Jax (Immortals of New Orleans Book 7)

by Kym Grosso

  “You stalked me?” he asked, amusement in his question.

  “Not really.” Katrina rolled her eyes, a small smile formed on her lips. “Maybe a little cyber stalking, okay? But what was I supposed to do? Put yourself in my shoes. You know how it is for wolves. We have no idea who our mate is, let alone if we’ll ever even meet them. And then this ‘thing’ tells me I have one and that when I meet him, I’m going to kill him. I suspected it was you. There’s part of me…I still don’t know for sure.”

  “Let me get this straight, some sicko abducts you, beats you, steals your magick and you believe some mumbo jumbo they tell you?”

  “And this is exactly why I didn’t tell you.” Katrina seethed. She’d had enough of his games. If he didn’t believe her, he could go to hell. She’d find a way to kill these demons on her own. As her hands flew up off the desk, he struck as fast as a cobra, snatching her wrists out of the air. Desperate, she screamed at him. “You want the truth? I’ll give you the fucking truth. I didn’t stop Tristan when he misunderstood. I let them continue believing the lie so you’d stay far away from me. That night at the party? I wanted you so bad I couldn’t breathe. But I left anyway. I did all this to save you from me…me, the person who will ultimately kill the great Alpha. The one who might be my mate.”

  “Put your hands back where I told you, now.” Jax loosened his hold, returning her hard glare.

  “Make me,” she challenged.

  “Hands on the desk,” he growled.

  “I’m only doing this to prove a point.” Katrina yanked her arms away from him and set her palms flat. “Do not misread this as my submission.”

  “Believe me, little wolf, when you submit, we’ll both know it.” Jax slid his hands underneath the hem of her skirt, slowly grazing his fingers up to her hips. His expression softened as he spoke. “This thing between us…ah, Kat. I wanted you too. And when I thought you’d lied. I was so angry. Confused. I’ve dated a lot of women, but that night…it was like there was no one else.”

  “Jax…” Katrina licked her lips, recalling his searing kiss. She could no longer abide her craving for the one man she’d gone so long without. But neither could she give in to him without him acknowledging the truth, believing her words. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to be with you. I’m sorry I left. I really am so sorry, but…I don’t want to hurt you…I won’t hurt you. I don’t know why this is happening to me. But I’m trying to fix it…looking for a way to stop them.”

  Jax paused, his eyes locked on hers. Katrina’s stomach fluttered as she waited on his words.

  “I sure as hell wish you’d told me what was happening instead of running. But are we really mates? Meant for each other? There’s only one way to find out. You know it. And I know it.” Jax’s lips hovered inches over her knee, his warm breath on her skin. “I should send you back to Tristan, but I just can’t.”

  Katrina hissed as his lips brushed her inner thigh. She knew why he wouldn’t let her go; for the same reason she hadn’t run. As the tip of his nose edged under her dress, she took pause, aware that she wasn’t a hundred percent certain he was indeed her mate. After all she’d done to protect him from the curse, what if she was wrong?

  “These things…these demons…they’re going to have to go through me if they think they’re taking you again. You need to learn to trust me.” Jax raised his eyes, pinning her with his stare. In silence, his fingers hooked around her panties.

  “I never meant to hurt you…” Katrina tilted her hips, allowing him to remove her underwear. As the cool air hit her damp pussy, she arched her chest.

  “Time for pleasure, my little wolf. I’ve waited so long to have you…open your dress,” Jax told her.

  Barely cognizant of her surroundings, Katrina scanned the office. Although alone inside, employees milled about outside his door. She focused back on Jax, his wolfish grin greeting her.

  “That’s right. Someone could see us.”

  Katrina sighed, her desire spiking as he flittered his fingers over her mound.

  “Do it now,” he ordered, pushing the fabric over her hips, exposing her pussy.

  Katrina smiled. Her Alpha wanted to play, to test her limits. While it would take more than teasing to make her submit, she’d give him what he asked. Sliding her palm over her breast, she reached for the buttons, slowly opening her dress. Without waiting for instruction, she brushed the sleeves down her arms and peeled off her bra, baring herself to him.

  “You’re more beautiful than the first time I saw you,” he groaned.

  Katrina yelped as he cupped her ass, pulling her toward him. She cried out loud as he took her breast in his mouth. Spearing her fingers through his hair, she guided his head. Her nipple swelled in response, his bite nipping its tip.

  “Jax,” she breathed.

  “You…are exquisite.” His fingers slid through her wet folds and flicked at her clit. “Hmm…is this what you want?”

  “Ah, yes.” Katrina’s energy surged. As his mouth went to her other breast, her pussy ached with need. So long she’d waited for his touch, and now she was certain she’d never be able to leave him.

  Jax caressed her ripe flesh in his hand, and captured her mouth with his. As his tongue brushed against hers, Katrina tasted her mate, allowing her mind to calm, to forget all the trauma she’d suffered. His strong lips overpowered her own, and she relented, reveling in his devastating kiss.

  “Please, Jax…” she cried as he drove two fingers inside her readied core. She gasped as his lips moved down over her chin, peppering kisses down her neck.

  “From this moment, things will never be the same,” she heard him mumble. “Open for me, little wolf.”

  Katrina leaned back, doing as directed. The slick stone cooled her pussy as he pressed her knees wider still. Her patience wore thin as he brought his head between her legs, blowing air over her taut nub. As he dragged his tongue through her labia, Katrina moaned his name. His fingers curled inside her and she nearly flew off the desk.

  “Jesus, you taste better than I ever imagined,” he spoke into her lips, gently lapping at her sensitive hooded bead. “Tell me you’ll never lie to me.”

  “Jax…” Katrina heaved for breath. For years she’d avoided the man she’d desperately craved. Coming alive for the first time in her life, she’d give him anything he wanted.

  “Say it,” he pressed. Sucking her clit between his lips, he drank of her essence.

  “I swear it. I swear to you. But we can’t bond…I won’t hurt you.” Tears streamed from her eyes, her gut torn with the guilt that she could destroy him.

  “Never,” he repeated.

  “Ahh…please…” Katrina’s orgasm crashed around her and she cried for mercy, shuddering with every lash of his tongue. She wrapped her legs around his shoulders as she exploded in pleasure and fell back on to her elbows. She screamed, forgetting where they were, and jolted back into reality as she heard the crash of a door slamming open.

  “What the fuck is…?” Finn asked.

  Katrina lifted her head forward to see Jax smiling from between her legs.

  “Out,” he ordered.

  She closed her eyes, and for the first time that she could remember, she laughed. Katrina scented both Jake and Finn at the entrance but chose to ignore them. Instead of being embarrassed, a sense of liberation washed over her.

  “You’d think those two would know not to come in here.” Jax pressed his lips to the top of her bared mound, and withdrew his fingers.

  “Maybe they like to watch,” she suggested with a sexy smile.

  “Something you’re interested in, perhaps?”

  As he brought his wet fingers to her mouth, she smiled, neither confirming nor denying his provocative question. He cupped her chin, sliding his thumb into her mouth. Katrina moaned, tasting herself, nipping at his fingertip. With the softest touch, he rose to kiss her, and she opened to him. As his lips took hers, gently sucking and biting, Katrina softened into his strong embra
ce, his power rejuvenating her wolf, infusing her with his magick.

  She opened her eyes as his lips lost contact. Her Alpha gazed at her with the possession she’d expect from her mate. Although Jax hadn’t admitted the connection, his kiss was all she’d needed to confirm her suspicion. It both thrilled and scared her that Jax Chandler, one of the most dangerous and cunning Alphas in existence, was destined to be hers. But if they didn’t find a way to destroy the demons, she’d be the wolf who exacted his demise.

  Chapter Seven

  Jax had always suspected that Katrina Livingston could be his mate. After he’d met her in New York, he’d gone feral with lust for the one woman he couldn’t have. Unable to stop thinking of her and desperate to get in contact, he’d called Tristan. But after she’d leveled accusations, Jax swore that no woman could do that to him and still be his mate. His instincts had always been dead on until that moment in time.

  But her claim that she’d never told Tristan he’d forced a mating resonated as truth. Jax and Tristan had a turbulent past. His father had never favored Tristan’s more liberal views regarding supernaturals and humans. A brutal ruler, he’d deliberately incited wars with Lyceum Wolves. When Jax assumed the position of Alpha, he quickly learned that Tristan would never trust him. The tension never dissipated after his father died. Occupying bordering territories, the two Alphas reluctantly coexisted.

  With Katrina in his home and office, exposed to his satisfaction, his emotions swirled inside his chest like a tornado. From the second he’d met her, Katrina had incited his beast’s hunger like no other. There was no denying how responsive she was to his touch. Feasting between her legs, his cock turned to concrete, her essence bringing him to life. Like the devil himself, she tempted him and he fantasized, looking forward to seeing how far he could take her.

  When his office door had opened and they’d been interrupted by Finn and Jake, she’d simply laughed, altogether focused on him. As he looked up into her eyes and caught the flicker of delight, his heart seized, cognizant that no matter what had transpired, he’d give her a second chance. Unable to control the explosive chemistry between them, his wolf sure as hell wasn’t going to let her walk out of his life again.

  As he broke their kiss, he inwardly reprimanded himself for his lack of discipline. It wasn’t as if he’d planned to fuck her on his desk. Jesus, I’m losing it. The sugary taste of her pussy on his lips left him wanting more, and he fought the craving. A soft brush of her fingertips to his cheek broke his contemplation, and he placed his palm over her hand.

  “This thing between us…” At a loss for words from desire, he forced his concentration to business. His comfort zone lay with strategy, planning the attack. “I need to know everything you know about these things…this society. What do they do when they take you? Do you ever go anywhere else? How many of them?”

  “I, ugh…well, sometimes it’s hard to remember,” she answered, her voice soft.

  Jax knew he’d taken her off guard. As he shifted from lover to inquisitor, he sensed the change in her demeanor. She withdrew her hand, and his wolf recoiled at the loss of her touch.

  “Even if it’s small, it could be important,” Jax answered.

  His eyes fell to her glistening mound, and his painful erection strained against his trousers. He’d never wanted to make love to anyone more in his life than at that moment, and it took every ounce of self-control he possessed to tug at the hem of her dress, covering her bare skin.

  Jax shook his head, both irritated and aroused. Attempting to shake the lustful haze from his mind, he stood and crossed to the window, leaving her alone at his desk. With his palm glued to the glass, he scanned the cityscape. He was a cold bastard, he knew, for walking away, but if he didn’t put some distance between them, he’d be buried inside her for hours.

  “A few months ago, there was a vampire…” she began.

  “A vampire?” Jax kept his response calm even though the hairs on the back of his neck pricked in alertness. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied her sliding her arms into sleeves. Averting his gaze, he forced his line of vision back out the window.

  “Yes, he was only there for a few hours. He’s very strong.”

  “You spoke to him?” Jax turned to face Katrina. Conflicted, he knew they needed to focus on a solution to the demons that’d kidnapped them, but as he registered the hurt in her eyes, he changed the subject back to their relationship. “Kat…what just happened with us…this isn’t finished. I have a shoot to go to…” Fuck, you sound like an inarticulate fool. Look at what she does to you. He took a deep breath and attempted a recovery. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but if we are mates, and I’m not saying that we are, we need more time. I need more time.”

  “I’m fine,” she replied, her fingers nervously sliding down her lapel as she adjusted her dress.

  Jax plowed his fingers over his impeccably coiffed hair. He took note of her somber expression. She’d interpreted his actions as rejection. Holy shit, he didn’t think he could screw something up more than he already had. Yet the more words that spewed from his lips, the more he managed to fuck up the situation.

  Katrina’s presence in his life threw him off balance. Feelings and emotions were not something Jax did well, and clearly Katrina fell into that category. Deciding to avoid the conversation that would inevitably come, his thoughts drifted back to the vampire.

  “Tell me about the vamp.”

  “I told you, he’s strong,” she replied.

  “They’re all strong.”

  “No, he’s the strongest. More than Léopold.”

  “You know Léopold?” Jax didn’t conceal the surprise in his question. Léopold Devereoux, one of the most dangerous vampires on the east coast, was ancient and ruthless. He’d been known to kill all creatures, including wolves.

  “Yes,” Katrina answered without hesitating. “He’s an ally to the Acadian Wolves. Jake knows him.”

  His wolf grew agitated at the mention of the virile, unmated wolf who’d become Katrina’s confidant. Jax suspected she’d baited him, and shoved the distracting thought away. Focused on acquiring information, he’d ignore it…for now.

  “Does the vampire have a name?” he pressed.

  “Quintus. His name is Quintus.” Katrina’s eyes flashed in fear. “But Jax, I don’t think we should go after him.”

  Jax heard the quiver in her voice, and appreciated her apprehension. Quintus Tullius. A mercenary over the centuries, the elusive vampire was a force unto himself within the supernatural community. Guarded and lethal, he’d exiled himself underground. The seductive vampire was well known for his sexual exploits.

  “Tell me.” Jax approached Katrina. She blinked up at him, stoic in her composure, as if they’d never touched. With the scent of sex fresh in the air, his wolf stirred, yearning to inflame her cool demeanor. Jax restrained the urge to rip off her clothes and claim her. He balled his hands, straining to concentrate. “Did he touch you?”

  “Whatever does that have to do with anything?”

  “Because I know Quintus. I’m asking you again,” he said, slow and deliberate. “Did. He. Touch. You?”

  Katrina’s hand reached for her neck, and Jax’s stomach dropped. He couldn’t be sure if they’d made love, but with her silent gesture, he was certain Quintus had bitten her. His beast raged at the thought of it and threatened to snap. Desperately trying to remain rational, Jax turned on his heel and took a deep breath.

  “You want to know if he touched me?” Katrina asked in confusion. “Where are you going with this?”

  When Katrina’s hand reached for his arm, he froze. The woman had him torn up inside. He needed to get his shit together before he made yet another mistake.

  “Yes, yes…he bit me, okay? But it was nothing. He was weak. And I needed to get the hell away from those things. I fed him. What is wrong with you?”

  As Jax turned, his gaze on hers, he noted the innocence in her words and shook his head.


  “What? Wait, you thought I…” She gave a half smile. “I’m not saying I haven’t been with other men, but never Quintus. I only met him once.”

  “But he’s tasted you?” Jax pressed.

  “Yes, and I’m not sorry for it. It helped him heal, and we escaped. I won’t say he’s not attractive, because that would be a lie and I think we just established,” her gaze went to the desk and back to Jax, “that I’m not going to lie to you anymore. But I won’t feel guilty for saving myself. Or him. Now that being said, Quintus…even though he was nice to me that day, he can be dangerous…unpredictable.”

  “Indeed.” Jax restrained his anger. When he questioned Quintus, he’d discover if he’d taken advantage of Katrina. “What was he doing in that hellhole?”

  “I don’t know. Like I said, he was only there for a few hours.” She paused in contemplation. “They were foolish to leave me with him. He could have killed me if he’d wanted to, but he didn’t. He saved my life,” she admitted. Katrina fingered her skin and shivered. “You know vampires, Jax. They only have two ways. Pain or pleasure. And all I’m going to say about it is that he didn’t hurt me.”

  “We’ll go see him.” Jax reached for his jacket and slipped it on. Retrieving his cell phone from its inner pocket, he slid his fingers across the glass.

  “Do you really think this is such a great idea? No one even knows where he is. Besides, I just told you that he’s dangerous. If you confront him, he’ll see you as a threat. He might even try to hurt you.”

  Jax glanced up at Katrina, giving her an amused smile. She had no idea just how powerful he really was. Returning to his task, he scrolled through his contacts.

  “What’s so funny?” Katrina asked, her hands on her hips. “I can assure you that there’s nothing funny about Quintus. I get that you’re Alpha but he’s really old. He can do everything Léopold can do plus a host of other things we can’t conceive of. This isn’t a good idea. We should leave him be. I have contacts in New Orleans.”

  “And we’ll use those as well, but Quintus? We’re going to see him. You must learn to trust your Alpha, little wolf.”