Ride me Down

Chapter Fourteen -The Taste of Control

The sheets still smelled like him. Taylor stirred slowly, the ache in her thighs a lazy reminder of how thoroughly she’d been claimed. Morning light poured through the slats of the blinds, warm and golden across her bare skin. But it wasn’t the sun that woke her—it was the weight of his gaze.

Jax stood at the foot of the bed, fresh from a shower, towel slung low on his hips, water beading across the ink of his chest. He wasn’t smiling. He didn’t do sweet smiles in the morning. He stared like a man ready to eat her alive for breakfast.

“You always watch women sleep?” she asked, voice still thick with sleep, stretching just enough to tease without trying.

He didn’t bite.

“No. Just you.”

Her stomach flipped.

He moved closer—slow, steady. She expected him to crawl into bed, wrap her in those rough arms. Instead, his fingers wrapped around her ankle and dragged her toward the edge of the bed with a smirk so devilish it melted every logical thought she had.

“You’re mine,” he said again, low and rough like he needed to remind her—or himself. “And I get to start my morning any way I damn well please.”

She was already breathless when he knelt at the foot of the bed, kissing his way up her legs like he had all the time in the world and no interest in mercy.

Taylor gasped, curling into him as her body lit up again.

Because that was the thing about Jax.

He didn’t need to shout to own her mornings.

He showed her.

Again and again.

As Taylor caught her breath, limbs still humming, Jax was already halfway dressed—dark jeans pulled up, his tee clenched in one hand like this was just another morning.

“Ghost is back,” she said, pushing hair out of her face, still wrapped in tangled sheets.

Jax didn’t even look up. “Hm.”

“Dani told me he’s usually not around for long. Always off doing... whatever scary guys like him do.”

Jax snorted, tugging the tee over his head. “Dani needs to gossip less.”

Taylor sat up straighter, arching a brow. “So it’s not true?”

“It’s true,” he said, finally meeting her eyes. “But why do you care?”

She rolled her eyes and flopped back against the pillows, “Because he gives me serial killer vibes, Jax. Like... watches-you-sleep-and-knows-where-you-hid-the-body creepy.”

Jax smirked, stepping closer until he was standing over her again, like he couldn’t help himself. “Well, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. So get used to it, princess.”

Taylor groaned. “He’s the one who needs to get used to me. I’m not exactly low-key around here.”

“Understatement,” he muttered, but there was amusement in his voice now.

Then he grew serious.

“It’s a good thing he’s here, Taylor. I need him close. Now that Caine made it clear he’s not done with you.”

Her stomach dipped at that.

“I thought Caine was backing off.”

Jax shook his head. “He backed off the debt. Not the obsession.”

He brushed a hand over her bare shoulder, thumb lingering there. “You lit a fire in that man—and not the kind we can put out with a warning. I don’t take that lightly.”

Taylor swallowed, the heat of their morning fading into something heavier. “So what now?”

Jax’s gaze was deadly calm. “Now we tighten security. And I remind everyone—including Caine—who you belong to.”

Taylor nodded slowly, reading more between his words than he probably meant her to. She understood what Jax wasn’t saying—Ghost wasn’t just muscle. He was the line Jax walked when the world tried to pull him off balance. Jax needed someone like that.

Especially now.

But Taylor had a different kind of problem. One no one around here seemed equipped to fix.

She sighed, dragging the sheet tighter around her. “I’m bored, Jax.”

He turned his head slightly, one brow lifting in that way that told her she was either about to be teased—or challenged. “I’m not f*****g you enough?”

Taylor let out a dry laugh. “No, that’s definitely not the issue. Any more of that and I’ll need physical therapy just to sit down.”

He smirked, but her expression stayed serious.

“I mean I need something to do. Something that’s mine. I can’t sit around all day drinking wine, gossiping with Dani, and pretending this is normal.”

Jax’s eyes sharpened. “You’re free to do whatever you want.”

She gave him a pointed look. “That’s not true and you know it.”

He stared at her for a beat.

“You think walking off the compound with Dani yesterday counts as freedom?” he asked coolly.

Taylor didn’t blink. “No. I think it counts as desperation. You’ve put me in a pretty little cage, Jax. One with expensive coffee and earth-shattering orgasms, but a cage all the same.”

His jaw ticked. “You’re not a prisoner, Taylor.”

“Then let me prove it.” Her voice softened. “Give me something to build. Something to do. Let me figure out who I am in this world instead of just who I am to you.”

That gave him pause.

She watched him closely, heart thudding in her chest. “Unless you like me a little helpless and pretty—like some wind-up doll you take out when you're bored.”

He moved then—slow and dangerous—until he was standing at the edge of the bed again.

“I like you with a fire in your eyes, Taylor.” He leaned down, brushing his fingers along her jaw. “But be careful how you throw around the word cage. Because I warned you—once you stepped into my world, there was no getting out.”

“I’m not trying to get out,” she whispered. “I’m trying to breathe in it.”

His gaze held hers. Then he straightened.

“I’ll think about it.”

She almost smiled—but didn’t.

Because with Jax, "I'll think about it" was about as close to yes as she was going to get.

Taylor was lounging on the worn leather couch in the common room, flipping through a magazine she didn’t even care about, her cappuccino cooling too fast on the table beside her. She heard their boots before she saw them—Jax and Ghost walking through the compound with purpose.

Which meant she was about to be either warned… or gifted.

“Sparkles,” Jax drawled, stopping in front of her.

She tilted her head back, raising a brow. “That’s not my name.”

His lips quirked, but he didn’t take the bait. Instead, he turned to Ghost, who stood beside him with his arms folded, gaze unreadable and terrifying as always.

“We talked,” Jax said. “You made your point the other morning. You want to do something? Then fine. We’ll figure it out.”

Ghost finally spoke, voice low and rough like gravel. “She needs something to do, Jax. Otherwise she’s gonna stir up chaos just to feel alive.”

Taylor blinked. Ghost just… agreed with her?

She sat up a little straighter. “So you’re saying I’m right.”

“I’m saying you’re dangerous when you’re bored,” Ghost said, dead serious. “And I don’t need to babysit you.”

Taylor grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Jax narrowed his eyes. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“Relax. I won’t ask for a glitter bomb workshop.” She reached for a nearby notepad, tore off a sheet, and grabbed a pen. “I’ll give you a list. Hobbies I’ve actually stuck with. Stuff that might not burn the place down.”

Ghost tilted his head. “Might?”

Taylor smirked. “I said might.”

She scribbled quickly, then handed it to Jax:

Baking

Yoga (the aesthetic kind, not sweaty cult-style)

Jewelry making

Painting (abstract—don’t expect portraits)

Fashion styling

Podcast idea: “Sparkles & Sass”

Jax scanned the list. Ghost peeked over his shoulder and muttered, “She’s serious.”

Jax looked back at her. “We’ll figure out what we can work with. Keep it inside the compound for now.”

Taylor nodded. “Deal. But no one touches my supplies without permission.”

Ghost deadpanned, “We’re terrified.”

She beamed at him. “Good. That means we understand each other.”

Jax looked like he was regretting everything, but he held out her list anyway. “I’ll get someone on it. Don’t blow anything up.”

“No promises.”

As Jax wandered off with her list in hand—probably already regretting agreeing to this—Taylor stood to grab her coffee.

But Ghost didn’t move.

She turned slowly, finding him still there, eyes pinned to her like a hawk sizing up prey that thought it was safe.

“You got what you wanted,” he said, voice low.

“Halfway,” Taylor corrected, crossing her arms. “But I’ll take it.”

Ghost nodded once. “Then listen close, Sparkles. That halfway comes with a line.”

She arched a brow, trying to play it cool, even though his stare made her spine feel like glass. “Is this the part where you threaten me?”

He took a step closer. Not loud, not aggressive. Just quiet and sure, and it somehow made him ten times more terrifying.

“If you stir up s**t after this—if you bring trouble through the gates again—don’t count on a second chance. Not from me. Not from any of us.”

Her throat tightened for a split second. But she forced a smile. “Noted.”

He turned to leave, then paused—one hand already at the doorframe. His voice was calm, but it sliced through the air like a blade.

“Oh… and Sparkles?” he added without looking back. “Some secrets smell stronger than perfume.”

Taylor’s fingers clenched around her coffee cup.

He walked away without another word.

She stood there, heart racing, trying to hold her expression steady in case anyone else was watching.

He knew.

Maybe not everything. Maybe not how. But Ghost wasn’t stupid. And if he knew… keeping Dani out of trouble just got a hell of a lot more complicated.

Taylor paced in front of the couch, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Dani watched her with narrowed eyes, swirling the wine in her glass.

"So let me get this straight," Dani said finally, her voice low, cautious, "Ghost backed you up?"

Taylor nodded, biting her lip. "I know. I didn’t see it coming either. He told Jax I need something to keep me from going stir crazy. Said it like I was a ticking time bomb."

Dani gave a dry laugh. "He’s not wrong. You’ve been twitchy ever since you got here."

Taylor dropped onto the couch beside her with a heavy sigh. "I gave them a list. Stuff I used to do in my old life. Hobbies, routines. Not all of it will work here, but I needed to try. I can’t just be... kept. Not like a bird in a gilded cage."

Dani nodded slowly. "What was on the list?"

"A lot of things, but along the line of baking, painting, making jewellery and starting a podcast."

Dani raised a brow. "You're really asking a biker gang to support your lifestyle brand?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "No, I’m asking for a piece of myself back. Even with restrictions. I told them I’d settle for one or two things. Ghost agreed... but then—" She paused, her voice dipping to a whisper. "He looked at me like he knew. About the pharmacy run. He said, 'Now that we’re meeting you halfway, don’t make us regret it.'"

Dani stiffened. "s**t. That’s a warning."

Taylor nodded, her voice small. "We can’t screw up. One misstep, and Ghost will make sure we both regret it. He didn’t say it out loud, but I felt it. He knows."

Dani rubbed her face. "This is exactly why I told you to let me take the risk alone."

"And I told you I don’t let people take risks for me. We’re in this together now."

Dani sighed. "Then we keep our stories straight, Sparkles. From here on out, no mistakes. We play it cool and blend in. Because Ghost might’ve backed your freedom—but he’ll bury us both if we make him look like a fool."

Taylor gave a slow nod, the weight of their secret pressing down harder now than ever. "Agreed. No more mistakes."