Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
RILEY
My week felt like it was dragging on indefinitely, but finally, Friday rolled around. I'd kept my head down all week and focused on school. It took me almost an hour extra each night to do my homework and study, but I'd tried my best to put everything else aside.
"Ashton is out sick so I'm going to need someone to help me shoot the football game tonight at Sunset Bay." I looked around at the other members of the sports section.
"I'll do it." Jax didn't look up from his phone. "I'm driving."
I frowned. "Anyone else interested?" I looked around hopefully that someone, anyone, would offer.
Ashley examined her nails with a scowl on her face and the others shook their heads. The thought of being in a car with Jax for half an hour, hanging out and shooting photos at the football game, then spending another thirty minutes coming back made my pulse race.
"Then it's settled. Jax and I will shoot photos tonight. That means that next week, someone else is covering homecoming."
The bell rang and everyone dispersed, except Jax, who finally looked up at me. "We need to get good shots of JV and their game starts at six. Want me to pick you up at four thirty and we can grab a bite to eat?"
"You can pick me up at five fifteen." I packed my bag and smiled sweetly at him. "What car are you driving?"
He smiled back at me. "I got a new one. Blake is taking me right now to go pick it up. Had to have a few things customized."
"Must be nice," I muttered.
"It is." He came around the computer desk and blocked my path. "Come to dinner with me."
"Is that code for drugging me and taking me to your clam shell to torture?" I pushed past him and headed to Mr. Garcia, who had two camera bags ready.
"Be careful. This one is brand new, thanks to Jax." Mr. Garcia gave Jax a nod and then left to go to his classroom.
I spun with the bags in my hand and he took the older one. "I paid to replace the one that got broken."
"How kind of you. It doesn't make up for the fact that it happened in the first place." I went to walk past him again and he herded me against the whiteboard. "Don't."
He raised his hand to touch my cheek but then hesitated. "You don't want me to touch you?" When I didn't respond, he cupped my cheek and moved his thumb over my bottom lip. "Whatever it takes to make amends for what we've done, we'll do it."
"And if you can't?" My breath left me when he backed away.
"Then we'll spend the rest of senior year trying." He walked out without another glance.
Jax's new car was the exact same as his last. How did they have so much money? Did they find abandoned ships with treasure?
"You look beautiful." Jax put the SUV in drive as soon as my seatbelt was on.
I was wearing jeans and a Salinity Cove High hooded sweatshirt since it would be chilly once the sun went down. "I'm wearing a sweatshirt."
His grip tightened on the steering wheel before he relaxed again. If he thought he was just going to slide right back into being halfway tolerable, he was wrong.
"After the game, we're going to head to the bonfire." He turned up the music, and I reached forward and turned it down.
"After the game, you're taking me home." I crossed my arms and stared out the window. "What did you guys really think it was going to be like after the fact?"
"I don't know. We thought maybe you'd... understand or something. We're idiots." He put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm angry and scared. I-"
I turned, knocking his hand from my shoulder. "That's not a valid excuse. Your sister would be ashamed of you."
His jaw clenched and he kept his eyes on the road. It was a low blow, bringing up his sister.
"I mean, surely all of you mermaids aren't assholes who torture human girls because of something their fathers did, right?" I turned the music back up and tried to calm myself down.
My anger was out of control, and it only seemed to be getting worse. I needed to see Mrs. Miller, but she wasn't exactly around. I'd found her on Facebook and messaged her, but it had gone unanswered. I reached forward again and turned off the music.
"What happened to Mrs. Miller and Detective Wilson?" He looked at me briefly then looked back at the road. "Answer me, Jax, or so help me-"
"Can you calm the fuck down? You sound and act like you're about ready to-"
"Explode? Of course I am! You wanted to drive me, so this is what you get. You could always pull over and kick me out. It wouldn't surprise me."
Jax took the next exit and I laughed. He was really going to leave me stranded. I should have known there were no redeeming qualities in him.
He pulled into a gas station parking lot and put the car in park. He turned toward me, his eyes darkening as he grabbed the back of my head, bringing his lips to mine.
I moaned and gripped his shirt, trying to pull him closer when I should have been pushing him away. His lips were like magnets, and once they were on mine, there was no hope of repelling them.
Why did he have to have such soft lips? He nipped at my bottom lip before pulling away, his chest heaving. I brought my fingers to my lips as he put the car back in drive.
It shouldn't be that difficult to stay away from him, but it was proving to be harder than I thought.
His kiss made me think back to the night we had a seriously hot make out session that led to me getting off.
If just the feel of him through clothes was enough to do that, what would his bare skin feel like against mine?
Jax cleared his throat. "I don't know what happened to Mrs. Miller or Detective Wilson."
I studied him and twisted my lips to the side. "Well, it was real convenient for both of the people who were going to help me with you three assholes to go out on leave. Did you have anything to do with the injunction put on me getting my money?"
"Why would I have anything to do with that? We just wanted to scare you and make you nervous, not ruin you." He reached over and took my hand. "I'll ask my dad about it."
Anger bubbled up in me again, and I gritted my teeth. I'd been fine after Jax kissed me, and now I was fuming again. Maybe I had some long-lasting neurological issues from almost drowning when I was seven and they were just now manifesting themselves.
We pulled into Sunset Bay's parking lot and Jax turned off the engine. Neither of us made any move to get out.
"I want to kiss you again." Jax unbuckled his seatbelt and turned toward me. He took my hand and brought it to his lips. "I feel this pull toward you that I can't explain."
"That's how I trap my prey." I shivered as he slid the sleeve of my sweatshirt up and kissed my inner wrist. "This doesn't change anything."
He licked a circle right in the center before continuing upward by brushing his lips over the sensitive skin. "Would me going down on you change anything?"
I yanked my arm away and pulled my sleeve down. "An orgasm isn't an apology."
"What about many orgasms?" He wiggled his brows and laughed as I got out of the car and slammed the door.
Shooting the football games wasn't half bad. Jax was quiet most of the time, but touched me every opportunity he got. Each time he was near, I felt my heart speed up, waiting for him to brush a hand along my lower back or touch my hand.
I desperately needed my mom to call me again so I could ask her if it was normal to want to devour the enemy. I wanted to simultaneously kick them in the nuts and kiss their faces off. All three of them.
What a mess.
"So, the shark..." We were in his car heading back to Salinity Cove, and I decided there was no time like the present to ask questions about that night and about him. "It pulled the pod."
"Yes. He's trained." I caught Jax smiling in the faint light from the dash. "Do you want to pet him?"
"Pet a shark? How is that possible?" I shoved my hands in the front pocket of my sweatshirt. "Won't he bite my hand off?"
"He doesn't bite. He likes to be scratched between the eyes." He laughed. "It's weird talking to a person about my shark."
My mouth dropped open and I stared at him. He had a goofy grin on his face and I wanted to lean over and kiss him, but also didn't want to die in a fiery crash. "Your shark? You're lying."
"All tritons have guardians of sorts. They help protect us when we need them."
"Like a familiar?" I wondered if sirens had one.
"Yes. Every family has a guardian. I've had Bubba since we were both pups." Jax pulled off the highway.
"Do Morgan and Blake have sharks?" I guess if dogs were human guards and companions, it would make sense for sharks to be the ocean equivalent.
"A lot of us have sharks, but they don't. You'll have to ask Blake about his. Morgan..."
"Morgan what?"
"Don't ask Morgan. It's a touchy subject." He signaled to turn into a hamburger fast food drive-thru. "I'm starving. Do you want something? My treat."
My stomach growled and Jax gave me a knowing look. "I could go for some food."
We went through the drive-thru and then he parked the car in the empty parking lot next to it. "Is this okay?"
"Would it matter if I said no?" I took a bite of my hamburger and moaned. There was just the right cheese to meat ratio and the sauce made it extra flavorful.
"It would matter." He dug into his food.
I took a sip of my Sprite in between bites. "You're determined."
Jax popped a fry into his mouth and watched me as I took another bite of food. My cheeks heated under his stare.
"You confuse me, Riley Kline." He shook his head and continued eating. "The way you look at us contradicts what you do and say."
"I could say the same about you. You hate me, but then you shove your tongue down my throat." I wiped my mouth with a napkin.
"Don't mistake passion for hate." He wadded up his wrapper and put it in the bag. "I've never hated you."
"Actions speak louder than words." It was cliché, but true.
"Come to the bonfire with me." He pulled out of the parking lot and got back on the highway. "It'll be fun."