Jax (Titan #9)(56)

Jared stretched. "Whether I'm going to find Sugar passed out naked in high heels. Good night."

Jax pulled her against his chest. "You feel good to hold on to."

She nuzzled her face against his neck. "I always knew men had serious girl talk when no one was watching."

Quietly, he laughed. She had no idea the depth of the subject they had touched. But what he needed was her smile, to relax and enjoy her, even his life and all the opportunities that Jared had said he should be open to. "Thanks, Seven."

She leaned back, letting her bright hair fall off her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He closed his eyes, wondering what the real answer was. His automatic answer was always yes, but that was never the truth. Until now… "I am."

"I think I am too." Her hair fell over her cheek, and he tucked it behind her ear.

"I lost my buzz, though."

"Same—hey, do you want to see my room?" Flustered, her eyes widened. "Oh, wow. I didn't mean that how it sounded. The view is really gorgeous."

"Standing in a windowless hallway, I can say the same."

All of the sights and shows on the Vegas strip didn't have enough star power to make her feel a tenth as special as Jax could. "There it is again."

"What?"

She cuddled against his chest and tipped her mouth to his ear. "You're sweet and romantic, and I'll keep your little secret."





CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE


The hotel room door clicked shut, and Seven turned to face him. "Welcome to my amazing Vegas suite."

She wasn't kidding. The view of the Vegas strip glowed, but he didn't care. "Looks good."

"You're not even looking around."

"Don't need to." He followed her, taking her hands and pulling her close.

Tension fizzed in the air. Jax would never call Seven nervous. But they were locked in private combat; they'd skirted from flirty to turned on, skated to intense, and parted while he was slammed with an emotional tsunami. She reacted as though she could read him, and for a man who prided himself on an impenetrable wall built high around himself, maybe he was the one unnerved. Either way, he was intoxicated, having nothing to do with alcohol and everything to do with the carefree way she let her laughs fly into the night and the giving way she tried to soothe him, having no idea how he was wounded.

"What was going on back there?" Seven's words were quiet. Her delivery was smooth and sincere enough that it was as if each syllable walked a tight rope and one false move would pop their connection.

"This isn't fragile." He gestured between them. "If you think you might say the wrong thing, the bubble isn't going to pop."

Her long lashes framed deep blue eyes. "I want to know what you talked about."

And Jax knew she would ask. He'd all but asked her to ask again. Talking with Jared made Jax feel more sober, though it wasn't as though remembered pain could negate alcohol in his blood. "We were following up on a job that went bad."

"Bad, how?"

"Someone died. It was a bloody fucking mess." He'd never looked at another bride, never seen another wedding, without an immense amount of pain and misery—except Ryder and Victoria's wedding. Jax ran his hand through his hair, trying to recall the buzzed memories. He'd wanted to see Seven. Before the plane was wheels down in Iowa, he knew he was going to proposition her.

"I'm sorry." She leaned into him, the nurturing side of her taking charge. "What do you need, Jax? To be alone? To be with me?"

That wasn't a characteristic he was typically attracted to in a woman, but maybe it was the pink hair. Seven was a list of things that should never turn him on, but there was only one answer to her question. "Definitely to be with you."

"Good." She nuzzled against him. "Are we still having fun?"

He draped his arms around her. "I am."

Seven kept her cheek against his chest. "You're more subdued."

He laughed silently at the spinning ballerina curled against his chest calling him subdued. "True enough."

Her loose hold squeezed into a careful hug, lingering long after he answered. "We could watch a movie or just go to sleep."

"Hmm." He let her lean against him as his hands slowly ran over her skin. "Do you want to sleep?"

She shook her head then eased back, hooking her hands around his neck and letting him support her. "It's Vegas. We're not supposed to sleep, except I slept most of the day before I saw you."

He slid his palms up along her biceps before skimming down her bare back.

A playfulness in her eyes dared him. It was as though she'd assessed that whatever had happened in the hall was survivable. "If we don't sleep and a movie is out, then what would you rather do?"

He liked how she didn't assume. Or maybe how she wanted him to decide. Her curiosity was a quiet, hopeful hush that rushed over him, and that was more arousing than any tag-chasing woman he'd ever met that grabbed his belt and dropped to her knees with hopes of making a memorable impression.

Jax took Seven's smaller hand, smiling that such a brightly dyed woman would have gray finger nail polish, and walked them into her suite. She melted against his side as they made it to the floor-to-ceiling window. The lights below flashed in a blur, reminding him he wasn't sober. But hell if Jared's conversation hadn't cleared his thoughts. "You know what I like?"