Chapter 121: Stay On Your Toes

Chapter 121: Stay On Your Toes After freshening up, and changing out of her clothes into a sweatshirt and trousers that Jax had given her, one she suspected belonged to either his sister or girlfriend, Mari lay on the bed with her eyes closed, thankful that she had taken off her lenses now and could rest the eyes. Judging by the level of discomfort she was feeling, she doubted her eyes would feel better any time soon. She wished she had asked Jax to get her tears eye drop or something for her eyes. She couldn’t afford to put on the contacts again anytime soon until her eyes were fully recovered, else she’d be hurting her eyes further. And she couldn’t afford to walk around the house like a blind bat either. Did people ever kidnap blind people? She mused, trying to imagine the scenario. She giggled at her silly thought, and then her heart jumped when a knock sounded on the door. Her eyes shot to the door even though she could barely see it clearly without squinting. Who was it? Jax? She guessed he was the one since he was the only one who had been talking to her all day. What did he want from her again? She didn’t want to face him since she didn’t want him to know she couldn’t see clearly without her glasses or lens. While she was still there thinking, she heard the doorknob turn and when Jax couldn’t open it, she heard him mutter a swear under his breath. "Open the door," he snapped, annoyed. He didn’t deserve this. He was exhausted. He had barely slept since he got back from work and having to deal with her as well as Venita and Diva was taking a toll on him. "Go away. I don’t want to talk to you," Mari said, hoping he would take the hint and leave her alone. "You must think this is your father’s house and you’re talking to your parents or your maid," Jax asked irritably, knocking on the door again. Mari ignored him and adjusted on the bed. "If you don’t open this door, I’m going to get someone to take it down, and I won’t put it back up," he threatened, and Mari sat up with a frown, wondering if he would do such a thing. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you. It will be your fault if you do not have any more privacy going forward," Jax threatened, and then took out his phone and dialed a number. "Get me someone to take down the door in the guestroom," Jax muttered impatiently. Hearing that he seemed to be busy on the phone, Mari got off the bed and walked over to the door to hear what he was saying since he wasn’t speaking out loud enough for her to hear from the room. "What’s going on?" Mari heard Venita, who had just arrived, ask. "Stay out of it, Venita," Jax said, not in the mood to say anything to her. "Why are you asking them to come take down the door?" Venita asked, ignoring the warning in his tone. Mari frowned. Did he really want to take down the door? He wasn’t bluffing? "Venita, I’m in a foul mood that’s increasingly getting worse by the second. Stay out of my path," Jax warned, and she rolled her eyes. "You’re the one who asked me to come..." "Because I thought you’d be reasonable and helpful. But you obviously do not plan to be reasonable or helpful. So, get your stuff and leave. Do not provoke me further." "Fine. I’m sorry," Venita said reluctantly, "just don’t expect me to wait on her like some princess. She has to take care of herself. I won’t be serving her. I’m not her maid." "I never asked you to wait on her. Keep your eyes on her, that’s all," Jax said, and Mari frowned. "What’s that you’re holding? Want to poison her?" Venita asked, looking at his hands. "Why would I want to poison her?" He asked with a scowl, "It’s for her eyes. Tear eye drops..." before Jax could finish, Mari opened the door. She was just going to pretend like she could see clearly and try not to squint at them. "Aww. You got me teardrops?" She asked, relieved as she looked down at his hands, trying hard not to squint. Jax scowled as he looked at her, "You took your sweet time to open the door," he said as he tucked his phone into back his pocket. Her father had told him that she couldn’t see without her glasses or contacts, so he wondered how she was able to see him now that she had taken off her contacts. "You should have just said you brought me something, baby," Mari said with a sweet smile. "Baby?" Venita asked, looking between the both of them. "Here," Jax said, ignoring Venita as he extended the eye drop to Mari. "I can’t apply this myself. Do you mind helping me?" Mari asked sweetly, without taking it from him. Jax narrowed his eyes as he wondered what she was up to but before he could speak Venita did. "I will help you," Venita offered. Mari shook her head. "Thanks, but no. I don’t trust you yet. You’ll have to earn my trust," Mari said, making Venita look at her incredulously while Jax resisted the urge to laugh. "Earn you trust?" Venita asked and then turned to Jax, "Is she crazy?" Venita asked Jax, who was trying not to laugh. "I think she is. Now you see what I’ve been facing all morning," Jax said, and Mari faced him. "Baby, I want you to do it yourself," she said, batting her lashes even though she couldn’t see his face clearly. For some reason she wasn’t scared of him even though he seemed to be the one who had kidnapped her and brought her to his place. Maybe it was because of gorgeousness. And she trusted him more than she trusted his sister and his girlfriend. She had a feeling the two ladies wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her, but Jax on the other hand, he didn’t want to hurt her. She didn’t know why, but she knew he didn’t want to hurt her. "Stop calling me that," Jax growled. "Okay, baby," Mari said sweetly, and Venita raised a brow at Jax. "I’ll do it," Jax said, and Venita rolled her eyes and walked away without another word. "I knew I could count on you," Mari said with a sweet smile as she returned inside the room, and Jax followed her, eyeing her warily. "Were you really going to pull down the door?" Mari asked as she approached her bed. "If I had to. Why are you going to your bed? You can just stand here," he said, but Mari said nothing until she got to the bed and then she sat down. "I prefer the eyedrops is applied when I’m lying down," she said with a sweet smile as she lay down, hoping that she could distract him and steal his phone if he got close enough to apply the eyedrop. Jax sighed inwardly and went closer to her, "Do not try anything funny," he warned. "Sure," she said with a nod and raised her head so that he could come closer to put the drop. Jax sat beside her, holding the tiny bottle of eye drops. He looked tired. His eyes had little red lines in them. But his hands were steady as he unscrewed the cap slowly. Mari lay flat on the bed, her head resting on the soft pillow as she watched him with half-closed eyes, trying not to squint too much. Her lips curled into a soft smile. "I’m ready," she whispered. Jax rolled his eyes but leaned closer. His knees pressed into the bed as he bent down beside her. "Don’t move," he said, voice firm. "I won’t," she whispered again. As he came close, she saw his phone sticking out from his back pocket. The edge of it peeked from the denim. Her heart did a little flip. He was close enough. She could feel the heat from his body. The scent of his cologne drifted over her— woodsy and clean. She inhaled it softly, pretending not to notice. Jax used one hand to hold her chin, tilting her head slightly. He held the bottle high. "Don’t blink," he muttered. A single drop dangled at the tip. Mari waited. Her fingers twitched. She moved her right hand slowly, letting it slide down the side of her body, close to his hip. The cold drop hit her eye. Mari flinched dramatically and let out a small gasp as her hand, now behind his back, moved lower. Her fingers brushed his pocket lightly. "What was that?" Jax asked. "Cold," Mari said, her voice soft. Jax shook his head as he reached for the second drop. "Other eye," he said. Mari nodded and turned her head slightly, her heart pounding. As he focused on the second eye, Mari’s fingers crept into his back pocket. She moved slow, slow like a cat. She held her breath. Her fingertips touched the phone. The second drop fell into her eye. She blinked fast, and slipped the phone out of his pocket. As Jax pulled back, she quickly pushed the phone under her thigh as she watched him standing upright. "Thank you for being so generous," she said with a forced smile, her heart racing. "What do you think you’re doing?" Jax asked, with a cocked brow. Her heart slipped a beat. Did he know? She blinked, but gave him her sweetest smile. "Nothing," she said. Jax shook his head with obvious exasperation as grabbed her leg and lifted it, causing her to gasp. He picked up the phone and dropped her leg. "Did you really think I didn’t know what you were up to?" he asked. "Did you really expect me not to try anything?" She retorted. "I told you not to try anything funny." "Was this funny? I don’t see you laughing," she quipped. Jax sighed as he stepped back, slipping the phone deeper into his pocket. His face didn’t look amused. "Don’t try that again," he warned. "Sure. I’ll try something else." she promised. "So stay on your toes." He gave her a long, tired look. Then he turned and headed for the door, "I won’t be back for a while. If you’re hungry fix yourself something," he said without glancing back. "What if I decide to burn down the house?" She asked, but Jax didn’t respond or glance at her as he walked out of the room.