Chapter 22 Definitely Not Taking It
Jax
By the time the second round of knocking hits my door, I’m awake enough to be pissed about it.
Apparently the world disagreed.
“Jax, open the damn door.”
Her voice cuts through the apartment, muffled wood and metal and stubbornness.
Yeah, that’ll do it.
I’m out of bed before my brain catches up, feet hitting the tile, grabbing the first pair of sweats I find. No shirt, no socks, just a pulse already picking up speed, knowing she’s here and she sounds… wrong.
Not throw-a-wrench-at-my-head wrong, but like something happened and it has her spinning.
I flip the deadbolt and yank the door open with more force than needed unable to stop myself.
Raine stands there in her boots and a hoodie that’s definitely not enough for the morning air, a hand shoved into her pocket like she’s holding herself together from the inside. Her helmet dangles from her fingers. There’s grease on her cheek, hair a tangled mess, eyes too wide, too bright.
There is no universe where I see her like that and don’t drag her in.
But instead, I lean on the doorframe like an idiot. “Garage closed for a surprise inspection, Sunshine?”
She doesn’t answer.
She drops the helmet, steps forward, fists both hands in the waistband of my sweats, and hauls me down into a kiss that knocks the smart-ass right out of me.
No hello. No warning.
Just her mouth, hot and desperate against mine.
With one hand I slam the door shut behind her, my other arm snapping around her waist to keep her from falling into me harder than she already is.
She tastes like mint gum and stubborn terror. I cup the back of her neck, thumb brushing the line of her jaw, about to pull back and ask what the hell happened, but she bites my lip and yanks me closer instead, killing the question in my throat.
“Don’t,” she mutters against my mouth. “Don’t ask. Just—”
She cuts herself off with another kiss, fiercer this time, like she’s trying to erase something with her teeth. If I let her, she’ll take what she needs but she'll feel like she’s stealing it, and then she'll go home and fall apart alone anyway.
Not happening, Sunshine.
I let her lead for all of three seconds, because I’m not a monster, and I like the way she climbs me when she’s mad.
Then I change it.
My hand slides from her neck to her jaw and I tip her head, taking control of the angle, guiding the kiss deeper, slower, nothing like the frantic smash of lips she started. I walk her backward without breaking away, step by step until her shoulders hit the wall beside the door.
She grunts when she bumps it.
“Jax,” she warns.
“Yeah, Sunshine?”
“This was supposed to be quick.”
“Too bad.”
I pin her with my hips, bracing one hand by her head. The other stays hooked in her hoodie, knuckles pressed to her ribs so she feels me there, solid and not going anywhere. She tries to surge forward again, to take, to use, to drown, but I don’t let her.
I slow it down, dragging my lips, teasing with my tongue, giving her something she can’t outrun. She makes a frustrated noise that punches straight through me.
“You’re stalling,” she mutters against my mouth.
“I’m pacing,” I correct, hand sliding under her hoodie, palm finding bare skin and heat. “You show up at my place without a word and try to maul me in the doorway. I’m allowed to enjoy my surprise.”
Her stomach twitches under my touch. “You taking or not?”
“Oh, I’m taking.” My thumb finds the edge of her ribs, tracing there until her breath stutters. “But if you think you’re just going to use me like a painkiller and then bolt, you don’t know me at all.”
Her eyes flicker, something unguarded flashing there for a second before she crushes it.
“Jax.”
She says my name like a warning and a plea at the same time, and I’m gone.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “I know.”
I kiss her again, deeper, dragging her off the wall by the back of her neck so I can turn us, walking her backward now toward the living room. She stumbles once and laughs, this shaky sound that tells me she's close to losing it.
“Where are we going?” she asks, breath ragged.
“Anywhere that isn’t giving the whole building a show. Although you know I’m a fan of exhibition.”
She snorts, the sound catching. “You’re insane.”
“And yet you’re here,” I remind her, nipping at her jaw. “So what does that make you?”
Her answer is to tug my sweats down just enough to let me know she's desperate.
Okay, Angel. Let's play.
We hit the edge of my crappy couch and I turn her, letting her push me down first since she clearly needs that little illusion of control. I fall back, dragging her into my lap, and she doesn’t hesitate. She straddles me, already sliding her fingers into my hair, mouth hungry and demanding.
She grinds down and my brain shorts out for a second.
“Fuck, Raine.”
“Less talking,” she says, breath hot against my cheek. “More—”
I grab her hips and lock her there, stopping the movement.
“Don’t you dare.” Her eyes snap open, glaring at me, chest heaving, hair falling around her face in wild strands.
“Tell me what you need.”
“No.”
“Say it.”
“I already did,” she snaps. “I came here. Isn’t that enough?”
There it is—the crack under the bravado, the strain in her voice, the way her fingers curl tighter in my hair like she’s hanging on.
I could let it go. I could play dumb and pretend I don’t notice, just give in and give her exactly the brain-emptying, fast, hard distraction she thinks she wants. Or I can give her what she actually needs.
She chose me right now. I’m not wasting it.
I loosen my grip on her hips but don’t let go. “One more time. What do you need, Sunshine?”
She looks away, jaw ticking, eyes burning.
“Out of my head,” she says finally, voice rough. “I need out of my head.”
There. That I can work with.
“Good girl,” I murmur.
Her whole body jerks, like she didn’t expect that to hit the way it does.
“Don’t—”
“Shh.” I kiss the corner of her mouth. “You did great. You came to me. Now let me do the rest.”
Her glare wavers just enough that I know she's going to cave after a little protest. She opens her mouth to snap something back, and I kiss her before she can, one hand sliding up her spine, flattening between her shoulder blades, holding her there while I take control of the rhythm again.
I kiss her until she melts, until the tension in her shoulders eases despite herself.
When she finally sags against me, chest pressed to mine, I let one hand drift lower, over the curve of her ass, gripping and guiding her hips. She lets out a quiet, involuntary sound that does ugly things to my self-control.
“That’s it,” I breathe. “Let go. I’ve got you.”
“I hate you,” she whispers.
“Yeah. You came across town to my apartment near ten in the morning because you hate me. Makes sense.”
She huffs against my mouth, the ghost of a smile there. I hook an arm under her thighs and stand, hauling her up against my chest in one smooth motion. She yelps, arms flying around my neck, gripping my waist with her legs on instinct.
“I can walk,” she protests.
“Too slow.” I head for the bedroom. “And you’re already where I want you.”
The bedroom is dark except for the faint sunlight bleeding through the edges of the blackout blinds. I don’t bother turning the lamp on. I know this room by heart, and I know her weight in my arms like I’ve been carrying it for years.
I drop her onto the mattress and she bounces once, hair fanning out, hoodie riding up her torso. She props herself up on her elbows, watching me as I strip my sweats off the rest of the way and kick them aside.
“Staring’s rude,” I tell her.
“Then stop undressing,” she shoots back.
“Can’t. I’ve got a very demanding guest.”
She sits up the rest of the way, hands going to the hem of her hoodie.
“Wait.”
Her brows lift. “What now?”
“You didn’t say a word when I opened the door.” I climb onto the bed, caging her in with my arms as I hover over her. “You just showed up and put your mouth on mine.”
“And?”
“And I didn’t say you could stop.”
Something dark and hot slides through her gaze.
She grabs my jaw and pulls me down. This kiss is different. Not frantic, but intentional. Her tongue slides against mine, slow, claiming, nowhere near as neat as she probably wants it to be, because she’s shaking just a little. I can feel it where our chests press together.
I shift my weight, drop one forearm by her head, and let my other hand explore, skimming under the hem of her hoodie again, finding bare skin and heat and goosebumps.
She’s not wearing a bra.
God, I think I really love this woman.
My fingers brush up, teasing, cupping beneath her breast, sliding my thumb over her nipple. I spend a few minutes there, learning what makes her breath catch, what makes her hips twitch. I take my time, even when she writhes under me, even when she curses against my mouth.
“Jax—”
“Yeah?”
“If you don’t speed this up, I’m going to leave and find Theo or Elias.”
“Empty threat.” I drag my mouth down her throat, tasting salt and the edge of her soap. “You already chose me, Sunshine.”
She shivers when my teeth scrape her pulse.
“Stop being funny.” Her voice is frayed. “I’m serious.”
“I know you are.” My hand slides down her stomach now, fingers hooking in the waistband of her leggings. “That’s why I’m not rushing.”
She lifts her hips to help me, cursing under her breath, but she lets me peel the fabric down instead of doing it herself.
Progress.
By the time I’ve got her stripped to nothing but that hoodie, she’s breathing hard, cheeks flushed, eyes blown wide.
I sit back on my knees, hand smoothing over her thigh, up the scarred kneecap, along the strong line of her hip.
I let my fingers slide higher, gently, finding just how turned on she already is when I reach her sweet pussy. Her head falls back, a breathy curse slipping out.
“Fuck, Raine,” I rasp. “You came all the way over here this wound up?”
“Don’t make it a thing,” she says, teeth clenched. “Just—”