It's Hard Not to Hate - An Outlaw Love Story

Chapter Eighteen.

The gavel made contact with the wood below it, everyone's attention turning toward Clay who occupied the head of the table. Jax, who sat directly to his left, shifted his focus to him as well, though he couldn't fully ignore the stinging pain in his thigh.

"We all know why we're here," Clay started, his voice gruff. "The Mayans attacked Jax tonight, he believes it was an unplanned hit."

"Alvarez knew nothing about this, I would bet money on it," Jax replied.

"Did you recognize any of them?" Juice asked and Jax shook his head.

"Nah. Didn't look like anyone who sits at their table."

"What're we gonna do about this?" Tig's voice was soaked through with rage.

"That's what we are here to decide," Clay said. "Unlike the Mayans we don't make rash decisions without consulting the club first."

"I vote for revenge," Happy practically sang. "Dibs on Marcus."

"Like I said, I don't think Alvarez wasn't involved."

"Yeah, but if he can't keep his men under control then he is just as much at fault," Bobby chimed in.

"I don't think that's the way to go this time. That'll start an all-out war. We can't afford that kind of attention from the badges right now. They're already hanging around more than usual."

"Jax is right," Clay said. "I think what would be smart is to sit down with Alvarez, fill him in on what went down, and then make a plan. I know that's against our nature. But we don't need anymore casualties now." Jax nodded and he noticed some of the others doing the same. "Let's vote on a meeting with Alvarez. I'll start. Yay."

Next was Tig. "Yay."

Chibs. "Yay."

Juice. "Nay."

Then Happy. "Nay."

Piney. "Yay."

Opie. "Yay."

Bobby. "Yay."

And Jax. "Yay."

"Six to two. Yays win." Clay smacked the gavel against the table. "I'll call him in the morning, plan a meeting time for tomorrow. We'll go from there."

The men rose from the table, Jax slower than all the others, a shooting pain caressing his leg as he stood. They all began to disperse and Jax couldn't help but smile as he remembered who was waiting for him. He began to hobble out of the meeting room, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"How you doing, son?" Clay asked.

"I'll be fine. I look worse than I feel." That wasn't really the case, but Jax always had to play the tough guy in front of Clay.

"I couldn't help but notice that she was here." Jax scoffed; he knew Clay had no interest in how he felt, there were always ulterior motives with him.

"Yeah. I asked her to come," Jax seethed. "Shouldn't matter to you, it's none of your business, Clay."

"It's all of our business. What are you going to tell her?"

"Whatever she wants to know." With that Jax turned, leaving Clay standing in the room alone, and made his way to his room. He pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, letting himself in. Taylor had found one of his SAMCRO shirts, and it practically swallowed her small frame as she lay on his bed sleeping. The room was lit by the bedside lamp  and he could see her body softly rising and falling as she breathed. In that moment Jax forgot the pain he was in, what he had gone through that evening; none of it mattered. What mattered now was right there in front of him.

He undressed down to his boxers and slid into bed beside her, wrapping her body in his arms. He kissed her neck, his lips gliding over her ink-stained skin, and she began to stir.

"I missed you," Jax whispered, his breath on her skin causing goosebumps to invade her entire body.

"I missed you too, Jackson." Goosebumps found a home on Jax's skin as well, his body reacting, in more ways than one, to her spilling his name from her lips. He ran his hands up and down her body, unable to help himself. He wanted her again. He needed her.

Jax placed his hand under her chin and turned her head so she was looking at him, wasting no more time before smashing his lips into hers. She followed suit, turning her body and melting into his arms. Taylor's fingers caressed him, trailing over his shoulder blades, his chest, his abs, before finding their way below his waist and settling on the most sensitive part of him. With a few moans he rolled her over on to her back, hovering atop her, settling himself between her legs as he pushed away the last remaining pieces of fabric, leaving nothing between them.

"Your leg, Jax," Taylor panted in between kisses.

"My leg is fine." His words came out almost as a growl.

"You need to rest."

"What I need is you." And with that he reconnected their lips, feeling himself become whole once again as they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

Jax couldn't remember a time that he felt this complete, if he ever had. He just hoped that once he shared his life with her, spilled his dirty secrets about his dangerous life, that she wouldn't leave him to be incomplete once more.