Tempting Sydney by Angela Corbett

and I looked up into the sky, but a face passed over my point of view. It was a gorgeous face with a strong jaw, sexy, messy dark chocolate curls, and bright Caribbean colored irises. I smiled widely. “Blue Eyes!” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. I realized he was holding me. Tightly. “You’re here!”
    His lips were pulled into a thin line, his features a study in barely contained violence as he looked around. They changed when his gaze came to rest on me, though. “You’re going to be okay, Syd. Let’s get you home.”
    “But…Brynn! I need Brynn!” I flopped my head to the side of his arm, trying to look around. “Brynn!” I yelled. “Brynn! Come with me!”
    “Sshhhh. I’ll get her, Syd. Let me get you out of here first.”
    When we got to his truck—he had a truck!—he gently put me inside, shielding my head, and belted me into the front seat. He left, telling me not to move. I didn’t. I fell asleep instead. I woke up when he got back, cradling Brynn in his arms. She looked as sick as I did, but her clothes all seemed intact.
    I’d been saved by Blue Eyes. Brynn too. Full-on, knight-in-shining-armor, this-only-happens-in movies, saving. I tilted my head and tried to focus on his gorgeous face. “You saved us,” I murmured.
    There was a long pause, or maybe I’d already fallen asleep and dreamed his next words, “This time,” he whispered “And I won’t let this happen to you again.”
     

     
    I tried to sit up, but my head was pounding so hard I thought drums were playing in my brain. I immediately lay back down, tightly closing my sensitive eyelids against the bright morning light, and covering my ears while I rubbed my head with my fingertips and groaned.
    I felt hands brush over my hair, replacing my own. Pads of fingers pressed into pressure points on my head and I moaned as I slitted my eyes open, trying to figure out who the angel head healer was.
    Even through my sliver of vision, I could see his sculpted features and messy brown hair. He was wearing a tight fitted white shirt, his muscles bulging beneath it. He pressed gently, but firmly along the front of my skull, rhythmically making his way around to the back, pushing deeply into the base of my neck. His touch was perfection, and absolutely what I needed after such a horrible night. As he moved around to my jawline, pressing under it, he cupped my cheek. I opened my eyes a little wider. “Jax,” I breathed.
    “Hey, sweetheart,” his voice was as tender as his touch. “Glad you’re awake.”
    I moved to get up, but he shook his head, and kept massaging. I was in heaven. “What happened last night?” I asked. I had bits of memory including some dickhead named Karl, but I was having a hard time piecing it all together.
    “From what I could tell?” he said, still focused on his task, “Your drink was spiked with something. I’m guessing a date rape drug.”
    My mouth dropped. “Seriously?” The whole reason I went to stupid parties and events with Brynn was to make sure shit like that didn’t happen. Ever. We were always careful to stay together. “I don’t know how it happened. I had my drink with me all night.”
    A muscle worked at his jaw. “It happened because you were hanging out with assholes.”
    I couldn’t argue with that. They were definitely douchebags of the highest order. “I was careful, though. I don’t know when they could have put something in my drink.”
    “You can’t watch your drink every second, Syd. I’m sure he slipped it in when you were busy monitoring Brynn to make sure she wasn’t getting in trouble.”
    I shifted my eyes to the door, and her room down the hall. “Is she okay?”
    He pressed his fingers against my temples and I sighed. “She’s hung over, but that’s it. I don’t think they drugged her. The probably didn’t think there was a need since she was hanging all over the guy, and she was drunk.”
    I wasn’t functioning on even half of my brain-power yet,