Chapter 9: Stay Away From Her

Dax POV

I had made it just in time. My brother was doing what he did best. He used to be worse in his teen years. It was a shame to see my brother behaving that way. It certainly affected how people saw me by being related. Maybe someday he would stop his playboy ways.

But this time he had been shameless with Danica.

How could he just hold her like this? Jared needed to be put into his place.

Jared holding Danica close to him released an anger I had never felt before. I didn’t want him touching her so intimately, as if she was his.

She wasn’t my woman either, but I knew Jared didn’t have the right to do that. He especially shouldn’t have been doing that in my mansion.

I stared Jared down, but he didn’t seem that bothered by me. He kept a relaxed position and still had his hands on Danica.

The more he kept touching her made me even more infuriated. Was he trying to make me punch him?

I stepped closer to him and said, “Leave her alone Jared. Take your hands off her or I’ll remove you myself.”

Jared let out a little chuckle, amusement all over his face. He acted as if I had told him a joke instead of threatening him.

I continued to keep my gaze held on his. Jared sighed and said, “Fine Dax. You just have to ruin my fun, don’t you?” He added, “You never let me do what I want.”

Jared released Danica from his hold and stood there with a faint smile. I frowned at him and wondered why he was smiling like that.

Why wasn’t he leaving yet? I thought I made myself clear that he should leave before I had to get physical.

He was trying my thin patience already. I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at him.

Danica looked between the two of us with worry in her eyes. I could tell she was trying to hold back from getting involved. I kind of admired her for letting my brother and I solve this on our own.

My brother had the nerve to look at Danica again and kept his gaze held a little too long. She didn’t seem to notice and was staring back at me, as if she waiting to see what I’d do.

Anger flared up inside of me again. My hand was clenched into a tight fist at my side. I wouldn’t let him know that he was getting to me.

Jared gave one last glance at me. I didn’t like it, as it was one of curiosity.

Then he left by continuing upstairs without another word. I could guess that he was wondering why I had acted that way for Danica. Normally, I would not have done that for a woman.

I still wasn’t sure what had come over me. Why had I lost control? I never did that usually, and it kind of scared me.

Seconds passed before Danica said, “Thank you for making him leave. He was getting a little too comfortable with me.” Her face flushed a little and she added, “Not that he tried anything harmful.”

I was glad that she was okay. It was luck that I showed up when I did. What if Jared had been able to continue his vile act? I pushed the thought away as I refocused on the present.

“I’m just relieved I came when I did. It’s good you’re not hurt.”

It was dangerous to let my guard down, but I had to let her know I cared for her well-being. I didn’t want her thinking too badly of me.

“Yeah. I’m fine now. You came just in time.”

I nodded in acknowledgement and told her, “Come with me to the kitchen so we can talk more privately. I don’t know if Jared is still around.”

I went down the stairs and checked to see if she was following me. We needed to have this talk now, or I’d lost the nerve to do it.

When we got to the kitchen, I motioned for my personal chef to leave the room. He left the room quickly.

I sat down and Danica joined me by sitting on the opposite side of the table.

“I wanted to let you know that you’ll meet many of my family members. Most of them are not a problem." I paused
and added, “Except Jared.”

Danica looked intrigued and asked, “What’s wrong with Jared?”

Should I give her the whole truth of who he is? It wasn’t my place to tell her everything about my brother. Maybe she should learn on her own.

Finally, I said, “You should just avoid Jared. He’s not someone you want to get involved with.”

“I’m glad you warned me.”

For some reason, I really took notice of how she looked today. Danica was even more beautiful than I remembered. Up close I could see she had high cheekbones, and her eyes were the brightest shade of green I’d ever seen.

After a moment passed, I said, “I just thought you needed to know that sooner than later.”

Danica POV
I was surprised when Dax invited me to dinner that evening. I was sitting on the bed and checking on my sister through text.

I opened the door and he said, “I was wondering if want to eat dinner together.”

“Sure. That sounds nice. What are we having?”

“It’s filet mignon, fresh vegetables, and a baked potato.”

“Sounds delicious. I’ll be down shortly.”

“See you soon Danica.”

He walked away before I could say anything else. I smiled knowing he had said my first name. It was rare that I was kind of caught off guard. Maybe Dax was becoming more of his true self around me.

When we ate together, Dax was back to his usual self unfortunately. The softer side of him had disappeared from earlier, which made me disappointed. I was hoping to see what I had witnessed earlier. Even if it was just a tiny glimpse.

There was nothing that special we talked about either. I guessed he was just trying to be a good host to me, and it was nothing more than that. I felt a little disappointed and relieved at the same time.

Later that night I still couldn’t believe what Dax had told me. It made me kind of nervous that I was going to meet more of his family. I thought I’d only have to deal with being around him. But it did make sense, since I was the surrogate for his future child.

They needed to see who he had chosen for the position. I would have done the same in their place.

Then Jared wasn’t as nice of a guy as I had originally thought. At first, I was intrigued and interested by him. Jared had ruined that quickly, however.

He almost had taken advantage of the opportunity on the staircase. I was tricked by his charms and friendliness that I didn’t see his actual intentions.

His words repeated in my head “I’m just relieved I came when I did. It’s also good you’re not hurt.” They really touched my heart, and I couldn’t stop thinking of how sweet he sounded as he spoke.

Would he ever tell me words like that again? It made me like Dax a little better by knowing he could be caring.
The only thing that bothered me was I didn’t know why he had done that. Did he possibly secretly care about me or something? Dax didn’t seem to have that soft side when I first met him. He really came through for me earlier, and I kind of enjoyed it.

I had to stop thinking about Dax.