Page 86 of Switch

I blink up at him, feeling the weight of everything between us pressing in. “I don’t know what to say.”

He exhales sharply, his forehead nearly dropping to mine before he catches himself. “Say you’ll let me fix this.”

My chest tightens. “Jax…”

“Baby,” he murmurs, his fingers flexing on my waist, like he’s trying to ground himself in me. “I know I fucked up. I know I hurt you. But I can’t lose you over this.I won’t.”

I close my eyes for a second, trying to steady myself, but all I can feel ishim—his warmth, his presence, the way he’s holding me like I might slip right through his fingers.

I shake my head slightly. “It’s not that easy.”

“I know,” he says immediately. “I know it’s not. And I’m not asking for easy. I’m asking for a chance.One chanceto make this right.”

I open my eyes, my throat tight. “You don’t get to just say all the right things and expect me to forget how much it hurt when you shut me out.”

His jaw tics, his hands gripping me tighter. “I don’twantyou to forget. I want you tobelieveme when I say it won’t happen again.”

I search his face, looking for doubt, for hesitation—foranythingthat tells me he’s just saying what I want to hear. But there’s nothing. Just raw, unfilteredJax.

My brain is screaming at me to be careful, to guard myself, to not fall right back into this just because he showed up tonight saying all the things I’ve been desperate to hear.

But my heart? My heart is already leaning in.

"Okay," I say softly.

I can't stop the word from slipping out. My brain is screaming at me to hold back, to make himworkfor this, to make sure I don’t just fall into him like I always do.

But my stupid heart?

My traitorous body?

They’ve already made the decision for me.

Jax watches me, his expression shifting, relief flashing through his eyes before something darker takes over. He moves fast, his hands sliding up, cupping my face, his thumbs brushing against my jaw.

Then he kisses me.

Soft at first, like he’s making sure I won’t pull away.

Like he’s still afraid I might change my mind.

But I don’t.

And once he realizes that, everything changes.

A growl rumbles low in his chest as his grip tightens, his lips pressing harder, more desperate. His hands slide down my back, dragging me flush against him, and the way his body fits against mine—solid,hot—has my head spinning.

I clutch his cut, curling my fingers into the leather, yanking him closer, and just like that, we’re moving. I don’t know when we start walking, when he maneuvers us across the room, but suddenly, my back is against a door. He fumbles with the handle, pushing us inside, his lips never leaving mine.

Then I’m on a desk. He lifts me like I weigh nothing, setting me down and wedging himself between my legs. I wrap them around his hips, tilting my head back as he trails kisses down my throat.

"Fuck, baby," he mutters against my skin. "Missed this. Missedyou."

I don’t answer because I can’t. My hands are already on his belt buckle, fingers working at it, when—A throat clears from the doorway.

Jax spins fast, shielding me, his stance going fromready to ruin metoready to kill someonein half a second.

“Bella, good to see you, girl.”

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