Page 20 of Jax
“Fuck you,” she snapped, unthinking.
I smiled. “Can’t. House rules.”
She made a strangled sound, part growl, part gasp, like her body couldn’t decide which impulse to follow. And that was when I knew. I’d hit something volatile. Not fear, or fury. Something electric. Unnamed. Alive beneath her skin, but not yet part of her vocabulary.
I set her down slowly, my arm steady at her waist until her feet found dirt. But she didn’t pull away. Didn’t shove me off or restart the fight. She just stayed there, breath ragged, spine locked, chest rising too fast for calm but not fast enough for panic. Like her system hadn’t decided whether to bolt or lean in.
I didn’t move either. Because she felt it. Same as I did.
The current stretched between us—coiled, taut, and undeniable. Pressure that doesn’t build by accident. That waits for one misstep. One breath too close.
Her breath hitched again, sharper now. And I knew with a clarity I didn’t want: this wasn’t about freedom anymore. It was about the line she hadn’t meant to cross. And the part of me that didn’t want to stop her.
I leaned in. Just enough for my voice to slip into the silence she hadn’t tamed. Just enough to let it land.
“Next time you want to go for a walk,” I murmured, heat in my throat, “you ask.”
Her chin lifted like she might spit another insult, maybe swing again just to prove she could. “I won’t.”
My voice dropped—low, steady, and edged with something I hadn’t meant to let out. “Then next time, there’ll be consequences.”
She didn’t answer. Not with words. Just narrowed eyes, a clenched jaw, and breath stuttering in that small, involuntary way that gave her away. And when I let go—slow, deliberate—she stumbled like she didn’t know what to do without my hands on her. I didn’t smirk. What I gave her was worse. A look that saidI see you. The real you. Sharp, dangerous, desperate beneath all that rage.
Then I turned. No order. No invitation. She followed.
Of course she did.
I heard her behind me, gravel crunching beneath stockinged feet, breath uneven, footsteps louder than necessary. She wasn’t cooperating. She was protesting. Burning with it. As if the heat in her glare could scorch through my spine.
I didn’t turn; let her stew in it for a bit. Let her be the one to chase me, for a change. Let her decide whether she wanted to run again, or admit that just a little bit of her had enjoyed being caught. Her physical reaction to me had been as undeniable as it had been surprising.
But I was barely ten paces from the house when it shifted. A breath sucked through teeth. A muttered curse. Then nothing.
No steps behind me.
I turned.
And there she was, half in shadow, one hand planted on her hip, the other clenched like it was the only thing stopping her from throwing something at my head. I couldn’t hold back the small smile that crossed my lips. Sometimes my face just did things without permission.
“You think this is funny?” she snapped, voice low and dangerous. “You think this is some game?”
I tilted my head. “You’re the one playing it, Stella. I’m the guy who is going to keep score.”
She moved toward me, quick and reckless. Not quite a charge, but enough to make my pulse tick up a notch. I let herget close. Close enough to smell the cedar still clinging to her hoodie. Close enough to see the flecks of sweat at her hairline, and the fire behind her eyes that hadn’t dimmed since she tried to bolt.
“You don’t know anything about me,” she hissed.
“No,” I said evenly. “But I know how people move when they’re scared.”
Her jaw locked. A muscle in her cheek jumped. “I’m not scared of you.”
“Sure,” I murmured. “But maybe you should be.”
The words hit like a slap, and for a second, I thought she’d swing at me. I almost hoped she would. There was something electric in the way she vibrated with rage, as if touching her too long might leave scorch marks. Her breath came in quick little bursts, her chest rising and falling like she’d been sprinting, even though we’d stopped moving.
“God, you’re such an arrogant?—”
“Careful,” I cut in, voice smooth as silk over a blade. “That’s twice tonight you’ve tried to bite. People might start thinking you want to be tamed.”
