by M. S. Parker
She reached out to touch my left arm, then glanced at my face, and switched to the right arm. She squeezed my shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I wish I hadn’t been right.”
“I know.” I met my friend’s gaze. “I went over to his place yesterday, and Ariene opened the door. Words were exchanged. He came by today to try to get me back, and that’s when he found me.”
“How do you know this wasn’t him setting you up? Like so he could come in and play the hero?”
I laughed. “I know it wasn’t him, because he wasn’t a hero. In fact, all he cared about was getting me to a place where he could say what he wanted to say.”
“Fucker.”
I shrugged. “Fortunately, he’s not my problem anymore.”
“But you still have one.” She lifted a brow, studying me closely. “Don’t you?”
I nodded. “Someone’s trying to buy my bar, and they’re not being subtle about it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ve gotten a couple offers to buy the bar, and I turned them both down. Someone connected to at least one of them trashed the bar and left a threatening note. Then one of the guys showed up at the cemetery on Sunday.” I didn’t have to tell her what Sunday had been. She knew. She’d been with me on the actual day, and on the first anniversary.
“I ever see the asshole who did that, I’m going to knock out his teeth.”
I didn’t doubt it. “The man who hurt me, he’s connected too.”
Gilly sighed. “Syll, what am I going to do with you?”
That was an excellent question, but one I couldn’t answer because someone had just come into the bar and he required all my attention.
“Who is that tall drink of water?” Gilly asked. “I’d like to ride him like a Mustang.”
I gave her a sideways look, but there wasn’t any jealousy in it. Jax wasn’t Gilly’s type.
“Hey, can I get some scotch? Best you’ve got.”
I blinked at the abrupt request. Not even a hello. I hadn’t been expecting declarations of love and commitment, but he wasn’t even looking at me. He was staring at his phone just like every other jackass douchebag who thought the world revolved around them.
“You would not believe the day I’ve had.”
“I’ve got this,” I said to Doug and Gilly. My friend gave me a strange look, but I motioned for her to go. Doug ambled down to the other side of the bar to take a couple orders there.
I poured two fingers of my best scotch and set the glass in front of Jax.
He drained it all in one swallow without looking up from his phone. “I got a call from my grandfather’s attorney, wanting my brothers and me to come into her office. Get this, he put conditions in his will, things that my brothers and I must do before we receive our inheritance. It’s not about the money, you know. It’s him trying to control–”
“Jax–”
He kept going like I hadn’t said a word. “Like we aren’t all adults with our own lives. He just expected us to drop everything because he snapped his fingers with no regard for anything we might–”
I’d had enough.
“Look, I’m sorry you’ve had a bad day, but you’re not the only one,” I snapped. “My day hasn’t exactly been sunshine and roses.”
He finally raised his head, and I watched the annoyance in his eyes turn into shock, then concern, then anger.
“What hap–”
I cut him off. “I get that you’re upset about your grandfather, and that sucks, but you have three brothers. Some people don’t have any family.” Everything that I’d been trying to hold in came spilling out. “Some of us have to fight and scrape to hold on to every little bit we have, and we have to do it all alone because there’s hardly anyone we can trust. We don’t all have money to buy whatever whim we’re currently jonesing for, only to throw it away as soon as we get bored with it.”
He frowned at me, reaching across the bar to touch my hand. “That’s not what I did. I mean, that’s not what last night–”
“I don’t want to talk about last night,” I interrupted. “That’s not what this is about. It’s about you coming in here, plopping your ass down at the bar, and acting like you’re the only person here who’s had a shitty day.”
I knew I was being a bit of a bitch. His grandfather had just died, and I knew how much that hurt him. I’d seen him at the hospital. Just because he was going on about his brothers and the will didn’t mean he was upset about either of those things. Sometimes, when people were upset, they latched on to unrelated things.
Like me going off about his complaints because I was having some issues of my own.
“I need some air,” I announced, turning away from him.
He was around the bar and in my personal space before I’d gone more than a few steps. Damn, he smelled good.
“Is there somewhere we can talk alone?”
I nodded. “You remember the way?”
The heat in his gaze made me blush.
“I remember all of it.”
And so did I.
Fuck me. I had a bad feeling this wasn’t going to go my way.
Twenty-Five
Jax
What the fuck had happened to Syll?!
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed when I’d first come into the bar. I’d been thinking about everything that’d happened to me today, and how I wanted a drink and to talk to someone. Syll had been the first person to come to mind, which made sense since I didn’t really have much in the way of friends. I’d been almost to the bar when I realized just how real that statement was. On the extremely rare occasions in the past I’d needed to talk to someone, I’d gone to my grandfather. But I couldn’t go to him anymore.
I wished I could blame my lack of attention to a new bout of grief, but that wasn’t it. I’d simply been so focused on myself that I’d never considered anything else. Or anyone else.
She deserved better.
I’d known that from the moment I met her.
And I’d still wanted her last night.
Fuck the past tense. I wanted her now. One time with her wasn’t enough.
But this wasn’t about me anymore. The moment I’d looked up and seen the bruises she tried to hide, the swollen left side of her face, everything became about her. Even when she was ranting, I could only think about how to take care of her.
I took her hand, not because she needed me to lead her, but because I needed to touch her, and until I knew more, I didn’t want to accidentally touch her somewhere that would cause her pain.
As we headed toward the back, I allowed myself a moment to appreciate the irony at the desire to not cause pain. I wasn’t a true sadist, and I wasn’t the sort of sadist who enjoyed anything non-consensual or intentionally harmful. In fact, the thought of causing Syll any sort of pain that wouldn’t result in her extreme pleasure went against every fiber of my being.
If I found out that an actual person was responsible for how banged up she looked, they would have an easier time turning themselves into the police and facing assault charges than what would happen if I got my hands on them.
She tugged me to a stop before we reached the door to her apartment. Her office was fairly quiet, and it was empty, but a part of me was disappointed that she didn’t want me in her place again.
Then again, that hadn’t exactly ended well, so I supposed being in a neutral place was best for the talk we needed to have.
“All right,” she said as she tugged her hand out of mine. “We’re alone. What did you want to talk about?”
“Are you kidding me?” I gestured toward her face. “What the hell happened to you?”
She sighed with the weariness of someone who’d told the same story so many times that it was almost painful to say it one more time.
“I fell down the stairs.”
“What stairs?” I wasn’t going to let her get away with some bullshit story. “There aren’t any stairs in this building.”
/> “How do you know?”
I almost growled at her. “Because I’ve seen the blueprints. Before I came here the first time, I looked over the building information available to the public. This is one-story, with no basement.” I took a step toward her and softened my voice. “Talk to me.”
She folded her arms across her chest and looked away. “Someone broke in earlier today and did this.”
My temper, usually kept under lock and key, flared. “You aren’t covering for that asshole ex of yours, are you?”
She shook her head, a small smile touching her lips. “Gilly basically asked me the same thing. He’s still an asshole, but he didn’t do this. The guy wore a ski mask, but I would’ve recognized Billy’s voice. Besides, he was way too tall to be Billy. I think it was the same guy who trashed the place.”
“What did the cops say?”
She looked down at her hands. “I didn’t call them.”
“Dammit, Syll, you need to report this!”
Her head lifted so I could see the sparks in her eyes. “And you need to mind your own damn business. This is my bar, my life. I’ll take care of things the same way I have since my dad died. Myself. You might not be used to a woman who prefers to do things herself rather than relying on a man, but I was raised to be indep–”
I cut off the rest of what she was going to say by covering her mouth with mine. I kissed her carefully, not wanting to aggravate her injuries, but I wanted nothing more than to plunder those sweet, dark depths with my tongue until she was soft and pliant in my arms.
I should have known better.
The moment I lifted my head, her hand went up to slap me. I automatically caught her wrist, and her eyes went wide. The flash of fear I saw in them cut me, and I promised myself that I would do whatever I could to make sure she knew she was safe with me. No matter what had happened between us in the past, or what would happen in the future, she needed to know that I’d never give her reason to be afraid of me.
I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed the palm. I didn’t release her hand but rather began to massage it as I spoke, “I’m sorry. After last night, I thought it would be okay for me to surprise you with a kiss. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“I…thank you.” Uncertainty clouded her features. “I shouldn’t have tried to slap you. This time.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m just having a really shitty day.”
I gave her a small smile. “Me, too.”
I didn’t tell her that my bad day started when I realized she’d left without a word. This wasn’t about blame or guilt. It was about something entirely different. We weren’t in a club, and we’d never discussed anything along the lines of a Dom / sub relationship, but the Dom in me was determined to protect and care for her.
I cupped her chin, tipping her face back until she was looking at me. “How can I help you? Just tell me.”
“I don’t want to talk,” she said. “And I don’t want to think.”
“I think I can manage that.” I gave her one of my most charming grins, and for the first time in a long time, I meant it.
“I’m not expecting anything from you,” she continued. “And I’m not offering anything.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to think or talk anymore.”
She gave me a hard, searching look, and then nodded. “You’re right. I don’t.”
This time, she kissed me.
I let her take charge of it, and my Dominant side didn’t even argue. With everything that had happened to her recently being so far beyond her control, I knew she needed to feel at least some semblance of it somewhere. When the hands that had gripped my shirt softened against me, I took over.
I ran my hands down her back, paying close attention to any sign of discomfort so I could shift my caress. It was one thing to tease after a punishment, and something else to play off a true injury. I palmed her ass and lifted her onto the desk. A few papers fell to the floor, but I ignored them as I started to unbutton her shirt.
Once I had it undone, I broke the kiss and let my gaze fall to her bra. It was nothing fancy, probably the easiest one to put on with her injuries, but that didn’t matter. It was a front clasp.
Hell. Yes.
I flicked it open, mumbling a curse as I lowered my head. She gasped as my tongue circled one nipple, and then the other. They pebbled as the cool air came in to contact with the sensitive skin. I could’ve spent hours just doing this, but we didn’t have hours. Sooner, rather than later, someone was going to realize that she wasn’t in the bar, and they’d come looking for her. My money was on the blonde she’d called Gilly.
I needed to make sure we both got off before that happened. Which meant I needed to get her out of her pants.
“Damn jeans,” I growled. “Lift up.”
She obeyed, and I tugged off her jeans, taking her panties too. They were plain cotton, but I tucked them into my pants pocket anyway. When I raised my eyes, she was watching me with a questioning look on her face.
“You can get them next time.” I pushed her knees apart, loving the way she flushed as she opened to my perusal. “Another note for next time: you’re going to touch yourself while I watch.”
“Why not now?” she asked.
“Because I need to taste your pussy.” I sank to my knees. “Now, be a good girl and come whenever you like, but you might want to keep it down if you don’t want everyone in the bar to know what I’m doing.”
As I lowered my head, she opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a low keen. Damn, she tasted amazing. Fresh and clean, reminding me of spring. I licked her again and earned another of those dick-hardening sounds. I needed more time to properly go down on her, tease her until she was panting and begging, taking her so high that she’d see stars. But I didn’t have that kind of time now, which meant I was going to have to go with getting her off as quickly as possible.
Her hands came down on my head, fingers digging into my hair, nails scratching my scalp. I gripped her hips as firmly as I dared, holding her in place against my mouth even as she tightened her hold on my head. She didn’t need to worry. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere until she exploded on my tongue.
I danced around her entrance, sneaking quick dips inside to sample her arousal, and then moved up to her clit. I flicked my tongue against it, and she said my name. Then I pressed the flat of my tongue to it and rubbed the swelling bundle of nerves. That earned a curse and a jolt of pain as she pulled my hair.
I looked up at her as I repeated the combination. Her breasts heaved with every breath, her chest flushed, and nipples hardened. Her head was tilted back, exposing her neck, and I had a momentary image of what it would be like to mark her skin with my teeth, to wrap my fingers around her throat. Not to choke her, but to see just how much she trusted me.
More things to add to my list.
At this rate, we’d be together until next Christmas. The thought didn’t disturb me as much as it might once have.
“Jax,” she whimpered. “I’m so close. Make me come, please.”
I pulled back just far enough to speak. “Have you ever come from oral sex?” Her eyes opened, and she looked down at me. “Tell me, Syll.” I made it an order.
She shook her head. “Bil–he never liked going down on me, and he didn’t like me to tell him…” She paused, then continued, “I don’t want to talk about him. The answer’s just no.”
I turned my head and kissed her inner thigh. “Then it’ll be my pleasure to give you your first.”
I put my mouth on her again, working my tongue over all her sensitive areas, scraping my teeth lightly across her clit, sucking on it, overloading her on sensations until she finally exploded with a desperate cry. She clapped a hand over her mouth as the orgasm ripped through her, muffling the sound, but that was okay for now. One day, I’d want to learn just how loud I could make her scream.
I stood, watching her body twitch and tremble as the pleasure faded.
We wer
en’t done yet.
Twenty-Six
Syll
Wow.
Just…wow.
The couple times I’d managed to convince Billy to go down on me, he’d done it for a couple minutes, then it’d been my turn to reciprocate. Even though I’d never had good oral sex – until a few seconds ago – I’d been able to tell that Billy’s attempts had been half-hearted at best. I’d given up even asking after a while, resigning myself to not having that as part of my sex life.
What Jax had just done was better than pretty much every other sexual experience I’d ever had.
I opened my eyes to tell Jax just that, but the words couldn’t find their way out of my befuddled brain, especially when I saw him rolling a condom on over his thick shaft. I’d never understood women who described penises as beautiful, but when it came to Jax Hunter…
He was a fine specimen of male flesh all the way around.
“Syll.” His voice was rough, his eyes dark. “I need to know you want this.”
I wasn’t even close to considering saying no. Not with him standing there looking all gorgeous, and me sitting on the desk, my legs splayed open, my pussy throbbing with the need to be filled. The need to connect.
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to speak above a whisper. “I want you.”
He stepped closer, sliding his hands up my legs from knee to thigh, then curling his fingers around my hips. “Put your hands behind your back.”
I did as he said, threading my fingers between each other.
“Don’t come,” he warned. “Not until I tell you to.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And what if I do?”
He grinned a dangerous sort of grin. “I can think of all kinds of ways to punish you.”
That comment should have made me uneasy, but all I felt was a thrill run down my spine. I could feel the power in his body, the strength there, but he held it back. He knew he didn’t have to show off for me to know how strong he was. Unlike Billy, who’d always used every opportunity possible to make people see him as bigger and better.