Jaxson
There are moments in life that we know will change the course of things. A decision. An action. A twist of fate that alters everything and sets into motion a cascade of events, for better or worse.
The night I stepped into that shithole bar and laid eyes on Savannah. The day she decided to seek out her family and ended up in Magic Side. Those moments had changed everything.
Pressing a kiss to her lips, I set Savannah down on her feet. She was a vision. Water cascaded down her curves, and when she smiled up at me, my heart stilled. Her eyes were no longer stormy and blazing like the tempest outside, but calm and complete.
It was a feeling I shared—one that I’d never felt so strongly before.
Savannah took the loofah and lathered it with soap. Reaching up, she began to clean the lingering blood and grime that coated my skin. As she stepped behind me, she pressed a kiss to my shoulder, whispering, “Thank you,” before she continued scrubbing my back.
“For what?” I asked.
“For being exactly what I needed.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, recalling the fortune teller’s tent where I’d had my first glimpse of Savannah through a crystal ball. The seer had drawn three cards for my fate. The second had been a woman subduing a lion by gripping it by its jaws. The card for Strength.
Turning, I took the loofah from Savy, soaped it up again, and began to wash her. The fates never chose the easy paths for mortals, but they were always the paths they needed to follow.
“You’ve always been exactly what I needed. I just was too blind to see it,” I said.
Trepidation flickered in her beautiful eyes, and she swallowed hard and looked away. “I know you never wanted a mate, Jax. And if that’s still the case, I understand.”
She had no fucking idea, did she? Once, that had been the truth. After seeing what Stephanie’s death had done to my brother-in-law, I swore to reject my fated mate, if I had one. But something had flicked on when I’d met Savannah, something that made me feel alive again. And the truth was, it terrified the shit out of me, feeling this way about someone.
I ran my fingers along her jaw. “No. I never wanted a mate until I met you. You changed everything.”
She turned her face and kissed my palm, and when she looked back up at me, there was a hint of smile.
My heart swelled. Maybe we were crazy. Maybe we were doomed. But I didn’t give a damn. Savannah was my mate, and I chose her.
We finished up, and I stepped out of the shower, grabbing two towels from the closet. Securing one around my waist, I wrapped the other around her bare body. Desire flared, and she must have sensed it, because she cast me a wicked grin as she took her towel off briefly and rubbed the drips from her wet hair.
Thunder raged outside, and rain drummed against the window in my bedroom.
Barely decent once more, Savannah took a step forward, tracing her fingers over my collarbone. “I hope you’re not going to just tuck me into bed and then leave again.”
Her citrus sunshine scent made my head spin. Intoxicating. Those lips, plump and inviting to be devoured.
I shook my head. The last time we’d fucked and showered, I’d put her in my bed and left. Propriety or not, I’d been an asshole. “There is no way I’m leaving you tonight,” I said, my voice rough.
She turned and walked into my bedroom, then glancing over her shoulder, she let the towel slide, revealing nothing but bare skin. Lightning streaked, casting Savannah in a brilliant glow. My mouth went dry as my eyes devoured the sight. Her damp crimson hair fell down her sleek back as she climbed up and kneeled on my bed, her toned thighs and round ass on full display.
“Well, then, alpha. Come and claim me,” she said, peering over her shoulder at me with a come-hither smile.
Fucking hell.