Most Wanted - A Fantasy Romance Novel (The Shadow Blade Series) (13 page)

‘So,’ Ariel
purred as she pulled up beside Jax’s bike. They were outside her apartment building
and the sun was just starting to rise. The dealers on the corner were starting
to make their way home and at this hour the streets were deserted. It was that
magical witching hour that Ariel loved best. The time between the demons and
darkness-lovers going to bed and the day dwellers, those who lived for light,
waking. Ariel wondered if for the first time in a decade she might become one
who lived for the light. Once she’d found Rikon and avenged Saul then perhaps
she’d give it a go. She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed a day
in the sun.

She turned to
look at Jax who was sitting in the front seat of the van, staring at the door
to her apartment building and frowning.

He turned slowly
to look at her. ‘So…’ he said.

Ariel’s’ stomach
folded over as she took him in, the roughness of his stubble, his blood soaked
T-shirt from where he’d held the girl in his arms, the dark shadows beneath his
eyes. She didn’t miss the look of hunger in his eyes, that low level burn that
made those damn butterflies flutter in her chest. She could feel the magnetic
draw of his body, the way her blood seemed to electrify under his watchful
gaze.

She suddenly
leaned forward. ‘Take me back to yours,’ she whispered, brushing her lips
against his.

She closed her
eyes, inhaling deeply, trying to fix the scent of him in her memory, the feel
of his lips beneath hers. His arms wrapped instantly around her, one hand
cupping her cheek. He was so tender with her. He treated her as though she were
breakable and Ariel loved the contrast of the tenderness, his gentleness,
combined with the roughness of his other hand, which was gripping her tightly
and possessively around the waist, as though scared she was about to fade.

Ariel tipped
back her head and let the kiss deepen. Unlike all their previous kisses this
one was gentle, slow, seductive, their mouths gradually opening, their tongues
testing, teasing, tasting. The heat built slowly, a gentle buzz that warmed
Ariel’s body. She stroked his jaw, laid her hands on his solid shoulders,
feeling the quiet strength in his body and feeling suddenly overcome with a
desire to know Jax Sayer intimately in every way, to explore him slowly and
carefully, to understand everything there was to know about him.

But she couldn’t.
The voice in her head was harsh and angry when it piped up, reminding her she
had unfinished business to attend to. But didn’t she deserve some peace? Some
happiness? After everything she had been through? She sighed and pushed Jax
gently away, disentangling herself and running a hand through her disheveled
hair.

‘Let’s go,’ she
said, without looking at him. It was his eyes, she thought to herself. They
were just too soulful by half, too searching. If she let herself look into them
for too long she would be damned….

They took off on
his bike, Ariel wrapping her arms around his waist and knotting her hands tight
against his stomach. She rested her cheek against his shoulder and Jax felt her
body soften and lean into his. He felt not so much desire as he drove them
through the dawn towards his house, but rather a sense of rightness and
purpose, like the dawn signaled the start of not just a new day, but a new life
with possibility in it. And hope. For a long time he’d lived without hope.

With the warmth of
her body pressed to his Jax felt like he could drive forever, could speed past
his house and keep heading north, along the coast. Perhaps they could keep
driving until they found somewhere away from the darkness that saturated this
city, away from the demons and the drug dealers and the death, away from this
life that held them captive. Ariel had money now. He knew she would have been
too proud to accept any of his, but that gave her freedom and choice.

But even as he
thought it he knew he couldn’t just abandon his post, his sector. There weren’t
enough Blades to take over if he left. They needed to recruit and train more
before he could even think about leaving for longer than a few days at most.

He shook the
thought aside and decided to focus only on every moment as it arose, to stay in
the present, enjoying the feeling of Ariel holding onto him, sheltering behind
him, and feeling the buzz of anticipation spreading throughout his body at what
lay ahead.

By the time Jax
pulled up in front of his house the sun was stroking its fingers across the
city’s rooftops, the smog was rising like smoke, and the air was warm as a
bath. Without a word Jax led Ariel inside. Tossing his keys and his blade onto
a side table he turned to her and pulled her into his arms. He heard her sigh,
her arms looping around his neck, drawing him nearer.

He leant down
and kissed her, feasting on her lips and, though he’d intended to keep things
at a slow pace, to be gentle and savor every moment, desire soon got the better
of him.

Jax scooped her
up easily and Ariel wrapped her legs around his waist. Cupping her ass he
kissed her, his tongue teasing hers, probing, demanding, giving her no
reprieve, not even to come up for air.

As her head swirled
and thoughts scattered Ariel fought to keep control of the situation. This time
she was determined Jax wasn’t going to get the upper hand. He was going to be
hers completely. When he came, it would be when she let him.

She sucked on
his bottom lip then ran her tongue up his neck towards his ear. His arms
tightened around her, forcing her breasts against his chest. Her nipples were
already hard and when Jax ran his hand over them through the fabric of her
sweater Ariel arched her back and threw back her neck. His touch was electric.
Jax kissed up her throat, his hand holding her jaw firmly in place, and at the
touch of his lips, the scrape of his stubble against her cheek, her breath
started to come in short, sharp gasps. Shit, she needed to rein it in before
she ended up surrendering to him again. If this was the last time she ever
slept with Jax Sayer she wanted it to be on her terms.

‘I’m going to
take you upstairs,’ he suddenly whispered in her ear, driving all thoughts of
regaining control completely out of her mind. ‘And then I’m going to strip you
naked,’ he murmured, ‘and I’m going to fuck you so hard. Do you hear?’

Anger surged
thick and fast in her veins but his voice, the huskiness of it in her ear, the
firmness of his unrelenting grip on her, and the feeling of his cock pressing
against her stomach, all worked to evaporate every feeling and every thought
except for desire. It descended like red veil, sending blood coursing through
Ariel’s veins, rushing to her core, swelling her lips and her clit in hungry anticipation.

Jax carried
Ariel up the stairs. Her legs were knotted around his waist, her arms flung
around his neck and her breasts were pressing against his lips. Kicking open
the door to his bedroom Jax threw her down onto the bed. He saw her eyes fly
open in surprise, the flash of desire mingled with excitement lighting her eyes
brilliantly, but then he saw her start to struggle to sitting. Before she
could, Jax moved, easing himself down on top of her, trapping her delicious body
with the full weight of his chest. He threw his leg over her thighs and pinned
her arms at her sides. Her breasts rose and fell in time with her breathing.

She was already
panting, her lips softly parted. Jax paused, letting his gaze fall the length
of her, marveling at her beauty, and at the desire he seemed to be able to
evoke in her. She turned her head ever so slightly away, avoiding his gaze as
though shy, and Jax slid his hand between her legs. Even through the denim of
her jeans he felt her quiver at his touch and she let out a gentle moan, her
teeth biting on her full bottom lip, holding herself back. His cock jolted in
response, as though it had its own mind and was as desperate as he was to part
her soft lips and bury itself in the warm wetness of her shaft.

Jax took a long,
slow breath in. He intended to be patient this time, take his fill of her; make
her cry his name this time, not just beg for him.

‘First, I’m
going to make you come with my hands,’ he whispered in her ear, leaning over
her to nuzzle her jaw and her ear.

She made a
whimpering sound in response that sent blood coursing into his already swelling
cock. His hand cupped her sex, feeling the scorching heat of her through her
jeans. ‘Then,’ he continued, his lips grazing her ear, ‘I’m going to make you
come with my tongue.’ Ariel whimpered again, pushing her breasts up to rub
against his chest. Jax brushed her hair aside and took her earlobe between his
teeth. Ariel gasped beneath him. ‘And then,’ he whispered, his throat hoarse
with desire, ‘when you don’t even have the words left to beg me to, I’m finally
going to make you come one more time with my cock.’

Even as she
whimpered in response and her traitorous body responded to his words Ariel felt
rage engulf her.
 
How could he have
this much control over her still? How had this happened? How could just the
feel of his weight pressing her down and his husky, rough voice in her ear
bring her this close to surrender?

As much as she
didn’t want to cede control to Jax, as much as she wanted to be the one that
made him come a thousand times with her tongue and her lips and her hands and
her pussy, she didn’t know if she had it in her to fight against him. The ache
inside her was starting to grow, to become all-consuming.

She heard
herself start to groan as his hand swept the sweet spot between her legs. He
stopped abruptly, just as she was drawing in a juddering breath and slid his
hand beneath her sweater, gently stroking his palm across the flat of her
stomach.

‘You feel so
good,’ he murmured. ‘I want to see you naked.’

His fingers
stroked her nipples through her bra, teasing, tweaking, pulling at just the
right level to cause pleasure and pain in equal measure. Without warning he
eased himself off her and she almost let out a cry, her hands reaching for him,
longing to feel his weight crushing her again.

He tugged her by
her hand to a sitting position though, and in a desperate hunger Ariel started
tearing at his shirt, frantic to see his body, to feel his skin beneath her
fingertips, to trace his scars and lay the flat of her hand over his heart and
feel it thundering as fast as her own. When Jax was bare chested, Ariel sat
back on her haunches and feasted on the sight of him, at the filigree of scars
and the smooth tan skin beneath. Slowly she started to run her hands over his
taut pecs and the marble-hard planes of his stomach, savoring the curve of his
shoulders and the quiet strength in his body.

Jax drew in a
breath and held it, letting her fingers trace his scars, then suddenly he
gripped hold of the bottom of her sweater and tore it off over her head. Next
came her bra. He unclasped it with one hand and tossed it to one side, freeing
her breasts. With a guttural sound, he grasped for her breasts, squeezing them
roughly. Ariel gasped a little at the pain, then even more at the pleasure as
he pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefingers and twisted it,
brushing the tip with his tongue.

Ariel pressed
backwards, arching her back. Her clit, pressing against the seam of her jeans,
was pulsing in time with each circle he made of her nipple. Her breath was
coming in little pants and as he lay her down and started to flick his tongue
along her ribs and across her stomach she could feel her head start to spin
from lack of oxygen. Slowly he picked her up and laid her back on the bed, then
peeled off her jeans and her underwear. Ariel was holding her breath with
anticipation, gripping the sheets as she tried not to lose herself in the
pleasure of just being watched. Jax sat back once she was naked and let his
gaze wander over her body, as though laying the most tender of caresses on her
bare skin. He didn’t even need to touch her. Ariel’s body responded
instinctively to his gaze, shivering and arching and gushing with wetness as
she anticipated him filling her.

Jax gently
forced apart her legs and kneeled between her thighs. He was still wearing his
jeans and Ariel could see the bulge of his erection straining against his fly.
She reached for him, wanting to feel how hard he was, wanting to free him and
take him in her hand, but he knocked her fingers away and pushed her forcefully
back to the bed. His eyes were burning, but his lips were turned up in a soft
smile.

With one hand
Jax softly parted her lips and with the other he started to gently stroke
around her budding clit, not touching it but playing with her, teasing her,
making her moan and squirm and suck in sharp breaths with every sweep his
finger made around her clitoris. Finally, when she thought she might combust,
he thrust a finger inside her and at the same time stroked her clit. Ariel
bucked instantly against his hand, wanting to flatten herself against his whole
palm.

Fuck. He pushed
two fingers inside her next and she opened and surrendered, letting him take
his fill, rolling her head back as his fingers pressed and stroked and thrust
and slid in and out of her, while his thumb gently circled her clitoris.
 
She ached for his cock but as her orgasm
started to build Ariel decided that she would let Jax do as he wanted. She
would let him make her come with his hand, let him make her come with this
tongue, but she vowed, she would be the one that decided when he could come
inside her.

Jax pushed three
fingers inside her, feeling her silken wetness, the smooth edges of her shaft
that eased open, allowing him in further to explore, and then squeezed shut,
clenching him tight as though not wanting him to pull out. But he did. He
wanted to tease her and he loved the feeling of her hips pressing towards him,
wanting more, wanting
him,
daring him
to plunge back inside her. His cock was pressing so hard against his jeans he
had to pause to adjust it.