Persuasion Skills (13 page)

She never did anything unless it felt
right, and Jax finally realized that he was one of those decisions. He’d spent
the last few months thinking of ways to get her to fall in love with him, when
he should have been appealing to her instincts, not her mind. He should have
started with Plan B from the get-go.

Her instincts were what propelled her
into his arms that first night, and it was her instincts that were going to
make her listen to her heart. He didn’t know how he missed the connection
before.

He turned from the window, walked over to
the walk-in closet and pulled out a small bag he’d prepared before leaving
Miami
. It wouldn’t take
Pepper long to return, and he wanted to make sure everything was in place
before she arrived.

Laying the contents out on the bed, his
lips twitched up into a smile as his blood began to heat and race. Yes, Plan B
definitely had its merits.

****

Pepper stood at the front door of the
cabin, pausing to take several deep breaths.

“You can do this,” she said, not caring
that she’d spoken the words aloud.

She wiggled her arms at her sides and
rolled her head from side to side, trying to loosen her stiff muscles. For a
brief moment, she wished she had her mp3 player. There was a playlist she liked
to listen to before major meetings. It started with Queen’s
We Will Rock You
and ended with
Beyonce’s
Diva.
The mix never failed
to give her some strut and swagger.

She briefly contemplated having the
discussion with Jax topless. Considering his fondness for her breasts, she
figured it was a viable option, but quickly dismissed the idea knowing she
wouldn’t be able to concentrate with his lips wrapped around her nipples.

Keep it simple.

Her best plan of attack would be to just
sit him down and calmly tell him how she felt. No theatrics, no drama, just
truth.

Rolling her neck one last time, she took
a deep breath, reached out, and opened the door.

She froze on the threshold, her momentum
momentarily paused by the sight of Jax standing in front of her, his arms
folded across his chest and his legs planted akimbo.

"Hi, honey. Enjoy your walk?"

His question came out in a gruff of sound
in direct contrast to the smile stretched across his face. A gesture she was
surprised he could make at all considering how tightly his jaw seemed to be
clenched.

She cleared her throat and shifted
slightly in the doorway. His gaze seemed to burn right through her.

"Uh, yeah. I really just needed to
clear my head."

She stepped into the cabin, closing the
door behind her, and began to pull off her coat.

"Listen, Jax. We need to talk—"

"I couldn't agree more."

His response froze her movements.

"Really?"

He nodded and reached for her. Turning
her around, he began to help her get out of the heavy coat. He pulled her arms
together behind her back, and the heavy garment slipped down her arms.

"Yes. I've got a lot of things I
think you need to hear."

"What? No, I—"

No way was she going to let him sidetrack
her again with Jax-speak. She wanted to tell him how she felt, and after
experiencing his brand of persuasion, she doubted her grown-up panties would
stay on long if she let him do all the talking.

She struggled to turn and face him, but
her hands became tangled in the sleeves of the jacket. Jerking her arms, she
tried to loosen the fabric’s sudden vise-like grip. Just as she felt her wrists
slip free, she heard a soft and definitive click.

The cool touch of metal grazed her skin
before every muscle in her body tensed, her mind racing to explain every
possible alternative to what bound her besides the obvious.

No, she wasn’t dreaming. No, she hadn’t
mistakenly eaten wonky mushrooms on her trek through the woods.

Gingerly, she tried to tug her arms
apart.

And no, she was absolutely certain that
she wasn’t a superhero with two golden bracelets and a lasso of truth.

Her brain finally careened to a stop.

I’m gonna kill
him!

She stood staring at the wall, her
breaths coming in and out in harsh pants. A part of her was angry at being
thwarted by another one of his games, but another, deeper part was wildly
excited by the possibilities. Fissions of heat sizzled through her limbs and
pooled at her center. It was several moments before she was able to speak.

“Jax?”

“Yeah, honey?”

His warm chest brushed against her back
as his hands smoothed up her arms and rested on her shoulders. His voice held
more than a touch of amusement. If her panties weren’t quickly becoming damp,
she’d contemplate a head-butt to his no-doubt smug face.

“I never figured you for the suicidal
type.”

The deep rumble of his laughter caressed
her back. She bit back a sigh, resisting the urge to lean into him. The feel of
the taunting vibrations was fast becoming a new addiction. His hot breath
grazed her neck just before the hot lick of his tongue graced her throat.

“Ah, Pep. I’d be lying if I said it
wasn’t worth it.”

“I’m sure you think so,” she said dryly.
“But you’re forgetting one important point here. I don’t recall consenting to
this. And the last guy who tried this had to swallow his own balls.”

She flicked her wrists, causing the
chains on the handcuffs to jingle.

“Oh, I don’t know. I vividly remember how
beautiful you looked with my tie around your wrists.”

She sucked in a deep breath. Of course,
he had to go and bring
that
up.

“Since when did silk ties become a
gateway kink?”

His teeth nipped lightly at her earlobe.
She couldn’t hold back a shiver when his lips curled around the nub, pulling it
into his mouth in a warm suck.

“About around the time I realized how
badly I wanted to bend you over and fuck you senseless.”
 

With those words, he spun her around and
hoisted her over his shoulder.

Chapter Fourteen

Pepper felt Jax’s palm cup her ass to
hold her in place as he loped across the room. A finger slipped between her
thighs and rested just at the juncture. She squirmed against his hold, not
really sure if it was to be free or to get closer to his touch.

“Whatever little game you’ve decided to
play now is going to have to wait,” she said, her words muffled against his
back.

“Hmmm. I don’t think so. You and I are
going to have a nice long chat.”

He flipped her up, and the room tilted
again as she bounced lightly on the firm bed. Her legs hung over the footboard,
and her bound hands dug into the mattress beneath her.

“I doubt that it requires handcuffs.” Her
words came out in a puff of sound. They sounded less than persuasive even to
her own ears.

Looking up to see his solid build
standing over hers didn’t really help her on the resistance front either. A
clump of dark blond hair hung over his left eye, and his gorgeous mouth was
spread open in a mischievous grin. His dimples were out again in full force,
winking at her and daring her to come out and play.
Those sexy, evil dimples.

“Oh, I may have to disagree with you
there.”

Nudging her legs wider apart, he stepped
between them and shrugged out of his shirt. The garment hit the floor, exposing
his wide, hard chest. She licked her lips, distracted by the want to run her
tongue along the hard planes of him, but the sound of his jeans snapping open
knocked her out of her lust-induced reverie.

Focus, woman!
Focus!

Glancing down, she watched as he chucked
the pants down and stepped out of them. Her mouth watered at the sight of his
hard cock springing free and standing proudly for her gaze. When he wrapped his
fist around his length and gave it a few leisurely pumps, she almost moaned out
loud. She stared for a moment, before shutting her eyes tight against the view.

Maybe if she didn’t have to look at him,
she could actually develop a backbone and have an intelligible conversation.

Her eyes popped open at the feel of him
leaning forward and settling his hips against hers. He smiled down at her and
placed his hands on either side of her.

“I think the only way I’m ever going to
get you to hear me is to take drastic measures.”

“Trapping me up on this mountain wasn’t
drastic enough?”

He dipped his head low, his lips stroking
her earlobe as he spoke.

“Ah, Pep. You have no idea, do you?”

The bed shifted as he raised a hand and
smoothed it up her side, not hesitating to stop and palm her left breast.

His scent surrounded her, a delicious
blend of patchouli, sandalwood and the unique essence of Jax—the perfect mix of
naughty and nice.
 

“No idea what?” she whispered.

“You have no idea how much I need you.”

A frost of dread worked its way down her
body. Why did it keep coming down to this? As much as he made her body burn,
she wanted so much more from him than physical release. Her breath seized, and
tightness built in her chest. She could barely breathe past the tears clogging
her throat.

“I want more than that, Jax. I need—”

“What? What do you need, Pep?”

His hand moved from her breast and cupped
her cheek. He leaned his forehead onto her and held her gaze.

It would be so easy to brush it off. To
just kiss him and be pulled back into the haze of passion he was so good at
drowning her in, but she was finished playing games.

“I need love. I need you to love me. I
lo—”
  

The words came out on a choked sob, her
tears finally slipping free when she felt him tense above her. She shut her
eyes against them and battled against the fear pressing down on her. Hell, she
needed more than big girl panties. She needed a whole
Victoria’s Secret
catalogue.

How could a simple four letter word take
on the entire weight of her world and encompass the full sum of her heart? But
the word was begging to be freed, and she was so tired of keeping it locked
away. She inhaled a deep breath and took the leap that was years in the making.
Popping her eyes open, she locked her gaze on his.

“Dammit, Jax, I need you to love me as
much as I love you!”

Her declaration hung heavy in the space
between them. She stared up at him, feeling her skin tighten with each passing
moment at the look on his face. Her heart slowed down to a slugging pace as her
mind registered the tightening of his jaw, the thinning of his lips, and the
harsh flare of his nostrils. Of all the emotions she was expecting to see
across his face, anger was not one of them. In the span of only a few seconds,
she felt her heart exhale a final beat and break.

She wanted to curl into herself, but
couldn’t look away from the clear anger emanating off of him in waves.

He reared off of her, shifting to his
knees and sitting back on the heels of his feet in quick jerking movements,
grabbing her shoulders and tugging her up with him. He held her firmly to his
chest, glaring down at her.

She didn’t understand his reaction.
Admittedly, her pronouncement may have been a shock, but did it really warrant
anger?

“I know you like to joke around a lot,
but do you really think I’m that much of an asshole?”

His words were delivered in a harsh
staccato between clenched teeth.

“What—”

“Do you really think that I would go
through all of this just for shits and giggles—just for a hot lay?”

She felt her brows peak down in confusion,
and her own jaw begin to firm in anger.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she shouted at him. “Did
I miss the part where you confessed your undying love, before you told me you
wanted to fuck me?”

His eyes flared wide before his pupils
contracted to dark pinpoints. He pressed his lips into a firm line and kept
silent.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” she said,
trying to keep the tremor from her voice.
 

His eyelids twitched as he reached his
hand over to the nightstand and pulled back a small key.

“Like I said, you and I most definitely
need to talk,” he said, reaching behind her and fumbling around with the cuffs.

A soft click whispered through the air
just before he pulled her hands around to rest on his chest.

She barely had a moment to flex her
wrists before he tumbled them both back down to the bed and stretched her arms
high above her head.

When she realized what he was about to do,
she began to buck beneath him.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she
yelled up at him.