I thrust my hips into her, shutting her up.

“Look at me,” I urged, pressing my forehead to hers and sliding my cock in fast and hard, again and again.

She raised her eyes, her chest rising and falling a mile a minute.

“Juliet!” Fallon called from somewhere in the building.

“Oh, God, Jax!” Juliet called out, and I didn’t care who heard her.

“Say it again,” I gritted out, running my thumb over her lips, all the while fucking her like a machine. “Say it, baby. Say it.”

“Oh, God?”

I shook my head, laughing. “Not that.”

Her eyes narrowed on me, and then realization dawned in her eyes, and she sucked my bottom lip into her mouth, drawing it out slow. “Only ever you,” she whispered.

“Again.” I thrust harder, her moans vibrating through my skin as her tits bounced up and down.

“Only ever you.”

“Again.” I leaned down to her lips. “Who do you want?”

“Only ever you, Jax,” she whimpered. “Ah! Oh, Jax.” Her eyes stayed fixed to mine, her summer green burning against my blue. “Only ever you,” she barely whispered.

My lips covered hers and we both came, swallowing each other’s moans.

Fallon burst in. “Oh, my God!”

“Out!” I yelled, buttoning up my pants. “Tell everyone she’s in line for the Porta Pottis or something.”

“Jax!” Juliet scolded, still naked and hiding behind me. “Gross.”

I rolled my eyes and Fallon snorted.

“Okaaay,” she choked out. “Just send her out soon. It’s getting weird.”

And she barely waited until she was out of the room before she started laughing her ass off.

I grabbed my shirt off the floor, the one I’d used to clean Juliet up and then myself before getting dressed. It was a disaster, and I kind of felt bad.

I’d told Katherine not to buy me expensive shit, but she reveled in it. When she tried to do nice things for my brother, he simply scowled and then rolled his eyes. Graciousness with gifts was not his strong suit.

So, in turn, she spoiled me, because I, at least, knew how to pretend. Even though I didn’t need nice stuff—and could certainly buy it for myself if I wanted to—I liked having someone dote on me the way she did. I took her gifts, and while I didn’t need them, I loved that she gave me things.

I rolled the shirt, covering up the evidence, and stuck it in my back pocket before I fastened my belt.

Juliet looked shaky. I stepped over, snatching up her shorts.

“Here, baby,” I offered, handing them to her and then asking, “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head, a smile in her eyes. “I’m okay. Just a little sore.”

I bent down to pick up her shirt, dusting it off.

Everything was dirty in this place, and there were wet spots on her shorts. Looking down at the floor, I saw small puddles of water, probably from a rainstorm, and that was when I noticed the cobwebs in the corner where the wall met the ceiling.

I looked down at Juliet, her smooth chocolate hair now matted and stringy, and there were red blotches on her hips from where I’d gripped her.

She flipped her hair over the top of her head, and I offered a small smile that I wasn’t feeling.

What the hell was the matter with me? This was what I wanted. What I’d dreamed about for years. But she deserved better.

I ground my thumb across the insides of my fingers, feeling the grime that I’d wiped all over her, and taking in this filthy place, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this all should’ve happened differently. “You’ve only ever been with Liam?” I looked down at her, the sweat on my skin becoming a weight in my stomach. We needed a fucking shower.

She nodded slightly. “Could you tell?” she ventured, looking embarrassed. “I can’t say that I had a lot of experience. Even with him, it wasn’t like this.”

I touched her cheek. “You don’t have to say that. It’s okay if you loved him.”

She shook her head, tears pooling. “I didn’t. That’s what I mean. It should’ve been you. This—right here— should’ve been my first time.”

I stared at her, knowing exactly what she meant.

“Come here.” I hooked a hand around her neck and brought her into my chest, forcing her chin up. “I didn’t push you, did I?”

“Yes.”

“I’m being serious,” I chastised. “Our first time should’ve been in a bed. In a clean bed without people around. I pushed you too hard.”

A wicked smile cross her lips, and she trailed them along my jaw, finally catching it in her teeth.

I sucked in a breath, feeling my dick jolt to attention again.

“Maybe I pushed you,” she teased. “Anyway, I like it when you push me.”

And then she pulled back, slipping into her shirt.

“I’ve got the Loop tonight.” I pulled out my hair and refastened the tie. “Tell me you’re coming.”

She slipped her feet back into her flip-flops, not looking at me. “Depends on how late my date goes.”

I rushed her, using my body to bully her into the wall again, and she laughed. “Watch it,” I threatened with a smile.

Her little grin was so cute. “I’m teasing,” she said sweetly, kissing my lips.

“For your sake, I hope so.”

There was no way in hell she was still on a fucking date.

But she nodded her answer. “Yes, I’m coming. Of course.”

I pushed off the wall, sliding my feet back into my shoes. “Just come with me now. We’ll shower, get something to eat, and go together.”

Her sigh was thoughtful. “I want to.”

“But?”

“Shane’s leaving for California soon,” she explained, sounding apologetic. “I should spend the afternoon with her.”

And I just wanted to chuck the whole damn day and crawl into bed with her. Turn off phones, strip off clothes, abandon food …

“Not to mention,” she continued, “that I want to get pretty again before I ogle you tonight.” She came up, clutching my belt in her fingers. “If I go home with you to get cleaned up, you’ll just get me all messy again.”

I laughed. “True.”

As much as I’d like to claim that I wouldn’t prey on a barely experienced girl who was on the rebound and probably sore, I wouldn’t be able to take a shower with her and not … yeah.

I held the side of her face, arching an eyebrow. “I don’t want you in his fucking car. You got that?”

She saluted, clearly biting back her smile.

After about five more minutes of making out, I led her down the stairs—no way was I doing the slide—before we really got caught. I’d paid the kid taking tickets not to let anyone else in, but if Fallon slipped through his fingers, we didn’t have long.

We headed out into the late-afternoon heat, hand in hand and smiling. The blush covering her face, her long brown hair shining in the sun, her body glistening with my sweat … Without a doubt, I fucking liked her.

Too damn much.

“K.C.?” I heard a woman call, and my gaze shifted to the side as Juliet halted and her fingers tightened around mine.

“Mother,” she replied flatly, and I turned wide-eyed at the older version of Juliet. The hair was a vibrant black, but the eyes were the same.

She was beautiful. And very fucking clean.

Her face stiffened in anger. “What have you done?” she accused, taking in her daughter’s appearance. The dirty, smudged clothes, the sweaty hair, and the owner of the hand she held. Her pained eyes left her daughter’s and flashed to me, raking her eyes up and down my body.

Only, with me, her lips turned down in disgust. I wasn’t sure if it was the way I was dressed, the way I wasn’t dressed, my long hair, my piercings, or the clear evidence that we’d just been all over each other, but one thing I did know.

It was definitely the sight of her daughter’s hand in mine that made her worried eyes turn angry and her fists clench.

“What have you done?” She looked straight at me, accusing. “What have you done to her?”

I gritted my teeth together, remembering those same words on another day. The same words spoken by my father. By Jared.

Those fucking words that told me I was a dirty, shit kid who had blood on his hands and skeletons in the closet.

“What have you done?”

CHAPTER 16

JAXON

I sat on the hood of my car, earbuds in and listening to Apocalyptica’s “I’m Not Jesus,” while I stared at the layout of the tracks on the iPad.

The dirt and sweat were gone. I’d showered when I got home from the carnival, scrubbed my skin till it was red and washed my hair twice, but I still couldn’t sit still. There was still dirt under my nails.

“What have you done?”

I tapped my foot, feeling the weight of my phone in my pocket.

Don’t call her. Don’t text her. She’s coming. She said she would.

And as soon as I saw her, got a chance to wrap my arms around her little frame, I’d forget the way her mother had looked at me. I’d forget the knife in my other pocket, the one that said I’d hurt anyone who made me feel dirty again.