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Thank God, Jax takes over. My brain is screaming at me not to trust him, but I'm so paralyzed that I don't know what else to do. He puts a hand on my arm and hauls me along down the hall. Before I know it, we're in a bedroom I've never seen before. In my haze, I vaguely recall that it used to be one of Cayden's brothers'. It's big enough to have an attached bathroom, in any case, and that's most of what matters.

Jax moves with such authority, with a kind but firm gentleness that I never would have expected from him. Without making a single asshole comment or giving me any looks that make me want to die inside, he hustles me into the en suite. There, he sits me on the counter, and God, this is so embarrassing. He parts my legs, though, and I'm wet with him. With his claim. But he doesn't make any bullshit comments. Instead, he grabs a washcloth and soaks it in warm water inthe sink. Dropping to his knees, he spreads my legs farther. He runs the cloth over me, cleaning the semen and my own juices from my legs. When he reaches my pussy, he's achingly delicate, and it's a good thing, too. I'm raw from so much sex after years without. But his touch is so tender that it doesn't hurt. If anything, it makes low warmth gather there.

Only, for the first time since I arrived, I have the presence of mind to think about something other than sex.

I reach out, stilling him. I clutch his wrist too hard, but I don't know how to let go.

I don't know why this is happening.

"But you don't even like me," I choke out.

And it's like the words spill from me. I sure as hell didn't mean to say them. I definitely didn't mean to speak in a voice that small. That weak.

Jax huffs out a low, dark laugh. His head hangs low for a moment. Then, with what seems like great effort, he lifts it, raising his gaze to connect with mine. "I like you way, way more than I should."

"What?"

My head spins. That…isn't possible. I don't remember everything from my childhood on Lonely Peak, but a few things are clear. Cayden Tucker was kind and sweet, and Jax Bane was an asshole who hated me and made fun of me and wanted absolutely nothing to do with me.

As if he's remembering the same conflict-filled history that I am, Jax sighs heavily. He takes one more gentle pass with the cloth over my sex, then tosses the washcloth into a hamper and pats my legs, encouraging me to close them.

"Come on."

His voice holds none of the command of a few minutes earlier, when he was coaxing me through a moment of crisis, though it's still firm. Unsure what else to do, I hop down off thecounter. He hands me the pants I was wearing earlier, and I pull them on, then follow him into the main part of what must be his bedroom.

Much like Cayden's, the room is incredibly masculine. But unlike the blend of old and new pieces that gave Cayden's space a cozy, traditional feel, Jayden's decorated in only the most modern of styles. His bed is a platform made of bleached birch. He has a bookcase and desk to match, all the accents in glass and chrome, and it looks like it belongs in another house entirely.

Suddenly, everything I thought I knew about this mountain man has been turned on its edge. He's been gruff and cruel, secluded, but he's also kind. He has style.

And he likes me.

That's the part I really can't get my head around.

"Sit," Jax invites.

He's stands beside a window. Pale gray shades have been raised, leaving plenty of glass available to view the mountain around us, and he keeps his gaze trained squarely there, at the world beyond this room as I move to sit on the edge of his bed.

When he doesn't speak, I finally find my voice. "I am very, very confused."

"Yeah, I got that."

And it's a glimmer of the Jax I've known since I was a kid, just tempered by the newer, gentler one that's revealed himself this morning.

"Care to help clear things up?"

"Not really, but I guess I have to." He turns, then, facing me partially. "Did you know that Cayden and I have been best friends since we were four?"

I nod.

"You don't betray a guy like that, okay?"

"Okaaay…"

"So when he confessed to me when we were twelve that he had a massive crush on you, what the hell was I supposed to do?"

Excuse me? "You've liked me since we weretwelve?"

"Don't say it so loud, Jeez. I have reputation to maintain."