How could I leave her alone, even for a few hours, while Jax and I put our plan into motion? What if she went fucking slice happy on her skin again?

Shit. I’d have to restrain her.

“Alex…” With a sigh, I dropped my head between her tits and slid my hand over hers, into the mixture of our desire for each other. “The next time you feel like you’re gonna break, come to me. I’ll help you break, baby, then I’ll put you back together afterward.” I lifted my head. “No more hiding.”

Her lower lip trembled, and she pulled it between her teeth.

“Say it, Alex.”

“No more hiding. I’ll come to you. I promise.”

23. Mirrors - Rafe

23. MIRRORS - RAFE

The stench of tobacco ruined the crispness of approaching dawn, though considering what Jax and I were about to do, I wasn’t going to tell him to snuff out his cigarette.

“She cut herself last night.” I rubbed my arms for warmth. Birds chirped an annoying morning song of delight, and I wished for a fucking pellet gun.

Jax took a drag from his cancer stick, and his lips rounded as he blew it out into the chilly morning air, creating rings. “Did you put a stop to it?”

“Fuck yeah, I shut it down.” I frowned. “Probably went too soft on her.”

“How’d you handle it?”

“Took my belt to her ass. Withheld orgasm.”

He snickered around another drag. “From what I remember, that works on her.”

I gave him a funny look. “How close were you to that fucked up situation on the island?”

“Not as close as you’re thinking. I was busy juggling work and the old man’s demands. But like I said, you and I used to talk. You told me things.”

“Fuck, Jax, when I saw her slicing herself up…I can’t fuck this up.”

“You’ll get there. You guys are still figuring shit out.”

“Yeah, well this latest disaster is creating a new problem. I don’t trust her to leave her alone. Not so soon after what happened.”

“Sounds like a simple fix to me. You rigged that bedroom to restrain her. Check underneath the end of the bed.”

I arched a brow. “Why’d we get this place?”

“In case shit went to hell on the island. I kinda pushed for it. You couldn’t see past imprisoning her on that island. Talk about single-minded focus.”

That seemed to be my problem when it came to her. Even back when she was fifteen, before I’d gone to prison, I couldn’t go near the De Luca mansion without my head getting stuck on the seductively forbidden jailbait of Alex fucking De Luca.

How ironic I’d gone away for something I hadn’t yet done. My pulse skyrocketed. Maybe I’d deserved that prison sentence. Eventually, I would have crossed the line.

Probably.

Definitely.