Page 55 of Puck Tease
The apartment offered none of it.
The TV in the living room barked Sportscenter highlights. The blender in the kitchen screamed, lid rattling, ice and protein powder getting pulverized. Jax had his back to me, shirt off, shoulders flexed, veins popping while he held the button down. The motor shrieked, a high-pitched, grinding wail that swallowed the gentle click of the door latch.
He looked up as I stepped into the living room. He was a vision of casual power, clad only in mesh shorts, his torso a sculpted landscape of muscle. He seemed utterly relaxed, completely untroubled by the fact that the screaming blender, and by extension, he, was systematically eroding my sanity.
"You're late," he said, his voice cutting through the sudden silence as he flicked off the blender.
"Library," I mumbled, toeing off my sneakers, the laces still tied in a frantic rush. "I told you. Midterm's tomorrow."
"Right. The test." He poured the thick, green sludge into a shaker cup, the liquid clinging to the sides. "Change of plans."
I stopped, one foot halfway to my bedroom door, a cold knot tightening in my stomach. "What?"
"Team dinner got moved. The Lodge at six. I need you to drive me."
"Jax, I have to study. I can't lose tonight." My voice was tight, thin.
"And I can't drive," he countered, screwing the lid onto the cup with a decisive twist. "Truck's in the shop. Brake pads."
"Take an Uber." The words came out sharper than I intended.
He took a long swallow from the shaker cup, his eyes, blue and unreadable, watching me over the rim. The liquid coated his lips. "I don't take Ubers. The Captain arrives in his own vehicle. Or his roommate's."
"My car's a Honda Civic with a dented bumper," I said, a laugh, dry and humorless, catching in my throat. "Hardly a flex."
"Better than a Prius with a stranger." He set the cup down with a soft thud. A different glint entered his eyes, a predatory spark. "Besides," he added, his voice dropping, "I need a release before dinner. I'm tight."
He walked around the island, his movements fluid, unhurried. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, a slow, deliberate gesture that felt loaded with unspoken meaning.
"Bedroom. Ten minutes. Get your mouth ready."
He said it so casually, as if ordering a coffee.Light cream, two sugars, suck my dick.
Something inside me snapped. It wasn't an explosive crack, but a quiet, brittle fracture, a hairline fissure spreading through the carefully constructed foundation of my patience. A tremor ran through my hand, but my voice remained steady.
"No," I said.
Jax froze. His head tilted, a subtle, almost imperceptible movement. He blinked, slowly, like a machine suddenly confronted with an illogical command. He looked at me as if the toaster had just started speaking fluent French.
"What did you say?" His voice was low, edged with disbelief.
"I said no."
I turned, my back to him, and walked towards my room, each step a deliberate act of defiance. "I'm studying. I'm not driving you. And I'm not sucking you off."
Then I heard them. His footsteps. Heavy. Fast. Closing the distance.
His hand clamped down on my shoulder just as my fingers brushed the doorframe. He spun me, the force of his grip jarring my teeth together. My back slammed against the wall with a sickening thud. Pictures rattled in their frames, the clatter cloud and jarring in the sudden silence.
"You don't say no to me," he snarled, his face inches from mine, his breath hot against my cheek. His eyes were flint. "Rule Number Two. Submission."
"Screw Rule Number Two," I snapped back, shoving his chest. He didn't budge, a solid, unyielding wall, but the unexpected resistance registered in the slight widening of his eyes. "I have a test, Jax. A real one. Not some game."
"You think this is a game?" His voice was a low growl.
"I think you're bored!" I shouted, the words tearing from my throat. "I think you're a sadist who gets off on controlling me because you're terrified of losing control of anything else! But I'm done. I'm tired. I'm sore. And I have to study."
Jax’s eyes narrowed, the sapphire blue deepening to a dangerous, icy black.
