Chapter Ten
"Come on, princess, just blow on it."
Harper stared him down with her hands on her hips. "Why should I? You know it's not gonna help you. You're a loser. Literally, Jax. A loser."
"Aw, come on," he grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist to draw her against his hip. "Just once? Maybe you've got the magic touch."
"Wouldn't you like to know," she muttered under her breath.
He just lifted his eyebrows suggestively at her, tightening his grip around her hip, and she rolled her eyes all the way up to the neon lights in the high ceilings of the Club Cal-Neva casino. But at this point, she was also acutely aware that the dealer was practically tapping his foot in impatience.
"Alright, alright."
With that, she leaned forward, and blew on the dice in Jax's outstretched hand. He shot her a playful grin, shook the dice in his right hand, wound up, and let them fly across the table.
"Come on, come on," Jax murmured. "Gimme a seven, baby."
The dice bounced off the edge of the table, twisted and turned and turned - one finally landed on a three, with the other one still turning and turning.
"Oh, shit, it's gonna -" Jax burst out, and grabbed onto Harper's arm in excitement. "It's gonna…" and then the second die landed on a two, "Aw, shit! Goddammit! I really thought I had it that time."
"I told you," she just shook her head. "You're a loser."
Jax ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly and smacked his hands on the edge of the craps table. "This fucking sucks. I hate this game."
"How much money have we lost now?"
He shot her a wary glance, even as he snaked a hand around her waist again to draw her in against his hip. "I don't wanna say it out loud."
Harper just rolled her eyes at him as the dealer tipped his chin to them, signalling it was time to place a bet. She cocked an eyebrow at Jax, silently asking him what he wanted to do, and he just gestured to the table with his left hand, wedding ring and all. Seeing as how their chips were quickly dwindling, thanks to Jax's never-ending bad luck, she decided to just go for it. What did they really have to lose at this point?
She winked at him, and then pushed the rest of their chips toward the center of the table to place their bet.
Suddenly, his warm breath tickled her ear, making her shiver even more when he boxed her in against the craps table with one arm on either side of her and his chin resting on her shoulder.
She turned her head just enough to touch her lips to his cheek, "Watch and learn, honey."
With that, she shook the dice in her hand, wound up, and let them fly across the table, bracing for the inevitable.
"Come on, come on," Jax murmured in her ear. "Oh, shit, it's gonna…"
The first die fell on a two, and then a moment later, the second die landed on a five.
"Yeesss!" Jax roared in her ear, his arms momentarily leaving her as he lifted his fists high in the air in victory. "Wooo! Seven...fucking seven!"
Then his arms locked around her waist to hoist her up into the air, so she just rolled with it - and gave in to the moment he'd pulled her in. She found herself doing that a lot with him, giving in to the moment and letting go of her control, of her tendency to slip into self-preservation mode, and just being in the moment with him. She wasn't planning her next move or looking for the exit. She was here, with him, and loving every second of it.
She barely had a chance to get her bearings back when he set her down on the ground again because his lips crashed into hers, claiming them like she was the prize, and he slipped his tongue through her parted lips just long enough to give her another taste of what was waiting for her later tonight.
God, she couldn't effing wait. She had half a mind to just grab his hand right now and take off sprinting for their hotel.
But this was their wedding day. They were married now. And tonight was the night to get to know each other a little better, and just enjoy the ride - like Jax had told her earlier when they'd stood outside underneath that teeny tiny awning, smoking their cigarettes together, and laying their cards on the table.
Their wedding night could wait until later tonight.
For now, she just wanted to have some fun with her husband.
That last thought made her lips curl at the corners, and she leaned into him again, wrapping her arms around his neck even as he bent forward to collect their winnings. They stood there like that at the craps table, putting their bets down as the other gamblers at the table took their turns rolling, with Harper's arm wrapped around Jax neck, and his arm snaked around her waist, until it was Jax's turn to roll again.
He lifted an eyebrow at her with a cocky smirk, and all she could do was just shake her head. She knew exactly what he was going to do - a moment later, he pushed their remaining chips to the center of the table.
"I don't know," Harper tsked at him. "We're gonna lose all your money because you have terrible luck, honey."
"Oh, I don't know about that, babe," he smirked.
Jax didn't miss a beat, pressing a quick kiss into her cheek, and then he sent the dice flying down the table with the exact kind of bravado and cocky swagger she'd come to expect from him. He needed a seven or an eleven to win, and true to form, the loser rolled a six.
"Nooo!" he pushed out, slamming a fist against the table. "Fuck! Goddammit, I hate this game!"
Harper shot the dealer a placating smile at the dealer, who looked about ready to reach across the table and either punch Jax or strangle him. Then she wrapped an arm around Jax's neck to bring him in closer.
"Honey, you need to get a hold of yourself before you get us kicked out of here," she murmured in his ear as she gently pulled him away from the table. "Let's check out the slots, huh? Maybe we can do less damage there."
"You're right, you're right," Jax grinned, waving brightly to the dealer and the rest of the gamblers, who were more amused by the whole thing than anything. "I apologize. As you can see," he gestured to Harper, before gently lifting up the veil on her head, "I just got married today and I got a little carried away. I'd say I'd buy you all a round of drinks, but I'm runnin' outta money. So sorry 'bout that, and have a good night!"
He shot them all one more wave from over his shoulder as he draped an arm around Harper, who by now had to press her face into his shoulder to muffle her laughter.
"I told you you have terrible luck."
"Yeah, well," he murmured in her ear as he steered them to a quieter section of the casino floor. "I don't know what kinda voodoo magic you were workin' at that table, babe, because you won every fuckin' time you rolled. I shoulda just had you roll for me. Then I wouldn't be down $300 right now."
"Well," she just shrugged. "You live and you learn, I guess."
With that, she dropped down into the chair of a particularly awesome-looking slot machine, humming along to the sickly sweet music that played from it. Jax shook his head at her choice, but really, he couldn't have been all that surprised at this point. So, now he had to decide - did he sit down next to her, at this Britney Spears-themed set of slot machines, or did he find something else that wasn't Britney Spears-themed, but would also put some distance between them?
He met her silent challenge without hesitation, and sank down into the chair next to her.
"Didn't know you were a Britney fan," Harper tossed out lightly, dipping into her purse for some cash and handing him some bills, "Here, honey, you need this right now."
Jax just lifted a shoulder, taking the cash from her, feeding a bill into the machine, and hitting a few buttons. "Thanks, babe. And I've got nothin' against Britney - hey, look, this thing's got some of her music videos on it...oh yeah, there's the little school girl outfit. Don't mind this at all."
"So that's something you like, huh? The little school girl outfit?"
"Why?" he smirked as he lit up a cigarette and then handed one to her. "You thinkin' about dressin' up for me tonight?"
"No," she laughed. "At least not like a little school girl. That's a fetish I won't indulge, Jax."
"I don't know that it's a fetish," he shrugged again, and then he leaned forward to hold out the flame from his lighter so she could light her cigarette. "Maybe a kink?"
Harper tipped her head back as she laughed. "Is there a difference?"
"Sure," he smirked. "There's a difference - a fetish would be like, if I needed you to wear heels every time we had sex so I could get off. A kink would be like, you wearin' a little school girl outfit every once and awhile just because I think you'd look smokin' hot in one. That's the difference."
"Ah," she laughed, suddenly feeling like she needed to fan herself a little. "Thank you for the sex ed lesson. I definitely learned something today."
"Glad I could help," Jax grinned broadly at her with a wink. "I'm an excellent teacher."
Harper just batted her free hand at him, and shifted her attention back to her slot, hitting a bet, and grinning victoriously at him when she hit the right lines. "Look at that, fedoras for days. I win again!"
"Voodoo magic," Jax wagged a finger at her. "That's what it is."
"You're just jealous."
"Hey, I figured I get to reap the benefits of all your winnings though, right? What's yours is mine, and what's mine is ours? Somethin' like that?"
She smiled snidely at him. "Is that the expression?"
"Pretty sure, babe."
"Mmkay," Harper smiled just sweetly enough to let him know there was nothing really sweet about it. "Whatever you say."
She spent the next few minutes singing along to the song playing from their slot machines, getting a little bit louder, and a tiny bit more off-key, purposefully of course, just to needle and poke to get a reaction out of him.
"Sometimes I run, sometimes I hide, sometimes I'm scared of you," she eyed Jax carefully to gauge his irritation level. When he just cocked an eyebrow her way in amusement, she took it one step further, sliding a little more off-key just because she could.
Just then, a waitress appeared at her side, almost as if someone had sent her other there just to shut Harper up.
"Can I get you two some drinks?" she asked them, and then her eyes lit up when she realized Harper was wearing a veil. "And congratulations, by the way! Where did you have your ceremony? At the Arch or the Antique Angel?"
"Oh, we had a pretty perfect ceremony at the Antique Angel," Harper told her proudly. "Wasn't it, honey?"
Jax's lips curled into a sexy smirk, but his eyes softened. "Pretty damn perfect, actually. Hey, you wanna know what song this lovely little lady walked down the aisle to?"
"What's that?" their waitress asked, frowning a little as she glanced between them.
He leaned forward with a shit-eating grin. "The Monster Mash."
The waitress's smile slipped just a hair - this was clearly a woman who'd seen and heard it all, working at an aging, neon-lit casino in Reno like she did, but this was something even she had never heard before. Just the way Harper liked it.
"Oh," the waitress recovered quickly and pressed a smile to her face. "Well, that's different."
"It's one of my favorite songs," Harper explained with a completely straight face.
"Oh," the waitress said again. "Okay. So, what can I get you to drink?"
Jax huffed out a laugh, flicking some ash into the tray sitting in between them, and then studied Harper carefully, tapping a finger to chin in thought. "She'll have a...margarita. Strawberry, if you've got it."
She just rolled her eyes at him, and then shifted her attention back to their waitress, who by now was well on her way to losing her patience with them. "And he'll have a Corona, to go with my margarita of course."
"Of course," the waitress smiled tightly, and then turned on her heel to head to the nearest bar to get their drinks.
Harper watched her walk away for a moment before cocking an eyebrow at Jax. "A margarita? Really? That's what you think of me?"
He just threw his hands up in the air, smirking at her as his lips worked around the cigarette in between them. "It was a shot in the dark. My bad, princess. What would you have ordered, then, if I hadn't stepped in like a neanderthal and dared to order for you?"
"Well, if you must know," Harper sniffed. "I appreciate a fine wine more than anything else. A white, preferably, like a nice oaky chardonnay, but I've been dabbling in a few reds as of late. But I do love a bubbly champagne too."
"Ah," he lifted his eyebrows in amusement. "Shoulda known. That's what you brought upstairs that time I was at your parents' house with Tommy, right? When we moved some of that furniture out?"
"You remember that?"
"Of course I remember," Jax grinned. "You were eavesdropping. How could I forget that?"
"I wasn't…" she trailed off when Jax lifted a wary eyebrow at her. "Okay, fine. I was totally eavesdropping. Can you really blame me though?"
"Guess not."
"But that being said," Harper eyed him softly, her heart clenching a little when his blue eyes filled with some tenderness. "That meant a lot to Willa - everything you said to her. Now she thinks you're, like, the best brother-in-law ever. I would've made you work for it a little more, but that's just me."
Jax appraised her with some wariness creeping into his eyes now. "Okay."
"I didn't mean anything bad by that. At least not really," Harper laughed. "Besides, I think Willa is gonna lose her mind when we get home. She had all these grand plans to set up us tonight, and what do you know...she didn't need to do any of that."
He flashed her a megawatt, panty-dropping smirk. "We kinda took care of that ourselves, didn't we?"
"We did," she smiled back at him. "And I have a feeling that had we sat through dinner at Willa and Tommy's house tonight, and tried to play along with her little matchmaking game, we probably would've ended up really hating each other after that."
His jaw worked around an amused grin as he took a long drag from his cigarette. God, he was so effing beautiful it hurt to look at him sometimes. And then she smiled, more to herself than anything - this beautiful man was also her husband now.
"I think you might be right about that," Jax laughed. "You know, Tommy never said anything about that - the first time I ever heard about it was when you mentioned it last night."
"Oh, you mean when you were interrogating me while I was taped to a chair?"
That grin slipped from his lips a little, and he took another long pull from his cigarette, tipping his chin to their waitress when she set their drinks down on the little counter attached to their slot machines, and he dug into his pocket to hand her some cash.
"So, did I do okay with the Corona?" Harper called out to him, eyeing him carefully from her seat.
"The Corona is fine. I'm not too picky about that, if you haven't noticed. Alcohol is alcohol," he shrugged, flashing her a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Jax."
He hit something on the screen in front of him, and then lifted his eyebrows at her nonchalantly, like he was trying to pretend that he didn't really know she was onto him like white on rice. He should know by now that she just didn't miss this kind of thing, and she wasn't afraid to call him out on it either.
"Jax, we can talk about it. We can even laugh about it too if you want. It's really okay."
He cleared his throat, squirming in his seat uncomfortably, and he tore his eyes away from her to lock them back on his screen. "Maybe that's easy for you to say, but if I could go back and handle that moment differently, I would."
"I know," she shrugged easily. "But, in the moment, what else were you supposed to do?"
"I scared you, Harper," Jax's flat voice called out to her, and he sighed heavily. "I made you think I was gonna hurt you. That I was gonna…" he trailed off, wincing like he just couldn't even handle the thought of the rest of that sentence.
"Well," Harper offered. "To be fair, I thought you were gonna...do that long after I was taped up in that office anyway, so what difference does it make?"
He blew out another heavy sigh, and scrubbed a hand over his face before finally dragging his eyes over to her. "I just wish you hadn't had to go through that. I don't even wanna think about how fuckin' scared you must've been all that time we were in my dorm, and then when I drove you outta town and you had to sit in the truck and just sit there and watch and wait…" Jax trailed off again and he swallowed hard, running another hand over his eyes.
Harper tilted her head to the side, and then, with a soft smile, she slid off her chair, closed the short distance between them, and climbed into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him close, and he pushed his face into her neck before pressing a soft kiss into her skin.
"I'm sorry about all of that," he murmured against her neck. "If I could've traded places with you, I would've."
She turned her head so she could meet him in the eye. "I know. But during that whole thing...I saw you trying, you know that, right? I saw you fighting, literally, to keep them from doing what they wanted to do to me, and even though, in the moment, I wasn't holding out much hope that any of it would actually work...I saw you trying, Jax. I saw you fighting for me. And that mattered to me when I was sitting in that truck, not knowing what was gonna happen to me. It still does."
Jax leaned closer to brush his lips against her mouth, and murmuring, "I know that, babe. But the way you were treated, the way we scared you...I actually had a fucking conversation with two of my club brothers and my actual brother about whether to take your life. I just can't even..."
"You can't beat yourself up over something you can't change, Jax. And if you thought I was scared yesterday, that was nothing compared to the time me and my friend got trapped in this diamond smuggler's villa in Cape Town. That was effing scary."
"You're fuckin' insane," Jax laughed against her lips.
"I think you like me that way."
He grinned again before brushing his lips against her mouth. "Yes, I do."
"But seriously," Harper laughed, reveling in the feeling of being this close to him, of feeling him wrapped around her this way. "I don't understand why you have such a hard time believing me. You believed me before when we were talking about where things stood between us. Why is it so hard to believe me now?"
"Because," he smiled against her lips again. "That was serious, babe. And we both knew it. This...you makin' up stories about gettin' trapped in some diamond smuggler's villa or hookin' up with some Saudi prince -"
"Again with the Saudi prince," Harper huffed. "Why are you so obsessed with Amir? What did he ever do to you?"
"Well, seein' as how he's not even real," Jax laughed. "I guess I've got nothin' to be jealous about, huh?"
She playfully turned his face away from her, making him bark out a laugh. "Whatever. So, you're saying you're willing to believe me only when it's about something serious?"
"I'm sayin' I trust you to tell me the truth when it counts and when it matters, like earlier today when I needed you to tell me the truth. And contrary to popular belief, I actually like your stories, princess. They're pretty entertaining, and if anything," he shrugged easily, "it just shows how quick you can think on your feet. It's pretty damn impressive actually. The way you can just come up with that shit right off the cuff like that."
She rolled her eyes at him, but he followed that up with a searing hot kiss that just about knocked her right off his lap. It was a good thing he was holding on tight, otherwise she probably would've been a puddle on the floor.
But then he broke away so he could lean into her with a shit-eating grin. "Hey, so I've been thinkin', princess."
"Uh oh."
"Yep," he tipped his chin to her, his blue eyes glinting evilly. "You say you've got all these mad skills and you've been on all these crazy adventures and into all these shenanigans, and you've made it pretty clear you want me to believe you. But, see, the thing is you've yet to show me any evidence that any of that shit is actually true. I'm a cynical asshole, babe, so I need to see it to believe it."
Harper narrowed her eyes playfully at him. "What are you saying?"
"I'm sayin' I think you should put your money where your mouth is, and show me what you've got."
"Hmm," she tapped her index finger to her chin in thought. The movement made his lips slip to the side of his mouth in that sexy lop-sided smirk that was quickly becoming her favorite thing in the world. Then she held her hand out for him to shake, "Hello, sir. My name is Selena Beverheusen. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
"Trust me, Selena," Jax laughed as he shook her hand, his eyes glinting devilishly. "The pleasure's all mine."
Jax lounged against the table, kicking his feet out, and took a nice long pull from his beer bottle. He glanced at Harper out of the corner of his eye, smiling to himself as he took in the way her eyes flicked from patron to patron at the bar, evaluating and scrutinizing each one before moving on to the next one. She actually kinda reminded him of one of those velociraptors from Jurassic Park, sniffing out and zeroing in on her prey before she attacked.
Yeah, he was clearly dealing with an experienced con artist right now. So, it was probably a good thing she was also his wife now too...and even just thinking that made him smile a little. This whole thing was still going to take some getting used to, and he figured they'd have some adjusting to do when they got back to Charming as they settled into their lives together now, but...he didn't regret this at all. Not for one second.
It was probably the craziest, most reckless thing he'd ever done - jumping into a real relationship and a real marriage with her like this - but like Harper had said before, maybe that was why he trusted it. His instincts were never wrong, and his instincts were telling him that all this...starting with what she'd seen in the parking lot to them sitting right here in this dingy casino in Reno, it had all happened for a reason.
Because now, with this girl, who was now his wife and his old lady, it felt like she was always supposed to be here, sitting next to him, his true partner in crime, literally and figuratively speaking.
He'd learned a long time ago not to ask stupid questions. Not to play games. Not to mess around if he didn't have to. At least not when it was about something important, something that mattered. And this...it mattered a whole fucking lot.
She mattered.
And so, he wasn't going to ask stupid questions, and he wasn't going to play stupid games with her either. Besides, he'd somehow ended up with the craziest, funniest, scrappiest, smartest, most resourceful, most beautiful woman he'd ever met in his life. The way he saw it, he'd be a real idiot to do anything but throw her over his shoulder and take off running as fast as he could.
Especially since he was already married to her.
Some things just had a way of working themselves out, which was pretty crazy considering the last month or so had been the worst of his life.
But things were looking up, that was for damn sure.
He tipped his chin to a couple who'd just sidled up to the other side of the bar, and he leaned in to murmur to Harper, "How 'bout them?"
Harper tilted her head to the side ever so slightly as she inventoried the couple he'd pointed out, and he found himself grinning at the movement. She tended to do that whenever she was thinking through something, or right about to unleash some unrelenting truth on him, and it was quickly becoming one of his favorite things about her. It was cute, sure, but it was also just...her. Completely her.
And right now she was up to no good, and he was just sitting here, enjoying every second of it.
"I don't know," she whispered back to him. "They look a little...too easy. Like, to the point where I'd just feel bad about the whole thing. It's no fun if they make it too easy."
"What do you mean?"
Harper shot him an exasperated glance, and then tipped her chin to the man, who was digging his wallet out of his back pocket. "See his pockets?"
"Yeah," he smiled, even as his eyes drifted to the man in question.
"Huge. Like, three sizes-too-big huge. Kinda like your jeans too," her eyes flicked pointedly to his waist.
His eyebrows lifted in amusement. "Are you sayin' you don't like my clothes, princess?"
"I'm saying your fondness for baggy jeans is a pickpocket's wet dream. If anyone actually wanted to risk life and limb to try it."
"Well, I can safely say that I've never been the victim of anyone's sticky fingers, but you didn't really answer my question."
Harper just lifted a shoulder with a wry smile. "I will admit I didn't particularly love the baggy jeans and the flannel and the Kurt Cobain haircut -"
"Kurt Cobain haircut? The fuck?"
That was a fucking first. Even he knew that wasn't exactly a compliment.
"Hey," she smacked him lightly on the chest. "Let me finish, please. I was going to say that I didn't particularly love all that when I first met you, but it's grown on me. Significantly."
"Well, I'd hope so," he shot her a wary glance.
"Uh huh," Harper grinned, leaning in just enough to brush her mouth against his lips. "I wouldn't change a thing about you, honey. Anyway...so our buddy's pockets that are three sizes too big - that's prime real estate there, for sure. Not to mention the fact that he just showed me which pocket he keeps his wallet and his money in. And if she…" Harper trailed off as her attention turned to the woman now, who'd just taken a seat at the bar. "I knew it. Look at that! What an idiot."
His head turned to see what Harper was shaking her head at, and that smile on his face just spread even wider. The woman had, haphazardly and pretty casually too, tossed her purse around the back of the barstool with the zipper half open.
"That is pretty stupid," he agreed.
"You'd think they'd never been to a casino before or something, but they're definitely tourists. Tourists are pretty easy targets, which, hence, why that's just no fun."
"Hmm," he mused with a smile. "I see your point."
"But, that being said," Harper sighed. "I suppose I don't see any better options right now. I'll just have to go easy on them, I guess."
"Right," he glanced back at her as he took another pull from his beer, his lips curving into a smile around the mouth of his bottle. "Go on then, Selena. Show me what you got. Just don't get caught, okay? I don't have enough money left to bail you outta jail tonight."
She just cocked a wary eyebrow at him as she gently readjusted the veil at the top of her head. "Like I'd actually get caught."
"You did once," he reminded her with a shit-eating grin. "Petty theft, if I remember right."
"Hey," she pointed a finger at him. "That was early on in my career, okay? I made a stupid mistake and got caught. But, I learned from that stupid mistake and I've never gotten caught since."
"Alright," he lifted his eyebrows in amusement. "Whatever you say, princess. Hey," he tipped his chin toward the top of her head, "You really gonna wear that right now? I feel like that veil is a pretty easy identifier, Selena. You know, should your unsuspecting victims decide to report you to the authorities."
Harper just shot him an exasperated look before leaning in. "Diversion is the name of the game, Jax. If they're looking here," she pointed to the veil on her head, "they're not looking here," she wiggled her fingers at him with a sly grin.
His jaw worked around a grin, and he took another quick pull from his beer bottle so he didn't completely give away her game. "A'ight. You're the boss, I guess. Go on then."
Harper rolled her eyes, but she obliged him, sliding out of her stool and adjusting her veil with a wink. Then she turned on her heel and literally slinked over to the other side of the bar, like she was fucking Jessica Rabbit or something. He'd only just met Selena Beverheusen, but he already liked her. A whole lot.
From his vantage point, he was far enough off to the side to look inconspicuous, not to mention far enough away from the unsuspecting couple so that they'd never even notice he was there. Basically, he just needed to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Damn, he really wished he had some popcorn right about now. So, he settled for his beer instead, and took another pull from the bottle as Harper approached the couple at the bar.
She hesitated, fumbling through her purse with her head down. At first, he wasn't quite sure what she was playing at, but when a man stepped around her and settled right next to the man she'd set her sights on, he realized she was just biding her time. Harper must've seen that guy coming, and so she was stalling, letting this guy order his drink and move to the side until there was enough room for her to slip right in.
And slip in she did.
She bided her time, and when she decided the moment was right, she moved in for the kill. Harper moved to the man's side, lifting a hand to get the bartender's attention, and in the process, bumped right into him from behind. Like clockwork, the man turned to face her, his eyes almost immediately flying to the veil on her head, and Jax watched with a shit-eating grin as Harper stealthily dipped her fingers inside the man's back pocket, right where he'd shown her where he kept his wallet only a few minutes before, and snapped back just as quickly with his wallet in her hand.
"Oh, excuse me!" Harper was saying to the man now with a light, friendly laugh as she slipped his wallet into her purse. "I'm so sorry about that! I really need to watch where I'm going."
"No worries," he smiled at her, and then pointed to her veil. "Hey, I guess congratulations are in order!"
At this point, the minimal conversation had gotten the woman's attention, and she turned her head to see what was going on. Her face lit up immediately when she got a good look at Harper's veil and white dress.
"Oh my goodness! Did you just get married today?" the woman exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together in front of her.
Harper grinned brightly, stepping around the man until she was standing between them, but just far enough behind them that she still had easy access to the woman's purse. Jax bit down on his bottom lip, shaking his head at the boldness and the fucking bad-assery all this had to take - sure, it was morally wrong. It was more than a little bit evil too, especially since Harper clearly considered these people such easy marks it was pathetic. But he liked what he saw, and he was looking forward to seeing more.
As it turned out, he didn't have to wait that long, because as Harper stood in between the couple, happily chatting about their wedding earlier that day - not lying to them about it either - and introducing herself as Selena, she casually rested a hand on the back of the woman's barstool while the other dipped inside her half-open purse.
"It was just so perfect, you know?" Harper was cooing to the woman now, playfully tapping her on the shoulder. "I mean, I wish my sister and my husband's mom could've been with us, but what can you do? We just decided to do it and have this whole day to ourselves. I didn't even care about all the rain we got today!"
"Oh, that's right," the woman laughed as the man listened on, both of them completely entranced by Harper's exuberance and drawn in by her charm. "It rained all day today, didn't it?"
"Well, you know, the sweet little woman who witnessed for us said that rain on our wedding day was actually good luck and a sign of fertility! So that's good!"
"I'd say," the man laughed, shaking his head a little.
Now, the woman was looking around the bar, even though she didn't quite know who or what she was looking for. "So where is this new husband of yours? We'd love to buy you both a drink!"
"Oh," Harper tapped the woman playfully on the shoulder. "You don't have to do that."
"No, please," the woman laughed again. "We insist. Go grab that husband and drag him over here."
"Oh, okay," Harper grinned widely. "I'll be right back."
She shot them both a quick, excited wave, then turned back on heel to head towards Jax, and winked at him.
Harper was on the other side of their table in a flash, putting her arm around his neck, and leaning in close to make it look like they were deep in conversation. But, in reality, she was actually dropping her prizes on his lap like she was dropping a mic. Jax glanced at his lap, and had to bite back a loud laugh - a man's wallet and a longer, pinker wallet sat there, just waiting to be rifled through.
"Do me a solid, honey," she murmured in his ear. "Take a quick glance inside his wallet and grab some cash if you see it."
"On it, Selena," he flashed her a grin, but he got to work, flipping open the man's wallet and lifting a twenty out of it. "Is that enough?"
"Oh, that's plenty," she practically cooed in his ear, and he had to bite back the little shiver that sent through him. "So, I'm gonna go back over there, and you're gonna come with me so I can give them their stuff back."
"You didn't really need to grab her wallet, did you?"
Harper lifted her eyebrows in amusement. "Just wanted to prove to you I could. Now, let's go, and try to stay behind me if you can."
He started to respond, but she immediately shushed him and practically yanked him out of his barstool, grabbing him by the hand to pull him along. And he had to bite back yet another shit-eating grin when the woman turned, locked eyes on them as they approached, and then those eyes just about fell out of her head.
"Ooo," Harper murmured in his ear. "I think she likes you. Can't say I blame her though. Just go with it, honey."
The woman's eyes never left Jax, even as he did everything he could to keep himself from openly laughing at her, and so he just rolled with it, falling into step with Harper and draping an arm around her shoulders. Harper led them right over to the couple, who were waiting happily, and completely none the wiser that they were both missing their wallets.
"Hi again!" she laughed, and gestured to Jax. "This is my husband, Travis. I told you I'd bring him over here!"
Jax took his cue, unwrapping his arm from around Harper's shoulders so he could shake hands with the man, and then with the woman - who was still staring up at him with stars in her eyes - and apparently providing Harper with enough of a diversion so she could seamlessly and effortlessly slip their wallets back in their rightful spots.
"Congratulations again!" the man said to Jax, clapping him on the shoulder like they were old friends. "What can we get you to drink?"
"Oh, you know," Harper tapped him on the shoulder playfully. "I finally convinced Travis here to take me upstairs where they're playing some music - we have to get our first dance in, right? So, we don't really need to get another drink right now. Why don't you let us buy you a round of drinks just because you've been so sweet!"
The woman opened her mouth to protest, but Jax swooped in for the landing.
"Please, darlin'," he flashed her a megawatt grin, and he could've sworn he saw her eyes glaze over. "I insist. What can I get you to drink?"
"Come on," Harper prodded, and then she nodded to Jax. "You've got some cash, right, Trav?"
Jax grinned back at her slyly. "That I do, babe," and then he leaned forward, purposefully brushing his arm against the woman's shoulder just to get a reaction out of her, and put the twenty dollar bill he'd taken from the man's wallet and dropped it on the bartop.
"Get whatever you want on us," Harper told the man, tapping a hand to his shoulder again for good measure. "I'm gonna go dance with my husband now!"
"And you know what?" Jax winked at the woman. "I'm in a particularly good mood today, so just keep the change at the bar and buy yourself another round with whatever's left, a'ight, darlin'?"
They waved goodbye to the couple, who looked a little bit stunned now more than anything, but then the man just shrugged and used the cash to order them each another drink. Jax slung his arm around Harper's shoulders again just as her arm wrapped around his waist, and they headed off onto the casino's main floor.
"That was pretty brilliant, babe," Jax murmured in her ear.
Even despite the high those little sleight of hand tricks always gave her, she still felt a shiver run through her at his closeness. She had a pretty good feeling that, pretty soon, she was going to be ready to move on to the next part of their night, but there really was one more thing she wanted to do with him before they got there.
"Why thank you," she laughed. "You know, I think you just might be a natural yourself."
His lips kissed her ear again, and she shivered at the contact. "That's quite the compliment, coming from you."
"Hey, you're welcome. I think, with some intensive training, you could be a very valuable asset to my operation."
"Oh really?" he cocked an eyebrow at her as she steered them to the elevator so they could go up to the third floor, where one of the bars functioned more like a mini club than anything.
She was getting that dance with him tonight come hell or high water.
"Sure. You saw the way that lady was looking at you. I think I'd be an idiot not to try to capitalize on that - just think of all the sorority girls and the bachelorette parties and the girls' night outs we could run circles around. The possibilities are endless…"
Right now, it was all she could do from clapping her hands together with evil glee. All she'd have to do was push Jax right in front of a group of unsuspecting women - of any age - and she could go to town without anyone being the wiser. On some level, it would almost be too easy, running that game, but it would be so much fun with him too. God, she couldn't wait.
Now, they stepped onto the elevator with their arms still wrapped around each other. She hit a button to take them to the top floor of the casino, and leaned into him again, glancing up at him and feeling a little bit like she needed to pinch herself.
Jax dropped a kiss onto her shoulder, and then rested his chin on her shoulder. "What you thinkin' right now?"
"I'm thinking that this day started out being the worst day of my life," she smiled softly. "And it somehow ended up being the best day instead."
"I know what you mean," he murmured against her skin. "I've been havin' the time of my life with you today."
"That's good," she laughed as they stepped out of the elevator. "Hey, you know what's crazy? How many couples can really say they had their first kiss at the end of their wedding ceremony? Well, except for, like, creepy Mormon child brides or those weird arranged marriage things they do in India, but you know what I mean."
Jax muffled his laughter against her neck, shaking his head at her before pressing his lips into her skin again. "I guess that is pretty crazy. No one would believe us though."
"So what? We'll also have the ability to say that we waited until our wedding night. Now, how many couples can really say that?"
"Nobody that's ever been inside the clubhouse, that's for damn sure. But I'm not exactly sure this counts as waiting," Jax laughed, but there was some heat flooding his navy blue eyes now that made her squeeze her thighs together and her toes curl a little bit inside her heels. "You still sure about that, babe? You can change your mind. Always."
She'd never been more sure of anything in her life.
"Yeah, Jax," she smiled. "I'm sure. I was thinking...I want that dance with you, and then I think we should head back to our hotel room. Call it a night, you know? It's been a really long day, and I'm ready to get out of this dress."
His lips curved into a slow, sexy smirk, and he tipped his chin to her agreement even as his eyes seemed glaze over the longer they stood there. And then his lips found her ear again.
"Hey, you should probably know now, before we go in there and have our dance and then head back to the hotel," he whispered in her ear. "I don't have any condoms with me."
Her eyes just about popped out of her head, and her mouth dropped open. "What? That can't be true."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he laughed. "I'm sorry, but when we stopped at my house this morning, that wasn't exactly something I thought I'd be needing at any point today."
She tilted her head to the side, regarding him with some serious disbelief now. "But don't you like...always have one with you? I don't know, you seem like the type of guy who'd have, like, four in his wallet, ten in his bike, and cases and cases in his room at the clubhouse."
His eyebrows lifted in amusement, but, she noted, his lips did pull apart a little in a grimace. "I'll admit, yes, I typically have at least one in my wallet - better to be safe than sorry, I always say. But I don't have one in my wallet right now."
"And why is that?" Harper narrowed her eyes at him playfully.
He blew out a rough sigh, rolling his eyes at her even as he scrubbed a hand over his mouth in some embarrassment that maybe would've been cute, if not for their current topic of conversation. "I had one in my wallet, but it's possible I used it recently and never got around to replacing it."
"Ah. I see."
"Right," he sighed exasperatedly. "So, what I'm saying is, we need to make one more stop before heading to our room tonight, if that's still what you wanna do when we get to that point."
"Uh huh. Sure. And why are you just telling me this very important piece of information now?"
"Because," he lifted his eyebrows again with a sly grin. "I told you I didn't want to put any pressure on you. I want you to decide whatever you're going to decide because that's what you wanna do - and not for any other reason. Condoms are pretty easy to come by, babe. I'm sure that gift shop on the first floor has some we can pick up on our way out. But I didn't want that particular piece of information to sway you one way or the other."
"Huh," she tilted her head to the side again in thought. "I can't decide if that's sweet or just a tiny bit manipulative. Maybe it's a little of both."
"Manipulative?" he laughed. "I thought I was being...I don't know, like a gentleman or something. Here, I'm offering to sleep on the floor, in the truck if that's what you want. What was I supposed to do, say we can totally do whatever you want tonight, but by the way, I have zero protection on me, just so ya know. I just figured that piece was irrelevant because that's also a problem that can be easily fixed. Butnow that I'm saying all that out loud...I can see how that might sound a little bit like I was tryin' to sway you a certain way," and then he held his hands up in the air in defense, "I swear that was 100 percent not my intention, babe."
"Maybe not consciously," Harper grinned slyly as they came to a stop right in front of the bar, gesturing to the sign out front with her head. "Oh, look - it's 80s night. This day just keeps getting better and better."
Without giving him a chance to protest - like he'd even try at this point - she took Jax by the hand and pulled him inside the bar, where 80s night was in full-swing, complete with the bartenders and waiters running around in neon spandex and matching headbands. She marched them right up to the DJ booth and pointed to her veil.
It took the DJ a moment to really see them, but when he glanced up from his set, his eyes widened and he broke out into a wide grin, pointing back at Harper. "Newlyweds!"
"That's right," Harper cupped her hands around her mouth to call back to him above the music. "Can you play us a slow one?"
The DJ just nodded to them with a thumbs up. "Coming up next!"
With that, Harper pulled Jax out onto the dance floor, and luckily for him, he just followed her lead and let her pull him all the way to the middle, despite the fact that there was definitely not a slow song blaring from the speakers right now. There was still about a minute or so left of "Dancing With Myself" filling up the bar, and that was appropriate enough as Jax stood in the middle of the dance floor with his hands in his pockets, and a smirk playing on his lips as Harper lifted her arms in the air to dance to the beat.
She danced around him for the rest of the song, just lost in the moment, and honestly not caring who saw or what she looked like right now. It was probably quite the sight for any onlookers who cared enough to look - her hair had dried now, but it was tangled and a little matted in the back from her veil, and she could only imagine what her makeup looked like, if there was actually any left on her face. But Harper didn't care. This was her wedding day, and she was dancing with her husband, even if his idea of participation was standing next to her and enjoying the show.
That was good enough for her.
But they didn't have to wait very long for their moment because the song was over pretty quickly, and then the DJ's voice floated over the speakers:
"Alright, alright. We're gonna slow things down here a little. This one goes out to the newlyweds over there in the middle of the dance floor. Congratulations, guys, and enjoy the rest of your night!"
Jax took his cue as the music started playing, stepping toward her and pulling her into his arms.
Looking in your eyes I see a paradise
This world that I've found is too good to be true
He even surprised her by taking her hand and holding it out in a traditional slow dance hold, rather than the typical teenagers-at-prom one with his arms locked tight around her waist. His hips were even swaying a little playfully to the music too as he glanced down at her with a soft smile on his handsome face.
Let 'em say we're crazy, I don't care about that
Put your hand in my hand, baby, don't ever look back
Let the world around us, just fall apart
Baby, we can make it if we're heart to heart
"You're actually a pretty good dancer when you wanna be," Harper smiled up at him.
"Oh, you know," Jax leaned in so their cheeks were pressed up against each other. "I guess I'm just full of surprises."
"I guess you are," she laughed, leaning into him and swaying with him to the music. "This is nice."
His lips found the side of her head, and then he pressed their foreheads together. "Yeah, it is."
I'm so glad I found you, I'm not gonna lose you
Whatever it takes, I will stay here with you
Then he surprised her again by pushing her back so he could give her a little twirl, and pulling her right back in again so she was in his arms and pressed back up against his chest, with their faces cheek to cheek.
"Look at you go," Harper laughed. "Who knew you were so smooth on the dance floor?"
Jax just lifted a shoulder, even as he was still swaying his hips playfully, and he flashed her a grin. "I definitely didn't."
And we can build this thing together, standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us now
Swaying to the music like this, with their bodies pressed up against each other...there was a part of her that still couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that she'd done the one thing she thought she'd never do, and that she'd done it all in one day. Here she was, slow-dancing with the man she'd married today, in a dingy casino, in Reno, and she couldn't have been happier about it.
This felt right because it was. This felt good because it was. And she knew it, right down to her bones, that this was the rest of her life, right here, with him.
It probably should've scared her and sent her running for the nearest exit so she could hop on the next plane to get the hell out of there, but for the first time in her life, that was the last thing she wanted to do. She'd promised him she wouldn't run, and she was going to keep that promise.
Harper lifted her head so she could meet him in the eye. "Hey, Jax?"
His lips curled at the corners. "Yeah, princess?"
"I'm glad I married you today."
Her heart pounded as he dipped his head lower, brushing his mouth against hers, smiling into her lips. "I'm glad I married you today too. I'm kinda feelin' like this is probably gonna end up being the one thing I did right in my life...keeping you safe, marrying you, being with you."
"It's a little crazy."
"Sure," Jax grinned. "It is. And we're gonna have a helluva lot of explaining to do when we get home, but I'm good with that. I really don't give a shit what anyone else thinks."
"This is a pretty unconventional way to get married, or even start a relationship," she tilted her head to the side a little so she could really see his face as she spoke. When he just laughed, she took that as a sign to push forward. "But I'm good with that, too. I know how I feel about you. It's new, but it's strong, and it's real, and it means something to me. You told me earlier today that my life and my safety felt precious to you. Well, this...this feels precious to me too."
"I know what you mean. It feels precious to me too."
Harper turned her head just enough to catch his lips, and he leaned into her kiss, matching her movement for movement, stroke for stroke, letting his tongue slip through her parted lips, until they weren't even really dancing anymore. Their intertwined hands dropped so they could get a little closer, Harper wrapping both arms around his neck, and Jax tucking her in with both arms snaked around her waist. Their kiss ended with the song, and Jax pressed their foreheads together one more time.
She knew what was going to come next, and she was ready. And she knew she'd done nothing but make the right choices today, starting with marrying him in the first place, telling him the truth about her feelings for him, having this dance with him, to pushing them to hold off going back to that hotel room so they could enjoy this time together. When they got home, life would rear its ugly head, and they both knew that.
This time they'd had together today...that felt precious to her too.
Harper was positive that she could be 90 years old, stuck in some nursing home somewhere, and she'd still look back at this day as the day where everything had shifted. Where everything had fallen into place, even if it had come about from the craziest, and scariest, of circumstances. The whole trajectory of her life had changed in just one day - when she thought her life was headed to the right, it had taken a hard turn to the left instead.
That was fine. That was good. And maybe that was really what life was all about anyway.
So there was no lingering doubt and no second-guessing when they left the dance floor hand in hand. They made a quick stop at the gift shop on the first floor on their way out, and sure enough, the gift shop had exactly what they needed, just like Jax predicted. By the time they stepped outside and back out onto the streets of downtown Reno, the rain had mostly subsided with only a light mist kissing their skin as they headed down the street and right for their hotel.
Jax picked up his pace just a little, like the anticipation was finally getting to him, and he gripped her hand a bit tighter too, like he was holding on as hard as he could and didn't want to let her go. Harper matched his pace with a grin, and then, he shot her a playful smirk as he picked his pace up just a little bit more, and then she matched that pace until they were nearly all-out sprinting down the street until they skidded to a stop right outside the door of their hotel room.
They were both huffing and puffing a bit, all while laughing too, and Jax propped a hand up on his knee as he dipped lower to catch his breath - but he never dropped her hand.
"We really need to quit smoking," Harper pushed out breathlessly.
"Maybe," Jax smirked, but his breath still hadn't exactly returned to normal either.
Finally, he straightened up, and moved right toward her, bringing his free hand up to her cheek. Those butterflies were back in full force now, skittering around her stomach, and bouncing around with no settling down in sight. Then, Jax surprised her again, scratching the back of his neck nervously and squinting down at her with just a touch of agitation written across his handsome face.
"So...should I carry you across the threshold or somethin'?" Jax grinned. "Isn't that somethin' people do?"
Harper tipped her head back in a laugh, biting down on her bottom lip when her eyes found him again. Those butterflies just would not quit. "I don't think that will be necessary."
"A'ight," he just shrugged. "I've never been married before, so I don't know...just wanna make sure I'm doin' everything right, you know?"
"I think you're doing pretty well so far," Harper smiled back, and squeezed his hand.
"Good to know," Jax shot back, and he squeezed her hand again in return. "You nervous?"
He must've seen right through her, but if she was scrutinizing him carefully here too, and she definitely was, his own nervousness over this next step, this next threshold, was pretty palpable too.
"A little," Harper admitted with a small smile. "Are you?"
He nodded, matching her smile, and flashing just a bit of that same nervousness she felt too. "A little."
But even she could see, through her own initial anxiety, that what they were feeling wasn't bad by any means. It was just natural first-time jitters - this was a new relationship, and this was the first time they were going to experience this together. And if anything, his nervousness just validated her own feelings too.
This was real. This was true. This was the rest of their lives.
So, when she gestured with her head toward the door, those butterflies slowly swam away. There just wasn't much to be nervous about anymore. Why not go into this hotel room with this beautiful man - who really was beautiful inside and out - and who also happened to be her husband, so he could have his way with her? She'd be stupid not to, and Harper was far from stupid.
Jax matched her grin as he slipped the room keycard from his pocket and inserted it into the door, turning the door handle when he got the green light. Whatever nervous jitters he'd been wrestling had long left the building and he tugged her inside their hotel room with a playful grin, and then he gave her another tug, this time so that she was pressed up against his chest and his hand closed around the side of her face.
His lips crashed against hers. His tongue slipped inside her mouth a moment later. No more hesitation, no more nervousness, no more waiting - now, they could just give in to everything they'd been feeling during this day, and her hands glided up his chest to slip that leather kutte away from his shoulders. He was careful to set it down on the chair next to the bed - it was clear to her now that his kutte should never, ever be allowed to touch the floor - but he was on her again in a flash, letting her unbutton his flannel so she could throw that on the floor. The rest of his clothes landed next to his flannel pretty quickly after that, until he was standing in front of her in just those white boxers that had been teasing her all day.
He reached up to gently pry the comb out of her tangled hair and made a cute little show of setting her veil down very carefully on the arm of the chair where his kutte was sitting. Apparently, those two items of clothing really needed to be protected, at least in his mind, but that mattered to her too.
The care he'd taken with her today. The consideration he'd shown her today. The affection he'd shown her today...all of that mattered. And it still mattered when his hands gingerly fell to her waist so he could turn her around. His hands lifted to the zipper on her dress, and he tugged it down with just as much care and consideration and affection as he'd shown her before.
Her dress slipped to the floor, and she gave it a playful kick so it was right on top of the pile of his clothes, right where it belonged. But then, when she turned around to face him, so he could really see her, that nervousness struck again...she just felt so completely and so intimately exposed to him now, more so than she'd felt before with a man.
And once again, his eyes almost did her in. Navy blue, with a hint of darkness and some new tenderness in them that made her heart clench tight. He stood there, about three feet away from her, drinking her in, memorizing the angles and the curves she'd bared to him, and then he moved toward her again.
There was nothing left to hide as he reached around her waist, skimming up the small of her back with his lips pressed against her neck. Nimble fingers made quick with the clasp on her bra, and then those same fingers drifted up to her shoulders, taking their time, exploring each inch of newly exposed skin, until the straps slipped down and her bra fell in between their feet.
Jax's lips curved into that sexy smirk - the same one she'd fallen for in just one day - and he didn't hesitate, running his index finger down the length of her right breast, and stopping just long enough over her nipple to bead it underneath his soft touch. She shivered underneath that touch, so far gone by this point, so more than ready, that she just couldn't wait anymore. She slid her panties down to her ankles and then kicked those into the pile with the rest of their clothes too.
He chuckled at her movement, but that laugh died on his lips when she reached out, skimming her right hand down his sinewy chest, and it was this moment that everything else stopped. This man she'd married had muscles that looked like they were carved out of stone, and they rippled and leapt at her touch, making her mouth water just at the thought of what his skin might taste like on her lips. So she didn't wait for that either, dipping forward to leave a light trail of kisses on his chest, skimming around his shoulders as she stepped around him, letting her hands drift to his waist.
Once she was completely behind him, she gave herself one moment to really take in the full view of that Reaper tattoo on his taut back. God, that thing was really a sight to behold, just like the rest of him.
"What? You didn't see enough of it earlier today to believe me?" Jax's hoarse voice called out to her.
"No, I believed you," she whispered. "I just wanted to see the whole thing."
He didn't respond, but that probably had something to do with the fact that she was making her way around to his chest again, her fingertips leaving a light trail in their wake until they skimmed right along the edge of his boxers. And again, she didn't hesitate, dipping her fingers inside so she could pull them down to his thighs. He did the rest of the work for her, but that probably had something to do with the fact that she was momentarily stunned by the sight of him there - stark naked in front of her.
Then his lips captured hers again as he backed them up until her calves hit the edge of the bed. They tumbled down to the bed, with Jax easily sliding in between her legs as he put out a hand to catch her fall.
She'd known he would be good in bed. Everything from that sexy smirk to the confident swagger he carried pointed to that, but even when he paused long enough to get a condom on, every movement, every touch was so skilled, so practiced it completely set her off-balance. And when he slipped inside her, she hadn't been prepared for the impact of this moment - when they finally joined together physically the way they were already joined emotionally and joined legally. It hit her hard, made her gasp for air, and she could barely keep up as he started to move inside her, grinding up against her, carrying her away.
This was a man who knew what he was doing. And she was reaping all the benefits. He knew exactly where to touch, where to linger, where to kiss...it was almost as if he just knew her body on sight, like it had been made just for him, and she was lucky enough that he already knew exactly what to do with it.
And still, it was his eyes that did her in and pushed her over the edge. The moment their eyes locked, that was it, and he sent her flying over the edge with those navy blue eyes that sparkled with something that looked a lot like love and held a passion for her that she'd never seen from a man before.
How could she not have wanted this with him?
Harper had always thought she wasn't naive enough to believe in things like soul mates and other halves. Those things only existed in fairy tales and Disney movies specifically produced to give little girls an unhealthy understanding of relationships and gender roles, at least until somewhat recently. But she'd always been pragmatic enough to understand that those fairy tales, those Disney movies were just that...fairy tales and movies, not real life.
But here, in this hotel room in Reno, the evidence to the contrary couldn't have been clearer or more obvious.
It was as if some part of her had recognized something in him, and some part of him had recognized something in her, and those parts had sat up and said, this one.
They'd promised forever in their wedding vows today, and before today, forever was a non sequitur, a fallacy that hopeless romantics talked themselves into believing. But now, as Jax carried her over the edge, stilling and then shuddering right along with her, forever didn't seem like such a delusional concept anymore. There was some substance behind it for her now, something real, something that made her feel like maybe her life had just been spent walking toward this moment, and now that the moment was here, and she was living in it, she never wanted it to end.
Maybe that was what forever felt like, or at least wanting forever with another person.
It was a dream she never wanted to wake up from, and finally, when they settled under the blankets, she let her eyes flutter closed, reveling in the feeling of her husband's strong arms wrapped protectively around her.
A/N - So, this is the end of the road, for now at least. I know there's plenty more story to be told, but for me, this just sort of ran its course once they officially got together and decided to be married for real (which was not in my original plan, lol. It just sort of happened that way as I was writing it). I'm not saying I'm closing the book on this story forever, especially since there's plenty of story left I could tell with this characters, but this seemed like a good place to wrap things up for now.
The first chapter of my new story, Lost and Found, will be posted next Sunday, and I'm so excited to share that with you! It's different than anything else I've written, and I'm very, very proud of it. I've already got 11 chapters ready to go too ;)
I'm really looking forward to your thoughts on this point in Jax and Harper's journey together. And if you've been lurking, now's the time to let me know what you think! As always, thank you so much for reading! See you next Sunday for the first chapter of Lost and Found!