Chapter 4
He took his time, almost forgetting her except the tiny reminder of her hands around his waist as he enjoyed the cold night air assaulting him. He weaved in and out of the night time city traffic, swerving across three lanes, cutting off several cars and pulled into an underground parking lot of a busy hotel. He parked and looked down at her hands, realizing her knuckles were white. "You still alive?" He asked amusedly.
"Y-Yes..." She stuttered out, freezing since her dress was strapless and now went to her mid-thigh.
Frozen solid, Jaxine peeled her arms from around him and slid off of the bike, chattering, not believing how uncaring he was. She held her shoes and quickly rushed inside the hotel, immediately embracing the warmth that hit her face as soon as she was in the stairwell. She stayed and waited for him, seeing him rushing after her, her eyes adverted to the floor. She needed a lukewarm shower or bath to unthaw.
He seen her standing there, shivering like a leaf and scooped her into his arms, his own skin feverishly warm, not caring when other patrons of the hotel gawked and commented. He just carried her to the elevator, ignoring a woman who tried to get on with them, pressing a button and letting the doors close in her face.
Jaxine swallowed hard as she engulfed the warmth of his body, not able to help it, and closed her eyes as he carried her off of the elevator and toward his room. When they arrived, he set her down on her feet and she immediately walked over to the heater, turning it on and tried warming her limbs back up again. "Would you mind terribly if I-" She blinked when her bag was set in front of her, turning around to stare up into his green eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. He'd had this planned all along!! She simply turned back around and closed her eyes, hoping she woke up from this nightmare.
He chuckled darkly at her reaction. He never admitted he wasn't a devious, sadistic man. Infact, it was rapidly becoming one of his character traits. "Go enjoy a warm bath." He advised, retreating to pour himself a heavy drink. "We have a very long night ahead of us, Jaxine." He promised, not turning back to face her.
Her bottom lip trembled upon hearing that as she took her bag and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and slid down it. Tears streamed down her face as she buried her face in her knees, trembling from head to toe. She couldn't believe this. Why did it have to be her? "I should've never taken the job." She whispered solemnly, shaking her head before slowly getting to her feet. She looked in the mirror, seeing her black makeup was smeared and sighed, removing what was left of her red velvet dress and threw it in the trash before walking over to start her bath.
He sipped his whiskey thoughtfully, walking over to stare out the window, wondering to himself why he was bothering with this woman when it was obvious she was likely to become a gigantic pain in his ass. 'Taker pressed the cold tumbler to his forehead, finally pulling off his wrestling top and tossing it aside, next undoing his hair, letting it tumble free of the ponytail it had been in. He sat on the edge of the bed with his drink in just his tights, watching the bathroom door broodingly.
After an hour, Jaxine was finally thawed out and slowly stepped out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her body, drying off. She walked over to her bag and groaned, realizing she'd only packed nightgowns. She sighed heavily and finally pulled out a midnight blue one with matching bra and panties, slipping them on. The gown went to her knees as she placed the other clothes in it. She brushed her hair, pulling it up, but then stopped, leaving it down. She didn't want him looking at her scar and tormenting her even more. She sniffled a little, closing her eyes and brushed her teeth before finally deciding she couldn't prolong the inevitable any longer. Taking a deep breath, Jaxine walked out, her face free of the makeup that usually covered it and set her bag against the wall near the door.
He was on his fourth glass, looking at her curiously as she walked out. With her make-up, she looked a bit like a gothic whore. Though he might have been biased because her colors were Kane's colors. Now she looked almost pretty, in a childish sort of way. At least that was the most his conscious mind would allow him to admit. "Would you like a drink?" He asked cordially.
"I'll get it." She whispered, stopping him from getting up as she walked over to the bar, sifting through it and pulled out the bottle of Tequila, not even grabbing a glass. "You don't mind, right?" She didn't wait for his answer and took a long swig of it, the liquid burning down her throat before she walked over to stare out the window. She wasn't an alcoholic by any means, but if she had to stay with this monster for whatever amount of time, she needed all the help she could get from not freaking out.
"By all means, help yourself." He said, smirking slightly, reclining backwards on his elbow, his long legs resting out on the bed. "I want to know more about you." He announced, knowing she wouldn't be surprised by that. If anything, by the resigned look on her face, she was more than expecting it. 'Taker sat up, swinging himself off the bed and stood up, crossing over to refill his glass, preferring to not drink straight from a bottle unless, of course, he was in one of his foul moods. "I want you to tell me about your father's church."
This was unbelievable as she took another long swig, fighting back the tears, refusing to look back at him and refusing to go near him. He could stay on that bed all night; she would be fine to stand staring outside, not much of a sleeper these days. "It was like any other hypocritical church. Trying to shove the word of god down your throat. I hardly went so I don't know and when I did go, I was in too much pain to really notice. Forgive me." She said that last part sarcastically, squeezing the bottle tightly in her tiny grasp, pressing her forehead against the glass.
"You're very anti-religious, aren't you? Are you an Agnostic who believes in something, but unsure of what or an Atheist who believes in nothing?" He next asked, leaning against the bar, sipping his drink. "If it makes you feel better, you can ask me a question for every one I ask you." He offered, trying to get her to actually talk.
"I believe in myself and take my life day by day. I don't have a religion." She replied, shivering as she continued looking out the window. "What makes you think I want to get to know you?" She quietly shot back; taking another swig of the Tequila bottle before setting it down, deciding three shots was enough for now. She didn't want him taking advantage of her and wouldn't put it past him.
He seen her push the bottle away and inwardly rolled his eyes. If she was thinking what he was assuming she was thinking, how wrong she was. Coercion yes, molestation no. He wasn't that bad. As far as he knew anyway. "I thought it might make you feel less attacked." 'Taker explained, not bothering to cut back on his alcohol in the slightest. It would take much more then what he had had to get even the least bit intoxicated.
She felt exhausted and sat down on the floor, sitting with her legs sideways, her nightgown resting against her thighs as she lowered her eyes, sighing heavily. "Thank you." She whispered, not sure what she was thanking him for, but honestly didn't know what else to say at that moment. She wrapped her arms around herself, wondering what he'd met when he said they had a long night ahead of them. The thought made her shiver inwardly.
Seeing her shiver, he tugged the blanket off the bed and tossed it at her. "Cold?" He inquired, like asking her about the weather, returning instantly to the religion question. "You're an Atheist, you don't believe in a higher being." He summarized, trying to piece together what she had both said and hadn't said. "Or have you decided to change your answer?"
"I'm nothing!" She cried out in frustration, beginning to rock back and forth, the torment obvious in her amber eyes, squeezing them tightly shut. "Please, please stop asking me about my religion." She pleaded with him, drawing her knees up to bury her face in them, her shoulders shaking. She hated talking about religion; she hated talking about what she believed in. Jaxine would rather be set on fire than talk about what he was asking of her.
Jaxine's aversion to religion fueled his curiosity even more, though for the sake of her rapidly declining sanity, he backed off for the moment. "How did you come to be with my brother? I wasn't aware he was in need of female companionship." He said finally, dropping back down onto the bed, stretching his long legs out in front of him, leaning back against the head board.
She slowly looked up at him, sniffling a little and raked a hand through her hair as she gripped it in her fingers. "Paul met me in a bar where I live." She wasn't going to reveal that information if she could help it. "He said I was the perfect match for his son. He explained to me somewhat what Kane did for a living, a wrestler, and said he'd pay me a large sum of money to be his valet. That's all Paul told me." She was telling the truth and pulled the blanket across her lap, leaning back against the vent and closed her eyes. "I don't know why he wanted me to be Kane's valet and I took the offer because of the money."
"Interesting." He murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully, wondering why indeed Paul would want a woman for Kane. Especially a woman with such a strange scar. He sat upright, staring down at her, his eyes beginning to burn. "Did he see your scar, Jaxine?" He demanded icily.
"I honestly don't know." Her eyes said she was speaking the truth as she stared up into his icy emerald green eyes. "He said you found something that interested you and that I needed his and Kane's protection. When he shoved me into you on the ramp way, I was going to leave and go back home, but then he said that and..." She suddenly looked away, shuddering and closed her eyes, burying her face in her knees again.
He started laughing, a deep; dark rumbling that started deep in his chest, finally emerging and booming around the room, leaning forward to slap his knee. "What a fool!" He chuckled, not bothering to fill her in on the joke. "Well he was right, I do find you interesting. But the hour grows late and you look tired." He stood up, gesturing to the bed. "Sleep, Jaxine."
Jaxine blinked as she slowly stood up when he came toward her, seeing there was only one bed, deciding not to argue with him because it looked too inviting. "What's so funny?" She asked softly, sighing when he just waved her off dismissively.
Great. He could demand every answer on this planet from her and she get none in return. Fantastic. She made her way toward the bed and pulled the comforter back and lay down, snuggling against the pillow.
Being the gentleman that he was, 'Taker took the couch, folding his hands under his head, comfortable enough. "Paul was using you to distract me." He said after awhile, not bothering to shut off the lights, figuring she'd rather them be on, just in case he got dirty thoughts in the middle of the night or something. Whatever she might expect him to do. "It worked kudos to him."
Jaxine didn't like that. She didn't like that at all. Swallowing hard, she snuggled further into the bed, seeing he took the couch and raised an eyebrow. Undertaker was a difficult man to read and she was surprised when he didn't make any attempt to turn the light off. She sighed and reached over, since the light was closer, and turned it off. "I can't sleep with it on." She softly explained before snuggling back in the bed, closing her eyes. She was going to kill Paul for what he got her into.
He lay awake for a long while, contemplating that. Paul obviously wanted him to stop with the mind games on Kane and no wonder. All he had to do was show a foot and the boy was pissing his pants, this had been one of Paul's smarter ideas. Too bad it wasn't going to work. If anything, Jaxine was going to be further fuel to throw onto the flames. If he knew Kane, and he did, the big man would already be attached to her and that would only help 'Taker all the more.