Chapter 57

Aurora

We have dinner on the porch, in serene silence, listening to the waves of the ocean brush up and down the shore, nearing our little hut before retreating back to the vast sea ahead. It’s hard for me to focus, something about the full light of the moon ahead catching my attention. My body doesn’t hurt as much, and I may be covered in scars but the wounds no longer ache.

I catch Jaxson’s glare once or twice, sometimes on me and other times looking to the ocean nearby. He doesn’t eat much. I can sense he is nervous, feeling him tap his foot under the little porch table where we eat some fresh fish and green vegetables. He is going to go after Luke tomorrow night and without his royal warriors to back him up, I’m worried if he will be able to face Xander’s entire pack.

Jaxson is incredibly strong and wise in battle, but Xander has no limits.

He catches my gaze as it wanders across his jawline, luminated blue under the moonlight. He smiles, his eyes lit up with his curved, plump lips that curl upward even more when I can’t help but grin with him.

“Are you sleepy?” he asks, tucking his napkin over his plate and eyeing the ocean. “I think I’m going to go test the waters. Care to try, sweetheart?”

I eye the patient, ebbing waves. “I don’t know—”

“It’s safe, sweetheart, I’ll be there with you.”

I finally give in, pushing my plate aside and following him off the porch. He strips down without a care, and I know he has seen me naked plenty of times, but I hesitate to follow suit. I still have the older scars, the marks that are made across the length of my back, but I know I am covered in even more.

I bare bruises and claw marks from Xander’s torment.

Worst of all, I have the bite marks around my neck and shoulders.

Jaxson doesn’t seem to care though, waving me with him as his clothes lay in a pile on the shore. He wavers out into the depths of the ocean, at least abdomen deep, and smiles under the full force of the moonlight overhead. I manage to slip out of my clothes while his back is turned and I step into the sand, feeling it cave in with every wet, murky step through the soft ground.

Jaxson turns just in time to grab for my arm, a hefty wave trying to throw me backwards and send me under the surface. I catch my balance, clinging to his sides, feeling him erect with pleasure as I push my body against his. At first it’s to keep myself upright in the punchy waves but then it’s so I can bask against his sex, surprised he still finds me attractive.

The water is warm, thick with salt that I can taste in the breeze that swoops over the surface and invades my senses. I hold myself to his chest, letting his arms stretch around my lower back. My fingers curls against his muscular build, shivering as I feel him build with excitement against my hip. I hold back a slight giggle, feeling his lips make out with my ear, then my cheek, eventually finding my lips.

I lean back, allowing his hands to keep me upright while also getting to grab at my backside, squeezing my ass through his thick fingers. My wolf is nervous but I override her fears, knowing he doesn’t want to hurt me while also knowing that I like the feeling of him so attracted to me, especially in this state.

He lifts me up, almost out of the water, and I hold my legs around his waist, pressing myself against his body so tight that the ocean water couldn’t even split us up. He lets his tongue swipe through my lips, pressing his kiss deeper and deeper until I groan, a plead to stop and breathe.

He must sense that I need a moment to collect myself, grabbing my hips and pulling me back a little, enough to let his lips trail down my throat and settle on my breasts. He growls a noise, his hands wanting to claw into my backside but he refrains, licking the sensitive, hard tip of my nipple. He scratches his fresh stubbled neck against my side and I gasp alive in pleasure.

My wolf tingles and it makes me shiver.

He must assume I’m cold, carrying me from the water until it’s only ankle deep. He leans down and sets me on my back, still warm with his touch and kisses all over. He straddles my lap, his hand finding my cheek and gently brushing his fingertips down the side of my face.

I blush, chills rushing all over my body as he lowers down over me in the gentle shallows of the ocean. He smiles, the moon over his shoulder, filling me with just enough courage to grab his shoulders and pull him down on top of me. He manages to lay between my knees, his erection pressing into my sex and ever so carefully entering my body.

My mind flickers to Xander, pinning me down and threatening to do the same.

“Hey, focus,” Jaxson breathes, motionless above me.

I blink back my memories and fears, trying to stay involved in this interaction that I so badly want to stay part of. He wants to pull away but I don’t let him, pulling him down further until I gasp, arching my back in the sand as his girth fills my body so quickly.

He holds his breath, taking the pleasure in strides with me, and soon his lips fall back against mine. He doesn’t intend to let go of this time, his hips thrusting deeper and faster than ever before. I cry out, my legs caging his hips to my pelvis, and he smiles as he invades my mouth with his tongue.

I want more, need more, and I practically scream out in ecstasy for it.

“My mate,” he says in an ungodly growl against my throat.

I feel my nails slide down the length of his back, practically forcing his intensity to grow. He lowers himself, pushing me further into the damp sand, the ocean passing by us while he finally puts me out of my anticipation.

My body breaks in pleasure, spreading throughout my pelvis and abdomen before spreading around my body until I feel like I may pass out in delight. Jaxson slows his pace, trembling in the aftermath of his own release, his hands holding my hips still while he slowly pulls out and away.

He collapses onto the ground next to me, his hand settles on my side, something so uneasy about the placement of his fingers touching the scars that Xander made on my body threatening to ruin our intimate moment. He must notice my thoughts written across my face because he pushes his hand away, sliding it down my stomach until it finds my tired, wet sex.

I shudder. He laughs.

His fingers slowly circle my sensitive button, flicking it aside again and again while pushing down on it a with more pressure until his fingers slide so easily into my core. I flinch, pushing against his chest, rattling with an orgasm that he is trying to pull from me. Again.

He nibbles at my neck and my breasts, his teeth lightly grazing my surface while his fingers push inward. I cough in shock and in utter desire for him to continue on. He doesn’t disappoint, rubbing me harder and faster before I break and let his fingers win.

I’m damp and warm under his hefty hand, wet from my pulsing sex.

I struggle to form words, instead muttering inconsistencies about how good he felt in my body.

He picks my head up, out of the water that sloshes around us both, and I catch my breath as I rest onto his body. He runs a hand over my scalp, devoid of my long, beautiful hair, and then the scars come back into memory, littering my body all over. I bet I look horrible like this, pressed against such a beautiful, perfect man like this.

I feel flustered, trying to scramble to the beach to grab my clothes but I fail, sinking into the wet sand until I feel trapped. Jaxson tries to hold my hips but I see his hands flinch in the moonlight and I fall sideways, cowering from his touch, feeling too overwhelmed with the last few minutes to make sense of my actions now.

He backs up, hands out in mock surrender, and I stagger, fighting the sand.

“Aurora, please,” he hums, leaning down to grab for me.

My wolf reacts, feeling backed into a corner as Xander tries to pin us down. I feel myself bellow a growl, thrumming in heat, anxiety rushing through my body all at once. I fight to keep myself from shifting, crawling my way out of the water and falling to my side in the dry sand, shivering all over but at least feeling better without an ex-prince standing over me.

I want to bury myself, never to be seen again. I’m covered in hideous scars, atrocious marks that will never leave my skin, and he only came onto me to make me feel better but I see it now. I see my bruises and my pink scars and I hate every inch of my body that his brother has touched.

I wish the sand would swallow me whole.