Chapter 22
Lucy
Itried to take a step back, but my shoulder hit the wall.
Jay didn’t touch me again, but I could feel his heat pressing through the air between us, his gaze sharp enough to slice through every secret I’d buried.
That kiss flashed in my mind, not soft, not imagined, but raw and fierce, and there he was, closer than ever.
My lips tingled from memory alone, and my core pulsed.
“Stay away from Link.”
Fury shot through me, dampening any desire I’d felt. “So, that’s how it works, huh?” I snapped. “I can’t so much as look at another man without you losing your damn mind, but you get to fuck Gabby and pretend it doesn’t matter?”
His whole body went rigid, his jaw tightening like he’d swallowed broken glass.
“Don’t,” he said, voice raw with warning.
But I didn’t stop. “What are the rules, Jay? One set for me, another for you? You think you get to own me and still shag her on the side?”
Something cracked in his eyes. He surged closer, and his hand fisted in my hair, dragging me up until our mouths were a breath apart. His chest heaved as heat rolled off him in waves.
“This isn’t about Gabby,” he snarled. “Don’t you get it? It’s about you.”
My pulse roared in my ears, but I shoved against his chest, forcing space between us even though his grip burned my skin.
“You don’t own me, Jay,” I hissed. “I’m not here for you. I’m here to get closure on Caleb. That’s it.”
“Why did you come here? Just to hurt me?” he asked.
Before I could answer, his hand closed around my arm, firm but not rough, and he dragged me farther into the back hallway. My boots scuffed the floor as he shoved open a door and forced me inside.
“Find what you were looking for?”
I swallowed, shaking my head. “I wasn’t—”
“Save it. You wanted me angry. Congratulations.”
The door slammed, and I flinched.
“Funny,” he said. “You walk in fearless, but now, you’re shaking.”
I straightened, placing my shaking hands behind my back and lying through my teeth. “I’m not afraid of you.” Even I didn’t believe it.
He stepped closer, his shadow swallowing the room. “You should be.”
Not a threat. Not exactly. Anger, yes, but under it, confusion. Hunger. Pain.
“You lied to me, princess,” he muttered. “From the moment you walked in, you’ve lied, disrespected me, and I still haven’t thrown you out. Ask yourself why.”
I tilted my head. “What, you want me to bat my lashes and open my legs like Gabby?”
His eyes hardened, but his answer came quick. “Gabby’s not the woman I want. She was just fun, a distraction.”
The words hit, twisting deep, but I forced a scoff. “Right. Just fun. That why you let her crawl all over you tonight? Why you sat there and let me see it?”
His jaw worked, teeth grinding.
The silence broke something in me. My words ripped out, ragged. “Why do you keep kissing me and then pulling away, Jay? Why do you act like a caveman about every man who looks at me when you’re still fucking her?” My chest heaved, fury and humiliation tangling.
His gaze locked on mine, hard and burning, like he could pin me to the wall with his eyes alone. His voice came out raw and scraped me to the bone.
“Gabby’s not the one I want. She never was. I haven’t fucked her since you got back. You think I let her hang all over me because I want it? No. It’s a show for the brothers. To make them think I’m untouchable. Because I can’t show them what I really want.”
The words hung heavy, but I wasn’t letting him off that easy.
“Bullshit. Every time I look at you, she’s on you.
She told me herself, after you kissed me that night in the bar, you fucked her in your room, but I guess lying is all you’ve ever been good at.
So, tell me, Jay, you say you don’t want her, then what do you want? ”
He exploded. His hands slammed the wall beside my head, the crack reverberating through my bones. His voice was a snarl.
“You. You’re the one I want, Luce. Always have been. And I hate it. I hate you for it. You’re not meant for this life. I’ll ruin you if I claim you. But fuck”—his forehead dropped to mine—“I can’t stop wanting you.”
The fury bled out, leaving something darker and scarier.
He hovered, breath shuddering. Silence roared louder than his snarl.
Heat close to a lava flowed through my veins.
I’d waited years for him to say those words, because I felt it too.
Since the night in the bar way back, when we’d almost kissed, Jay was the man for me.
Maybe even before then, when I thought it was only a crush I couldn’t shake.
My throat burned, but I forced the words out. I couldn’t get lost in emotion. “I have something to tell you.”
I led him to the bed. He sat, tension wound tight, while my shaking hands pulled the folded letter from my hoodie. Caleb’s letter.
“It’s what he left me, in case he didn’t make it.” My voice cracked as I laid out every detail—the photos, GPS hits, cash drops, all pointing to one name. Gage.
“You’re lying,” Jay whispered, fists clenching, his knuckles white.
“I’m not,” I said. “He’s in the files. He was working with the Fangs.”
Jay froze, like stillness could hold the storm inside.
“You realise what you’re accusing him of?” he rasped. “Blood betrayal.”
“I know you want to believe he’s loyal.” My voice rose. “But he’s not.”
He stood and turned away, jaw locked, shoulders taut. “You don’t get it. You didn’t live this.”
“No,” I screamed, hitting out at his back as rage ripped through me, “I just buried it.”
He spun, caging me against the wall, palms slamming either side of my arms.
“You always push,” he said, his voice low and rough.
“Then stop me,” I whispered, sliding my hands inside his kutte and up his T-shirt, resting against his waist.
My fingers dug into his skin, his heat burning the tips. My heart thumped in my chest as my pussy throbbed. After the fear of being watched earlier, I wanted him, needed him to make me feel safe.
His eyes dropped to my mouth, dark and questioning. “This isn’t revenge or hate,” he murmured.
“I know,” I whispered.
“You pull me in, you’re mine. I can’t go halfway. Not with you.”
“Then don’t,” I whispered back.
A shiver tore through him. My lips brushed his jaw, nipping his throat under his ear. His hand tugged at my hair, the other gripping my hip.
Then there was no more space between us. He picked me up and placed me on the bed, sliding between my legs.