Page 57 of The Finding Series: Vol. 1

“Jax,” Dane began to say.

“Don’t, Dane. Just don’t,” Jax snapped as he waited for Dane to get in the passenger seat before he got behind the wheel. The ride home was made in complete silence. Even Emma seemed to sense the tension in the air because she quietly played with the toys attached to her car seat. When they arrived back at his house, Jax did the usual check of all the rooms before letting Dane and Emma inside. Dane was getting Emma unbuckled when Jax stomped past him and said, “I’m going to go work on the barn for a while.”

The side door slammed shut and within a minute there was the rhythmic pounding of metal on wood. Dane pulled Emma out of the seat and cuddled her against his chest. He needed to figure something out soon because he couldn’t take much more of this. It was time to let Jax go for good.

* * *

Jax hated the guy. Fucking hated him.

Gray Hawthorne was a very good looking man and from the range of conversation he and Dane had had all through dinner, he was a smart and charming one too. Jax hadn’t recognized the man or his name until Dane started showing Gray a stack of books in the bookshelf in the living room. It was then that Jax realized the man was a well-known author and he remembered seeing articles about his most recent detective series being turned into a movie. There’d been some kind of scandal involving Gray and the man set to star in the film, a well-known Hollywood actor. By the look of things, whatever Gray had going on with the actor couldn’t have been all that important since the guy was fawning all over Dane.

Dane laughed again at something Gray said and Jax felt his insides knot. Two fucking weeks and Dane hadn’t said more than a dozen words to him. The only time they spoke was when Dane said he needed to go somewhere. He’d tried talking to Dane the morning after his admission about deliberately breaking the mirror, but the man had staunchly kept silent.

They spent their days working quietly around the property with Jax tearing down the rest of the barn and Dane working inside the building behind the house in preparation for getting his veterinary practice going. Dinner was always quick and quiet and Dane disappeared into his bedroom after putting Emma down for the night. Jax had been feeling wracked with guilt since his conversation with Rhys about him being the cause of Dane’s pain, but seeing him so open and free with Gray had Jax wanting to put his hand through the nearest wall. Fearing he would do just that, Jax pushed the plate with his untouched food aside and stood up and left the kitchen. The remnants of Dane’s barn were calling his name.

* * *

Dane flinched every time he heard the sledgehammer make contact with the wood. The sun had just started falling behind the clouds on the horizon when Dane had glanced out the window to see that Jax had finished tearing the last of the barn’s supporting structure down. Dane had gone up to put Emma to bed and had returned to sit in the kitchen to wait for Jax to come in. That had been forty-five minutes ago.

Dane stood up to look out the window once more. He could only see Jax’s outline but there was enough light from the motion activated floodlights that Jax had installed to see that Jax was breaking down some of the bigger pieces of wood. The man had been going non-stop for nearly two hours and Dane knew he had to be hurting from the exertion. Grabbing the baby monitor, he headed outside. He had no doubt that Jax heard him coming, but the man didn’t turn around or slow down.

“Jax, it’s late. Come inside.”

Jax continued to ignore him so Dane reached for the sledge hammer on Jax’s next downward strike. His arm wrenched at the power that was still behind the force of the swing but Jax stopped the motion before Dane got seriously hurt. Jax ripped the sledge hammer from him, his chest heaving as his cold eyes latched onto Dane. A ripple of fear went through Dane at how calm the man was and he was instantly transported back to the day of the fire when Jax had shot Rollins.

“Jax,” Dane started to say but snapped his mouth shut when Jax threw the sledge hammer to the ground and stalked back to the house.

“We need to talk,” Dane said when he caught up to Jax inside of the kitchen where Jax was drinking down the entire contents of a bottle of water.

“You’ve had two weeks to talk to me, Dane. We’re not going to start now just because you feel like it.”

“Things need to change.”

“They already have,” was all Jax said as he headed for the stairs.

Dane grabbed him by the arm. “What does that mean?”

“Some guys will be here in the morning to install an alarm system. Rhys got back from Chicago this afternoon so starting tomorrow he’s going to keep an eye on things and take you to town when you need to go.”

Dane realized what Jax hadn’t said. “You’re leaving?”

Jax didn’t answer. He just pulled his arm free and went up the stairs. Dane waited for that feeling of relief that was supposed to surge through him at the knowledge that he would soon be free of the torment that being around Jax brought. But it didn’t come. Instead there was a crushing, physical pain in his chest and he actually had to sit down on the stairs and wait for it to pass. What the hell was wrong with him? He was getting his life back. In less than twelve hours it would be him and Emma again and they could get back to the life he’d brought them here to live. In a few short weeks he’d be in a position to open his practice. He’d have his career and his daughter. That was enough…it was supposed to be enough.

* * *

Jax had just managed to pull his boxers on after his quick shower when the door to his room was thrown open. Dane stood there, baby monitor in hand, eyes wide, almost frantic looking.

“Out,” Jax said, his fury like a living thing beneath his skin. He was done letting this man tear him apart.

Instead of leaving, Dane moved into the room and closed the door. He walked past Jax and carefully put the baby monitor on the nightstand. Then his trembling fingers went to the hem of his shirt and in one quick motion it was over his head and off.

The sight of Dane’s beautiful chest actually had Jax moving before he caught himself. “Get the fuck out, Dane!” Jax nearly yelled, remembering at the last minute that Emma was asleep one room over.

Dane ignored his outburst and reached for the button on his jeans. Jax was on him in three strides and grabbed his arm. He yanked him towards the door with every intention of throwing him out but Dane fought him and somehow Jax ended up pressed back against the door as Dane’s hand snaked down his shorts and grabbed his erection. The feel of the warm, rough palm encircling him made Jax pause in his efforts and that was all it took for Dane to pull free and drop to his knees. It was on the tip of Jax’s tongue to tell Dane no but then that lush mouth was pulling him in and sucking him down.

“Jesus,” Jax whispered as gentle fingers caressed his balls while his entire cock was bathed in wet heat. He looked down to see Dane’s nose pressed up against his groin and he groaned when Dane swallowed around him. Dane hung there for several long seconds before pulling back up. His eyes looked up to search out Jax’s before sucking him all the way back in. Jax knew he should stop this – he should grab Dane by the hair and force him to stop because the only place this would lead would cause more pain for both of them. So he did grab Dane’s hair, but instead of pulling him off, he held the other man in place as he mercilessly pushed his dick further down Dane’s throat.

“Is this what you want?” he asked harshly as he fucked in and out of Dane’s willing mouth. In response, Dane relaxed his jaw and caressed him with his tongue on every pass and the fingers holding his balls moved up to palm his ass. Dane gagged as Jax pushed in further and Jax waited to see if the man would finally cry uncle. But instead, Dane’s grip on Jax’s ass tightened and he held Jax there as Dane fought his gag reflex.

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