Ax to the Heart Collection, page 1
AX TO THE HEART COLLECTION
STORIES 1-4
CASSANDRA JOY
“Finding His Heart” Copyright © 2022 by Cassandra Joy
“Finding His Mage” Copyright © 2022 by Cassandra Joy
“Finding His Fovever” Copyright © 2022 by Cassandra Joy
“Finding His Familiars” Copyright © 2022 by Cassandra Joy
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This work is intended as adult entertainment. It contains material of an adult, explicit, sexual nature. The author does not necessarily condone or endorse any of the activities described.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
CONTENTS
Finding His Heart
Finding His Mage
Finding His Forever
Finding His Familiars
About Cassandra Joy
Also by Cassandra Joy
1
LANDON
“Let’s go, man!”
Landon pushed the power button on his computer and stood from his desk. He quickly scanned its surface to make sure he wasn’t leaving anything important like his phone. Because he’d been known to do that.
His first week in his post-college career type job had gone well. At least, he thought it had. He’d done the training, made a couple of friends, and actually started doing some of the tasks he’d be doing for the rest of his career. Fun. And now some coworkers were taking him to their favorite bar to celebrate his first week. Now that he could get into.
As he followed Jeff out the door, he asked not for the first time, “So, where exactly is this place? And why is it your favorite bar?”
“Over on 5th,” Jeff shrugged. “Ax to the Heart has just got a cool vibe unlike all the other bars. Admittedly it’s hipster, but they’ve got a great local brew that’s very smooth but with a kick. Perfect for the end of a long day.”
Landon nodded as they trudged along. He’d been so excited to land a job in the downtown district, so close to where he’d already had an apartment. So far he’d walked to work every day, but he wasn’t sure how much longer the cool spring weather would hold up. Summer and its oppressive heat was on the way. No way Landon wanted to walk the six blocks to work in that.
When Jeff paused outside of an austere brick building, Landon began to wonder whether or not going with Jeff had been a good idea. Jeff wasn’t a bad dude. But… a huge brick warehouse building downtown was his idea of the perfect bar? And who named a bar “Ax to the Heart”? Shrugging off the thought, Landon ducked under the low door lintel and into the space that was much smaller than he’d expected.
A long counter blocked off the door from the rest of the building with a very tall man in flannel standing behind it. There were no bar stools. There was no alcohol. There was just the counter and the heavily muscled man. And a black wall covered in… axes. Huh. Also not what Landon had been expecting. He’d been to a lot of themed bars, but never one with what looked like a historical timeline of ax craft.
“Welcome to Ax to the Heart!” The bearded man nodded at Jeff and asked, “Your usual lane?” When Jeff nodded, the man pushed a stack of papers toward Landon. “Here. You’ll need to fill all of this out. Once you’ve signed it, we’ll keep it on file, so this is the only time you’ll need to do this.” His piercing brown eyes reached in, grabbed Landon’s soul, and yanked on it.
Landon blinked for a moment and then looked down at the sheets and sheets of small type. He shook the strange feeling off and tried to read. Forms. Consent forms. Liability forms. Agreement to not get drunk? What the hell had Jeff dragged him into?
“It’s fine,” Jeff muttered like he could read Landon’s mind. “I won’t let you get drunk enough for them to question you anyway. We come here to relax.”
“How can I relax after signing liability forms?” Landon muttered under his breath. Mr. Lumberjack snorted. But Landon signed all of the paperwork, including getting his brand new employee health insurance card out of his wallet to add that information.
“You’re not going to kill me, are you?” he asked as he finished up and pushed the stack back toward Mr. Ripped Lumberjack Muscles.
“No,” he laughed. Then he winked at Jeff. “Take good care of him, Jeffery.”
Jeff nodded, and Landon silently followed him past the counter and through another low door. How did Mr. Gigantor work here with all the doors that were a foot shorter than he was?
2
HAWK
Hawk’s eyes followed the man’s ass as he entered the main room of the bar. Damn. Lots of sexy men came through here, but not many of them pushed back about signing the paperwork. And even fewer of them had a dry wit and a sarcastic bent. He’d made Hawk smile. Not many people got a real smile out of him these days. Five long years of grief could do that to a person.
When Annabelle walked through the door a few minutes later, Hawk’s body relaxed and tensed at the same time. He hadn’t known that was possible. But his shoulders sagged, making him suddenly realize that he’d been holding himself stiff while thinking about… Landon Smith, as his consent form said. Simultaneously his belly and groin tensed up in anticipation of seeing him again.
“It’s been fairly slow so far tonight,” Hawk said as Annabelle clocked in. “Mainly the regulars, but Jeff brought a friend.”
“Is she cute?” Annabelle said with a cheeky grin.
“No,” Hawk grinned back at her. “He’s drop dead gorgeous.”
Annabelle laughed and shooed Hawk away from the front counter. “Go on and chase Mr. Gorgeous then. I’ve got this.”
Hawk leaned over to give his pack sister a peck on the cheek. He was so lucky to have been adopted into their pack. Then it took all of his self control to not stalk through to the back. He was going hunting.
When he passed through the hallway into the main bar, his eyes swung toward Jeff’s usual lane almost without his permission. And there he was. Landon. Arm cocked back, getting ready to loose an ax at the target. His arm snapped forward and the ax tumbled through the air. It stuck in the wood, though it was barely in the outermost circle. Pretty good shot for someone who’d obviously never tossed before tonight.
Hawk made himself turn and walked toward the serving counter. He wanted to go to Landon. He wanted to take him in his arms and never let go. But that was just… weird. Normal people didn’t grab strangers and hug them forever. Men who’d found and lost true love didn't do that either.
“Everything good?” he asked Anders as he approached. “Need anything?”
Anders looked up from the glass he was polishing and made a face at Hawk. “What’s with the stupid grin?”
“What grin?” Hawk asked in confusion. And when his eyebrows furrowed, that’s when he realized that Anders was right and he’d had a ridiculously huge grin on his face. Huh. “Oh. I see what you mean.” He shrugged a shoulder. He suspected the source of the grin, but Anders didn’t need to know.
“I could use more olives,” Anders said while raising a single eyebrow. Obviously he was judging Hawk, though Hawk wasn’t sure what exactly for.
“No problem!” He headed behind the bar into the kitchen and stock rooms to get Anders his olives. That he really could have gotten on his own. Was Anders just placating him to give him something to do? Normally the bartender was straightforward. What was wrong with him?
When he rounded the corner to pass by the office, Mason called out to him. “How full are we?”
Hawk detoured into the office and plopped himself into a chair across from his pack alpha and owner of Ax to the Heart. “We’re about half full right now. But the rush won’t start for another hour or two. It’s looking pretty good for a Friday.”
Mason nodded and looked Hawk up and down. “What’s with the stupid grin?”
Hawk rolled his eyes and pulled his hand down over his face. “Anders asked me that too. It’s not a stupid grin. I’m just happy.”
Mason’s eyebrow rose. Hawk was a little jealous, since he could only raise both, not a single one. But then he realized it was the second time in as many minutes as someone raised a single eyebrow at him. Was he suddenly lacking in credibility or something?
“Right.” Mason nodded. “Get out of my office and keep my customers happy.” Mason returned to whatever he’d been working on, and Hawk bounced up out of the chair to go get Anders’ olives.
He loved working for Mason. Mason had accepted him into his pack when no one else would. He’d been there, offering Hawk a family when everyone else had chased him away or turned their backs on him. He’d provided him a real home. Hawk was more than happy to do anything Mason asked of him.
3
LANDON
Landon’s eyes kept being drawn to Mr. Muscles all night. All while he drank a little, ate a lot, and threw axes like a badass. This activity was so far out of Landon’s comfort zone that he felt like he was on a different planet. But Jeff and the others were cool. And Mr. Lumberjack was never far away.
“Are you going to go ask Hawk out?” Jeff nudged Landon’s foot with his own.
“Hmm?” Landon reluctantly pulled his gaze away from the tall man as he reached up to pull an ax out of the wall way above a target. Someone had missed. Badly.
“I said, are you going to ask Hawk out?” Jeff rolled his eyes, and Landon couldn’t help but laugh.
“Who’s a hawk?” And why would he ask a hawk out?
Jeff threw his head back and laughed. “Hawk is the brawny, bearded man you have had your eye on all night.”
Oh. Ooooh. Landon looked back toward him as he sauntered up the lane from the target to deliver the axes back to the guy with terrible aim. Hmm. Maybe he would ask him out.
Though Landon wasn’t usually the one that made the first move, he figured he could this time. He had a feeling Hawk would be worth the risk. Once Hawk settled back at the bar again, chatting with the bartender while the two of them refilled salt shakers, Landon stood and brushed off his lap just in case any crumbs from the wings and fries he’d had earlier had fallen on him.
“Go on then,” Jeff urged. Then he turned to take his turn throwing axes, so Landon left him to it.
Why did this place feel so huge all of the sudden? It’d felt so small and cramped when he first arrived, but now it felt like the bar was a mile away. He prayed he didn’t trip over his feet before he got to Hawk.
4
HAWK
Hawk could feel Landon coming up behind him before he heard anything. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and his cock perked up. That hadn't happened in a very long time.
Anders stared over his shoulder for a second, presumably where Landon was standing, before he cleared his throat and said, “I've got to go grab some more ice from the back.” He disappeared into the service hallway without another word.
Hawk slowly turned on his bar stool to find Landon standing close, just watching him. He let his knees fall open a bit, silently inviting Landon to come stand where he wanted him.
Landon cleared his throat, winced, coughed, and then cleared his throat again. “Um, hi, Hawk?”
Hawk nodded and knew the stupid grin was on his face again. “And you're Landon.”
“Yes,” he squeaked. Then he closed his eyes and seemed to be counting silently to ten as he composed himself. Hawk’s grin grew. “Wo… would you l-like to get drinks with me sometime?”
Yes! Hawk wanted to scream it at the top of his lungs, but he figured that would scare Landon away. Instead he nodded slowly, “I could always use a good drink. I'm assuming you're not talking about one here in my place of employment?”
Landon chuckled softly; his shoulders dropped their tension. “Wherever you'd like is fine with me.”
“Then,” Hawk said, slowly standing so that he could press his body against Landon’s, “let’s get out of here and go find ourselves a drink.”
“You don't have to stay?” The look of surprise on Landon’s face was beautiful.
“My shift ended an hour ago,” Hawk said. “I stuck around just so that I could watch you.”
A beautiful blush crept up Landon’s neck and colored his face. “Oh. That’s… Okay. Thank you. Let me tell Jeff I'm leaving.” He turned to head back to Jeff’s lane, and Hawk waved at Anders as he stuck his head around the corner of the hallway. Anders nodded back, and Hawk left to see what his future held.
5
LANDON
It really wasn’t a difficult task. So why was Landon having such a hard time with it? Gut and scale the fish. Thread the fish onto the stick. Prop it over the campfire to cook. Eat.
At Hawk’s chuckle, Landon looked up at him. Hawk just shook his head. “You’d think I asked you to perform brain surgery.”
“It feels like it,” Landon muttered. His fingers didn’t want to do what he told them to. His nose kept wrinkling at the smell of fish guts. His leg had fallen asleep because there was a rock under his hip, blocking a pressure point. He felt icky and reeked of the stagnant water he’d fallen into earlier. This was supposed to be a fun trip. A time to get to know Hawk better. After a month of the occasional date night, it was time to figure out where they stood. To see where this could go.
At the moment, it wasn’t going anywhere. Ever. This felt hopeless.
“Would you like… help?” Hawk asked hesitantly.
Landon sighed but then handed the fish over to him and sat back. Today had been an unmitigated disaster. Park at the launch ramp. Kayak down the river. Fish along the way. Camp for the night. Hike back up to the launch tomorrow. Simple plan; impossible execution.
The river had either been dead and filled with mosquitos or had less than an inch of foam over rocky waterfalls. There didn’t seem to be an in-between. No nice, smooth trip down the river. And once they’d gotten to the exit point, the “short walk to the campsite” that Hawk had praised as one of the most picturesque paths ever was two miles straight up the side of a mountain. Landon wasn’t nearly as in shape as he’d thought. The stair climber at the gym wasn’t doing its job.
At the moment, Landon tried to remember why he liked Hawk so much. Tried to recall what had drawn him to the tall, dark, and handsome man. Because tall meant long legs that could climb a steep hill with loose ground in seconds like a mountain goat. Unlike Landon’s short legs. Dark meant a brooding silence and long stretches where neither of them spoke. Landon had trouble adjusting to the sounds of nature instead of the city and voices. Handsome meant that he had that stupid sexy grin that convinced Landon to come on this trip when he really wasn’t an outdoors guy. Yep, Landon just wasn’t feeling it any more. Dating Hawk was the worst idea he’d ever had.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Hawk murmured.
Landon looked up, surprised that both fish over the fire were sizzling and steaming, obviously almost done cooking. How much time passed while he’d sulked? And it was such a nice sulk too. Much more relaxing than anything else he’d done today. He shrugged and caught Hawk’s eye. “I was just trying to remember why I’m here right now.”
Hawk looked a bit taken aback for a second, and then he burst into laughter. “I wondered why you accepted my invite. I honestly never thought that you would want to come on a camping trip with me.” He reached over and patted Landon’s hand that rested on his thigh. “I know it’s not exactly your thing.”
“I wanted to spend time with you, get to know you.” Landon looked away from the hand still resting on his. He stared into the fire. “Now I’m wondering if that was a stupid idea.”
“What would you like to know?” Hawk asked. He shuffled around so that he was sitting right next to Landon, and he didn’t move his hand to do it. Their bodies pressed against each other from shoulder to knee, but Landon pulled his leg away so that he couldn’t feel that muscular thigh. Wouldn’t be tempted by it.
“Right now? I just want to know why you think this is fun.” He gestured to indicate their entire trip down the river and up the mountain.
“Because I find nature to be soothing.” Hawk’s smile still looked sexy, despite how much Landon loathed him right now. “Besides, if it means I can spend days alone with a sexy man, why wouldn’t I find it fun?”
“It’d be more fun at home in my bed,” Landon muttered.
Hawk laughed again, throwing his head back so that his long neck was exposed. All that caramel skin was distracting. Landon wanted to lick it. Well, after it had been washed in something other than the fetid river.
“Yes, how about we do that next weekend?” Hawk asked.
Landon blinked out of his daydream of nibbling along Hawk’s collarbone. “Really? I would like that very much.”
“It’s a date,” Hawk said with a little shoulder bump to Landon. “You make the snacks, and I’ll bring the beer?”
