Page 280 of Tar City
He can bite my clit, pinch my nipples, pull my hair… he tries to show me how he’s bad for me, and all it does is make me want him more. He thinks he’s scaring me off, but he’s just showing me how well we fit. So he can keep trying to push me away with his monster and his fury.I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I think I’ll just stay right here and wait for the next time he decides to teach me a lesson.
When we arrive, Jax pulls over across from a building that looks more like an abandoned storefront than anything else.
“This is the place?” I ask. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” Jax says, checking the address again. “Pretty sure this is it.”
I look at the broken windows. “Okay… we go in slowly then. Don’t want to give anything away in case Andy’s already here.”
I push the door open.
The lights flick on.
“Surprise!” Lou jumps out from behind a stack of boxes with a ribbon in his hands and I swear my soul leaves my body.
“Pitfire—!”
“Oh no!” he says immediately, running toward me. “Don’t die! Don’t die!” He throws his arms around me in a hug, nearly knocking me over. “We worked too hard for you to have a heart attack before you even see it!”
“What the hell is going on?”
Then I notice Jax is leaning against the doorframe with a smug look on his face.
“You knew,” I say.
He shrugs, a slow, infuriating movement. “Maybe.”
Lou grabs my shoulders and spins me around. “Welcome to your studio!”
I blink. “My what?”
Jax steps forward and drops a set of keys into my hand.
“Your studio.”
I stare at them, then back at the empty space around us. I look at the tall ceilings and the huge windows. I look down at wood floors scuffed with age.
“Lou said it’s exactly how it should be,” Jax adds.
I shake my head, my throat closing up. “Jax… I can’t take this.”
“Sure you can.”
“I can’t pay you for this.”
“It’s a gift.”
I stare at him like he’s completely lost his mind.
“You’re gonna have to pay the bills,” he continues, ignoring me completely. “Because I definitely can’t afford those.”
Lou nods enthusiastically. “You can do that, right Sisk?”
I look around again, completely overwhelmed. “You two are insane.”
Lou spreads his arms proudly. “Correction—I found it.”
Jax rolls his eyes. “You found it because I told you to.”
