The Choice

*Knock. Knock. Knock.*

The sound shattered the moment.

"Roxy!" Liam’s voice came through the door, muffled but unmistakably cheerful. "Rox, are you in there? Sarah and I are doing celebratory tequila shots! We need our bass player!"

Roxy froze. The old instinct kicked in—the need to please Liam, to be the "cool girl," to hide her pain so he wouldn't feel bad. She looked at the door.

Jax didn't move. He didn't step back. He kept his hand on her chin, his thumb tracing her lower lip.

"Go on," Jax whispered, his voice a velvety taunt. "Answer him. Go take a shot. Toast the happy couple. Be the best friend."

Roxy looked at Jax. He wasn't stopping her. He wasn't blocking her path. He was giving her a choice.

"Or?" Roxy asked breathlessly.

Jax’s eyes darkened. He leaned down, his mouth hovering millimeters from hers. "Or stay here. And let me ruin you for him."

Roxy’s mind flashed to Liam—his golden hair, his oblivious smile, the way he never, ever looked at her the way Jax was looking at her right now. Liam was safe. Liam was comfortable. Liam was gone.

Jax was dangerous. Jax was arrogant. And Jax was right there, offering to burn the memory of Liam out of her system.

Liam knocked again. "Roxy? Come on, don't be a buzzkill!"

A buzzkill. That’s what she was to him. A mood regulator.

Roxy felt something snap in her chest. The tether that had held her to Liam for three years frayed and broke.

She looked Jax dead in the eye.

"Ruin me," she whispered.

Jax didn't hesitate. He crashed his mouth onto hers.

It wasn't a sweet kiss. It was a claim. It was demanding, hot, and tasting of whiskey and aggression. Roxy made a noise in her throat and grabbed the lapels of his leather jacket, pulling him closer.

Jax groaned, his arm wrapping around her waist, lifting her effortlessly onto the edge of the table, knocking over the empty beer cans. He kissed her like he had been planning it for months. He kissed her until she forgot her name, let alone Liam’s.

"Roxy?" Liam called again, sounding confused. "I hear something in there."

Roxy broke the kiss, gasping for air. Her lips were swollen. Her eyeliner was definitely ruined now. She looked at the door.

Then she took a deep breath.

"Go away, Liam!" she yelled, her voice strong and steady. "I'm busy!"

Jax grinned. It was a wicked, triumphant smile that made his eyes crinkle.

"Good girl," he growled.

He pulled her back in, capturing her mouth again, and for the first time in three years, Roxy didn't wish she was anywhere else.

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