The Proposal: Chaper 2

Keesha closed the door quickly, taking a well needed breath. She tried to gather her composure and leaned up against Jax's door. After a moment she cleared her throat and walked downstairs.

Jax flipped through his book. She understood French, Italian, and Spanish. She was obviously very intelligent and she was also American, which gave the added bonus of not having to discover her family stature. American women were automatically considered to be the perfect prize-likely because they were mysterious to the natives here. Intelligent, American...

Beautiful.

Jax realized the moment Keesha turned around and looked at him that she was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever seen-or even invisioned in his mind.

"Perfect," he mumbled to himself, going over to answer the knock on the door.

"So..." Jerry smiled, pushing Jax out of the way so he could walk in. "I did well?"

"Very." Jax had to grin. "She's...you did well." "I have done my part...obviously however you have failed. It is too bad. She is downstairs right now, warding off advances."

"Who says I failed."

"Jax, we do not have time for you to work some sort of magic spell on the woman."

Jax groaned. Jerry was right. Even Jerry must have realized time was short, given he was upstairs, ready to leave this tavern so soon. Jax walked over to the window, looking at the so-called view of the alley behind the tavern. His eyes darkened.

Keesha took a deep breath, thankful for the clarity of the night air. If she had to stay in that tavern for one more second, with all of the men and their vulgar words and roaming hands, she thought for sure she would lose her senses. She took another breath, thankful she was able to sneak away outside.

Then she heard a door close. Keesha turned and looked at the man inching towards her. He gave her a wicked smile. "There you are." This man was the precise reason she needed to sneak away to begin with. He would not take no for an answer. "Actually, I was going back..." Keesha's voice trailed off as the man grabbed her arm. "...inside. Will you please release me?"

"Release..." The man pushed her up against the wall. "...is such an odd word. It can mean so many things..." he mumbled, and Keesha closed her eyes, wincing at the smell of stale brandy oozing from his every pore.

"Let...me...go." Keesha stated, her voice deepening.

"And if I do not?" The man grabbed her other hand, pinning her arms against the wall.

"Let go." she repeated, finally opening her eyes again.

"No." He bent forward.

And Keesha spit right into his face.

"You little whore!" He let go of one of her wrists, wiping his face with his hands. "I am going to teach you..."

The man recoiled as Keesha hit him as hard as she could. He stumbled and fell.

"I said, let me go..." she started to move away from him. But he leapt up and Keesha realized just how trapped she was. "If you can get past me, to the door, I will gladly let you go."

Click

"Or...you will let her go right now."

"Wait your turn..." the man continued to glare at Keesha.

Jax whirled the man around to face him, pointing his gun right between the eyes. "Apologize."

"To her? I am not going to..."

"I said..." Jax's eyes grew even colder. "Apologize to the lady. Or I will end your pathetic life right now."

"I am fine..." Keesha walked over to Jax, standing next to him. He had come outside, still undressed from the waist up, and she realized he must have come specifically to aid her. Keesha noticed his jaw twitching in furor, and touched his arm gently. She could not have Jax murder because of her. "Please...I am fine."

"See, I didn't hurt her, she says..."

"APOLOGIZE!" Jax yelled.

"I am sorry..." the man spoke quickly.

"Lady Ward." Jax waited.

"What?"

"Her name, say her name. I assume you did not even bother to ask it before you attempted to violate her."

"Lady Ward, I am giving you my sincerest apologies. Please forgive me."

Jax lowered his gun and Keesha breathed a sigh of relief. "Go," he ordered to the man, and the man ran off, leaving Jax outside with Keesha. It was only when Jax finally turned and looked at her that Keesha dropped her hand from his arm.

"Thank you."

Jax did not answer. He went over to the door and held it open.

Keesha stood motionless. "I...I am not going back in there."

"No. You are not." Jax agreed.

"I do not understand..."

"Inside, please."

Keesha waited for a moment and then walked back into the tavern.

"There she is...come this way..." another man called to her. Jax noticed her tense ever so slightly. "She's occupied!" Jax yelled. "Upstairs," he mumbled to Keesha. She looked back at him and he expected a barrage of questions. To his surprise she did not say one word.

Keesha leaned up against the wall, watching as Jax and Jerry spoke, quietly. She could not understand anything they said, but she did note that Jax still seemed very upset.

"She did not say she was coming?"

"She's coming."

"Jax, you cannot force the woman to come with you."

"I will not leave her here unguarded." The thought of that man...or any man's hands on her...Jax took a drink of wine from his glass, his anger continuing to grow...as did his confusion to why he cared.

"I don't mean to sound cruel, but why is she your problem? You have enough don't you think?"

"She is coming and that is final!" Jax snapped.

Coming? "Coming where?" Keesha finally asked.

"To my estate." Jax spoke quietly. "And I do not intend to let you delay me any further with invalid reasons you care to give."

"You have yet to hear any of my reasons, how do you know whether they would be invalid?"

Jerry laughed for a moment, immediately stopping as Jax glared at him.

"Fine. What reason could you possibly have for wanting to stay here when you now see what it is like?"

"I do not know you."

"So you would rather stay in a place where every evening there will be dozens of men you don't know, than stay with one-me?"

Keesha didn't answer.

"Now, if there are no other statements to be made, we have to be leaving. Now. But first..."

"Are you comfortable?" Jax asked as he helped Keesha into the carriage. "The ride is long."

"I am fine." Keesha couldn't believe she was doing this-she looked down at the ring on her finger.

Correction-that she did it. She had just married some man named Jasper Jacks. The boat's captain had been in the tavern, and in a matter of five minutes she was married to this man, in her barmaid's dress of all things-because her normal attire had been stolen sometime during the evening.

Now she was married, she was legally bound to someone she did not even know-she was completely trapped.

Keesha looked away from Jax. Though trapped seemed like the wrong word to use. Besides, he had promised her that she was needed merely to be a mother figure to his young cousin. No more, no less.

Keesha pulled the strap of her dress up once more.

"Here."

Keesha looked over at Jax. He held his overcoat out for her. "Thank you." She took it, wrapping it around her body.

"Why don't you try and get some rest, I have something to speak to the driver about."

Keesha nodded, even though she knew rest would be impossible. She couldn't rest when she didn't feel safe, and ever since she stepped on that boat almost a month ago, she had not had a good evening's sleep-she was too busy trying to stay focused on the people around her.

Keesha did not imagine being able to sleep again for a long while. She pulled Jax's overcoat up, closing her eyes as his scent washed over her.

Jax opened the carriage door and stepped inside. He looked across at Keesha, sound asleep.