Page 77 of Burn of Obsidian

She didn’t move when he removed his jacket, the leather pretty useless in keeping her warm when she was already so wet. “You’re freezing.”

She laughed, her lips curved when she turned to him. “You’re incredibly observant.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, pulling his T-shirt off to hand to her. “Take everything off.”

“Really?” Thea rolled her eyes, lips twitching as she yanked at her sodden clothes. “Anything to take your shirt off.”

Stepping into the small bathroom, Jax grabbed the hand towel, coming back out to find her dressed in his T-shirt. It reached her knees, the fabric large enough it hung loose over her curves. Dropping down, he used the towel to dry her legs, the skin covered in goosebumps.

“I can do that myself, thank you very much,” she said, grabbing the towel from him with an impatient huff. She immediately started to dry the exposed skin, the lights of the bar bright through the window behind her.

“You shouldn’t have gone out alone,” he said, barely controlling his anger at her being hurt. The bruises somehow looked worse in the dimmed light.

“I wasn’t alone. I had Ruhne.” She moved the towel to the bottom of her hair, dabbing the pink strands.

“A pixie hardly fucking counts.” Jax crossed his arms, having to restrain himself from touching her. “You wouldn’t have been hurt if you’d have listened to me.”

“I’m fine.”

“Fine?” His eyes dipped to the bruises. “What you did was reckless.”

She laughed, but there was an edge to the sound. “I’m not a child, Jax. I’m a thief. I know the risks. I’ve been caught on the wrong end of a knife on more than one occasion, and I still go back for more. Do you want to know why?”

Jax waited, her anger a sparkle he wanted to fan further just to see her explode.

“Because I have to. Because it’s the only way I know how to help my family.” She threw the towel over one of the chairs. “So no, I wasn’t being reckless. I was taking control of a shitty situation.”

“Control?” he growled. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

“I was trying to find out about the client,” she said in an irate tone. “Who organised the job and why.”

“You could have waited.”

“Waited?” She pressed a single finger to the centre of his chest, pinning him with an antagonistic glare that made him want to put her on her knees. “I’m not going to sit around and wait for you to come get me at your convenience.”

“Thea,” he warned, keeping his voice calm. Except there was nothing calm about the energy cracking the air between them. It was like he was the flames, and she was the fucking fuel. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“I don’t exactly have the luxury of running away,” she continued, as if he hadn’t spoken. “Do you know what? We’re not discussing this with your chest out.” She dragged a hand through her hair, the ends starting to curl.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s distracting.” Colour flushed her neck, moving up to her cheeks. “If I had my tits out, would you be able to concentrate?”

His beast let out an amused purr, and he allowed the noise to escape. “I don’t know, why don’t we find out?”

Thea blinked, choking on a laugh. “This isn’t funny!”

“Do you see me laughing?”

“Of course not,” she growled, the sound delicate from her slim throat. “Because you’re this man of bloody ice. Your emotions shouldn't have to go through ten different filters for you to feel, Jax.”

An exhale parted her lips when he closed their distance, her back hitting against the cool glass as she stumbled back. The tension twisted between them, an abrasion against his already tight skin.

“I had to learn not to feel, to not let my emotions dictate my decisions,” he said, placing his hands beside her head so he could lean even closer. “To not be impulsive, because emotions only cause mistakes.” The glass was cool against his palms, contrasting the heat coursing through his veins.

“Are you calling me a mistake?” She licked along her bottom lip, leaving a wet sheen he wanted to taste.

MINE, Beast snarled, pressing him to take her then and there. Jax wanted to fist his hand in her hair, tip her head and claim her lips so completely that the urge was a ferocious burn through his veins.