The Mafia’s Wanted Desires

JAXON

The room was filled with utter silence that had me doing a double take of the woman standing right in front of me, chewing on her lips with nervousness written all over her face. I arched my brow at her, subtly telling her to tell me what had her so rattled that she was fiddling with the hem of her sleeves.

“Peach?” I called but I got no response.

“Baby, what did you do? Whatever it is, I am sure we can talk about it.” I implored her, keeping my voice overly soft. When she didn’t respond to me, I walked towards her, taking her hands in mine.

“Uh…”

“Promise not to get mad?” She asked in a small voice and I sighed, nodding but she wasn’t content with my response.

“I promise, Peach,” I assured her.

“So, remember I stayed up late yesternight and you asked me to come to join you in bed?” She inquired, her eyes steadily on mine.

“Yes, you told me you had some work you needed to attend to,” I answered.

“Well, I kind of lied.” She said slowly and I prodded her with my eyes.

“I booked an appointment with a therapist, who is currently waiting for us in our living room. Baby, trust me, it wasn’t easy convincing her because she’s a hotshot therapist.” She divulged and my hands instinctively went out of hers, her words giving me a mental whiplash. It felt as though I was drenched in a bucket of ice.

I stared at her, wordlessly, waiting for her to debunk what she had just told me and tell me that she was just trying to get on my nerves but she didn’t. Instead, she peered at me softly with pleading eyes, beseeching me to understand that she was just trying to help.

“You did what?” I queried, my lungs growing tighter with each word I uttered.

“I booked an appointment with a therapist.” Her words came out slowly, housing a hint of caution in them. I stared at her in disbelief, scoffing afterwards. I dug my fingers into my hair, threading them through it as I paced around in circles.

“Did you even think to ask me if I was ready for it yet?” I stopped pacing, questioning her, my voice dangerously low. I watched her swallow, wiping her hands on her shirt.

“Baby__”

“Of course, Evaline! You didn’t think so! As always, you did what you thought was best! You decided on your own without consulting me first!” I fired harshly at her, earning me a widening of her eyes as she veered backwards at the weight of my voice that echoed throughout the room.

“What the hell is your problem?!” I snapped at her and she flinched.

“You really think I want to sit down in front of a shrink and have her analyze the entire history of my life? This is not your problem to fix, so fucking stay out of it and stop trying to be the savior, every fucking time!” I bellowed. She couldn’t conceal her shock and it was so evident how my words cut through her with the way her eyes shimmered with hot tears.

“You had no fucking right!” I yelled, heaving loudly. I glared at her, spinning around and heading to the table. I set my hands on the edge, trying to control the loud, uneven breaths that filled the room. Something about what she did aggravated me so much and it didn’t take a while for me to realize that I had snapped at her because I was so scared of opening up.

I was terrified and she just happened to be my object of aggression.

“You are right.” She affirmed, her voice cracking and overly quiet. The hurt in those words cut through me like a thousand knives were being hurled at me. My heart clenched and constricted in pain, guilt overwhelming me.

I shouldn’t have snapped at her. She didn’t deserve it, not when all she was just trying to do was help. I puffed out some air through my cheeks, moving away from the table and approaching her. I was relieved that she didn’t recoil from my touch. She welcomed it and wrapped her arms around me in comfort.

“How do you manage to stay so calm?” I asked her and she chuckled.

“Because I got to understand you.” She answered in all honesty and I kissed her hair, sighing softly.

“I am so sorry, I should have asked you first. It’s not going to happen again.” She apologized quietly.

“You don’t have to apologize, baby. You were trying to help and I was being an asshole.” I voiced out, massaging her waist softly. I tilted her jaw to meet my eyes, gazing at her and unable to hide just how much she meant to me and how much I appreciated her, including everything she was doing. Her brown eyes swirled with softness as they took me in, slowly.

“So, is she still out there?” I asked.

“Yes, she is.” She answered.

“Let’s go meet her then,” I announced, kissing her cheek and she squealed like a little child, wrapping her arms around me so tightly.

“Promise to be nice?” She pouted and I chuckled.

“I promise.”

She flashed me a warm smile, leading me out of the study.

Descending the stairs, my eyes were graced with the back view of a tall blonde, who stood proudly, admiring one of the paintings on the wall. Our footsteps seemed to have announced our presence because she spun around on cue, her eyes zeroing in on me.

“Good morning, Doctor Kendra.” Peach greeted her with so much enthusiasm I couldn’t even bring myself to fake it. I just stared grimly at her. There was no denying the warm aura that surrounded the blue-eyed woman that was draped in a navy blue dress, paired with nude shoes.

“Good morning, Mrs. Gray,” she chirped in excitement, sounding so energetic.

“We are so sorry for keeping you waiting.” Peach apologized, but the Doctor brushed it off with a smile, and then, her eyes darted to me. Peach, wrapped her hands around one of mine, chuckling softly.

“And this is my husband, Jaxon Gray.” She introduced me to her and the blonde-haired woman stretched her hands forth for a handshake. I couldn’t hide how displeased I was but she didn’t take it to heart.

“Kendra Martin.” She smiled at me and I took her hand, shaking it curtly.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

I turned to Peach, who was grinning so widely. She was really happy and I didn’t want to be the one to quench that happiness, so I decided to suck it up and not be an asshole for one second. She leaned forward, dropping a chaste kiss on my lips, and then she retreated, leaving me all alone with the Doctor.

I exhaled, tucking my hands into the pocket of my pants. The unending smile that had her blue eyes twinkling so brightly seemed to get under my skin, eliciting a snort from me.

“Do you want to take a walk with me, Mr. Gray?” She asked softly, her eyes trained on me.

“Jaxon,” I corrected her, wanting her to get rid of the formalities and she smiled.

“Do you want to take a walk with me, Jaxon?” She rephrased and I drew in a long breath, sauntering past her and out of the house like a breeze. She didn’t seem to pick an offense to what I just did and right there, I concluded that she might be an expert at not taking offense to things.

She shut the door behind her and fell into sync beside me, her eyes wandering around the vast compound.

“How are you?” She spoke up, breaking the ice. I whipped my head in the direction, wondering why she would ask me that out of nowhere. Asking how I was, was a normal question but in that moment, it felt like it struck a nerve and I think she could deduce that too because her face beheld a fleeting smile.

“Really?” I asked dryly.

“That’s the first thing you ask me? Is that how you engage your clients in a conversation?” I scoffed, looking away from her.

“You have a very beautiful wife.” She grinned at me and unconsciously, my lips twitched in a smile which soon morphed into a large grin.

“Yeah, she’s beautiful in and out,” I affirmed, grinning uncontrollably.

“It’s nice to have that one person that just has your back, regardless of how tough the going gets.” She told me, sending me a bright smile and I couldn’t have agreed more. I stopped walking, heaving a breath.

“Am I going to be okay?” My voice came out so low but she picked up on my question, staring at me for a while before nodding.

“Yes, Jaxon. You are going to be fine.”

“But I can’t do that if you are not willing to admit that you need help. The first step to healing is to want it because when you do, everything is easier.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“I want to be good for her. I want to be worthy of her. I want to be a better man.” I laid out my goals on her lap and she smiled, nodding impressively.

“So yeah, let’s do this,” I told her.

“I am glad you are willing to work through this and I promise you, we’ll take it at your pace. There’s no need to rush,”

“Would you prefer indoor sessions or outdoor sessions?” She inquired and resumed walking. I followed her steps, falling in sync beside her.

“Indoor,” I said quickly.

“Great, works for me too. All you need to do is work through your schedule and give me a time you’ll be available, so from there we can reach an agreement.” She informed me and I threw her a curt nod.

“I’ll be expecting you, Jaxon.” She grinned at me, and with that, she spun on her heels, heading into the house to get her belongings.

I couldn’t help the way my eyes lit up in a smile because maybe, just maybe, I might be worthy of redemption.