Ride me Down

Chapter Ten – Masterminds

The morning sun had no business being that bright. Taylor groaned and pulled the covers over her head, refusing to acknowledge that the world still turned after what they did last night. Her body ached in places that reminded her exactly how far things went. She felt branded—inside and out.

Her thighs stung, her lips were swollen, and her pride was... well, it was buried somewhere under Jax Maddox.

Across the room, she heard the shower shut off. Of course he was already up. Already functioning. Probably already looking like sin in motion while she couldn’t even convince her limbs to move.

Typical.

She peeked out from under the blanket, squinting just in time to see Jax toweling off in front of the mirror. He hadn’t noticed her watching—or maybe he had and just didn’t care. His back flexed as he reached for a shirt. Tattoos shifted with every movement. She hated how good he looked. Like last night hadn’t just happened. Like he hadn’t ruined her for anyone else.

“Rise and shine, darling,” he said without turning around.

She responded with a muffled curse into the pillow.

He chuckled.

“Didn’t hear that. Want to come say it to my face?”

She popped her head out, hair an absolute mess, eyes barely open. “I hate you.”

“You moaned a different story last night.”

God, he was insufferable.

And she still wanted him.

That was the worst part.

In dark jeans and a tight black tee, Jax moved across the room like nothing happened. Like he hadn’t just ruined her body and her sleep schedule. He sat at the edge of the bed to lace up his boots, all calm and collected, while she lay there glaring daggers at the back of his smug, maddeningly sculpted head.

Taylor didn’t move. Couldn’t, really.

Everything hurt.

She hated him for it. Hated how good it had felt. Hated even more how wrecked she was now.

She shifted beneath the sheets and winced. Yep—she was broken. Officially.

Jax glanced over his shoulder with that insufferable smirk on his face, reading her pain like a book he’d already dog-eared.

“I’ll bring you coffee,” he said casually, like it wasn’t the most arrogant thing in the world. “Doesn’t look like you’ll be getting out of bed anytime soon.”

Smug bastard.

She narrowed her eyes. “You are the worst.”

He chuckled as he stood, completely unbothered. “Not what you were screaming last night.”

Her pillow landed just shy of his head.

He caught it anyway.

Of course he did.

And that only made her want to throw something heavier.

“You’re lucky I can’t walk,” she muttered into the sheets.

He bent over, resting a hand on the mattress beside her. His voice dropped low—just for her. “You’re lucky I stopped when I did.”

Her breath caught.

And he walked out, leaving her simmering in her own frustration.

And okay—maybe a little turned on, too.

As promised, Jax brought her coffee.

Not just any coffee—her cappuccino. Perfectly foamed, exactly how she liked it.

She said nothing.

God forbid she gave him the satisfaction.

He placed the cup on her nightstand like it was nothing and sat beside her, the mattress dipping under his weight.

“I need to check in with the guys,” he said, adjusting the gun at his hip like it was a phone or a set of keys. “Got a few things to handle today.”

Taylor pulled the sheet a little tighter around herself, sitting up slowly—still sore but trying to hide it. “What do you even do exactly?” she asked, eyeing him like he might tell her he sold insurance next.

He shrugged, casual. “I own a few places in town. Bars. Auto shop. One or two other things. We try to keep it above the table.”

She didn’t miss the way his hand rested near his weapon.

He noticed her glance and smirked. “I said try, darling. Since I took over the club, we’ve been working on staying on the right side of the law. Doesn’t mean everyone’s a fan.”

She nodded slowly. “Right. So… enemies, guns, tension-filled meetings in back rooms—classic good guy arc.”

He didn’t deny it.

But his silence spoke volumes.

Taylor stared into her coffee for a beat too long, the weight of everything starting to press in. Her voice came softer when she spoke next.

“I think I get it,” she said. “At least, enough to know I don’t know the half of it.”

She paused, then looked up at him—bare-faced, no sarcasm, no smirk. Just a girl in a stranger’s world trying to make sense of what last night actually meant.

“So… what does this mean for us exactly?”

The air thickened.

Because she wasn’t asking for a fairytale.

She just needed to know if she’d made a mistake trusting him with anything.

Even her body.

He narrowed his eyes on her. “It’s exactly like I said, Taylor. You’re mine.”

She let out a breath, frustration tightening her chest. “Yeah, I heard that part. Loud and clear. You’ve said it plenty.”

She sat up straighter, balancing the cappuccino in one hand while still gripping the sheet with the other. “But what does that actually mean? For me, Jax? Am I your girlfriend? Am I a… what, a casual hookup you just keep close? A warm body to come home to when things get stressful? I need more than vague declarations and bedroom theatrics.”

Her voice cracked slightly at the end, and she hated it. But she powered through.

“I’m not trying to play house here, I just… I need to know where this is going. What kind of life I’m getting dragged into. Because it’s not just mine anymore, is it? You said I’m yours, and you said it in front of all your people. So if this is real—if this means something—I need you to say it. Plain.”

For once, she didn’t flinch under his stare.

She sipped her cappuccino and held his gaze like it didn’t matter how her hands were trembling under the sheets.

“I'm not a mind reader, Jax,” she said softly. “And I’m not the kind of girl who waits around hoping you’ll spell it out when it's convenient. So spell it out now.”

Jax leaned forward, elbows on his knees, watching her like he was deciding how much truth to give away.

“I don’t do labels, Taylor,” he said, voice low and even. “Not the kind you’re used to.”

She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “So I’m just supposed to guess what I am to you?”

He shook his head once. “No. You’re mine. That’s it. That’s all there is to figure out.”

Her chest tightened—because it sounded like something, but didn’t feel like enough. Not yet.

He ran a hand down his jaw and sighed, like patience wasn’t exactly his strength. “You want to know what being mine means? It means you’re under my protection. No one touches you. No one talks about you without thinking twice. You say you need something, I make it happen. You hurt, I handle it. You disappear, I’ll come find you.”

His voice dropped lower, more dangerous. “And yeah, it means if someone looks at you too long, I’ll make sure they remember not to do it again.”

Her heart pounded, somewhere between heat and hesitation.

“I’m not the hearts-and-flowers type,” he said simply. “But I don’t waste my time. And I don’t stake a claim on something unless I plan on keeping it.”

He stood then, towering, untouchable, and just before he reached the door, he turned back to look at her—more serious than she’d ever seen him.

“You want to know where your life’s headed?” he asked. “Wherever I go, you go. It’s messy. It’s dangerous. But it’s real. You want out, say it now.”

He gave her the out.

But his eyes said he didn’t want her to take it.

And God help her, she didn’t want to either.

She took a breath and held his gaze, steady despite the way her world felt like it was tilting sideways.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” she muttered, more to herself than to him, “but I don’t want an out.”

Her voice dropped, almost like admitting it out loud would make it more real. “God, my life is about to be turned completely upside down.”

Jax didn’t flinch. “It’ll take time to adjust,” he said simply. “Won’t be easy. Won’t be quiet. But this is it now. No exits. No maybes. Just us.”

Just us.

She bit her lip, letting that settle for a second before lifting her chin. “You say that like I’m the only one who has to brace for impact.”

A slow smirk touched her lips. “Newsflash, Maddox—you’ve never had someone like me in your life.”

He tilted his head, curious but silent.

She pressed on, enjoying the rare moment where she was the one delivering the warning. “You’re getting an emotionally chaotic, glitter-loving, shoe-obsessed woman with trust issues and a temper. Someone who cries during car commercials and threatens to stab people when she’s hungry.”

Jax blinked slowly, like he wasn’t sure if she was joking or completely serious.

Taylor shrugged. “So if I’m supposed to be yours, babe—you better be ready for one hell of a ride.”

Jax walked back to her side of the bed and leaned down, bracing one hand beside her head. His mouth brushed her ear.

“I don’t do boring,” he said. “And I sure as hell don’t scare easy.”

He kissed her forehead—rough but strangely careful—then stood and grabbed his cut from the back of the chair. “I’ll check in later. Dani’s outside if you need anything.”

Taylor flopped back into the pillows as the door clicked shut behind him.

No exits. No maybes. Just us.

God help her… she was in this now.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him and the silence wrapped around her, the panic hit.

It wasn’t about what she’d said to Jax—about not wanting out. Weirdly, that still sat right in her chest. It scared her, sure, but not the wrong kind of scared. No, the part making her stomach knot was something far more immediate. Tangible.

They hadn’t used protection.

Not once.

She sat up, stiff and sore and suddenly wide awake. Her mind spun so fast she almost knocked her cappuccino over reaching for it. She gulped it down, shoved the sheets aside, and launched into her morning routine with record speed. Her reflection in the mirror screamed mildly unhinged, but she didn’t have time to fix that.

She threw on a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a white tee—simple, plain, not her usual sparkly aesthetic—and bolted down the hall. The compound buzzed around her, but she tuned it out.

People looked at her like she’d grown a second head. Let them.

She found Dani in the kitchen, sipping coffee like it was just another calm morning. She didn’t even flinch when Taylor cornered her.

Dani’s eyes dropped to the jeans, then back up. “Okay, now I know something’s wrong. You’re wearing normal people clothes.”

“Don’t start,” Taylor hissed, breathless. “I need you to get me into town.”

Dani blinked. “What? Now?”

“Yes, now.”

“Wait, are you freaking out about being Jax’s girl? Because, babe, you did walk upstairs with him like you were auditioning for a biker wife reality show—”

“No,” Taylor snapped. “I mean yes, that’s a whole thing, but that’s not why I need out.”

Dani tilted her head. “Then what?”

Taylor stepped closer, lowering her voice. “We didn’t use anything. Protection. Last night Not once.”

Dani froze, then slowly set her mug down. “Oh. Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“You want to go get a morning after pill.”

“Yes.”

Dani sighed and rubbed her temple. “Of course you do. You would drag me into this with zero warning.”

“I’m not trying to get you in trouble.”

“Sparkles,” Dani groaned, grabbing her keys anyway, “you literally only call me Dani when you’re being serious. You are getting me in trouble. But fine. Let’s go. I swear, if we die on this mission, I’m haunting you.”

Taylor followed fast. “You already haunt me.”

Dani rolled her eyes as they hit the back door. “God help him. Jax has no idea what he signed up for.”

“Neither do I,” Taylor muttered under her breath, but she was already sliding into the passenger seat.

Dani peeled away from the compound like they were robbing a bank, her hands tight on the wheel and eyes twitchy like she expected a tail.

Taylor side-eyed her. “Okay, you have to stop looking like we’re fleeing a crime scene. You’re seriously freaking me out.”

Dani didn’t take her eyes off the road. “I am freaking out. Jax doesn’t just let things slide, Sparkles. He’s five steps ahead before you even think of taking one. Always.”

Taylor stared out the window, her jaw tight. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I’m starting to get that.”

Dani shot her a quick glance. “You really sure about this?”

Taylor nodded slowly. “I’m not ready. Not for that. Not when I haven’t even figured out what ‘being Jax’s girl’ actually means. Let me just… settle into this world first, before bringing a baby into it.”

Dani sighed, but it wasn’t judgmental. Just tired. “Yeah, I get that. I want that for you, too. That’s why I’m driving you into town and probably signing my own death warrant in the process.”

Taylor snorted. “So dramatic.”

“You’re wearing jeans and no glitter. This is dramatic.”

Taylor let out a breathy laugh, but the tension didn’t leave her shoulders. “They’re already onto us, aren’t they?”

“Oh, for sure.” Dani flicked her turn signal. “We left without a word. Jax probably knows what brand of tampons you use. You think he’s not tracking you?”

Taylor leaned back in the seat, staring up at the ceiling. “This life is so f*****g weird.”

Dani shrugged. “Yeah, well… it’s your weird now too.”

There was something oddly comforting about that—like having a fellow inmate in a high-security prison with really great leather jackets.

Taylor glanced over. “You think he’s pissed?”

Dani barked out a laugh. “He’s Jax. Of course he’s pissed. But he’s also not gonna drag you back by the hair in front of a pharmacy.”

A pause.

“Probably.”

Taylor groaned. “That’s not helping.”

“You’re the one who slept with a biker king with control issues and god-tier stamina. You signed up for this.”

“Don’t remind me.”

Dani smirked. “Too late.”

“Okay,” she said, turning to Dani with wild determination in her eyes. “Here’s the plan—we throw them off. They’re men, Dani. They don’t know what half of us carry in our purses, let alone what we do in a pharmacy. So we use that.”

Dani raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

“If I walk in and grab the pill myself? It’ll get back to Jax faster than a text on crack, and then we’re all dead. Or worse—lectured.” Taylor ran a hand through her hair. “So, I go straight to the makeup aisle. Classic diva move. I’m a mess without my contour, right? I play it up, stay in character.”

“And I buy the pill,” Dani said, already catching on.

“Yes. You buy the pill. I pretend I don’t even know where the pharmacy counter is. I’m just the high-maintenance chick buying lipstick because my man broke my back and I need to feel human again.”

Dani snorted. “Jesus.”

“We finish the show with coffee at whatever place you swear by in this town. I slip into the bathroom, handle my part of the plan, and no one’s the wiser.”

Dani nodded thoughtfully. “That could actually work. Right now, they’re probably thinking we just made a run for it. Might even think I’m your getaway driver for some post-orgasm emotional meltdown.”

Taylor smirked. “Exactly. They expect drama. We give them lipstick.”

“Jax won’t like being played,” Dani warned.

Taylor shrugged. “He’s not supposed to know he’s being played.”

“Girl, you are dangerous.”

Taylor smiled sweetly, adjusting her sunglasses. “I’m learning from the best.”

Dani revved the engine. “Then let’s go be dangerous.”