It's game over for Charming's newest resident. But sometimes, a loss is really a win in disguise - especially in a game of cat and mouse.
General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, mentions of drug use/overdose, violence/death, racism/gang activity.
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CHAPTER 10: FORFEIT
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Sydney sat frozen in place at the table where Tig had left her, still struggling to catch her breath. "You okay there darlin'?" She snapped her head up to see Jax staring at her heaving chest and red cheeks with a scowl.
"Yeah!" She was relieved to have a distraction. "Just hot in here, ya know..." She gave a weak attempt at throwing him off as she fanned her face, focusing all of her energy on trying to calm herself down.
"Yeah... Sure is." He shot her a discerning look which mirrored that of his mother's. "That was quite the show you put on back there." He smirked.
"Sure was." She chuckled. "I hear that this dart game you guys play around here is no joke... Just tryin' to live up to the expectations."
"I think you've done a little more than that..." He raised a brow.
"Yeah." She smiled, looking down at the table. "I guess I have." Her cheeks flushed again as she chuckled, looking back up where she froze once again under Tig's icy blue gaze from where he stood at the bar. "I'm gonna go get some air." She looked back to the much warmer set of blue eyes in front of her. "See you around, VP." She excused herself from the table, squeezing the blonde man's bicep - giving Tig something to look at if he insisted on watching her.
She exited the clubhouse, thankful to feel some of the tension sliding off of her body as the cool air instantly soothed her burning face; seeing that the large crowd in the parking lot had mostly cleared out, with the exception of a few stragglers smoking at the picnic tables - including Clay and Gemma.
"Hey, Gem." She greeted as she approached The King and Queen at the picnic table that they shared. "Can I get a smoke?"
"Sure thing, sweetheart." Gemma raised her brow as she caught the distress plastered across the face of the young girl as she bent down for a light. "You okay?"
"Yeah." Sydney nodded quickly, straightening up. "Just hot, that's all." She exhaled a cloud of smoke - knowing that a simple 'yes' or 'no' would not please The Matriarch.
"Yeah... I'm sure you are." She arched her brow higher, making Sydney wonder how the older woman managed to still look so youthful - because clearly botox wasn't the answer.
"I woulda thought that you'd be cold after your little dance number." Clay teased.
"Yeah... One would think." Sydney rolled her eyes, turning and walking away quickly as she tried to hide her embarrassment while the couple giggled behind her. She rounded the side of the clubhouse where there was thankfully nobody lingering - needing a few minutes alone to collect herself and catch her still racing breath.
Tig made his way out of the bar when Sydney didn't return in what he considered to be a timely fashion, looking around the dark and dingy compound for the glimpse of light hair.
"Hey, Tiggy!" Clay called from the picnic table, directing him towards the side of the clubhouse where Sydney had gone.
"Think it's gonna work?" Gemma questioned wearily as they watched the Sergeant stalk around the building.
"Baby, with those two? I can't predict a goddamn thing." Clay chuckled, throwing his arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple.
Sydney stood against the cold brick wall with her head tilted back and her eyes closed, trying to control her breathing when suddenly the familiar scent of whiskey, tobacco, and cologne flooded her airway. She inhaled with a smile, not opening her eyes as the sound of his breathing got closer and closer until eventually she could feel it on her neck - the adrenaline hammering through her veins as she waited for his touch. Her eyes flew open and a whimper escaped her lips when she finally got it as he brushed his fingers against her thigh, the cold rings sending a shock up her spine.
"You're becoming easier and easier to surprise, Princess." He smirked.
"Just letting you get ahead, Sergeant." She grinned.
"I don't think you're in a position to be actin' tough." He scoffed as he looked between them.
She looked down, suddenly becoming painfully aware of the predicament that he had her in with his hand on her thigh as his other arm sat propped against the wall beside her - giving her no clear way out.
Tig moved his arm from the wall, brushing the back of his hand against her chest and over her tattoo before twisting his fingers to tangle in the blonde locks at the back of her neck - pulling down to expose her throat to him. His lips ghosted over her skin as his tongue trailed over her pulse and up her neck before nibbling on her earlobe, all while gently rubbing her over her panties. His skillful digits danced their way up to the waistband, running along the edge of the lace - sending pulsations through her body which had her arousal almost reaching its boiling point. He slowly slid his hand into the dainty barrier, lazily swirling her clit with his fingertips - the long awaited movements earning another shaky gasp from her pouty lips.
"Knew I'd get you moaning for me again, pussycat." He chortled with a cocky grin.
Sydney normally would've been harder on herself for letting it slip not once, but twice. But she couldn't handle the pressure anymore - everything that Gemma and Clay had said to her had blended far too harmoniously with the burning desire that nothing could seem to extinguish. Her hand flew to the back of his head, gripping his dark curls and pulling him to her lips where she kissed him aggressively, their teeth clashing in the heat of the moment. Her free hand got to work on his belt buckle while his hand continued to marinate in the heat between her legs, but suddenly he removed it, grabbing her wrist and pinning it against the wall behind her - stopping her efforts. She pulled away to look up at him questioningly when he put a stop to the exhibitionism - something that she thought he would've been excited about.
"You done playing games?" He danced around the real question with a husk in his voice and a sternness on his face.
She peered up into his crystal clear eyes through her dark eyelashes as she became sheepish, unable to make herself face the foreign reality. After a few moments of stony silence, she felt her other hand being ripped from the softness of his hair before joining its counterpart in his tight grip against the rough bricks behind her. Once she was secured in place, he used his free hand to yank her hair back, forcing her to look into his eyes.
All of her efforts went down the drain in an instant as his brute force turned her on so intensely that she couldn't even remember what the right answer was. "Fuck me, Tiggy." She begged, panting as waves of heat rushed over her body.
"So I can fuck this pussy like it's mine, huh?" He scoffed, looking her up and down. "Nah, I don't think I will." Venom laced his tone as he continued to rake over her form animalistically. "I think I'll leave you here, dripping for me - so that every time you move? You won't forget who you belong to."
Sydney's face fell. It made sense now; the teasing, the dare - it was all to make sure that she knew who was really in charge. She didn't let up on her stare, if anything it only hardened as he challenged her further, biting her lip as he let go of her wrists and pushed off of the wall, waltzing back inside. If she wasn't done playing games, then neither was he.
She let out a heavy sigh once he rounded the building, not realizing what a restraint she'd put on her breathing while he'd been towering over her. She groaned, clenching her fists until her nails dug into her skin - wishing that she hadn't wasted that cigarette from Gemma. Admitting defeat would be a first for Sydney, and although she knew it was worth it - she wasn't taking kindly to being checkmated.
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Tig stood on the outskirts of the dance floor, chatting up two blondes when Sydney finally walked back into the crowded room. Even with two ready and willing whores standing before him - she was the only woman that he was looking for. He felt a hand press against his chest, blinking a few times as Cheryl attempted to regain his attention.
"I knew you would come back to me, Tiggy... You always do." She purred.
He grabbed her hand, removing it from his chest and squeezing it reassuringly. "Yeah, doll." He smiled politely at the relentlessly persistent woman, his eyes shifting back to the only blonde that he cared to go back to...
Cheryl's face fell as she turned to follow Tig's gaze, looking for whatever had caught his eye when she felt herself being violently pulled back by her hair - her frail body almost snapping in half. She gasped as her friend caught her before she could hit the ground, helping her steady herself on the cheap platforms that she wore.
"Go get me a beer." She heard the harsh command from the new girl, Sydney Harding - the stupid little slut who thought that she could come in and turn all of the men away from her, especially her favorite.
Tig's entire body ignited into a roaring fire as he watched the older woman's expression deepen as her skin seemed to melt even further into the hollows of her face, her chest heaving as she went to strike back. He had intended on getting Sydney a little riled up, but a catfight was far more than he could've hoped for.
"No!" Cheryl heard before she could lunge - determined to wipe the cocky smirk of the face of the bitch who dared to order her around.
Emily Duncan pushed Cheryl back, giving her a look that told her that she was playing with a fire far too hot to handle. "Sorry, Sydney." She nodded to the girl whom she'd learned her place from in Happy's dorm the night before.
"Who the hell does she think she is! She's just like the rest of us! She doesn't tell us what to do-" Cheryl began sneering her deluded account of the facts to Emily who just shook her head and led them towards the bar.
Sydney crossed her arms and smirked, dramatically turning her head towards Tig where she raised a brow knowingly. "Damn, babe..." His hands quickly found her waist, pulling her body flush against his. "Just when I was about to give up..." He chuckled against her ear.
Sydney let her fingers curl into the dark hair at the nape of his neck, holding him in place while he nuzzled her soft skin and inhaled the sweet scent that made his face tingle.
Cheryl stomped back over, holding out the Corona that she hadn't bothered to pop the cap off of while looking out the door - refusing to watch as the younger woman dangled her prize in front of her.
Sydney swiped the bottle, bringing it to her mouth where she clamped down on the crimped metal with her teeth - popping the cap off and spitting onto the ground with a clang, getting both Cheryl and Tig's attention as they made inadvertent eye contact before she quickly stomped away.
An evil smirk was plastered on Sydney's face as Cheryl stormed out of the clubhouse, scanning the crowd as Tig glowered down at her. "Sack!" She called the prospect over. "Take this." She handed off the unwanted beverage, smirking under Tig's discerning expression.
"You just wanted me all to yourself, didn't ya?" He grinned down at her.
"Exactly." She nodded curtly. "I wanted to make it up to you..." She lowered her voice, tilting her lips towards his as they swayed in time with the music. "Please." She begged as her soft voice turned to a pout. "Let me make it up to you..." She placed a hand on his chest while she spoke innocently at his lips "I just wanna be a good girl for you, Sergeant." His eyes slipped closed as her plump lips trailed pleasure across his skin - placing butterfly kisses on his neck the way that she knew he wouldn't be able to resist. "Will you let me be your good girl?" She whispered breathily.
God dammit she was good. He nudged her forehead with his, regaining eye contact. "You wanna be my good girl? Show me." He demanded with a smirk.
"You piece of shit." She bit her lip with a smile as she shook her head in mock-anger. She couldn't help but admire his dedication to her game - the game that, for the first time in her life, she was about to forfeit.
"I told you that I wouldn't go easy on you." He growled the bitter reminder into her ear.
Sydney took one last look around the room, her eyes landing on Cheryl who was glaring at them from the doorway - giving her the final push that she needed as she looked back up into Tig's eyes, her own fluttering nervously as she gave him a soft nod.
"You win."
With that, she curled her hand around the back of his neck and yanked him down to meet her lips, furiously picking up right where they'd left off with no regard for the crowded room as wolf whistles and cheers arose from the hoards of people who had been anxiously awaiting their union over the past few weeks.
"God dammit." Jax groaned.
"What? Had something with her?" Opie scowled down at his best friend as they watched the scene unfold.
"Nah..." Jax trailed off with a sigh as Juice approached.
"Come on, pay up." The younger man grinned at his blue-eyed brother. Sydney had told him that she would slice his tattoos open if he told anyone about their candid conversation - but she hadn't said anything about abusing the knowledge that he'd gained from it. Her admission had made him two hundred dollars richer as he made the rounds to collect his winnings from the bets that he and his brothers had placed on how long it would take for the stubborn pair to finally bow under the pressure.
Tig matched Sydney's aggression, pushing her over to the pool table where he could hold her in place, gripping her hips as he ground his pelvis against her. "Take me." She whimpered into his mouth.
"Here?" The surprise was evident in his voice, but not in his movements as he continued to assault her lips with teasing bites and nips.
"I don't care." She shook her head.
He pulled away, looking over his shoulder where he met the scowl of Happy Lowman - his dark eyes burning into them. He let go of her waist, grabbing her hand and leading her to his room instead - choosing the lesser of two evils in the Tacoma Killer's book.
Sydney grinned wildly as he dragged her down the hallway, stopping in front of his door where he dug into his pockets, frantically searching for his keys. She slipped out of his grip, rounding his tall stature where she placed herself between him and the door - beginning to unbutton her dress with a wicked smile.
Tig temporarily lost focus on the task at hand when she began unrobing, shaking his head and returning to the crowded keyring - jamming the correct one into the lock and shoving the door open where he tossed them onto the floor and flipped on the light. Just as quickly as he'd disappeared from her, he returned - cupping her face in his hands as he brought his lips back down to hers bruisingly, pressing her up against the door which effectively slammed it shut before he finally ripped her dress open.
Sydney couldn't help but smile when he did exactly what she had predicted, but the feeling of her taunting smile against his lips sent him even further over the edge. "You gonna be my girl?" He broke away to see her looking up at him in his powerful stance through her eyelashes, still unable to make herself say the words that she had never uttered before.
He scoffed, looking away from her with a humourless chuckle before swiftly crashing his lips back down on hers, pushing his tongue into her mouth and winding his fingers into her waved locks before he pulled back abruptly and yanked her down to the ground. "On your knees, dollface." He ordered as he unbucked his belt. If she wasn't going to say it, she was going to show it.
Once again, his roughness had Sydney happy to oblige - her thighs instinctively pressing together at the sound of his belt opening for her. She tugged his pants down, taking his boxers with them as his erection sprang free.
Tig looked down at her where she sat with her big green eyes peering up at him submissively in what had become his favourite look on her; hungry, innocent, and at his feet. There was something so rewarding about being able to dominate such a powerful woman - knowing that she had a soft spot just for him made every cell in his body tingle with excitement.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb as she took him into her hand, tracing his length with her tongue a few times - using the ring to make him shiver as she swirled the tip before finally taking him into her mouth. "Mm... That's it baby, take it all." He groaned as her tongue massaged the underside of his cock as she swallowed him further and further into the back of her throat. He cupped her cheeks as he began fucking her face gently, smirking as he increased the force of his thrusts a few times before reverting back to the manageable pace that he had started at.
Sydney let her jaw go slack, letting him hit the back of her throat before she tightened her lips at the hilt - making him groan in a pleasured surprise as his hand fisted into her hair.
Tig blinked as he tried to regain control of his dick as it pulsated deep in her throat, looking down to see that the tiniest dimples had formed in her cheeks as she smiled around his length. He shook his head as his lip turned up in frustration, launching him over the imaginary line that he'd been teetering on. He pushed her off of him, bringing her to her feet with his hands firm around her biceps before pulling her dress off all of the way and spinning her around where he bent her over the bed.
"Stop playing with me." He snarled through gritted teeth, holding her arms behind her back.
Sydney bit her lip as she smiled into the mattress. She felt the grip loosen on her arms, but she knew better than to move them from the position he'd placed them as his strong hands roamed over her ass cheeks, squeezing the plush skin before she heard the tearing of fabric. She grimaced as he tore the expensive lace from her body - but she knew she'd deserved it.
Tig could tell by the heat between her legs that the slight dabble in fear play had only served to turn her on, unlike the sweet gestures that he was used to performing for other women - if he wanted to win her over, he had to play by her rules.
"Let's get a few things straight, dollface." He explained as he discarded the tattered lace. "This sweet ass?" His hand came down harshly on her skin, making her gasp in surprise. "Is mine." He told her as he caressed the skin that had broken out in pins and needles. "This pretty little pussy..." He mused, appreciation heavy in his voice as he smoothed a hand up her back while the other trailed her thigh, swiftly wrapping his fingers around her neck where he pulled her flush against his chest while he pushed inside of her harshly. "Is mine." A hiccuped scream left her throat, the vibrations rippling against his palm as he held her head back, sadistically staring into her eyes where he searched for any sign of surrender which she still wasn't giving up.
He threw her back down into the mattress, pinning her down by her shoulders as he began jackhammering her, hitting those sweet spots with every thrust. "Tell me, beautiful." He coaxed, knowing that he wouldn't get a response - her mouth didn't tell him what he needed to know, but her body did as she clenched tighter and tighter around him with each word that left his mouth. "You can lie to me all you want, but your pussy can't." He continued pounding into her, marinating in her moans as he pulled her further and further undone when at the very last moment, he stopped.
Sydney cried out in frustration when the intensely overwhelming pleasure came to a screeching halt, the slow purr of his encouraging voice flooding her ears. "Admit it, baby." Fuck he was good. She began laughing humourlessly, which eventually morphed into a sadistic giggle which earned her a slap to the thigh as punishment - eliciting another moan.
Her twisted laugh was like heroin to him - so bad, but so good. His adrenaline only grew as she deliberately pushed his buttons - challenging him to see how far he would go. He grabbed her hips, yanking her to meet his thrusts as they got rougher - pushing into her hard, fast, and deep, turning her moans to screams as he leaned down. "Admit it." He growled against her neck as he began circling her clit with his fingers, gripping her throat again where he cut off her airway completely - determined to break her. "You wanted degrading." He reminded her, the arousing memory only making her smile before a punishing thrust and a rush of oxygen from his relenting grip brought her back to reality. "Admit it." He repeated.
"Fuck!" From his breath on her neck, the ferocity in his words, the look in his eye, and his cock deep inside of her - she broke. "Yes, I'm yours." She squealed, whimpering between staggered breaths as he finally released her throat.
Sydney's orgasm began to take shape once again, uninterrupted this time as he slammed into her repeatedly with a satisfaction that she could feel in his thrusts. "Tiggy..." She begged as she tried to hold on.
"I'm right here with you, doll." He nodded. "Let go." She exploded instantly at the sound of his soothing command, coming so hard that she felt like her body was floating even beneath his weight.
Tig met his release at the same time as she gripped down on him like a vise - shaking as they both struggled to come down from how high they had lifted one another. He scooped her up from the bed, walking them into the bathroom where he set her down on the counter to get cleaned up. He looked down into her eyes for a few seconds before kissing her softly and wrapping his arms around her, an embrace that she happily returned before he pulled his lips away and rested his forehead against hers. "Be mine, baby." He asked gently. Playtime was over, he needed to be sure that this was what she wanted if he planned on doing things right.
"If you wanted me to be yours, Sergeant, all you had to do was ask." She smiled devilishly, biting his earlobe playfully. He chuckled at her pointed mimicking, but she knew that he needed more... "Tig, I've been yours since the day I got here." She admitted quietly.
He brought a hand up to her face, running a ridged thumb across her cheek. "I know I'm not easy to be with... But-"
"If I was easy to be with, I would've been with someone by now." She didn't let him finish his sentence.
"Yeah, I guess so." He chuckled with a smile. He was used to being the fucked up one, and the feelings that he had for her had made it easy to forget that her demons weren't all that different to his...
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Gemma giggled as she carried Clay down the hallway as he teetered on his feet after hours together at the picnic table, and countless beers. She wasn't sure if the party had done much to repair Opie's loyalty - especially since Donna hadn't even bothered to attend - but she was glad to see that it seemed to have repaired Clay's attitude.
"Okay, baby..." She sighed as she eased the heavy man down to the bed of one of the dorm rooms, laughing as she unwrapped his strong arm from around her shoulders where she'd been holding him up. "I'll be right back." She pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"You better." He smirked, pulling her down to his lips before she made her way out of the room to be sure that everything had been taken care of for the night. Once she was satisfied that all of the cooking appliances had been shut down, and the remaining men standing didn't need her for anything, she made her way back down the hall to see that Jax's door was slightly ajar.
She scowled, leaning her ear towards the slab of oak where she heard no sounds indicating that she should give him his privacy - pushing the door open all of the way where she found that the room was empty, and the bed that she'd made earlier in the day was still intact.
"Lookin' for Jax?" She turned around to see Half-Sack standing in the doorway, holding a mop.
"Yeah, you know where he is?"
"I think I saw him head up to the roof..." He scowled as well as he realized how odd it sounded. "Um, I uh... I'm sorry about earlier..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You don't actual give me that... You know, a... A MILF chubby..."
Gemma raised her brow at the babbling kid, keeping the smirk from her face as he stumbled horribly over his words.
"Oh! No, no." He shook his head once he saw the look on her face. "I mean like, not cause you're not hot or anything, just cause, you know... You're Clay's wife, and all..."
Gemma bit the inside of her lip as she shook her head. "Goodnight, Eddie." She nodded to the young man as she brushed past him, pulling the door closed behind her.
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Most of us were not violent by nature. We all had our problems with authority, but none of us were sociopaths. We came to realize that when you move your life off of the social grid, you give up the safety that society provides. On the fringe? Blood and bullets are the rule of the law. And if you're a man with convictions, violence is inevitable.
Jax nodded slowly as he read the script scrawled across the pages of the parchment that his father had left for him to find, feeling the peaceful confusion swirling deep in his gut as he pondered the words. He snapped out of his haze when he heard grunting and groaning coming from behind him, quickly shoving the manuscript into the inside of his flannel and focusing his eyes on the smoke of his cigarette as it drifting into the night sky.
"Jesus." Gemma rolled her eyes when she finally made it safely to the top of the ladder - now understanding why it had taken Sydney so long as she looked down at her strappy black heels as they carried her over to her son.
"What're you doin' up here?" She asked curiously as she took a seat next to him and sparked up a cigarette of her own.
"Ah." He swatted the air, draping his arm around her shoulders. "Didn't wanna listen to Syd and Tig." He chuckled.
"That finally happen?" She raised a brow.
"I fuckin' hope so." Jax scoffed with a shake of his head, blinking a few times as a pit began to form in his stomach - throwing his cigarette down to the ground and clasping his hands together as he propped his elbows up onto his knees. "When, uh..." He began wearily, unsure if he was making the right move, but he had to know more... "When you and dad hooked up, did ever talk to you about his vision? About what he wanted from the club?"
Gemma felt her heart sink, forcing a scowl onto her face. "His vision was..." She shook her head as she ashed her cigarette. "You know, what it is." She shrugged. "A brotherhood - a family."
Jax nodded as he bit the inside of his lip. "And running guns? He want that?"
"He never talked about that." Gemma got to her feet before her worry could betray her. "Why?"
Jax could tell that he had set foot on a broken path - something he should've known by the way that his father had known to hide the manuscript in an old Harley manual; somewhere that she would never look - but he needed to know where it led...
"I found a box of his old shit in the storage unit while I was looking for stuff for the baby." He shrugged. "There was like, pictures and journals - things that I never knew about him." He broached the subject more gently. His father had always been a sore subject with his mother, but this was the first time that he had started to wonder why.
"What kind of things?" Gemma paced back and forth as she took a mental inventory of everything that had been in that storage unit.
"It seemed like his original idea for the MC was something simpler. You know? Social rebellion. He called it a 'Harley commune' - it wasn't outlaw. Some real hippie shit." He forced a smile.
"We had a lot of bright ideas back then. We were kids." She chortled as she ground her teeth. "Your father became a man, men take care of business." She nodded. "Speaking of babies and business... How's Wendy?" She was grateful to gave found the perfect distraction.
"Don't know." Jax scoffed, sitting back up. "She won't talk to me."
"I'll go by and check on her this week - make sure she's getting to her appointments."
"That'd be good." Jax nodded.
"Anything for my grandson." She smiled, leaning down to kiss his cheek.
;
Tig laid in his bed with Sydney on top of him, her back against his chest as she held one of his hands in both of her smaller ones, running her long nails across the lines on his palm and playing with his rings - paying special attention to her favorite one; the silver cross that he wore on his middle finger while he lazily twirled strands of her messy hair around his fingers.
"Am I your first?" He asked quietly, still unable to believe it.
"The relationship thing was never really my bent." She replied cockily, turning around to meet his eyes with a grin where they shared a laugh before she laid back down. "You're my first." She confirmed shyly.
"I told you I would be there for the rest of your firsts." He chuckled.
Sydney giggled and squeezed his hand, falling into a comfortable stillness as they both waited for the other to fall asleep.
"So you really made out with a woman?" Tig broke the silence with the question that he'd been dying to know the answer to.
Sydney let out a cackle - the amusement in his voice making it painfully obvious that it hadn't left his mind since she'd mentioned it. "Gettin' greedy." She turned around to see that signature glint in his eye.
"How about this - you tell me how it went down, and I'll stop askin' questions." He proposed with a suggestive look and that shit-eating Trager grin.
She chuckled slowly, crawling on top of him. "Deal." She lowered her lips to his.
;
"Where've you been." Clay grinned when Gemma finally reappeared in the empty room that had started to spin in her absence.
"Sayin' goodnight to Jax." She began shedding her clothing.
"Of course you were." He scoffed, patting the bed beside him.
Gemma sighed as she made her way over to the only living person that she could share her worry with, placing her hands on his stubbled face as he leant into her touch. "What's the matter?" He scowled. He knew that look all too well.
"Jax is going through some shit..." She shook her head.
Clay sighed, pulling away from her as he laid back down - fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I know..."
"No." Gemma shook her head. "He found a box of John's old stuff in storage... He was asking me about his original vision for the club, did he want to get into running guns..."
"You're paranoid." Clay shook his head. And he sure hoped that he was right... "Probably just shit he's thinkin' about now that he has a son on the way - knows he's gonna have the gavel soon."
"He's gettin' chewed up by all of the guilt." Gemma shook her head. "Remorse is a dangerous thing." She narrowed her eyes as she took his face back into her hands. "Look what Tommy's death did to John? It changed him - made him soft." She winced. "You've gotta nail Jax down, Clay. You have to nail him down hard. Whatever it takes. I don't want the ghost of John Teller poisoning him - ruining everything that we've built-"
"Hey. Nothing's gonna get ruined, okay?" Clay put up a hand to silence her, narrowing his own eyes now. "Don't throw your panic into high gear."
"They respect him. Jax is strong. And when you step down as President-"
"Hey, hey." He stopped her once again. "I'm not goin' anywhere, for a long time."
"I-I know..." Gemma realized that she would have to switch tactics if she wanted him to see through his own ego. "I know, baby..." She grabbed his hand. "It's just... When you can't ride anymore, they'll vote my son in as President, and I just want to make sure that he's following in the right father's footsteps, okay?" She pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "Okay?" Another, lower this time as her voice fell to a whisper, and her lips trailed down his chest.
Clay sighed as she continued the preaching that he only wished was falling on deaf ears - but he could hear her, loud and clear.
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Songs for this chapter
Under My Skin - Byron Foxx
Get Naked (I Got a Plan) - Britney Spears
Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna
Mine - Bebe Rexha
High School Sweethearts - Melanie Martinez