“Where the hell is he?”
Lena lurched towards the drawn tan shower curtain, the knife poised under her hand as she ripped the sheet away and prepared to strike.
“Hey! Hold up a sec!”
The edge of the knife was nearly at her would-be-assailant’s cheek when she gasped at the sight of Jax’s glistening, nude body dripping into the tub, his hand hard around the base of the knife as he pulled it from her grasp, and the blade fell to the shower floor.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked.
Lena’s knees knocked together, and she started to swoon when he stepped from the tub and took her he into his arms and pressed his fingers to her face.
“Jax, I thought that…”
“Did you see something?” he asked.
“More like didn’t,” she said. “You weren’t there when I woke up.”
Jax’s shoulders fell, and he gathered her into his embrace as his lips dotted her head. “Sorry for that,” he said. “I should have known better. Just wanted to get cleaned up.”
She got that, but Lena still ached at the thought that his body was so far away when she lifted her lids. When she needed him most.
“Lena?”
She looked into his eyes and sadly nodded her head. “I get it,” she said. “I just had a bad dream.”
He started to press the point when he just took her into his arms. “That won’t last,” he promised. “Only good thoughts coming around the bend.”
Lena smiled at the sound of that and tried be nothing but happy when she looked up at him again. “But right now we’re still in danger.”
“No,” Jax insisted as he removed his shirt from her frame and brought her body deeper into the bath and plucked a tattered washcloth from the edge of the tub.
“We’re going to beat this,” he continued. “As long as we’re smart.”
To Lena’s mind, smart meant having him again. His body rocking against hers was the only thing that felt right, the only thing that made sense, and she stretched forward to kiss him when her heart caught in her throat, and she wheeled back as she held her head in her hands.
“He’s smart, too,” Lena said. “And if he finds us---”
“Then I’ll put him down like the dog he is.” Jax’s stare was hard as cradled her chin in his hands and pushed her body into the slick shower wall. Lena whimpered under the feel of his hold and tried to speak when Jax pressed his lips to hers. She sucked down the air leaving his lungs and clasped him close as his hands met her cunt again, and with no control over her limbs, Lena spread wide and started to grant him entry. “You said you wanted me to touch you,” he said.
“You should have stayed in bed, Jax. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up.”
“I get that,” he whispered into her ear. “Won’t go down like that again.”
Lena forgot her anger as he ran his fingers down her cheeks and moaned into her neck.
“Next time you’ll know if I have to go.”
The thought of next time sent a chill up her spine, but before she could give into the fear, Jax grabbed her arms and smiled.
“But I bet you’ll always find me,” he said. “At least promise you’ll keep looking.”
Lena kissed him hard and wrapped her arms around her neck, her hair trailing down his back as her fingers surrounded his firm ass. “How can I not?” she asked. She stretched up to kiss him and swiftly sank back to her knees. His cock protruded under her eyes, and Lena kissed the tip with a sly smile. “But I’d rather you just stay.”
He made no move to flee as Lena took his cock in her hand and began a slow, smooth stroke. He grew harder under the feel of her fingers, and she forgot everything that happened against her will. Without her consent. Because stroking and suckling him was something she wanted as much as he did. If not more, and Lena kissed the tip of his cock over and over again. Jax’s length grew harder under her lips, and she slowly parted her lips. Taking his cock into her mouth, she started to suckle and she winded her arms around his thighs as he filled her mouth and throbbed against her tongue. Licking him harder and sucking quickly, Lena was ready to drink in his flow when he stunned her with a shift in his stance. She struggled and failed to keep his cock in her mouth when he pulled her body from the ground and pushed his tongue around hers.
“Jax?” she managed, gasping as she clung to his arms. “Don’t you want me to make you feel good?”
His eyes shimmered around the possibility, but instead of forcing her back to the ground, Jax pressed her body to the wall and stroked her cheeks. “But I want you to feel good, too,” he said. “Both of us together.”
Before she could voice her approval, Jax slipped back inside her, and Lena would have fallen through space if it weren’t for the wet wall at her back. Suspended there, she offered no protest as Jax invaded her flesh. Lena gasped under the force of his swirl, and she tried to talk when he kissed her and pushed closer to her pussy.
“Look at me,” he said. “Don’t leave my eyes.”
Lena kept her stare fixed on his as he held her tight and moved deeper. As his cock expanded under her skin, she dug her nails into his back and found his ear.
“Don’t you run off again,” she whispered. When he was slow to answer, Lena gripped his face and spoke fast. “Jax, I---”
“Not yet,” he said. “Be with me now. Lena…”
Jax’s thrust moved into her bloodstream, and Lena’s head fell back as he held her waist under the weight of her screams. She came quicker this time and pictured a place where she would climax under nothing but the feel of his fingers against her cheek. But there was his cock planted between her legs, his body draining its lust and causing her to moan when he eased her ass to the edge of the tub. His cock stayed inside her as he kissed her cheeks and stroked her damp hair.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll live off of that.”
“For how long?” Lena managed to ask.
He was silent as he carried her from the tub and snatched a towel from the rack. As soon as they were back before the bed, Jax dried her down, his lips mirroring his strokes as he kissed his way up her legs and settled his fingers under his chin. “Not long,” he whispered. “I’m going to make this work. And then…” Jax’s voice stilled, and he kissed her again, leaving her lips only to fold her into his arms and push his nose to her neck.
“Jax?”
“And then we’ll be safe,” he promised her. “It’ll be everything we ever wanted.”
Just like the better parts of her dream, the moments before Eric reared his hideous head and sent a fresh wave of shame over her soul. Shaking the idea of him off, Lena took Jax’s hands and pressed her lips to his ear. “The let’s go now, Jax. There has to be all kinds of place where no one even knows us.”
“Sure enough,” he said. “But I can’t…”
He tied a towel over her breasts and started to leave the room when she reached for his hand and turned him back to her side. “What can’t you do?” she asked.
Jax hung his head and spoke slowly. “Can’t stand the thought that you’ll ever be in any kind of trouble.”
Lena continued to object when he stilled her voice with a fresh kiss and grazed her cheek.
“You should cover up,” he said. “I’ll fix us something to eat.”
Lena spied her clothes resting on the floor, but she stayed naked as she walked back to the bathroom and retrieved he discarded tee. She wanted his scent clinging to her skin, and when she entered the kitchen, she saw him in his jeans, his back bare as he boiled pot of water and stirred some oatmeal into the mix.
“That the look you’re going with?” he asked.
“Is it okay?”
“My clothes kind of look good on you.”
And they felt even better.
When the oats were soft, he spooned out two dishes. Passing one to her place, he sat by her side with two spoons and kissed the top of her head. “Eat up, Lena.”
She tried to choke the porridge down, but she gagged on the mealy substance and set her bowl aside. “What’s really going to happen, Jax?” she asked. “We can’t hide here forever.”
“No,” he slowly admitted. “But I’m going to get us help. If nothing else, Aggie owes me something.”
Lena considered the wisdom of the plan. “But what if she’s not there?” Lena asked. “Or if she doesn’t want to see you?”
She hated the sound of the words as soon as they left her lips, but she couldn’t take them back as he pushed away from the table and grabbed his jacket. ”I’ll just have to make her see that she has no choice in the matter.”
He started to exit the house when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned back to face her. “You need to stay scarce,” he said. “You can do that for me, right?” Fighting off the urge to hold him, Lena nodded into her chest, and a light whimper left her lips as he strode back to her side, his fingers pushing into her cheeks as he tilted her face towards his. “Lena? Answer me on this.”
Somehow she nodded, but even as she made the move, she bit back the tears bubbling in her throat and struggled to keep from crying as he took her into his arms. As soon as his hold was tight around her body, Lena sank into his chest and moaned into his bare flesh as his shirt and his singular perfume clung to her body. “I can do it,” she assured him, kissing him hard and fast as she wrapped her arms around his neck, stroking his face as she smiled softly. “But I….”
“You know I have to do this, Lena,” he reminded her. “It’s the only way out for us.”
It still seemed like a slim chance at best, but Lena was in no position to argue as she let her fingers fall down his arm and seize his hand. Basking in the warmth of his palm, Lena started to lean into his body when she spied his gun protruding from its holster. “Have to admit that I’d feel a hell of a lot better if you and your firearm were staying closer to home.”
Jax started to speak, probably to protest and explain again, when he held her hand tighter and lead her out of the house.
“What are you---?”
“Just follow me.”
At the edge of the shed, Jax kissed her fingers quickly before bringing his bike back into view. Kneeling down for his saddlebag, she watched him with wide eyes as he pulled another pistol from the pack and pushed it into her hand. “Ever hold one of these before?”
She shook her head even as her eyes lingered around the hard metal, her hand becoming acquainted with the slick surface as her finger neared the trigger. The idea of making the fatal move sent a shiver up her spine. But a part of her wanted to feel the bullet leaving the chamber, tearing into Eric if he dared to chance upon the safe house and try to stop them now.
“Well it’s high time you learned what to do,” he said. “I mean…if you have to.”
Her bare toes grazed the soft grass under her feet, and his arm was snug around her shoulders as he guided her to the back of the house. Jax fished a couple of empty cans from the ground and lined them up against the edge of a rickety fence. “Come here.”
Jax settled her against his chest, his arms swirling around hers as they aimed the gun together. The intended target suddenly seemed so real, but she still wondered if she had the strength to follow through with her darker desires.
“Jax, I---”
“You are safe here,” he promised her. “But you should still know what to do.”
Lena drew a deep breath and focused on the center can even as the other two sparkled out of the corners of her eyes. All she had to do was keep her aim true and pull the trigger, and she could bring any enemy down with one flick of her finger. And this was just a can. No harm, no foul if she got it wrong. Lena gritted her teeth and aimed the gun, but as soon as the crash started to hit her ears, she lost her poise and let the gun fall to the ground. The bullet still fled the chamber, but it bounced off the foot of the fence and sparked into the open air.
“Shit, I’m---”
“Get down, Lena!” Jax followed his words with quick action, and he folded her into the grass as he surrounded her with his body, the bullet whizzing over their mingling shoulders and crashing into the glass of one of the shed’s darkened windows. Lena whimpered as the shards fell close to their side, and as soon as Jax checked the perimeter and seemed to surmise that the danger had passed, he peered into her eyes. “Too fast too soon?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, Jax. I really thought I could do it.”
“Hold up.”
Lifting her body to her feet, Lena felt his hands searching down her sides, and as she tilted her head, she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. “What are doing?” she asked.
“Have to make sure that you weren’t hit,” he said.
“Jax, the bullet is all the way over---”
“But a piece of glass,” he insisted. “Just takes one push to make the blood flow.”
Again she tried to tell him she was fine, but the feel of his hands racing up her flesh brought a warm tingle to her cunt, and Lena made no move as he pushed his fingers up her shirt and finally sighed when he found she was unharmed.
“Maybe I shouldn’t leave you,” he sighed. “Won’t help my cause if I think you might blow your head off.”
Lena looked into his eyes and entertained the notion of playing the damsel in distress, falling into him with tears streaming down her face, anything and everything to keep him close. But as she started to make the suggestion, she saw his eyes grow dark. Because if he couldn’t make his case, they would be dead in the water. And if that happened while she was at his side, he might truly know what it was to see her harmed. Lena wanted anything but that for him as she folded her arms around her neck and peered into his face. “But we can’t have you worrying about me while you try to get on your mom’s good side.”
He started to nod, and she stilled her fingers against his chin as he hissed sharply. “But what will you do if you’re in danger?” he asked. “I won’t have you making like your own target.”
“Now you hold up.”
Scooping the gun from the grass, Jax tried to pry it from her fingers when she waved the gun before his face and watched his hands slip to the air as he licked his lips.
“Don’t be mad at me,” he whispered. “I didn’t do---”
“No. No you didn’t.” Turning away from him, she allowed herself to picture Eric Stiles’ leer and the horror that was being under his power. Remembering the pain, she recalled his delight when he saw her watering eyes as she struggled and screamed, and every can became his face. That’s all she needed to do: picture Eric and shoot to kill. And control her aim. Firing sharply, she obliterated all three cans with a series of shots, and as soon the shattered aluminum fell to the ground, Lena turned back to Jax, the smoking gun still in her hands as she smiled proudly. “I can take care of myself,” she said. “Do you see that now?”
Jax answered her question with a soft sigh, and he rested his hand around the gun as he patted her wrist. “How did you manage that?”
“Just had to think of you stepfather, and bingo.” Lena meant it to be a moment of triumph, but Jax hung his head and bit down on his lip.
“You shouldn’t have to think about it,” he muttered. “It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
“But it did, Jax.”
Under any other man’s eyes, she might feel shamed and want to hide. But Jax grunted softly and pulled her back to his chest as he peered down at her. “Then use it,” he whispered. “If you have to.” The gun was at her thighs as he dragged her deeper into her arms and moaned into her hair. “But let’s hope that it’s a non-starter,” he said. “That I can get you to the other side safely.”
Jax’s tee still clung to her shivering flesh, and she reached for his lips and kissed him. His mouth was light and sweet, and Lena clasped him close. “I hope so, too,” she said. “I just want to be alone with you again.”
He brought his bike fully into the light, stopping for all of a second beside the safe house’s open front door, and Lena thought he might be ready to bring her back to the bed when he patted her head with a smile.
“We’ll get to that,” he said. “Unending when it’s all said and done.”
Jax kissed her cheek and started to mount, ready to head off for parts unknown when Lena charged to his side and gripped his neck. “Lena, I---”
“I’m not telling you not to go,” she said. “I get why you think you have to.”
“It’s a chance, Lena,” he confessed. “But it could be everything.”
And she got that, too; she was almost on the verge of letting him go on his way when she held him closer and kissed his cheeks. “But just promise me that you’ll come back,” she pleaded. “No matter what.”
“I already---”
“Then say it again,” she asked. “I just like hearing it.”
Jax sighed and held her fast as he his fingers stoked her cheek and he kissed her eyes. “I’ll come back to you,” he said. “One way or the other, I’m going to be at your side.”
Lena couldn’t help but fix her hopes on that suggestion, but she knew it would never work if he stayed hidden. At some point, he had to face them, and Lena brushed her hands down his back and rested his brow to hers. “Of course you will,” she whispered. “And I’ll use the gun if I have to.”
“You made a quick study,” he said proudly. “Sort of puts my mind at ease.”
“I can help with that, too.”
She found his lips and kissed him hard. Jax’s arms swirled around her back, and he pulled her closer as one hand grazed the gun at her side, his free fingers brushing the fallen hair from her face.
“You believe me?” he asked.
“Jax,” she murmured. “You always were kind of a badass.”
“For you, Lena,” he said. “Only for you.”
He seemed to hesitate but she pushed him to his bike and sighed softly. “Go then,” she said.
“I’ll sort it out,” he promised. “And tell me you’ll be all right?”
Just the thought of being away from him how brought tears to her eyes, but she bit her weeping back and tapped her finger to the trigger. “I promise, Jax,” she said. “And I can take care of myself.”
“I know that, Lena.” He kissed her and started to leave when Lena kept his fingers in hers as she swirled close to his side. “Lena, I have to---”
“And you take care of yourself,” she said. “Tell me this won’t be the last time.”
Jax laughed as he cocked his head and stroked her cheeks. “Not by a long shot,” he said. “Wait here for me.”
She nodded as she watched him mount his bike, and the chopper buzzed under his thighs as he turned his eyes over his shoulder.
“I’ll be back soon,” he promised. “And…” Jax’s gaze settled on the gun still in her hand. “Only if you have to, Lena,” he said. “Only if you’re really scared.” She wordlessly nodded, and Jax started to pull away when he flashed her a sly grin. “This is going to work,” he assured her. “And I’ll be back before you know it.”
Her mind clung to that idea and Lena pressed the gun to her legs with a sigh. “You better be, Jax.”
He rode away with a smile and a sharp wave to the air. Lena sighed as she watched him depart, but she still had the gun and the promise of his return. “I’ll be here, Jax,” she muttered under her breath. “But please be quick about it.”