“He’s gone,” she said, disappointed but still curious.
“What the hell?” Sami asked with a hint of anger, as he surveyed their surroundings.
Tierney shrugged. “That was really weird.” Then she thought about it. “Although, considering all the weird shit that’s been happening in the last couple days, maybe it’s not so weird.”
“Tiern?”
“Aw, just ignore me.” She waved his worry away.
Hours later, she descended the stairs in a new black dress, and blushed when Sami whistled. “You like?” She felt nervous and out of her depth. She wasn’t used to wearing skimpy little dresses. She’d bought this one a while back, but never had a reason to wear the slinky thing until now.
“Yeeaah. Super-hot.” Sami grinned, making her want to run back up to her room, and put on her trusty, comfortable clothes. “Ready?”
Tierney grimaced. “Yeah, I guess.”
Jax planned to meet them at the club and Tierney couldn’t help but wonder what his reaction would be when he laid eyes on her.
Chapter Eight
Jezzaray's
JAX WALKED INTO JEZZARAY’S and spied Tierney dancing with a strange man. Sudden rage consumed him. He wanted to punch the guy out, toss Tierney over his shoulder and carry her out of the place. Instead he rubbed his pounding head and forced himself to turn away. Then he spotted Sami with Damien and his friends, sitting at a table in the far corner. He wove through the crowd to them. Why the hell isn’t Sami dancing with her? Damn, if she was mine, I wouldn’t leave her alone.
When Tierney came back to the table, Jax inhaled. She looked stunning, and having her so near sent his emotions into a tailspin. His heart and soul yearned for her. He wanted her smile at him, and only him. To feel her wrap her arms around him, and never let go. Feeling overwhelmed, Jax blinked at the dress she wore and sudden hunger to slowly peel it off her consumed him. His gaze raked her body and climbed up to see the fire in her eyes. A fire that took his breath away, and made his heart pump faster.
“Hey, where’s Cassie?” Tierney asked as she slipped into the booth beside him. Her amethyst eyes sparkled, as if aware of the affect she had on him.
Sweat trickled down his back as he struggled to calm his emotions. “She ah, couldn’t make it.”
“Oh, too bad,” she said, thought there was a faint smile on her lush lips.
Jax was unable to take his eyes off her. “You look hot, ah—great. Nice dress.” Then he jumped when her fingers briefly swept his thigh.
“New jeans?”
He couldn’t speak as her touch seared him and heat flooded his body. He coughed, heart thundering in his ears when Tierney’s tongue darted out to wet her glossy bottom lip. I wish I was licking that lip … While everyone talked and joked, Jax sat, feeling increasingly unsettled. He’d been tired and achy all day, and now, a strange vibration swept through him that didn’t have anything to do with Tierney. It was beginning to freak him out.
Tierney studied him. “You okay?” She laid her hand on his leg again, making his heart leap into his throat. Why isn’t Sami sitting with her? His brother seemed oblivious, and Jax didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to control himself.
“Yeah, fine. A little hung over,” he mumbled, shifting uncomfortably.
SERENA KNEW SHE LOOKED like a million bucks, as she swept through the club, drawing lustful stares. Men just can’t keep their eyes off me. She tittered as she sashayed over to the bar in her five-inch, fuck-me heels. With a sly, seductive pout on her blood red lips, she showed off her curves, while ignoring the lewd, suggestive comments she left in her wake. It only took a minute to spot her target. Serena grinned.
Ohhh lala, he’s hawt. And he looks dangerous. She grinned, this assignment wasn’t going to be such a hardship after all. At the bar she ordered a Martini, then turned and surveyed the crowd. A moment later, drink in hand, she made her way over to an empty table, keeping an eye on her target. She sat, crossed her legs and sipped at her drink.
Not a minute later, two men sidled up and attempted to talk to her. Serena narrowed her eyes at them, mumbled a spell and grinned smugly when the men blanched and hurried away. Then she turned her attention back to the female beside her target—that must be who she needed to seduce him away from.
TIERNEY FELT A THRILL at the blaze in Jax’s eyes when she had walked up to the table. His gaze devoured her like he wanted to consume her, and his breathing had picked up as his eyes slid down her body. She shivered, heat filling her as she sat into the booth next to him and noticed how well he filled out his new jeans. Oh yummy! Hyper-aware of every move he made, she sensed something not quite right. But when she asked if he was okay, he mumbled something about being hung over. She had just started to tease him when Damien stepped up to the table. “Hey, Tierney, you promised me a dance.”
She hesitated and glanced at Jax. “I didn’t promise, I agreed to dance with him,” she mumbled so only he could hear.
Jax shrugged his shoulders. “You can dance with whoever you like.” There was no indication if he was angry or not.
“Okay, well, are you sure you’re all right?” She wanted him to say she’d be dancing with him, but instead he nodded.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Disappointed, she let Damien lead her onto the dance floor.
JAX WATCHED DAMIEN LEAD Tierney away and fought the urge to go after her. The way her dress hugged her body, made him possessive as hell. What is wrong with me? His heart wouldn’t stop racing, and the weird vibration began to mess with him. His temperature continued to rise, while his pounding brain filled with fog. What was I thinking getting so wasted last night?
Unable to take his eyes off Tierney as she danced, Jax wiped his brow. Damn. I want her. Needing a distraction, he got up and started towards the men’s room. Fuck—it’s a freaking furnace in here. He wiped the sweat from his brow when someone grabbed his arm. Jax turned with a snarl, then blinked at the curvy, voluptuous woman standing before him and quickly shut his mouth.
“Hey, good looking. I’ve been waiting to get you alone.” The woman licked her blood red lips, eyes undressing him. “C’mon let’s dance.” She oozed sex from every pore in her body. Her long, dark, wavy hair reminded him of Tierney’s, but that was where the resemblance ended. The brown eyes filled with lust staring hungrily at him, felt like they were undressing him.
“No.” Jax could feel the heat of Tierney’s gaze on his back burning through him.
“Come on, I’ll take your mind off her.” The woman ran her fingernails down his arm to his hand, making him shiver as she pulled him closer. She started to dance seductively and then leaned in and rubbed against the erection he still sported for Tierney.
Her touch, though only a light sweep, drove him wild. If he’d been feeling like himself, her closeness would be unbearable, but as he burned for Tierney, the fog in his mind continued to grow. Jax groaned.
“Like that, don’t you?” The woman, maybe twenty-four, gyrated against him and sweat trickled down his chest.
“Who are you?” he asked, mind in a daze.
“I’m Serena,” she said in a husky voice as she ran her fingers down his chest.
TIERNEY COULDN’T BELIEVE her eyes. Jax wouldn’t dance with her, but he didn’t mind dancing with a brunette, who used him as her own personal Slip’n Slide? The woman acted like she wanted to fuck him right there on the dance floor. What the hell? Possessive anger screamed that he belonged to her, and Tierney started toward them, intending to rip the woman’s arms off. She stopped herself. Jax didn’t belong to her.
Emotions unravelling, she closed her eyes and tried to lose herself to the music. Determined to have a good time with funny, handsome Damien, she forced herself to let her anger go. But they weren’t the arms she wanted, no matter how comforting.
The dance ended and thanking Damien, she stepped off the dance floor and stopped. Jax stood glaring at her. She glared right back. “Where’s your—” She wanted
to say fuck-buddy, but didn’t. “Dance partner?” The brunette was nowhere in sight.
With a snarl, Jax grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the floor.
“What the hell are you doing?” she hissed. How dare he treat her like this?
“Shut up,” Jax growled, smoldering with anger so palpable she could feel it. What the hell?
A slow song came on, and Tierney gasped when Jax yanked her against him, startling them both. He groaned at the contact, and she expected him to push her away, but instead, like a man drowning, he clutched her even tighter. What? Oh, holy mother! She started to melt as his body snuggled up against hers perfectly. She’d dreamed of being pressed up against him ever since the night before.
“Tierney,” Jax sighed and held her as if his life depended on it, and her reservations slipped away.
Tierney opened her shields and his anger, despair, and an overwhelming need consumed her. He wants me that much? Last night she had thought the booze made him react that way, but could he have changed his mind about them being together?
She trembled at the solid body holding her so tenderly. His arousal, pressed against her, sent a shot of need so deep, so wanton, it took all her control not to rip his clothes off on the dance floor. Damn. Tierney’s breathing turned ragged, as her mind went through everything she wanted to do to him—with him.
Heart thundering, she met his gaze and sucked in a breath at the fire in his scorching blue eyes. The feelings passing between them were electric, and something inside her shattered, leaving her bare as her mental shields dissolved into nothingness. She sensed Jax deep in her soul, searching, wanting, needing—every bit as much as she needed and wanted him.
Together, they moved in a dream-like state, even after the song changed. Both of them ached for more. Midnight blue eyes stared inside her, and their connection left little doubt in Tierney’s mind that they belonged together.
“This feels good, but we shouldn’t be doing this,” he finally said, looking regretful as he doused her in a shower of reality.
“What? Why?” she asked, confused and annoyed that he seemed to want to ruin the moment.
“Because you’re with Sami,” he answered, confusing her even more.
“What? I’m not with Sami. Whatever gave you that crazy-ass idea?” she asked, perplexed.
“Last night. I heard you in his room.” He tried to sound nonchalant, but she sensed his quiet desperation.
“Yeah, I—” Her eyes went wide. “Oh. You think Sami and I? Shit, Jax, he was having a nightmare.”
“What?”
“Yeaahh.” She smiled as a whole pile of emotions flitted across his face, the last being relief.
“Ah, okay, good. Well, not good he had a nightmare, but good,” he mumbled, looking shell shocked at the news.
She chuckled. “It’s okay, I get it.”
“Good,” he repeated and held her against his chest once again. She reveled in the moment until her thoughts drifted to Cassie, making her tense up. “But what about Cassie?” She looked up at him, leery.
“What about her?”
“Isn’t she your girlfriend?” She hated to ask, but needed to know what was between them.
“No, I made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“I’m sorry for what I said six weeks ago, and for bringing Cassie home.”
Tierney’s heart soared. “Okay, so, you honestly thought Sami and me?” Jax nodded, ashamed. “Well, I forgive you.” She grinned up at him.
Jax blinked, his features softening as his gaze traveled to her lips and anticipation raced through her. His masculine scent filled her senses. Then his mouth captured hers with such passion her knees grew weak. He tasted woodsy and every bit as intoxicating as the night before. Her senses melted as he hungrily devoured her.
Jax pulled away and Tierney stared into his eyes, such bottomless pools of overwhelming emotion. “Wow.” Unable to express herself, she licked the taste of him off her lips.
“I want you so bad,” he said, voice raspy and making her heart race. Then he winced.
“Jax, what’s wrong?” she asked, clutching him tight.
“Nothing. I must not have eaten enough today, and after last night—” He tucked his head into her neck. His hot breath on her skin made her shiver with longing.
JAX WAITED ANXIOUSLY for Tierney to come out of the ladies’ room, feeling like shit, but also hopeful. All his reservations be damned, he’d take her home and finally be alone with her, even if all they did was snuggle and talk.
Someone bumped into him then staggered away, and all of a sudden Jax found it hard to breathe. Demons of hell, I can’t stand it in here! The crowd closed in, suffocating him. He tugged at the neck of his shirt and willed Tierney to hurry up.
Then Serena appeared beside him again. “Hey sexy, let’s dance.” She grinned up at him seductively.
“No. I’m waiting for someone.” He looked back towards the ladies’ room watching for the woman who held his heart. Where are you?
But Serena ignored his rebuff, and began to dance close to him once again. “Pretend I’m her. Close your eyes.”
Jax started to push her away, but she grabbed his hands, leaned close and whispered something in his ear. Sudden cold filled his veins, as his muddled mind tried to make sense of what she’d said. His instincts screamed that this was wrong, bad, then his eyes shut and he relaxed.
“Pretend I’m her. Let me touch you. Good, isn’t it?” she asked.
Mind foggy, he couldn’t respond.
Serena rubbed her breasts against him and leaned into his erection. Jax groaned as he imagined it was Tierney touching him. Her hand cupped him through his jeans and rubbed, making him throb with need. He shivered. “Tierney.” Everyone spun around them, and he no longer recognized that it wasn’t Tierney with him.
“Come on, hon, I know what you want,” Serena breathed.
“No.” Something, the voice—didn’t seem right. Tierney—no. Someone rubbed against him again.
“Yes. Let’s go outside,” she whispered.
Jax tried to fight the desire and fog, but the loud music sent pain shooting into his throbbing skull. His heart raced and the weird vibration intensified. Sweat beaded on his brow as he fought the growing urge to go with her.
Serena leaned into him and whispered in his ear again, and whatever he needed to remember just slipped away. Cold seeped through him, making him shiver. He was a puppet that Serena now controlled.
Her next words had him burning with unnatural need. “I’m so wet for you.” Jax groaned. “I want you to come inside me,” she said, and at the thought of burying himself deep within Tierney sent fire roaring through his veins. Then Serena grabbed his hand and led him out of the club.
TIERNEY EMERGED from the ladies’ room giddy with happiness, and scanned the crowd for Jax. She wanted to go home and have some fun, but instead frowned when she didn’t see him anywhere. A chill ran down her spine as she made her way toward their table, running into Damien along the way. “Hey, did you see where Jax went?”
Damien nodded at the main doors. “He just left.”
“He did? Ah, thanks.” She frowned, surprised. Maybe he went for some fresh air?
Back at their table, she caught Sami’s attention. “Jax go out for some air? Damien said he left.”
Sami glanced around and shook his head. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Huh. Well, I’ll go see if he’s outside.” She turned away, pulled her phone from her tiny purse and glared at the screen. Damn it, Dad, where the hell are you? Guilt ate at her for enjoying herself, while Zander was still missing.
Pressing Zander’s number, Tierney wove through all the bodies towards the door. Her dad’s voice mail answered—again. “Where are you? Call me. Please,” she said, leaving a message. If the Ilyium have him …
Once outside, she inhaled the crisp air, and almost choked as smoke filled her lungs. A group of people stood puffing on cigarettes
, but she didn’t spot Jax anywhere.
“Hey, wanna smoke?” A greasy-haired guy, cigarette hanging from his mouth, leered at her. Tierney ignored him, but he sidled closer. “Or maybe you want something stronger?” he suggested. Glaring at him, she slipped her phone into her tiny purse, and headed towards the parking lot, deep in thought.
“Tierney.” The voice belonged to Jax.
“Jax?” He didn’t reply but she heard him moan. Oh hell no! She’d been so lost in thought she’d forgotten about their enemies.
Tierney rushed into the parking lot and slowed, looking around. There was no sign of him. Then she searched for Jax’s car. There. His shiny black Impala was parked one row over and three cars down from her newer Challenger. Heart in her throat, she hurried between a small car and larger truck and spotted movement in the back of his car. No! I will seriously mess up anyone who hurts a single hair on his head!
Yanking the back door of the Impala open, she reached inside, ready to pull Jax’s attacker out, and froze. Jax blinked up at her in shock. The brunette from earlier reclined, naked from the waist up, on the seat in front of him. Jax stared at Tierney in confusion before he turned his eyes back to Serena. “What? You!”
Hand over her mouth Tierney moved away, inching to the back of Jax’s car and using the trunk for support, she fought not to throw up. I am such a fool to have fallen for his seduction!
“T-Tierney,” Jax called her name, and scrambled out of the car.
“Hey, come on back, honey. Don’t worry about her. I have what you need right here,” Serena purred seductively.
Jax backed away from the woman like she had sprouted two heads. “No,” he whispered in horror, then turned towards Tierney. “Tiern, please. It’s not what you think, I don’t know what she, or how—”
“Leave me alone, Jax,” Tierney hissed. She trembled with rage, and a hurt so deep, she wanted to die.
Bk 1 Dracones Awakening Page 7