Chapter 156 - 0156: Prove It To Me

Chapter 156: Chapter 0156: Prove It To Me

Jaxx’s Point Of View

I leaned back against the heavy doorframe, arms crossed tightly over my chest, the small plastic remote for the electronic door lock dangling casually from my fingers.

The quiet click of the deadbolt engaging still echoed through the expansive room, a soft, final boundary drawing us into our own private world... one where the rest of the city, with all its noise and obligations, simply ceased to exist.

For once, I welcomed the silence. It gave me nothing to focus on except her.

The sight before me was enough to make my blood burn and my jaw set tight.

Elena. Naked beneath my tailored black dress shirt, the heavy cotton completely swallowing her petite frame. The sleeves were rolled up past her elbows in messy folds, and the bottom hem rode up just high enough to tease the golden curve of her bare thighs every time she drew a breath.

Her hair was a wild, glorious dark halo, tangled from where my fingers had anchored themselves in it hours earlier. Her lips were still visibly swollen, flushed a deep rose from the friction of my mouth, and her cheeks bore the feverish blush of last night’s ruin.

She looked, in that moment, like something I had no business wanting this badly, and yet I couldn’t remember wanting anything more.

There was a strange ache to it, wanting someone this fiercely and knowing she hadn’t yet decided to let herself want me back.

I’d always found men who fawned over the idea of a woman wearing their clothes childish. Pathetic, even... a desperate attempt at domestic marking, as if fabric could substitute for something real.

I’d mocked Roman for it once, the way he’d gone soft-eyed over some woman in his old college sweatshirt, and told him he sounded like a man auditioning for a role in his own life.

But seeing Elena like this, standing in the middle of my penthouse with my scent wrapped around her skin, something primal and uncompromising snapped into place inside my chest. It wasn’t possession, not exactly.

It was closer to certainty. A recognition, maybe, of something I hadn’t let myself want in years.

Who would’ve thought she had that dark, ravenous hunger inside her? The way she’d taken everything I gave her... begging, crying out, shattering on my cock like she was crafted specifically to take the weight of me.

The way she’d fought me at first, only to surrender harder when I pushed past her defenses. The way she’d needed me to shatter her calm, pristine world, as though she’d been waiting years for someone to finally do it.

I’d seen that same restraint in boardrooms, in the careful way she chose her words, the practiced composure she wore like armor. Last night, I’d watched it crack apart piece by piece, and I hadn’t been able to look away.

A slow, deliberate smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth.

I’d expected this... the morning-after panic, the sudden need to run. It was in her nature; that fight-or-flight instinct kicking in the second the haze cleared and reality set in. I understood it even as it irritated me, this reflex of hers to bolt the moment vulnerability threatened to linger.

But knowing it was coming didn’t stop the dark, unsatisfied hunger from gnawing at my gut. I’d cancelled my morning briefing with Roman just to handle this... to stand between her and that front door, ensuring she didn’t get to slip away into the morning light before I was finished with her.

Some things mattered more than quarterly projections, and she had become, somewhat inconveniently, one of them. It unsettled me, how easily she’d claimed that kind of priority in my life without even trying.

She looked completely stunned as her eyes dropped to the keycard remote in my hand, comprehension dawning slowly across her features.

I watched the exact moment she understood there would be no easy exit, no quiet slip into the elevator before I woke. Her spine straightened, some old instinct for self-preservation rising to the surface, and I found myself almost admiring it even as I intended to dismantle it completely.

"Good morning, Princess," I drawled, my voice rough from sleep and thick with heavy intent. "Looking for the exit?"

"Jaxx..." Her voice was a tight, unsteady whisper, her small hands coming up to grip the collar of my shirt, pulling it closed over her chest in a futile attempt at protection. "Open the door. I need to leave. I have to go home."

"Home?" I took a slow, measured step forward, watching her shoulders tense. "You think you’re just going to walk out of here like this was a mistake? Like you didn’t look me in the eye last night and ask me to ruin you?"

"That was... we were out of our minds," she stammered, backing up until her heels hit the edge of the rug. "It was a one-time thing. A mistake. Open the lock."

"A one-time thing?" I chuckled, a low, dark sound that rumbled from deep in my chest as I closed the distance between us in two long strides.

Before she could react or take another step back, my hands slid around her waist, lifting her straight off the floor.

She let out a sharp gasp, her legs kicking out as she tried to find leverage against my thighs, her palms slamming into my chest.

"Let me go, Jaxx! Put me down right now!"

"Make me," I growled, holding her suspended effortlessly against my frame, her body warm and solid against mine. I buried my face into the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of my soap mixed with the undeniable musky heat of her skin.

"What part of ’I’m never letting you go once I have a taste of you’ sounded like a negotiation to you, Bambina?"

"You can’t do this!" Her voice cracked with a frantic mix of outrage and panicked heat, her hands scrambling against my shoulders. "You’re acting like a lunatic! I’m a person, Jaxx, you can’t just keep me locked in your apartment!"

"I can," I cut her off, my tone dropping an octave, flat, cool, and absolute. "And I will. For as long as I decide you belong in my space."

I shifted her weight, hauling her over my shoulder like a prized capture. She shrieked, her fists pounding a frantic rhythm against the small of my back as her view shifted to the hardwood floor below, her dark hair spilling down toward the ground like a curtain.

There was something deeply satisfying about the way her body fit against mine even now, fighting me every step of the way and still somehow perfectly aligned to my frame, as if she’d been built for exactly this.

"Jaxx, put me down! You asshole! Let go of me!"

The fabric of the shirt rode up completely over her hips with the movement, leaving her bare skin exposed to the cool air of the room.

I let my hand rest heavy against the curve of her ass, feeling the feverish heat radiating off her skin, a heat that had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with the night before.

Smack.

The sharp crack of my open palm landing against her skin echoed through the hallway.

She yelped, her entire body locking up instantly over my shoulder, her fingers digging wildly into the fabric of my trousers.

"You really want me to take you right here in the ass, against the hallway wall, don’t you, Princess?" I murmured, my voice dripping with dark amusement.

"That is not what I meant!" she choked out, her breath coming in ragged, furious hitches. "Let go of me, you pervert! I’m not wearing anything under this shirt!"

"I know," I replied smoothly, trailing my calloused fingers down the back of her thigh, feeling the fine goosebumps rising on her skin. "I was the one who stripped you bare, remember?"

Smack.

Another firm strike brought a sharp, breathless gasp from her lips.

"I told you last night to be obedient," I growled, turning toward the bedroom and carrying her inside. "I told you what happens when you try to push against me. You decided to be difficult this morning. Do you know what happens to difficult girls, Elena?"

She squirmed against my hold, her voice trembling. "Jaxx, stop it..."

"They get disciplined," I corrected softly, stopping beside the king-sized bed. "And you’re going to sit still and take every second of yours."

I tossed her onto the mattress. She bounced softly against the dark silk sheets, her dark hair fanning out wildly around her face, her eyes wide with a mixture of fury and something far more complicated.

Before she could scramble backward toward the headboard, I came down over her, pinning her wrists on either side of her head with one hand, my heavy frame caging her in completely.

Her chest heaved, the buttons of my shirt straining as her rapid breaths pushed her against my chest. Her eyes were wide, flashing with a fiery mix of anger, defiance, and a deep, dark pool of unmistakable hunger that she was trying desperately to deny, even to herself.

I could read every flicker of that war on her face, and it only sharpened my resolve to win it.

"You broke two very explicit rules this morning, Princess," I murmured, leaning down until my lips were barely an inch from hers. My free hand slid down her ribs, tracing the hem of the cotton fabric as it rested over her stomach. "Rule number one... you don’t try to walk out on me while I’m still deciding what to do with you."

"I don’t belong to you," she spat out, though her pulse was hammering visibly against the skin of her throat, betraying every word she tried to sell me.

"You do while you’re in my shirt," I countered, dark and low. "And rule number two... you don’t pretend last night was a mistake when your skin is still burning from my touch."

I slid my hand lower, over the soft swell of her hip, my thumb grazing the delicate skin of her inner thigh.

Even through her defiance, I could feel the faint, rhythmic tremor running through her legs, a tremor she couldn’t quite will away no matter how hard she tried.

"Look at you," I whispered against her ear, my tone a dark, mocking purr. "Trembling like a leaf the second I put my hands on you. Tell me, Elena... what should I do with a girl who forgets her place?"

"Let me go, Jaxx," she whispered, her defiance weakening into a breathless plea as she tried to pull her wrists from my grip. "Please. Just... let me think. Everything is moving too fast."

"No," I replied simply, letting go of her wrists only to roll her effortlessly onto her stomach.

Before she could push herself up on her elbows, my hand came down firmly against her ass again, a sharp, stinging crack that sent a jolt straight through her frame.

"Wrong answer."

She buried her face into the pillows, letting out a muffled gasp as her fingers clawed into the sheets. "You can’t just keep hitting me!" she protested, her voice muffled and strained. "I am a grown woman, Jaxx! Stop treating me like this!"

"You mean like this?" I asked softly, landing another measured slap over the flushed skin, feeling her hips jerk forward reflexively into the mattress. "Tell me you hate it, Elena. Look back at me and tell me you want me to stop."

She stayed silent for three long seconds, her breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps as her chest heaved against the bed. "I hate it," she finally whispered into the pillow, her voice tight and trembling. "I hate you."

I chuckled, a dark, dangerous sound, leaning down until my chest was pressed flat against her back, my weight anchoring her securely to the bed. I wrapped my fingers into her hair, gently pulling her head back so I could see her profile, her flushed cheek, her bite-marked lip... every small detail a testament to just how thoroughly I’d already claimed her.

"You’re a terrible liar, Bambina," I murmured, tracing the line of her jaw with my thumb. "If you hate it so much, why is your heart racing like a trapped engine? Why are your thighs twitching every time my hand touches your skin?"

"It’s just... it’s just an automatic reaction," she stuttered out, her eyes flickering with panic as she tried to find a logical explanation. "My body is startled. It doesn’t mean anything."

"An automatic reaction?" I smoothed my palm over the warm, sensitive skin I’d just marked, feeling the sharp contrast between her smooth body and my calloused hand. "Let’s see how automatic it is."

I pulled her up by her waist, ignoring her quiet gasp of protest as I gathered her against me and carried her straight out of the bedroom toward the kitchen island.

She scrambled to adjust the long shirt, her face bright red as her bare legs swung through the cool air of the apartment.

"Jaxx, what are you doing now? Put me down!"

"You said you’re cold," I said smoothly, setting her down directly onto the cold marble edge of the high kitchen counter. "Let’s test that theory."

She immediately tried to slide off the counter, but I stepped straight between her knees, pinning her against the edge with the weight of my hips.

The dark shirt pulled tight over her thighs, riding high enough to expose every inch of her pale legs to the bright morning light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"It is cold," she argued, her voice trembling as she pressed her hands against my chest to hold me at bay. "I’m wearing nothing but your shirt because you completely destroyed my dress last night! I have nothing to wear, my phone is somewhere on the floor, and you’re keeping me hostage in your kitchen!"

I leaned down until we were eye-to-eye, my hands coming up to rest on the marble on either side of her hips, trapping her completely within my space.

"You’re not a hostage, Princess," I purred, my voice dropping into a low, hypnotic register. "You’re a guest who doesn’t know when to stop running. Now... look at me."

She hesitated, her dark eyes darting to my chest, my shoulders, the doorway behind me, before finally forcing herself to look directly into my eyes, a silent battle playing out across her face.

I could see her searching for some foothold, some argument that might actually work against me, and finding none.

"Then prove it," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper, my hand sliding around her waist, pulling her flush against me. "Prove to me that me spanking you didn’t do a damn thing to you, Princess."

My fingers tightened on her hip, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. "That it doesn’t make your pussy throb. Doesn’t get you soaked and dripping."

"Prove it to me," I murmured, sliding one hand up her thigh, my fingers tracing an agonizingly slow line along the soft inner skin, stopping just shy of her center.

"Prove to me that you don’t feel a single thing right now. Tell me your pulse isn’t racing. Tell me you don’t want me to push this shirt out of the way and take you right here on this marble."

She swallowed hard, her throat moving in a tight gulp as her fingers clenched into the fabric over my shoulders.

Her lower lip trembled slightly, her chest rising and falling in quick, shallow hitches, betraying the war raging beneath her stubborn silence.

I leaned in even closer, my voice a low growl. "Then..." I let the word hang in the air, my thumb brushing against the hem of the shirt where it rode up her thigh. "I’ll let you go."

"It... it doesn’t mean anything," she whispered, though her voice lacked conviction, her body shuddering softly as my thumb lightly brushed against the sensitive skin of her inner hip. "You’re just... you’re overwhelming me."

"I haven’t even started overwhelming you yet, Elena," I promised, dark and low, my lips grazing the shell of her ear as I leaned in closer. "Now... give me one good reason why I shouldn’t take full advantage of this shirt, right here, right now."