Dax, page 9
Sure enough, though, I could hear the anger brewing in Dad’s voice when he responded. “Excuse me?”
I stuck to my guns. “We’re staying in Boston for a night. Just finishing up dinner with Becca, actually.” I paused. “You know, it’s been ages since I saw her. It sounds like she’s doing good for herself. She’s got this guy, David, and it sounds like the two of them are all set to get married. She’s got a good job too.”
It was a subtle dig. Dad was the reason it had been so long since I had seen her because family had never mattered all that much to him. But I guess it mattered in the important ways; he was doing Becca a favor because she had asked for protection for her friend. I just wished he would do a little more.
“We’re going to have a serious talk when you get home,” Dad finally growled, hanging up the phone.
It was true that I didn’t live with him anymore, and true that he couldn’t ground me or take away my bike or anything like that, but I knew that pissing him off wasn’t a good idea. He was still leader of the Grim Riders, and there were still plenty of ways he could punish me in that sense.
But I still knew, deep down, that I was doing the right thing. I only had to look at Molly and Becca together, framed by the front window of the restaurant, to see how close the two of them were. They needed this night together. Dad just didn’t see things from a people point of view. He always only saw the bottom line.
I put my phone back in my pocket and then headed back into the restaurant. Molly smiled up at me. “Ready to go?” she asked. “The waitress just brought over the bill; I guess they’re trying to close up for the night or something.” She looked sheepish. “I didn’t realize it was so late. You must have been bored by our gabbing.”
I laughed and shrugged. “Honestly, it was kind of nice,” I told her, and it was the truth. Listening to them talk, I could tell how much they cared for one another. I didn’t have a bond like that with anyone, really. Not even Xander or Kane. I was a little jealous, but more than that, I just wanted to be there with the two of them and listen to them chat. They were good enough to include me in the conversation periodically, and it all felt comfortable.
Just like everything with Molly, really.
I put that thought out of my mind. “Sure, I’ll just pay the bill, and then we can head out. It was great seeing you, though, Becca.”
Becca gave me a big hug. “Great seeing you too! Say hello to Kane and Otis for me.”
“I will,” I promised. Maybe Kane and I could come back here at some point and see her again in the coming months. Just hang out together as cousins. But I didn’t want to suggest anything like that now. I didn’t know what was going to happen with the Molly situation, and that meant a lot of things were up in the air.
Molly and I headed out toward the truck while Becca waved and headed for the T, having made Molly promise to keep in touch. I glanced at my watch, automatically looking around to make sure there wasn’t anyone watching us. I wouldn’t put it past the Vipers to have been trailing us this whole time, just trying to figure out the best time to attack.
Fortunately, I didn’t see anyone. But still. “We need to get back to the hotel,” I told Molly.
Molly just smiled at me, like she didn’t see why I would be worried. “But first, we need to get some shaved ice,” she declared, pointing at a shop up the road from us. She must have seen the look I gave her, because she grabbed my arm. “Come on, please? We can’t come all the way to Boston just to spend the whole night in the hotel.”
I rolled my eyes, tempted to remind her about the real reason that we’d come to Boston—to get her things from her apartment. Only to find that the place had been utterly destroyed in her absence. It was dangerous for her to be here. The Vipers had to still be looking for her. But just like when she had asked if we could stay the night in Boston, I found myself wanting to do this one thing for her. Just get shaved ice. It wouldn’t take more than ten minutes. And then we could head back to the hotel.
If the Vipers were looking for us, they would have already found us. If they were planning anything, they were going to do it whether we stopped for dessert or not.
“All right,” I finally said, throwing my hands in the air for dramatic effect. Molly cheered and caught my hand, dragging me down the street. “I can’t remember the last time I had shaved ice,” I said, looking up at the menu board with all the different flavors. Apparently, it wasn’t just lemon or strawberry anymore.
“You need to get out of Greenboro more,” Molly teased, grinning over at me.
We grabbed a booth and sat opposite one another while we ate our ices. “I didn’t know you had a brother,” she said suddenly.
I blinked over at her, wondering when that had come up. I remembered Becca telling me to say hi to Kane for her, but she must have said something else about him, maybe while I was on the phone with Dad. I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve got a younger brother. Kane.”
“You guys don’t get along or something?” Molly asked.
“It’s complicated,” I finally said.
“And it’s complicated with Otis too?” she surmised.
“Yeah,” I said, shrugging. “I mean, isn’t there some kind of saying about not doing business with friends and family?”
“Is Kane in the MC as well?” Molly asked. “I didn’t realize.”
“No, he isn’t,” I said, and even though I knew she was just curious, I couldn’t help starting to feel frustrated by the questioning. “It’s complicated,” I finally repeated, hoping she would get the cue to drop it.
Fortunately, she seemed to. She nodded at me. “Yeah, I guess I know the feeling,” she said. She looked off to the side for a moment, a wistful gaze on her face, and I was tempted to ask about her own family. I knew she had said earlier that the main thing she was looking to get from the house was a necklace that had been her mother’s. What had happened to her mother?
I still felt so terrible that we hadn’t been able to get that necklace today. I knew she said it was no big deal, and I also knew that there was nothing that I could have done to change things. But I couldn’t help feeling like I had failed her in some way. What was I supposed to do about it now, though? It wasn’t like I could challenge the Vipers all by myself. And especially not over something that, while it had sentimental value to Molly, was so trivial.
Otis would never support that. It was bad enough that I had gone against his wishes and stayed here overnight in Boston. That would be a whole new level of rebellion, though.
Anyway, Molly had already been through so much regarding the apartment today, and I didn’t want to cause her mood to tank again. She seemed reasonably happy having gotten to see Becca for dinner. Still sad to be leaving Boston, of course. I had seen the tears in her eyes as she finally turned away from her best friend. But at least she knew that Becca could come visit us in Greenboro if she had a chance. It sounded like her work was keeping her busy at the moment, but all the same. The offer was there, and Becca knew it.
So Molly seemed happier, especially with the addition of some shaved ice to close the night. It still wouldn’t be the right time to start asking about her family, though.
We finished our shaved ice in a comfortable silence. “Anything else we have to do before we head back to the hotel?” I asked teasingly.
Molly laughed. “Nah, we can go back now.” She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. “Actually, I’m pretty beat. It’s been a long day, and I didn’t sleep that well last night.”
It was an opportunity to bring up the fact that she had crept into my bed the night before, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I hadn’t minded having her there. In fact, there was something sweet about the fact that she wanted to turn to me for comfort. I didn’t want to make her feel embarrassed, and I definitely didn’t want her to end up feeling like she couldn’t do that again.
So I let the moment pass.
When we got back to the hotel and to our room, I looked at the one bed. Yet again, I didn’t want to presume too much. I knew she had been through a lot that day, that the whole week must have felt like an emotional roller coaster to her. I didn’t want to pressure her.
And for my own sake, too, I wasn’t sure that we should be sleeping together again so soon. I didn’t want to make this more than it was. She was a job. I had to protect her, and that meant I had to keep my feelings out of this. For all I knew, Dad already had plans to send her off to somewhere else, now that it was clear she couldn’t come back to Boston. I couldn’t let myself get attached to her. She was just a job.
“Go ahead and take the bed; I’ll take the floor,” I told Molly as I put the key on the table, trying to sound casual. But when I turned back toward her, she had dropped her clothes to the floor and was standing there fully naked, her blue eyes gone dark with lust as she watched me, desire clear in her face.
Immediately, all my protests went out the window. I pulled her toward me, kissing her passionately and walking her backward toward the bed.
Chapter 16
Olivia
I DIDN’T KNOW IF I reached for Dax more to prove that he might still want me or if I was seeking comfort as I was on the brink of losing everything I’d ever worked for. I wanted to forget about the shoes, the apartment, the Vipers, and everything else. I wanted to forget about Greenboro too, but of course, Dax was from Greenboro. Reaching for him, in that case, was the opposite of what I should be doing. But somehow, I had the feeling he was the one bright spot in the whole dark time in my life.
Whatever it was that was driving me, animal lust or deeper feelings for the protective, strong, good man he was, I reached for him, letting him guide me back toward the bed.
We made out frantically, and I had the feeling he hadn’t been expecting this any more than I had. I tugged at his shirt, and he quickly stripped himself bare, pressing his hot skin against mine, making me arch against him as his hands stroked down my sides, cupping my ass and pulling me closer to him.
I pushed against him, rolling us over so that I was on top of him. He looked up at me with lusty eyes, seeming surprised but letting me do whatever I liked to him. What I wanted was to kiss my way down his whole body, to mouth at his hard cock and then bring that appendage slowly into my mouth, inch by inch. I wanted to tease him, I wanted to hear him groan helplessly, I wanted to make him need me.
I needed that small bit of control in my life, maybe. I wanted to know that he was just as desperate for this as I was.
I laved at his slit and then buried his length in my mouth, tasting his musk, my nose buried in the trimmed curls at the base of his penis. I pulled slowly off, trying to get a rhythm going, keeping even pressure with my hands and my lips along the whole of his manhood.
Dax’s hand carded through my now-dark hair, slipping through the short locks, and I pulled away suddenly, a surprising flash of realization bursting through me. I can’t live in Boston anymore. I can’t be Olivia anymore.
I bit my lower lip. Dax reached out to cup my cheek, lightly stroking his thumb along my cheekbone. “I know you’ve been through a lot,” he said quietly, his voice a low rumble. “If this is too much, you have to let me know.”
I stared down at him for a moment, but I didn’t really want to stop. I slowly shook my head. “Just...be patient with me?” I asked, my tentative words barely audible.
“Always,” Dax promised, and I believed him.
I slowly lowered my mouth back to his member, my eyes never leaving his, and there was something more to this now. Something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but it was there, thrumming in the background. Or maybe it was just the lust thrumming through my veins that was making me feel that way. Every touch seemed to have slightly more meaning to it, though.
And suddenly, I knew that going with him to Greenboro was the only choice I could make, as much as I wanted to be here in Boston. I wanted to explore this thing between us, if nothing else. And in the end, if nothing came of it, well, maybe I could come back to Boston, once things had cooled off a little.
I pulled off Dax with my mouth, working him with just my hand for a moment, a soft smile on my face. He smiled back at me, like he understood. Then, he reached out for me, catching my hands and pulling me toward him so I was straddling his lap. He released one hand so he could reach down between us, dragging it against my slit, no doubt feeling the wetness there, knowing I was ready for him. This time, there was something different in his smile, something more dangerous, and I felt a shiver run up my spine as I sank down onto him.
He let me set the pace, and I wondered if he could sense my need for control, if he somehow got me. There were so many things I wondered about with him, and it was the mystery that kept me coming back for more.
That and the fact he fit so perfectly inside of me. I groaned, my eyes fluttering shut as I sank down onto him again, letting him skewer me on his length. He reached for my breasts, fondling them, and I leaned closer to give him better access. Still, I kept rocking my hips down onto his, pulling him into my core again and again, feeling the fire burn inside of me as he twitched and throbbed.
I was close already, losing the rhythm, unable to help it. All I could focus on was how good having him inside of me felt. My fingers raked across his chest, feeling the faint, raised lines of his tattoos. I sprawled forward, reaching up carelessly to tuck a lock of hair behind my ears, gasping for air already.
He caught my hips in a viselike grip, digging his heels into the bed so he could ram up into me, one hand stroking down my back as I collapsed against him. I shuddered apart, wave after wave of ecstasy blooming in my core and spilling out through my whole body, overcoming me. I held on tight as he continued to work into me, until his hips stuttered out of rhythm as well. His groan was muffled against my hair, but I could feel him spilling his seed inside of me, hot and sticky as we fell back against the bed.
I felt so boneless that I couldn’t even move. I could only lie there sprawled against his chest, while his fingers continued to play softly down my spine. His other hand came up to stroke lightly at the nape of my neck, and I realized that I did feel safe with him. Maybe he really was one of the good ones, just like Becca had told me. Maybe I really could trust him.
I kind of hoped so anyway.
I finally rolled away from him, lying on my back and staring up at the puckered hotel room ceiling. Dax kept one hand on my side, though, the backs of his fingers trailing gently against my flushed and overheated skin.
“Thanks,” I said suddenly.
Dax stirred beside me, and I wondered if he had been half-asleep already or just caught up in contented bliss. I certainly felt one step away from there, myself. But there was something I needed to say first. I knew I had given him a hard time, when really all of this was my fault. It was true that he’d been rude to me upon our first meeting, but I was the one disrupting his normal life.
What if I had been there at the apartment when the Vipers came by? What would they have done with me? Really, I owed Dax my life.
Dax turned toward me, propping himself up on one elbow, a cheeky grin on his face. “Thanks for a mind-blowing orgasm?” he quipped.
I snorted and shoved at his shoulder. “No, you ass,” I said, rolling my eyes fondly at him. But I sobered quickly. “Just...thanks for looking out for me. Protecting me. And for bringing me back here, even though we couldn’t...” I trailed off, my hand coming up to my neck and rubbing at the spot where the necklace would have been.
“It really bothers you that we couldn’t get the necklace, doesn’t it?” Dax asked softly.
I rolled away from him so he wouldn’t see my lying face. “Like I said, it’s no big deal,” I told him, hoping my voice was muffled enough by the pillow that he couldn’t hear the tears in my voice. “We should get some sleep.”
Dax was quiet for a long moment, and I thought he might say something else. I didn’t want him to make any promises he wouldn’t be able to keep. I didn’t want him to tell me we were going to get the necklace back. I didn’t even want him to tell me that everything was going to be okay. But he didn’t do either of those things. Instead, he just folded his body around mine, holding me close to him and lightly kissing my hair one last time as we drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 17
Dax
ON SATURDAY MORNING, I woke up before the sun came up, a certain resolve in my head. I knew Molly kept insisting that the necklace wasn’t that important to her, that she wasn’t bothered by the fact it had fallen into the Vipers’ possession, but I could tell she was lying to me. I could hear it in the way that she’d said thanks to me the night before, like I was the only person in the world who had shown her a little kindness. Like she was one step away from breaking down.
I felt guilty. She deserved better. I had the distinct feeling she didn’t think she deserved better. I wanted that to change.
I knew exactly what I needed to do.
I slipped out of bed while she was still sleeping. I thought she might wake up as she reached out toward the other side of the bed, a frown forming between her brows, but she just grabbed at one of the pillows, pulled it close to her chest, and curled around it. She slumbered on, looking so adorably innocent, her dark, dyed hair fanned out across the pillow. For a moment, I was tempted to climb back into bed with her, to pull her into my arms again, but there was something I needed to do.
I wasn’t going back without that necklace.
But where to start? I didn’t know much about the Vipers, and the person who would know more about them, Dad, wasn’t someone I could talk to about them. He would want to know what I was up to, and I couldn’t let him tell me not to do this. Hopefully, I could do this in such a way that Dad would never have to find out I had challenged the Vipers at all.
