30. Jax

Chapter 30

Jax

J ax had never heard Thea so quiet, her usual effervescence weighted beneath grief. He'd had to practically carry her from her father's room, the nurse kicking everyone out so Ayden could get some rest.

She'd barely spoken since, not when he'd put her in the car, or even now as he opened the door to her flat. Reaper perked up as they stepped inside, tail swishing. But for once, he didn't scream for attention, as if sensing his person's despair.

"Come on," Jax said gently, guiding her toward the sofa. He sat in the middle, pulling her until her legs draped across his lap and her head lay on his shoulder. He wasn't familiar with comforting someone, the idea alien to him. With his brothers, it would be a pat on the back, and maybe a fight to release some energy. With Thea, he was lost. He wasn't a man of many words, but right then, he wished he was.

So, he simply stayed with her, hoping his presence was enough.

MATE HURT? Beast asked, an anxious purr vibrating through his chest. Thea frowned at the sound, but didn't move when his hand found its way beneath her T-shirt to stroke along her back.

No, he replied, knowing his beast wouldn't understand grief.

Beast increased the strange purr, the tenor a sound he wasn't familiar with making before. WE KEEP HER SAFE?

Always.

Thea sniffled, shuffling back just enough she could face him. "We forgot to pick up Ruhne."

Jax hadn't forgotten. "He's playing bartender with Sam. He'll be okay there for a while."

A jagged nod, her pink hair sweeping forward before he brushed it away. "You don't have to stay," she said, her voice hoarse. She tried to get off his lap, but he simply tightened his hold. "Jax."

"Tell me about him," he said, feeling her stiffen for a second.

Her hand moved to lay flat against his heart, as if feeling the beat. "He was the one who taught me how to steal."

Jax breathed out a laugh, and her eyes widened with that light he ached to return. Sorrow he knew intimately, but it was her joy that he found addictive. And somewhere in his dark soul, he craved it – craved her.

"It's true," she continued with a small smile. "It took him an entire summer to teach me one card trick, and from there I practised until I'd mastered it. Obviously, he didn't expect me to use the skill for a career. Not that he knows." She paused for a moment. "He thinks I'm a librarian."

"Hmm," Jax hummed. "Explains all the slutty books."

"It's called smutty." Thea laughed, slapping him lightly on the arm. "And they're not all smutty, and they have great storylines."

Jax nodded. "Sure."

"They do. "

"You'll have to read them to me then, so I can decide."

Her lips quirked once more, her cheeks no longer wet, but still puffy. "But yeah, dad's been sick for as long as I can remember. He kept going into remission, but this time was particularly bad. The normal treatment wasn't doing anything except make him feel worse, which is why I found an alternative."

Her eyes glazed, a frown marring her brow. Jax continued to brush circles on her lower back, giving her as long as she needed.

"It's my fault," she said after a moment, her words barely above a whisper. "I'm the one that made him sick."

Her eyes continued to be cast inward, her thoughts lost, spiralling before he cupped her jaw and brought her back to him. "Thea…"

"Dad didn't know what I was," she said, her voice dripping with pain. "They didn't understand why a baby was put in a cage until I was older. Then they realised I wasn't put there for punishment, but for the safety of everyone else. They took me in and cuddled me as their own, unaware I was a faerie that could steal life from others."

Jax waited, his thumb catching the tears as they began to fall once more.

"They didn't know I was a Grim."

He'd never heard of it, but then again the Fae weren't exactly open with their information.

"And when they'd figured it out, it was too late." Thea swallowed, as if struggling for the right words. "Grim is a lower caste of Fae, and often found within the darker courts. Our magic is slow, and it would take years of contact to actually kill someone. But essence – your lifeforce – can be slowly stolen by physical contact. Untrained children would be sent to absorb as much as they could before being sacrificed, so the lifeforce they'd taken could be collected. A Grim' s hair changes depending on the amount of essence they possess."

Jax tucked a strand of her hair behind her pointed ear, still coloured pink. "What does silver mean?"

"I couldn't find much on adult Grims, and even Ilzake, the High Lord I know, couldn't answer many questions as few reach adulthood. There are still Fae that want more power, so use castes like Grims to advance their own magic. It's the glitter in my hair that gives me away, and I'd rather not be hunted for something I can't control."

"So, you can still absorb life?"

"Not intentionally," Thea said with a wince. "But I think that's why dad's so sick. It's almost impossible to control when you're a child, and we didn't know what I could do for so many years."

The tears flowed harder, until hiccups and sobs rattled her body. It was a while later before she'd calmed, and reaching down, Jax removed his boots, and then her shoes before lifting her in his arms. He crossed the room to her bed, pulling the sheets back before laying her down.

"What are you doing?" she asked, clearly exhausted when he crossed to the other side to climb in, fully dressed. She didn't protest when he pulled her back across him until her upper half was draped across his chest. "You can't stay."

Jax wanted to smile at that, and rather than answering he moved to stroke more circles along her back. Beast settled to a much lower purr, one that didn't sound like a dying truck while he sunk his nose into her hair. Her breathing was slowing, her pulse not so erratic.

He felt a dip in the bed, Reaper huffing when he realised there wasn't space in between them to squeeze into.

"Fuck's sake," Jax muttered, watching the cat as he eventually found a comfortable space by his shoulder.

Thea blinked up at him, sleepily .

"You named your cat Reaper," he said.

"Yeah." Thea wrinkled her nose, her laugh soft. "Together, we're the Grim Reaper," she said before laying her head back down.

Jax smiled into her hair. "Hilarious."

"Hmm," she mumbled. "You can't sleep over."

Jax continued to stroke her, watching her drift to sleep with her face and palm pressed against him. He knew he should leave, and yet he couldn't find the enthusiasm to move.

THEA

Thea wasn't ready to wake up, not with the dull ache thumping through her temple. She must have fallen asleep crying, because her face felt swollen and her nose stuffy. But at least she'd had the initiative to wrap herself in blankets because she was deliciously warm.

Too warm.

Hot, even. Or that could be the fact her palms were prickling with heat.

Thea jerked up in bed, her hands somehow beneath Jax's shirt on his bare skin. "Jax?"

He didn't stir at his name, lying flat on his back with his eyes closed. She was draped across him, her leg wrapped over his like she'd tried to get even closer. Pulling her hands out from beneath the fabric, she found her palms pulsating.

"Fuck," she whispered, shaking off the residue. Wild magic danced in her blood, the headache a mixture of crying and an annoying drum beat that was the spirit of the magic. "Jax?" She shoved him, disturbing Reaper, who was happily lounging by his side .

Still nothing.

She moved closer, panic growing at how still he was. She reached across, fingers brushing his cheek…

Thea screamed, flipped onto her back before Jax's weight settled above. Panic had percolated through every muscle, her immediate reaction to shove at him.

"What the fuck!" The fear had been immediate. "I thought I'd killed you!"

Jax blinked slowly at her, except it wasn't Jax who was staring; it was Thunder. His irises were liquid silver, shimmering so clearly she could almost see herself in their reflection.

"Is Jax okay?" she asked when his nose nestled into her neck. "Thunder?"

"Hmm," he grumbled against her, dropping his hips until she felt his erection. "Mine."

"Thunder, what are – " He bit her neck, hard enough she gasped before licking across the small wound.

"Mine," he repeated, his voice deeper than Jax's, more guttural. "You mine." He ground his erection against her core, and Thea found herself moaning at the friction.

"I need Jax." She pushed against his shoulders, only for him to sink lower on her body, pushing up her Drunken Beast shirt with a frown. "Thunder, I need…"

His stubble scratched against her stomach, his cheek nuzzling before he released an impatient grunt. Grabbing the fabric of the T-shirt, he stretched it in his hands until it finally tore. Her breasts spilled out, and he was on them in an instant. He bit down, teeth tugging at her nipple and his tongue lapping at the piercing. Thea's back bowed, and she was forced to swallow her moan.

A tremor tickled against her skin. Was he laughing?

Thea shivered at the feeling of a hot tongue, lapping the skin of her breast before he moved down, licking lower until he got to her borrowed jeans. She'd never seen Jax's face so expressive, Thunder's emotions open and more primal in his desires.

He tugged at the jeans, pulling them off and leaving her bare before she could even react. Arms hooking beneath her knees, he pulled her body, slipping down the sheets to the end of the bed.

If Jax was cold, Thunder was hot. His silver eyes settled on her pussy, his expression that of a man starved. His breath came out in little pants, brushing against her growing slickness.

"Thunder," she whispered, need pulsing between her legs. "Bring back Jax."

A low purr, close enough it vibrated against her thighs and up into her clit. Thunder growled, making his purr vibrate harder. Lifting her lower body in his arms, he tilted her hips even closer to his waiting mouth.

"Bad Thunder!" she said, her body not matching her words.

"No Jax." A shake of his head, the movement exaggerated. "Mate first."

His eyes met hers, a moment passing between them that she didn't understand before he delved down. The first stroke of his tongue had her lips opening in a silent cry, the movement a rush to her senses as he lapped at her like water, drinking her in like she was his only source of nourishment.

The flat of his tongue spread her wide, flicking the tip against her clit with insistent strokes.

"Bloody hell! Jax…!"

A low hum started in her chest, spreading until she felt it across her entire body. It made her clit throb, and every time his tongue touched the bundle of nerves, she wanted to jolt from the bed. But he'd pinned her hips, head disappearing between her thighs as he nibbled along her flesh.

Each lick was quick, moving faster and faster until her mind blanked but of the impending orgasm building at an alarming rate. Everything felt more intense, her skin too tight as the humming shifted into an electrical current, one driving her closer and closer to the edge. It was pure energy, as if their chis were dancing.

Sweat broke out across her skin, her fingers digging into his hair until she felt teeth brush against her clit. The orgasm ripped through her body, tearing a scream from her throat and causing her thighs to seize around his head. The electrical energy heightened, drawing out the orgasm until it finally hit another peak.

One last lap at her folds and the current broke with a burst of pure pleasure. Blood roared in her ears, and her muscles ached with how hard she'd come.

Thunder released her hips, dropping her against the soaking sheets. The humming was gone, as was his purr. But there was still warmth, spreading from her chest.

A masculine grunt. "Fuck."

Thea blinked, every breath an effort. She looked down, finding Jax staring at the mess between her thighs with the most starved expression. His erection strained against his jeans, but he didn't seem to notice. Not with his face covered, her cum glistening in his longer stubble. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to dive back in.

"Jax?"

He looked up, his sapphire eyes anything but frosty. Licking across his bottom lip, a moan rumbled out that had Thea wanting to press her thighs together. Except she couldn't, because he was in the way.

"What happened?" he asked, his tone low and throaty. "Did I…? "

"No, Thunder." She tried to sit up, but his hands clamped down on her hips, keeping her still. He seemed to be restraining himself, the cords of his throat rigid as he leaned down to nuzzle his nose against her inner thigh.

Their eyes locked, and the warmth intensified until that hum returned, but it felt strangled. It reminded her of wild magic, a similar sort of prickling sensation except it originated beneath her ribs rather than her hands.

Jax's eyes widened, only for Thea to feel a tug, faint but distinctive, as if they were tethered.

Thea gasped. "Jax, what have you done?"