Page 108 of The Jaded Notes

I kiss her. It’s not gentle or rough, just enough to silence the question in her eyes. She exhales into me, and the sound wrecks the part of me still clinging to distance.

My fingers are in her hair, tugging her head back, taking her deeper as the lantern light burns behind my eyes.

She breaks first, gasping. “I don’t want to think tonight.”

“Good.” My thumb drags over her mouth, savoring the swollen curve of her lips. “Because I’m not going to let you.”

We stumble back toward the villa tucked into the vineyard. The staff is gone. I made sure of it. No one interrupts me here.

The heavy oak door shuts behind us, echoing like a vow. Then it’s just us, shadows in the night, and passionate hunger.

She backs against the wall with her skirt flowing. Her breathing is ragged.

My hands slide up her thighs, dragging the material with them. Her nails bite my shoulders as if she needs proof I’m real, as if she’s terrified I’ll vanish if she stops holding on.

“Jax…” Her voice trembles.

“Shhh.” My mouth trails down her throat, teeth grazing her pulse point. “Let me have you the way I want.”

Her body arches, and the moan that leaves her lips is nothing short of ruin. I lift her easily. Her legs wrap around me as her back hits the plaster. I press deeper into her heat.

There’s no music now, only the rhythm of her pulse, the creak of the old villa wall, and the way she whispers my name like it’s both want and need.

She clings to me like she’ll drown if she lets go. My hands anchor her thighs, spreading her tighter around me.

The warmth of her pressing through fabric makes me wonder how long I can hold out before I lose all composure. But this isn’t good enough for her. Not here.

I peel her from me and set her back on her feet even as she wobbles. She glares like I’ve denied her oxygen, with lips swollen and hair a mess of October night and vineyard dust.

“Upstairs.” My voice scrapes lower than the night sky blanketing around us.

Her pupils blow wide and her breath is uneven, but she nods and obeys. It’s that, her trust and her submission that undoes me more than her touch ever could.

I take her hand, guide her through the villa, and up the curved staircase to the grand suite.

My estate has never looked like this, lamplights low, curtains wisping in the breeze, and a bed turned into something feral just by the way she steps into the room.

She walks backward until her legs hit the edge of the mattress. Her gaze never leaves mine.

“Jax…” Her voice, a plea wrapped in provocation.

“Strip for me.” I unbutton my shirt and get undressed, never breaking her stare.

She hesitates only a second, then does what I ask. She slides the straps of her dress down her shoulders, and it whispers over her skin until it pools at her feet.

She stands in lace with bare legs, hair wild, and her body shivering as if the night air itself is caressing her.

“Good girl.” I step closer. My knuckles graze her jaw. “Now lie back.”

She does. She sinks into the sheets, arms stretching above her head and surrendering in a way that feels less like weakness and more like defiance of every wall I’ve built.

I crawl over her, pinning her wrists to the mattress, letting my weight settle so she feels every inch of my restraint pressing down. My mouth finds hers, hungry and claiming. It’s a kiss that tastes of wine and fear, and every truth I shouldn’t speak.

Her back arches, and she rubs against me. I break away, my lips dragging down her throat, catching on her pulse point, biting just enough to make her gasp.

“Tonight you don’t think,” I whisper into her ear. “You feel. That’s all.”

Her breath shudders, and her body melts beneath me. “Yes, sir.”