nay, kill her. It was truly fucked up; a woman so gentle, so kind, and so beautiful, and someone wanted to end her life.

In my years of being a bodyguard I had never been truly scared that I wouldn't be successful in keeping a client safe. I was damn good at my job. But yesterday, I was terrified.

As I stood in that tiny supply closet with her small, fragile body in my arms, all I could think about was how I couldn't bear it if she got hurt. I had good instincts, and those instincts were what made me a good bodyguard, but if I was being totally honest with myself, I wasn't entirely sure what to do yesterday.

I would have died to keep her safe if I had to. I would have held her up against my body until my arms completely gave out, and then somehow I would have found the strength to keep holding on, because letting her go felt dangerous. Holding her in my arms was the one place I knew nobody could touch her; nobody could hurt her.

She had been through so much. This poor girl had been dealt such a shitty hand of cards, and it pained me to see her so scared. Every time she trembled, every time she thought I didn't notice the look of fear in her eyes, I did; and it fucking killed me.

God... this woman.

I was pulled from my thoughts when my phone started to vibrate on the nightstand. I didn't even need to look at the caller ID to know it was chief.

I reached over, quickly silencing the call before it woke Emery. I held the phone to my chest as I gently eased my arm out from beneath her head.

I missed the contact immediately as I headed to the bathroom to take the call.

"Chief," I answered, my voice quiet and gruff with sleep.

"Hey, Jax," he responded. "Everything okay? Your voice sounds funny."

"Yeah," I said, clearing my throat. "Because of the campus lockdown I couldn't get Emery back to the dorms last night. We're at a friend's place and I'm trying not to wake her."

"Got it," Chief sighed. "Is she doing okay?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "She's... she's tough, but she's terrified, and rightly so. What information do you have?"