Axel (Ride Series Book 3) (12 page)

I shook my head. “No I…” I drifted off, trying to move away from him.

His hands griped my forearms like a vise as his eyes shone with intensity up into mine. “You look so fucking sexy like this, baby,” he growled, halting my escape.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I admitted with a whisper, though I was motivated to figure it out by his appreciative gaze.

He took my hips in his hands, guiding my movements. “Just do what feels good,” he coaxed with a rasp.

I shifted my hips forward my palms splayed across his chest.

“Fuck,” he bit out.

“You’re so deep like this,” I gasped as I leaned forward, finding the angle that worked best.

His hands lifted, his fingers tweaking my nipples as I took him. He let me experiment for a while until we were both at the breaking point. I felt him shift then, his heels firmly planted in the mattress as he took me from the bottom. He powered up, causing me to cry out.

He let out a groan, pulling me bodily beneath him in a fluid movement.

I shattered seconds later with him soon pulling out of me with a low groan as he let loose across my belly.

“That was fun,” I laughed into his neck as I fought to catch my breath.

“You have no idea how much fun we’re going to have,” he responded with a devilish grin.

We cleaned up together in the bathroom before turning in.

“Night, baby.”

“Night,” I murmured, burrowing closer to his skin.

Chapter 11

“S
oph,” Ax’s voice cut through my deep sleep.

“Hmm. Mmm?”

“I gotta go. Mad’s in his crib. Ry’s on the couch. Get some sleep,” he murmured, his lips brushing my neck.

“Mad?” I rasped, feeling more awake.

“Ry brought him back. Everything’s good,” he assured me.

“Where’re you going?” I mumbled.

“I’ve gotta take care of some loose ends,” he answered vaguely.

It wasn’t until hours later when I was fully awake that I realized what that really meant.

I fell back asleep after he left, for how long I wasn’t sure, before Maddox was cooing from the other room. I stretched out briefly, Axel’s side of the bed cool to the touch. My entire body felt sore but I didn’t feel as bad as I would have expected. I opened the office door, finding Mad sitting up in his crib with a big grin on his face.

There was never a finer sight.

When I moseyed out to the kitchen with Maddox on my hip, I stopped short at Ryker snoring on the couch. I’d nearly forgotten he’d be there.

I was intending to be as quiet as possible but almost immediately, Maddox let out a loud shriek of glee at seeing his bottle. Ryker was so shocked, he toppled off the couch.

“Sorry,” I apologized through laughter as he looked around, as though he had to remember where he was.

“Jesus, that kid is loud,” he groused, running a hand through his hair and rising to his feet.

“Babies tend to be loud,” I agreed. “I’ll make coffee.”

“Thank God,” he muttered.

“Heard from your brother?” I asked, my tone deliberately casual.

“Unless he spoke to me in my sleep, then no,” he retorted.

“You’re not a morning person then,” I surmised dryly.

“She’s quick on her feet,” he muttered sarcastically. “How’re you feeling?” His tone was softer as his eyes swept over the visible cuts on my arms and my swollen lip.

“I’m okay,” I assured him as I rummaged around trying to make coffee.

“I can take him,” Ryker offered, cocking a brow at Mad.

“Really? Okay,” I shrugged, passing off my son. He seemed perfectly content in his uncle’s arms.

“You’re really okay? That was a fucked-up night,” he pressed, dodging Mad’s attempts to grab his lip.

“I’ve been better,” I admitted. “But I know your brother’s gonna take care of it.” I realized how much that soothed me as I said it. I had a man at my back who would willingly take on an army for me.

“Yeah, he is,” Ryker agreed. “Never thought I’d see the guy be such a goner,” he commented, but the look on his face gave me pause.

“Is that a bad thing?” I cajoled with a grin.

He shrugged. “Just can’t see one chick doin’ it for me.” His eyes shifted to the side and I was sure I detected something there.

A lie?

I cocked my head to the side.

“Except for one,” he allowed so quietly I barely heard him. “Don’t ask.”

I studied him for a moment. “Okay,” I agreed, biting back my intense curiosity.

“Whether it’s this mystery girl or someone else, when you meet your lady I’m gonna give you so much shit,” I promised, lightening the mood.

“Did you just cuss, sis?” he teased. “And fine, if I fall off the cliff like my brother has, you can give me all the shit you want.”

“I’m counting on that,” I nodded with a grin.

******

Axel didn’t get home until close to lunchtime. He walked in with a dark expression, scanning the room as though searching for a threat. My eyes shot to his bloody knuckles and back to his eyes trying to find the man in there I knew.

The man I loved.

“Hey, honey,” I greeted softly, moving to greet him by the door where he still stood, his posture stiff and unwelcoming. I was in unfamiliar territory with him and I hoped like hell I could pull him out of this mood. “You hungry?”

He shook his head. “Where’s Maddox?” he asked in a hoarse murmur.

“Napping. Your brother’s downstairs on the computer. What is it?” I asked quietly, placing a tentative hand to his chest.

He pulled me to his chest, lifting me up so that I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. “He’s gonna be on the computer a little while longer,” he stated gruffly, carrying me to his –our –room.

My entire body hummed as he carried me briskly back to his room. “Ry! Stay downstairs,” he barked.

“Yeah, man,” I heard Ry reply through the walls as Axel strode into our room and all but kicked the door shut.

He really needed to learn to be quieter with a baby in the house but now definitely wasn’t the time to remind him.

“What?” I tried to ask but was cut off by his lips covering mine with a kiss that made me forget all thought. His hands were all over my body, tearing at my clothes as his chest heaved.

“You good?” he demanded, his tongue finding the spot behind my ear that made me crazy. Who would have thought?

“Yeah,” I replied breathlessly. I wanted to be the balm that soothed him. I knew he needed this, needed me and I was more than willing.

I pulled his shirt up over his head, my hands roaming the chiseled muscle and warm skin I found underneath. Then I shocked myself by dropping to my knees, looking up at him as I unbuckled his belt and pulled his jeans down his legs.

“Christ,” he swore, watching me with stormy eyes as I licked him from root to tip. I’d never done this before but I wanted nothing more in the world than to please him this way.

Moisture pooled between my legs as I relished the taste and feel of him. He was all velvety smoothness and coiled tension.

Suddenly, I was pulled up and practically thrown on the bed. “You keep doing that I’m gonna lose it, and I need to be inside you,” he explained as he sheathed himself with a condom. His large body came up over mine, his muscles tense and rippling as he moved. Then he was inside me with one fluid thrust. I bit back the cry threatening to break free as he moved with an urgency I’d never seen in him before. Every time with him had been a claiming of sorts but this was utterly primal. His body completely owned mine as his lips found every surface they could reach, his teeth raking across my flesh.

The temperature of my skin blazed with my impending orgasm and I was nearly afraid of what it would do to me.

“Let it go, baby,” he commanded, his hand reaching between our bodies, his fingers dancing over my clit. That was it. I reached desperately for a pillow, clamping it over my face as I let out an uncontrollable cry. He pulled it away almost immediately, looking down on me as his movements became more erratic before he groaned low and deep, collapsing on top of me.

I held him to me, wrapping my legs and arms around his big body as we both fought to catch our breath.

“Are you okay? Shit, I didn’t mean to be so rough,” he admonished himself as his fingers swept over my lip and down my arm.

“I’m fine,” I assured him, meaning it. “Are you okay?”

He pulled back from me, eyeing me warily. “Yeah, I just…needed you, I guess,” he admitted, his face twisting in a grimace.

“Is that bad?” I asked softly.

He shrugged. “Guess not, just new.”

“For me, too,” I nodded with a smile. “What happened?” I pressed, my hands sweeping through his thick hair.

“It doesn’t seem like your father ordered the kidnapping,” he shared, shaking his head. “It seems like Aron thought he’d discovered an easy payday by coming up with a scheme to deliver you to him. Pretty damn sure he planned to off Jeb once he got paid. Fucking idiots,” he grumbled.

Some of the tension I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding slowly released from my body.

His expression softened as he looked down at me. “You’re relieved,” he assessed.

I bit my lip. “Well, yeah,” I shrugged. “I mean, I know my father has less than stellar morals but even I didn’t think he’d sink so low as to kidnap me!” I exclaimed.

“I understand, darlin’. Believe me, I know something about holding out hope that you don’t come from total shit,” he muttered. “But this doesn’t mean he’s not a threat, darlin’.”

“I know,” I agreed quietly.

“He has some connection with the Black Riders. We still have to figure out if there’s another leak or if those fucks were all there was,” he told me, rising up off me and offering his hand. He pulled me up into his arms, kissing me soundly. “But the message has been delivered that you’re mine and that anyone who hurts you will fucking pay,” he told me, his countenance suddenly fierce.

I didn’t doubt that was true.

“Uh, guys?” I heard a tentative voice call from the hallway. “I’ve got a guy out here with a full diaper and an uncle who doesn’t know, or want to know how, to take care of it,” Ryker hollered.

I rolled my eyes at Axel and he chuckled. “Coming!” I called.

Chapter 12

“G
oddammit, Sophie, block! Remember?” Axel demanded, frustrated as I struggled to focus. It would really help if he wasn’t only wearing black shorts and a grimace. I was totally distracted by his body and his proximity. Every time he came near, I just thought of ways to bring him closer rather than ways to push him back.

“Yeah,” I nodded, panting slightly with exertion.

We’d been at it awhile, practicing at the gym as we’d done for the past two weeks. They had a boxing room set apart from the gym itself, which allowed us privacy to train.

Ever since my kidnapping, I’d struggled with nightmares, with a fear of being helpless. So Axel was teaching me how to fight back. For the most part, it was helping – so long as I tried not to let my beautiful man distract me.

I’d long since ditched my tank top, and my pink sports bra was soaked through. If he was going to wear so little, why should I suffer from heat exhaustion?

“We gonna actually get through the floor work today?” he asked with a raised brow and a look of mischief in his light eyes.

We ended up in the equipment room closet more times than not.

“I’ll try to control myself,” I muttered sarcastically. Though in reality, I wasn’t so sure about that.

His gaze swept my frame and he licked his lips. He was deliberately baiting me.

I screwed my face up in a grimace and huffed my frustration.

He threw his head back and laughed, hard. Even though it was at my expense, I still appreciated the sound – so rich and sincere. He laughed with his whole body, his hands clutching at his abs, his muscles flexing with the movement.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” I mumbled.

“You are!” He grinned, winking. “I swear I’ve laughed more with you than I ever have in my life and you aren’t even tryin’,” he proclaimed, more to himself than to me.

“Glad to be of service,” I grumbled.

Then he was in my space in a way I was unprepared for, his glistening chest inches from my face. His knuckle ducked under my chin, tipping my face up to meet his gorgeous countenance. “Soph,” he started quietly, his tone suddenly far more serious. “As much as I want inside you, I want you to be able to protect yourself more. It’s time to get into it. Are you ready?” he asked quietly, peering into my face in a way that always disarmed me.

I swallowed hard. “Yeah, let’s just do it,” I sighed.

“You sure?” His face betrayed so much concern for me; it nearly broke my heart. With that realization, I needed to do this as much for him as for me. I wanted to make him proud. To show both of us that I could do this.

“Yeah,” I agreed, determined to push past my nerves.

“We’ve walked through this. You know the drill,” he explained. “I’m going to pin you and you’re going to use your knees, fingernails and elbows,” he reminded me of what we’d walked through many times before.

“Yeah.” I nodded as I swallowed hard.

Then he was on me; he didn’t even give me a second. He took me to the ground with brute force so overwhelming I froze up entirely.

“Soph,” his voice rumbled in my ear as he reminded me of where I was and who I was with.

All I could hear was the clanging of my heartbeat. All I could feel was the crushing weight of his body.

He leaned down into me, and with a subtle shift of his body, he changed the tenor of the situation. There was nothing sexual or fearsome in his proximity, only comfort. “You don’t at least try and we’re eating Mariachi’s for dinner,” he threatened.

His teasing tone and mention of my least favorite restaurant in Hawthorne somehow broke through my fear-induced haze.

I managed a look at him, up into his sincere eyes that peered down, so close to mine.

“Not Mariachi’s,” I grimaced, so grateful to him in that moment for making light of the situation rather than delving into it. In so many ways, he understood me better than anyone.

“Then show me what you’re made of,” he challenged, his eyes gleaming with encouragement.