46. Forty-Six
FORTY-SIX
H arley
Two weeks later
Leaning over the sink in Jax’s bathroom, I paint the liquid lipstick onto my lips. I have no doubts in my mind I won’t make it through the entire party before I’m thrown over his shoulder and brought back upstairs. With one last look in the mirror, I shut the lights off and head downstairs.
Music plays loud enough from downstairs that the bass vibrates the floors beneath my feet. With every click of my heels, I grow increasingly more excited to see Jax’s reaction. He’s never not obsessed over me in red. Which means there's no doubt in my mind that what I wore tonight will have him on his knees later.
Stepping from the last step into the hall, I make a right before hanging a left into the game room. Jax is bent over the pool table, lining up a shot as I walk into the room. Declan stands on the opposite side of the table, his eyes starting at my feet and growing wider with each inch he makes up to my face. His eyes snap to Jax, just in time for him to sink a ball into one of the pockets.
The party isn’t in full swing. It’s still just the guys and I. Alicia might be in the kitchen cooking. She mentioned something about a cake and a special dinner just for me. I have no clue what she’s making, but whatever it is, I know it’ll be delicious.
Declan clears his throat and then quickly pushes all of the balls into the pockets. “I’ll close the doors.”
“The fuck man?” Jax demands, his head snapping up.
All Declan does before disappearing from the game room is point a finger in my direction. The door he exits through closes a second later. I follow suit and softly shut the door behind me. Before Jax gets the chance to realize what’s happening, the door that leads to the living room closes.
He looks over his shoulder, the pool stick dropping from his hands to the table with a clank. When he turns to face me, I can’t help the loud cackle that leaves my mouth. Across his fitted black t-shirt reads Team Jacob.
“You’re ridiculous,” I tell him, shaking my head.
“And you’re fucking gorgeous,” he breathes.
I glance down at the dress that clings to my body like a second skin. “Wasn’t sure you’d like it,” I tease lightly.
“Understatement,” Jax mumbles, still standing by the pool table with the most dumbstruck look I’ve ever seen on his face.
With a small step forward, I turn slowly to let him really soak in the dress. The hem stops mid-thigh, the fabric lifting with pick ups that stop just below where my waist dips. Where the fabric stops, a corset takes place. Sheer intricate lace covers the majority of my bare skin between the flexible rods. The lace continues, covering the entirety of the cups holding my breasts in place. The push up effect that the corset has makes my breasts look three times their normal size.
I watch his eyes drop to my thighs and trail down to the tips of my boots. The red velvet matches the color of the dress and stops just above my knees. It leaves a sliver of skin visible between my boots and the hem of my dress.
When I take another step forward, Jax’s eyes make a slow ascent. I feel that look in my core. It leaves me wanton and greedy for more. Those dark orbs caress every inch of my body before stopping on my lips as I come within arms reach.
“Have I mentioned how much I love the color red?” he murmurs, eyes never leaving my lips.
The corners of my mouth lift. “Yes.”
“I think you’re trying to kill me,” he whispers, his hands landing on my hips and pulling me into him.
I laugh softly. “Kill you? No. That would be far from beneficial.”
He hums low in his throat, making his chest vibrate. “Those horns on your head make me question your motives here.”
Jax slides out from between me and the pool table, making his way across the room to where a couch faces the flat screen TV. I roll my lips as I try to hide my smile.
“Get the fuck over here and get on top of me,” he says in a low demanding tone that has me suppressing a shiver.
The heels on my boots click with each step, barely being heard over the music coming from the living room. With calculated strides, I walk around the back of the couch, dragging the tips of my fingers across his shoulders as I do.
“Harley,” Jax growls under his breath.
Stepping around the front of the couch, I lock my eyes with his and ask innocently, “What?”
“Spread those sexy fucking legs, and sit on my fucking lap before I throw you over my shoulder and take you back upstairs,” he tells me, his nostrils flaring when my knee brushes his.
“That was much faster than I’d expected,” I whisper, dropping my hands to the back of the couch on either side of his shoulders.
His eyes land on my parted lips. Pupils blown wide, he breathes, “Are you…are those fangs?”
Flashing him a sweet smile, I say, “Took you long enough to notice the best part of the whole costume.”
Jax drops his head back, pointing his face at the ceiling as he breathes slowly through his nose. His chest rises and falls, making the fabric of his shirt stretch across his body with each breath he takes.
Pressing one knee into the couch on his left, I slip the other between his legs. With his head still tipped back, I bring my lips to his jaw and press my mouth to his skin. I make a path all the way down his neck to the collar of his shirt. Red marks his skin, making me feel an overwhelming sense of possession.
I want to mark him in all the ways he’s marked me.
Because Jax Stone hasn’t just marked me once.
He’s marked my heart.
He’s marked my mind.
He’s marked my very soul.
I am his, and he is mine.
His hands fall to my hips, holding me in place as I drag the tips of the pointed canines down the column of his throat. “Party is supposed to start soon,” I whisper against his skin.
“Do that again,” he pleads softly.
Smiling, I lightly drag my teeth back up his neck. “Are you reconsidering that Team Jacob shirt, hockey jockey?”
“ Fuck yes I’m reconsidering it,” he growls.
“You can always go upstairs and change it,” I whisper against his jaw.
“Come with me,” he hisses when I nip at his skin. “I think I need help.”
“You know,” I say, grabbing his wrist. “I don’t really believe that.”
I guide his hand beneath the hem of my dress, loving the feel of his palm against my skin. I release my grip, letting him continue to move up my thigh. Before his hand can reach where I want, the door I came through swings open. His fingers dig into my thigh, a frustrated growl vibrating his chest.
“There you—oh shit,” Alicia mutters.
Lifting my head, I meet her eyes. “What’s up?”
“I can wait,” she says, trying to hide her smile by pinning her bottom lip between her teeth.
“You most definitely—” I cut his words off with my hand over his mouth.
“What can I help you with, Cia?” I ask lightly.
“I was going to see if you could give me a hand, but it can really wait,” she insists.
Jax grumbles something, his words unclear thanks to my hand. “I’ll be right there,” I say with a wink.
“Great!” she chirps, spinning on her heel.
The door closes just as Jax’s tongue makes a tight circle on the center of my palm. Bringing my eyes to his, I find him looking up at me. He does it again, slower this time, dragging that silver ball across my skin in a way that if I were to close my eyes, I'd feel him between my legs.
“Zayden,” I hiss warningly.
His fingers wrap around my wrist, pulling my hand away to reveal a devilish grin. “What's the problem, doe eyes?”
Shifting my knee forward on the couch between his legs, I say, “You’re gonna have to hold that thought.”
He grips my hips tighter. “No, no. No thought holding.”
I roll my eyes at the dramatic lilt in his voice. As I do, I feel one hand leave my hip. It snakes up from my stomach, between my breasts, not stopping until he is cradling my chin in the divot between his thumb and forefinger. His big hand covers the length of my throat. He grips the side of my neck with his three other fingers.
“Just like this tonight, pretty girl. You decide if this dress stays on, but I want you wrapped around me while I stare into those gorgeous eyes.”
I jerk a nod, forgetting how to breathe from the simple request. My heart picks up pace in my chest. Jax looks up at me with lust-filled eyes, his intent clear before his fingers grip me a fraction of an inch tighter.
He gently pulls me down and brings his lips to my ear before whispering, “The smell of your arousal isn’t going unnoticed tonight, Davidson.”
A smile lifts the corners of my lips. He lets me rise to my feet, his hands dropping to his sides on the couch. I walk around until I’m standing behind him and stop. Bending down, I murmur, “That’s probably because I’m not wearing any panties.”