by Mikayla Lane
“Rest, my friend, you shall not be called to service for a long while. Remain vigilant and protect your host at all costs. I will deal with him and his ilk. This time it ends.” Lara said as she stood and looked up at the good people on Jax’s deck.
She would not allow anything to happen to these people. Her people. Not this time. This was the time of the Ocarion’s prophecy. This time the past would die. She would make sure of it.
With a purposeful stride, Lara made her way back to Viper’s cabin. To explain to him what was going on and get his support for what needed to be done next.
Chapter Fourteen
Jax turned over, again, and fluffed her pillows trying to find a comfortable position. It wasn’t that she wasn’t tired or needed to sleep, she just couldn’t shut down her mind. She had gone over the whole day at least a dozen times and she still came back to that damn man.
She heard everyone leave an hour ago and knew that Reven had gone into his room shortly afterwards. With her mouth feeling like it was filled with dust, she sat up and decided to sneak into the kitchen.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Jax threw on a short robe over her tank top and panties and listened at the door for a minute to make sure everyone was asleep before pulling it open. She stood quietly for a moment before continuing down the hallway to the kitchen.
She knew where everything was and didn’t bother to turn on the light as she pulled the refrigerator door open and searched the contents for something to drink. Shaking her head at all of the juice boxes, she grabbed a soda and gently shut the door.
Turning around, she gasped at the huge shadow in front of her before slapping at it. “You could have been hurt you idiot!” Jax whispered angrily at Reven.
Reven chuckled and opened up the refrigerator. Jax almost drooled at his bare chest and the plaid pajama bottoms he was wearing. He stood in the light of the refrigerator and leaned down, scratching his chest as he rummaged around for another soda.
Jax didn’t realize she had been staring until he stood back up and turned his twinkling blue gaze to hers. She quickly looked away and popped the top of her can. She was wondering how to end the awkward silence when Reven spoke.
“You having trouble sleeping?” He asked nonchalantly as he closed the refrigerator door, enveloping them in darkness.
Jax only felt marginally better now that they were in the dark. She still knew that he was half-naked and way too close to her. A dozen different ways to accidentally bump into him crossed her mind and were quickly discarded. The residual light from the streetlights and the fact that she could easily see him, made all of them too obvious.
“Jax?” Reven asked, trying to keep the smile off of his face. He could scent her desire and need and knew she was struggling with herself.
Jax looked up in surprise, realizing that he spoke to her. “Huh?” She asked, only a part of her tried to think of what he said while the other part was mapping his smooth, broad chest.
Reven smothered his chuckle and repeated. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”
Jax shook her head and took a large sip of her soda, hoping it would cool her heated senses. It didn’t. “No, I just needed something to drink. You?”
Reven considered the question for only a moment before opting for the truth. “I was having trouble sleeping.”
His reply startled Jax for a minute. She wasn’t sure what she expected him to say, but that wasn’t it. Suddenly concerned that he might be unhappy here, she decided to hedge around until she could figure it out.
“Did you drink too much?” Jax asked, taking another sip of her soda to hide her curiosity. Her eyes were glued to his chest as he chuckled.
“No, I did not drink too much.” Reven said evasively. He knew what she was doing and if she wanted information, then she was going to have to come out and ask, he thought.
Jax sighed and shifted her feet. It figured the damn man wouldn’t give anything away. She tried a different tactic. “Oh. Is it your bed? It was a hand me down from another cabin, I never tried it out before putting it in there.”
Reven grinned. “The mattress is a little short, but comfortable.”
Jax was getting irritated. He was obviously jerking her chain. Fine, she thought, if he wanted to play games, then she could play them a whole lot better than he could.
She ran the can of soda between the gap in her robe and rubbed it slowly from her throat to the tops of her breasts. Jax sighed at the coldness and closed her eyes, uncaring that her robe now opened enough to reveal that she was only wearing panties and a tank top.
“Mmmm, it’s a little warm in here. I should probably check the thermostat.” Jax said and smothered her smile when she heard Reven’s low growl.
She could feel his heated gaze travel her body from head to toe and she barely managed not to shiver. Pulling the can away from her chest, she took another sip and slipped past him to the sink. His quickly indrawn breath as she passed, made her smile as she emptied the can and threw it in the trash.
Turning at the sink, she leaned back against it and bent one knee so that it would further the gap in her robe, displaying more of her leg and panties. His gasp told her that she had his complete attention.
Hiding her smile, she finished the game, hoping this would teach him a lesson about teasing her. “Well, I’m good now. Night.”
Jax easily slipped by the stunned fool and allowed the smile to break out on her face as she headed down the hallway. The jerk shouldn’t have started this game she thought, and she wouldn’t have had to finish it.
She barely got to Reven’s open door before she was snatched up and thrown onto his bed. She sat up quickly and faced the heavily breathing, angry man shutting the door and stalking towards her.
Jax swallowed roughly as the first heady scent of his arousal hit her. Yeah, she thought, I may have gone a little too far. It was confirmed moments later when Reven spoke to her through the Shengari’.
“You think to play these childish games and walk away unscathed? No, little brat, it does not work that way. Now it’s my turn.” Reven said with a growl as he leaned down and pressed her to the bed.
Jax considered kneeing him to get him off of her, but he must have expected it and used his lower body to trap her to the bed. Jax couldn’t stifle her groan at the feel of his hard heat pressed against her hip as his bare chest tempted her to touch him.
Unable to stop herself, Jax reached up and pressed her palm against his chest. His heat felt like it was branding her hand, and she gasped, jerking her hand away quickly.
Reven could feel her gathering her energy to fight him, and he was done fighting. Done pretending he didn’t want her with every breath he took and every fiber of his being.
“No, little brat. This time you will not fight me.” Reven said before he took her lips with his own.
All thought fled the moment he leaned down and his lips touched hers. Jax was lost amid a sea of sensation as his body pressed against hers fully and his tongue swept inside her mouth, teasing her and tempting her senses.
The feel of his body overwhelmed her, cocooning her in his heat and energy until she could no longer separate her arousal and need from his own.
Reven could feel her body relax beneath him, and he prayed that she would touch him again. He almost broke their kiss to shout in joy when Jax put both of her hands on his waist. Instead, he hissed in pleasure, his body grinding against her in encouragement.
Jax gasped when he pressed against her, pleasure and need seemed to shoot through her veins, and she couldn’t stop from running her hands from his waist to his chest. His muscles rippled, and his body trembled beneath her hands before she wrapped them around his back and pulled him closer.
Reven growled low, her willingness, submission and need overwhelming him. He knew, by reading her energy, that she was going to allow him to finally claim her, and he wasn’t going to give her a chance to change her mind.
He trailed kisses down the side of
her neck, teasing her skin until she shivered in his arms. He tried to push her tank top out of his way, but the annoying thing refused to cooperate. Unwilling to break the tentative spell he had Jax under, he made a tear at the seam and worked it until he pulled the shirt off and threw it to the floor.
Jax moaned when the shirt came off, and she could feel the heat of his bare chest against her own. Without a thought, she pressed against him, holding him close as his heat and energy surrounded her and teased her to new heights.
She gasped when his hot mouth surrounded her nipple as his other hand moved down before throwing her panties to the floor. She moved her hands back to his waist and pushed at his pajama bottoms until they were past his sculpted ass.
Reven pulled strongly at her nipple causing her to grasp his tight cheeks and pull him closer until they both groaned. He could scent her arousal; he knew she was ready for him, but he wanted more. He wanted to explore and touch all of her.
He wanted to kiss the soft skin at the curve of her elbows and the back of her knees. Take his time kissing and licking her, finding the places that drove her wild. But, his Jax had other plans.
The moment she felt his heat pressed so close to her own; Jax shifted and rolled her hips until he was poised to enter her. Without hesitation, Jax pulled him down as she arched upward, impaling him just inside of her.
She gasped from the size and feel of him, trying to adjust while her energy melded with his, increasing the heat and need. Reven panted, trying to gather some control in the storm of passion that was rocking them both.
He thought he was doing well, until Jax pulled him down the rest of the way and seated him fully inside of her. The pleasure was almost too much as their energy danced and united, allowing each to feel the intensity and emotions the other was experiencing. Their energy pulsed and throbbed together as Reven pulled back slightly, before slamming back into her deep and hard.
That first thrust nearly caused Jax to lose it. It was so much more intense than she had ever expected, more so when she could experience the pleasure and joy Reven felt as well. It was hypnotizing, like finally coming home, and her soul and body screamed for more.
Reven had stopped for a moment to make sure she was adjusting to his size, but Jax was done waiting. There was no turning back, and she refused to stop now.
She grabbed his tight ass and pulled him closer, rolling her hips and making them both moan before whispering into his ear. “Don’t stop baby…”
Jax barely finished the sentence before Reven growled and set a furious pace that Jax easily kept up with. When one of them seemed to get too close, they would both back off and slow down, trying to make the pleasure last, as long as they could.
For Reven, it was a completion of his soul that he had never expected to be gifted with. He was so overwhelmed with emotion, his and hers, that he wanted to revel in it, for as long as he could. Jax had never felt so complete, giving and taking without any consideration of what would happen afterwards.
Reven could have gone until morning, but he could feel Jax begin to tire, and he increased the pace. This time when Jax attempted to slow them back down by tightening her legs around him, Reven leaned forward until he forced them apart again and moved even faster.
He could feel her energy begin to unravel and knew she was getting close. Sitting back up without slowing his furious pace, Reven reached down and stroked her hard, slick nub. When Jax gasped and tried to bolt upright, he used his other hand to hold her back.
Jax almost screamed in frustration. She didn’t want it to end, but there was no fighting it. Reven knew the second Jax lost it, and he finally allowed himself to spill his heat deep inside of her. A part of him couldn’t help but hope that this incredible moment would create a child.
The energy sparked and snapped around them as Reven fell to the bed and pulled her into his arms. It felt so natural when she curled close to his side and put a leg and arm over him. Reven couldn’t help but hug her and kiss the top of her head.
He had hoped that Jax would now be a little more open to creating a real family with him and the girls. Those hopes were crushed moments later when Jax gasped and sat up to grab her arm.
“What the fuck?” She hissed between her teeth as little prickles ran up her arm. It didn’t hurt at all; it just felt really strange, and she didn’t like it.
Reven reached over and turned on the bedside lamp, looking at his own arm. He knew what it was and couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming happiness, but he knew that was not how Jax would think of it.
Jax looked blankly at her left arm for a moment before screaming inside her head. Oh my God! She thought as she stared at the intricate and detailed swirls and designs that now decorated the upper part of her left arm from elbow to shoulder.
“It’s the Ator-Ma.” Reven said unnecessarily, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face as he looked at his matching marks on his arm and shoulder.
Jax looked at him with a blank stare, her mouth hanging open slightly as if in shock. She ran her hand over it, to see how it felt and was surprised when there were no raised bumps or any pain. It was as if it just erupted under her skin. She couldn’t deny it was beautiful. However, it wasn’t the aesthetics that bothered her.
The fog of energy and passion that surrounded them earlier dissipated in an instant as awareness hit her hard. “Oh God!” Jax said almost breathless.
“Jax…” Reven began, reaching out for her.
Jax jerked away from him. “Don’t! Just don’t!” She said as she looked around the bed frantically for her clothes.
Reven spotted her robe, not even remembering taking it off of her earlier. He handed it to her and felt a little sad when she yanked it out of his hand and turned her back to him to put it on.
He fought the need to comfort her, to ease her mind and watched her slide off of the bed. Giving him a wide berth, she skirted around the bed to the door and bolted out before he could say anything else.
Reven sighed and sat heavily on the side of the bed. He could feel the bonding strands weaving tighter between them and smiled. His mate was feeling a little overwhelmed right now. He could feel it throbbing through the stronger bonds forming between them.
He felt nothing but happiness and excitement. If he was feeling the bonds this strongly, then he knew that it was affecting her as well. Reven hadn’t thought past the mating, assuming that if it happened that things would change between them. That she would be more open to him.
It may not be happening as magically as he had assumed it would, but he could feel how much she cared for him, how confused she was, and he knew that she just needed a little time. He had over a thousand years to fantasize and wonder about finding his mate. Jax, on the other hand, never wanted one.
Reven turned his light out and laid down on his bed. He smiled when he could still smell her scent all around him. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the energy strands binding them and inspected every part.
Between his superior senses and the new energy binding them, he could almost see her in his mind as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle from the cabinet. He watched and heard her pad down the hallway and close her bedroom door silently behind her.
He expected it to bother him that she would try to diminish her feelings in alcohol, but instead it excited him and gave him hope. If she was feeling so strongly for him that she felt the need to dull it, then he knew that it was only a matter of time before she finally gave in. He just needed to help push her to do it soon. Already his body craved her beside him.
He smiled as he sensed her flop on her bed and relax back before sending a gentle wave of love and comfort to her. Reven could feel her easy acceptance of it and knew that she had no idea that it had come from him. Yet. He hoped that she would come around before she realized just how easily it was to manipulate the binding strands between them.
Determined to make her see her true feelings for him; he plotted how to keep her off balance.
How to keep her from fighting the inevitable and accept their destiny. Together. As a complete family.
His beautiful and passionate mate was stubborn, but he had hundreds of years to hone his patience and determination, and he wasn’t about to lose her now. Not after he had finally tasted forever in her arms. A forever he never thought to have.
With more hope than he’d felt in a long time, Reven smiled as he put his arms behind his head and plotted the emotional seduction of his now bonded mate.
*****
Jax sat on the side of her bed and sighed when she realized she forgot to get a glass to go with the bottle. Looking at it, she grunted in frustration when she realized that she also grabbed the wrong bottle. She hated the peppermint flavored crap and only got it because a few of her team members loved the stuff, so she kept it on hand for them.