Chapter 26
Enter Sandman
Jagger rides along winding roads out of town to what feels like the middle of nowhere.
The only light is the shining full moon illuminating the asphalt in front of us.
I have no idea where he’s whisking me off to or what to think.
I can’t see him really organizing something remotely romantic, so I’m interested to see what he thinks constitutes as a date.
If that is even what he has in mind. Who knows with Jagger.
When he turns off the main road and onto a dirt one, I would be lying if I said a shiver didn’t just slither down my spine.
I’m desperate to ask him where he’s taking me, but over the roar of the bike, I’m sure he won’t hear me, and the truth is, knowing Jagger like I have come to, he wouldn’t tell me, anyway.
It’s all this illusion of control he seems to crave.
He takes the dirt road for a good five minutes and then comes to a gate, where he pulls the bike up closely before typing in some code.
The gate creaks open, then he rides the bike through, and it closes behind us, locking us in.
He travels down the road for another couple of minutes and then pulls up under an old oak tree.
I glance around. It’s dark as hell and a little creepy.
A chill comes over my skin as old trees cast shadows, and my ears become acutely aware of the night calls of animals.
He hops off his bike and turns to me with a crooked smile, like he knows I’m slightly terrified and he’s getting off on the thought. He holds out a hand to me, just expecting me to trust him and take it.
“Where the hell are you taking me?” I whisper the words, choking them out.
“Somewhere romantic.” His grin twists in delight.
My stomach churns uncomfortably. I should have run back inside the club and demanded Asher take me home. He would have protected me from his brother.
When I don’t accept his hand, his fingers tangle around mine, and he tugs me from the bike and into his arms. I stumble forward, not able to help it, but he captures me with a steady hand at the waist. His hand lingers at my waist longer than I expect it to, his touch warm but not entirely comfortable.
I’m not sure how to act around him when we’re alone but not in the private suites.
The only time I have spent with him, we have been arguing or screwing blindfolded.
Now I just feel strange, like I don’t know what to say or how to act. Or if he’s about to kill me.
I take off the helmet and swallow the lump in my throat. “Is this where you bring your victims to kill them?” I try to laugh, but my voice comes out flat, not so sure it isn’t. If I tried to scream out here, no one would ever hear me. It was at least ten minutes ago that I saw a house.
He tilts his head to the side, his lips curling up just a touch. “Would I tell you if it was?” There is something in his cold eyes that makes it hard to tell if he’s serious or not. He takes the helmet from me and hangs it on his bike. “Don’t look so scared, flower. I’m not all bad.”
My eyes narrow, not so sure that’s true. Yeah, he’s got a magic tongue and screws like some sort of sex god, but that doesn’t mean anything.
He holds out a hand for me to take, and I tentatively place my hand and my trust in him, praying to God he’s not leading me to my death.
He laces his fingers with mine as we walk down a rocky path.
The gnarled roots of old trees wind over the path, and I have to watch my step so I don’t trip as Jagger moves quickly in the dark as if he’s done this very walk a million times before.
An owl hoots from behind me, and I nearly jump right out of my skin, gripping his hand with white-knuckle force.
Jagger’s dark chuckle vibrates through the trees, and he moves his hand from mine to wrap his arm heavily around my shoulders as he tugs me in closer. “So jumpy, aren’t you? Like a scared little rabbit.”
We make it to a clearing with some stone steps that lead down into the dark. My eyes go wide trying to focus on what on earth is in front of us. “You would be too if you had some psycho leading you down a desolate path in the middle of the night.”
“Do you always construct morbid little scenarios in your head?”
“Only when you’re around,” I snip, not able to help myself.
As we make it to the bottom of the fourth step, the place comes to light, and I can’t help the gasp of shock that comes from my lips. Most of it is relief, but a small part is awe.
“It’s beautiful.” A stunning lake stretches out before us, its dock reaching out over the water, while a cozy, rustic house is nestled off to one side.
The property is immaculate and picturesque; a perfectly manicured grass lawn and floral gardens surround the home.
But it’s the festoon lights that draw my attention the most, as they light the path ahead and create a magical ambience I wasn’t expecting. “What is this place?”
“My escape from Ravens Hollow,” Jagger says matter-of-factly as he leads me across the lawn and down onto the dock. “Less scared now?”
I search his face, trying to work out what his angle is here. “Still not convinced you’re not about to murder me and dispose of my body in the lake,” I respond only half seriously, but this place is secluded. If he wanted to get rid of me, no one would hear me scream.
His forehead creases. “Has anyone ever told you that you have major trust issues?”
Not needing to be guided by him anymore, I pull out of his grip on me and move down the dock, looking out over the water lit up by the moon. “Yeah, well, you have major control issues, so I guess that makes us even.”
I feel him right behind me. One hand skates down my side, stopping on my hip; the other moves around my front, pulling me back into his body.
It’s like he can’t help but touch me, and I know his touch ignites something inside of me.
I don’t get this dynamic at all. I should hate him for being such a jerk on the regular, but I crave his skin on mine way too much.
“I’ve never brought a girl here before,” he admits.
I stiffen in his hold, not sure what to make of that comment or even why he’s telling me as much. I know from what Sloane said, he was seeing someone right before I arrived in town, and it ended with him pissed it was over. “Why? Didn’t feel like scaring the shit out of your past girlfriends?”
“Girlfriends.” He huffs out a laugh.
I regret having opened my mouth immediately.
“Never found someone I wanted to bring to my sacred place.” In one quick move, he turns me so I’m facing him, forced to look up into his dark eyes. He sucks in ragged breaths like he’s trying to control himself.
I blink up at him, my heart racing faster than it should be, but this is what he does to me. He makes me giddy. “What do you want with me, Jagger?” I whisper, having to force the words from my mouth, trying to keep some control here.
His hand brushes over the side of my face, and I shiver, his touch igniting something that spreads all the way through me. “What do you want with me, flower?”
I blink back at him, not sure how to answer. Oh, there are so many things I want from him, all sexual of course, but I can’t tell him that. I won’t show him my desperation to have his lips on me again. “Who says I want anything with you?”
He huffs out a laugh. His hand moves to my wrist; he presses his fingers in more firmly than I expected, and I wonder what on earth he’s doing. “Your heart races for me.”
Damn him, he’s good. Not smooth like Asher, but he knows what he’s doing to me just the same. “Only because you scare me.”
“I scare you, do I, sweetheart?” He releases my wrist, his fingers trailing over my dress, down my stomach and over the soft chiffon fabric.
I swallow the lump that’s formed in my throat, but that only makes his eyes light up with excitement. He wants me like this, all on edge for him.
He continues his slow movement down and over my hips until his hand slips under the hem of my dress, his fingertips brushing over my bare thigh.
I suck in a ragged breath, feeling faint suddenly. What on earth is he doing to me?
He cups me down there, his fingertips stroking gently in a way that drives me wild. Then he tilts his head, and his lips twist up at the sides almost cruelly. “Do I scare you so bad your sweet little cunt drips for me?”
Oh, fuck, he didn’t just ask me that, did he? But the way he’s looking back at me, all smug and shit, I know he did. “Umm… I’m not wet for you.”
“You’re not a good liar, flower.” His eyes stroll leisurely down my face, taking in every detail as his finger slips under my panties, dusting over my clit before feeling his way through my soaking-wet pussy.
There is no denying how my body reacts to him, not with his hand right there, even so I tilt my head up defiantly.
There is no way in hell I’m going to admit it to him.
“How about we make a wager?” He pushes a finger deep inside me.
My knees buckle, but he holds me with his other hand, looking dead into my eyes. “W-what?” I stutter, my brain short-circuiting.
His twisted smile breaks into an all-out grin, and I get a sinking feeling that whatever Jagger’s idea of fun is edges on the side of deranged.
“If you can make it to the house before me. You can have your idea of a romantic date. Since you crave it so terribly.” He brushes a strand of hair over my shoulder.
“If I catch you, though, you’re mine to do with as I please.
Just like you would be in the private suites.
” His finger is still deep inside me. He has to know I’m in no position to make a wager with him.
And like he does, he pushes it deep inside me once more.
I groan, unable to help it. “Jagger,” I try to warn him, but it’s more of a moan of pleasure.
“I’ll give you a head start.” He pulls his finger free, sliding my juices down the inside of my leg as if to prove how turned on I am.