Unintentional Virgin by A.J. Bennett Page A

thing she knew someone was pulling her up. It happened so quickly. They unattached the harness and Karma took a couple of steps forward on shaky legs. She was surprised to find herself sad the view was gone.
    Jax stood there waiting for her. He didn’t look angry, he looked—proud. He held out his arms and Karma flung herself into them. When he wrapped them tightly around her she had never felt more secure in her life. Which made absolutely no sense seeing as she’d just jumped off a bridge like a lunatic. 
    “I’m alive,” she managed to choke out.
    “You’re alive,” Jax agreed, running his hand through her hair. 
    “You were right. It was stunning.”
    “Come on, man. You’re holding up the line,” the instructor hollered. 
    “Let someone else go before me then,” Jax said without turning. 
    “You did amazing,” he said, looking down at her. Karma’s heart was beating a mile a minute, not from the jump but from being so close to Jax. Whenever he was near she got lost in him.
    “I wouldn’t have done it without you.” 
    “I can’t believe you never had a list,” Jax said, looking at her intently.
    Was he angry? He didn’t look angry, but his expression was kinda unreadable.
    Karma started rambling. “You were so cute with the dates ideas. I couldn’t tell you. I’m sorry. I don’t even know why I said I had the silly list to begin with. Please make me stop talking. Are you mad at me?”
    “Well, it has made things interesting. And no, I’m not mad. Surprised and a bit confused but not angry.” Jax tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. 
    Karma pulled back to look him in the eyes. “I just want you to know I don’t make a habit of lying. I was drunk. And I don’t make a habit of getting drunk either. It’s important to me that you understand that.” 
    “I believe you. I just can’t believe you jumped off a bridge when you really didn’t want to.” Jax shook his head with his crooked grin.
    “Me either, but I’m glad I did. And I know this sounds crazy, but I want to continue with the list. You’re right, I need to face my fears. That was scary as fuck, but also very liberating. I was flying, Jax.” The feelings that were racing through her body were intense and unexplainable, but she felt amazing. 
    Jax’s warm hand lay against her face, and his thumb moved gently across her cheek bone before he bent down and lightly pressed his lips to hers. Karma parted her lips and caressed his throat with her fingertips, enjoying the warmth of his skin. Jax kissed her so deeply she felt consumed by him. He coiled his arm around her waist and drew her closer. The world seemed to spin beneath her. In the background, she heard someone make a loud catcall and someone else mumbled get a room. But she didn’t care. She would have stood there kissing him all day and night. Nothing had ever felt so right in her life. 
    When Jax pulled away a sense of loss flooded her body. She wanted to scream no don’t stop. Please don’t stop. 
    Her eyes fluttered open and Jax stared down at her, his face flushed and his eyes bright. “We gotta stop doing that.” He dropped his hands from her waist. 
    “Don’t say that.” Her voice sounded hoarse to her own ears. 
    “We had an agreement.”
    “Your agreement. Can’t we renegotiate the terms?” Karma pleaded.
    Jax threw back his head and laughed. “As tempting as that sounds. I’m intent on seeing this through to the end. We haven’t even made it a week yet.” 
    Karma’s heart dropped at the words the end . That’s exactly what was going to happen. They were going to have three amazing weeks, and then never see each other again. Just the thought of it made her feel ill. 
    “Hey, man, are you going or what?” one of the guys yelled over. 
    Jax looked down at Karma. “Guess it’s my turn.”
    She nodded. “See you on the flip side.” 
    Jax grinned and trotted back to the guy. Karma watched as he got strapped in and her heart