Jax (Titan #9)(26)

"Why'd you leave your buddies?" Jax asked, pulling her from the unnerving thoughts.

Seven wandered around the living room, letting her fingers trail over the back of a leather couch as she stared out at the skyline of the city fast asleep. "I needed alone time."

"Hmm."

She pivoted, toying with her tongue stud nervously. "Hmm?"

"Alone?" He crossed his thick muscled arms. "You wanted to be alone?"

"I do." She took a breath, trying to be discreet but needing to calm her anxiety more than she needed to save face. "With you."

His jaw flexed. Jax didn't smile, but he reacted in a way that made her stomach flip. Something about how he made her body jump merely by a muscle twitch was intense. Maybe that was because he was very much a man, and she was used to boys. The age difference between them was impossible not to notice. God, she was so out of her league. What was she doing there?

Seven turned back to the window and refused to give away that she didn't have anywhere near the experience he likely did. Sure, she'd dated, and she'd been with Johnny forever. And sometimes piercings seemed like bells and whistles that were far beyond the experiences that Mr. Navy SEAL had had, but never had she thought it possible that a man could look down a bar and make her wet like Jax had done.

She glanced over her shoulder. "What's our first bad decision?"

"Depends." His wicked smile did dangerous things to her insides.

"On?"

"How many do we get?"

She laughed, rolling her eyes. Seven walked one way, Jax the other, and they kept the same distance, circling the room and each other.

He leaned against the glass. "Do you stalk all your prey?"

"I don't know. I don't do things like this." Seven sucked in her cheeks. "Present company excluded."

He didn't respond, and well, hell, so much for honesty. She'd said too much.

"Seven, come here."

Anticipation swirled in her stomach. Her nerves trembled while she stilled, mesmerized by the brilliance of his intensity, overshadowed as though she were a hotel caught in the brilliance of Vegas lights.

He took a smooth step closer, still leaving a mountain of space between them. "Did you change your mind?"

"No."

A sweet flicker of a smile came and went. "Are you nervous?"

Seven flushed. A snarky, defensive protest of the truth was needed, but the words wouldn't come. Jax gently shook his head, holding her gaze like a lion guarding a lamb.

She swallowed the lie before it could be told. "Why would I be nervous?"

His chest expanded on a slow, deep breath. Letting it out just as deliberately, he eased another step closer. "Are you attracted to me, Seven?"

Blood pounded in her chest, lighting a smoldering heat that spread like wildfire, licking its way up her neck. "What's with twenty questions?"

"If our… bad decisions are raw and honest, this"—he pointed between them—"could be killer."

A waterfall of reactions cascaded through her senses.

"Or we hold back." Jax's jaw flexed, displeased with the possibility. "We'll have decent sex. Come hard. Earn a round of applause, and walk away without a memorable detail."

"What makes killer sex?"

His eyes narrowed. "Asking for what you want. Getting what you need. Giving because it's good."

"That doesn't sound like any bad decision I've ever heard of."

He tore his shirt over his head. "Come here, Seven."

The air evaporated from the room. Oh God, a shirtless Jax in real life was superior to any passing fantasy. Her nipples beaded as she drank in the visual of his tan skin and dark eyes, gaping as if she'd not seen a half-naked man before. Perfection didn't exist, and Jax was living proof of that with an old scar on his stomach and short, wider ones above his chest. Dark, close-clipped hair colored his pecs, and a smattering of hair led a path down his toned stomach. There were more stories torn, stitched, sliced, and healed into his body than she might ever know.

Seven moved closer as Jax matched her steps.

"I would've gone to you, even if you kept your shirt on."

Inches separated them. "Sometimes it's better to hedge bets."

A reddening laughter broke her enthralled trance. "I'm not sure what to think of that."

"Don't think anything. Just close your eyes."

Seven took a deep breath and obeyed. Jax moved behind her, tucking her hair from one side to the other shoulder, and goosebumps jumped at his touch. She sucked a quick breath, muscles tightening.

"Relax." His fingertips drifted from her shoulders down her arms. The fine hairs on her skin reacted, standing upright in the wake of his touch. "That happened at the wedding."

Eyes still closed, Seven shivered at the memory and loosened under his exploring touch. "I remember."

"Do you like when I touch you?" He traced over her skin until every hair stood erect and her unsteady breaths bordered on quiet pants.

"Yes."

"Simple answer," he teased quietly, now scratching close-clipped nails on her biceps.

Meaning? Raw honesty. Seven could feel the tremor of need build deep in her body, pulsing to her pussy and beading her breasts. "I liked holding on to you. Hiding under your jacket. Your back is…" With her eyes closed, it was like she could feel her fingers playing with his dress shirt at Victoria's wedding. "Muscular."