Jax

by Cristin Harber

Seven threw her arms over her face, groaning. "I can't decide if this conversation is going to cause my early death."

  What the hell was she talking about? Jax walked back to the trash can and extracted the gift bag. It was heavier than expected. He tossed aside the tissue paper and curled strings. "She put a lot of effort into the wrapping."

  "I bet," Seven called.

  Jax pulled out a small bottle of cheap champagne adorned with "Vegas First Timer" on the label and wrapper. "Thoughtful…"

  "Uh-huh." She still sounded unamused.

  He set the bottle aside and dumped the remaining contents onto the desk. Out rolled a pink bottle of lube, Vegas-themed condoms, a mini bottle of champagne, and tied lengths of bondage rope.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Seven wasn't sure why Jax wasn't making a sound. When she'd gotten to the bottom of the bag, a flood of holy shits and nuh-uhs flew from her tongue. There were no gasps or curses to be heard now, and she peeled her arms from her face, peering up as Jax picked up the bag's contents and pivoted.

  "I've got questions." He raised the hand holding the lube and rope.

  Seven sat up, snickering, and crossed her boots under her butt. "I bet."

  "Victoria sent this to you?"

  "Mm-hmm."

  "Must be a girl thing." Jax let the rope dangle on his finger then raised his chin. "And you threw it away."

  "Straight into the trash." She pretended to make a free-throw shot then rolled her eyes. "What? No one at Titan airdrops lube, alcohol, and toys as surprise vacation gifts?"

  He chuckled. "Not to me, at least."

  Seven clucked. "Maybe you need better friends."

  "Except you threw it away." He strode forward, unfazed by the gift bag. "Let's get back to why this was in the trash."

  Let's not… "Seemed like the best course of action."

  Jax crawled onto the bed, dropping her goodies, and eased closer until she tipped backward as he caged her to the bed. "I'm not sure about that, princess."

  His weight rested against her naked flesh, and Seven untwisted her legs, wriggling them to his sides. He could've crushed her with his mass, but his powerful body simply covered her from head to toe as his mouth nuzzled her neck.

  She'd texted Victoria a one-word message—Ridiculous—before trashing it without a second thought, but now a thousand third thoughts had come into play. "I don't know anything about rope."

  "We're going to talk," he whispered against her ear.

  Shivers tore over her skin. "We've been talking."

  Jax let his lips have full roam of her neck. "Why"—kiss, nibble, lick—"does she want you to relax?"

  "She says I don't take time for myself."

  He drew back, a questioning eyebrow saying more than he could get away with.

  Seven turned her head away, but Jax reached around and rolled them onto their sides. "What are best friends for, I guess?"

  "Victoria wants you to use me as though you're headed to the spa for a massage?"

  She couldn't keep from laughing. "Apparently. Though I've never heard of a spa where you could be tied up."

  "You'd be surprised what's out there," he whispered quietly, tracing his fingers down her side. "If you haven't realized, enjoy your body." His fingers continued their path from her rib cage down the slope, up to her hips, and over to her thigh. "Whatever it needs to be, however you need to get there, we're making sure you relax tonight."

  He flicked her hip bone, gently knocking her back, and slid his hand along the inside of her thigh, over her knee, stopping short of the top of her leather boots.

  "That's a good plan," she whispered, stretching as his hand inched higher, massaging her soft skin.

  His knuckles brushed over the mound of her sex. Seven had been aroused since she'd met him when the sun was up, and they had flirted their way through the Mayhem meetup. It had been hours.

  "Tell me what this feels like?" His knuckles eased down the smooth slope of her skin toward the two piercings. "I've been meaning to ask, why two?"

  The heavenly tease of his barely-there stroke stole her words. Seven's insides clenched while Jax took his time grazing the sensitive skin. "One's horizontal, the other vertical. The vertical bar rests on my clit, and the bead ring makes me feel beautiful and—"

  "Very." His warm, careful touch explored.

  A pulse of ecstasy raced from her clit. Seven gulped a breath.

  "I like playing with them." Jax stroked her folds apart. "Relax." He moved close to her side, and his cheek's scruff scratched across her soft belly as her legs fell apart. "Good. Just like that."

  "Mm." She rolled her head to the side, basking in pleasure.

  His palm cupped her mound, and Jax teased her entry with circles, while his tongue trailed wet kisses to her hip bone.

  "You're so good." She arched, running her hands over the swells of her breasts and massaging. Her nipples ached for attention, and she plucked at the tips, playing with the pierced bars with her thumbs and forefingers as Jax slid his thick fingers into her pussy.

  Her bottom lifted from the bed as he withdrew, then Jax lowered his mouth to her clit as he plunged his fingers inside her again.

  His tongue flicked the ring on her hood then licked the other piercing, sending cold shivers down her back as his hot lava kiss made her cry for more. "Again. Like that, please."

  The kiss became a caress, and he pumped his hand into her. Seven rocked to his rhythm, moaning in bliss.

  His kisses trailed down the inside of her thigh. "Grab the bottle."

  "What?"

  "Pour it all on your tits, princess."

  That wasn't what she'd expected him to say, and uncertainty crashed her high. "What?"

  "Listen to me, sweetheart."

  Her heart hammered. "Okay."

  "While you're lubing your nipples"—Jax maneuvered to hip level and hooked her thigh behind his neck—"I get to love on this pussy." He dipped forward, teasing her with the tip of his tongue while keeping their gazes connected. "You good with that?"

  The quick, light lashes of his kisses whipped her nerves alive. He closed his eyes as though he were savoring her. Seven was transfixed, memorizing the sight of Jax between her legs, with all his sinewy strength wrapped by her leather boot and pliable limbs.

  "You good?" he asked again.

  "Yes."

  He growled, and she shook.

  Seven's back arched. "That's so good, Jax."

  "I can tell." He chuckled quietly, easing away.

  "So don't stop!"

  His amusement deepened as his kisses swept side to side, pulling his body on top of hers as he kissed up her stomach to her breasts. Jax tongued the pierced tip while palming her other breast.

  "Or…" Seven's head fell to the side. "That. Don't stop that."

  Her thighs cradled his hips. The firm length of his shaft slid between them as she writhed.

  He nipped up her neck. "Let's talk rope."

  "Jax." Curiosity and arousal spiraled with surprise. "I…"

  His serious face hovered over hers. "Yeah?"

  "I don't know the first thing about that."

  "Okay." He kissed the corner of her lips, working from one side to the other as though he were listening and not getting back to what had her moaning.

  "The lube and condoms got the message across." Seven smacked a kiss onto his lips. "Look how relaxed I am."

  Jax threaded a hand into her hair, stroking and petting until Seven pulled against his hold. He smiled, stroking her hair then grabbing a tight handful, gripping until Seven moaned, her eyelashes fluttering.

  "I think Victoria may know you better than you realize." He released the handful and smoothed his hand over the back of her head as Seven's heavy eyelids fell.

  "Victoria has a thing about toys and a message to send."

  Jax nuzzled behind her ear as his fingers threaded a tight fistful of hair again. "What message?"

  Seven's delirious groan wasn't quiet enough to hide. Breathless,
she wanted so much more but couldn't think of what until his grip softened. "More me time."

  "I can concur." He abandoned her hair and deftly rolled off her, lying close on the bed.

  "You shouldn't stop playing with me. You're very good."

  His thumbs caressed the top of the nipple. "I'm good at a lot of things, princess."

  "I know," she murmured, delirious that foreplay with Jax was more than a quick fingerbang before entry. Talking and teasing. She'd learned his gratification was firmly rooted in hers, which wasn't that unexpected. But now that she knew getting off was more of an art form than a feel-good activity to him, Seven wouldn't let anything else surprise her.

  "You've never been to Vegas." He held her breast to his mouth and played with the nipple piercing until she squirmed. "You've never been tied up?"

  A ripple of arousal cascaded through her body. Giving Jax control could be the ultimate form of relaxation. Or it could be the worst trigger of panic. "That was a metaphorical gift."

  He paused. "That wasn't an answer."

  A faraway wonder of submission rushed forward, from romance novel fantasy to opportunity with a trustworthy partner. Never having a face to place in a dominant position before, Seven's curiosity had only been diagnostic. Could she use controlled structure to alleviate the feelings of uncontrolled chaos that she felt compelled to fold away?

  Right now, that wasn't the reason she would want to explore. "I've never been tied up."

  His scrutinizing stare never blinked. "But you've thought about it?"

  "Not in the ways you're thinking." She searched his face. "But yes."

  "What are you thinking?" He moved from touching and propped onto the pillows beside her.

  "That something like that sounds like it could be more than just sex."

  "Bondage doesn't mean sex, you're right. Restraint can intensify a connection. It can do many things." Again, his dark eyes searched face, and he didn't touch her no matter how much she mentally willed his mouth and hands back into place.

  "It could still my mind," she whispered, admitting more than she wanted to.

  "It could," he agreed. "With the right two people."

  "We could be the right two people."

  The corner of his eyes crinkled, and he licked his bottom lip. "What are you running from?"

  "Nothing." She closed her eyes and let her breath drift out before facing him again. "I'm always in charge. Kids need that, but adults? They don't. And even when I was the child, I was the fixer. The doer. The savior. And now, sometimes, I can't turn off the pile of problems around me with… And even in the bed, I'd never say I was the one in charge. But I never stop thinking, 'okay do this, now that. Are we all having a good time?'" She quietly laughed at herself. "Type-A perfectionist, and I'm not running from it. But I never thought there was someone… worthy of sharing that responsibility."

  He raised his eyebrows, deadpan. "You know someone?"

  "Shut up!" Seven batted his chest, and Jax finally put his hands back on her, pulling her closer.

  "Hmm." A half-grin barely broke on his rugged face.

  "What?" She didn't care if he had a rule about touching during this type of conversation. She pressed her palms to his warm chest, running her hands to his shoulders. "Huh, what?"

  "I thought you were just using me for sex, and now I know it."

  "Jax!" She pretended to strangle him and followed up with a gentle kiss on his lips.

  Jax eased her onto the pillows then stole his hands away. "Let me use it."

  "The rope?"

  He barely nodded. "Just like you were before. On your back. Your boot over my shoulder."

  "And you'll"—her eyes darted—"tie me to the bed?"

  "No. Nothing like that." He walked his fingers up her arm and pushed strands of hair off her cheek. "Close your eyes and listen."

  Seven's eyes fluttered. "Listening…"

  Jax drifted the rough pads of his fingers along her jawline as though she were fragile then scratched his close-trimmed nails down her neck, gliding across her collarbone and rounding over her breast. His electricity stayed after he continued, skimming to her belly. "Let your mind drift."

  She floated into a hazy dreamland. The faint alcohol buzz from earlier mixed with the warmth of arousal. "Drifting."

  Jax gripped her hip bone. "Good girl."

  "I like that, Jax." A tingle of awe branched down her spine. "How you said that."

  His agreement rumbled, and both of his hands massaged her legs, first the one closest to him, then the leg opposite his side, kneading the muscle to butter. "Bend like this."

  He angled the leg opposite him so that her ankle reached toward the edge of the bed, slightly bending to make her knee-high boot form a wide V. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm good." Her right leg remained straight, and his hands stayed on her left leg, one hand holding her kneecap and the other at her ankle.

  Seven's eyes opened as Jax feathered his hand up her thighs, and she propped onto her elbows. "My boots are hot."

  His hand dipped between her legs, stroking her sex. "I don't give a fuck about the boots. They're only a prop to the main attraction, princess." Then he winked. "But a very hot prop."

  She laughed quietly and arched at the pressure on her clit. "What now?"

  "Now, you're not in charge. Lay back." He left her sensitive skin, tracing down her leg, up to her hip bone, over her belly to circle the base of her breast and draw slowly toward the tip.

  "Please, Jax," she whispered.

  He ignored her nipples, moving to her collarbone and then neck.

  Seven huffed and wriggled her hips. She needed his touch but realized that he had his own agenda. Rushing Jax would slow hers down.

  His hand threaded into her hair—oh, God, she loved that—and a shaking gasp pulled free as he wrapped her hair around his fist. She willed him to pull it, but he didn't. He simply gathered it into a ponytail.

  "I'm going to tie this"—he gave a light tug on her ponytail—"to this." Then squeezed gently on her ankle. "Thoughts?"

  A tidal wave of anticipation rocketed through her. Anxiety. Excitement. Nervousness. Peace. "Please."

  The quietest, most gentle smile she'd ever seen touched his eyes before it played on his lips. It stayed for a fraction of that thought, and her heart swelled knowing that one word had made him happy.

  "Stay still." That marked the arrival of a wolf. Jax's nostrils flared as he ran the lengths of rope through his hands. His jaw flexed. The tendons in his neck strained when he took a deep breath, and Seven knew he was hungry. But true to Jax fashion, he wouldn't devour her until she climaxed and climaxed and then he made it happen again.

  With the rope held in his hand and the bottle of lube and condom placed by his side, Jax asked, "Anything you want to say?"

  She blinked, aware of how light she felt, then listened to the silence surround them. "Make this feeling last forever."

  "What does it feel like?"

  "Like I can fly."

  His hands whisked over her like an air kiss. "You'll soar."

  Jax eased over to the other side of the bed and gathered hair into a makeshift ponytail. He wrapped the rope around once, twice, and then three times before trailing the end down and pulling it through her hair again, repeating the process and pulling through a second time.

  Seven giggled this time as she relaxed, and the now-shorter ends tickled her back. "If Titan doesn't work out, you could be a hairdresser."

  "You're going to be so impressed." The playfulness in his voice set her at ease as, again, Jax wrapped the rope around her hair and pulled it through. "That was the last time."

  He gave a light tug then a firmer one then dropped his lips to the top of her head. "I like this, princess."

  She licked her lip, resisting the rope that he held. "Me too."

  "Face your head toward the right." He tucked a pillow under her neck then slid his hands over her straight leg, as though she needed the reminder. "Right leg stays st
raight." Then walked to the base of the bed and grasped her ankle. He folded the rope then wound it over her leather boot, weaving above and below the heel, taking time to make sure the ends were even at the top and bottom with every twist. "Too tight?"

  "No." Her pulse raced. "Perfect."

  She heard the ends of the rope fall to the bed. Every ounce of self-control was called to keep her head in place until she floated away from worrying about what he was going to do to just feeling his hands caress her legs.

  The mattress dipped when he eased next to her, and she smiled, opening her eyes to see him on the other pillow. Her hair and ankle were still tied. Not together. But what the hell, because years' worth of conversation was passing in the quiet while his fingers skimmed her body.

  A strand of hair had avoided his ponytail, and he tucked it behind her ear. "If you want to hand over whatever burdens you, I'll take that weight when I'm in control of you."

  Invisible weights eased with his every word. "It's yours."

  Jax nodded and took the pink bottle of lubricant, and he drizzled a pattern over her chest, watching as it fell from inches above. The cool contact made her shiver.

  "Like before, princess. Hands on your chest." His breathing deepened. Satisfaction colored his eyes darker. Jax placed the bottle on the nightstand leaned over to gather the rope. He deftly corrected her leg's angle and brought the lines together, pulling her ankle and hair.

  Jax tested the tautness and sat back, and Seven tested the connection. Her thighs were spread, and that unexpected vulnerability flashed through her as much as it intensified her arousal.

  "The more you move your leg, the more your hair is pulled. The harder I press down on your thighs, the greater the tension."

  Her pussy clenched at the immediate thought of him buried deep insider her, thrusting and forcing her thighs apart, hair pulling with every stroke. Seven's breath shook.

  He kissed her stomach, wasting no time as he headed to her spread legs. Jax licked her with a satisfied groan, and Seven quivered. Before was heaven, but this was a tornado of expert finesse. His lips surrounded her clit as his fingers entered her.

  "Jax." Her hips wriggled, and Seven thrashed her head to the side, unexpectedly catching her foot. The rope pulled as hard as she had pushed, and near-orgasm-level spikes of pain and relief surprised her when she flexed her leg back. "Oh God."