Текст книги "Wicked for You"
Автор книги: Shayla Black
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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 23 страниц)
He gave a sharp jerk of his head. “I’m clean.”
She lifted on tiptoe and kissed his jaw. “I’m hungry for you.”
Axel sawed in a long breath, on the fence, his fist tightening just a bit on her wrist. “Oh, I want you so bad.”
The words had barely cleared his lips when he had her against the wall, her back stinging with the chill of the tile, and her legs in the crook of his elbows. His cock probed her swollen opening, and he sank in to the hilt in one vicious stroke.
Excitement seized her breath, made her heart race. Then he hit that sensitive place deep in her pussy. “Axel!”
His head fell back with a massive groan. “Oh, fuck. Yes. You have such a tight pussy, princess. I’m going to take it. It’s mine, and I want to mark it.”
Mystery couldn’t catch her breath. “Now.”
He pumped inside her, watching her breasts jiggle every time he slammed deep. A sense of being taken and owned steamrolled her, and it turned her on more than she’d ever imagined. Yes, she’d wanted to be closer to Axel. Her heart cried out for him. But her body certainly wanted its fair share of him, too.
When he dragged his length down her sensitive channel, then shoved back in again, she clawed his shoulders.
He rammed her, pummeling deep, baring his teeth and staring straight into her eyes. “That’s it . . . Feel. Every. Inch. Of. Me.” He punctuated each word with another thrust.
His strength, the force of every upward surge, ricocheted through her body. She cried out, her pleas echoing off the tile.
Her nerve endings were already so sensitive, so stimulated—yet miraculously ready for more. The scrape of his cock pushing up through her swollen tissue delivered tingles. As he withdrew, he left behind a terrible ache. Time slipped away, disappearing like the water down the drain. Mystery simply let herself feel as he worked, grunting and flexing, to deliver the orgasm brewing right behind her clit.
She tightened on his cock, locked her arms around his neck, stared into his eyes and swore she saw the future coming together. She’d missed him every day since Death Valley. She didn’t ever want to miss him again.
“Axel!” Her breath hitched. She whimpered.
He readjusted, grabbing her by the ass, then using every rippling muscle in his arms, chest, and shoulders, lifting her up his cock, then impaling her again, thrusting at the end of the stroke to reach that damn spot that reacted to the feel of him deep.
With a scream, she splintered in his arms, shattering into little pieces around him.
Axel barely gave her time to catch her breath. Pressing his forehead into hers, he clenched his jaw and jackhammered into her like a madman, the lightning speed and pure power he put into every stroke dazzling her until she saw stars. Mystery reclined her head against the tile, closed her eyes, and tumbled into bright, tingling pleasure again.
Her body was still aglow when he withdrew and set her on her feet. She blinked, head dizzy, as she watched Axel take himself in hand and stroke his cock roughly. Soon, he clenched his teeth and stared at her with blue eyes that burned into her. With one look, he wanted her to know that, even if he wasn’t coming inside her, he considered her his. Then he sprayed across her belly with a low groan.
As he panted and recovered, the waterfall from the showerhead pelted his torso. She stood against the wall, protected from the deluge, and felt the most primal urge to touch his seed, rub it into her skin.
When she tested the need by grazing her fingertips over her stomach, he drew closer and grabbed her wrist, then flattened her palm into the warm, thick liquid and worked it. “That’s it. I want you to smell like me.”
Her breath caught. The idea of carrying his scent all night long didn’t merely arouse her again, but made her heart thump. It sounded odd and maybe even a little taboo, she realized, wanting to wear the product of someone’s passion. On the other hand, she couldn’t deny that she liked the idea of belonging to Axel in every way he would let her.
A tiny part of her heart wished that he’d wanted to come inside her and see if nature blessed them, but she understood why he hadn’t. They juggled so much right now—a stalker, a burgeoning relationship. She was supposed to be back in the UK next week. She lived there . . . and he’d still be here. What if she’d conceived? Yeah, she didn’t have an answer. She’d better start using her brain and stop letting her heart and hormones run the show.
He cupped her face and dropped a little kiss on her lips. “I’m always going to take care of you first.”
His expression told her that he would have loved to take her up on her offer, but duty compelled him to be responsible.
No way could she be upset with him for that. “You always have. Thank you.” I love you.
He smiled and reached for a towel. Mystery air dried while she tried to repair her hopelessly half-drowned hair. Within a few minutes, they’d dressed, and she felt more than a little wicked knowing that Axel’s very essence had seeped into her skin.
As he opened the bedroom door and led her into the hall, he rested his protective hand at the small of her back. “I think Callie stashed something sugary and fattening in the fridge.”
Sugary sounded great about now. Once inside, they pulled out plates and forks and a massive piece of turtle cheesecake. With an indulgent grin, Axel took a bite and watched her devour half of it in less than a minute.
“That good?” he teased. “I couldn’t tell.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “If you don’t stop running off your mouth, I’m going to eat all this alone. You won’t get any.”
“I’ve gotten what I wanted.” He leaned closer and grabbed the arms of her chair, sliding her and the furniture closer to him. “I might want more of that.”
A flush raced to Mystery’s cheeks. Every moment with him just seemed easy and natural. They came from totally different worlds, and yet it was as if they’d been made for one another.
“I might give it to you.” She bit her lip.
Axel sent her a grin that showed off his dimples. “No ‘might’ about it. I plan to take you again . . . and again, until you beg me to stop. We’ll see if I have any mercy then.”
* * *
THEY ate in silence until most of the piece was demolished. Then Axel stood and started a pot of coffee. Mystery fell in beside him, washing off their plate, finding coffee cups and creamer. Then they waited together, and a sense of peace settled over him. Being with this woman was so simple, like breathing.
Not taking her up on her invitation to come inside her had been one of the most difficult things he’d ever done. And if he kept thinking about it, he’d pull her pants down, lay her across the kitchen table, fuck her senseless—and change his mind.
“I’m surprised your father let you come to the States without him,” he remarked. “He’s incredibly protective. And after what happened to you as a teenager, it’s no wonder.”
“The only way he’d let me make this trip ‘solo’ was with Heath. He wanted to send a whole team of people with me, but I argued that Aunt Gail lives in the middle of nowhere. It’s not like the paparazzi hang out there. And we’d certainly see any intruders coming a mile away. After World War Three, he finally relented.”
“I’m glad you came and your dad compromised.”
“I didn’t think he was going to.” She sighed. “And it sounds terrible, but whenever he’s in between girlfriends, he’s cranky.”
Axel laughed, refraining from pointing out that most men were when they weren’t getting any. “I’m sure he’d appreciate that observation. What was it like growing up with Marshall Mullins as a single father? Was he strict? Absent? Difficult?”
She shrugged. “All of the above. Of course, he knew I was always being watched. But after my mother’s death, he definitely hovered more, which only got worse after my abduction. It hasn’t let up since. As a kid, I missed my mom a lot. I think he did, too. But I have to admit, the house was more peaceful after she passed. They fought all the time.”
“About your dad’s love life?” Axel asked but he felt sure he knew the answer.
“Totally. He wasn’t even discreet about it half the time. At first, I guess he thought I was too young to understand why there were so many pictures of him out on the town with other women. I was about seven when he got slapped with his first paternity suit, but he wasn’t the father. I’m sure that was just luck, though.”
“Did your mom take the cheating hard?”
“Absolutely. When she’d had too much wine, she’d clutch their wedding album to her chest and ask herself what went wrong. I didn’t have an answer.”
“Of course not. You were a kid.”
“And I was angry with my dad. Furious. I spent most of my time with my mom, so I saw how all his cheating tore her apart. I’d never put up with that. I don’t know why she did for so many years.”
Axel nodded. She shouldn’t have to. No woman should. “Do you think she was depressed?”
“Absolutely. She took medication for it. I’ve asked myself over and over if her depression contributed to her death. But I don’t think she committed suicide.”
“I suppose she could fall off a cliff by herself, but she didn’t leave a note or give any indication she was ending it. In fact, hadn’t she contacted a divorce lawyer earlier that week?”
Mystery nodded. “She planned to divorce Dad and take him for half of everything. When she told him, he blew a gasket. That fight was epic. I remember hearing them in their bedroom have a shake-the-walls screamfest. They said some incredibly ugly things.” Mystery gave a hollow laugh. “My mom reminded him that he’d fucked most anyone in Hollywood who wore a skirt in the last nine years. He didn’t really have a reply, except to say she’d made mistakes, too. But she was totally serious about leaving. She’d even contacted a real estate agent about some property back in Kansas. My mom was making plans for a new life, not ending it.”
Axel agreed. Some of that had been public knowledge—even her terrible fights with her husband. Circumstantial evidence made Marshall Mullins look like the prime suspect. After all, that divorce would have cost him about ten million dollars. But Axel didn’t see the famous director as the murderous type. Granted, he might have hired someone . . . But there were holes in that theory, too, like the lack of a money trail.
“Why was your mother in Angeles National Forest that day?” he asked. If he wanted to get to the bottom of Mystery’s kidnapping, he’d have to start here.
“She called it her Zen place. Her dad had apparently taken her there as a kid on a camping trip, and she fell in love. Whenever she was upset or needed to clear her head, she’d drive out there. Sometimes, she’d take me, too. I was in school that day, so she didn’t.”
“Did you know she’d planned to drive to that spot?”
Mystery shook her head. “My mother was often very solitary. She liked being alone, especially when she felt off-kilter. She would pack up the car and disappear for a few hours. Sometimes more.”
How would Marshall Mullins have known exactly where in the forest his wife would be and when? Yes, he could have hired someone to follow her, and there had been lots of speculation that a thug from the Asian mafia he’d hired as a consultant for an upcoming film might have been persuaded to do some wet work for the famous director. But the criminal had wound up facedown in the Pacific a few days later, slaughtered by a rival, so they’d never really know. The only facts in evidence: Marshall and Julia Mullins had come to horrific blows over his cheating one morning, and she had threatened to divorce him. Less than six hours later, she’d been dead. He’d benefitted most from her untimely demise. And somehow, this involved their daughter.
“I know what you’re thinking.” She looked down at the hands she wrung in her lap, then raised big hazel eyes to him. “My dad didn’t do this. He might make a lot of movies about warriors and gritty cops, even that one about the serial killer, but he’s a pacifist at heart.”
Axel frowned. The man who’d sat across a table from him and watched as he and the squad had planned Mystery’s rescue had been all for blood if it brought her home. Axel didn’t burst her bubble. But he also didn’t believe Marshall Mullins had hired someone to kill his wife.
He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. It’s time we put your mother to rest and gave you back your safety. Getting there might get bumpy, though.”
“I just don’t understand why the photo says I’d be safe in England.”
“I don’t know that we’re meant to understand a lot of things about this right now. Once we unravel everything, it will make sense.”
A sudden knock behind them made Axel tense. He whirled around in his seat, blocking Mystery from the door with his body. He fully expected to see Heath, ready to brawl now that he’d heard her in pleasure with another man. Bring it. Axel itched for a fight.
Instead, he found Zeb, one of his fellow Dominants and Dungeon Monitors, standing in the doorway, looking deeply concerned. “We’ve got a . . . situation. You need to check this out pronto.”
Chapter Twelve
AXEL’S chattiness evaporated in an instant. “Go back to your room and lock the door. You should be safe. I’ll find out what’s going on and come back for you.”
He didn’t give her a chance to argue or the opportunity to follow. Before Mystery even rose from her chair, he’d left the room.
With a frown, she looked into the open doorway, then sighed as she jogged back down the hall. If someone had broken into the club and was wreaking havoc, wouldn’t alarms have gone off or something?
As she reached the main hallway leading from the back door to the club’s main floor, Mystery didn’t see anything out of place. She resisted ducking into her room and locking herself in. If something dangerous was happening, how would she know it and escape?
For a few minutes, she paced the hallway, torn between following Axel’s demands and tiptoeing around to see what the devil was going on. She didn’t like the jerky beat of her heart and the sick worry knotting her belly. What was taking Axel so long? Had he been hurt defending her? They’d been so careful putting out a cover story that she was leaving the country, both to the hotel staff and Twitter. So how the hell could anyone have found her here?
She was still wringing her hands in indecision when Heath came storming toward her, wearing a furious scowl that made her cringe inside.
When he spotted her, his frown deepened to a full glower of disapproval. He grabbed her arm. “What did that man do to you?”
She didn’t play dumb or pretend she didn’t know what he meant. “You heard us.”
“How could I possibly avoid it?” he drilled sharply. “You haven’t seen him in forever, and suddenly you decide to—”
“Heath, I appreciate your concern, but it’s really none of your business. My father sent you along to keep me safe, not to guard my chastity. I’m not having this argument with you.”
He paused, worked his jaw, looking as if he waded through his words carefully. But he didn’t let up or let go of her arm. “Did it ever occur to you that you might not be able to trust him? That someone you can trust is standing right in front of you?”
Mystery reared back. Was he talking strictly about her safety or had he drifted into romantic territory? Heath had never given her a reason to think of him as anything other than a protective uncle . . . who just happened to be a badass. Had she misread the situation all along?
“What are you saying?”
“You’ve seen your ‘hero’ at his best and built him up in your mind. Mystery, you’ve just given him every part of you, especially your trust. And your body.” And he looked as if that disturbed him. “But you’ve never seen him as just a man with all the other flaws you’re terribly familiar with.”
“Meaning?” she snapped. “He’d never hurt me.”
Heath cursed and looked upward, seemingly for divine intervention. Then he shook his head at her. “You can be the most bloody stubborn woman . . . Come with me.”
He dragged her down the hall toward Thorpe’s office. He held his finger over his lips to signal her silence.
As they reached the threshold, Heath held out a hand to stop her, and pointed to the far side of the room. Thinking that he must be losing his mind, Mystery shrugged and peeked around the corner. What she saw made her heart stop completely.
Axel sat with his back to the door in a chair, his shoulders eclipsing the backrest. A small woman cuddled in his lap, wrapped up in his big arms. He held her as if no one in the world was more important to him than her.
“How do you feel about that, Sweet Pea?” he asked softly, intently.
Sweet Pea? Who was she? He didn’t have a sister that she knew of. Was she a friend? Or his lover?
Mystery’s blood went cold.
“I’m willing to do whatever you want.” She blinked big brown eyes at him, looking very comfortable in his arms. “I want you to be happy.”
He caressed the woman’s cheek. “I want you happy, too.”
She curled small fingers over his broad shoulder and squeezed. “You’ve done your best to make me happy for the last two years. I . . . don’t have words for how wonderful you are. Your devotion has meant so much to me. I’ve been so lucky to have you.”
Every word out of the woman’s mouth was a stab in Mystery’s heart. She’d been thinking about love and forever with Axel. She had basically invited him to get her pregnant because she’d been stupidly envisioning what a beautiful family the three of them would make and how happy they could be sharing their tomorrows. With him, she’d feel protected and loved. In return, she would adore and satisfy him.
Now the wretched, crushing humiliation ripping her heart from her chest reminded her of the devastating lesson her mother had learned at her father’s hands: Men always strayed.
No, Axel hadn’t promised her anything or committed to any sort of future. Mystery had been the one to make naïve assumptions. But never again. Obviously, he’d been committed to this woman he called Sweet Pea for two years—how had her private investigator missed that?—and Axel had cheated. Mystery was the “other woman” in this scenario, and she felt used.
“It’s been my pleasure and privilege.” Axel pulled the woman closer and laid a soft kiss on her forehead.
Their exchange lacked passion, but all that told Mystery was that, while he cared for his girlfriend too much to let her go . . . he slaked his lust with other women. Typical. That had always been her father’s approach to relationships, too.
Mystery couldn’t breathe. She felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. And so fucking betrayed, though she probably had no right to. She shoved back hot tears stabbing her eyes and threatening to spill.
“Have you seen enough?” Heath murmured in her ear.
She didn’t even want to speak right now. And she certainly appreciated that Heath didn’t say “I told you so” at that moment. He certainly could have, and she would have deserved it.
Why had she thought she’d truly known Axel after so little time together? Mystery shook her head. That was the last time she’d let her hopes and stupid romantic fantasies get the better of her. Heath had been right about her idealizing Axel. She had to stop thinking like a girl and become a woman.
She had to save herself.
Heath curled a gentle hand around her arm and led her back down the hall. She was grateful she didn’t have to witness the affection passing between he and the petite brunette anymore. And when they reached Heath’s bedroom, Mystery was even more relieved that she didn’t have to look at the rumpled bed she’d shared with Axel and smell the sex that undoubtedly still hung in the air. She couldn’t have managed that without falling to her knees and sobbing.
“I’m assuming you want nothing more to do with the man?” he asked gently.
The thought of never seeing him again choked her, tore at her heart. But she’d done without him for over six years. She’d manage for the rest of her life somehow because she’d never be the victim her mother had been. “Nothing.”
“Pack up anything you’ve unpacked. Give me . . . ten minutes. I’ll have you out of here.”
As he turned to leave, she grabbed his arm. “Thank you.”
Heath glanced at her hand on him, then at her face. “Anything for you.”
* * *
AXEL turned suddenly in his chair, looking into the hall behind him. The hair stood on the back of his neck. He would have sworn he’d heard someone back there. But he saw nothing.
Forcing himself to relax, he directed his attention back to Sweet Pea. “So you’re ready to meet Stone?”
“Why does he want to meet me?” she asked, her insecurities all over her small heart-shaped face.
Sometimes, he forgot that, despite her often multicolored hair, her rocker-chick clothing, and her bright tattoo that held a meaning only the two of them understood, she still gripped tightly to her insecurities. She’d come a long way after surviving so much. But like the winged bird she’d inked onto her shoulder, the time had come for her to fly away. Stone may or may not be the man for her, but she was ready to embrace someone else to help her along with the next part of her journey through life.
“He didn’t tell me. You’ll have to ask him. But I made it clear that he’s to respect you and your boundaries,” Axel promised.
She nodded, the hair she’d pulled back in a simple ponytail today colored a surprisingly sedate chestnut brown with a few hints of fuchsia streaks. Her long lashes brushed her cheeks as she paused for a moment to gather herself.
Finally, she opened her eyes and regarded him again. “Okay.”
More than one Dom over the years had asked about the club’s sweet little receptionist, but she hadn’t wanted to come out of her shell. Axel had been suspecting for a while that she was ready for more than he could give her. Her agreeing to meet anyone was a huge step forward.
He hugged her tight. “I’m proud of you. He’s waiting. I’ll introduce you.”
With the little receptionist in his arms, Axel stood, then set Sweet Pea on her seriously high heels. She still only reached the middle of his chest. “I’m scared.”
“I’m always here if you need an ear. You know Thorpe is, too.”
“I appreciate the offer.” She nodded pensively. “But you’re with Mystery now. You don’t need me.”
He frowned. “Misty, you don’t have to leave my protection because I’ve found someone. We’ll have to change a few things about our relationship, but I don’t want you jumping into any arrangement with another man just because you think I won’t be here for you anymore.”
She smiled softly. “Axel, you’ve been so wonderful. I’ve often wished that I could have been healed enough to love you like you deserve. And that I could be the sort of woman you’d love forever. But we weren’t meant to be. You’ve done more for me than I’m sure you were prepared to when Thorpe asked you to help me along, and you’ve definitely given me more than you’ll ever understand.” She teared up. “I’ll miss you.”
“Sweet Pea . . .” He held her close. “I’m not shoving you out the door and into the cold.”
“I’m showing myself out.” Tears splashed down her cheeks. “I’ve worn out my welcome. It’s time for you to give your whole self to one woman. That’s never going to be me. And it’s all right. If she loves you like you deserve—and it sounded earlier like she does—then I’m so happy for you.”
Axel looked away with a wry grin. He’d intended for Heath to overhear them, but he hadn’t thought Sweet Pea might come to the club early looking for him. When Stone had shown up and asked for her, Zeb had turned protective older brother and fetched Axel from the kitchen. But maybe this was for the best. Maybe the time had come for both he and Misty to move on.
Axel’s heart swelled. He’d always have a soft spot for her inside his big, rambling chest. He might have done her a favor by working with her on her ability to trust and communicate her feelings, but she’d taught him more than a little about honesty and letting go of fears, too. All of his brothers were still single, as was his father, and Axel didn’t kid himself. All that had so much to do with his mother’s abandonment. Trust didn’t come easily for him, but Sweet Pea had helped kick-start his healing. He wasn’t there yet, but he had high hopes.
He cupped her face, her small bones swallowed by his big palms, and laid a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. For a long breath, he gave her his kindness and adoration. It flowed bittersweet between their lips and hearts as they said their final good-bye as lovers.
More than ready for his future, he broke away and led her toward the dungeon, hoping that he’d be introducing her to a special man who would take her in hand and make her whole.
* * *
MYSTERY raced around the bedroom she and Axel had shared an hour ago. She tried not to look at the bed as she packed up her toiletries, tossed on some clean clothes, zipped up her bags, then waited.
Maybe she was being hasty. She should at least ask Axel about what she’d seen. There must be some rational explanation, right?
For him cuddling another woman and whispering endearments? How often had her mother said she wished she’d listened to her gut about her father’s alibis, rather than his slick words? On the other hand, Axel wasn’t her father. Daddy liked attention—needed it. Axel stood quiet and watchful. He didn’t mind solitude. He wasn’t for show, didn’t care about flash . . .
But what man turned down sex when a pretty skank in a short skirt offered it? Axel and her father might not be cut from the same cloth, but they were both men with dicks. Maybe that was the only similarity that mattered.
Pacing and chewing on a ragged nail, she waited for Axel to return. She’d ask him about the woman she’d seen him with and his relationship with her. She’d listen and try to make an unemotional judgment. After all, despite the sex they’d had today, he’d never promised her an exclusive relationship.
But what kind of man jumped from the most amazing sex with her—twice—to put another woman on his lap minutes later?
Mystery crossed the bedroom again. Damn, she could talk herself in circles all night.
Bottom line: She had to ask Axel, listen, then do what was best for her, depending on whether he set off her bullshit meter. Heath would want an explanation, and she would give him one but—
Suddenly, the lights flickered, then died. Everything around her went still, black. She stood unmoving, afraid that she’d trip over something in the unfamiliar room. Then slowly, she began feeling her way back to her suitcase near the door.
When she turned the knob and eased into the hallway, a hand suddenly gripped her arm, pulling her against a hard body. Before she could even gasp, he covered her mouth with his palm. Adrenaline surged. Terror spiked. Had whoever left the picture in her hotel room somehow found her?
“We’re leaving via the back door now. Stay quiet.”
Heath. Mystery heaved a giant sigh of relief. “We should talk about this before we run off. Maybe I’m being hasty.”
“Would you really give him more chances to crush your heart? What would your mother say about that?”
To run like hell if she had any suspicion at all that Axel had cheated. “I know.”
Heath released her, then brushed past her. She heard a vague grunt as he lifted her admittedly heavy suitcase. “Wrap your hand around my arm and follow.”
“But what if I’m safer with him around, too?” she murmured.
“You’ve let the pleasure cloud your thinking. I’ve kept you safe all these years. I’m still more than capable. Follow me. We have to hurry. It won’t take Axel much longer to figure out that I’ve simply tripped the breaker.”
Mystery hesitated, so torn. She sensed Heath’s impatience.
“I told you at the onset that Axel was a player,” he pointed out. “It took him less than fifteen minutes to find another woman to seduce.”
“He didn’t make me any promises,” she pointed out.
“But don’t you deserve them?”
She sighed. Yes, she did. Her mother had often said that she felt as if she’d accepted feeling like second best because she’d lacked the confidence and temerity to leave. Mystery didn’t want to be a victim of her own weakness.
Heath sighed with impatience. “Axel knows where you’re heading. If he truly wants you and cares, he’ll come after you. If not, then you’ll know. But we must leave now.”
What he said made a lot of sense. Besides, some time away from Axel and all of his trappings would allow her the space to get her head together and figure out her next step. He wouldn’t be thrilled with her departure, especially since this wasn’t the first time today she’d run out on him. But she needed some solitude to process.
“All right.”
As Mystery allowed Heath to lead her to the back door, a voice inside her kept shouting that she was making a big mistake. Before she could question her decision again, the back door slammed shut behind her.
Mystery hesitated, fighting every instinct to pound on it until someone let her in, until she could see Axel again so they could work their differences out.
“Look forward, not back,” Heath encouraged, tugging her along.
No choice now . . . The door through which they’d just exited was locked.
Heath led her across the lot, then hustled her into the town car and pulled away. They sped into the inky night, and Mystery prayed that Axel would come for her. Otherwise, she worried that she’d not only be fending off bad guys but fighting a broken heart.
