Page 11 of Maddog

Part of the reason she’d caught my interest was because, when she first came to Black Reign, she’d given Wrath what-for when he and Celeste had been going through a rough patch after they’d first gotten together. The door to Celeste and Holly’s room hadn’t been fully closed, and I heard Holly’s shrill little voice in the hallway. She’d said, “Don’t you hurt my mommy again, or I’ll get Blade to do surgery on you. He said if it hurt when I woke up, it would hurt even worse if he hadn’t put the needle with the medicine in my arm to make me sleep.” I’d only been a teenager, but even I could tell the child meant it, and she was fully confident Blade would do exactly what she described. That show of protection for her mother told me how much she loved Celeste, and how brave she was to stand up to a man as big and scary as Wrath. She’d been all of about four at the time, and already hell on wheels.

I was reluctant to say anything to break her concentration. She’d used to do this for hours. She said it was comforting. I didn’t have to start the conversation, though. Holly did it all on her own, after she’d thought through what she wanted to say. It was her way.

“Turns out, Andrea wasn’t as great a friend as I thought.” She gave a self-deprecating snort but looked anything but amused. She kept twirling on the stool.

“Some people are shit, baby. Don’t know what to tell you there.”

“The whole reason I came on this stupid trip was to protect her.” She stopped spinning, her hands gripping the workstation desk tightly. “I never guessed she might have her own agenda.” She turned her head to meet my gaze then. “Did she know about the attack, Jax?”

“Lookin’ that way, baby. Unless me and Shotgun are both wrong, it looks like she was eyeball deep in this shit. And believe me, it’s shit. I’d say the senator and Chris are both lookin’ at hard prison time, but this is the kind of stuff that gets people killed. Prison or not.”

“Yeah. Not that I expect anyone to go to prison.” She leveled me with a look. Yeah. This girl was definitely aware of how “Uncle El” dealt with problems like the Alistairs.

“You gonna be good with that?”

“With Chris? Yep. I won’t lose a moment’s sleep over that motherfucker.”

“But you’re upset over Andrea.”

“She’s been my friend for a long time. Even though I know in my heart she’s a horrible person, I need to know the why of it. Maybe she was threatened. In which case, it’s still not all right. But I’d rather she threwmeunder the bus than someone who didn’t have people who cared about them and were willing to put a sophisticated GPS tracker in my phone and my watch, then send an expensive paramilitary plane to come get them.”

“Dear Lord.” I sighed, rolling my eyes. “Holly, it is not OK for you to wade into danger. That’s what you have me for. Me and every man in the fuckin’ club. You tell us, and we take the danger.”

“I didn’t know, Jax,” she whispered, turning away from me. “I had a feeling, but that’s it. I couldn’t send in the cavalry based on a feeling. Besides, she’s my best friend. I gave her my misgivings and she didn’t share them. I was trying to protect her without causing problems for her.”

“Hey. Look at me.” She shook her head, but I stepped closer and gripped her chin gently and turned her head toward me. “Did you give me gray hairs with this stunt? Yeah. An abundance of them. I have a feeling it will always be like that with you. You were trying to protect a friend. While I wish you’d’ve gone to me or Wrath, I’m proud of you for protecting those you love. Just promise me that next time you’ll come to me. OK?”

“I suppose I owe you that much. More, even. So, yeah. I’ll make that promise.”

I grinned. “Good.” Then I brushed my lips over hers in a tender caress. It wasn’t an aggressive or intense kiss, but the sensation nearly brought me to my fucking knees. Holly was perfectly still beneath me. She was sitting on a raised stool, but I still towered over her. She didn’t resist, but didn’t participate for several seconds.

As I was about to pull back and reassess the situation, Holly sighed and surrendered to me. Her hands went to my sides, and she pulled me closer to her. I framed her face with my hands and deepened the kiss, lapping at the seam of her lips until she opened her mouth to let me inside.

The taste of her was intoxicating, the scent of her hair, the feeling of her body against mine. My heart pounded in my chest, a quick staccato rhythm. I pulled away reluctantly but needed to make sure she was good with my kiss. I hadn’t exactly asked her, though I knew Holly wasn’t the type of woman to sit passively while a man assaulted her. Not even me. Especially not me.

Her eyes fluttered open, wide with surprise and what I hoped was desire. Her breathing came in shallow pants, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue. The sight of her -- tousled hair, swollen lips, and bright eyes -- nearly undid me. With all the self-control I could muster, I stepped back slightly.

“That was, uh,” she stuttered, searching for the right words. “Unexpected.”

“Is it?” I smiled at her, my hand still caressing her cheek.

A small crease formed on her forehead as she tried to process what had just happened. She narrowed her gaze in concentration. When she looked up, she framed my face in her hands much like I had hers and leaned in to kiss me.

This time, our tongues danced together, exploring each other in a slow, rhythmic waltz. It was a sweet longing and surrender, of promises and a possession so acute, I had to keep myself from growling. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her.

Her hands threaded into my thick hair, gripping the strands in an almost spasming hold. She returned the kiss with equal passion and longing. I could almost believe maybe she felt the same way about me I felt about her. Did she? Could she see me as something other than an annoying, overprotective older brother? Because I stopped seeing her as my little sister years ago.

When I pulled back this time, Holly grunted her displeasure. I looked down into her upturned face to see her flushed cheeks and nearly glazed eyes. She seemed dazed, as if she couldn’t quite believe what had happened but wasn’t willing for it to end. At least, that’s what I hoped she was feeling. God knew I was.

“Jax.” She sighed my name, her eyes still wide and shocked. There was also what looked like a wildness blossoming inside her. I could see it plain as the nose on my face. One second she was simply dazed, the next she was locked on me. Like the prey had now become the predator. And, wouldn’t you know it, that show of aggression made me hard as fuck.

Chapter Six

Holly

I knew I didn’t want my first time with Jax to be like this. Not only did I want it to last longer than five minutes, but my dad would kill him and Jax wouldn’t lift a finger to defend himself. That didn’t stop me from imagining what it would be like. Jax at my back. Taking me like he’d die if he didn’t. I wasn’t ready for that, and now definitely wasn’t the time…

“Get that look off your face, girl. Your body can’t cash that kind of check.” Jax stared down at me, a stern look on his face. Unfortunately, I saw the primal interest in his eyes.

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