INCLINED FEELINGS

Jax’s POV

My head felt like it had been run over by a freight train, then put through a blender. 

The silver antidote was working, but it felt like liquid fire in my veins.

“Easy… dancer. You’re not out of the woods yet.”

I opened my eyes to see Malakai leaning against a damp brick wall. We were in a safe house, a cramped small apartment that smelled of stale coffee and Malakai’s overwhelming scent of sandalwood and rain. 

“Where’s Roxy?” I croaked trying to sit up. The movement made the room spin.

“She’s gone, Jax,” Malakai said, his voice flat but his jaw was tight. “She went with her father ‘Vane’ to save you.”

The guilt hit me harder than the silver. I slumped back against the pillows, a sob catching in my throat.

“She shouldn’t have. I'm nobody. She’s everything.”

Malakai walked over, his presence filling the small room. He was huge, a mountain of muscle and suppressed violence. He looked down at me, and for the first time, the ice in his eyes seemed to melt.

“ She thinks you're everything, too.” He said with a soft tone. 

He reached out, his large calloused hand hovering over my forehead to check my temperature. His touch was electric. I’m a prostitute; I know when there’s a spark, and this wasn’t just a spark, it was a forest fire. 

“I need to get you home,” Malakai muttered.

“My apartment, is over the bakery on 4th. It’s….. It’s safe.” I whispered

The drive was silent, the air in the car thick with things that we weren’t saying. I watched Malakai’s hands on the steering wheel, strong, capable hands. I wondered if they could ever be gentle.

By the time we climbed the stairs to my tiny glitter-filled sanctuary, the tension was a physical weight 

I leaned against the doorframe watching him survey the space. He looked so out of place among my neon signs and feather boas. 

“ You’ll be safe here for the night,” Malakai said, turning to leave.

“Wait,” I said, reaching out to grab his leather jacket. 

He stopped, turning back to face me. We were inches apart. I could smell the adrenaline on him, and something like a deep primal hunger he was fighting hard to hide. 

“Why are you helping us?” I asked, my voice dropping to a low hum. “You’re an Alpha. You don’t do things for free.”

“ First off, I’m sorry if you misunderstood. I'm not an Alpha, I’m the Beta of the strongest Pack in the Northern Hemisphere. And secondly, I’m helping you because I have my reasons,” he growled, his gaze dropping to my lips. 

I didn’t think. I just leaned in, pressing my mouth against his. I expected him to push me away, to tell me he’s straight or I’m just a distraction. Instead, he made a low animal sound in his throat and crushed me against him. 

The kiss was desperate, flavored with the bitterness of the Sewers and the sweetness of survival. 

His hands were everywhere,

In my hair, gripping my waist, pulling me so close I could feel the hard line of his desire through his tactical trousers.  

I pushed him toward the bed, my mind racing. I was a dancer, I knew how to move, how to entice. But with him, it wasn’t an act. I wanted to disappear into him. 

“Malakai!” I panted, breaking the kiss for a second as he began to trail his lips down my neck. “Listen to me.” 

He groaned, his teeth grazing my collarbone. “What?”

“Roxy,” I whispered, my fingers digging into his shoulders. “You have to keep her safe. If you want this…. If you want to keep coming back here, you have to make sure she doesn’t break into that estate.

Use your connections. Spy on them. I don’t care.

Just save her.”

Malakai pulled back, his eyes darkened with a mix of lust and something much more dangerous. He looked at me, really looked at me and I saw the conflict in him. He had to choose.

“You’re using yourself as a bribe?” He asked his voice a low rumble.

“I’m using what I have,” I replied, pulling him back down to me. “Is it working?”

"Show me," he said softly. "Show me how badly you want to keep your friend safe."

He laid on the mattress staring at me with so much lust.

I closed my eyes and parted my lips, taking him into my mouth. 

The taste of him, clean and slightly salty, filled my senses. I heard him hiss in a sharp breath, his hand tangling in my hair, gripping it tight. 

The pain was a grounding force, a sharp contrast to the dizzying whirl of my submission.

I'd done this multiple times, of course, but never like this. Never with the intention of saving my friend with this potent mix of ownership and arousal coursing through me.

 I felt a strange familiarity, as if I was supposed to be with him. 

I used my tongue, my lips, my hand, working him with a desperate intensity.

"Look at me," he commanded, his voice strained.

I opened my eyes, looking up at him as I took him deeper. 

The sight of him-head thrown back, his face a mask of pleasure, his control finally fracturing sent a surge of power through me. 

I was the one on my knees, but in that moment, I was the one making him lose control.

"Fuck, Jax," he groaned, his hips thrusting forward gently.

 "Just like that."

He set the pace, his hand in my hair guiding me, and I let him. I let him use my mouth, my body, for his pleasure. 

And the most fucked up part? I was hard as a rock, aching with a need that was both humiliating and overwhelming.

Just as I felt him begin to tense, just as I knew he was close, and we got lost in each other, the small radio on my bedside table erupted into static.

Through the noise, a voice came through, clear and chilling.

“Target identified at 4th Avenue. Sector 7. Converge. We have the Beta."

Malakai froze.

“They didn’t let me go,” I whispered, the cold realization washing over me. “They followed us.”