28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

I t was late when Jax walked out of the ensuite naked after a shower. Layla was on the bed, facing the wall, pretending to sleep. He'd never felt more like a dick than he did from the moment they'd got home. His heart was wounded, and he was taking it out on the woman he loved.

Childish. It was so fucking childish, but he hadn't been able to stop himself.

And those fucking bastards. What gave them the right to touch his mate? What made them think it was okay? He'd had to sit through the rest of the meeting with them even though he'd wanted to rip their limbs off. Gauge their eyes out. Rip those tongues out that dared to speak to Layla like he wasn't in the room.

They had enough shit to deal with; they didn't need to antagonise Cain on top of that.

He threw the damp towel he'd been using to dry his hair somewhere across the room and looked at Layla again. How could she think their relationship wasn't important? It was everything.

His gaze went to the couch and then back to the bed. He could have made life easier by moving to a different room, but even the thought of being too far from Layla was agonisingly painful. He'd felt like Layla had coiled razor-sharp barbed wire around his heart and continuously tightened it.

He was supposed to be thinking of the Hunters and the Circle, not why his mate was acting as if she hated him.

He walked to the couch and looked down at the cold leather. It took him only a second to change his mind about sleeping there. When he walked to the bed and slipped between the sheets on his side, he felt the tension in the air even though Layla didn't turn around to face him.

‘You're fucking up,' Cain growled. ‘You're making our mate unhappy.'

What about his happiness? Was he not allowed that anymore? How the hell was he expected to stay calm when Layla had put so much distance between them?

He looked over at her again. Two grown wolves could have easily fit in the space between them on the bed. They'd spent months falling asleep in each other's arms, even the nights when he struggled with losing Micah and the other pack members. What the hell had gone wrong the past few weeks?

Could she really see a future without him?

He shuffled closer to her and noticed the tense set of her shoulder. Her whole body seemed tense under the silk sheet.

And she was also naked.

He hadn't thought about that when he'd chosen the bed instead of the couch. The sheet tented over his groin like he'd been plugged in somewhere, and almost immediately, he caught the sweet scent of Layla's arousal. Resentment over how easy it was to get caught up in their body's reactions filled him, but it wasn't enough to stop him from drooling when he imagined tasting her again.

Layla had kept her emotions in check, but her heart started to hammer almost at the same time his did. He bit back a moan and closed his eyes but that only made things worse. All he could see was Layla, spread out in front of him, ready for him to feast on her. Seconds later, Layla sighed and rolled onto her back, decreasing the space between them even further. It was almost as if she was giving in.

His hand moved before he'd thought about it. He slowly pulled the sheet halfway down Layla's body, forgetting his promise to himself not to touch her unless she wanted him to.

But it looked like she wanted him to. Her scent was stronger, her heart racing, and she couldn't hide the longing he sensed through their bond. Layla turned her head, and even in the darkness, he got lost in her eyes.

He didn't know who moved first, but his lips were on hers, duelling her tongue for control as he devoured her. An inferno lit up inside him, burning away every other thought in his head until no one was left in it except Layla. How she tasted. The heat of her body. The little sounds she made in the back of her throat. It hadn't been that long since he'd touched her but it felt like an eternity.

"Why are you doing this to me, Layla," he whispered against her lips.

Layla responded by pressing herself more against his body and capturing his lips again.

He rolled over until he was between her legs, and when he finally positioned himself against her drenched heat, he released her mouth and let out a low groan. He wasn't going to last. As he slid in slowly and felt her muscles work around him, he had to clench his teeth and tense his muscles to stop himself. Layla arched her back and moaned his name, sending a jolt of electricity through him that almost pushed him over.

This was still perfect, even if their relationship wasn't. This was still his. This was still something only he could give her.

"Make love to me, Jax," Layla moaned.

A shiver ran down his spine as he started to move, drawing out more of her cries. More of her screams. Her unbridled enjoyment of him almost set him off again; he had to call on Cain to give him the control he needed. She was no longer trying to hide anything from him; he felt it all. Something in the back of his head told him he had to make everything perfect for her. He had to last, even with that tight grip on his dick. Even with her emotions drawing him in.

He hooked one leg over his shoulder and went in deeper, hitting her spot repeatedly. Layla threw her head back and moaned something he would never get tired of hearing.

"Jax... Yes, Jax... I love you, Jax..."

His balls tightened, forcing him to clench again. He knew his eyes were blood red as Layla called on both man and beast. He hit the spot repeatedly, desperately seeking something only she could give him. And when her muscles started to contract around him, he put his hand between them and applied the right amount of pressure against her slick clit to shove her deep into the place he wanted her to go.

The inferno inside him consumed both of them. He grabbed the sheets above her head as he pressed into her, ignoring the sound of ripping sheets as his claws extended while Layla rode her orgasm out.

He let her scream his name to her heart's content.

The moment she started to quieten down, he rose to his knees and flipped her over.

He wasn't ready for this to be over. He wasn't prepared to return to the uncertainty and arguments.

The second he thrust back into her, he got lost in the abyss of emotions. It was his turn to grunt her name. To express the things that he couldn't say with words.

He couldn't hold his beast back any longer. The bed slammed against the wall as he drilled into his mate. Layla's cries started to get louder. Her back arched as she flattened her lower body onto the mattress, allowing him to go deeper. Face down, ass up... Fuck, he'd missed that. Deeper and deeper, faster and faster, until her muscles gripped him. When she started to cum again, he roared her name and tensed as his seed began to coat her walls.

But it still wasn't enough for him.

He grabbed her hair and slipped his arm under her to pull her up before he put his lips on his mark. Her third orgasm triggered another one from him. His mind exploded into little pieces as he was shoved down the rabbit hole where he had sent Layla, unable to and unwilling to stop it. It was the four of them riding it out together. He and Cain, Layla and her wolf. The way it was supposed to be.

His whole body shook as he lowered them back onto the mattress. He didn't pull out or let go of her, even when his eyelids started drooping.

When he opened his eyes again, the morning sun was just starting to stream into the room, and Layla's side of the bed was empty.

It was a very steep fall back into reality.

He sat up to find her in case she'd gone out to train. He didn't want to think she would have left the bed so early just to avoid him, not after what they had shared.

But she had. He could sense her in the next room with her sister even though, judging by the sound of Britney's heart and her even breathing, the young girl was still fast asleep.

His fists clenched at his side. Cain surged forward, urging him to go and get her back. But he pushed the bedding aside and marched to the ensuite instead.

He wasn't going to force things. At some point, they would have to talk. Layla would see that they couldn't live like that, and they would make up. All couples argued; they'd been lucky that they'd had an extended honeymoon period. All their issues were caused by anxiety because the Hunters and the Circle were hanging over their heads. Once they went past all of that, everything would be fine. It had to be.

There was no need to worry that his mate would leave just because she was a red wolf.

‘Won't she?' Cain growled. ‘Do you feel how calm her heart is while yours is going like a jackhammer?'

Fucking bastard. What did he know? He shoved Cain aside and concentrated on his shower. A true mate was a true mate, even if the other half was a red wolf. She wouldn't walk away after just a few arguments. He had to trust their bond. So she'd said things that hurt his feelings, and he'd been a dick and hurt her back. He could admit that was wrong and learn from it so it never happened again. They could talk about things like adults and get everything back to how it was supposed to be. There was no need to keep arguing when they would be together for the rest of their lives, however short or long that would be.

He'd drilled that into his head by the time he was dressed. Layla couldn't go anywhere anyway, not when wolves were disappearing.

Until then, he had his Alpha duties to fulfil. He had to order some trackers. That had been a good idea, but he'd shut it down just to be a dick.

He paused outside Britney's door. Layla wouldn't welcome seeing his face since she'd left so early to avoid that. She was wide awake but hadn't bothered to come to the door. It didn't matter. They had time. He walked past and headed down the stairs.

The lobby was already busy. Alpha Erik's children were awake but had to stay in the hall until someone could take them outside. He couldn't allow them out alone because he wasn't linked to them. They needed someone to watch them in case there was an attack.

His phone rang as he walked into his office. It was one of his security guys. What the fuck had happened now? More missing wolves?

"Alpha, I've had a call on a secure line from Miss Townsend."

Who the fuck...

His eyes widened when he remembered Andrea's little mole inside the hotel.

"What did she want?"

"She heard that the head of security is meeting the same men Miss Roberts met. I think she's referring to the last hunting party."