Dark Lies (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 3)

Savannah

The walls of Jaxson’s apartment shook as he slammed the door shut.

Suffice it to say our escape from Mexico was not our finest hour, but with my shadows, Damian’s wings, and Jaxson’s ability to hotwire a vehicle, we didn’t die.

Frankly, it was a freaking miracle. Maybe Alejandro’s relics were real after all, and a bit of God’s own luck had rubbed off on us. I’d need whatever I could get to deal with the beast in the room.

He stood at the counter, his eyes golden and body rigid. The tension in the air between us was so thick, I swore I could taste it zinging off my tongue, electric and violent.

We’d been deathly silent the entire way home from Damian’s house, but there was no way we were going to outrun this fight.

“You’re angry,” I said flatly. Understatement of the millennium.

“Angry?” He slowly stalked around the room, circling me, his fists clenched. “That was a fucking disaster.”

Indignation tore at me as I backed away. Mixed with the aftereffects of Alejandro drinking my blood, I felt absolutely combustible.

“You say that like it’s my fault. But tell me, Jaxson, what exactly was a disaster? The part where I got us an audience with Alejandro Rivera like we wanted? Or the part where you wolfed out and staked him through the heart before we got the finger?”

His jaw tensed, and his fists tightened. “Alejandro would have drained you dry. Had I known how he’d react, I would have murdered him the moment we arrived.”

There was no doubt he meant every word.

I kept my distance as we circled each other. He watched me like a hunter, ready to strike, and though my instincts rang out, telling me to run, I was glued to him like the Earth orbiting the Sun—a tiny space rock inching closer to its fiery demise.

“In hindsight, it was a bad decision. But it was my decision, not yours,” I said. “And you didn’t have to kill him!”

He approached me slowly, his body shaking with frustration, as we continued our dance. “Do you think Alejandro would have stopped once he’d had a taste of you? I thought maybe it only affected werewolves, but your blood is a drug. Had I let him live, he would have hunted you to the ends of the earth.”

But I knew it was more than that.

My blood heated, and my fingers tingled. “Were you worried about protecting me or about your own ego?”

Resentful fury burned in his eyes. “What do you mean by that? You’re my mate. You were in danger and being tortured before my eyes. My very soul was insane with horror and rage.”

I knew it was true, too. I’d felt his pain, felt his soul dying as he watched while Alejandro helped himself to my blood.

Jaxson had ripped through the magical chains and tore down the wall to protect me. But as much as that made my pulse race, it didn’t excuse his actions.

“You were insane with jealousy and possessiveness,” I hissed.

His jaw tensed. Before I could take a breath, he was in front of me, his hand gripping the back of my head. He tilted my face to his. “That is also true. Because you’re mine.”

His words released an inexplicable shiver of delight along my skin while the electricity of his touch arced through his fingers and sent a burst of heat to my core. My eyes dropped to his lips, inches from mine, begging to be tasted.

But in spite of that, righteous indignation burned under my skin.

“I am nobody’s property.” I twisted out of his grip.

“You know what I mean,” he said gruffly as I evaded his grasp.

“No, actually, I don’t, Jaxson.” I was taunting the devil, but I couldn’t help it. The flurry of emotions that he was throwing out was making me crazy and confused.

“You’re my mate!” he roared in an almost bestial voice. “How could I stand by while you offered yourself freely to a vampire?”

I gestured violently to my neck as anger pumped through me. “To drink my blood, Jaxson. Not to keep, not to fuck.”

He tilted his head in disbelief, bitterness tinging every word. “Do you think those two are any different for a vampire?”

“It’s different for me,” I snapped.

His expression darkened, and his voice dropped low. “I saw the way you swooned. How different was it?”

Indignation cut through me like a bullet.

I backhanded him across the face, smacking his head around. Pain rang through my knuckles, but it was nothing compared to my delight at seeing the disbelief in his eyes.

That’s right, this bitch has bite.

Fury flashed across his face, but I could smell his arousal, which only ratcheted up mine.

“Do you think I wanted that freak sucking my neck?” I snarled, shooting daggers at him with my eyes. “We had to get Dragan’s finger, so what I did, I did for the pack.”

“The pack didn’t ask that of you, and neither did I. We could have found another way,” he said, moving closer, inch by threatening inch. “All I asked was for you to stop, which you ignored.”

His smoky pine scent wrapped around me and fogged my brain, and my back bumped against the wall. “So what’s this about, Jaxson? That I let Alejandro bite me, or that I disobeyed you?

He narrowed his eyes and closed the gap between us, his body taut with barely restrained fury. “Both. You should have listened. I’m your alpha.”

Between the wall and him, I was trapped. A riot of emotions exploded in me. Rage. Frustration. Unabashed arousal and need.

Rebelling against how hot his dominance made me, I grabbed him by the lapels of his suit and flipped us around so that his back was suddenly up against the wall. I tilted my head and whispered in his ear. “You’re my alpha, huh?”

A low growl of arousal rumbled from his throat, making my treacherous center burn with desire.

I shoved him so hard that the plaster on the wall cracked, and I stepped back to escape my emotions. “News flash, Wolf King: I don’t have to listen to you.”

Before I could get away, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me back to him, leaving our faces just inches apart. “I don’t want to make you listen. I want you to want to listen. To trust me, godsdamn it.”

My heart raced. I did trust him, didn’t I? And if I did, why was defiance such a drug?

I needed space. His closeness and heat were both suffocating and alluring, and I couldn’t sort out my thoughts. What the fuck was he doing to me?

Pushing free, I latched on to my anger to defend myself because that’s what I knew best. “So what about listening to me? Trusting me?”

In a heartbeat, he surged forward and boxed me in against the wall again, his arms on either side of my head. My breath hitched as his emotions barraged my senses. Frustration. Betrayal. A need to control. ‘You asked me to trust you when you were painting. It was insane, but I did. I kept the guards and onlookers at bay so you could finish.”

I raised my chin, refusing to be cowed. “And it worked. I got us an audience.”

He brought his mouth near mine. “True. And when I told you not to let Alejandro drink, that was when you should have trusted me.”

And as much as every inch of me wanted to ram my hands into his chest and blast him back with my magic, I didn’t fight or try to get away. Instead, my treacherous lips brushed dangerously close to his, teasing and tempting. “And when I told you it was the right choice, that was when you should have trusted me.”

Inches apart, we glared venomously at each other, neither of us willing to concede, apologize, or admit our need.

And then we were kissing madly, violently.

Our lips clashed as our mouths dueled for control. Sparks of ecstasy cascaded though my body, and his tongue stroked mine, causing the rivers of my body to meet.

No longer able to restrain the beast of lust within me, I shoved Jaxson to the couch. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me down onto his lap so that I was straddling him, but he kept my arms restrained behind me.

His hard body pressed into all my soft places, and a throbbing ache settled between my legs. I moaned loudly, driven by instinct. The need to fuck. To be one with my mate.

But he wasn’t letting me.

In frustration, I leaned forward and sank my teeth into his lower lip, and the metallic tang of his blood set my senses aflame. He growled but released my hands.

Free at last.

“Savannah—”

“Shut up and fuck me now.” Tearing his suit jacket off, I ripped the buttons of his shirt open, dragging my hands down his rock-hard abs. He gripped my thighs, shoving my silk dress up as his hardness pressed into my center. I ground my hips against his, desperate for friction.

I needed him inside me.

Unfastening his belt, I undid his pants and slipped my hand within. He groaned and tore his lips from mine, his eyes glazed with desire. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I said, gripping his generous length. I needed him inside me now. His body tensed, and a deep rumble escaped his throat.

‘And is this what you want?” I whispered.

“Yes,” he growled from the painful edge of need.

Tilting my head down to his neck, I brushed my lips against his ear. “This doesn’t mean I’m yours, and it doesn’t mean you’ve claimed me or own me. This is no strings attached.”

In a flash, he flipped me onto my back, his hand slipping between my legs as the rigid angles of his body pinned me. His gaze was locked on mine as he slid his fingers up my thigh, dragging them over my drenched panties. “We’ll see how you feel afterward.”

Cocky bastard.

And yet, I bucked against his touch, needing more resistance, but he held me down.

“You can’t control me, Jaxson. I’m nobody’s property,” I snarled in protest. “Will you be able to let me go, or will you be like Alejandro, and this won’t be enough?”

A grin ghosted his lips as he pushed the lace aside and stroked my center. “I’ve warned you before, Savannah: my wolf is possessive.”

His fingers found a rhythm, and I gasped at his touch, my back arching against the couch, desperate for a relief that didn’t come. Anger mixed with the lust in my veins. He was toying with me. Teasing.

“Damn it, Jaxson,” I hissed. He always had to be in the driver’s seat. I tried to push him back, but he resisted. “Don’t you dare hide behind your wolf,” I said. “Who’s in control, the man or the beast?”

Leaning down, he slipped two fingers around the edge of my panties and dipped them deep inside me, sending tremors of need through my body. He brushed his lips against mine as he worked my center and whispered words that sent a deep ache pulsing through my core: “Why don’t you tell me, Savannah? Who do you want in control? The man…or the beast?”

His gravelly voice grazed my skin, further igniting my desire and anger.

“Me,” I moaned, as I bucked my hips and rolled him onto his back so that I was straddling him. Then I slipped my hand between us, finally freeing his length.

He growled with unrestrained arousal and sat up, gripping my hair and kissing along my exposed neck. “One day soon, you will submit to me.”

The pain of overwhelming desire throbbed within as I pushed up on my knees and pulled my soaked panties aside.

“I. Will. Never. Ever—” I said huskily, slowly sinking onto him before his size cut my breath short. I gasped as he stretched me in ways I’d never been before. “Oh. My. God.”

“Fuuuck,” he growled, every muscle in his body going rigid. “You feel so fucking good.”

And then our bodies were moving. Still holding my hair, he licked my throat where Alejandro’s puncture wound had healed while he thrust up into me over and over. Dominating, claiming, destroying me. I groaned, the combination of pain and pleasure sending fireworks through my nerves.

His grip released, both hands moving to my rocking hips, positioning me in a way that sent agonizing pleasure searing through my center. Sweat dripped down our bodies as the heat that was between us grew. Claiming his mouth with mine, I devoured him with everything I had.

Suddenly, he pushed me back and onto my knees so I was over the back of the couch. He pushed into me, deeper than before. I moaned with delight and pressed my ass rhythmically back against his hips, savoring the feeling of his control.

Pleasure and fire pooled in my center, building and mounting, until agony and delight exploded, moving through every nerve ending in my feverish body. My head tilted back, and a moan tore from my throat as wave after wave of ecstasy demolished me. Jaxson tensed and groaned, his desire pulsing as aftershocks rippled down my spine. I pressed back into him, chasing the last bits of my ecstasy.

Holy God.

Chest heaving, I collapsed onto the couch. He scooped me up and brought me to his chest as he lay back down. Our bodies were sweaty and bruised, our anger spent in a blaze of violence and delight.

“You’re right,” he said at last as my head rose and fell on his chest.

“Of course I am,” I mumbled, still too exhausted and out of breath to think. “But in what way?”

“I’m like Alejandro. Now that I’ve tasted you, it’ll never be enough. You’re my mate, and I can’t resist.”

The truth of his words vibrated through me. Possessiveness. Desire. Need. Against my wishes, his words and signature sent a new tremor of pleasure through me, but I fought it down, trying to seize control. Determined not to betray myself.

I pushed up off him and met his eyes. “You can’t play this game with me, Jaxson. You made it very clear in Forks that you didn’t want me as your mate. And that’s fine, but you can’t have it both ways.”

A dull ache had blossomed in my chest, growing and spreading. I hadn’t realized how deep his rejection on the beach had cut me. Even though I’d been horrified at the idea of a mate bond, even though I hadn’t wanted it myself…it was contradictory and irrational, but it still hurt.

The room suddenly felt constricting, too small for the both of us. I tried to get up, but he caught my wrist. “Things have changed.”

He looked up at me with eyes that bored into my soul, that called me to him as surely as our bond pulled us together.

I lifted my chin in defiance, fighting the new surge of desire that threatened to bring me to my knees. “What’s changed? I’m the same as I was then.”

He sat up and traced the tattoo on my shoulder. “I thought you’d become a wolf against your will. But now that I know—”

Pulling free of his grasp, I adjusted my dress and walked to the other side of the room, turning my back to him. “What? Now you know I was born a wolf? And what difference does that make? I’m still the same person. So either you want me as your mate, or not.”

Jaxson rose, and the heat of his presence warmed my back as he drew close. With deliberate control, he slowly coaxed me around and cupped my cheek.

Reluctantly, I met his gaze. The fire from earlier was gone, and in its place was something else. He pressed his lips to my neck and kissed me softly, sending a cascade of shivers across my flushed skin.

Delicately, he traced his mouth up my neck. “Either you want me as your mate, or not.”

I tensed as the tables turned. I looked away, my heart pounding in terror. I wasn’t ready to answer the question I’d asked.

I slipped away. “I’m sorting things out, Jaxson.”

Buttoning his trousers, he nodded and walked over to the black counter. The man was covered with scars and blood, sweat and the scent of my body. A testament to what he would go through for me.

Silence stretched between us until finally, he spoke.

“It was Billy.”

“What?” I asked, confused.

Jaxson shook his head absently and sighed. “He and my sister, Stephanie, were true mates. We failed to protect her, and she died. It broke him, Savannah. And in the end, he betrayed the pack. That haunts me. The threat of a bond so deep that you would throw away everything you stood for.”

With sorrow emanating from him as strongly as his presence, he glanced my way. “I’m alpha. I don’t know that I can risk that. Everything is so fragile as it is.”

I could feel the pain twisting inside of him, and I could see it in his eyes—haunting visions of a past he was helpless to change.

My body was drawn to him, pulled forward by the need to heal and to help and comfort. I reached up with my fingers and brushed his cheek. “I know you, Jaxson. I know you would never betray the pack. It’s who you are, and there’s no changing that.”

I kissed him softly on the lips and hung my head on his shoulder, thankful we didn’t have to answer any questions about what we were today.

After a moment’s silence, Jaxson lifted me up with effortless grace and quietly carried me to his shower. Stripping me of my clothes, he washed my body, and the blood and water flowed down the drain—like our fates, spiraling together into inevitable darkness.

Once he’d laid me on his bed, he turned off the light and left me to snuggle in his sheets alone.