Secretly His: A forbidden MC Romance

CHAPTER SEVEN - LOST IN THE PAST

The door clicked shut behind Rico, and the room seemed to shrink around Dani. Her breath hitched as the noise of the clubhouse slowly faded, leaving her with nothing but the distant hum of a dozen conversations. But her mind wasn’t on the noise. It was on Jax. On the man who had disappeared from her life without a trace, leaving her with nothing but questions and a pain she couldn’t escape.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of the booth, the cool metal of the table digging into her palms as her mind flashed back to that night. The night things had shifted between them.

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FLASHBACK – FIVE YEARS AGO

The dim light from Jax’s apartment felt like a cloak, wrapping around them, muting the outside world. The hum of traffic, the sounds of the city, it all faded away once Dani walked through the door. She’d been here countless times before, but tonight felt different. He looked different. She felt different.

Dani sat on the edge of the couch, her legs tucked beneath her, the usual teasing banter that always filled the space between them gone. It was replaced with a thick, heavy air—full of unspoken words and undeniable attraction. Every glance between them was charged, electric. They were close enough to touch, but neither of them moved. Not yet.

The seconds stretched, tense and uncertain, as Jax sat across from her, a flicker of something in his eyes—something darker than usual. He didn’t smile the way he normally did. Didn’t make a joke. He just stared at her, his gaze pulling her in, keeping her there, making her question why she’d never let herself feel this before.

Finally, Jax spoke, his voice low, rough, like he’d been fighting with himself for far too long.

“Dani...” He dragged her name out, his lips brushing the air like he wanted to taste it.

She swallowed, trying to ignore the way her heart raced at the sound of her name from his mouth. There was something in the way he said it—something that felt too loaded, too intense.

“Yeah?” She asked, her voice quieter than she intended. Her breath caught as she leaned forward slightly, the space between them narrowing. The air felt thick with what neither of them had said before.

Jax shifted, and the movement was like a spark, igniting something between them. His eyes flicked down to her lips, just for a second, before meeting her gaze again.

“You know we’ve danced around this for a while now,” he said, his voice barely a whisper but laced with an edge of something more raw.

Dani’s pulse quickened. “Danced around what?” she said, her voice teasing, but she knew exactly what he meant. She had been feeling it too. She wasn’t fooling anyone.

“The tension,” Jax said, standing and closing the distance between them in a few long strides. He didn’t ask for permission. He just moved, standing in front of her, his broad chest inches from hers, making the air feel impossibly tight. His hand lifted, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips grazing her skin.

It wasn’t the first time he’d touched her, but this time felt different. His touch was deliberate, possessive, as though he was staking some claim on her. And damn it, she wanted to feel it.

Dani’s breath hitched, her chest tightening. Her body was betraying her, reacting to him in a way she couldn’t control. She should’ve pushed him away. She should’ve stopped this before it went any further. But when he stepped closer, the heat between them flared and she couldn’t fight it.

Jax leaned in, his lips hovering dangerously close to hers. She could feel the heat radiating off him, the sharp edges of his body pressing against hers, but still not enough. His voice was low, almost rough when he spoke again. “I’ve wanted this for too damn long.”

And then his lips were on hers—fierce, demanding, as if he was claiming her, taking something they both needed. Dani’s hands found his chest, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. His hand slid to the back of her neck, tilting her head to get a better angle, his mouth moving with a hunger that made her head spin.

Every part of her was alive in that moment, her pulse racing, her body responding to the way he touched her, the way he kissed her. She’d tried to convince herself she wasn’t ready for this. That it was just the tension. But as his tongue brushed against hers, her resistance crumbled, piece by piece.

He kissed her with a need that matched her own, an intensity that was palpable, pushing them closer together. His body pressed harder into hers, and she could feel the way his muscles tensed, the heat of his skin seeping into her, making everything else fade away. There was only the kiss, only the way his lips moved against hers, the way his hands gripped her tighter, pulling her closer.

Dani's fingers slid down to the waistband of his jeans, her body moving on instinct as she tugged him toward her. The air around them was thick with the unspoken things they’d both been holding back for far too long.

Jax groaned, the sound muffled against her lips, and she could feel the vibration deep in her chest. His hand slid down to her waist, pulling her up until they were standing together, bodies pressed tightly, the heat between them nearly suffocating. She could feel the hardness of him against her, and it made her pulse skip, a hot wave of desire rushing through her veins.

“Dani,” he said her name again, his voice rougher this time. “I’m not gonna hold back anymore.”

And neither was she.

Her hands moved urgently, tugging at his shirt, her fingers brushing against his skin as she yanked it over his head, exposing the hard lines of his chest. She needed to feel him. Needed to erase the distance that had always been there.

She kissed him again, harder this time, her body pressing into his, urging him to take control. But Jax didn’t need encouragement. He lifted her off her feet with ease, his hands gripping her hips as he walked them toward the bedroom. His lips never left hers as he laid her back on the bed, his weight settling over her, pressing her into the sheets.

It was frantic. A frenzy of hands and lips, a desperate need for something neither of them had ever allowed themselves to fully explore. The world outside didn’t matter anymore. It was just the two of them.

When they finally broke apart for air, their breaths ragged and their bodies slick with sweat, Jax leaned down, his forehead resting against hers. His voice was a low rasp. “I’ve never wanted anything more, Dani.”

But before Dani could respond, before the words could even form, the sound of the door slamming in the distance shattered the moment.

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BACK TO THE PRESENT

Dani snapped back to reality with a jolt, her chest tight and her breath shallow. The memory hit her hard, the weight of it settling deep in her bones. That night. The heat. The desperation. And the aftermath.

She couldn’t look at Jax now. Not with the way he was standing there, his eyes full of unreadable emotions, his voice pulling her back into the present.

“Dani…” Jax started, his tone softer now, but she couldn’t bear to hear it. Not yet. Not after everything.

With a sharp exhale, she finally spoke, her voice low, almost brittle. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to come back after five years and pretend like you can just fix things.”

Jax didn’t say anything. He just stood there, as the weight of everything between them lingered in the air.