We stopped in front of his bike. He slipped his shirt back on and pulled out my helmet. He handed it to me and I gripped it in my hands, but made no move to put it on.

“Was all that back there really necessary?” I asked quietly.

“As opposed to what?”

“We could have walked away. Now everyone knows there’s a Scorpion here –”

“I’m not running away from the Scorpions if that’s what you’re thinking,” Jaxon interrupted, setting his helmet over his head. “They know my destination. They’re covering for me. Besides, we’re going to be taking over this place soon. That display was essential. We do shit like that before a take-over.”

“I just thought we were opting for inconspicuousness.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“And what if it gets back to the Jackals at some point?”

“We’re not going to be here when the Jackals eventually find out,” he snapped. His blue eyes regarded me coolly. Anything to do with the Jackals and he was pissed as hell.

“How do you know that for sure?”

“Because I know what I’m doing.”

“But what if they find out from the Sco–”

“They won’t find out!” he interrupted impatiently.

People looked over at us as they walked by. I glared at Jaxon, wanting desperately to rip that helmet off of his head and shove it someplace tight and dark.

“But what if they do?!” I pressed.

“Then I guess you have some explaining to do to your guy, huh?!”

My guy? Ugh. Ugh. Ugh!

“That was a low blow,” I icily said.

“I don’t care.”

“You should!”

He sighed, exasperated by me already. “Fine, Sara. Just put your damn helmet on before we cause a scene.”

I stared daggers – no, fuck that, machetes! – into his face before placing the helmet over my head. He climbed on the bike and I followed.

“Now make sure you lean with me–”

“You’ve made that clear already, I know–”

“Because this morning you weren’t doing it right–”

“I know, Jax–”

“And the last thing I want is an accident because you didn’t know how to –”

“I know how to ride on the back of a motorcycle!” I interrupted in frustration. “I’ve done it for months now. I know what to do.”

He went quiet. I could see through the visor his back stiffen. Ah, yes, more anger. He was probably mentally picturing me on the back of Remy’s bike now. Great. I reluctantly put my arms around him. It was like hugging a rock, but even rocks showed more affection than this guy.

God, we were dysfunctional.

Twenty One

Though it felt as though I was hugging a rigid corpse on our way back to the cabin, I melted into him, forgetting the mini-spat back in town. Once he stopped the bike, I stepped off and took my helmet off. Anger still rolling off of him, he took it and stuffed it away in the top box and went to make his way up the porch.

“Are you going to sleep with me tonight?” I asked, trying to break the ice.

All that alpha shit back at the bar about me being his woman had felt good. Reflecting on it all the way home, I wanted his words to echo his actions. We had to mend whatever was making him ice cold around me. Now.

“No,” he answered.

“Why?”

He paused on the first step and then turned around. “I’m struggling with you, Sara.”

Struggling?  Heart tight in my chest, I whispered, “What have I done?”

I was counting on the light of the stars tonight; otherwise his face would have been completely concealed in the darkness. Branches danced and leaves swayed, but it was eerily silent as death around us.

“You and him.” The words were like venom out of his mouth.

I stilled, unable to meet his eye. “It’s not the way you think–”

“I saw the hesitation when I asked you to come with me. You didn’t even know what you wanted. You probably don’t right now.”

“Of course I do!”

“I don’t believe you,” he huffed. “Back at that house, you swore yourself to me–”

“You broke it off!”

“And for months I’ve had to listen in on them telling me how you’re with the one man that ruined me!” He took a few steps closer to me. “Did he tell you how he put me in jail?”

“Yes,” I answered.

His face ignited in surprise, and then full blown fury. “Was this before or after you fucked him?”

“I didn’t–”

“When exactly did you even find out?” Christ, he was losing it.

“Four days ago,” I calmly answered.

If I thought that might make him feel better, I was wrong. He still looked like a ticking time bomb, and what I would say next would surely set him off.

“He said he did it because I’d disappeared and he thought you had something to do with it. He regrets it and he apologized.”

He laughed bitterly and then nodded scornfully. “Is that right? He apologized? Well, isn’t that fucking fantastic? I’ll just forget the shit I did inside those walls because Remy, the fucking apologetic saint, regrets what he did! I’m sure that made you feel nice and good inside, right?”

“No.” I sighed and rubbed my eyes, exasperated by this already. “I saw you with that girl at the bar and I thought you’d moved on. At that point, Remy hadn’t pushed me into anything. You make him out to be a monster, and maybe he is, but I’ve seen other sides to him. He did bad things, I know. What he did was horrible and wrong and I don’t forgive him for it. He was obsessed with this idea of me being his everything–”

“He trapped you inside a fucking room for four weeks! He would have done it for longer, too. He followed you around your entire life! Obsessed doesn’t even skim the surface of what he really is. There’s no redeeming him, Sara. Stop being so delusional. Your love for him is making me sick.”

“And so what if I love him?” I retorted, throwing my arms up in the air. “I called you and begged for you to save me from them the second I got your message and you left me high and dry!”

Veins popping out he screamed, “You sold me out!”