Page 41 of The Alpha King's Fate

He was sweaty, and his natural scent wrapped around her, making her lightheaded as if it were an aphrodisiac. It was. Everything to do with Jax was an aphrodisiac as if she couldn’t feel anything other than love and lust for him. She could see why Jackson fought the bond so much in the beginning. The bond would have forced her to want to be with him, to crave him, even if she wasn’t in love.

Maybe that was what their bond was. Fake love. That thought sobered her up a little.

“And you don’t get to say that shit and then walk away from me,” Jax growled.

His eyes flashed, and a feeling of danger passed through her. Jackson wouldn’t hurt her, but she hadn’t seen him that angry with her since she tried to escape when he’d caught her and Dylan outside the boundary.

If he thought he could lock her away in the basement again, he could think again.

She turned back to Britney’s door and locked it before she gripped the key.

‘I’m not the one who ran away!’

She turned away from him and marched towards their bedroom. Maybe going down to the conference room would have been better, but she was too worked up to make it that far without speaking her mind, and the last thing she wanted to do was scare the little children who were sleeping in the hall by arguing with him out in the open.

Once in the room, she turned around just as Jackson slammed the door and started advancing.

“I didn’t run away,” Jackson growled. “I had to calm down, but I see you have no fucking idea what you’re doing to me. Is this a fucking joke to you, Layla? Do you enjoy watching me suffer?”

What the hell was he talking about?

“You upset me! How the hell is this about you? You’re the one who kept me in the dark about a life-threatening situation like I mean nothing to you,” she snarled, her earlier rage returning.

She didn’t step back when Jax stepped up to her, and she held his gaze even though his eyes were still blood red. It was a challenge, and she had no desire to stop herself.

“Everything about you is about me! Do you not get that yet? Do you not understand what we share? You’re a part of me,” Jax snarled. “I feel everything, and this fucking rollercoaster of unreasonable emotions is no good for anyone.”

Her eyes widened.

“Unreasonable? Really? You mean like what I put up with for a whole fucking year because you’d rather bottle everything in than talk to me? Are you kidding me right now?”

“Yes, unreasonable! I’ve dealt with these fuckers in the Circle my whole life; I know how to keep you safe. But you’re upsetwith that as if I’ve said something wrong. Have you shifted since that last battle? No. Have you spoken to your wolf? No. All facts. I’ve trained you as often as I could, but it all means shit if you can’t do those very basic things. I’m not the problem here, Layla. You are.”

Her palm connected with his cheek before she could think. Jax’s face turned to the side with the force. Silence filled the room.

And as she watched the bruising appearing on his perfect skin, her anger completely disappeared. The thing inside her died down, leaving her to deal with the consequences alone.

How could she have done that? How could she have raised her hand to the man she loved?

Her hands covered her mouth as the horror of her actions sunk in. Jax turned his head back to face her, his eyes still red and his anger intact.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what... I’ll never do that again.”

The anthem of every abusive person, she was sure.

Jax moved quickly and pulled her against his sweaty body. While she was still processing how low she sank, he crashed his lips against hers and demanded entry. Her mind was stunned while her body reacted to him as it always did. In seconds she was up in flames.

Her back slammed against the wall as Jax ravaged her mouth and pushed himself between his legs. But she could still see how hard she struck him. She could still see her palm print on his cheek. She could still feel his shock through their bond.

Contradicting emotions fought within her as she wrapped her legs around him.

She’d hit him. She had to stop.

But he tasted so good.

She didn’t deserve this.

But she needed him.

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