A/N: I'd like to thank all the people who added this story to their alerts and favorites, as well as myself to their author list. That means so much to me you have no idea. I'd like to thank demonicseer and HermonieandMarcus for reviewing the story. I'm glad that everyone's enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. I know it's rated M and it's for a reason. -wink- No worries, things are going to get juicy -hopefully- later on.

She was no longer tied to the bed, but her wrists still felt the burn of the silk ties that had been tightly bound to them, forcing them to stay attached to the iron headboard. Moving was one of those things that felt impossible; her entire body was tense and stiff, hurting in places she had no idea could actually hurt in such a way. It wasn't a good feeling to have. Most knew that some stiff and tense feelings were good ones that were reminders of the previous nights excitements. This wasn't one of those.

Instead it was a haunting feeling, something that made her afraid to actually open her eyes and take the chance to look around. He was so mad, and though Pandora had seen Alex angry before, this was beyond his normal temper tantrums he threw. Taking the chance of opening her eyes the woman did so, seeing that the only light he left on was the bathroom light. The room was connected to the bathroom and with the door wide open the milky white light basked the room in it's rays, lighting up the area. The first thing her hazel eyes connected with were the blood spatters on the white sheets and her arm.

Blood.

Alex had kept his promise of making her bleed. Being rough in the bedroom wasn't something that was new to her. There were lines to everything though; boundaries that Pandora would never allow to be crossed and even at times she could understand that the line was so thin between pain and pleasure that you never knew where one started and the other ended. Blood play wasn't one of the things she enjoyed. To get blood, a person had to bleed and normally it was the submissive who's blood was spilled. Being in pain wasn't a turn on, but she would be the first to admit that some things that were done didn't hurt, and if they did it was soon melted away into something pleasurable that caused her toes to curl.

Pandora moved slightly, wincing quietly to herself at the pain in her back while she tried to push herself up on her elbows. She had to get into the bathroom to look at the damage he had done. The more she moved and tried to sit up on the bed, the more her back hurt. It was horrible, worse than a fresh tattoo and she knew all about that. There were plenty on her body and even some in what most called 'sensitive areas'. Glancing at her shoulders and arms, she noticed the blood had dried, turning the normally red life force to that ugly dark red, brown color. The woman was scared to move her arms, afraid that whatever damage was done would only be worsened by the movement. It took her sitting there a minute or two before she managed to talk herself into pushing herself off of the bed, standing up only to find her legs were weak and quickly clutched onto the nightstand.

She took the brief moment to look at the bed, noting the crimson liquid that soaked itself into the pure whit sheets. A strangled sob stuck in her throat and her eyes began to sting with the feeling of fresh tears threatening to spill over at any moment, like a glass that was overflowing with liquid. How had she gotten herself in such a situation as this? Pandora came from a good family filled with love and care. Had she really been so foolish in thinking that Alex would change? Things weren't ever so simple. She took a deep breath and stood up the best she could, hunching over slightly. She had to get to a phone and the bathroom. Not knowing was worse than knowing and with all the blood she had to see.

A sudden noise caused her head to turn, forcing her to pause abruptly in her movements. The sound of her pounding heart in her ears caused her to strain to listen for more sounds, trying to see if she could hear footsteps on the hardwood floors the small house offered.

Silence.

There was no telling how long she had been on the bed bleeding out, but all the moving caused her to become slightly light headed. Pandora took a deep breath in, resting a hand on the wall to brace herself on, slowly making her way to the bathroom. She stopped and turned around, looking for her purse. Seeing the damage done to her wasn't as important as calling her dad. He'd know what to do, where to go. She was slowly moving around, doing her best to brace her weight on anything she could in hopes it would help her. Finally she spotted her bag, and snatched it up, digging out her cellphone.

Part of her was scared to call him. Not because he would yell at her, but because of what he would do. After staring at her phone for a couple of minutes she dialed his number and waited. She heard her fathers voice ring out from the earpiece on the phone after a couple of rings and just as she was about to say something Pandora turned around. Instead of looking into the bathroom the injured woman was face to face with Alex. His lip was turned up in sneer and she dropped the phone, frozen in place.

Alex pulled his hand back and pushed it forward, causing her to scream loudly and then the world went black.

Pandora was jerked from her nightmare with a scream, her arm jutting forward with a tight fist, coming into contact with something somewhat hard. The action was followed by a groan and a string of curse words that made the woman quickly open her eyes and look around. She came face to face with Jax and gasped audibly, covering her mouth with her hands as she looked him over, watching as he rubbed his jaw in pain.

"Oh my god, Jax. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you." She turned in her seat sideways, allowing her legs to dangle out of the open door.

Jax turned his head to the side, spitting out some blood in the process. "Damn darlin', you didn't have to clock me. I was just trying to wake you up." His tone was harsh, one that caused Pandora to clench her eyes shut tightly and hang her head in shame.

"I'm really sorry. It's not like I knew it was you or anything. I was asleep."

"And having a nightmare from the sounds of it." He said, spitting out some more blood.

Pandora felt horrible she had hit him. All he had been doing so far was help her and she repaid him by punching him in the jaw. Running a shaky hand through her hair she took a deep breath it, allowing for it to come out in a sigh and she opened her eyes, moving her hazel ones to meet Jax's blues. The vivid images where still in the front of her minds eye and she tried her hardest to will them away. Her father was going to have a field day with what had just happened, which meant he was going to sit her down and figure out what the problem was. There was no way Pandora could tell him that it had to do with Alex. If she did he'd drive back down to Louisiana and kill the man himself.

She bit on her bottom lip, grabbing the bag and jacket that had been between her legs on the floor and set it in her lap, "I shouldn't have done what I did." The woman paused, glancing at the red mark on his lower jaw that was beginning to swell, "Do you need some ice?"

He shook his head and moved back even more from the opened door, giving Pandora room to jump down if she wished to. She did and slung the backpack over her shoulder and her jacket over her arm, taking a moment to look around as she shut the door. It was nice where her parents lived. Pretty, in what appeared to be a motorcycle infested neighborhood. No wonder this was where her parents planted their roots. They were at home with people who shared the biggest interest they had. There were a couple of bikes she was able to recognize that belonged to some of the members in her dads MC. Pandora turned her attention back to Jax and gave him an apologetic look, still feeling bad about the punch to his face.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Why, do I need to stand away from you just in case you have the sudden urge to match the other side of my jaw to the one that's currently in pain?" Jax questioned, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

All she could do was stand there for a minute, looking at him. Shaking her head she moved past him, going into the house, "Ya know, you make it sound like you've never been hit before or that I'm going to abuse you in some ways."

"The thought entered my mind." He smirked lightly, following behind her as they walked in, shutting the door as soon as he entered.

"You're fuckin' with me, aren't you?" She inquired, throwing the bag and jacket on the couch, followed by her sunglasses. Turning around she placed her hands on her hips, her attention focused on Jax.

"Maybe just a little bit, darlin'. I'll be fine, really. It's just fun making you agitated. You do this little wrinkle nose thing."

As if on cue her nose involuntary wrinkled slightly at the little bit of information in his statement. She paused for a moment and then released the tension in her nose, allowing it to go back to normal. Her mother use to say she looked like a bunny when she did that. A very sad, but cute bunny who was trying to get her way. It's something she did since she was a child and most of the most time when the small, delicate nose wrinkled in front of her father, she was able to get her way. With her mother, not so much. Moms had an immunity to such a thing, while fathers didn't. Poor guys.

"Yep, that nose wrinkle right there." Jax chuckled quietly and nodded his head in her direction.

Her shoulder shrugged slightly and Pandora turned on her heels, making her way into the kitchen. "Is my dad here? I didn't see his bike outside." She called out as she opened the fridge, bending over to try and find something to drink. Nothing but silence came from the living-room and she grabbed a beer, popping it open with the edge of the kitchen counter and entered the living-room once more.

Jax was still there, hands shoved deeply in his pockets like he was trying to see how deep they could actually go and was looking around. Pandora took a swig of her beer, leaning against the door frame that separated the kitchen and the living-room, just watching him.

He glanced up at her and cleared his throat quietly, taking the opportunity to look around. "He had to go to the funeral home in Charming to finish some things for your moms funeral."

Her lips twisted to the side in thought at the news. It wasn't like she forgot about Birdie's funeral. How could she? It was the entire purpose behind the sudden move. She was only lucky she had a month to month lease, which allowed her to wait until the last months rent was due before packing up and ducking out. For a moment Pandora wondered why her dad hadn't asked her to go along with her. But knowing him he was afraid she would break down and not be able to stop. Crying in public wasn't her cup of tea. She'd bury her emotions until the time was right to unleash the floodgate. If she ever did.

"I see. Well then," She paused, taking a deep swig of her beer and placed it on the side table that was closest to her, "let's get that shit out of your car so you can be on your way."

"It's already done sweetheart, I did it while you where counting Z's in the SUV." Jax threaded his hand through his hair and for a moment she watched as the blonde strands fells directly back into place once his hand was free of them. Her own hand wanted to mimic the same motion to him, see if she had the same result he did. She shook her head lightly as if trying to knock the sudden thoughts from her head.

No, absolutely not.

She knew how bikers were most of the time and Jax was one of those cute ones. The small lines on his face was proof that he was older, perhaps even older than her. Tattoos littered his arms under the white tee he wore and she had no doubt that there were bound to be more under the shirt. The cut which he was now sporting wasn't one that he was wearing earlier. He put it on most likely once he began moving, letting people in the area know that he was there as friend and was just helping out. Perhaps bikers were looked at differently here and they weren't going to be harassed like they were back in La. All Pandora could do was hope.

She gave a brief nod of her head and started to unbutton the couple of buttons that was holding the vest she wore together in front of her midsection, revealing a black silk corset that was buttoned in the front, sporting multiple silver skull and crossbones on it. She ran her hand over the material, feeling the smooth silk over the delicate pads of her fingers and reached for her beer once more, taking another deep swig from the brown bottle.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Pandora gave him a light smile, one that didn't exactly reach her eyes. The reason didn't have anything to do with Jax. She was weary was all, tired. The nap in the car proved to help her in her weariness, but still her body ached for more.

It would have been rude to just send him on his way, at least, that's what she thought. He didn't appear to be in a rush to get back to the shop, since he was still standing in her living-room like some sort of Greek god statue that most likely came naturally to him. She took a moment to glance at the mini grandfather clock that was attached to the wall and noticed it was four in the afternoon. It was still pretty earlier and as the two stood there in comfortable silence, she wondered if asking him if he'd like a beer would have been an acceptable thing to do. One beer couldn't hurt and Pandora would make sure she was kept somewhat busy so it didn't appear she was interested in him.

Everyone had a story, even her and part of her couldn't help but be partially curious as to what his story contained. Personally, Pandora had never really been the type to share information about herself or her family. They did things that would shock most people, which would likely ensure that if they knew, the first thing they would do was run to the cops and tell them. Others knowing personal information meant that her families lives were at stake, not to mention those in the MC as well. Vague was a good thing, one thing she had learned and managed to get rather good doing. She wasn't sure how she could ever live with herself knowing she let something slip and the action of it was someone she cared about going to jail for a long time.

She knew the consequences to their actions, but they were just trying to do what they had to to get by. Probably not the most legit and legal way, but hey. Everyone did their own thing from time to time.

"Would you like something to drink? We have beer, juice, tea." She offered, moving once more into the kitchen to look into the fridge. The sound of Jax's footsteps on the hardwood floor of the house alerted her that he was coming in there with her and soon she was greeted with the view of his face.

He propped his shoulder against the frame and leaned forward a bit, blue eyes scanning the contents of the appliance. "Beer would be fine with me."

Giving a brief nod of her head she pulled out another beer, cracking the tight metal cap off the top and handed it to him. He took it, bringing the bottle to his lips to take a brief swig then pulled out his cigarettes, lighting one.

"Don't mind that I smoke do you? I noticed the ashtrays and figured it would be okay." Jax spoke in between blowing out the smoke and taking another drink of his beer.

She waved her hand carelessly and walked to the kitchen counter, hopping on top of it to swig her feet lightly back and forth, "Nah, it's fine. I smoke myself, so it doesn't bother me too much." As if to prove her point she pulled out her cigarettes and lit one, placing the flask like cigarette holder beside her on the counter.

Jax stepped into the kitchen a little more, moving to stand beside Pandora, but not close enough that made her feel uncomfortable. The two sat in silence, drinking their beer and smoking their cigarettes, sharing the glass ashtray that sat in between the two. The silence wasn't unbearable. Instead it was comfortable, but Pandora was sure that Jax was probably figuring out something to say. She was right and after a couple of minutes he spoke up.

"I'm really sorry about your mom. She was a great person. Made one hell of a pie too." He glanced at her sporting a small smile.

The statement caused Pandora to smile absently and chuckle, faintly nodding her head. Birdie was popular for her pies. They were always so moist and delicious, just enough sweetness to get you by and never too hot. She had fond memories of being in the kitchen with her mom, sitting on the counter like she was at that moment with Jax as she allowed the smell of fresh baked treats waft towards her noise. If Pandora was lucky enough, her mom would let her get a small taste of them before dinner. The little bite only made her want more, making her mouth water.

She glanced at Jax while her fingers started to peel the label off her beer bottle, "I appreciate it." Pandora paused to take the final drag of her cigarette, snuffing out the glowing cherry on in the end in the ashtray and blew the smoke to the side. "She really was amazing. Growing up she made sure everyone was okay and as well as they could be. Basically the rock that held us all together; including the guys in the club."

"Gemma's like that. Strong and stubborn, but cares about her own." He followed suit and put out his cigarette out as well, leaning his back against the counter.

"That's not always a bad thing. The only thing you can count on in this world are those you put your trust in." She hopped off the counter and chugged the rest of her beer, tossing the empty bottle into the trashcan before grabbing another from the fridge. Instead of hopping back on the counter, she went into the living-room to collect the her things and moved to where she would be staying. She'd have to start looking for other places and hoped there would be some close by. If not, she'd have to look into the places surrounding Lodi, which would just be more of a hassle. There was something loath worthy about packing and moving. It didn't help any where it seemed like you had to continue to move from one place to the next.

Once in her room Pandora looked around at all the boxes, groaning quietly to herself at the thought of unpacking them all, only to repack them later. Tossing her jacket and bag on the bed she moved over to the vanity, placing her beer on the top of the black antique wood makeup vanity. In the main large mirror she could see Jax in the doorway, leaning against the frame. He seemed to be following her everywhere she went and it made her question why. She was a big girl and could get by on her on. If there was one thing that bothered her in the entire world, it was people hovering. Pandora would have been fine by herself and the little grin on his sexy face only made matters worse.

"Nice guitar. You play?" Jax questioned, nodding his head in the direction of the Gibson acoustic guitar that was placed carefully no doubt on her bed.

Pandora took another long swig of her beer, as if she was trying to erase bad memories from her mind and looked at him through the mirror, nodding faintly, "I use to. That's not even my guitar."

"Who's is it?"

It appeared she wouldn't have a peaceful moment alone without memories of her mother. Pandora knew it was going to be like that when she moved. To be surrounded by things that screamed memories at her was bad, but when the memories were things that made the situation worse, no one wanted to think about them. It wasn't that it made the situation worse, per say, but it did make her harder to come to terms with it. She knew her mother was dead. There was no denying that. It wasn't like she lived in some delusional world where she thought her mother was going to walk through the door at any moment laughing and scream 'Fooled ya.' No, she lived in the real world where people died ever minute, of every day, of ever year. Denial wasn't a part of this.

She turned around and grabbed the guitar by the neck, feeling the strings under her fingers and went to the closet. "It was my moms." Opening the closet Pandora stood on her tiptoes to tuck it away carefully in the top of her closet. Pandora didn't even want to see it at that moment.

"Why you puttin' it away?" He took a swig of his beer and took a couple of more steps into the room, leaning his lower back against the wall and placed his head against it. He was confused as to why she wouldn't want to have such a thing out in the open, maybe even play it. To put such an amazing guitar up was a shame and seemed to be a sin against something so beautiful.

"Because I don't want to look at it right now." Pandora paused and shut the closet, grabbing her beer once more, "Why are you still here anyways?" The question came out somewhat harsh, a lot harsher than what she meant for it to.

Jax looked as if he had just been hit in the face (again). He finished the rest of his beer and slammed the bottle down on her nightstand, tucking his hands in his jean pockets. "I wanted to see how you were doing, talk to you, get to know you. But if you want to act like a bitch then fuck it, I'll leave."

And with that he turned around and made his way to the door, but not before calling out to her, "Enjoy the rest of your day, darlin'. We'll contact you once your cars fixed." Then the door slammed and the sound of him peeling out of the driveway in the SUV could be heard.