Chapter 56 Jax #2
I shake my head. I can’t tell him about the months of tracking. Digging. Searching. All the money I spent in Marcus, trusting him to bring justice to this situation.
At fourteen, I watched her testify against her own mother. My mom called her snake like her father.
I was there. The day she said her mom shot Grant Winchester. The day she lied under oath. The day she sent an innocent woman––her own mother––to prison. She must be fucked in the head to do something like that.
Because I remember that night. Remember seeing the man—Damien Lopez—holding the gun. I remember the angle, the positioning.
Something’s wrong. Something doesn’t add up.
And I need to know what and why she would lie.
But my mom made me promise. Over and over and over. Never tell anyone we were there. Never speak about that night. Never get involved.
But that night when Grant didn’t come home, a piece of me died too.
My mom blamed herself. Spiraled for years. “Maybe he wasn’t cheating,” she’d say. “Maybe he was trying to protect his daughter from the abuse. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he was cheating. Maybe he was leaving us for them. Maybe she was leaving her husband and that’s why he shot him.”
Every scenario. Every possibility. Every what-if.
She beat herself up until there was nothing left.
And the only thing that kept me sane was hockey.
Channeling everything into the ice. The aggression. The pain. The rage.
But nothing felt as good as learning about Tigerlily Lopez.
Tigerlily Winchester.
She changed her last name. Erased her biological father. Erased Grant, her mother, and became someone new.
And I couldn’t blame her. I considered changing mine too. I wanted to be a Winchester. Honoring the man who taught me everything. Sometimes I wish I did.
I’ve kept tabs on her, watched from a distance, and learned she would attend the same college as me. UCLA. Smart girl.
I got Asher to talk to her friend, Elle, over some stupid bet. Then he convinced Elle to invite Tigerlily to our games. I wanted her close. I wanted her in my orbit so fucking badly. And I had been patient all this time already, so I could wait this out too.
But game after game, she didn’t show.
Until one night she did.
I saw her in the stands. Row twelve. Right side. Wearing jeans and a jacket. Looking uncomfortable.
And I knew that this was my only chance.
I had to get close. I was desperate to learn the truth. I wanted to make her pay for what she did to Grant. To my mother. To her mother. She’s a liar. And timid. And yet… fucking angelic.
I turned up to the stands, looking for her. My eyes kept going back all night to her, just waiting. I wanted her to notice me.
But then she disappeared.
One moment, she was in her seat. The next, my eyes were scrambling across the damn stadium, wondering where she had gone. Then I found her. She was walking down the stairs. She was leaving.
No.
She can’t fucking leave. Not before I get what I need.
So I did the only thing I could think of.
I attacked the nearest opposite player like my life fucking depended on it.
Theo Westmoor. He needed a good hit anyway. I hit him hard. He dropped and blood splattered everywhere. His face split open.
The crowd gasped. The refs blew their whistles.
I didn’t stop. I needed her fucking attention. If she was leaving, I needed to get out of the game.
Theo hit me back hard. So fucking hard.
“I’ll fucking kill you,” I snarled, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Security dragged me off. Into the tunnel. Into the locker room.
Perfect.
I tore off my gear. Ignored Coach’s yelling through the door. I got dressed and walked outside.
And saw him.
Damien Lopez.
The man who killed my stepdad. The man who framed an innocent woman. The man who’s been abusing Tigerlily for years.
He’s dragging Tigerlily through the parking lot.
Every instinct in me flared.
I didn’t feel like the fourteen-year-old me anymore. Now I knew my power. I knew my hit could fucking cause pain. It took everything in me not to beat this man.
I inhaled, feeling myself tremble.
This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t how I wanted this to go.
I didn’t want to be face to face with the fucking murderer. He stole the one thing in my life that I loved.
But I couldn’t stand there and do nothing again.
Not when he’s treating Tigerlily this way.
And it was painfully clear to me that she was also a victim of this fucking asshole.
Then I watched him hit her, and it took everything in me to not kill him on the spot.
So I stepped in politely, not wanting to scare Tigerlily. I needed to be on her good side if I wanted to understand why she did what she did.
Today
I watch Callum move above her. Watch her gasp his name. Watch her come undone.
Zephyr gives me a knowing look and leans close as we watch. He whispers, “Are you ever going to tell her?”
I watch her. Flushed. Beautiful. Moaning on the edge of another orgasm.
My dick twitches in my pants.
I shake my head. “No.”
“Jax—”
“I’m not telling her. Ever.”
Zephyr stares ahead. “I’m next.”
“She belongs to me,” I state. I need to make sure he remembers this. It doesn’t matter that she wants all fucking three of us, she was always mine from the beginning.
“I know,” he says.
I mutter, “She always has been. Always will be mine.”
Zephyr smirks, watching her moan while Callum plays with her clit. “Try telling her that.”
Callum comes and then Zephyr walks over. When Zephyr kisses her, hot molten jealousy flows through my chest. It burns and aches like a son of a bitch.
She has no idea what I’ve done for her. The extent I went. The revenge I wanted. The truth I’m hiding.
The obsession I’ve built.
I watch her, feeling the tension in my veins. It’s heavy but manageable.
When it’s my turn, my cock is aching desperately.
“Out,” I tell them. “Both of you.”
Callum raises an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
I glance at him. “Out.”
Zephyr pulls Callum toward the door. “Let’s give them a minute.”
They leave and close the door behind them.
I turn to her.
She’s lying there. Chest heaving. Legs spread. Looking at me like I’m the answer to everything.
I grab her throat. Not hard. Just enough to feel her pulse jump.
Her eyes widen, pupils blown. “Jax.”
“Tiger.”
I’d do anything for her. To keep her. To protect her.
Even if it means lying forever. I don’t want her hurt. I don’t want her sad. I’ll do anything for her, and she doesn’t understand a single ounce of how I feel.
I look down at her beautiful body. Aching. Ready. Mine.
“You have no idea what I’ve done for you,” I say.
She shakes her head seductively and gently, brushing her hair out of her face. “I think I do.”
I tighten my grip on her neck and feel her pulse race. “You don’t.”
She looks up at me. Hot. Trusting. Oblivious.
“I’d be lost without you, Jax,” she whispers.
She sits up slowly. She kisses my cheek. My jaw. My neck.
“I’m... grateful... you... found me... that... night…”
My insides light up even as my expression stays neutral.
What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.
She doesn’t need to know Grant Winchester was my stepfather. That I watched Damien kill him when we were fourteen. That I’ve been stalking her for fucking years. That I had all the connections ready. That I wanted to destroy the man who ruined my life, who ruined hers.
She doesn’t need to know that I had wanted to destroy her too.
She licks my skin and kisses down my chest. She shows me gratitude with her mouth, sucking my cock between those pretty lips. She starts deep throating me. I grab her ass with both hands and shove myself to her throat. Fuck, she feels so fucking good and looks beautiful while doing it.
And I know I’ll never tell her.
I’ll take this secret to my grave.
Because now that I have Tigerlily in my grasp, I won’t let her go.
No matter what it costs. No matter what I have to hide.
She’s mine. She’s always been mine. Since the moment I saw her when I was fourteen and realized we were almost family.
Almost.
But almost doesn’t count.
And the truth? The truth would destroy everything.
So I’ll keep it buried, keep her ignorant, and keep her grateful. Let her pussy thank me over and over until come is dripping out of my dick.
I’ll keep her exactly where I want her.
Because in the end, that’s the biggest deception of all—letting her believe she’s free while I hold every string.
THE END