by SJ Bishop
"He obviously still had feelings for her, otherwise he wouldn't have still been screwing her," Anderson said. Emily's eyes narrowed.
"Excuse me," she said. "I have some paperwork I need to file." Her ponytail spun out behind her as she twirled around and walked off.
"I want you to go by Ryder's this morning," he said. "We need a sample of his DNA. Get a kit and take Wilson with you."
"Wilson's out on a call," Douglas said from two desks down. Apparently, he'd been listening to us.
"I'm fine on my own," I told him. I wanted to talk to Jax alone, anyway. This was the perfect excuse. I needed to find a way to make him understand I was still trying to help him. Are you? a little voice inside me questioned. I shook it off.
"Fine," Anderson said. "Just get down there and get his sample."
23
Jax
The doorbell rang. I was getting tired of the sound of it. In the last couple of weeks, nothing good had come from my opening that door. Caden hadn't spoken to me since I'd punched him two days ago. My friends had stopped calling. My life was falling fast, and I was aimed head first at the pavement.
I opened the door. Treena stood there, looking as beautiful as ever.
"Can I come in?" she asked. I sighed and opened the door wider to let her pass. I'd put off telling my lawyer anything about our relationship, hoping that she would come around and confess on her own. If there was one thing AA had taught me, it was to have faith in others. Though, I had to admit, part of me had become concerned that when I named her as my alibi there might be some backlash. What if I told Geoffrey and the police the truth and Treena still denied it? Would they believe me over her? Probably not. Then where would that leave me?
"What do you want?" I asked, keeping my question short and to the point.
"I have some news," she said, stepping inside. I could see her hands trembling, though she was trying hard not to show it.
"What sort of news?" I asked.
"Well... we finally got the coroner's report," she said.
All at once, my heart lightened. The load I'd been carrying with me since Penny's death lifted, and I pulled Treena into my arms. She hesitated, then wrapped her arms around me. It felt good to hold her so close. I'd missed her warmth and scent.
"Um, Jax," she said. I heard the wobble in her voice.
"So it's good news, right? That's why you're here?"
"No," she said. "Jax, I'm sorry, but the coroner's report placed her time of death between two and four. I can't be your alibi."
I stared at her. "Are you kidding me?" I asked. "What the hell are you here for then, Treena?"
"I... Penny was pregnant. I need a sample of your DNA."
I stared at her, my brain turning to mush. "What the fuck are you talking about?" I demanded. "Penny wasn't pregnant."
Treena nodded her head. "She was. Two months." She paused, giving me a chance to say something, but I had nothing left to say.
"Get out," I told her.
She squared her shoulders. I saw a flash of that steel glint in her eyes that I was certain would make her an excellent detective. "I can't," she said. "Not until I get your DNA sample."
"I'm calling my lawyer."
"Fine. Call him. I would too. But whether I get it now or later, it's going to happen."
I hesitated. I knew there was no way Penny was pregnant with my baby. We hadn't slept together in almost nine months. I chuckled, thinking that seemed rather an ironic number just now. Treena was watching me closely.
"Fine," I said. "I'm not the father, so it can only help, right?"
She nodded and pulled a cotton swab from a plastic baggie. "Just open your mouth, please."
I did as instructed, and she moved in close to me, swiping the inside of my cheek before slipping the cotton swab back into a plastic tube. I could feel her breath on my face as she tilted her head back to meet my eyes. "Jax," she said. "I... I'm so sorry. About all of this. You have to believe me."
The pull between us was as thick as the tension. It was awful having this mixture of feelings all at once. It made me feel fragmented. I couldn't pull my mind or my body together when I was around her.
"Christ, Treena," I finally said. "Fucking tell them and be done with it."
"There's no reason to tell them," she said desperately.
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?"
She shut her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were watery. "I just... can't."
"Did you ever love me?" I asked, grabbing hold of her shoulders. I had to touch her somewhere. Had to feel her pulse beneath my fingertips.
"Yes! God, yes, of course I do! Did! I mean..."
I almost felt bad for her. She was even more mixed up than I was. "Treena..." I watched her chest rise and fall beneath the slick black blazer she was wearing. She was breathing hard. "I'm telling my lawyer tomorrow."
"No!" she cried.
"I don't care what the time of death is. And I'm sorry it's you that I have to involve and not... someone else. But you're my alibi, whether you like it or not." She was shaking her head frantically. "Treena, damn it! The cops can trace my steps from the time I left your apartment to Penny's house. They can look at... at traffic reports and... and shit, I don't know, the weather. They can figure out how long it took me to get there. Maybe someone saw me. You don't know. It could help. Right now it's my only chance and I'm taking it."
I let her go. It broke my heart to see her face crumple like that as she squeezed tears from her eyes.
"You can't!" she cried.
"Treena, this is my life we're talking about. Not your career." I realized that I was echoing the very words Caden had said to me just a few days ago.
"Fine," she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She held her head high. "If the only evidence you have to prove your innocence is me, then I feel bad for you. Because you're gonna need a lot more than a shitty alibi to win your case." She strode across the room and slammed the door behind her on her way out.
I sank to the couch and dropped my head into my hands. I sat there I don't know how long, listening to my breath and trying to still my nerves. There was no point fighting it any longer. There was only one way to still my nerves, and I knew it. I rose from the couch and walked to the kitchen. I returned to the couch a moment later holding a bottle and a glass. I unscrewed the cap and inhaled the vodka scent. It was like a sunny day after a week of rain.
I filled the glass halfway and brought it to my lips. I hesitated only a second before tossing it back and swallowing the hard liquid as it burned my throat. The burn felt good. It was familiar. Comforting. I lifted the bottle and refilled my glass.
24
Treena
I swallowed my birth control and allergy pills and turned off my bedside lamp, exhausted. Between dealing with Jax and dealing with Anderson, my patience was wearing thin. When I'd returned to the station from Jax's, Anderson had demanded to know everything that he'd said and done when I'd requested his DNA. I'd told him Jax had complied willingly and seemed genuinely surprised to learn that Penny was pregnant. I left out the part about almost kissing him.
When I'd first shown up to his house and Jax had wrapped his arms around me, it had taken all of my strength to hold myself back. I'd bitten my tongue so hard that I'd tasted blood, but it was the only way I could stop myself from jumping into his bed and never climbing out again. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep, but my brain was too wired with the events of the day. That's when I heard him.
"Treeeeenaaaa!"
I sat up in bed, my ears perking up.
"Treeeeenaaaa!"
I turned the light back on. Someone was outside shouting my name. I stood and opened the window. A cool gust of air rushed at me and the curtains billowed in, lightly smacking my face.
"Jax?" I asked, once my vision had focused on the figure standing beneath my apartment window. It was like something out of Streetcar Named Desire. It would have been romantic, except that things hadn'
t exactly worked out for Stanley and Stella.
"Treena!" Jax shouted again when he saw me.
"Shut up!" someone yelled from the building over. My complex was small enough that screaming in the middle of the night was bound to draw unwanted attention.
"Treena!" he screamed again. He just kept shouting my name over and over.
"Jesus Christ, Jax. Shut up!"
"I'm sorry," he said, staggering. I was only on the third floor. It wasn't so high that I couldn't make out the bottle clutched in his hand.
Fuck me. He's drunk.
"I'm not leaving until you say you're sorry too," he called up to me. My heart thumped in my chest as more lights from my neighbors flickered on in the windows.
"Fine, I'm sorry. Now go home."
"I'm not going anywhere until I see you," he yelled. Apparently, his alpha male came out that much more when he was drinking.
"Shut the hell up before I call the cops!" someone shouted.
"Ha!" Jax yelled back at them. "She is a cop!"
"Fuck, Jax. Just come up. I'll let you in."
I opened the front door, and a second later, Jax appeared. His eyes were red and his gait was wobbly. As soon as he saw me, he flung his arms around me, pulling me close. I expected him to smell of whatever bottle he'd crawled into, but all I could smell was green grass and sunshine. I inhaled deeply. Pushing him away was one of the hardest things I've ever done.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. Worry replaced anger as I realized his shoulders were shaking. His cheeks were wet. "Jax, how much have you had to drink?"
"Not enough," he responded.
I slumped into a chair at my kitchen table, rubbing my temple with my right hand. "Jax, let me call Caden. He's your sponsor, right? Maybe he can—"
"I don't want to see Caden," he said. "I want to see you." He took a swig from the pint he was holding, and I realized it was vodka. Cheap vodka at that.
"Jax, please, give me that," I said, standing again and reaching for the bottle. He yanked his arm away faster than I expected, and I tripped over my own feet trying to grab for it. He caught me before I hit the ground. His arms were wrapped around my waist. I could feel his heartbeat running through his arms to the palms of his hands as they pressed against the small of my back.
"Jax," I said, clearing my throat. "Why don't you crash here tonight? Sleep on my couch?" I was back on my feet, and I stepped away from him so I wouldn't have to smell that delicious scent of his.
"Shit," he mumbled. "I never wanted you to see me like this, Treena. That's why I never called you. That's why I cut you off. I didn't want you to see the monster I'd turned into."
"You're not a monster!" I said, instinctively reaching for him to comfort him. My hand wrapped halfway around his bicep, his muscles too large for me to wrap my palm completely around them. He turned and looked at me, his blue eyes burrowing into me. I could feel him under my skin. My whole body was tingling. Looking at him now, I wondered how I'd ever thought it was possible that he'd killed Penny. This man could never hurt anyone.
"I fucked up, Treena," he said, looking dead sober now. His eyes were no longer red. His voice was husky. "I never should have let you go. Ever since I left you, I've made nothing but bad decisions. I don't think Penny ever even loved me, you know that? She cheated on me all the time. I think she even fucked someone on the team, but she never told me who. I'm pretty sure it was that fuckhead Mason, though."
"Penny was sleeping with Mason?" I asked, my mind turning.
"Yeah. That's why I fucked Emily. To get even."
I blinked. "Wait. What did you just say?"
Before my mind could finish comprehending what Jax had just said, he kissed me. I felt myself start to pull back. Too many things were swirling through my head. Too many memories. Too many uncertainties. Then I felt Jax's tongue scrape the roof of my mouth. His sunshine scent filled my nostrils, and I came undone. I needed him. Now. There was no point fighting it.
25
Jax
When Treena sank against my lips, my whole body let go of the tension I'd been holding. Every bone, every nerve, suddenly turned to Jell-O. Everything about Treena was soft and inviting. I opened my mouth wider, sucking in her scent, her taste. It wasn't just cherry orchards anymore. There was something darker fighting to get out. A fresh temptation at the back of my tongue, like cherries dipped in dark chocolate.
Treena's hands clawed at my back. She was trying to rip my shirt off. I smiled against her lips. Being with her now was the only thing keeping me going. Until the moment she'd kissed me back, I wasn't sure I could face another day. Her hair tangled in my fingers as I cupped the back of her neck. The soft cushions of her breasts pressed against my chest. I could feel her nipples harden through the skimpy black tank top she was wearing for bed. I didn't feel at all bad about waking her up. She brushed her tongue along my bottom lip and pulled away.
My heart thudded in my chest as she stepped back. I was terrified she was about to tell me to go. Instead, she pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it aside like a used tissue. A deep line of cleavage formed between her creamy breasts, which sat firmly atop her ribcage. I took her body in with my eyes, memorizing every inch of her muscles, every dimple in her areolas. I sank to my knees and buried my face between her breasts as she leaned over me. My tongue slid out, lapping at her soft nipples. They hardened in my mouth, two round pebbles the color of Merlot. I adored the vintage.
Treena's back arched. Her body shuddered. I could smell her arousal. My own libido went into maximum overdrive. My cock grew uncomfortable, but I didn't want to let her go, even for the second it would take to unzip my pants. I felt my shaft expand and told it to wait. Not yet.
"Oh God," she groaned as I moved my head between her legs, pressing my mouth to the thin pajama bottoms; I could tell she wasn’t wearing underwear. My tongue pushed against the soft cotton fabric, adding more moisture to her already growing wetness. Her fingers slipped through my hair, finding a chunk she liked at the back of my head and grabbing hold of it. I reached up with one hand and slid her bottoms off. Her manicured pussy was swollen with excitement as I pressed my face to her again. Her knees began to buckle as I swished my tongue against her labia. I licked her clit next and felt ripples of electricity as they pulsed out of her. Her knees finally gave out.
I caught her as she fell and carried her to the bedroom. I laid her gently on the mattress. It was hard to believe that just a couple of weeks before, we'd been in this same situation. Albeit under slightly different circumstances.
"Stop thinking and fuck me already," she purred, batting her long lashes at me as the moonlight streamed through her open window.
I pulled my shirt off and climbed on top of her. The pressure of her mouth on my chest as she kissed me up and down was like a soft massage. My skin tingled. Every nerve in me was on fire. I moved my hand between her legs, inserting two fingers into her sweltering slit. Her mouth fell open in a silent "O." I used my thumb to massage her clit while I slipped my two fingers farther back into her hole. Her breath was heavy and ragged. I liked hearing her pant. Her juices flowed over my fingers. I pulled them out before she could cum. I wasn't about to let her erupt until I was inside her.
Her eyes were liquid sky. She tugged at my pants, pushing them down to my knees. My cock clamored happily out of its shell as our bodies rubbed together in our dual effort to kick my pants to the floor. Treena's hips rose off the mattress, pressing against me with sudden urgency. I worked my cock between her dampened thighs, using her juices to slicken my ever-growing shaft.
"Are you sure you won't regret this tomorrow?" I asked, giving her one last chance to get out of this.
She laughed. The sound was a nightingale. "Fuck tomorrow," she said. "I want you. Now."
I didn't need any further invitation. I rolled my hips forward and slipped inside her.
26
Treena
Jax's cock felt massive as he slid into me. His perfect pink tip moved
through my opening and sailed toward the back of my cave. I let out a loud moan, not giving a shit if the neighbors could hear. Let them listen in. Maybe they'll learn something.
I raised my hips off the mattress, pressing them to Jax as his own hips rolled forward again. And again. And again. Each pulse was like a wave crashing against the shore. The tide was coming in, and I knew it wouldn't be long before I was completely covered.
"Oh God," I cried.
"You like that?" Jax asked, pounding against me.
"Fuck yes!"
He kissed my neck. His soft lips moving up and down from the tip of my chin to my collarbone. I felt my heart race in my chest and wondered how many people actually died each year during sex. Maybe I could look up some statistics at the station later. If I had to go, I decided that death by kisses was definitely the way out.
"What are you thinking?" Jax whispered in my ear. His breath was hot and cinnamony. I didn't want to tell him what I'd really been thinking. I was pretty sure that had just been the cop in me surfacing.
"I'm wondering how I ever lived without you," I said, deciding that was a healthy compromise of what my thoughts had actually been and what they probably should have been.
Jax smiled. He thrust his hips against mine, and my eyes widened. His erection was growing inside me, a living, breathing thing that was feeding off my own desire. I stroked one fingertip up and down Jax's chest. I pressed my palm against the hard planes of his abdomen and felt each muscle inside him as he moved inside me.
There was something about feeling his muscles work as he fucked me that sent me over the edge. I wrapped my legs around his back and bit down on my lip. "I'm gonna cum," I whispered. Jax bit my ear, sending tiny shockwaves of pain followed immediately by tidal waves of pleasure. He started pumping faster. Sweat seeped out of his skin as his hips slapped loudly against mine. I grabbed hold of my pillow as the first wave of tremors ripped through my body.
