Free Mercy's Angels Box Set by Kirsty Dallas Page A

racked my body and it had nothing to do with the seeping cold radiating from under me. Then three simple words brought me back, three simple words penetrated the cold and chased away the ghosts.
                  “You’re safe Ella.” It was Jax, his voice firm but at the same time gentle, reassuring. “Come on angel, open those pretty brown eyes for me.” Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I didn’t want to. I was afraid, embarrassed. But that soothing voice demanded my compliance and slowly I opened my eyes. For a moment the world spun and I thought it might go dark again. Then I saw Jax, kneeling above me, a grin pulling the corner of his mouth into a cheeky smile. “There we go. And don’t worry you’re not the first woman around here to faint on me. Usually they’re screaming blue bloody murder for me to get the fuck away though.” I didn’t want him away. I wanted him closer. It had been a long time since I had let a man that close, in fact, it was before I had run from Marcus and you could hardly have called him a man. He had really been a boy at seventeen years old, very drunk and highly inexperienced, who definitely gave me no pleasure, not even a cuddle once it was over. I wondered if Jax could give me what those boys had been unable too. I wondered if he could give me the care my life had long missed, I wondered if he could give me the safety I had been unable to find. But what frightened me even more was the sudden craving for the type of connection you could only get with an emotional and physical joining. Love, the deep, happily ever after, you are mine and I am yours kind of love. It was something I had been denied, it was something I continued to deny myself. But lying here now with Jax by my side, I wanted all that and I wanted it badly. 
                  “Does your wife know you make women faint?” I wondered out loud. Where the hell had that come from? I was mortified and Jax grinned, a big grin, dimples and all.
                  “No doubt, if I had a wife she would be most impressed. Fortunately, I am not married.” Oh God, I almost sighed out loud. “Do you think you can sit up?” I didn’t want to, but I tried. Whoa, quit with the spinning already. Jax chuckled. “Okay, take it easy.” His hands pulled me back down again. “When was the last time you ate?”
                  “I had a chocolate bar at ten this morning.” Jax stared at me.
                  “That was it?” He almost yelled and I winced. Yelling was a trigger. His big hands soothed my hair back from my face. Shit, my hair. I froze, unable to move or speak. I knew he had seen it when his thumb gently traced the small scar. “Angel, you need more food than a chocolate bar. You should have stayed for breakfast at least.” Before I had time to realize what was happening, Jax had my backpack slung over his shoulder and he was lifting me from the ground.  I tensed but held on to him none-the-less. His body was hard and warm and he smelled freaken amazing. With every ounce of stealth I possessed I leaned in a little closer and took a deep whiff, hoping to god he didn’t notice the crazy girl in his arms sniffing him like a damned dog. His arms felt like a cradle of comfort and protection as Jax carried me through the doorway into Mercy’s shelter.
                  “What happened?” Came the same steady sure voice I had met this morning. A small blonde woman with pretty gray eyes strolled towards us and I could see she was worried. She had a comfortable confidence in her movements, I envied that.
                  “She fainted. She hasn’t eaten today.” Jax sounded slightly pissed and the woman gave me a frown that told me she wasn’t happy either.
                  “I had a chocolate bar,” I quietly argued.
                  “While I understand the importance of chocolates and sweets in a diet,