Chapter Four – Vices

Six days out of seven, Jaxon pissed Devyn off. His comment the night before of the council still stung, and if he could, he would have left without so much as a word. But he needed to speak to the asshole about Finn before he headed over to Arcane. He had to veer to the side as the oblivious Doctor Thornton, short, pudgy, with wiry brown hair and thick-rimmed spectacles nearly plowed right through him.

“Doctor Thornton?”

The doctor stopped dead in his tracks, head snapped up, and frowned at Devyn. “What?”

“Good morning, Doctor Thornton.” Devyn raised an eyebrow in mock expectance - he was used to the hurried eccentric man by now. “How are you this lovely Saturday morning?” The doctor’s rude disposition was a source of guilty pleasure for Devyn, and he baited the boorish little man every chance he got.

“What?” the doctor repeated as he checked his wristwatch “I am late. You want information on Kai, you ask Kai.” He stepped off and headed down the stairs while having a heated row with the space surrounding him. “I told him the constant head-bashing will make him a drooling fool soon. Not my damn fault he doesn’t have any ears. Fools and fighting baboons....”

Devyn couldn’t hear the rest of the doctor’s rant as he plucked opened the club doors and scurried out into the rain–without an umbrella or even a thought for one.

Smiling, he entered the office in a better mood, which only improved by seeing Malakai Howell laughing at Jaxon’s disapproving face. “Seriously man, the doc said I am unharmed,” he touched a finger to his bruised and swollen nose. “Well, for the brain fry part, at least.”

“Hey Kai,” Devyn smirked “Want to reschedule the fight and break Paul’s nose next week?”

“Just what the good Doctor ordered!” Kai walked over and gave Devyn a healthy man-slap on the back.

“Actually, that is exactly what he told you not to do,” Jaxon muttered.

Kai looked at his friend, ignoring the advice of his friend and doctor. “Let the little weasel go, Jax. Ban him, kick his ass, I don’t care, but let him go.”

“And what of his benefactor? Jaxon wanted to know.

Devyn answered, “I told you, there is no memory or even an idea of who paid Finn. I will go check again before I let him loose. I have to go shortly, anyway.”

“Where?” Kai asked as he took a seat on the shiny brown leather couch, his bulging arms winging over the backrest.

“Arcane,” Devyn said with a pointed look at Jaxon.

“You can give me all the looks you want, Dev. I stood in when Vincent went missing, did my duty, and I resigned. That you felt the need to step into that vacancy was your own agenda. I never wanted to be part of the council.”

“What is it you want, Jax?” Devyn walked for the door and paused long enough to elaborate. “What will it take for you to let go of all your hostility and start living for something other than this club and fucking a harpy?” He didn’t wait for an answer, because he knew there was none. He would like to think that their father’s disappearance caused Jaxon’s descent into complete darkness. But Devyn was a hopeless witness as Jaxon withdrew from the world year after year. Vincent Vichter’s disappearance was just the last series of events that shoved his bother into that pool of black sticky tar. He pushed his bother out of his mind as Malakai joined him to release their prisoner from the basement. Apparently, Kai was just as tired of Jaxon as the rest of them.

Jaxon was about to relieve a bottle of Jim Beam of its seal when the sultry voice tsked in disapproval. “Really, Jax?” Leaving the bottle sealed, he turned and took in the sensual picture of Rosaline, clad only in the black button-down he had on the night before. Her luscious golden waves still disheveled from sleep and her soft lips slightly swollen from the relentless press of his own. “Bourbon at nine in the morning?” When he remained silent, staring, her blue eyes sparkled with suggestion as she approached him. With her full breasts pressed against him, he felt the sexual pull as he stared into the pools of blue seduction. He could fall into the flow of it if it suited him, but couldn’t let go of his thoughts long enough to just let that happen. To allow her to enthrall him with her ability and make him forget of everything but the primal need to chase the ultimate release. “I woke up alone.” She pouted.

“Didn’t you get enough last night, Rose?” He wondered idly as her long fingers combed through his thick chocolate hair.

“No.” She kissed him once and smiled up at him.

“I am busy Rose.” He gave her a little nudge to move, but she didn’t budge. Instead, she leaned in and lightly sucked on his bottom lip, releasing it with an audible pop.

“I think you can use a little more yourself. Baby, you’re tense.” Her purr turned to a gasp when Jaxon spun her around and folded her over the back of the leather couch Malakai was sitting on only moments earlier. The black shirt, pulled up, gave him had a spectacular view of her ass, not caring that his office door was still open or that the cleaning crew was busy just below them, he kicked Rose’s legs apart and plunged two fingers deep inside her warm heat. She moaned in delight and when her back arched, looking for more pressure, he pushed her down and leaned onto her, murmuring into her ear, “Really, Rose? Nine in the morning and you are spreading your legs.” All the while pumping steadily until he had her on the verge of rapture and just stopped. He pulled his fingers from her and walked over to the bottle of Jim, broke the seal, and poured two fingers.

“Fuck you, Jax!” She whirled around and pulled the shirt down to cover herself. “You could have just said you weren’t in the mood.”

He sipped and shrugged at her outrage. “I told you I was busy, and you pushed.”

“I only wanted to make you feel better.”

“No.” Lazily, he pushed away from the bar and sat down behind his desk. “You don’t give a shit about me. Not really. You use me for sex and that is fine.”

“How would you know what the hell I feel?” She demanded, tears glistering in her eyes.

If there was one thing that pissed Jaxon off, it was fake tears. He went from being vaguely annoyed to cold dismissal. “I drink at nine in the morning to drown out the tedium not even wild sex with you can lift me out off. You fuck every second man you meet, hoping one of them will finally pound some feeling into you.” He gave her a fleeting glance and just as he suspected, the hurt was just a mask for veracity. “Don’t even try to deny it, Rose. We all have our vices. Deal with it.”

She said nothing, the pads of her naked feet slapping the tiles as she stormed out.

“And I know exactly what the hell you feel.” He muttered to the empty room.