by Laura Day
“No,” Maple said. “Finding another way to punish him.”
Jax looked down. “I can’t forget what he did to you,” he said quietly.
“Neither can I,” Maple admitted. “But sometimes I think... my life has been so... hard... that it’s made me stronger in some ways. If I didn’t have the experiences of my past... I don’t know if I would be standing here in front of you now speaking in full sentences after what Conor did to me.”
“I can understand that,” Jax nodded, as his mind fell back eighteen years in the past.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your family?” Maple asked softly.
“I don’t like to talk about it much,” Jax tried to explain. “A part of me felt... responsible...”
“Responsible?” Maple said incredulously. “You were ten.”
“But I was the oldest,” Jax said. “And I couldn’t protect any of them.”
“You protected Jodie,” Maple reminded him. “She told me that she feels the only reason she’s alive today is because of you.”
“Jodie was too young to know any better,” Jax said shaking his head. “Yes, I called nine-one-one, but he had already killed everyone on that campsite. Jodie and I were the only ones who survived. They called it the ‘Rhode Island Campsite Massacre.’”
“Jax...”
“And even if it was true that I saved her life... what did I save it for? Conor nearly killed her, and now she lives her life as a social recluse, looking over her shoulder because she’s scared that he’s going to find her someday. I couldn’t protect her from that. Just like I couldn’t protect you from him.”
“Jax,” Maple said slowly. “There are certain things that are always going to be outside our control. But sometimes... the best way to deal with situations isn’t always violence. Street fights and bar brawls... they don’t accomplish much, and they won’t leave you feeling much better afterwards.”
Jax stared at the fervent belief that Maple held in her eyes, and it struck him suddenly how right she was. What would a fight actually accomplish? There was no healing there, no closure, no sense of justice. It was just two men acting like animals because they could find no other way of expressing their anger or pain or sadness.
Jax looked at Maple and realized that he had been going about protecting her all wrong. He had decided that killing Conor would effectively ensure her safety, but he realized now that it was more complicated than that. The only way he could truly protect her was to stay out of street fights and bar brawls. The only way he could protect her was to tread the path of the straight and narrow and give her the life she deserved, a life that was free from politics and betrayal and unnecessary violence.
It struck him in the same breath that he had travelled down this path before with Jodie. She had been badly injured, and he had gone after Conor with a vengeance. All that had served, was to land him in jail while Conor walked free and Jodie had to suffer on her own for two years. If he had made a different choice, then he might have been around to support Jodie. He couldn’t repeat the same pattern with Maple. He had to make different choices, no matter how hard that was to do.
“You’re right,” Jax said softly, taken back by his own realizations. “You’re right.”
Maple leaned in and kissed his cheek gently.
“I’m going to do better from now on,” Jax assured her, as she pulled away.
“I know,” Maple replied confidently.
Jax reached out and cupped her face with his hand. He pulled her face towards his and kissed her tenderly, until they were both overcome with passion. Maple’s body was pressed up against his until she was almost sitting on his lap.
She pulled away slightly so that she could look at him. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said breathlessly. “You need to rest your body.”
“All my body needs is you,” Jax whispered to her, as he wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her down onto the chair on top of him.
Jax’s hands slipped under her t-shirt and explored the flatness of her stomach as he scaled upwards towards her breasts. He unhooked her bra with one hand as his tongue explored her mouth, her neck, and her ears.
“Let’s move to the bed,” Maple suggested as she got off him.
As she moved towards his bed, she removed her t-shirt in one, clean move and then she undid her zipper and pulled down her jeans. Jax stood where he was, appreciating the scene before him. When she bent down to pull off the jeans, he felt himself stiffen until he was as hard as rock. He came up behind her and slipped his hand into her panties and in between her legs. She was already wet.
He slipped off her panties and took a step backwards so that he could admire her for a moment. She stood before him, completely naked with her beautiful brown hair cascading down her shoulders in gentle waves. She watched him watch her and Jax noticed that the self-consciousness that she had possessed at the beginning of their sexual relationship seemed to have disappeared suddenly.
He remembered with a start that her last sexual encounter had been a rape, his fists clenched slowly with the responsibility he now felt settle over him. He placed a hand on her hip. “You seem... calm,” he observed, hoping he wouldn’t say anything that would offend her.
“I am,” Maple nodded.
“Can I ask why?”
“Because I want to erase the memory of Conor on top of me,” Maple said without hesitation. “I want to feel your hands on my body; I want to feel your breath, your lips, and your dick inside me. I want you to fuck me till I forget that he was anywhere near me.”
She spoke tonelessly, but Jax knew that was only because she was so filled with emotion. He was about to lean into her, but she grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Then she started unbuckling his trousers until they had fallen around his ankles. Jax stepped out of them and allowed Maple to push him gently back onto his bed.
Maple straddled him with excessive slowness as though she wanted to commit every move to memory. Then she rose on top of him with her hand around his penis and gently guided him inside her. Jax felt that thrill of pleasure he always experienced whenever he entered her, but this time was different somehow. Every other time, he had been like some hungry animal waiting to devour, so he had missed the little nuances.
He saw how Maple’s breath came out in a short burst of relief as she sat on top of him and the full length of his penis filled her. Her saw how her nipples seemed to harden and enlarge as she started to move slowly on top of him, her back arching in the process. He noticed how her hair fell onto her face and covered her eyes, but it only made her look like some model of a famous painting.
He kept his hands around her hips as she rode him slowly. Then she leaned down so that her breasts were resting on his chest and their bodies were pasted together. His hands fell onto her buttocks, as Maple started to kiss him tenderly, sending his body into realms of new pleasure.
“Oh God,” she breathed into his ear. “I love your piercing.”
“Yeah?” Jax breathed. “What do you love about it?”
“I love how it feels inside me,” Maple replied gasping. “It makes me feel things...”
She didn’t finish her sentence because her eyes closed in response to a powerful thrust as she pushed her hips against him. Jax kept one hand on her ass and moved the other one to her right breast. He squeezed hard and had the satisfaction of hearing her moan in pleasure. Jax watched her bouncing slowly on top of him, and he was amazed at how every each of their couplings felt different and unique. He was starting to see why people seemed to hold monogamous relationships in such high regard. There was something powerfully intimate about having sex with the same person over and over again.
Jax could barely feel the pain in his muscles. His wounds didn’t even hurt any longer; he knew that Maple had positioned herself on top so that he wouldn’t have to strain his body. She was powerfully intoxicating but amazingly gentle, and for someone who had always preferred wild, torrid sex, Jax was s
tarting to see that there were new realms of pleasure to be found in tender and caring lovemaking.
They came together, at the exact same moment, with their hands entwined together and their breathing synchronized. Maple lay on top of him, and Jax encircled her with his arms and counted the heavy breaths she expelled before her panting ceased into calm. After several minutes, Maple rolled off him and nestled herself into the hook between his arm and his shoulder. Jax kissed her hard on the forehead and pulled up the covers so that they were covered and cozy.
“I didn’t feel any pain,” Jax told her.
“That was what I was hoping for,” Maple said and smiled.
“You’re really good at that you know.”
“Sex?” Maple asked teasingly.
Jax laughed quietly. “That, too, but I was talking about the first aid stuff,” he clarified. “You’re a natural.”
“Yeah...,” Maple replied, as though there was something on her mind.
“What is it?”
“I just... I was thinking earlier...”
“Yeah?”
“About how I really enjoy it,” Maple admitted. “Even while I was in the hospital, I’d watch the other nurses and I think it might be something... that I’d really enjoy learning.”
“I think you’d be a terrific nurse,” Jax said immediately.
“You really think so?”
“I have firsthand experience of your proficiency.”
Maple laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘proficiency’—but thanks anyway.”
“Seriously, Maple,” Jax continued. “You should seriously consider it.”
“What?” Maple asked. “Training to be a nurse?”
“Yeah.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s just so... daunting.”
“I know,” Jax nodded. “That’s no reason not to do it.”
Maple fell silent, and Jax knew she was thinking about her future and what it would mean to be a trained and licensed nurse. Jax found himself veering off on his own train of thought until he found himself considering his own future, too. There were still so many question marks in his life that he knew he had to straighten out first. He had made many different realizations that night, but the most important one involved Maple.
Their future together was what Jax wanted to preserve more than anything else, and in order to do that, he knew he had to make certain changes in his life. Maple deserved a solid foundation; she needed a place to be safe and happy and whole; and Jax knew that he couldn’t provide that for her while he was still fighting in the illegal underground channels. He needed to step up now. He needed to fight the good fight because he realized now that Evan was right. Winning the game didn’t mean much if you didn’t play by the rules, because all it did was taint the victory.
“I need to make it to the MMA,” Jax said under his breath.
“You will,” Maple said with confidence.
Jax pulled Maple closer and breathed her in. It was a whole different type of intoxication, to be with someone who believed in him so completely. Jax had never experienced that feeling before, and he was starting to realize more and more that he never wanted to let it go.
Chapter 4
Maple
“Where exactly are you taking me?” Maple asked curiously.
They had spent a few days holed up in Jax’s apartment, taking refuge from the after-effects of the fight and all the talk that came with it. But once the dust had settled somewhat, Jax had decided to resume his training once more and Maple was scheduled to start work the next day.
“It’s a surprise,” Jax replied.
“But you have training,” Maple pointed out.
“This surprise is for you, not for me,” Jax clarified.
“You’re making me curious.”
“Curiosity won’t kill you,” Jax said with a wink.
“So you’re going to drop me off and then head to practice?” Maple wanted to know.
“I’ll be back to pick you up for dinner.”
Maple looked at him curiously, but she didn’t keep questioning him. They turned the corner and Jax pulled Maple to a stop in front of a women’s salon called “Chanel’s Beauty Bar.” It was the kind of salon that had crystal vases and special sections for manicures and pedicures. Maple had never been in a salon quite as upscale as this one.
“This is the surprise?” she asked incredulously.
“I think you deserve a day of pampering,” Jax said, as he pulled her inside. “This is just the place for it.
Maple allowed herself to be pulled inside, but she was feeling distinctly self-conscious, as though she weren’t pretty enough to be in one of those places. She noticed that even the women working there were attractive, but it was more than just looks. There was a quality about them; it was as though they looked expensive.
“Jax—” Maple said uncertainly.
“Just enjoy this, Maple,” Jax said before she could finish her sentence. “You deserve this.”
“But...”
Jax veered her to a stop and then pulled her around to face him. “Stop thinking so much,” he said pointedly. “Get out of your own head and just... relax.”
Maple took a deep breath and tried to follow Jax’s advice, when a tall woman approached them. She was wearing a blue dress and a gold nametag. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun, and her face was made up with just the right amount of makeup. Lustrous lashes fanned her blue eyes, which were ringed by the faintest hint of eye shadow. She smiled in welcome at Maple and Jax.
“Hello Jax,” she said with familiarity. “This must be Maple?”
“It is,” Jax said. “Maple, this is Elenor.”
“Nice to meet you, Elenor,” Maple said nodded, suppressing the urge to try to flatten her hair over her scar.
“The pleasure’s mine,” Elenor replied. “Are you ready to be pampered?”
“I... I’m not sure,” Maple stammered.
Elenor laughed, but it wasn’t the kind of laugh that made Maple feel bad or self-conscious in any way. Instead, she felt herself relax.
“Don’t you worry about a thing,” Elenor said confidently. “Just let me take care of you.”
“Ok,” Maple nodded uncertainly.
Jax leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek. “I’ll see you afterwards,” he assured her. “Enjoy yourself.”
With that, he walked out of the salon, leaving Maple in Elenor’s hands. Maple looked around with discomfort. “What exactly has he got planned for me?” she asked.
“We’ll start off with a nice, relaxing massage, followed by a manicure and pedicure, a facial, some moisturizing treatments and lastly, hair and makeup to get you ready for your date tonight.”
“Jax set all this up?” Maple asked in awe.
“He did,” Elenor replied.
“Wow.”
Elenor smiled in response and then led her through the salon to a private room where Maple was instructed to remove her clothes and don a thin wrap in preparation for her massage. Once she was ready, Elenor entered the room with a dark, curly haired woman with light eyes and a nose ring.
“This is Simone,” Elenor introduced. “She’s one of our best masseurs.”
As it turned out, she was, at least in Maple’s humble opinion. The tension in Maple’s limbs left her quickly as Simone worked her magic, and within minutes, Maple was sincerely and completely relaxed. She might have even fallen asleep for a few minutes between back rubs. The first hour flew by, and before she knew it, Elenor was back to lead her into another closed off area for her manicure and pedicure.
Maple exchanged her thin wrap for a fluffy bathrobe and settled herself in one of the comfy, beige chairs that had been set up around the room. There was classical music playing in the background, and Maple could hear the distant sounds of water, as though there were a fountain of some sort not far away. She was treated to a bunch of magazines and an assortment of fruit juices while two different women worked on her feet and hand
s in turn. Maple had never felt so spoiled in all her life, but at the same time, she knew that this was not something she would ever get used to.
Once her hands and feet were looking as close to perfect as they could possibly look, she was treated to an hour-long facial that left her skin feeling tight and clean. By the time her moisturizing treatments were done, Maple was actually starting to feel like she was transforming. It struck her suddenly that this had probably been Jax’s intention all along. He knew how insecure she was about her looks, and he had wanted her to feel beautiful.
She was lost in this warming thought when Elenor appeared again. “Ready for a new look?” she asked with a bright smile.
“Umm... how new?” Maple asked cautiously.
Elenor laughed. “We don’t have to do anything drastic; the choice is completely up to you. We can cut your hair a little or go for extensions; we can style it or lighten your hair color. What do you think?”
As Maple settled into her chair, she stared at herself in the large reflecting glass. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or not, but she thought she did look a little different. Her scar seemed somehow less prominent. She was still dressed in her fluffy white bathrobe so she couldn’t be sure.
“I like my hair color,” Maple said mostly to herself.
“It’s a beautiful color,” Elenor agreed, looking her over with a critical eye. “What about your length?”
“Maybe a little shorter?” Maple thought out loud.
“Excellent,” Elenor said, as she began to get to work with an expert hand.
“This must have cost a lot, huh?” Maple said timidly, as Elenor snipped off the ends from locks of her hair.
Elenor smiled. “You have a good guy there.”
“I think he knows how... insecure I am.”
“You shouldn’t be,” Elenor replied. “You’re a beautiful girl.”
“You don’t have to say that,” Maple said. “I wasn’t looking for compliments. I was just being honest.”
“Honest?” Elenor said, looking her in the eye through the mirror. “About?”
“Well...my looks,” Maple said awkwardly. “It is a big scar; it’s what most people notice.”