59. Jax
59
Jax
The sound of the water hitting the tile was deafening. There was no other sound in the shower. In my arms, Anna was as hard as stone. She was collecting her thoughts, and I let her as I smoothed my hands up and down the side of her body.
"Have you ever let your wolf make a decision about your pack?"
"I follow his instincts, but he doesn't make day-to-day decisions. Why do you ask?"
"Because that's what you're doing, right now. You're letting your wolf make the decision.
The only reason we're bonded is because of our wolves. But you, the human half, the part that has to run and protect a pack? You would have never chosen me. You're never going to love me, but you're still putting your pack at risk. Your leadership at risk."
My heart skipped a beat. She wasn't mad or upset. Her voice was neutral, her words even.
She'd thought about this, probably since the day I installed her into my bed.
Was she wrong?
"Every decision I make is for this pack," I told her in a low voice. "I've sacrificed everything for it. You are good for this pack, Anna. Don't doubt it for a single second. They'll learn."
Slowly, she turned and stared up at me. "After you killed my father and the mating bond snapped into place, for a split second, you were my hero. I hadn't even known that I could still feel that way. That I could still believe in heroes. That I could still hope."
"It didn't last long, did it?" I would ache until my last breath knowing how I'd treated her.
How disgusted I'd been.
"It did, though." Reaching up, she touched my face. "We had a rocky start, but you've made me believe in heroes again. Made me believe in hope."
"Why do you seem sad about it?"
"Because it's made me want to do things I never thought I'd do."
"Like what?"
"Kiss me, Jax. Tonight, let's forget about everything."
With her in my arms, it was almost easy. Hating the troubled look I saw in her eyes, I lifted her up, pressed her against the part of the tile that was warm under the hot water, and settled between her legs. She ran her hands through my wet hair.
Something was nagging at me. The desperation in her face. What was going on in that head of hers? "I'll protect you," I told her. "Whatever is bothering you, whatever is scaring you, you can tell me."
"You haven't kissed me, Jax," she murmured. "Please."
Any other night, I would have loved that word on her lips, but tonight? It was unsettling.
Since I couldn't get her to talk, I did what she needed. I kissed her until I felt her body soften and her hips move against me.
"Feel better, baby?" I murmured as I nuzzled her neck. "Need more?"
"More." She moved her hips against me and moaned. I grazed my teeth along her neck and planted my hands under her butt again. When I started to move her, she protested with a wiggle, but I slid her all the way up the wall and hooked her legs over my shoulders.
"Oh," she breathed. "Oh, okay."
"Just okay? I'm going to have to change that." I bit her thigh, hard, and she yelped.
It wasn't a playful bite. I had the strongest urge to mark her. I wanted her to remember that she was mine, no matter what she was thinking, no matter what she was planning.
Mine.
"Jax, please. Please."
That word was sounding even better. "Whatever you need, Anna. Whenever you need it."
I planted my mouth right on her wet pussy and sucked her clit into my mouth. With a scream, she arched her back harder into my mouth and cried out. Her pleasure echoed off the walls. I wanted to play. To extend her pleasure almost to the point of pain, but I could tell that she was in no mood to play.
She needed a release, and I gave it to her. I licked and sucked her until she was shaking in my arms and screaming. I had no doubt that everyone in the house could hear her pleasure, and when she came, she went boneless.
I let her fall to the left and caught her easily. Shutting off the water, I carried her out of the shower and sat her on the counter. "Steady yourself," I murmured. Grabbing a towel, I started at her feet and dried her up to her waist. By then, the glaze had gone from her eyes, so I gently pulled her to her feet. "Okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
I toweled up her body, between her legs and up her hips. When I dragged the towel up her back, I pulled closer to me and captured her mouth.
After a few seconds, I remembered what I was doing and squeezed her hair in the towel before I pulled away. "Dry?"
"I'm never dry around you, Jax. It's a little irritating, actually." Sliding a hand down my body, she wrapped it around my hard cock. "You still seem to be suffering a little."
"A little? That's a bit of a blow to my ego."
"Please. Nothing puts a dent in your ego." As she stroked me, I shuddered.
"Keep doing that, and I'm going to fuck you right here against the bathroom sink. I'd hoped to, instead, fuck you all night. The alphas are leaving in the morning, and you can sleep all afternoon."
Her eyes darkened. "All night?"
"All night." I tucked her wet hair behind her ear and kissed the top of her head.
"Jax, I…" she bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. "I may need a couple of minutes before I'm ready again."
"That's not what you were going to say," I growled with narrow eyes.
"You're right. It wasn't. I decided maybe I didn't need to speak at all." Slowly, she lowered herself to her knees and looked up at me.
I couldn't make her talk. I couldn't make her say whatever was on her mind, whatever truth she wanted to confess, so I let her take my cock in her mouth. I let the pleasure course through me, and I gently tangled my fingers in her wet hair as I fucked her mouth.
"Anna," I grunted and pulled away. My heart hammered in my chest. "Come on, baby. I want you pinned under me. I want to feel the heat between your legs."
Hauling her up once again, I cradled her against me. Anna wrapped her legs around me and buried her head in my neck. Whatever was bothering her, the orgasm hadn't chased away her fears.
We fell against the bed, and her knees came up as I slid my hands between us and tested her pussy. Soaking wet once again. Growling, I flipped her over and bit her shoulder. "Hard and deep, Anna. You ready?"
In response, she lifted her ass up and grunted. Gripping her hips, I slid into her and howled before I withdrew and slammed into her.
Again.
And again.
"Yes," she moaned. "Yes!"
Sweaty and slick, I pulled her up to her knees and turned her head so I could kiss her. She thrust back on my cock and shuddered. "I'm going to come," she whimpered.
So was I. I was on the edge of exploding. Throwing her back down, I sank deeply in her and felt her shudder and cry out around my cock. Three more thrusts, and I was spilling myself into her.
"Guh." Turning over, she faced me and stared up at me with the biggest eyes.
Shimmering down her body, I licked one of her nipples and rested my head on her abdomen. Slowly, she placed her hand in my hair, and we stayed like that for a few minutes.
When I lifted my head, I found her staring at me. She gave me a weak smile. "I know how quickly you can recover, but I'm going to need a few minutes."
"I can wait." I kissed her stomach and sat up. "Tell me what you're thinking about."
"I'm thinking that maybe I need some food. I didn't eat much at dinner. Think you can run down and steal me a couple of rolls with butter?"
"Food sounds good. And water."
I slipped into a pair of sweatpants and headed down to the kitchen.
It wasn't empty.
"Hungry?" I asked Emerson when I found him sitting on a barstool in the dark.
"I actually find that my appetite is gone."
From the fury in his eyes, I knew exactly what he was doing.
Listening.
We hadn't exactly been quiet. With caution, I turned my back on him and grabbed two glasses and filled them with water. "The kitchen is a strange place to be if you're not hungry."
"Do you think that good sex means that she's yours?"
Without a beat, I opened the Tupperware with the biscuits and plucked two out. "I think the mating bond makes her mine."
Emerson let out a quiet snarl. I continued to ignore him while I pulled out the butter. "I protect her instead of hurt her."
"You think I've hurt her?"
"I know you have."
"Hm. I have regretted the actions of my past. Her father was…influential. I am here to make amends."
Amends. I almost laughed as I buttered the biscuits. Then, I paused. The biscuits might be enough for Anna, but I was going to need a little bit more. I headed to the fridge again to grab some of the leftover chicken. "How is that going for you?"
"I must admit, I wish I could stay longer. I do think I was making progress. Not that it matters. It'll be all over tomorrow."
"Uh-huh. You will be leaving. Without her."
"Not without her." Emerson stood. "Enjoy this evening, Jax. It's the last night you'll have with her."
Straightening, I turned to him. "Did you just threaten her?"
"No. I won't hurt her. I won't even threaten her. I don't have to. She'll come on her own.
She'll come because she wants to. She'll come because she's mine. She always was. I told her that from the very beginning, but you haven't been paying attention to her. Too distracted.
You wanted to use her, and now you're going to lose her, and it's too late. There's nothing you can do about it."