Ride me Down

Chapter Eighteen -Sweet Sin & Stolen Glances

Jax didn’t say anything. He just guided her through the crowd, his hand low on her back, firm enough to keep her close, possessive enough that no one dared interrupt. Taylor’s heart pounded—not from nerves, not from the alcohol, but from the heat curling in her stomach at the way he moved with her like she belonged to him.

Because she did. And tonight, he wasn’t hiding it.

When he opened the door to his office, she half expected him to lock it behind them—but he didn’t. That alone sent a thrill through her.

This was where he ruled. Where he made plans. Signed deals. Issued orders. It smelled like leather, smoke, and secrets. And he was about to let her mark it with the sounds only she pulled from him.

He turned to face her, the door still swinging closed behind them. She leaned back against it, watching him, her chest rising and falling as he walked toward her slowly.

“You started something in here,” he said, voice low, rough. “That day on your knees. Now I’m going to finish it.”

There wasn’t a trace of shame in her. Only pride. Because this place wasn’t for softness. It wasn’t where he brought women. It wasn’t where he let his guard down.

But he was letting her in.

She smiled, heat blooming deep in her chest. “Then do it right, Jax. Feel all of me this time.”

His eyes burned into hers for a moment longer—and then he was on her. His hands at her thighs, lifting her up like she weighed nothing. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her back against the door. His mouth on hers was all heat and teeth and desperation.

She kissed him back just as hard, her fingers buried in his hair, nails dragging along his scalp. When he carried her to the desk—his desk—she didn’t resist. She welcomed it.

Because tonight, he wasn’t just taking her.

He was claiming every inch of her, right in the heart of his empire.

And she had never felt more powerful.

Jax cleared the desk with one sweep of his arm. Papers, folders, a heavy ashtray clattered to the floor—he didn’t even glance down. His eyes were all on her. Focused. Starving.

He laid her down like she was the only thing that mattered, like the weight of the world could wait, because right now? She was his priority.

Taylor gasped as the cold wood met the back of her thighs, her palms gripping the edge of the desk to steady herself. He didn’t undress her gently. He didn’t have to. The need between them had been simmering since the first time she walked into this compound, and now it boiled over—raw and reckless.

Her dress hiked up, his hand dragging up her bare leg, teasing at first—then decisive. Claiming.

She arched toward him. “Jax—”

“I know,” he muttered, his voice like gravel. “I’ve got you.”

And he did.

His mouth met hers again, more demanding now. She moaned against his lips, letting him take. Letting herself give. Every sound, every shift of his body against hers, made her dizzy with how alive she felt in this space—his world, his rules.

Her head tilted back, eyes fluttering shut as he moved against her with purpose.

And when his name left her mouth in a strangled breath, when she clutched at him and met him with just as much hunger, he didn’t stop. He just pressed in deeper, anchoring her to this desk, this room, this life.

No one else would ever have him like this.

And she knew—deep down, even as pleasure burned low and bright in her belly—that no matter what came next, no matter how wild or dark the road ahead got, she was already his.

Fully.

Completely.

Irrevocably.

Taylor lay stretched across Jax’s desk, skin still tingling, chest rising and falling as she slowly caught her breath. Her legs hung over the edge, his jacket draped haphazardly across one knee. She hadn’t bothered fixing her hair, and her lipstick was probably smudged beyond repair — but for once, she didn’t care.

She felt powerful.

She could still hear the muffled bass thumping somewhere out in the compound. Laughter, glass clinking, a cheer or two. But all she could focus on was the silence in this room — the thick, charged quiet after everything they'd just done.

Jax leaned against the edge of the desk beside her, still shirtless, his chest rising in slow, measured breaths. He looked over at her with that smug, unbothered expression he wore so damn well. Possessive. Satisfied.

She turned her head to meet his gaze. “You think they heard?”

A corner of his mouth twitched. “I hope they did.”

That shouldn’t have thrilled her like it did, but it did.

She laughed softly, stretching her arms over her head. “I was loud.”

“You were proud,” he corrected, eyes dragging down her body like he wasn’t even close to done with her.

“Damn right I was,” she muttered, sitting up slowly and adjusting the hem of her dress. “While everyone else is out there celebrating you taking over half the damn city, you’re in here with me.”

Jax pulled a cigarette from his back pocket and lit it. “Because you’re what I wanted.”

That was… a lot. But she didn’t flinch. Not this time.

She stood, shaky but steady enough to grab his shirt from where it had landed on the floor and pull it over her head. The scent of him wrapped around her like armor.

“Guess I’ll be wearing this for the rest of the night.”

“You’re not leaving my side anyway,” he said, taking a long drag, voice low. “Might as well make sure they all see who you belong to.”

Taylor smirked, walking over to him until they were toe to toe. “That right?”

“You gonna argue?”

She rose on her tiptoes and kissed his jaw. “Not tonight.”

Taylor was halfway to the door, still wearing his shirt, when she felt Jax’s gaze drag over her back.

“You look too damn good in that,” he muttered, voice dark with something more than approval.

She turned slowly, arching an eyebrow. “Then I’m keeping it.”

He stepped in close, palm resting lightly on her hip. “Tempting, but I’m going out there shirtless? Not the message I want to send.”

She rolled her eyes but cracked a grin, pulling the hem of the shirt down as she slowly peeled it off, teasing him with every motion. “Fine. Don’t want your little biker kingdom thinking I’m running the place.”

Jax smirked. “Too late for that.”

He took the shirt from her hands, tossed it over his shoulder, and reached for his cut — the worn leather jacket that had seen more miles than she could imagine. Instead of slipping it over his own arms, he draped it around her shoulders.

Taylor blinked.

The weight of it settled on her like something sacred.

It was too big. Heavy. Smelled like him. It swallowed her frame whole.

And it was… everything.

Her lips parted. “You serious?”

He leaned in, brushing his fingers along her jaw. “You wear that tonight. So there’s no doubt.”

No need for a necklace or words. This — this was the mark.

She slipped her arms through the sleeves, adjusting the collar. “You’re so damn dramatic.”

Jax opened the door, resting a hand on the small of her back as he guided her out. “You’re worth the drama.”

The hallway buzzed faintly with music as they stepped into the main part of the compound. Voices, movement, the low beat of bass and celebration filled the air.

But Taylor didn’t feel like just another face in the crowd.

Not with his hand never once leaving her back.

Not with the way he made sure every man in the room looked away when they passed.

Not with how Dani smirked from across the room and lifted her drink in a silent toast.

Jax didn’t need to say a thing.

He had already made it known — she was his.

And for the first time in a long time, Taylor didn’t mind belonging to someone.

Not like this.

The music pulsed low and heavy through the compound, the scent of whiskey, smoke, and leather curling around her like a second skin. Taylor leaned back into Jax, letting the rhythm guide her body. He was seated behind her, one arm lazily draped around her waist, his other hand nursing a glass of whiskey. His fingers flexed against her hip every time she rolled into him.

It was bold. It was reckless. It was exactly what she needed tonight.

Every so often, his lips found the curve of her shoulder or the back of her neck — hot, brief kisses that made her toes curl in her boots.

“You keep that up,” he muttered, breath husky against her ear, “and I’m going to lose what little restraint I have left.”

She smirked, twisting to look at him over her shoulder. “I thought you liked a challenge.”

His reply was a growl low in his throat — the kind that made her spine tingle.

A new song kicked in — sultry and pulsing, something that felt made for her.

Taylor stepped away from him, slowly, teasingly, and turned to face him fully. His eyes tracked every move as she danced — hips swaying, arms loose, hair tumbling around her shoulders. It wasn’t a performance for the room. It was for him.

But Dani saw.

And in typical Dani fashion, she grinned, sauntered over, and matched Taylor’s rhythm like it was second nature. They moved together easily, laughing and playing it up for the crowd. A few catcalls rose from somewhere in the background — Mason probably.

Jax didn’t flinch.

He drank it all in.

The moment spun hotter than it had any right to, and maybe it was the liquor, maybe it was the rush, or maybe it was just them — but Taylor turned to Dani, caught her by the waist, and pressed her lips to hers.

The kiss was playful.

A little wild.

Definitely impulsive.

But it landed.

Dani pulled back with a spark in her eye. “You really are chaos.”

Jax hadn’t moved — but the fire behind his stare could’ve burned the place down.

Ghost’s voice cut through the tension, dry and amused from the side of the room. “Told you she was trouble.”

Taylor licked her lips and grinned, stepping back into Jax’s space, dragging her nails lightly across his chest. “But I’m your kind of trouble, aren’t I?”

Jax’s jaw tightened. He downed the rest of his whiskey and set the glass down hard.

Then he stood.

And the entire atmosphere shifted.

“You have no idea what you’ve just started, Taylor.”

She tilted her head, smile sweet — and entirely unrepentant. “Good.”