Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I pulled her sports bra back into place, crossed my arms over her chest and held her against me.
Chapter 20
Riley
Sanity returned slowly.
Pieces of the puzzle clicked into place as Jax’s cock grew soft inside me. He’d come deep and hard, and I dripped all over the front of his pants.
“Oh my god,” I muttered. “Oh my god.”
“I know,” he replied and kissed my shoulder.
“No. Not that. I mean, yes, that too, but not that right now.” I couldn’t move yet, my legs were too weak. “I can’t believe this is happening. This is bad, Jax. This is so bad. You just came inside me and we’re here with the club and the stripper and…oh my god, oh my god. No, no, no, no, no.” I muttered on repeat.
“Easy, tommy gun,” he said.
“No, it’s not easy,” I hissed. “None of this is easy.” I’d come here expecting to be put off by him and everything he stood for, and instead, I’d lost my damn mind. All the fears and needs had bubbled over, and I’d ended up…doing this.
Taking everything a step too far.
“I need to go clean up,” I said, and I didn’t mean only physically. I needed to scour my mind and soul of this guy and figure out what the hell I’d do next.
It was what, two weeks until I was out of his place? Two weeks since I’d started living with Jax King, and somehow I’d wound up here, riding him bareback in a strip club. This wasn’t appropriate behavior. It certainly wasn’t adult behavior.
This was plain crazy, and I couldn’t reconcile what I’d done.
“Jax?”
He lifted me by the ass and pulled up my yoga pants swiftly. His shifted too, the sound of his zipper came next, and I scooched to one side, didn’t dare sit down.
Out on the stage, Cassidy strutted back toward the curtains, her dance ended. She was coated in glitter now—we’d missed that part of the performance—and I blushed, instantly.
This was so, so, so fucking bad.
“Riley,” Jax said, and took my hand.
“I have to clean up,” I repeated.
“Sit down first. We’ll talk.”
“No,” I replied and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “Where are the bathrooms?”
“Out the main doors, down the hall on your right,” he said and opened his mouth to delay me again.
I didn’t give him the opportunity. I slipped out of the booth, past the curtains, and hurried for the exit. I was out in the hall, down it, and in the bathroom in what had to be some kind of record.
If there was a record for a walk of shame.
I locked the bathroom door and checked there was no one in either of the two cubicles, then faced the mirrors.
My cheeks were pink, and a patchwork of redness spread across my décolletage. I touched my fingers to it. “What did you do?” I muttered. “What the hell did you do?”
Yeah, I wanted a baby. My baby. With a man who didn’t have a face, who didn’t provide any complications, who wouldn’t one day decide that I wasn’t good enough. That was exactly what’d happened to Veronica.
Her ex had found out she was pregnant and left her. He’d called her a slut on the way out the damn door.
And me? I’d dealt with Michael’s betrayal. I felt too much for Jax now, but that didn’t mean he felt the same, or that he wouldn’t find some excuse to dump me like hot shit. Ew, terrible metaphor.
“He said once or twice. He said that was all he wanted.” I directed the words at my reflection. I had to get my shit together, clean up, get out of here, and go get some goddamned Plan B.
As horrible as it sounded, getting knocked up by Jax would only complicate things for him and for me.
“Idiot,” I hissed at myself. I made swift work of cleaning off, using paper towels and warm water. After, I washed my hands with soap, splashed my face with water, and tied my hair in a ponytail atop my head.
Plan B wasn’t part of the plan, but I’d make a new one to fit it in if necessary.
The more you plan, the less you’ll actually be able to control, because life’s just gonna be like, ‘pa-hah, fuck your plans, sucker,’ and mess it all up anyway.
Veronica’s words mocked me. Too much control, winding myself way too tight, had led to this explosion of, god, whatever. Of complication, freedom, and fear.
I had to go out there and talk to Jax about this, first.
“Stay calm and in control. Deal with this. It’s going to be fine.” My reflection was in control, at least, even though I didn’t feel it inside.
I walked for the bathroom door, unlocked it, and swung it open.
It crashed against me before I could get it all the way there. I stumbled back, pain sprouting in my forehead. I pressed my palms to it and groaned.