“Cupcake!” he snaps, but I don’t look away from the picture of me. I want to stay in my happy bubble, but I know I can’t ignore our problems, which I evidently caused the moment I mentioned New York though in my defense, I was a seventeen year old, scared to get hurt by the man she loved, her best friend and over the years my immaturity showed because I stupidly kept to the plan.
“Do you hate me?” I finally ask, and I look at him, my eyes tearing.
He tilts his head, considering his words before he replies, “No, I don’t hate you, cupcake. I could never hate you. I guess I’m just disappointed.”
Ouch.
“That’s kind of worse, Jax,” I admit, and he gives me a sad smile.
“You know me, Ives. You know my heart, you know my loyalty to you. It didn’t matter what happened between us. You knew you could have come to me, yet you chose not to,” he grunts, looking away, and I swallow hard.
“I thought she had cancer, Jax, surely you can understand –” he cuts me off and snaps, “As soon as they demanded your hand, you should have told me, and you know it, Ivy, so stop making excuses!”
I shake my head and remind him, “I knew you’d come and stop the wedding, Jax, deep down, I was banking on it.”
He growls, “That isn’t the fucking point, heck as soon as you knew you were pregnant you should have come straight to me but instead you wanted to punish me.”
I suck in a breath, shocked at his accusation, the same one Raya accused me of and deny, “No I would never –”
“Yes, you did,” he cuts me off again, “You wanted to believe I fucked Misty and decided to punish me for not coming to you, for not denying it,” he sighs, “You wanted me to be fucking psychic, to know that you saw her walking out of this room and because I wasn’t, because I didn’t come to you because I needed you to try and live your life, you decided to punish me and well done, cupcake, because it worked. You hurt me real fucking bad agreeing to marry that fucker,” I flinch, “You hurt me so fucking bad keeping your pregnancy from me when I hadn’t done anything to warrant it.”
I sniffle, my emotions going haywire and I deny, “I didn’t punish you, Jax, I was trying to be there for my mother, not realizing she was conning me and I’m sorry, I-I’m so sorry, I knew you’d stop the wedding, or I had hoped. And yes I wanted you to deny sleeping with her because I needed that reassurance that’s all, I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I wasn’t trying to punish you, I just wanted you to fight for me for us, I wanted you to see how much I loved you,” I sniffle again, wiping my cheeks. I admit, “I love you too much to try and hurt you purposely and I know I should have fought instead, to prove to you that you are mine I-I–”
Jax’s mouth parts in shock before he pushes off the door and walks towards me, cutting my words off as he then cups my cheek and demands, “Say it again.”
I frown and say, “I’m sorry,” but he shakes his head and demands again, “Say it again, Ivy.”
My eyes race between his as realization hits.
I confessed my love, never actually saying the words to him before….
“I love you, Jax, I always have, I –” he cuts me off as he slams his lips against mine.
I moan, melting instantly against him and opening my mouth as his tongue pushes through my lips and tangles with mine, and everything around me disappears, him becoming all I can focus on.
Oh god, I’ve missed him.
I tilt my head and deepen the kiss as I grip his cut before gently moving it off his shoulders, needing him.
He allows me to remove it, and carefully, I throw it near the door where his chair is, knowing the cut is sacred before I grab his shirt next and slowly raise it before breaking the kiss, making eye contact with Jax. I swallow hard at the heat in his eyes as he helps me take his shirt off, breaking our eye contact. I look at his body, but I suck in a breath, looking at his chest.
Ivy
My name is scripted in the middle of ivy angel wings over his heart, and a lump forms in my throat.
What did I do?
“I’m such an idiot,” I whisper as I gently trace the tattoo, and he quickly grabs my finger, making me look at him.
His eyes race between mine, and he admits, “You’re not an idiot, cupcake, you were just scared.”
I half shrug as a few tears fall and rasp, “Still an idiot… I love you, Jax.”
Jax lets go of my hand and cups my cheek as his eyes take me in and he replies, “Not as much as I love you,” before he slams his lips against mine in a hard, bruising kiss, his tongue instantly pushing into my mouth.
I moan and wrap my arms around his neck as his hands go to my butt and he lifts me, my legs wrapping around his waist automatically before he moves.
I feel a soft padding against my back seconds later, but I don’t break the kiss. If anything, I heat it up as I grind myself against him, needing him.
