Mia's back hit the padded wall behind her with a soft thud... not hard enough to hurt, just enough to remind her she was caged between cool black leather and the heat radiating off Jax's body. His mouth was still on hers, but the kiss had shifted from frantic war to something slower, more deliberate. He didn't devour; he tasted. Controlled. Like he was mapping every millimeter of her lips with his tongue, learning the shape of her gasp when he nipped her bottom lip just shy of pain.
She should have pushed him away. Should have said something sharp and cutting, reclaimed the upper hand she'd spent two years sharpening like a blade. Instead her fingers stayed curled in the soft cotton of his T-shirt, knuckles brushing the hard plane of his chest. Every inhale pulled more of his scent into her lungs... cedarwood, clean soap, the faint metallic edge of post-game adrenaline still clinging to his skin.
He broke the kiss first. Not far... just enough to rest his forehead against hers, breathing the same shallow air. His thumb traced the line of her jaw, slow, almost reverent.
"You're shaking," he murmured.
"I'm not." A lie. Her thighs trembled; her pulse hammered at the base of her throat where his other hand still rested, not squeezing, just… holding. Claiming space.
"Liar." The word was soft, almost fond. His green eyes searched hers in the dim red light. "Tell me what you're thinking right now."
Mia swallowed. Honesty felt dangerous, but so did everything else in this room. "That I hate how good this feels."
A low sound rumbled in his chest... half laugh, half growl. "That's honest."
"Don't get cocky."
"Too late." He eased back half a step, giving her room to breathe, but kept one hand on her hip, thumb stroking the strip of bare skin between her cropped top and skirt. "We're not rushing. Not tonight."
She blinked. "You invited me here to… what? Talk?"
"I invited you here because I've spent two seasons watching you glare at me like you want to either kill me or fuck me." He tilted his head. "Figured it was time to find out which."
Heat flooded her face. "And if it's both?"
"Then we take our time figuring out how to do both at once."
He stepped away completely then... slowly, deliberately... leaving her leaning against the wall, lips swollen, chest rising and falling too fast. Jax crossed to a low black cabinet near the St. Andrew's cross and opened a drawer. When he turned back, he held two items: a slim black folder and a small silver key on a leather cord.
"First things first," he said, voice calm, professional almost. "We talk rules. Limits. Safe words again... out loud, so there's no confusion later."
Mia pushed off the wall, smoothing her skirt like that small motion could restore order. "I already said red, yellow, green."
"Say them again. And tell me what each means to you."
She exhaled through her nose. "Red stops everything immediately. No questions, no negotiation. Yellow means pause, check in, slow down or change something. Green means keep going... I'm good, I want more."
He nodded once. "Mine are the same. I'll check in often, especially since this is new for you. If I ask 'color?' you answer honestly. No guessing what I want to hear."
"Got it."
He opened the folder... simple printed sheets... and handed her one. "Hard limits. Write or say anything you absolutely do not want. No judgment. Ever."
Mia scanned the page. It was clinical, almost comforting in its straightforwardness: no blood, no permanent marks, no humiliation in public, no sharing, no age play… She hesitated over a few lines, then spoke.
"No face-slapping. No calling me names that make me feel small outside of… play." She glanced up. "I can take degradation if it's dirty, not cruel. And nothing involving other people. Just us."
Jax's gaze darkened at that last part, something possessive flickering through it. "Noted. Same for me... no sharing. No one else touches you. Ever." He paused, voice dropping. "Not while we're doing this."
The words landed heavier than they should have. She met his eyes. "While we're doing this," she echoed. Not forever. Not even a relationship. Just… this.
He didn't argue. Just took the sheet back, added a few notes in his own handwriting, then set it aside.
"Soft limits?" he asked.
"Anything I'm nervous about but willing to try with warning. Like… the belt." Her eyes flicked to the coiled leather still sitting on the shelf where he'd left it earlier. "I've never… I mean, I've seen it in videos. Looks intense."
He followed her gaze. "It can be. We'll start light if we get there. You'll tell me when it's too much."
She nodded, throat tight.
"Anything else?"
Mia looked around the room again... the cuffs hanging from the frame, the ropes coiled like sleeping snakes, the bench with its padded leather and discreet rings. Her stomach fluttered, equal parts fear and want.
"I don't know what I don't know," she admitted. "So… go slow. Talk me through it. Don't assume I'm braver than I am."
Jax studied her for a long moment. Then he closed the distance again, slower this time. He lifted her chin with two fingers until she was looking directly at him.
"You're brave as hell for walking through that door, Mia. I'm not going to forget that."
Hearing her first name instead of "Reyes" felt strangely intimate... like he'd peeled back one more layer.
He reached for the silver key on the leather cord and held it out. "This unlocks everything in here. Cuffs, collars, the toy cabinet. You hold it tonight. If you need out of anything, use it. Or say red. Your choice."
She took the key, the metal cool against her palm. It felt heavier than it should have.
Jax stepped behind her then... close enough that she felt the brush of his chest against her back, but not crowding. His hands settled lightly on her shoulders.
"Arms up," he said quietly.
Mia lifted them slowly, heart thudding so loud she was sure he could hear it. He didn't rush. His fingers skimmed down the insides of her arms... light, teasing touches that raised goosebumps... until he reached her wrists. He circled them once with his thumbs, testing, memorizing.
"Still green?"
She swallowed. "Green."
He guided her wrists together in front of her, palm to palm, then reached for a pair of soft black leather cuffs from the wall. They were lined with something plush... velvet maybe. He fastened the first one around her left wrist, buckling it snug but not tight. Then the right. A small silver ring glinted on the side of each.
When both were secure, he clipped them together with a short chain... barely six inches. Not enough to restrict movement completely, but enough to remind her her hands weren't fully hers right now.
He stepped in front of her again, studying her face.
"How's that feel?"
Mia flexed her fingers, testing the give. The leather was warm now, molded slightly to her skin. "Strange. Not bad. Just… different."
"Good different or bad different?"
She thought about it. "Good. I think."
He smiled... small, real, not the court smirk. "We'll keep checking."
Then he took her bound hands and lifted them slowly, guiding them above her head until her arms were extended. There was a hook on the frame above... simple, padded at the curve. He looped the chain over it, letting her arms stay raised but not stretched to discomfort. Her back arched just enough to push her chest forward; the cropped top rode up another inch, exposing more skin.
Jax's gaze dropped there for a second... hungry, but he dragged it back to her face.
"Still with me?"
Mia nodded, breath shallow. "Yeah."
He leaned in, lips brushing the shell of her ear. "You look fucking perfect like this."
The praise hit low and hot. She bit her lip to keep from making a sound.
He didn't kiss her again... not yet. Instead he trailed one finger down the center of her body... sternum, stomach, stopping just above the waistband of her skirt. Teasing the edge of fabric without dipping beneath.
"Tell me what you want next," he said.
Mia's mind blanked for a second. Want? She wanted everything and nothing all at once. Wanted to run. Wanted to beg. Wanted to keep hating him so this didn't feel so real.
But her mouth moved before her brain caught up.
"Touch me."
His eyes flared. "Where?"
She hesitated, then whispered, "Everywhere."
Jax exhaled roughly. "Good girl."
And then... slowly, torturously... he began.
***