Page 184 of The Vigilante's Lover

His eyes fix on me, drinking in my face, my hair, and roving down my body. I see where he lingers and my blood starts to beat, heating up all the places his glance touches.

He reaches out and slowly, gently, traces a finger along the furry edge of my collar, then up my jaw and across my cheek. “I’m so relieved to see you,” he says.

“Me too,” I say and close my eyes. He’s acting so different from before. But this tender gaze, this slow touch, it’s driving me crazier than his passionate wildness.

“Come here,” he says, and his arms come around me, dragging me tight against him.

I can barely breathe, so many emotions are competing for attention. Need. Relief. Joy. Excitement. Confusion.

I want to connect with him. I lift my face, expecting the crushing torment of his blazing kiss.

But I get gentle instead. His mouth is tender, soft nibbles that caress my mouth. This glow starts in my belly, something so different from what I felt before. Instead of the passionate flare, it’s a feeling of unfurling, like a flower opening. It’s intense and full of longing.

Jax deepens the kiss then, parting my lips. His hands are everywhere, my waist, my back, my hips, like he needs to memorize my shape. Like he can’t believe it’s really me.

I turn in to him. The cardigan is soft and smells like fresh laundry, air-dried in a backyard. I suddenly understand the need to touch him, to make sure he’s real. It’s like we’re in some other world, and we’re not sure what senses to trust.

I run my hands along the soft sweater, feeling his biceps as they expand into his shoulders. I begin to unbutton the front, wanting more of him, to feel every muscle.

His belly is hot and flat and firm. I run my hands up his smoothchest. I can feel his every inhale.

Jax slides his hands under my bottom and lifts me, pulling me in front of him. My knees go on either side of his thighs and I’m spread wide. His pajama pants hide nothing, and I can feel how erect he is. I reach down and pull him free, rock hard in my hand.

“Jax,” I whisper, feeling heat rush down below. I need him terribly. No one can see through Vigilante windows. Colette probably put the wall up just for this.

I slide down between his knees and take him in my mouth. His pelvis rises up. I take in all I can, reveling in his hot flesh, slightly salty.

His hands grasp my head. I move, tentatively, out to the tip and down again. I want to do all the things with Jax. Everything there is to do. In cars. In hotels. In hayfields.

He lifts me up and jerks open the button to my black leather pants. In an instant, he has pushed them down. I kick off my boots so I can be free of the restraints of clothes.

He unzips the front of my jacket and slides it off my shoulders. The gray turtleneck blinds me for a moment as he lifts it past my face. Then the cool air hits my shoulders, and it’s away, tossed against the window.

I jerk the cardigan away from his arms and peel it down his back. For a moment, he’s caught in the sleeves, and I like it, planting a hot kiss on his mouth.

Then his arms are free and he’s unfastened my bra, dragging it off me.

He lifts me against him, his lips encircling a breast. His breath is like fire against the tender nipple. One of his hands reaches between my legs, pushing aside the panties as he presses a finger up inside me.

I moan, grinding against him. This has been the longest, most terrible day, but here we are, together, naked skin to naked skin.

His rhythmic strokes become more insistent, more powerful. I’m spiraling up, needing him, wanting to let go of my control. I want to belost, just for a moment, and let Jax take over my body.

I lift my knee and push the leg of the panties down and over my ankle so I can rock against him freely. I feel his erection against my thigh and don’t want to wait for it, but slide down on it. Jax shifts his fingers to massage me as I take him all the way in. I’m on fire, wanting it fast and hot and hard.

Jax squeezes one hip while his hand continues its massage. I lift over him, then slam down, letting him rip through me.

I want to scream, but spare Colette of that and bury my face in his damp hair. Jax works me harder, holding me tight, and lets me pound against him at my own pace.

I’m not going to have to wait for the release I need. Jax’s fingers dance along my tender swollen nub, and the fiery thrust of my body over his makes my muscles clench around him. I can’t keep quiet then, and cry out, the shudders of my climax starting to ripple out.

I hear Jax groan and feel the hot flow of him inside me. Reality splinters, as all I can feel is the powerful contractions of the orgasm and the tightness of his hand on my hip.

My hands grip his shoulders, the only tether I have as everything else is lost. Jax’s arms come around me, clasping me against his hard chest. I can’t quite stop, still lifting and dropping down, squeezing against every last rhythmic pulse. I don’t want it to end. I want to stay here, locked in this private space, the trees flying by, the world just a hurtling blur of color.

My Jax is back, strong arms pinning me to him. I can barely breathe, the world settling in again. My skin is damp and sizzles with his closeness.

“I’ve got you,” he says against my neck.