I let her undress me.When she got my shirt off, she traced the roadmap of scars and tattoos across my torso.I’d never felt self-conscious about my scars with her.She treated them like badges of survival, not marks of shame.
I stepped out of my jeans once she’d unfastened them and shoved them down my hips, along with my boxer briefs.I adjusted the water temperature and we stepped into the shower together, the hot water cascading over our bodies.I backed her against the tile wall, the contrast of the cool surface against her back making her gasp.My mouth found hers, hungry and desperate, and she tangled her fingers in my wet hair, pulling me closer.
“I need you,” I growled against her neck, my hands sliding down to lift her, positioning her against the wall.
“Do it,” she replied, her legs wrapping around my waist.
I pressed into her with a single thrust, swallowing her cry with my mouth.The water beat down on my back as I claimed her, each movement a declaration.Mine.I’d protect her to the fucking death.I gripped her hips hard enough to leave marks, wanting her to feel me tomorrow, wanting a physical reminder of this moment when the world narrowed to just us.
Ada clung to me, her nails digging into my shoulders, leaving her own marks.We moved together in a hard, driving rhythm filled with raw, primal need.Her head fell back against the tile, exposing the long line of her throat to my mouth.I marked her there too, teeth and tongue leaving evidence of my claim.
“Jag,” she gasped, her body tightening around me.“Look at me.Look at me when you come.”
I raised my head, meeting her eyes as she came apart in my arms.The vulnerability in her gaze, the trust, the absolute surrender, completely undid me.I followed her over the edge, burying my face in her neck to muffle the sounds that tore from my throat.
For long moments we stayed locked together, the water gradually cooling around us.I felt her heart hammering against my chest, working just as hard as my own frantic pulse.Slowly, carefully, I lowered her until her feet touched the floor, keeping my arms around her to steady her shaking legs.
I reached behind us to turn off the water, then grabbed a towel from the rack.I dried her first, tenderly wiping away water droplets from her skin, my touch gentle now where it had been demanding moments before.She returned the favor, her movements equally careful.
When we were dry, I took her face between my hands, studying her.“I’ve never had anything worth dying for before,” I admitted, my voice rough.“Never had anything I was truly afraid to lose.”
Ada covered my hands with hers.“That’s what love is, Jag.It’s terrifying.”Love.The word hung between us, neither confirmation nor denial.Just a truth we were both circling.
“Yeah,” I replied, pressing my forehead to hers.“Fuckin’ terrifying.”
We dressed in comfortable silence, moving around each other with practiced ease.As I pulled on a fresh shirt, I caught Ada watching me, her expression thoughtful.
“What?”I asked.
“We’re going to win this,” she said with quiet certainty.“Not just survive.Win.”
I crossed to her, pulling her against me one more time.“Damn right we are.”I kissed the top of her head, breathing in the clean scent of her damp hair.“Because I’m not giving you up.Not to Rat Man.Not to anyone.”
Her arms tightened around my waist.“Good.Because I’m not giving you up either.And I’m not going anywhere.”
As we held each other in the quiet of our room, I made a silent promise to both of us.Whatever came next, whatever Rat Man threw at us, I would be ready.And I would burn down the world before I let anyone take her from me.
Chapter Ten
Jag
I slipped out of bed before dawn as carefully as I could so I didn’t wake Ada.Her breathing remained deep and even as I eased away from her warmth, the sheets whispering softly against my skin.The floor was cold beneath my bare feet, a sharp contrast to the heat I’d just abandoned.I pulled on jeans and a T-shirt in the darkness, my gaze never leaving her sleeping form, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest.Even in sleep she looked strong.Fearless.Everything I never knew I needed until she crashed into my life.
Grabbing my cut from the chair, I shrugged it on and made my way outside the apartment.
The hallway was quiet, the compound still drowsy in these early hours.Outside the converted warehouse, the air hung heavy with fog.A few brothers were already up, circling the perimeter on patrol.They nodded at me as I passed, their faces grim and determined.No one was taking any chances.
I found Knuckles in the security office, hunched over a computer with Knight beside him.Surveillance images covered the monitors along the wall.Neither man looked like they’d slept.
“Anything?”I asked, keeping my voice low despite the empty room.
Knuckles glanced up, dark circles under his eyes making him look older than his years.“Nothing concrete.Knight’s analyzing camera footage from the docks, trying to narrow down where the bastard came from.”
Knight didn’t look up from his screen, fingers flying over his keyboard.“Fucker’s good at staying in the shadows, but he’s not invisible.I’ve got a couple of likely spots, just need to confirm.”
I nodded, shifting my weight from foot to foot.Waiting had never been my strong suit, but the whole of Kiss of Death had mobilized to defend us while I’d been struggling to process my fucking feelings.It felt wrong not to be helping more than I had.
“Ada’s helping with the Haven move today,” I said, more to myself than them.“I can take her and be the extra set of eyes, if Tiny doesn’t mind, that is.”
