Trashed & Treasured

8

Shivers rolled down my spine as I gazed into eyes I thought I'd never see again. I was lost and honestly didn't want to be found. What was it about him that I could never look away?

"Why does your scent seem so familiar," the irritation in my brother's voice jolted me from my daze and I immediately dropped my hand. Just that quickly I'd forgotten that he was standing right beside me, watching like a hawk while my father stood just a few short feet away.

Taking a few short steps back, I looked up at Jaxon noticing his clenched jaw and the tension in his brows forming the very same scowl I'd seen way too many times today. Dominic looked at me with a smirk as I silently pleaded with my eyes and just as his lips parted to answer, my father stepped up placing his hand on Dominic's shoulder and intervened.

"I've been training Dominic since he was sixteen. You may remember his scent from when I'd take you to The Cage during your younger days."

Jaxon shook his head with his eyes still focused on Dominic. I could tell just from the way he was glaring at him that he'd already pieced things together. He was always known for his strong sense of smell that seemed to be heightened even more than the average wolf and the ability to memorize them.

"No, that's not it," he shifted his weight and would have been chest to chest with Dominic had it not been for me standing there. "This the guy from the beach?" He asked, barely moving his lips or taking his eyes off of Dominic.

"Jax!"

"What beach?" My father asked, seemingly oblivious to the fact that both his son and his best trainee were engaged in an intense pissing match. Dominic smirked, again, pulling his eyes away from my brother to look at me for a brief moment before his lips parted with something that nearly caused me to faint.

"Jade and I met the other night when she decided to take a late night swim near my beach house. She was caught in the tides and nearly drowned. I ran in after her and took her to my home. Got her dried off and told her she could stay the night since I wasn't comfortable with her wandering around after something like that."

Asshole! I thought as my teeth grind together behind my lips. Jaxon was fuming just as much. I never planned to tell him about Dominic in detail or what really happened between us and judging by the look of anger and disappointment, I could tell he knew that.

He pried his eyes away from the man before him and glared at me with so much hurt, walking out with his hands balled at his sides. Dad on the other hand looked at me in bewilderment and then back at Dominic. His expression was as if he could walk on water at that moment. All the stories he'd shared with us about the man that saved his life in battle came with heavy praise. If dad didn't hold him in high regard before, he sure as hell did now.

He placed his hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "I really appreciate that. I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost my baby. That makes two reasons why I owe you. Why don't you stay for dinner? It's the least I could do to repay you, right now."

I shook my head discreetly, hoping he'd say no. Of course, he smiled widely and agreed.

"Great! I'll just go help Char finish things up and I'll let you know when it's ready." He smiled back then dashed off down the hall to the kitchen. From the corner of my eye I could see Dominic turning to face me and I refused to meet his gaze. Those eyes of his had a way of making my mind slip and after what he'd done I was not going to give in.

"Jade is a beautiful name." His voice came as a sweet caress to my ears. The way my name rolled off his tongue so easily gave me chills that I tried to hide by turning away from him and attempting to walk off. Before I could take even one step, his fingers slid within the small gap between my arm and my chest and he was pulling me into him so that I was completely in his arms. "Jade," I kept my eyes focused on my still crossed arms which were pressed against a very muscular chest. I wasn't even eye level with his shoulders, but because my boots had such a thick sole, there was an extra inch or two to thank for my current height. "Can I see your eyes, Jade?"