I still slept later than I normally would, but when I checked on my wounds I was completely healed with just pink and white scars to mark my injury. After I showered and got dressed I headed downstairs for breakfast. âHow do you feel today, Amaya?â Feray asked.
âGood! Iâm all healed up.â I sat down at the table with them, âReady to get back to kicking Jaxâs ass.â
ââReady to get back to kicking Jaxâs ass,ââ Jax mocked as everyone else chuckled, âYouâre not funny.â
âAt least Iâm accurate,â I said, sticking my tongue out at him.
âYou two are worse than Ava and Noah when they get started,â Jo said, rolling her eyes.
âWhere are they this morning?â I asked.
âHunting trip with their age group. Itâs a whole right of passage thing for young pack members,â Jax explained. His phone dinged, âAh. Our other guest will be here in about an hour or so.â
âWho will be here in an hour or so?â Aaron asked, walking into the dining room.
âJaxâs mystery guest,â I answered, taking a bite of my eggs. âI didnât know you were staying here last night Aaron.â
âYeah. I didnât feel like driving back last night,â he said with a shrug.
âHowâs your training, Aaron?â I asked with a thinly veiled smile hidden behind my coffee mug.
âItâs not too bad.â
âHow about we train after breakfast then?â
âSure,â Jax smiled wide at him, âWhy is he looking at me like that?â
I quickly finished my breakfast, âDonât worry about it.â
I ran upstairs and braided my hair back and secured it tightly. âReady when you guys are,â I said, running back downstairs and sliding into the dining room.
Jax rolled his eyes, âThereâs something wrong with you.â
âYeah you try not training and doing practically nothing for a few days, and tell me if you wouldnât be chomping at the bit to get back into training.â
He sighed, âFine, you fucking psychopath. Iâll take the winner. Come on Aaron before she drags us outside and beats our asses.â I gave him a look which caused him to sigh again, âAt least if we go willingly we might have a chance.â
âKeep telling yourself that pup,â I said as I walked out to the training field.
âThis is going to suck isnât it?â Aaron groaned following us out to the field. I chuckled a bit evilly while Jax just hung his head, accepting his fate.
As we stretched, I tested the limits of my newly scarred torso. âOkay Aaron. Letâs do this.â
He rolled his neck and bounced from foot to foot. He struck first, an easy right hook, which I dodged quickly. I took a couple steps back and waited for his next attack. He kicked with his left leg attempting to catch my torso, but I caught it and twisted him around. I released him but gave him a firm kick to the ass that sent him stumbling forward. âYou know if you wanted to touch my ass you couldâve just touched it. You didnât have to fight me,â he said with a chuckle.
âIâll keep that in mind,â I said as we circled each other. He shifted onto his heels just slightly, meaning he was about to move, so I waited before making my move. He kicked again, which I blocked, and I threw my first actual blow of the fight, a leg sweep, which landed Aaron on his ass.
Jax and I laughed, âYeah, yeah, laugh it up. You assholes,â Aaron said from the ground. He got up and started his attack again.
-Foxâs POV-
I turned where my GPS was telling me to, into a long winding driveway. It let out into a large clearing with a huge house. âWhat the fuck Jax? Youâre loaded,â I whispered to myself.
I parked my rental by the house and was greeted by a beautiful black woman and a handsome suntanned man, who both looked vaguely like Jax. âHi. You must be Fox. Iâm Jo, Jaxâs mom, and this is my husband, Charlie, Jaxâs dad.â
Charlie shook my hand while Jo insisted on a hug. They both smelled faintly like the earth and a bit like a dog. âCome on in. Weâll show you where youâre staying and then you can join Jax down on the field.â
We walked into the house and I couldnât help but look around in awe. âYour home is beautiful.â
âThank you,â Jo said, âCharlieâs grandfather built it.â
As we walked through the house I picked up slight hints of petrichor and cinders. My hopes lifted a little that Amaya might be here when I picked up that slight scent of petrichor. She was the only person I had ever known to smell like a rainstorm, but dammit if I couldnât get enough of it. I dropped my bag in the room Jo and Charlie led me to, âIâll show you were Jax is,â Charlie said with a small smile on his face.
He led me outside and I saw her right away, circling a black guy who was well built but basically her same height. Charlie hit my shoulder before walking back to the house. A small gust of wind flirted across my skin, I watched as Amaya breathed in and locked eyes with me. The guy she was fighting attempted to capitalize on the distraction by swinging, but somehow she dodged every swing. She broke eye contact to throw an accusatory glare at Jax, who just shrugged. He walked over to me, âIâm glad you made it.â
âYou didnât tell me Amaya was going to be here,â I said with a raised eyebrow.
âMustâve slipped my mind,â he said with a shrug.
I gave him a sideways glance, âWhoâs the guy sheâs sparring with?â
âFamily friend. Amayaâs just toying with him though. Sheâs gotten a lot of training since she left SEAL training.â
Just as he said that Amaya finished off Jaxâs family friend with a stunning submission takedown. She got up and she helped him to his feet, âRemind me to stay on your good side.â
She chuckled lightly and they walked over to where Jax and I were standing. âItâs good to see you Fox,â she said before taking me into her arms. I relished in the electricity that passed between us. I didnât know if she felt it too, but if she did she didnât give anything away as she pulled back.
âIs it? With that glare you sent Jax I would think you werenât very happy to see me.â
âHe didnât tell me you would be here. Heâs sticking his nose where it doesnât belong,â she said vaguely with another glare at Jax who looked as innocent as he could.
Before I could say anything else, the family friend stepped forward with his hand out, âItâs nice to meet you Fox. My name is Aaron.â
I took his hand in mine and gave it a firm shake, âItâs nice to meet you.â
I watched as Amaya stretched, âOkay Jax. Your turn.â
He groaned but took off his shoes and shirt, âTry not to toy with me as much as you did Aaron.â
She smiled wickedly, âWhatever you want, Jax.â
âAre they always like this?â Aaron asked me.
I nodded, âAll the way through training they were always together, but fought like I do with my siblings, especially in hand to hand training. I havenât seen her since she rang the bell, so it should be fun to see what she has in store for Jax.â
Aaron smiled, âTheyâve been at each otherâs throats since Iâve been here. Iâm kind of sad Iâm leaving in a little while.â
âDo you live in the area?â
âKind of. Iâm down near Barstow. Where are you?â
âIâll be stationed in Little Creek, Virginia.â He smiled, âWhat?â
âIâll let you find out,â is all he said before settling in on the ground to watch Jax get his ass kicked.
I followed his lead and settled in next to him on the ground. âCome on Little Duck. You could be nice for once and just let me off easy.â
As they circled each other, she tilted her head in mock consideration, âI could, but have you ever known me to take it easy on you or anyone?â
Jax sighed, âNo, but thereâs always a first time for everything.â
âNot today,â she said before taking off her shirt, so she was down to nothing but her sports bra and sweats. The sight made my dick twitch.
When she walked around this time, I noticed she had several new scars on her left side, âWhere did she get those scars on her side?â
âShe didnât have those in training?â Aaron asked, nonchalantly.
âNo. She had her lightning scar, but not those on her side,â I stated as she jumped on Jax and threw him onto his back.
âThat was fair,â I just barely heard him say from where I was.
Aaron had a small smile on his face as if he heard Jax too. âIâm not sure. I hadnât seen them until just now. That would be something to ask her.â
Amaya had Jax in an arm bar, but Jax easily got out of it. From the smirk on her face, he was supposed to get out of it. He rushed her but she was ready for him. She took his legs out from under him and started circling him again. As she got to his feet, he swept hers out from under her. He got up quickly, but she stayed down until he was in just the right position and sent a beautiful kick to his side while also bringing herself upright. âChrist Little Duck. What was that for?â
She didnât say anything, just gave him a smirk and a deadly glare. Jax tried to fight back, using every move we learned and that he brought to us, but Amaya had trained more and was better. She dragged it out, but finally went for submission and Jax gave it to her willingly. He flopped out on the ground panting. âYouâve gone soft, my friend.â
âThe fuck I have! That was awful. You need to learn how to take it easy on people.â
âThe bad guys arenât going to take it easy on you. Donât make me come save your ass because youâve lost a few steps.â
âHow would you save his ass? Youâre not in the Navy. I know I looked for you after you rang the bell,â I asked.
She and Jax shared a look, or I should say, Amaya glared and Jax actually looked sorry for a change. âI work for a private contracting company.â
âAnd you were at SEAL training because?â I pressed.
âTraining. Just like you and Jax. I was recruited in training and it was worked out with my recruiter and the Navy.â
âWhat happened to your torso?â
âSome things went wrong on my last mission,â she said vaguely.
My eyes narrowed, âWhat things?â
âWhat things do you think? The kind of things that left me on R&R for the last month and a half while I healed. Jax reached out and said I should come out and it sounded like a good idea.â She grabbed her shirt off the ground and threw it back on before storming off back to the house. Aaron followed behind her mumbling something about needing to get on the road.