Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
LEESA
Y ou are good to go,” Mack tells me, smiling as he hands me the keys to my car. I hold the keys, surprised at the disappointment welling up in me. I haven’t been eager to get home, but now that I can ? I’m not sure I want to.
After Mack goes back into the garage, I turn to Jax. “I swear I’m going to repay you for this.”
“Leesa,” Jax says, reaching out and putting his hands on my upper arms. “It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything. Mack owed me a favor and I collected.”
I look up at Mack and smile. This is too generous of a gift, but I sense there’s no arguing with him over this. I’ll repay him another way. “Thank you, Mack. Thank you for everything. You’ve been so—”
“Leesa.”
Tension spikes through my body and I freeze at the sound of Derek’s familiar voice. How the hell did he find me? His voice cuts through my happiness, and the heavy weight of what happened pushes down on me until it’s hard to breathe.
I turn toward his voice, bracing myself. Derek stands a few yards away, hands in his pockets, looking completely out of place in his pressed khakis and polo shirt. How did I ever want to spend my life with this man? He looks like completely out of place, standing in the sun outside Rebel Autos.
“We need to talk,” he says, his voice pitched low and steady, as though we’re still engaged and I owe him my obedience.
I step back, but Jax moves closer, his presence steady. “Derek,” I say, keeping my voice calm, “you shouldn’t be here.”
He glances at Jax briefly, dismissively, like he’s not important. He has no idea how important Jax is to me. “Why not? You disappeared without telling anyone where you were going. I’ve been worried about you. You’re the one who made me track you down.”
What? Then it dawns on me. Shared locations on our phones. He only found me because I let Andrea charge my phone last night. Ugh. I hadn’t even thought about that.
“You were worried about me?” I repeat, the words twisting in my chest. “Was that before or after you were fucking the wedding planner?”
Derek barely flinches, but his cheeks burn with knowing he was in the wrong. He plasters on the same polished expression he always uses when he’s trying to win someone over. “It wasn’t like that, Leesa. You’re making it sound worse than it was.”
He may not have been actually fucking her, but it was obvious they were really damn close to doing exactly that.
“Really?” I snap, my voice rising. Usually, I’d care about people listening, but I’m done with being nice just to make people who don’t make an effort with me feel comfortable. “Because from where I stood, she was half-naked, and your tongue was so far down her throat it’s a wonder she didn’t choke on it. How is that not worse than what I think?”
Jax doesn’t say anything, but I can feel him watching. Having him at my side makes me feel more confident.
“It was a mistake,” Derek says, sighing like I’m being unreasonable. “A stupid, meaningless kiss. You’re blowing it out of proportion.”
“A kiss?” I repeat, my voice sharp. “That’s what you’re calling it? Do you think I’m blind?”
He shakes his head, his smile tight and condescending. “You’re letting your imagination get the better of you. And honestly, Leesa, maybe if you’d go to the gym more often, like I suggested, you wouldn’t have felt so insecure in the first place.”
The words hit like a slap, but they also spark something inside me—anger. And clarity.
Before I can respond, Jax steps forward, his voice cutting through the tension like steel. “Why?” he asks, his tone calm but deadly. “She’s perfect as she is.”
Derek blinks, clearly caught off guard. “Excuse you?”
“You heard me.” There’s a hardness to Jax’s voice that I haven’t heard before. I look at him, but his eyes are locked on Derek’s. “If you didn’t see how good you had it, that’s your own stupidity. Don’t stand here and act like she’s the problem.”
Derek’s jaw tightens, his polished facade cracking. “And who are you exactly?” he asks, his tone sharp. “Her bodyguard?”
Jax doesn’t flinch. “I’m the man she came here with, and I’m the man she’s leaving with.”
He takes another step closer, and even though Derek is tall, Jax is taller and stares down at him, as if daring him to try something.
“I’m here to make sure you hear her when she says she’s done.” Jax’s voice is low and heavy with warning. “Why don’t you take your excuses and leave?”
Derek glares at him, but his bravado falters. He turns back to me, his voice dropping into an almost-whining tone. “Leesa, come on. This is crazy. We had plans, a future. Don’t throw that away because of one mistake.”
“One mistake?” I repeat, my voice rising. “Derek, you didn’t just cheat on me. You did it on our wedding day . With the wedding planner . That’s not a mistake—that’s a choice. You disrespected me and everything I thought we’d built together. Are you insane? I’m not throwing anything away. I’m walking away from the worst mistake I’ve ever made.”
His calm facade cracks, frustration flickering in his eyes. “Stop acting like a child,” he snaps, stepping closer. “You’re throwing away everything. Do you really think you belong here?” he waves his hand around, like there’s something wrong with Jefferson, Rebel Autos, and Jax. “You need to come back and fix this.”
When I don’t respond, his hand darts out, grabbing my arm. The pressure is firm, not enough to hurt, but enough to make me recoil. I instantly step back and try to pull away.
Before I realize he’s moved, Jax’s hand clamps over Derek’s wrist, prying it off me with a force that makes Derek wince.
In a blaze of clarity, I know what I want. I turn to Jax. “You know you said you’d wait until I figured things out? I’ve figured them out.”
Before Jax can say anything, I stand on my toes and kiss him like my life depends on it. The scorching summer sun beats down on my bare shoulders, but I barely notice the heat—not when Jax’s mouth is sending electric currents through every nerve ending in my body.
His surprise lasts only a fraction of a second before his strong hands find my waist, pulling me closer until I’m pressed against his deliciously muscled chest. The cotton of his t-shirt is soft against my palms as I slide them up to cup his face, feeling the bristle of his beard beneath my fingertips.
My heart thunders against my ribcage as his lips move against mine, tender yet hungry, like he’s been starving for this moment as much as I have. The faint taste of coffee lingers on his tongue, mixing with the salt of summer sweat on his upper lip, and I drink it all in, memorizing every sensation.
When his fingers thread through my hair, cradling the back of my head with a gentleness that makes my knees weak, I pour everything into this kiss. With Jax is exactly where I’m meant to be. I know without a shadow of a doubt who I want. I want Jax.
I’m panting when our kiss finally ends. Jax smiles as I turn back to look at Derek.
“Does that tell you what you need to know? We are never—ever—getting back together . ” I stare Derek down with an intensity I didn’t know I possessed. I never stood up for myself when he slighted me, but I’m done with playing down who I am to make him happy.
Derek slow claps and rolls his eyes. “Nice performance. Come along with me, and I’ll forget this little scene ever happened.”
“No.”
“Leesa,” Derek says, his voice filled with an anger I’ve never heard.
He steps toward me, but Jax moves between us and raises his hand, pushing against Derek’s chest to stop him.
“She said no,” he growls, his voice cold.
Derek glares at him, his mouth opening like he’s about to argue.
Jax doesn’t give him a chance. “Get lost before you end up at the bottom of a ravine,” he says, his voice filled with cold fury. “I know how to make sure no one would ever find you.”
Derek blinks rapidly at the threat and for the first time, he looks scared. He steps back, glancing between Jax and me, his jaw tightening. “This isn’t over,” he mutters, but his voice lacks the confidence it had before.
“Yes, it is,” Jax says, glowering at him.
Derek turns and walks away, his shoes crunching against the gravel. I watch him get into his car and drive off, my chest tight and my hands trembling. When he’s finally out of sight, I let out a shaky breath, the tension draining from my body all at once.
“You okay?” Jax asks, his voice softer now but no less steady.
I nod, but my knees feel weak, and before I realize it, I’m leaning into him. His arms come around me, and I let myself sink into the warmth of his embrace.
“He’s not coming back,” Jax says, his voice low and certain.
I pull back slightly, enough to look up at him. His blue eyes are steady and focused on mine. For a moment, the world falls still, like it’s just the two of us, and I realize how fast I’ve grown to like being here—with Jax, on King Mountain, as part of the community that has welcomed me with open arms.
For the first time in maybe ever, I realize I don’t have to change who I am to belong. Here, I’m enough.
I’ve fallen in love with Jax.