Chapter 11
Viviana wasn’t surprised that Jax was waiting for her. As usual, he was parked in the overstuffed armchair by the fireplace, a bottle of Bowmore and a half-empty glass on the table beside him. Obviously angry, he glanced at his watch when she came in the room.
Viviana gave a dismissive snort. “Really Jax, you’re waiting up for me?” She added scathingly, “You’re not my father. Remember, I didn’t have one.”
He pressed his lips together in a hard line, then nodded in agreement. “No, Viviana, I’m not your father. However, I am your lover and without a doubt the most possessive son of a bitch you’ll ever meet. Just so we are clear, sweetheart, I don’t appreciate you using another man to taunt me when you’re angry with me.”
Viviana reared back, relying on her anger to get through what was sure to be a challenging conversation. Going on the offensive, she sneered. “How like you, Jax, to assume that my meeting with Enrique was all about you. Obviously, it didn’t occur to you that a gubernatorial candidate might be interested in my insights on one of his primary platforms. But no, the only reason he would want to talk with me was to annoy you.”
Jax put his glass on the side table and rose slowly to his feet. His voice was cool, his expression relatively smooth. Both were belied by the tension emanating from his towering frame as he moved toward her. “Au contraire, sweetheart. I’m quite sure that Vega would love to have your insights, particularly if he can also capture some of your star power in the process.” Looming over her, his eyes flashing, he added, “But don’t think for a minute, Viviana, the cocky interloper, or Enrique as you referred to him, wouldn’t kill to shove his dick in my face.” Before she could respond, he said with a tight smile, “That’s what we alpha males do when we see something we want.” He grasped her hair and wrapped it around his tight fist, forcing her head back to meet his fierce gaze. “The other thing we alphas males do when an interloper thinks he can invade our territory is make it crystal clear to the trespasser and to his woman that ain’t gonna happen.”
Viviana fought the flurry of emotions flooding her. She knew she should be angry with Jax’s arrogant assumption that just because she was his “woman,” he was in charge of her. As if he could tell her with whom she could or could not meet. Unfortunately, his stern gaze and commanding arrogance triggered competing sensations in her wayward body that she was powerless to deny. Determined to gain control of an untenable situation, she pushed away from him. Moving quickly toward the bedroom door, she said over her shoulder, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower. I’ve had more than enough testosterone thrown at me tonight.”
To her surprise and, she admitted, her covert disappointment, Jax agreed and stepped to the side. A self-satisfied smile curved his lips. “You do that, sweetheart.” His arrogant tone confirmed that the last thing she could do tonight was protect herself from raging hormones, his or hers.
She locked the bathroom door, then stripped off her clothes and turned the powerful shower on full blast. The coursing stream of hot water pounding on her body did what it could to lessen the tension knotting every muscle in her shoulders and neck. Unfortunately, she acknowledged, it wasn’t her neck muscles that needed attention. No, it was the screaming nerve endings much lower, the ones between her legs that were crying out for attention. Having dealt with this issue before, she reached for the handheld nozzle and prepared to address the source of her angst.
His deep voice and big hand clutching hers stopped her.
“Oh no, you don’t, sweetheart. Taking care of that matter is my job. Mine alone.” He added with a snarl, “Which, goddammit, if I do nothing else tonight, I will convince you of that!”
Shoving against him, trying to free herself, Viviana stuttered inanely, “How . . . how did you . . . I locked the door.”
His harsh murmur in her ear was disdainful. “As if a mere lock could keep me out. But then, you knew that, didn’t you, darlin’?” Wrapping one long arm around her waist, he yanked her up next to his naked body.
Feeling his muscular torso pressing against her, Viviana couldn’t shutter a soft moan. Praying that he didn’t hear her giveaway whimper, she struggled to free herself from his strong grip. His mocking laugh echoed in her ears, ratcheting up her fulminating emotions. Ripping the handheld nozzle from her hands, he taunted her, “I’ll take this if you don’t mind, sweetheart.” He added grimly, “And even if you do.”
Pressing her face-first against the shower wall, he wedged his knee between her legs. His voice was a low, lusty growl. “Spread your legs, baby.” When she resisted, he ordered, “Wider, dammit.” Kicking at one foot, then the other, he easily spread her legs. His rumbling laugh was triumphant. “That’s the way, sweetheart. We need your legs wide apart, don’t we, baby?” He added with an ominous chuckle, “How else can I torment your sweet pussy with this nozzle? You know, sweetheart, the way you were intending to do before I joined you.” Nuzzling her neck, he whispered threateningly, “I guess I didn’t make myself clear earlier. No one, Viviana, is responsible for tormenting your luscious pussy except me. Unless of course I give you permission to play with yourself. Allow you to prime your responsive cunt for me.” He added with a growl, “But not tonight, Viviana. You’ve tormented me enough. It’s time I take you in hand. All of you.”
Pressing her cheek against the shower wall, he jerked her ass toward him and held her legs apart with his strong thigh. Pressing the handheld nozzle against her labia, he turned it on. The rush of hot water against the swollen folds shot a flood of sensations throughout her groin. Startled at how the gushing water was stimulating her, she tried to pull back, but Jax was relentless.
“Uh-uh, darlin’, don’t even try. I’m in charge of you tonight. I’ll decide how I will torment you. Including what I will put inside of you, when, and where.” His growl was lusty, threatening. With his expert fingers, he separated her labia, then twisted the nozzle head and directed a pinpoint stream of pulsing water against her clitoris. Startled at the invasion, Viviana struggled to free herself, but his hold was insistent.
“Tell me you don’t like this, Viviana,” he crooned arrogantly in her ear. “C’mon, baby, tell me you aren’t going crazy when I attack this erotic nub like this.” Expertly maneuvering the focused stream of hot water in small tight circles, he tormented her throbbing clit unmercifully. Fighting to quell the torrent of desire flooding her, Viviana was shocked at her need to come. Raising her hips, she tried to press against the needle-sharp stream of water, knowing that if she didn’t climax she might die trying.
Jax’s laugh was taunting, ominous. “Don’t tell me my hot little lover wants to come?” Tracing the nozzle in and around her clit, his voice was soft, seductive as he played with the pulsating stream. “Is this what my naughty girl wants?” When she couldn’t hold back a pleading moan, Jax raised her higher on his knee and turned the water to full force. Stunned at the tsunami of erotic sensations storming her, Viviana cried out, giving in to the powerful orgasm shattering her.
Jax held her next to him as she came down from the tumultuous climax. Murmuring in her ear, he teased her. “Is that what you thought you could do to yourself, Viviana? Separate your swollen labia and torment your clit into submission?” His voice thickened with lust. “Tell me, darlin’, after you did that, were you going to look for other sensitive places to provoke?” Slipping one hand over her bottom, he separated her ass cheeks and unerringly found her anus. With one finger, he rimmed the nerve-rich hole, then inserted another digit, stretching her most private place. Viviana tried frantically to pull away, but unable to squelch the unwanted sensations rising in her groin, she pressed against his searching fingers and gave in to the passion flooding her.
Holding her tightly in his arms, Jax drove his probing fingers into the sensitive hole, seeking to exacerbate the flood of sensations shaking her body. Separating her labia with his other hand, his talented fingers found her throbbing clitoris and stroked it unrelentingly. He crooned encouragingly, insisting that she go higher, that she not hold back her fearsome climax. When her shrieking imprecations rose in a frantic crescendo, he ratcheted up his intimate strokes and was rewarded by the torrential waves storming her body. When her wild quaking began to settle and her cries became sobs of pleasure, Jax murmured stunned words of praise. “Holy Christ, Viviana? Turned on much, my sweet, amazingly sensuous woman?”
Holding her still-shaking body next to his, Jax turned off the shower and reached for a towel from the rack by the door. Wrapping it around her dripping body, he sat her on the counter and grabbed another towel. With a few hard swipes at his chest and legs he dried himself as much as he could, then reached for Viviana. She’d thrown her head back and was moaning softy. The rosy tint on her chest matched her flushed cheeks. Her full, pouty lips were red and swollen from her biting them. At the sight of the stunningly aroused woman in front of him and reliving her lust-driven climaxes in his mind, he reached for her. Picking her up in his arms, he conceded how unlikely it was that he could hold off his threatening-to-explode climax before he got her to a bed.
Always one to push the boundaries of their lovemaking, Jax strode from the bathroom to their rooftop haven. Knowing he was challenging his ability to contain his fearsome arousal, he needed to get her onto the roof. As close to the starry night as possible. The shower of fiery celestial sparks and the elusive crescent moon stoked his libido further. Consumed with love and passion, he was grateful that the heavens understood the arena he required to make the kind of love he intended to the woman he held in his arms and his heart.
Laying her on the chaise lounge, he stretched out beside her and murmured in her ear, “I wanted to take you here, Viviana. In this place that is as close to heaven as we can get.” He added with a rueful snort, “As if anywhere you are isn’t enough to turn me into a raging beast, determined to take you. That’s what you do to me, sweetheart, and I love you and bless you for it. But, darlin’, enough words. I need you, honey. I need you bad.”
Hours later, when he had taken her on the lounge, the patio floor, and finally, against the railing from behind, he carried her back to the chaise lounge where they often spent the night. Wrapping her in his arms, Jax was grateful to hear her soft, whispery breaths confirming that his exhausted lover had slipped into slumber. He wasn’t surprised that sleep evaded him. Christ, looking back on the last couple of days it was a wonder that he considered sleep, much less give in to it. He was just glad that Viviana had succumbed to her exhaustion.
Holding her close, Jax remembered her hideous nightmare two short nights before. It had killed him watching her fight against a long-ago terror. Reminding himself how he’d rocked her to sleep in his arms, he recounted the litany of challenging experiences they’d faced since that harrowing night. Serge’s breakthrough information had given him the tools to make it clear to his challenged lover that they could no longer avoid dealing with her abuse. Moreover, that they would deal with it together. Knowing that they were at the beginning of what was sure to be a difficult task for them both, Jax admitted that hadn’t been the only way he’d intentionally struck her at her core. The groundbreaking beatdown he gave her when she defied his warnings and went into her Lone Ranger mode had to have challenged her at soul level. He’d purposefully chastised her in front of the team, knowing it was necessary to make his point. But there was no question that she’d been publically humiliated—a deeply bitter pill for his proud warrior to swallow. And then, of course, there was the abbreviated dinner with his parents. He groaned, thinking about it. God, what more did his shattered lover need to drive home the hideousness of her childhood than to compare it to his charmed existence?
Musing over the assaults his beloved woman had endured these last days, most of them precipitated by him, Jax confessed there was another upset that neither of them could ignore, especially him. It came in the form of Enrique Vega. Jax knew he was a possessive son of a bitch, but Vega challenged him in a way he couldn’t remember being tested. He was used to men lusting after Viviana. Christ, how could they not? But Vega was different. In addition to being a charming, consummate opponent, the guy had entered their lives at a time when Viviana was most vulnerable. It didn’t help that Jax was the one who’d insisted that she face her daunting issues, making her more susceptible to a charming interloper than she might have been. He reluctantly admitted that the last thing they needed was one more flashpoint in their volatile relationship. Determined to deal with his incipient jealousy by smashing it before it could do more damage, Jax had the opportunity to test his resolve the next morning.
Accepting the mug of steaming coffee he handed her, Viviana threw him a troubled glance. He smiled at her, assuming she was going to contest his insistence that they were going to ride together to the precinct.
She surprised him when she said, “Jax, I hope you won’t be angry, but I told Enrique I would have lunch with him today.” She quickly added, “I invited Francis to join us. Francis will be a great resource for Enrique. He knows almost as much about abuse as I do. And he can introduce Enrique and his staff to Sister Eloise and the other nuns at the shelter.”
Forcing himself to remember his pledge from the night before that he would back off, Jax reached for Viviana and lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Listen, Viviana, I know that this has been a challenging couple of days for you and, frankly, for me. And yeah, Enrique Vega was one more thing I didn’t need. But, sweetheart, I promise to lighten up. Of course the guy wants to tap your knowledge and your sources. Why wouldn’t he? You are the declared authority in the hideous world of abuse.” He hesitated, then added with a grin, “I just wish you wouldn’t refer to him by his first name.” When she frowned, he said with a forced grin, “Maybe if you called him the ‘guy who’s going to get his ass kicked if he even thinks about making a play for you’ would be better.”
Jax was glad when Viviana’s frown morphed into a smile. She gave him a saucy wink, then said, “I’m kind of glad you’re jealous, Jax.”
Assuming a mock scowl, Jax asked, “Why might that be, my naughty, provocative little minx?”
Viviana shrugged. “Why? Maybe because I can hardly stand it when I see all those other women lusting after you.”
Jax pulled her closer to him and shook his head. “Honey, there’s not a woman in the world who doesn’t know it’s a lost cause when she finds out the Enchantress is my woman, and I am her man.” Not bothering to couch the threat in his voice, he added, “I just hope for his sake the upstart Vega is as wise.”