Chapter 7: Ghosts and Secrets

Luna's POV

Lila’s apartment was dead quiet except for the hum of the fridge and the distant sirens still echoing from downtown. She’d dropped Jax and me off without another word, but her silence screamed louder than any lecture. Now, hours later, Jax sat on the edge of my bed while I paced the tiny living room, still in the same cum-stained jeans, skin crawling with dried sweat and shame.

Jax watched me, tattooed arms crossed over his chest, the ink on his forearms,wolves, chains, roses,shifting with every breath. He hadn’t said much since we left the club, but his presence filled the room like smoke.

“You don’t have to stay,” I muttered, stopping in front of the window. Rain streaked the glass. “I’m fine.”

“Bullshit.” His voice was low, rough from the fight. “You’re shaking. And you smell like him.”

I flinched. Elliott’s scent,woodsy cologne mixed with sex,still clung to me. I hadn’t showered yet. Part of me didn’t want to wash him off.

Jax stood, slow and deliberate, crossing the room until he was close enough that I could feel the heat rolling off him. “You gonna tell me what happened after he took you home?”

My throat tightened. “We… talked. Fucked. Again.”

Jax’s jaw ticked. “And you liked it.”

I looked away. “Yeah.”

He exhaled through his nose, then reached out,slow enough I could stop him,and cupped my jaw, turning my face back to his. His thumb brushed the bruise on my lower lip where Elliott had bitten me. “He hurts you, Nyx. Even if you want it.”

“I know what I want,” I whispered.

“Do you?” Jax’s eyes darkened. “Because I’ve watched you for months. You dance like you’re starving for control, but the second someone takes it from you, you melt. That professor,he’s taking everything. And you’re letting him.”

His thumb slid down, tracing my throat, then lower over the collar of my hoodie, pressing against my racing pulse. Heat flooded me again, traitorous and sharp. Jax leaned in, lips brushing my ear. “I could give you that too. Without the games. Without the threats. Just you and me. No cameras. No blackmail.”

I shivered. “Jax…”

“Let me show you.” His hand slipped under my hoodie, palm flat against my stomach, sliding up to cup one breast. He pinched the nipple gently at first, then harder until I gasped. “See? I know what you need. I’ve watched you come apart on that pole a hundred times. I know every spot that makes you whine.”

My clit throbbed instantly, pressing against the sticky denim. Jax’s other hand cupped me through the fabric, squeezing. “Already soaked again. For me this time?”

I whimpered. “I can’t....Elliott,”

“Elliott’s not here.” Jax kissed the corner of my mouth, soft, teasing. “Let me take care of you. Just once.”

He backed me against the wall, hands roaming under my shirt, down my jeans, fingers finding the mess Elliott left behind. He groaned when he felt how slick I still was. “Fuck. He filled you up good, didn’t he?”

I nodded, breathless.

Jax dropped to his knees, yanking my jeans and panties down. My folds glistened, swollen and dripping. He didn’t tease,just buried his face between my thighs, tongue lapping broad and hungry, sucking my clit hard. I cried out, hands fisting in his hair. He hummed against me, vibrations shooting straight through my core.

Then he stood, spun me around face to the wall, ass out. His fingers slid between my cheeks, pushing through the cum still leaking from me. “So open. So fucking wet.” Two fingers plunged in, curling to hit that spot inside that made my knees buckle. I moaned, pushing back.

“Jax,please,”

He added a third, stretching me wider. “You want my cock, baby? Want me to fuck his cum deeper into you?”

“Yes,god, yes,”

He freed himself,thick, pierced at the tip, the metal cool against my rim. He rubbed the head through the mess, then pushed in slow, letting me feel every inch, every ridge of that piercing dragging over my walls. I sobbed, forehead against the wall, legs shaking.

Jax fucked me hard and steady,deep thrusts that hit every sensitive place, hand around my throat from behind, choking just enough to make me dizzy. “You feel that?” he growled. “That’s me claiming you too. You’re not just his.”

I came first,hard, untouched,walls pulsing around him as wetness slicked my thighs. Jax followed with a guttural moan, thrusting deep and holding, filling me again until it leaked out around his cock.

We slid to the floor together, panting, his arms wrapped around me from behind. For a moment, it was quiet. Safe.

Then he spoke, voice soft against my neck. “You want my story? Fine. I’ll give it to you.”

I turned in his arms, looking up at him.

“My real name’s Jackson Rivera. I grew up in foster care after my mom OD’d when I was nine. Bounced around until I was sixteen, then I ran. Lived on the streets, danced in underground clubs to eat. Learned fast that sex sells, but it also gets you hurt. Had a boyfriend once,Dylan. Sweet kid. We were gonna get out together. Marcus offered him a ‘private gig.’ Dylan never came back. Overdose. Official story. But I know better. Marcus sold him to some rich fuck who liked it rough. Too rough.”

Jax’s voice cracked. “I stayed at Inferno to watch. To protect the new ones. Like you. That’s why I flirt. That’s why I fight. Because I couldn’t save Dylan. But I’ll be damned if I let Marcus or your professor break you.”

Tears burned my eyes. I kissed him slow, grateful. “Thank you.”

He kissed me back, tender. Then pulled away. “But you’re still going back to him tonight. Aren’t you?”

I nodded. “I have to. The flash drive. The investigation. It’s bigger than us.”

Jax exhaled. “Then go. But remember I’m here. No strings. No blackmail. Just me.”

I dressed in silence, body humming from two loads inside me now. As I reached the door, Jax called my name.

“One more thing.” He stood, pulling something from his pocket,a small silver key. “This opens the locker in the back room. The one Marcus never checks. There’s a hard drive in there,every dirty deal he’s done for the last two years. Names. Dates. Clients. If things go south tonight… use it.”

I took the key, fingers trembling. “Why trust me with this?”

“Because you’re the only one who’s ever looked at me like I’m more than a body on stage.”

I swallowed hard, then left.

The rain had stopped. Elliott’s car waited outside,black, sleek, headlights off. He stepped out when he saw me, expression unreadable.

“Get in.”

I did.

He didn’t speak until we were on the highway. Then, quietly: “You fucked him.”

My heart stopped. “How,”

“You reek of him. And you’re walking like someone just railed you into next week.”

I stared at the dashboard. “It just… happened.”

Elliott’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Did you come for him?”

“Yes.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Good. Because when we get home, I’m going to remind you exactly who you belong to.”

We pulled into his garage. The door closed behind us with a finality that made my stomach flip.

He killed the engine. Turned to me.

“Strip. Now. Then crawl to the bedroom. On your knees.”

I obeyed,clothes hitting the floor, body already aching for more.

But as I crawled across the cold tile, pussy still leaking both their cum, I felt something shift in my pocket.

The key.

And in my other pocket,the flash drive Marcus had given me earlier.

Two weapons.

Two choices.

And Elliott was waiting in the bedroom, belt already in hand, eyes promising punishment and pleasure in equal measure.

I reached the threshold.

He stood there shirtless, belt looped in his fist, cock straining against his slacks.

“Hands behind your back,” he ordered.

I complied.

He stepped forward, looping the belt around my wrists tight, binding.

Then he leaned down, lips brushing my ear.

“Tonight,” he whispered, “I’m going to make you forget anyone else ever touched you.”

My clit pulsed.

But in the back of my mind, the key burned like a brand.

And somewhere in Lila’s apartment, she was waiting,watching her phone, wondering why I hadn’t texted.

What she didn’t know,what no one knew,was that Lila had her own secrets.

Because when I’d left the apartment earlier, I’d seen her laptop open on the table.

A folder titled: Eldridge Investigation – Confidential

And inside: photos of Elliott.

Photos of Marcus.

Photos of me dancing.

Lila wasn’t just my roommate.

She was working with someone.

And the name on the file header?

Dean Rebecca Thornton.

The dean.

Elliott’s boss.

The woman who could end us all.