Amber

The dryness in my throat had me struggling to swallow. My eyes opened and I automatically looked for water. Throwing the blankets back, I stumbled to the ground; a sharp pain ran up my right leg, and I hopped to the bathroom. My right leg gave out from under me, and I crashed to the ground. Hissing in pain, I slowly crawled my way into my bathroom, and pulled myself up to the basin.

Turning the cold water on, I gulped it down fast, not getting enough. The water was claiming the desert in my throat. I glanced in the mirror and I noticed his figure behind me.

“What?” I croaked.

Jax’s eyes were solid, and I couldn’t see one emotion, although his crossed arms and posture were screaming anger towards me. 

“Feeling better?”

Pulling my head out from under the tap “No,” I said and turned around slowly. “How bad is my leg?” My body was beginning to look like a battlefield.

“It was a flesh wound,” he announced, and pushed himself off the doorframe, his leather jacket crackling. “Guessing you passed out from having drunk too much, and not from the wound.”

“Oh.” Well that was embarrassing, Let’s face it - it was cooler to pass out from a gun wound than passing out from alcohol.

“Why were you drinking so hard?” Jax didn’t move further into the bathroom. He just stood there, radiating anger.

“Dad spoke to me,” I said, the memory now becoming clear and the thought of it made me want to go look for a bottle of vodka. “Well, I guess you could say he gave me a choice.”

“It being?’

“You should know.” Bitterness entered my voice. “He did say you helped him decide.”

“I didn’t help him do anything,” he snapped at me, getting overly defensive. “Whatever it is, the credit is all his.”

I eyed him carefully. Was he telling the truth, or was he lying? Sighing and pulling myself up to sit on the basin, I realized it didn’t matter if he had or hadn’t.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, I guess,” I played with my fingers in my lap, “His mind is made up.”

“Want to fill me in?” Jax pretended like he didn’t care, but I caught the eagerness and emergency in his voice.

“I’m being sent away.” I looked up from my hands, “To live with my batty aunt.”

Jax scoffed loudly and the corner of his lips twitched upwards. I was expecting him to be angry or something, not happy. “As if you are going to let that happen,” he added.

“I don’t get a choice.”

Hearing that changed his attitude.

“You aren’t really going to go?”

“Like I said, I don’t get a choice, and dad reminded me of something else. I don’t have anything to stay here for.” My eyes were locked with Jax’s. If you have ever imagined a girl pleading for a man to say he loved her, this would be it. I just needed a reason to stay, couldn’t he be it?

“If that’s how you feel,” he shrugged his shoulders, “I can’t change your mind.”

My mouth fell slightly open. Was he bloody serious? How thick could he get! Snapping my mouth closed, I began to grind my teeth and glare into the tiled floor. For a smart guy, he sure could act dumb.

“Amber?”

I didn’t know when but Jax had made his way to me, his big black buckled boots now blocking my view of the white tiles.

“What?” I didn’t look up at him. Stupid dumb male.

“Want to go get some food?”

Was he serious? I snapped my head up and glared at him. “No.”

“Fuck, you are hormonal,” he ran a hand through his hair, like he didn’t know what to do.

“Well, piss off then.”  If he didn’t want to be here, he didn’t have to be. The stubbornness that ran thick through my veins was beginning to surface.

Jax was standing still, staring at me while grinding his teeth. What was he thinking?

“Fuck it,” he finally said, and then searched his jeans pocket and pulled his phone out.

“What are you doing?” I watched him search his phone for something, with a determined expression on his face.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he raised the phone to his ear, dialing someone. I kind of felt bad for whoever was about to receive his phone call.

“Troy?” he snapped into the phone. “Yeah, she is fine,” he said, glancing at me briefly. I arched an eyebrow at him; what was he doing?

“Yeah that’s fine, whatever.” Jax said quickly into the phone, not seeming to really care about whatever Troy had just asked him. “I’m dating your sister.”

My mouth dropped. He did not just say that, did he?

I couldn’t hear what Troy was yelling at him, but I was sure it would be a long string of threats.  

Jax was rubbing the side of his temple, glaring at the ground, while just letting Troy yell at him. I lowered my feet to the ground, and walked towards him; slowly, not wanting my right leg to cave under me again.

I took Jax’s fingers from his temple, drawing his eyes to me. Holding his hand, I could hear Troy’s muffled yells from the speaker.  

Jax’s eyes were melting with desire. “I fucking love her, so get used to it Troy.” He hung up, determination in his eyes. “You are mine now.”

“I’m not property,” I gulped, running my fingers down the middle of his chest and stepping closer into him, hoping I wasn’t making the worse decision of my life.But, I suppose if it was, I could just add it to my long list.

“Is your dad really shipping you off?” his voice was low, and he pulled me in closer to him. My neck bent right back to meet his eyes.

“Going off what he said, yes.”

“Are you going to go?”

I saw the concern on his face and I felt him clench me tighter.

“Not if I don’t have to.”

“I’m not letting you go,” Jax’s voice confirmed, and he gently pushed the stray hair from the side of my face so he could see my eyes clearly. “Which means we need to find somewhere else for you to live.”

“What? The clubhouse?” I asked, raising both my eyebrows. “Really don’t see that working.”

“It won’t be permanent,” he reassured me. “Once this parole is done with, I can get access to my money.”

“Then what?” I “We get a white house with a picket fence?’

The corner of his mouth twisted up, and his eyes narrowed playfully. “I’m more of a barb wired fence sort of guy.”

Laughing and shaking my head, I realized this didn’t really sound like a bad idea.  

“Amber, there is one more thing?” Jax’s face was still playful, but I noticed a hint of seriousness. “No more games, I don’t do well with jealousy.”

“Neither do I,” I replied

Lightly, he guided his hand up my body and cupped the side of my cheek, “I don’t play games.”

“Neither do I,” I snapped back, pushing up against him harder and moving my head slightly closer to his. “Looks like we both have nothing to worry about.”

“Looks that way,” he whispered before driving his head forward and locking his lips with mine. An uncontrollable desire fired through my veins at his touch, and I wanted more.

As he stepped out of the bathroom and into my room with me clinging to him, it was easy to come to the conclusion I was most definitely going to get more, and, as he kissed me with such passion, I had to wonder, how the hell did I live without this for so long?