Sons of Anarchy 1. Chapter 1

I knew as soon as I saw the old fashioned wooden sign reading _'Welcome to Charming – the name says it all'_ my life was about to change. Good or bad, I couldn't tell, and in a way I didn't want to but I knew it was going to be life-altering. I was doing this, I needed to do this, and this was my clichéd fresh start that all the cheesy girly gossip magazines constantly go on about. I took a deep breath as I crossed the invisible yet ever present line into the town of Charming.

My serene and for once calm thought pattern was disturbed by a low rumble in the distance, a sound I was familiar with, I kept checking my rear view mirror for a sign of where it was coming from but it took a while for them to appear. I saw them all at once; six of them, riding their motorcycles in a group as they came up over the hill behind my car. It didn't take long before they were right beside me; I couldn't help but watch them, memories of another life flooding back as I watched them disappear into the distance, the rumble of their engines growing distant as they became nothing more than silhouettes on the sunset lit road. It was kind of enchanting to watch really, a group of men brought together by their love of motorcycles, a bond shared that was so apparent to everyone around them, as well as to themselves, that it was surely envied.

The main street of Charming was every bit as pretty as you would imagine, it had a wholesome small town feel to it, each shop family run by locals, none of that chain franchise stuff you get in the cities. For me, it was love at first sight, this was the home I had longed for forever. I was driving at a snail pace, examining every shop name for the one I was looking for. The street was virtually empty; most of the shops closed for the night already. I spotted it, a bright pastel pink and yellow shop with 3D cakes decorating the sign and on top of the building. It was certainly more vulgar and outlandish than the rest of the stores but it gave the shop an edge the others never had. The sign read '_For Goodness Cakes_', I had chosen it for the name alone, the rest was a mere bonus.

"Hello? Miss Mills? Hello?" I called out as I entered the store; the smell of freshly baked bread was almost engulfing me.

A very flustered looking short woman appeared from the back room, flour covered every inch of her yet she still managed to look completely glamourous. Her deep red hair tied loosely back and her dress, which had a vintage look to it, was covered by an apron that read '_Wine a little…you'll feel better!_' This woman certainly loved her puns and I loved her for it.

"Amelle? Is that you?" She hugged me tightly as if we were old friends, I guess we kind of were now; we had spent every day for the past 3 months talking online. "I'm so glad you made it okay, I was starting to get worried. Come on, come with me, let me make us some tea and I'll see if I have any cake lying around." She looked back at me with a wink, as if for an audience that I just couldn't see.

"How was your drive? How are you finding Charming? Where are you staying tonight? It's so infuriating that they aren't releasing your apartment yet." She continued with her questions and statements, holding a conversation quite perfectly with herself, until I started to answer what I could remember from the first of them.

"It was fine, thank you. I haven't actually seen much of Charming at all yet, I literally came straight here. I was going to book into the motel on the road I saw as I drove into Charming."

"Nonsense, you will NOT be staying in a dingy motel on your first night in your new town. You will stay with me until you can move into your apartment."

"No, no, Miss Mills. I really…I will be fine in –"

"One thing you are going to have to learn fast about me, Amelle, I never take no for an answer and how many times have I told you? It's Lucy, you make me sound like I am some old crony, and I'm still in my prime you know."

She was, I was stunned when she informed me she had just turned 50, she looked no older than 35. Lucy and I talked well into the night, our tea drinking replaced with wine pretty quickly, and the cakes ever flowing. We shared stories of failed marriages (hers - not mine), disastrous dates (mainly mine) and we even treaded water on the subject of families (both of us clearly avoiding that subject as much as we could). As it turned out, Lucy had been anticipating me staying and had prepared her spare room into a quaint, boutique hotel room with everything a girl could wish for; she even had an en-suite attached to it, bliss.

The next morning I had an appointment with my realtor and landlord at my new apartment, I didn't officially start work until tomorrow so I was determined to push them for a sooner move in date – a week seemed like such a long time to finally get my life started. Well that was the plan until my car decided now would be the perfect moment to die on me.

"Shit!" I shouted as I beat my balled fists into the steering wheel.

"Problem, darling?" A deep voice questioned at my open window.

I turned towards the voice, ready to bite its owners head off, the last thing I needed was clever comments right now but I was rendered mute as I was met by the almost perfect half-smile. Is must have stared for a while, taking in all that was god-like about the man in front of me.

"Sounded like it was the engine to me." He said, instantly snapping me out of my trance.

"Er…Oh, probably. This piece of junk has been nothing but trouble since I got it. I have a meeting to get to; do you know any garages that could fix this within ten minutes?" I pleaded, desperate for him to know of some fast working magicians, anything is possible, right? I was half wrong.

"I own a mechanic shop just down the street, I'll call one of the boys to come and pick up your car while I take you to your meeting. Come on, put this on."

I didn't get time to argue, the man had already jumped onto his motorcycle. He wasn't

wearing a cut like the guys I saw on the road driving in, I imagined they were probably friendly however, they always were. I climbed on behind him.

"Hold on tight, babe." He said, revving his engine loudly as we set off.

We pulled up outside of my new apartment block; it was prettier than the pictures online, a tan-red colour with a few palm trees decorating the outside. It looked so peaceful, so tranquil.

"Thank you so much." I said, handing my knight in leather cut armour his helmet back.

"No problem. Would you like me to walk you inside? Make sure there are no monsters…" His smirk was so naughty, he'd obviously had much success with such a bold line before but I wasn't about to give him such satisfaction.

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"We'll see for how long." He muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" I asked, I had heard but I wanted to see if he had the balls to repeat it.

"Oh, that I could tell you were a good girl. Hey, I better get going. Come by 'Teller-Morrow' later this afternoon and I will personally see to it that your car is fixed and waiting for you, free of charge."

"Really? Wow. I will, thank you again. Everyone in this town is so kind."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, you just have to happen upon the right people and today was your lucky day. I'll catch you later." He climbed back onto his motorcycle and started the engine once more.

"Hey, I didn't get your name." I shouted above the noise.

"Jax. Jax Teller." And with that he was gone.

My meeting was pretty much a waste of time; they were not budging on the week from now move in date, which meant I had to hope Lucy didn't mind me staying longer. I took a cab to 'Teller-Morrow' around 3pm and was surprised by how empty the place was, almost deserted, the only movement coming from behind the window of the office door. I knocked, probably too softly, battling the butterflies in my stomach as I anticipated meeting Jax again.

"Come in." A female voice shouted out.

"Hey, I'm here to pick up my car, Jax said to stop by in the afternoon and it should be ready."

"We have a lot of cars here, darl. Do you have a name?" The smirk she was giving me was reminiscent of Jax's; I wondered if there was any relation.

"Amelle Coben, although I don't think Jax even knows my name…"

"Amelle…Amelle…Ah, here we go. There's a note by your name to tell you that you have to wait until Jax gets back before the car can be released to you. Your licence was in the car, if you're wondering."

"What? Why? I really should be getting back…"

"Who knows, but I can't break the rules, honey. Jax is the boss and what he says goes." That smirk was back. "Come on, let's go inside and get a drink while we wait, I'm sure he won't be long."

Gemma, she introduced herself as we were walking into the main building off of the forecourt, lead me into the bar which was decorated in a homely fashion, well that's if you count homely as a huge wall covered in mug shots of your friends, I spotted Jax's immediately. Who knew it was possible to have a mug shot that made you look like a model.

"Chucky!" She called out and a man with what appeared to be bionic hands emerged from under the bar, cleaning a glass with a towel. I'd quickly learn to expect nothing but the unusual in this place.

"What can I get you, ladies?" He had a posh British accent that threw me off.

"Really, British? What's next with you, you adorable freak?" Gemma asked. "I'll get a double vodka and lemonade, and what do you want Amelle?"

"Oh, erm, I'll just have a water."

"Amelle will have the same as me then." She gave Chucky and I a look that made sure neither of us argued with her ruling.

"Nice place you have here. Does Jax own this too?" I questioned, looking around from my stool in wonderment. From what I could gather, they were some kind of motorcycle club; it wasn't as intimidating inside a motorcycle clubhouse as I was always led to believe it would be. I actually felt quite at home here.

"Yeah, I guess you could say he does." Gemma looked proud.

"And what are you to Jax, his wife?" Her wedding finger bore a noticeable silver wedding band.

"Oh Christ no, darling, I'm his mother." She laughed, I giggled nervously back. "Jax is very much unmarried, although he's always looking." She winked at me and I blushed.

Gemma and I must have talked away for hours, our drinks being refilled at the first sign of emptiness, it was now almost dark outside and I was feeling considerably drunk. It was bordering the early hours of the morning and there was still no sign of Jax, much to my disappointment. The alcohol in my system had given me the courage to want to see him.

"I think I should just get a…woah." As I stood up, I hit against the table and came crashing down against the bar. "Ouch." I laughed as I rubbed my head.

"Come on, you need to lie down." Gemma said, holding me up.

"Just call me a cab, I'll be fine." I insisted, hardly convincing myself with my slurred words. She led me into the back room, it was decorated like a bedroom but I was in no state to notice anything much about it.

"Here, just have a nap. No one will disturb you, I promise. I'll wake you as soon as Jax is back." Gemma may have carried on talking but I quickly drifted off to sleep.

I was woken by the sound of a shower running, I struggled to sit up, my head was pounding and I still felt a little worse for wear. It took me a moment to gather my senses but then I spotted a cut and a hoody laid out on the chair infront of the bed.

_'Oh no, this is one of Jax's friends room, get out, get out now.' _

I quietly and quickly searched for my boots; desperate to avoid my impending shame I rapidly put them on.

"Good morning, sunshine." The familiar gravel toned voice sounded from the side of the room.

"Morning. Sorry, your mum put me in here, I had no idea it was your room. I'll just get my bag and I'll be out of your way." I hurried across the room.

"What's the rush? Mum's cooking everyone breakfast, we had a late one last night so everyone crashed here." Jax was wearing nothing but a towel; it took every last bit of my willpower to not have a peek at his body. Okay, maybe I had a little look and I was far from disappointed but I couldn't keep staring, that would definitely give him the wrong impression of me.

"Where did you sleep?" I sat back on the bed, worried I had completely blocked out a memory I might have wanted to remember.

"With you, sweetheart." He smirked.

"What?! Did we?! Oh god…" _This could not be happening_.

"Relax, I slept on the chair. I would like to think you would remember if we had…_you know_…although, did you know you talk in your sleep?" He looked extra attractive when he was being cunning.

"No…what did I say?"

"Nothing much that made sense, it was very cute." _Phew_. "Although, it's nice to know you think I am _so freaking hot_." He teased.

"I said that? Oh crap."

"No, you didn't say that but since you haven't denied you think that, we'll run with it." He gave me a wink and I could feel my cheeks burn a crimson colour. This affect he had over me was confusing, I barely knew him yet he could control my emotions and sometimes even my actions. A small spark of excitement was ignited by the vulnerability he teased out of me.

"We should head out to the bar, breakfast will be ready by now and you don't want to make my mom angry, she's a scary woman."

"Gemma? She seemed lovely last night."

"She's something, alright. I'm just going to throw some clothes on and I'll join you out there."

"Sure."

"You know, I'm totally fine with you watching me change but I'm all about equal opportunities. If you see me naked, it's only fair I get to see you." He stood above me with his hand clutching the knot of his towel, almost daring me to allow him to free himself.

"Uh, I'll see you out there." I quickly ran past him to the door.

"What a shame." He bellowed after me.

Walking into the bar area of the clubhouse was more than a little intimidating, the tables were filled with bikers and a few barely clothed women with enviable bodies. Of course all eyes were on me.

"Good morning, Amelle. Sleep well?" Chucky asked, holding a spare chair out for me at the only empty table in the room.

"Thank you, I did. This breakfast looks amazing, where's Gemma?" I asked, salivating over the piles of sausage egg bacon beans and toast on my plate.

"She had to get back to Nero; she said she hopes to see you later." Chucky poured me a fresh cup of coffee before heading back behind the bar to busy himself. He was quickly becoming a character I wished to know more about.

"Well I have to get to work soon but maybe I'll bump into her around town."

"Where do you work, sweetheart?" A charming Scottish guy leaned over to ask.

"_For goodness cakes_ on the main road, you know it?"

"Aye, that's Lucy's shop. I know it well." I got the impression he had a history with Lucy, something I would be delving deeper into later on for sure.

Jax came strolling out; his walk was more like a swagger than a stroll, holding his pants up with his hand he sat down opposite me, his belt clearly was for nothing but show as they barely held up them up. That got my mind wondering what actually held up his pants.

"You have a pretty smile, care to share?" He asked, causing me to blush once again. I was sure he would think I was permanently a weird shade of deep pink at this rate.

"Oh, it's nothing. Anyway, I have to get to work now. Thank you for your hospitality."

"So soon? I was hoping to get a little more time with you. Would you like me to take you to work?"

"No need, my car is here, remember?"

"Ah yes, the premise for which I got you here in the first place. I'll walk you to it."

Jax walked as close to me as possible, our arms brushing constantly without apology as we made our way over the forecourt where my car was waiting. I stopped in front of it to thank Jax and to offer him payment for his work but he moved in closer to me, ignoring any motion I made to speak. I could feel his breath on my cheek as he examined every inch of my face with his piercing baby blue eyes; I was once again rendered paralysed, this time I was certain I didn't want to move. He moved a little closer, his lips almost touching mine then he moved to the right and planted a kiss softly on my cheek.

"Can I see you again, Amelle?" he asked with a sense of innocence, it was refreshing in all honesty. I didn't trust my words so instead I just nodded. Of course I wanted to see him again, aside from the obvious physical attraction I felt towards him, there was something so compelling, something that kept me wanting more and I was powerless to resist this feeling.

It was only when I had left the premises that I realised we hadn't actually exchanged any contact details. I sensed he did it on purpose, leaving me with little option but to visit the club house once more. He was very sly, I knew he was trouble but I wasn't deterred. The butterflies in the pit of my stomach finally vanished when I reached the main road.

_You're playing with fire here, Amelle. _I thought to myself as I drove on to work.

* * *

**Hello :)**

**Chasing Butterflies is my very first SOA fanfiction and will be an on-going story, updated a few times a week with as many twists and turns as the show itself gives us. **

**Characters from the show will be introduced throughout, it has all of the main cast members that will be in Season 7 and I won't be changing their characteristics so you can assume you know them well. **

**If you have any questions or input please feel free to message me or leave a review and I will be sure to get back to you.**

**Thank you so much for reading, favoring and reviewing, it is very much appreciated and only spurs me on to write more as I know people are actually enjoying it. **

**I hope you enjoy the world of Amelle Coben and the story that unravels once meeting the handsome Jax Teller ;)**

**Stacey x**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Sons of Anarchy or the characters in the show, that belongs to the genius that is Kurt Sutter. I own all original characters in this story as well as the story itself. **_


	2. Chapter 2

I had little sleep that night; I tossed and turned on a bed that felt like it was made of feathers. It wasn't so much that I was uncomfortable, I was more than comfortable physically but something pecked away at my mind. My thoughts raced, the good and bad were running parallel with each other, each desperate to take the lead but neither one winning the race to dominate any decision I would make before it was too late. Of course felt stupid thinking this way, I had only met Jax less than 48 hours ago and we were certainly nothing more than passing acquaintances but deep down I knew I was leading myself down the path of no return.

Jax had a life, a difficult one at that if my knowledge of club life was anything to go by, I was supposed to be escaping from the troubles the city had brought me, yet here I found myself quite willing to take on a whole new load of stress, if he'd let me. Every time I thought of him, every time I pictured him in my mind I felt excitement like no other, nervous excitement. That couldn't be a bad thing, could it? I liked that he evoked an emotion I hadn't felt since I was a kid, vulnerability. I have always been the strong one, the one who never backs down when things get tough or hard, the one with the level head that allows me to know exactly what I should do in all circumstances. I was lost here and I kind of liked it.

"Good morning, welcome to _For Goodness Cakes_, how may I help you?"

I greeted every customer that came in to the shop that morning with a happy, cheerful smile. My job here was to serve and almost seduce the customers, while Lucy focused on the baking side of things. I was met with many worried customers wondering where she was, wondering who I was and where I had come from but I had managed to atleast half convince them that Lucy was fine, she just needed help and that I was a good person. Okay, I'm not sure they trusted the last part but I would work on that. For a town so small with such a sparse population, they sure were a paranoid bunch of people.

"What is it with everyone around here?" I asked Lucy when we had finally sat down for a late lunch break. "Everyone I have met today seems suspicious of me."

"This town has been through a lot over the years, no one trusts anyone around here, least of all newcomers. You'll get used to it." She shrugged off my comment as if it was the norm and I was weird for questioning it.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, the urgency for which I looked at it made it clear to Lucy I was expecting to hear from someone. It was a spam text message, I couldn't hide my disappointment.

"Teller isn't calling since your night with him then?" Lucy asked as we split a batch of her freshly baked croissants.

"Since my night with him? Nothing happened, I told you that already. I got drunk, Gemma put me to bed and then I came home in morning. I barely said two words to him."

"It's never nothing when those guys are involved, Amelle. They wouldn't have done something for nothing, especially not for someone they barely know, you must have something they want." Lucy laughed to herself.

It was stupid of me but I was beginning to feel angry at her constant digging at Jax and his friends, what was it that Lucy had against the club? I knew she obviously had had relations with the Scottish one at some point but this passionate dislike felt deeper than just silly relationship stuff, it had to run messier than that.

"I don't have anything to give them; maybe I just caught them on a good day? Anyway, Jax doesn't have my number so it wouldn't be him calling anyway."

"They are trouble, Amelle. You are such a smart, beautiful girl, don't let some pretty blonde guy who looks like he should be surfing in Southern California instead of riding around on a Harley, ruin your new found independence. Be clever." Lucy didn't look at me as she sipped at her tea.

"How do you know so much about them? The Scottish one seemed to know you well when I mentioned where I worked."

"I bet he did, Chibs and I share a history that's best left forgotten about. Everyone around here knows the Sons of Anarchy, they are part of the reason the town is so fearful." If I wasn't mistaken there was a sneer when she said their name. "I wondered how long it would take before one of them tried to get their grubby mitts on you, I didn't think it would be this quickly though. I should have pre-warned you before you got here."

"I'm a big girl, I can look after myself and I can assure you that no one, least of all one of them will be getting their mitts on me; grubby or clean."

Lucy's warning was what I needed to make sure the fearful part of my brain took over, I knew I was playing with fire when I met him but I certainly didn't know to what scale. It was decided, I would avoid Jax at all costs and hopefully a new play thing would come along for him soon. Lucy didn't wait around for any more of my questions, she must have sensed there was a chance I wanted to dig deeper.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, the local Sherriff, Hector Dunbar I think he said his name was stopped by; he seemed pretty laid back for someone that held so much power. A part of me was tempted to mention the Sons of Anarchy to him to see the reaction I would get but I had to play it straight and forget they ever existed.

_This is your fresh start, Amelle, no more trouble and no more bad guys. _

I had made it to day four of zero contact with Jax with great success, I had seen them ride past the shop a few times but he never once tried to contact me, much to my relief. I was busying myself with work and with moving in day now here I could really get things started. Jacob turned up outside Lucy's just as my alarm went off, at 5:30am. He was here to help me move, he had stored all of my worldly possessions at his and now we could finally put them in my new place.

"This town is really quiet, how the hell are you going to last here?" Jacob asked as we began moving the first boxes in.

"Quite easily, I'm already much calmer than I was before I got here. It's soothing for the soul; you should try it some time." I struggled picking up a box I was much too weak for but I wasn't about to give in.

"No thanks, I much rather living in a place full of life and character, although I'm sure it is doing wonders for your temper."

"This place has plenty of life, trust me. I don't have a temper."

Jacob gave me a look as if to say 'are you really going to stand there and lie to my face as if we didn't grow up together.'

"Okay, but I no longer have a temper, better?" He nodded. "Good, now let's get this stuff inside and unpacked, I'm already starting to get bored of doing this."

It took us nothing short of five hours to have the place looking like a home, I still had a few boxes lying around in my bedroom because it turned out I had way more stuff than there was storage space and I just could not bring myself to deal with it today. Jacob and I ordered ourselves a Chinese takeaway and sat catching up on all that we had missed in the week we had been a part. Jacob had been my best friend for as long as I could remember, our moms were friends and we were forced upon each other at first but we soon grew to love one another. We had been to the same schools, been in the same classes and knew absolutely everything about each other so when the subject of meeting the local townsfolk came up I didn't hold back in telling him about Jax.

"Well, don't you move fast?" He laughed. "Less than a week and you are already besotted with the guy."

"Stop, I am not besotted. Besides, like I said, I don't plan on seeing him again. He's bad news according to Lucy and I am trying to stay out of trouble here."

"Clearly you don't notice how your voice speeds up when you speak about him, your cheeks go this weird shade of pink and you have this smile permanently on your face. You're besotted, Amelle." Jacob teased; right now I hated the fact that he knew me so well.

"It doesn't matter; he's in a motorcycle club, that's more than I need to know to stay away."

"So was your dad, that didn't make him a bad person."

"No, but it killed him."

"It did not, your dad died of an aneurysm that exploded while he was fucking his college-aged mistress in Florida."

"Jacob, please. Besides, if he wasn't in a motorcycle gang he never would have even met her."

"I know you don't believe that." He was right but it was all I had to latch onto. "If you're willing to be deterred by some crazy old bitter lady with a grudge against her ex-boyfriend and his friends then maybe you don't like Jax half as much as I thought you did."

"Maybe you're right."

"You're such a stubborn bitch when you want to be." Jacob said getting up. "I better get off back to the bright lights and angry people, it's getting late."

"Why don't you just crash here tonight?" I was kind of counting on him to do so; I didn't want to spend my first night alone.

"No can do, my lovely lady. I left a Papi Chulo with the hottest body you have ever laid witness to in bed this morning, you can't compete with that I'm afraid."

I walked Jacob back to his van and practically leapt on him, squeezing him as tight as I could. I was going to miss not seeing him almost every day, I felt like I was leaving home for the first time and he was my mom.

"Okay, you need to let go now." He said, prying my limbs off of him.

"You better come back soon, Jacob. I'm going to miss you."

"Ugh, do not get all emotional on me now please. A week out of the city and this place has already broken you." He blew me a kiss as he set off home.

_He was right; I needed to get a grip. _

I must have drifted to sleep on the sofa, watching endless re-runs of TLC's finest reality shows because when I woke up to the soft tapping noise I was still clutching my bowl of noodles almost expertly in my lap. I followed the noise to the front door, expecting it to be Jacob having forgotten something I opened it without checking who it was, big mistake.

In front of me stood the very person I had been avoiding so successfully for the last few days. I should have closed the door but I didn't, instead I stood still, bowl of noodles still in hand.

"Can I come in? It's kinda cold out here tonight." Jax asked, not waiting for my answer as he walked past me into my almost dark living room, the only light source coming from the TV.

"What are you doing here?" I only just remembered to put the bowl down.

"I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd stop by, I haven't heard from you." Jax leant against the back of my sofa, arms folded in, what my minor in psychology had taught me, a defensive manor.

"Yeah, I've been busy. I haven't heard from you either." I felt those familiar nervous butterflies come back almost at once. I had to find a way to get him out of here and quick.

"I've been busy too. Nice place." He got up to look around; walking over to the pictures I had of my family on the side.

"It's late..."

"I can see good-looks run in your family, who are the other two?" He was holding the picture of the last time I saw my family, at an aunts wedding.

"My mom and my little sister, Kayla, she's almost 6 now."

"Cute." Jax put the picture down and began walking over to me slowly, his swagger still intact. "What's wrong?"

"I…I'm just tired, you should go." Jax was again standing too close to me, his breath tickling my face as he looked down on me because of the ever so slight height difference.

"Are you scared of me?" He asked, a frown lacing his already worn face.

"It's not…no, I-"

"You are, aren't you? That's why you have been avoiding me, it all makes sense now. I bet Lucy has told you stories, exaggerated and painted me to be the devil while she looks like the arch angel Gabriel. I get it; I'll stay out of your way."

I could have let him walk out, I probably should have but instead, without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the door he was about to open.

"You want the truth, Jax? I am scared of you." I watched his expression fall, as if I had just punched him in the gut.

"I knew it." He muttered.

"Not because of who you are, what you are and not because of the stories I may have been told, and for the record, Lucy hasn't told me a thing. I'm scared of you because of the affect you have on me. I don't even know you, Jax, yet every time I think about you I get nervous. I'm vulnerable around you and that scares me. I just-"

My words were interrupted by the feel of his lips crashing hard against mine; he flipped me around and pushed me up against the door. I couldn't breathe as our lips meshed together, savouring the taste of each other, our hands tangled together as he raised them above my head.

"Fuck, I've wanted to do that from the moment I met you." He whispered into my mouth as he softly broke away.

I couldn't respond, my eyes still closed, a smile crossed widely over my face. Jax took my hand and led me to my new bedroom; he laid me on the bed first, before taking his shirt and pants off and climbing in beside me. He kissed me softly on the cheek, his hand resting on my hip as I nervously anticipated his next move. I wasn't sure I wanted to do what naturally came next but I also wasn't sure I had the power to stop it from happening.

"Relax, tonight, we will just lie together."

My body curled into his, as he planted soft kisses all over my neck. It felt nice to not be pushed into something more but most importantly I felt safe, safer than I had felt for years in his arms.

"I'm not a monster, Amelle. I won't hurt you."

* * *

**Hello!**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I may not be able to update tomorrow because of work but I will begin working on the next chapter tonight.**

**If you have any questions please feel free to message me or ask in reviews. **

**Your reviews, favourites and following have made me one happy girl, please carry on doing so. I love hearing what people think of my work and it encourages me to get a move on with writing more if I know people are actually reading and enjoying this.**

**Stacey x**


	3. Chapter 3

It was probably the sudden feel of coldness that stirred me from my otherwise harmonious sleep. I shifted slightly, expecting as I had done all night, to be engulfed by the feel of Jax's body pressed up against mine. Instead I was met with empty space, an invisible hole created by the presence of the strong energy that lay there not long ago. I opened my eyes, searching for any sign of him. It wasn't until I heard a shuffling in the living room that I realised he must be leaving.

"Where are you going?" I groaned.

"Business, darl. Go back to sleep, it's still early." He put on his kutte, sorting his already perfect collar as if by habit.

"Do you have to go? Come back to bed…please." I stroked down his leather, relishing being able to touch him

"As tempting as that sounds, I have to go." Jax entwined my fingers in his, kissing me gently on the cheek before he made a move towards the door.

"Thank you for last night." I started.

"I didn't do anything."

"For lying with me, for making me feel safe, thank you." This prompted Jax to kiss me again.

"Amelle, I meant what I said last night. You shouldn't be so shocked when I don't act like a complete asshole. I'm not the guy everyone seems to think I am, you'll see." This time I forced my lips on to his, desperate to keep him there with me as our lips worked together as if we were creating our own rhythm. "I better go, babe; you have no idea the affect you have on me." He smirked. I instinctively looked down at his crotch, I couldn't see anything through his jeans but it didn't stop my mind filling in the blanks.

"Naughty girl, now go back to bed. I'll see you later?"

I nodded and finally let him go, a warm fuzzy feeling embraced me as I made my way to the shower ready to start my day. I really couldn't stay away from him, not one part of me wanted to now, that's for sure. As the warm water hit my bare skin I allowed myself to go to places in my mind I had been avoiding for so long, the places where I knew would unlock things I had supressed, emotions I hadn't allowed to surface for fear of them engulfing me but I knew I had to, if I wanted this to work with Jax, I had no other choice.

"You're looking awful cheery today." Lucy noted as I served customers with an extra wide smile still plastered over my face. "Anything I should know?"

"I'm always cheerful, Luce. Stop digging, you have cakes to bake."

I knew she suspected something but I wasn't a willing participant in one of her lectures today. I didn't want anyone or anything to spoil the bubble I happily inhabited, I just had a few more hours left till I would be seeing him again and right now, that's all that mattered.

"Afternoon sweetie, how's my future daughter-in-law doing today?" Gemma asked at the top of her voice as she entered the bakery, confident stride and all.

"I don't know about her but I know I'm okay, thanks." I tried to pretend hearing her calling me that didn't send a pleasant shiver up my spine.

"Don't give me that innocent crap, I know Jax spent the night with you last night, he couldn't help telling the boys this morning."

"It wasn't like that, we're friends, and he was just helping me sort a few things in my new apartment."

"If that's what you want to call it, sure. Anyway the club are having a little lock in tonight, to celebrate Bobby's birthday, we're going to need cakes and lots of them." Gemma's eyes drifted just behind me, a realisation hit her, dropping her smile.

"I'll have them delivered to yours by 6pm; I take it that's fine by you?" As Lucy spoke the room suddenly grew cold. I hadn't anticipated the level of tension between the two of them, but the distaste for one another was as clear as day. My need to know what happened between Lucy and the club was ever present once more.

"That will be fine, have Amelle bring them over with her." Gemma had a very satisfied smile on her face, as if she knew hearing me associated with the club would really bother Lucy.

"That won't be necessary, I'll take them myself. Amelle won't be going."

"Excuse me? Do not speak for me; I am quite capable of deciding where I will and won't be going, thank you very much." I turned back to an impressed looking Gemma. "I'll bring the cakes with me, see you tonight, Gem."

"I guess you didn't take any notice of a word I said yesterday then." Lucy commented once Gemma was long gone.

"Oh I heard you; I guess I'm the kind of person who likes to give people a chance."

"You're going to learn the hard way, girl, and it ain't going to be pretty." Lucy began to leave the room.

"Well maybe if you gave me a clue what all this shit is actually about I wouldn't have to?"

"It doesn't matter now; it was a long time ago."

"It matters to you and it matters to the club; I just don't understand why no one will tell me. Instead I am stuck in the ignorant middle, being pulled in every direction. What happens when I snap? When one side wins and the other is left with none of me? I don't want to lose you, Lucy."

"You're assuming the club will win."

I didn't respond, I couldn't explain in words how I was certain the pull Jax had on me would beat anything else. Instead I spent the rest of the day in practical silence. Lucy had let me go an hour earlier, not needing my help to frost the cakes, I had time to go home and get ready. I was never a girl that fretted over what to wear and I barely wore dresses so tonight I was well and truly out of my depth. I decided I better wear the only dress I possessed, a red one that clung to every curve I prayed I had. With my long brown hair sitting just above the cut off of the material at the back, I hoped I looked the part, I hoped I looked acceptable enough to be seen with Jax Teller.

I didn't want another argument with Lucy so I quickly loaded the cakes into the back of my car. To say I was shocked when my passenger door opened and Lucy sat down beside me would be an understatement.

"What are you doing?" I asked, noting how incredible she looked. Her red hair was bouncy and free, her dress without flour for once and she was actually wearing heels too.

"I'm coming with you." Nothing in her voice told me she wanted to.

"You don't need to; I can manage the delivery alone."

"I know, I want to go with you. You're not going to lose me, Amelle, regardless of how much I dislike your choice in friends. Let's go, we have a party to get to."

I squeezed her hand as a gesture of thanks before we set off for what I hoped would be the start of a reconnection between the two sets of people I cared most about in this little town.

The base of the music was loud as we pulled up outside of the clubhouse; a few under-dressed girls were swigging beers and smoking cigarettes outside with a few members I hadn't met before. I presumed they were from another charter. No one acknowledged us as we passed them to enter. Inside was full of much of the same, Bobby was sat on a chair with three topless girls strategically placed around him, only one of his hands was visible, I didn't want to think about where his other could be. I could feel how nervous Lucy was as she stood behind me, I couldn't see Chibbs nor could I see Jax but Gemma was sitting by the bar, sipping a drink and talking to Tig.

"Hey sweetie!" She said as she spotted me, embracing me with a warm peck on the cheek. "Glad you could make it…well, look who's here."

"Hi Gemma, hi Tig." Lucy didn't even bother to fake a smile as Tig looked like he had seen a ghost; he quickly slipped away from us to another room.

"For what do we owe this pleasure?" Gemma questioned, she felt just as uncomfortable as we both did, I could tell from the way she fidgeted in her place.

"I invited her, I hope you don't mind?" I lied; the truth was I had no idea why Lucy wanted to be here.

"Any friend of yours is a friend of ours, I guess. Shall I get Chucky to take in the cakes?"

"Yes, please. Where's Jax?" My eyes scanned the room; there was no sign of him.

"I haven't seen him yet; I'm guessing he is still at a meet with Nero." Gemma soon left us to talk to another woman who was decently dressed by this places standards.

I think Lucy and I had only been alone for a matter of minutes before we were soon disturbed by the voice of an intoxicated Scottish guy; Chibs. Lucy's face was a picture of mixed emotions as she faced him in what I could tell had been a long time. She studied his face; hers contorted as if she didn't trust a thing she was seeing.

"Luce, it's good to see ya." She didn't reply and pulled away as he went to hug her. I planned on staying silent, almost invisible as I studied their interactions; I figured I'd get a bigger clue into their history if I could bear witness to a conversation between them. "Still as stubborn as ever, I see."

"I'm not here to see you, Filip. I'm here for Amelle." Her tone was cold and harsh; her words seemed to have slapped him in the face.

"Please, Luce. Can we just talk? 5 minutes and I won't bother you again, promise." He used his index finger to cross his heart in a genuine gesture.

"You have 2 minutes, and I can't promise I won't walk away or stop listening before you are done."

"Mind giving us a minute, kid?" He was asking me to leave them alone, I got up begrudgingly.

"Sure, I need the toilet any way, through there isn't it?" I gestured towards the back area, just passed the kitchen.

"Aye."

I'm sure now that Chibs wasn't even listening to me, too engrossed in the presence of a soul he had lost years ago to realise his mistake. As I walked to the back area of the clubhouse I could hear voices coming from Jax's room. I should have knocked before I entered, I should have thought about what I was doing and then maybe I would have avoided seeing a sight that was forever engraved into my memory after wards but I didn't. On the bed lay Jax, his top off and clothed only in boxer shorts as a fully naked girl straddled him, her perfect body the reason his hands were busy as he felt every part of her. It took them a moment to notice someone else was in the room but when he did, his smile fell immediately.

"Oh shit, Amelle. Wait, come back." He shouted after me as I stormed through the clubhouse to the entrance, determined not to cr. I concentrated on my breathing, heavy and rapid, as I stopped at Lucy still sat by the bar with Chibs.

"You were right; he's a piece of shit. I'm going home."

"What happened?" Chibs asked, hoping that pleading ignorance would get him out of trouble.

"She's finally learnt what scumbags you guys really are." Lucy sneered as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders, comforting me. We hurried out of there, almost escaping any more contact with Jax.

"Amelle, wait. I'm sorry." His voice was booming, unafraid of who may here.

"Fuck you, Jax. I don't want to hear it."

"Please, let me explain." He stood infront of the door and myself, stopping me from getting inside and disappearing for good like I intended to do.

"Get out of my way, you make me sick." If I knew it would help I would have punched him dead in the face. He didn't move, his eyes read of sorrow yet I felt nothing but disgust. I wasn't sure who I was more disgusted at, him for doing it or me for believing him when he told me those things. "I said, Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. Way. I NEVER want to see you again."

Jax moved to the side now, he could obviously tell I meant every word I said. I managed to compose myself all the way until we hit the main road, that's when I finally allowed a tear to drop from my eye.

"Come on, you're coming back to mine tonight." Lucy demanded.

Sitting infront of Lucy's faux fire place with a warm cup of hot coco brought me back down to earth, I had only just stopped crying – something I hadn't done for over a year, I prided myself on it. Now I had let that stupid biker win, he'd broken down barriers that were cemented into place a long time ago and I hated it.

"Feeling better?" Lucy asked, her legs bunched tightly against her chest as she stared me down.

"I know I'm being stupid, it's not like Jax and I are together. Hell, a week ago we barely knew of each other. It's just after last night, after everything he said, I thought…I guess I just thought this would end differently." I played with the rim of my cup.

"You're not being stupid; I've been where you are. They are expert liars, it's a part of their job description to deceive people."

"So you keep telling me but yet I'm not worthy enough to hear the truth, even from you."

Lucy took a deep breath; let her legs down to the floor as she placed her cup on the coffee table infront of us.

"The only reason I didn't tell you before was because I knew it would cloud any judgement you made against _them, _that wouldn't have been fair on anyone."

"Well you don't have to worry about that now, I've cast my judgement and they are all a bunch of low-down dirty dogs."

"Then I guess I owe you the truth, I hope you're sitting comfortably because this is a long story. I met Filip Chibs Telford when I was 17, he was in Charming on business and I bumped into him down by the river as he strolled by, deep in thought. I was studying for my final exams, preparing to go to college the next year to train to be a nurse. My head was buried deep in a Biology book as he sat down beside me, watching me as I read."

"Cute, it sounds like something out of a cheesy teen romance movie."

"It was, at the beginning. I could hardly resist the older Scottish guy; his eyes a piercing shade of blue and his slender yet muscular frame were more than enough to attract me. He swept me off of my feet, quite literally. We spent the next two weeks he was in town together, dancing and drinking, I got to know all of his Irish friends and they were just as charming as him. It was innocent, you know. I wasn't yet 18 and he wasn't the type to push me into anything."

"Sounds just like Jax."

"The day he was heading back over to Ireland, I packed a suitcase and surprised him at the hanger where he was catching his plane. I went with him, back home and we spent a year and a half living in sin before he finally decided to make an honest woman of me. Before we could get married, things went south with his Irish buddies so we hot footed it back to Charming, where he formed an already pretty strong alliance with Clay Morrow and John Teller, joining the Sons of Anarchy."

"Who's John Teller?"

"Jax's dad, Gemma's ex-husband, now that is another story of itself. We got married six months later, in the local church in Charming. At first it was magical, being able to run a house for a husband who came home every night to love me, and he was good at that, believe me. It was more than I had ever wanted, nursing was a distant dream I no longer craved. But it soon turned sour. Chibs stayed out later, sometimes hours sometimes days, we took a break and it was only when I found out I was pregnant that we became close once more. The club was ecstatic for us, throwing a baby shower for me and Gemma and I were closer than ever too, bonding over impending motherhood as she was expecting Jax a little sooner than I was expecting mine. When Jax was born it was like the prince had been born, John had his heir and Gemma had her grip firmly placed on the head of one of the most powerful clubs in America."

I could have guessed where the story went next; I almost didn't want to hear it. The thought of someone like Lucy being broken hearted in the most unbearable way made me lose faith in anything good.

"I went into labour the night of the fourth of July, I was spending it alone any way as Chibs had business to attend to at the club house and I wasn't due for another 8 weeks so it wasn't an issue. My waters broke as I was cooking his dinner, ready for his late night return and I panicked, I knew the baby was early, so I tried calling Chibs before any professional help. I had tried to reach every one over 50 times before I even made it into the ambulance and by then it was too late. I was bleeding, heavily. I was rushed, losing consciousness, into the theatre where my baby boy was taken from my womb. He had no heartbeat, there was nothing that could be done to save him and I barely made it myself."

"Oh, Lucy, I am so sorry you had to go through that. Where was Chibs?"

"It took the hospital until early the next morning to get through to him, when he came rushing into my private room I knew immediately what he had been up to. I didn't say a word though; it didn't matter then as I had already lost our son. Chibs took it hard; I don't remember much of the next few weeks. The funeral was a blur, the only reason I know we even had one is because there's a grave still in the children's cemetery in Charming. It still bothers that me that he will always be there. He should be out with Jax, having the fun young men have and doing the stuff they do, yet my little Callum will forever be a baby in the cemetery, surrounded by the gravestones of children who were never given a chance to really live."

Both of our eyes were streaming with tears now, for a lady so kind hearted and full of love it seemed unimaginable that she was dealt with such loss and sorrow.

"For what it's worth, Callum would have been the luckiest little boy in the world to have you as a mom." I added, I meant it too.

"Thank you." Lucy took another deep breath as she wiped the tears away from her eyes with a tissue. "Chibs and I couldn't survive that. I sat him down not long after and asked him for the truth. Hearing that my husband had been inside a cheap crow-eater as I lost his child was too much to deal with on top of everything else. It killed him too, I know it did, but in some small way I felt he had brought it upon us with his bad karma. We didn't deserve to lose Callum but we didn't deserve to have him either. We split up, divorcing a year later and I moved out of our family home and into this place, I started my bakery that same month and the rest is history best left as just that. You see, Amelle, Chibs isn't the worst man in the world but I will never be able to forgive him for as long as I live."

It all made sense to me now, Lucy wasn't warning me because of some stupid bitterness after the end of a relationship, it was because she was trying to save me before I felt even a tenth of her pain. It put my pathetic argument with Jax into perspective, that's for sure. Lucy soon took herself to bed, exhausted from the reliving of the most horrific memories so I decided to head home.

My apartment didn't yet feel like home, it was so empty still and had no lived-in vibe about it at all so I decided to just head straight to bed. I took off the only dress I owned and threw it into a crumpled mess on the floor with the underwear I was wearing, throwing my favourite over-sized shirt over my head so I finally felt like me. I tried not to pay attention to the fact that the last time I was here, Jax was too. If I was going to get any sleep that night I needed to forget he existed. I almost had it; my mind was beginning to clear when I heard a familiar rap on the door. _This could not be happening. _

I peeked through the spy hole, it was him. _Knock knock knock knock_, once more, louder this time.

"I know you're in there, Amelle. Open up, please." He shouted.

"Go away. I don't want to see you."

_Knock knock knock knock knock_

"I can stand here all night knocking, I'm sure your neighbours will love that."

"Fuck." I let him in begrudgingly. "You have 5 minutes before you have to get the hell away from me."

Jax staggered into my apartment, reeking of whiskey and cigarettes. I stood away from him, against the furthest wall as I watched him slowly pace the room, his fingers running through his greasy hair, tugging at the ends in what I can only presume was frustration.

"You reek of booze and cheap cigarettes, although I suppose it's better than smelling that whore on you." I scrunched my face into a snarl, my disgust written plainly over my face.

"I'm sorry, Amelle. I truly am." Jax had stopped pacing; we were facing off across the room.

"Yeah, you said. Is that all?" I scratched at the skin of my forearm, a trick I had learnt when I was young, to stop myself from crying.

"How can I fix this? I'm so fucking stupid, I'm sorry." If I was more naïve I may have fallen for the look of almost genuine pity in his eyes but I knew better now, I knew it was all a well-rehearsed act.

"Fix what? There's nothing to fix, we were nothing and we are still nothing, although I have to agree with you on the fucking stupid part. You almost had me, you know that right? I almost believed you were genuine when you pretended to care last night."

"It wasn't me pretending to care, I do care. I know you don't believe we are nothing, you wouldn't have run out like that if you didn't think we were something."

"So now you're mocking me?"

"No! Listen, Amelle." Jax edged closer to me with every word until he was finally stood just inches away from me. "I know you felt what I felt last night. We have something here, something I've never experienced before and it is fucking terrifying but I want it. I want you."

I turned my head away, hoping to block out whatever lies he was preparing to feed me. He was good, far better than I anticipated as lines flew out of his mouth with ease; it was almost as if he didn't know where the truth began and the lie ended, a perfect blend of stories he struggled to see any sense in.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." He snarled.

"Don't you fucking dare talk to me like that." I screeched back at him.

"I don't mean it like that; just look at me, please." I obliged him for a moment and soon I couldn't look away. "Look at my face when I say this: _I want you_. I want all of you, I want you to be mine and I want you to know that I am yours."

"Shit, you're good at this."

"Good at what? I'm not lying to you. I know I fucked up by having that stupid slut in my room but it won't happen again, just give me a chance, please." Before I could even respond his lips brushed against mine, I was paralysed at his touch. Jax planted tiny, gentle kisses on my slightly a part lips. "Please, Amelle."

"I think you better go."

* * *

**Hello! :)**

_**Sorry it has been a few days in between updating, I had work and life getting in the way but I've made this chapter extra long to make up for it. **_

_**Thank you so much for taking the time to read, favourite and follow this story. It really means a lot.**_

**_A special thanks to Emmettluver2010 for the review and to NL92 especially for taking time to converse with me about ideas for this._**

**Please leave your thoughts on this story to read as I really do love reading what you think, either via review or private message. **

_**As always, any questions or queries feel free to ask.**_

**I will begin work on the next update tomorrow so expect it soon.**

Stacey x


	4. Chapter 4

It's incredible really, just how quickly a day turns into a week and a week turns into a month. The past four months I had been in Charming were of no exception. I was now a well-known face in town, the locals had begun to trust me, and I was no longer viewed as an outsider to them. Mine and Lucy's friendship was stronger than ever, we'd spend every Friday night with a Chinese takeaway, watching trashy TV and talking with a couple of bottles of wine. I was looking after the shop for her for a week while she visited her sister in Boston and I was already missing her, the 25 year age gap between us made no difference to the bond we had formed so quickly.

I hadn't said a word to Jax since he left my apartment that evening four months ago; I avoided him best I could but of course, in a place this small it was impossible to shut someone completely out of your life, you were bound to run into at least one of them at some point. Juice, the young Hispanic looking one who sported a mean Mohawk that was framed with tribal tattoos either side had become a regular in the bakery, always ordering two iced buns and a cup of large coffee every morning. At first I was hesitant towards his persistent need to make conversation with me, I didn't trust him therefore I didn't want to form any kind of acquaintance with him but he was there enough, I couldn't help it. He'd surprised me actually; he could be quite sensitive when he wanted to be. I learnt a lot about him from our little talks, he was just a normal guy if you took away all the nonsense that came with the club.

This morning, as he entered the bakery, placing himself down on his usual seat to the side of my counter I noticed he was sporting a mean looking bruise around his left eye.

"That looks painful." I commented as I served him his usual. "Have a fight with a cupboard door?"

"Something like that. Thanks." I noticed how crest-fallen he looked; he wasn't his usual friendly self, instead choosing to stare out on to the main street instead of even attempting to talk to me.

"Wanna talk about it?" The shop was empty so I decided to take my morning break, sitting down beside him as we both observed the comings and goings of our neighbours.

"Not particularly, I just got on the wrong side of a friend this last night."

"Jax?"

"Chibs actually, ever since Bobby's party all those months ago he's been as irritated as hell. Normally I could joke around with him, teasing his need to wear shades all the time but something's changed with him."

"I think old wounds were re-opened that night, Lucy and I should never have gone. Things would have been much simpler that way."

"Yeah, I heard what happened with Jax. Sorry. I just don't get what bothered Chibs so much."

"Maybe you should ask him." I couldn't help the last sentence sounding so bitter, how dare Chibs gain sympathy for something Lucy never had? At least he had people around him to support him; she was left with no one.

At first I didn't recognise him as I watched the young couple walk down towards the Mexican restaurant, lost in their own little world as smiles plastered fully over their faces. That ignorance didn't last long though; I could spot that smirk a mile away, the very same smirk he gave me chills with. I watched as his arm was thrown around her shoulder, pulling her closer towards him. She was absolutely stunning; her long wavy blonde hair fell perfectly in place around her model-like body. I shook off my gaze, rapidly standing up to get back to work. It would do me no favours to watch Jax with his latest lady-toy, it was information I didn't need to know.

"Aren't you even going to ask who she is?" Juice questioned, he'd been watching me watch them.

"I'm not interested, I'm glad he's found someone who makes him happy." I replied with a bitter taste of jealousy lingering on my tongue.

"I don't think that is how I would describe Jax's relationship with Wendy; it's a habit with them, that's all."

I didn't bother to respond further, I scrubbed the counter extra hard, hoping to wipe away any thought I had of him as if it was a stain I was able to remove from my mind. At some point Juice must have slipped away, I hadn't noticed.

As I locked the front door of the shop I smile out onto the rapidly darkening main street, all the other shops were a long time shut and the street was practically empty now. This is what I had been searching for when I chose this place, tranquillity. I wasn't the best baker in the world, certainly not up to Lucy's standards by any means but with her away I was left with the task of baking a birthday cake for a little 6 year old in town, ready to be picked up the next morning. I had pleaded with Lucy to send me a can't-fail recipe and she had obliged, opting for a simple chocolate sponge with an easy vanilla frosting. I placed my phone infront of me on the counter as I began creating what I hoped would be at least acceptable.

I was completely distracted by the baking, singing along to the radio as I stirred the mixture ready to pour. As I reached for the spatula I heard a faint shuffling sound behind me, I turned to look at what appeared to be nothing. I put it down to an over-active imagination and got back on with my task in hand. My phone now safely in my back pocket, I had completed all I had to do, the rest was the hands of a lot of pleading to the baking gods. I placed the cake mixture into the oven I was suddenly blinded by what I soon learnt was a man placing his hand around my eyes and the other over my mouth preventing me from screaming. He dragged me upstairs, into Lucy's apartment, throwing me down roughly on to the bed. The man was dressed all in black; a ski-mask covered all of his face, his fists were bunched tightly as he breathed deeply, watching me skirt up the bed, bunching myself up as small as I could in desperate hopes that my worst fear was not about to be recognised.

"WHERE IS THE MONEY?" He hissed at me.

"What money? All I have is what is in the register downstairs."

"Do NOT play stupid with me little girl, King sent me to get what he is owed." The man began tying my right arm to the bed post, the rope cut into my skin so harshly it felt on fire.

"I don't know what you are talking about, I only-" Before I could even finish my sentence, his balled fist landed a punch across my cheek.

"Where's King's money?!"

"I don't know what you are talking about." I cried, the sour taste of blood now graced my lips as it poured from my cut nose. "I've only just started working here."

"Where's Lucy?" He paced the edge of the bed, I felt so helpless, knowing that the violence could only escalate as I had no information to give him.

"She's away visiting family, please, just take what's in the register, it's all I have."

"That won't even cover the gas over here. I guess I'm going to have to just send your friend Lucy a message."

The man began tearing at my shirt, ripping the material of my left sleeve clean off. I cried, I pleaded with him to not do what I assumed he was going to do next, instead he just laughed. He drew for a big knife, revelling in the glistening of the blade in the faint light; he began to carve into the skin of my arm the letter 'K'.

"Tell your friend that she better have King's money in a week, the next time I won't go so easy on you." His grin as his eyes traced every inch of my body told me all I needed to know.

He punched me once more before he left, rendering me unconscious for a brief moment. I came to and listened out for any noise but he seemed to be long gone. I shuffled on the bed to reach for my phone that was in my back pocket. There was only one contact that I knew in Charming that could help me, I had no choice, I needed help badly.

Jax ran into the room, Chibs and Juice on either side of him as they took in what I later learned was reminiscent of something out of a horror movie. I had given up trying to bite my arm free from the restraints of the tight rope and had flopped back onto the bed where he found me.

"Amelle, my god, are you okay?" He asked, sitting down on the bed beside me, shock drawn all over his beautiful face. He'd gestured to the others to search the place for my attacker.

"It hurts, Jax." I wasn't sure where exactly I was talking about, everything hurt. Jax used the knife he carried on his belt to cut the rope.

"Jesus Christ, who did this to you?" He was holding my shaking body up, his arms acting as my crutch as I attempted to stand. Jax ripped off his t-shirt and used it to wrap my arm to stop the bleeding.

"Some guy…I don't know. He said Lucy owed some guy called King money and he would be coming back to hurt me if she didn't have it by the end of the week."

"Shit. What the hell is Lucy doing being mixed up with King?" Chibs questioned as he punched the wall. "This is bad, Jacky, really bad."

"I know. We'll sort it." He shot Chibs a look that told him to get it together. "Come on, you're coming with us."

"No, I just need help getting home. I'll be fine." Pain seared through my arm with every move I made.

Surprisingly Jax didn't argue further, he sent Chibs and Juice to clear up the bakery and lock up for me. Then they had to get back to the clubhouse to get the rest of the guys up to speed on what was going on while he drove me home in my car, glancing at me and shaking his head with every chance he got. It seemed to take forever to get into my apartment; Jax walked me slowly, not allowing me to take anything more than baby steps. He placed me ever so gently down on to my bed, grabbing a cold compress to put over the swelling on my face.

"You really should get to a doctor tomorrow, that arm looks like it may need stitches." He said, wiping the wound with antiseptic wipes.

"I'll be fine, you can go home now. Thank you for helping me, Jax." I didn't dare allow myself to say more. My heart tugged at my insides, desperate to reach out for him in my hour of desperate need for security. I hadn't realised just how much I missed him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Amelle. I can't leave you alone, not like this."

If I was feeling normal I would have insisted he left me alone but I couldn't, not after everything that happened tonight. I collapsed in his arms, he held me so tightly as I sobbed into his still bare chest.

"I was so scared, Jax." He nudged my chin so I was facing him.

"You don't have to be scared anymore. I'm not going anywhere; I'll stay until you feel safe again." His hand stroked the back of my hair, as my mind screamed out words I dare not say to him. I wasn't sure if I would ever feel safe here again.

"Thank you."

"Stop thanking me, Amelle. It's the least I can do, I just wish I was there to protect you tonight but I'll keep you safe now, I promise. I'll sleep on the sofa, if you need me you know where I am." He backed out of the room, allowing me to undress as best I could.

I had slept relatively peacefully with the thought of my very own security guard protecting me only metres away, so peacefully in fact, I didn't wake until it was gone 11am.

"You should have woken me up hours ago; I have to open the bakery. Oh shit, the birthday cake." I walked into the kitchen where Jax was stood in only his shorts as he cooked breakfast. His muscular back was painted with black ink reading Sons of Anarchy and decorated with a reaper underneath for added badass-ness. It shocked me; I had never been particularly into tattoos but his made him even more attractive.

"Relax, I spoke to Lucy and told her there was an incident. She's on her way back and she is dealing with all the customers so you don't have to. Go back to bed; this was supposed to be a surprise."

I did as I was told and it wasn't long before I was served a delicious cooked breakfast with fresh orange juice on the side. Jax looked mighty pleased with himself as he handed it to me.

"Where did you get all this stuff? It sure as hell wasn't my fridge."

"I sent Juice out to the store as soon as it opened, he even got you these." Jax handed me a bunch of girly magazines.

"Er, thanks." I didn't want to burst his bubble by telling him I never read those and I wasn't planning on starting now.

"I even took the pleasure of circling the articles I thought may best interest you."

I looked at the front cover of one, an article reading '_How to please your man in 5 easy steps_' had a huge red ring around it.

"I have no problems there, thank you very much." I shot him a look of certainty.

"I'm sure you don't, at least I haven't imagined you having any troubles at all." He grinned. I can't pretend hearing that he had imagined us going there didn't excite me. "Just what I wanted to see, that beautiful smile of yours."

"Don't get used to it, my face is killing me. Get in beside me, you standing there watching me eat is freaking me out."

"I never thought I'd get the pleasure of lying in your bed again."

"Neither did I."

Jax and I spoke for a while as I struggled to eat all he had made for me. The muscles in my cheeks were so bruised it hurt to move them but the painkillers he forced me to take had slowly begun to numb all the aching I felt.

"Shouldn't you be heading off on business by now?" I teased, referencing how any time we had spent together in the past was always interrupted by the club needing him.

"Not today, let's just say I cleared my diary."

"You can do that when your business is the kind you're in?"

"Don't worry about it babe, if they need me then they know how to reach me. You have me all to yourself."

"Lucky me." I said in my favourite sarcastic tone. "I have to go and shower, this bloodied and bruised look isn't a good one."

"You still look hot to me." Jax shouted after me as I started the water.

I stared through the condensation that graced the mirror in the bathroom, wiping some away so I could take a proper look at my face. My eye was purple but not as swollen as I thought and the bridge of my nose sported a pretty impressive cut. I guess I was sort of relieved I didn't look as bad as I felt; it would only take a few days for the facial injuries to clear up but the cut on my arm that was now bandaged thanks to Jax, would take a lot longer.

"What are you doing?" Jax was still not dressed; it made it really hard to concentrate on anything but his body.

"I thought I would help you unpack your last boxes while I'm here." As he reached to open the one tucked safely into the corner it dawned on me what was inside.

"No! Not that one!" My pleading was in vain, by the raised eyebrow and subtle smirk I knew he had spotted some of what was inside.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" He asked as he took out the first of my toys, a pair of steel police issued handcuffs and dangled them infront of his face.

"Er…a friend gave them to me?" I didn't sound convincing at all.

"Did this friend also give you these?" He was holding back a chuckle as he played with my Ben Wa balls.

"Okay, big deal. A grown woman likes to experiment a little in the bedroom. Are you done embarrassing me now?"

He didn't reply, instead I watched as he found my special lingerie, the type I saved only for nights I wanted to really seduce my partner. They still had the tag on them; I hadn't yet found someone to wear them for.

"I have a new idea for today, let's play dressing up." He teased as he held up my favourite baby doll.

"Is this your way of telling me you are into cross dressing?"

"This is my way of telling you that I'm getting a hard-on just thinking about what you'd look like in this." It took all of my willpower to not look down to see if he was telling the truth. "All of these still have the tags on them, been a while?"

"Yes, it's been a while and no I don't need you to help me out with that."

"That's a shame; I'm feeling pretty charitable today."

"I'm sure your girlfriend would have something to say about that." I always knew just how to kill the mood with one sentence, today was no exception.

* * *

**Hey! :)**

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Stacey x


	5. Chapter 5

I guess I had expected Jax to argue the toss about the girlfriend comment. I assumed he would protest, claiming she was just another crow-eater etc. but there was no dispute from him. Instead, Jax put away all of my special toys and made his way to the bathroom to clean himself up. It didn't sit well with me that I felt like I was being punished for stating what I knew to be true. If I was perfectly honest, I hated the silence; I wanted to battle it out.

"So, tell me all about your girlfriend." I demanded as soon as he stepped out of the shower, his body still moist as he towel dried his hair. Jax sighed, throwing the towel to the side as he sat on the end of my bed.

"What do you want to know, Amelle?" _Nothing. Everything._ I wasn't going to like the answer but I had to know.

"Juice said you and Wendy were together out of habit, that he wouldn't exactly describe you as happy together. Are you happy?"

"I hate that question, no one is really happy. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on you, not spilling all of my secrets."

"He was what? You sent him to spy on me? God, I'm so gullible, I thought we were actually forming some kind of friendship."

"If it makes you feel any better, he was only supposed to visit you once every week or so, not every day." It kinda did make me feel better about it all, I liked Juice and I hated to think that his friendship held an ulterior motive. "I was starting to think something was going on with you guys. There isn't, is there?"

"No but even if there was something between Juice and I, it has nothing to do with you." I crossed my arms as I lay back against the headboard.

"You're right, technically." Jax moved up the bed so he was sat next to me. "But I would be very jealous if I knew one of my best friends was doing you, especially when I didn't even get the chance." There was that smile again.

"You blew your chance at that, mister."

"Oh, so you wanted me to?" He was edging closer to me with every word.

"I didn't say that…"

Jax took that as a challenge, pulling me down the bed by my ankles. He quickly found his place between my bare legs; resting his weight on the arms he had either side of my head. The thin material of our underwear was all that separated us from crossing that final line and into a whole other level.

"So you're telling me that every time I do this…" He ever so softly brushed his lips over mine. "It isn't the reason those goose bumps are all over your skin?" I knew if I reacted or pushed him away, he would know he was getting to me so I lay still.

"It's cold in here." I whispered against his faint kisses.

"So me doing this…" He traced tender kisses along the nape of neck, so I could only just feel them. "Has no effect on you?" I shook my head, determined he wasn't going to win this battle.

"And you're telling me that if I ran my hand up here…just like this." His hand stroked the skin of my bare thigh as it travelled slowly up towards a place that ached for his touch. "That when it brushed over here a little…" His words directed every move he made. I took a sharp intake of breath as I felt his fingers stroke the crotch of my panties, he held them in place to tease me some more. I had never wanted him as much I did now.

"Just what I thought, baby, they are a little wet. See, you might not want to admit it but your body tells me everything I need to know. Wanna know what you do to me?" I couldn't help myself, I nodded.

Jax took his hand away just so he could take hold of mine; slowly he dragged it down his torso, allowing me to feel just what I had been staring at for the past few hours. He let go of my hand as we got to the waistband of his boxer shorts.

"Touch it and you'll know exactly what you cause."

Our eyes were locked onto each other as I followed his commanded, instinctively biting my bottom lip ever so slightly as I moved my hand lower.

"Rock hard, baby, and it is all because of you." He wasn't lying, he was solid down there. I kept my hand there for a while, very faintly stroking his impressive size through the material, just enough so I could watch him get a little more worked up.

"Can I?" He asked for permission when he really didn't need to, it was obvious I wanted him in this moment just as much as he wanted me. Before I could even finish nodding a response his lips crashed down against mine, our tongues fighting for dominance in eachothers mouths as his hands roamed up my shirt, pulling it over my head in one clean swoop so my bra was exposed.

He wasted no time expertly undoing it, cupping each bare breast in a hand as he trailed the nipple with his tongue. I wasn't in the mood for foreplay; I had to have him now. I placed a hand either side of his face, pulling him back up so he was eye level to me once more. It was incredibly intense as we stared into eachothers eyes, hunger and lust radiating out of us, desperate to be as close as possible.

"I need you, Jax."

As if the Gods were waiting for the best moment to spoil what we had going on, his phone began to vibrate on the side table.

"You have got to be kidding me!" He shouted, rolling away from me to get it. I clambered around the room, picking up the items of clothing he had so furiously disregarded moments ago. As I came to my senses, embarrassment washed over me.

"Hello?...Why?...Well yes, I was busy…Okay, this better be fucking good." Jax threw his phone back onto the table.

"The club?" I asked, I was already back in my oversized shirt as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah, you better get some clothes on doll, Juice and Tig are outside."

I walked into the living room to find the three of them leaning on various items of my furniture, why they couldn't just sit on the sofa was beyond me. I figured it made them feel manly if they never actually put full butt on any surface.

"Hey there…woah, we really did disturb you didn't we?" Tig teased.

"What? No, Jax just woke me from a nap."

"Uh-huh, sure he did. An orgasm is the perfect natural blush for you fair ladies…You know, if you ever need waking up again, give Uncle Tiggy a call."

"Tig, leave it." Jax said, his irritation wasn't well hidden and I relished in it, jealousy looked good on him.

I jumped up on to the counter next to Juice, because clearly sofa sitting wasn't very cool in their world; when in Rome.

"So, what's going on? Why are you guys here?"

"We tracked King down, he's at his club in Stockton, says he's willing to meet." Juice said, it concerned me that he looked worried about it, I knew there was more they weren't telling me.

"And what does that mean?"

"It means that I'm going to have to leave you for a little bit while I go and sort this mess out with King." Jax said, his face awash with concern too.

"But what about the guy from last night? What if he comes back?"

"The only place that piece of shit is heading is hell." Tig chuckled.

"Oh god, what did you guys do?"

"Amelle, don't worry about any of that, that's my job. Juice will stay with you while I'm in Stockton so you're not alone."

I hated that I didn't argue with that but I couldn't stand to be alone right now so having Juice with me was more than a blessing.

"Look, we're matching!" I joked, plopping myself down next to Juice on the sofa while pointing to my impressive black eye.

"Except I make mine look good." I slapped him with the back of my good hand, right in his gut.

"So what did you tell him?" I asked, pretending I wasn't bothered by the fact his boots were propped up on my coffee table.

"Huh? Told who?"

"Don't play stupid with me, mister Intelligence Officer. What information did you give Jax?"

"Shit, he told you?" I nodded. "Practically nothing, you wouldn't talk about your past to me much so I had to dig a little deeper via the internet and you're history is virtually non-existent! I found out your mother, Alexis Coben lives in Nevada with your little sister Kayla. I couldn't find anything about your father, did you not know him?"

"He was in my life, I barely knew him though. He died many years ago now. Anything else?"

"You have no felony charges but you have two speeding fines and one parking ticket on your record. I did find out something pretty interesting though, haven't got round to telling Jax yet. Your mum has links to the president of the Indian Hills charter." His eye brow was raised as he said, expecting me to follow through with all the information he wanted.

"She does? How?"

"From what I could see they were childhood friends, arrested together as teenagers for petty theft but both were let off with a caution then the trail runs cold."

"My mom was arrested? First I've heard of it. Who is this guy?" I racked my brains trying to think of any male friends my mum may have had but came up empty; the only guy that wasn't blood in her life was my dad.

"His name is Jury. Tall guy, grey and balding fast with a pretty mean moustache."

"My mom has never had any male friends, just my dad."

"Weird, you should ask her about him."

"Yeah…that ain't gonna happen." I quickly stood up, hunting for something to busy myself with as this conversation was getting uncomfortable fast.

"Why not?"

"Leave it please, Juice. I don't speak to my mom anymore and that's all you, and Jax, need to know."

I had a feeling he wasn't going to be satisfied with that answer but I was grateful that he didn't push further, the last thing I needed the day after I was attacked was to be questioned about my family.

When Jax finally got back I had just made Lasagne for dinner, enough to feed 1,500 by the looks of it.

"Where's the others?" I asked as he sat down at the table I had set for six, it was half empty with only Jax, Juice and I.

"Headed home, nothing more we can do tonight. This looks great babe, thank you." He threw his arm around my waist, pulling me into an awkward half hug as I served them food.

"I'm judging by your tone that it didn't go so well…" Another question I asked that I didn't want to hear the answer to, it was becoming a habit.

"King is pissed that we took out one of his guys, he's not letting this one go with an apology." Jax said. A scowl was painted all over his face.

"So what does that mean?" There I go again, asking the questions I knew I'd hate the answer to.

"It means we have a little beef on our hands until we work out a way to settle this score." Juice was staying quiet on this one, tucking into his pile of Lasagne as we spoke. "It also means that you're going to have to have one of us with you at all times."

"What? No! This is silly; the guy doesn't know where I live. Look, I have some savings, whatever money Lucy owes him I'll pay it back and that will be the end of it."

"It's not as simple as that." Juice muttered finally.

"Sure it is, it's what he wanted in the first place."

"That was before we took out his right-hand man. King will be out for revenge and as long as I'm around, it sure as hell ain't going to come in the form of you." Jax dropped his knife and fork heavily on the plate. "I'm staying here tonight and we'll work something out in the morning. You can go home now, Juice."

"What…can I at least finish this food?" Juice pleaded with his big brown puppy dog eyes.

"I'll put it in a container for you. You might as well take the rest, give it to the others, it will only go to waste otherwise." I'd never seen a happier smile on the little Puerto Rican.

"Something has been bugging me about you." Jax started, his voice shocking me out of the film we were watching on the sofa.

"Great, this sounds like a thought I really want to hear." My sarcastic tone was in full swing.

"Not like that, babe. I've noticed that this whole club business, the running off constantly, the talk of violence, even down to you using the term crow-eater…It's like, none of this is new to you. Is it?"

_Here we go, another round of dodging the family history questions. _

"I've watched a couple of biker gang films, big deal?"

"It's more than that, I can tell. Have you ever been someone's Old Lady?" I could tell by his face he was now the one asking a question he didn't want to hear the answer to.

"No! I've never been an _Old Lady._"I'm pretty sure he could tell that I had a distaste for the term.

"I need to know, Amelle, because if you have had alliances with some other club, I can't be seen around you."

"I just told you that I haven't." My brain was searching for ways to get out of this without lying and without telling the complete truth.

"Then what is it?" His voice had an extra assertiveness to it when he was irritated, I liked it.

"Shit, okay fine. You wanna know the truth?" Jax nodded. "My father was a member of a club, the Lost Breed's down in Vegas. That's how I know."

"Holy shit, your dad was a Lost Breed? That's crazy." I hated that I couldn't read him, especially in moments like this.

"Yeah…so does that mean you have to avoid me now?"

"Nah, babe. A couple of the founders of the LB's were in Vietnam with my dad, we're cool with them." As if he could tell I was relieved, he pulled me closer to him. "And you're even sexier now that I know you have Outlaw blood running through your veins."

"Stop, Jax." I pulled away from him, edging all the way over to the other side of the sofa much to his bemusement. "We can't keep doing this."

"You can be so fucking stubborn sometimes."

"You have a girlfriend, Jax, an Old Lady. I don't want to be your little bit on the side."

"Wendy is _not_ my Old Lady. She's an old girlfriend who came around again. You wanna know something, darl?"

"I'm not sure I do but you're probably going to tell me anyway."

"I've known Wendy for about 20 years; I've known you for all of about four months. Never once have I considered what it would be like to have Wendy as my Old Lady yet practically every day I spend with you, it's all I think about."

It seemed to be a reoccurring habit that every time Jax and I got a little too close for comfort, be it physically or in the form of conversation, we'd be disturbed and this time was no different; his phone rang, blocking all the need for me to respond.

"Hello? No, she's here with me, why?...Jesus fucking Christ. Okay, I'll be there in 5." Jax jumped up from where he was sat before he had even shut off his phone.

"Come on, we have to go!" He shouted, practically dragging me off of the sofa.

"What? Where? Why?"

"That was Chibs; there was a break-in at the Bakery about half hour ago. Tig and Bobby were driving by and saw the front window all smashed in, when they went to investigate they found a bloodied white scarf lying amongst the glass with what looked like bloody fingerprints on the door." Jax looked me dead in the eyes to make sure I got what he was saying. "King has Lucy."

* * *

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Sons of Anarchy, Drama, Romance