Stone Cold Seduction

Chapter Seven

Jax practically carried me from the kitchen to the couch. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to upset you, but I need you to know.”

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. “I’m not cut out for this. This isn’t my life. I make soaps and lotions. I had a big moment of stupidity and got sucked in way over my head. If I called the Council and explained…”

“No!” Jax’s sharp tone startled me, and my eyes flew open. He sat beside me on the couch.

“Why not? If people suspect my father, I could just tell them the truth, give them the souls, and hopefully they’ll forgive me.” It sounded ridiculous, even to me. But a girl could hope. My mother had always been an optimist, and in times like these, I’d take all the positive thinking I could muster.

“It doesn’t work like that.” Jax sounded grim as he carefully brushed a lock of hair from my face. The expression on his face was so forbidding, while his touch was so gentle. A simple touch from Jax, and my nerves began to settle.

“How does it work?”

“You are Jedren’s daughter.”

I huffed out an exasperated breath. “So? I can’t help that. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Elle,” his voice deepened, and he gently stroked my hair. “It looks as if you’re working for him. No one will believe you were stealing from your own father.”

“I hate him. I wouldn’t work with or for him.” My words were quiet as I relaxed into his touch. “Ever. There isn’t enough money in the word. And Teryl could vouch for me.”

“You need to leave Teryl’s name out of it. If anyone else finds out he was helping, Jedren will go after him and everyone he loves. And the Council won’t be any more forgiving.”

“We didn’t know they were souls.”

Jax’s lips curled back in a slight sneer. “Why did Teryl never look at the items you stole?”

“He only directed me to where they’d be. He drove the getaway car once, but I’ve always stored them and sold them. He’s on my father’s payroll. If anyone should get caught with them, it’s me.”

His mouth quirked. “Getaway car?”

“He’s the Robin to my Batman.”

Jax gifted me with a full smile. “Don’t ever put him in tights. Please.”

“After he put me in a catsuit? It’s the least he deserves.” I blew an errant strand of hair out of my face.

Jax’s smile faded. “The Council wouldn’t believe you. To anyone else, it looks as if you’re acting as your father’s agent, securing and storing the souls.” He placed a hand on my thigh. The heat from his hand warmed my skin, despite the chill of his words. “Elle, there’s a price on your head. A large one.”

For a moment, I couldn’t draw in a breath.

“I will protect you with my life.” Silver eyes flashed at me.

“They want me dead?”

“I don’t know. MacLean didn’t say.” Jax began massaging my hand. He seemed to need to touch as much as I did.

“Why would someone pay to have me killed? Better yet, I want to know why my father would put me in this position. Why now?” And why would he send Luke after me, when he’d knowingly set me up?

“It’s all about politics. There are very few who would dare take on Jedren directly, but his heir is the next best thing.”

“I was just trying to help the people whose lives Jedren ruined.”

Jax pulled me close for a hug. I felt hot tears on my cheeks as I pressed my face to his shoulder.

“MacLean will be able to tell us more tomorrow. For now, you need to sleep. We’re okay here for now. But after we meet with MacLean, you’re coming to my place.”

“How am I supposed to sleep now?” I mumbled against his now wet shirt.

He stood and picked me up. “I have a few ideas.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck in reflex. I’m not exactly petite and wasn’t used to being picked up. “You’re thinking of that now?”

“I think of you all the time.” He pulled me closer, and I drew on his strength. If Jax said we should deal with it in the morning, I’d try.

We got to my bedroom and he carefully set me on the bed. He turned away and called over his shoulder, “I’ll lock up and put the food away.”

I nodded, though he couldn’t see me. I wrapped my arms around myself and stared down at my bed. This was surreal.

“One thing at a time,” I whispered to the room. I sent an imploring look toward the heavens. “Mom, if you’re watching, I’d love a little help here.” Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, and I sucked in a deep breath. Okay, enough of that for tonight. My brain just couldn’t process it all. Pushing it from my mind and concentrating on Jax sounded like a great idea.

I pulled off my shirt and pants, and crawled under the covers. I stared at the wall as I listened to Jax moving dishes in the kitchen.

My experience with relationships was limited. My last year of college, I’d dated a guy named Matthew. We were together for a year. It had never progressed to living together or even hinted at marriage. In fact, it had been so casual, we had gone weeks without talking. We’d ended it because we were too comfortable as friends. There had been no spark.

With Jax, everything was a spark. A confusing, complicated explosion of heat. It should have been odd to listen to Jax moving stuff in my apartment. Doing domestic chores. Instead it felt comfortable and comforting. I snuggled into my pillow and waited. When he walked back in a few minutes later, I smiled at him. “Since you call me ‘little gem,’ can I call you ‘my rock’?”

He stopped. “You want to give me a nickname?”

I laughed at his shocked expression. “Okay, I can come up with something better, but yeah, I think I should.” I pretended to consider for a moment. “The Statue of David is too long.”

He shook his head and began taking his clothes off. Rational thought fled as I watched him. Yes, he was absolutely a work of art. I would never get tired of looking my fill. His shirt hit the floor, and I watched muscles flex as he unzipped his jeans and stepped out of them.

Jax wasn’t wearing any underwear.

“I…uh…you…no underwear,” I stammered.

He just arched a brow as he moved to the bed and slid under the covers. He frowned when our bodies brushed. “And you have yours still on.”

I blushed. “I can’t make it that easy for you.”

He blinked, then let out a laugh. He tugged me close and held me for a moment. “You are perfect.”

I squirmed with pleasure under the weight of his compliment. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

He loosed his grip. “You are perfect for me.”

Oh. Well in that case. The honesty in his expression filled my stomach with butterflies.

So I kissed him. I let all my emotions spill over into the kiss. My fear and frustration. My worry and my surprise. My need and desire.

He whispered my name and rolled me under him. His mouth teased mine open. His tongue swept along the crease of my lips, and then delved inside. His breath was hot. I could feel his erection pressing against my thigh.

Our tongues met, stroked, and teased. He pulled back enough to nibble on my lower lip, then soothe with his tongue.

I shifted my hips so he settled against my heat. I couldn’t quite bite back a soft cry of approval. Oh, he felt good. I rolled my hips and heard an answering groan from Jax. He pinned my hips with his weight, while his mouth swept along my chin and down to my neck.

“Take off your underwear,” he whispered against my skin. He lifted his hips so I could reach down and push them off. I kicked them onto the floor, right along with my inhibitions.

“Let me touch you this time.” I let my hands slide along his thighs, stopping at his hips. His skin was so warm. Each muscle was defined, and I gently ran my nails across his skin. After a second stroke, I felt goose bumps on his skin.

“My gem,” he half whispered, half groaned. “I don’t…”

“Earlier, you wanted to show me. Now, let me show you.” I had wanted to touch him for the past two months. I wanted to taste his mouth and his skin. I wanted to feel his muscles. I wanted to hear his deep voice growl, groan, and whisper my name.

I smiled. I really had a thing for his voice. It never failed to trigger my happy hormones. “Please let me touch you.”

His eyes bled to silver, and my reflection stared back at me. I could feel the change in him, subtle, but powerful. A smile curved my lips as I pushed him off of me. He moved so he was lying beside me. Leaning on my elbow, I lifted my other hand and placed it on his chest. My fingers lightly swirled through the dusting of black hair. I could feel his eyes on me as I traced the trail his hair made to his navel. Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to his chest, then his stomach. Muscles flexed beneath my lips as he held his breath. My fingers continued down to his erection.

His breath hissed between his teeth, and he lifted his head to look at me. “Elle,” he warned.

“Let me,” I said, repeating his words from earlier.

He dropped his head back and groaned. It was a low and tortured sound. It sent a shiver along my spine, and heat flared in all the right places. Knowing I could do that to him made me feel powerful and sexy. My hand wrapped around him, and he shuddered. His big body shook in an effort to maintain control as I stroked him. I wanted him to lose control.

I bent my head, needing to taste him…

With a muttered curse, he reached for me a split second before I had my lips on him. “I can’t. Not yet.”

He pulled me up and rolled me under him before I could blink.

“That’s not fair,” I protested. I had a lot of theories to test and curiosities to satisfy.

He leaned his forehead against mine and whispered, “I have waited years for you. I have no control where you’re concerned. Give me time. I promise, soon you’ll be able to do anything you want to me, but for now…” He pressed a soft kiss to my pouting lips. “For now, let me. Please.”

The “please” changed my mind. In that moment, I realized if Jax said “please,” I’d do just about anything. “Okay,” I whispered against his lips.

He slid a hand behind my back and deftly undid my bra. He leaned back to slide the straps off my shoulders and throw it off to one side. One callused hand smoothed over the skin on my shoulder. Silver eyes glinted down at me. “You are perfect for me.”

I was beginning to think he was perfect for me, too. It was an unsettling thought when so many things were going crazy in my life, but I wanted this to work. The connection was there, mate or not.

His erection pressed against me, and I stopped thinking. Worries melted away as I lifted my hips and he slid slowly inside of me. I held my breath at the exquisite feeling. Once again, he filled me completely. The feel of his skin against mine drew a moan from my lips.

Jax leaned down and muffled the sound as he kissed me. Our breath and our bodies moved together. This time, he poured his emotions into his kiss. Frustration, protection, desire, and affection. He told me without words. My arms encircled his neck, and I let my fingers thread through his short hair. It was surprisingly soft.

Jax deepened the kiss as I massaged his scalp, then his shoulders. His tongue moved in time with his hips. It was an erotic combination. He pulled back and sucked in a ragged breath. “I crave your touch, little gem.”

I couldn’t answer. I pulled him back down. The feel of his chest hair rubbing against my nipples made me gasp. His hips moved faster. Sensations cascaded through my body as my climax hit. He thrust deep, and I heard my name on his lips as he cried out his release.

I slowly drifted back to reality, enjoying Jax’s comforting weight. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close. He rolled to my right side and threw an arm across his face. I snuggled close and glimpsed a small smile on his face before nestling my head against his shoulder. I tucked that image away for later, too.

“Sleep well, little gem.”

I yawned, and then kissed his chest, right above his heart. “I will. Promise you’ll be here when I wake up,” I murmured.

He was silent for a minute. Sleep was pulling at me and I was struggling to keep my eyes open when he finally said, “I promise. I will always be here for you.”

I smiled. Taking one thing at a time with Jax at my side was something I could handle. “How about we stick with something simple?”

“Simple?”

I could hear the confusion in his voice, so I elaborated, “For a nickname. Does ‘sweetie’ work? Or how about ‘babe’?”

He was silent for so long, I thought I might have offended him. I yawned again. “I don’t have to call you…”

“When you are ready,” he interrupted, “I would like you to call me ‘love.’ Until then, Jax is fine.”

Oh, he made it so easy. Loving him would be way too easy. “Jax,” I whispered, not sure what to say. I wasn’t ready, not yet. But if he kept it up, I’d be a puddle at his feet before the week was out.

“When you are ready,” he repeated.

I couldn’t say anything to that. So I snuggled closer and let my eyes drift shut. Tomorrow would be a new day with a new set of problems. I needed my sleep, and I needed Jax.

Thankfully, right now, I could have both.