Axel (Men of Mirror Lake Mountain, book 1): A Penny Dee Spicy Bites Novella

by Penny Dee

  She nods. And I can see she believes me.

  “I need to speak to my father,” she says.

  It makes sense.

  “Tomorrow, I will take you to town and you can call him.”

  “You don’t have a phone?”

  “There are no lines out here. And we’re too deep in the mountains to get cell service.” To my surprise, she doesn’t look frightened. “But there is a public phone booth in town. We’ll leave at first light.”

  Her eyes widen a little. “You mean, we’re going to spend the night here?”

  Her tone tells me the truce between us has ended.

  I stand up. “Relax. You’re a lot safer in here with me than you are out there.”

  She goes to argue but stops herself. She is shivering. Her clothes are damp. She’s cold.

  “You can put your clothes in the dryer,” I say. Yes, I have a dryer. Living deep in the mountains where the sun only shines six months of the year, it’s a necessity. “I’ll get you something to change into while they dry.”

  I disappear to my bedroom and hunt for something suitable to give her to wear. There aren’t a lot of options. I’m a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy, with flannel shirts and beanies thrown in. It’s supposed to get colder overnight, so I grab a long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of socks. When I return to the living room, Lauren is huddled near the fire, staring into the flames. I pause. Christ, she’s beautiful. And I feel her beauty bleed deep into every fiber of my dark heart.

  A floorboard groans beneath me and she looks up, and something tightens in my chest.

  I have to clear my throat as I hand her the clothes. “You can change in the bathroom.”

  She accepts them with a nod, and I can see the sadness in the deep lavender of her eyes as she disappears into the bathroom to change.

  In the kitchen, I take some aspirin to dull the pain of my arm, and when I walk back into the room, she is standing by the fire, holding her clothes.

  My first thought?

  My oversized t-shirt looks good on her.

  My second thought?

  It barely covers her thighs.

  My third thought?

  How the hell am I going to survive tonight?

  Trying to keep my eyes off her and the tantalizing way the t-shirt falls over the soft curves of her body, I show her where the clothes dryer is in the small laundry behind the kitchen.

  “You promise we’ll call my father in the morning?” she asks.

  After setting the timer, I stand and a wave of fatigue washes over me.

  It’s almost two in the morning.

  “Yes, but first, we need some shut eye.”

  She glances around the cabin. “But where do we sleep?”

  I lead her up the small flight of stairs to the top floor that overlooks the first floor of the cabin.

  “But there’s only one bed,” she says.

  “The bed is big enough for two.”

  Her eyes dart to mine. “You can’t be serious.”

  She’s trying to look mortified. But I can see the heat in her eyes.

  “Oh, I’m serious.”

  “Can’t you take the couch or something?”

  “Why, when the bed is big enough for two?” I close the distance between us. And yeah, her eyes are bright with excitement. That fatigue I felt a moment ago? It’s gone. Replaced with a racing heart and a sudden need to toy with her just so I can see the color of her eyes deepen to a dark shade of purple like it does when she’s mad. “You worried you won’t be able to keep your hands to yourself?”

  Indignation replaces her look of horror and she raises her eyebrow. “Oh, I assure you that isn’t the case.”

  I sit down on the bed and pat the space beside me, grinning wickedly at her. While she stands across the room and murders me with her eyes.

  “I’ll take the couch,” she says.

  I shrug. “Suit yourself.”

  She folds her arms. “You’d seriously make me sleep on the couch. So much for chivalry.”

  “I’m not making you do anything.” I pat the bed again. “There’s plenty of room.”

  Her arms fall to her sides as she gives in. “Fine. But I’m building a giant pillow wall between us.”

  I can’t help myself and laugh. For something so little, she sure has a lot of spunk.

  I stand up and take a step toward her.

  “Knock yourself out. But look at me, darlin’, I’m a big man. You should know I can huff and I can puff, and I can blow that giant pillow wall down.”

  My voice is gravelly. Rough. And flowing with the lust I’m feeling coiled in my belly. The push and pull between us is turning me on, and I’m aching to give in to the hunger and take her mouth with mine.

  Again, her throat works hard as she struggles to swallow.

  Yeah, she’s turned on. Mortified, yes, but turned on, nevertheless.

  Her eyes sharpen on mine. “You should know, I’m a light sleeper and did martial arts for six years.”

  “Good, I like it rough.”

  She raises her chin. “Don’t be fooled by my size. I may be small, but I can kick ass.”

  “Rougher the better.”

  It is a war of wills now. And it’s making me fucking hard.

  “I know what part of the body to aim for to cause the most impact.”

  I take a sweeping look up and down her beautiful body. “Ditto.”

  My innuendo isn’t lost on her and she narrows her eyes. “I’ll escape while you’re sleeping.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Maybe I’ll tie you to the bed.”

  It was meant as sarcasm.

  But I can see the affect it has on her when her eyes fill with heat and desire shimmers on her lovely face.

  She cocks a challenging eyebrow at me. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  I’m not sure why, or how, or what the fuck is happening, but before I can get any understanding of the situation, I back her up toward the bed and she has no choice but to sit down. She looks up at me, her eyes blazing.

  And in that second, I know without a doubt I am going to tie her to my bed.

  Chapter Seven

  LAUREN

  “I’m going to take a shower,” he says, and I watch him walk toward the closet.

  “I’ll be gone before you even get the hot water going,” I reply.

  I’m goading him.

  Why?

  Because it turns me on.

  “No, you won’t be.”

  He has his back to me.

  “What makes you so sure I won’t be out that door the second you leave the room?”

  He turns around and he’s holding a red silk tie.

  I watch as he snaps it between his big hands and walks slowly toward the bed. He’s going to tie me up, and my body damn near combusts with want. Lust sparkles along my skin and I shiver with need. I watch as he wraps the tie around his big hands, and my heart pounds so hard I can barely breathe.

  I look up at him, “Just so you know, there’s not a knot on this Earth that will keep me here. I’ll get free. And I will run.”

  I don’t know why I say it. Probably because I want him to tie me up so much, I’m willing to say anything to make sure he does.

  His expression shimmers with lust. His eyes darken with heat. While my pulse thumps wildly with anticipation.

  “I look forward to watching you try.”

  The air around us tightens as he leans down. His broad chest brushes against me as he reaches for my hand, and in a complete act of betrayal, my pussy begins to throb at the closeness. I don’t even resist as he drags my hand up to the headboard and wraps the silk tie around my wrist, binding it to the wooden logs. His heat engulfs me as he drags my other hand over and secures it too.

  My thighs part as our eyes meet. He pauses, the bulk of him covering me like a blanket, making my body sizzle in all the right places. My nipples harden. My mouth opens. I’m so fucking aroused it is ridiculous. My eyes drop to the front of his jeans where I can see th
e outline of his hard cock and I lick my lips, because dear God, I want a taste.

  I try to hide it. Try to show him that I’m unaffected. But he can see it. His eyes are filled with the same dark heat as they roll over me.

  God, I want him to touch me so much, my arousal is slick between my thighs. I’m not wearing any panties because they’re in the dryer along with the rest of my clothes.

  And now I desperately want to feel him, right where my panties should be.

  Chapter Eight

  AXEL

  After tying her to the bed, I escape to the bathroom before I do something stupid.

  Like fuck her into next week.

  I leave her tied to my bed.

  And now I’m hard as fuck. I have been ever since I watched her touch herself back at the lodge. The way she’d made herself come. The moaning. The gasping. The way her fingers rubbed over her pussy.

  Tying her to the bed was the cherry on top of an already delicious, but dysfunctional, fantasy.

  Before I realize it, I’m sitting on the side of the tub with my cock in my hand and I’m stroking it, remembering how good she looked in the moonlight.

  How her skin glowed as smooth as marble.

  How she whimpered as she made herself come.

  I groan at the memory and squeeze my eyes shut as a surge of pleasure flares along the thick shaft in my hand.

  I open my eyes and it takes me a moment to focus. Across the tile lay a pair of pink satin panties. Lauren must’ve dropped them when she gathered the rest of her clothes and put them in the dryer.

  Before I can stop myself, I pick them up and press them to my face.

  Now before you get all judgy on me and start calling me names like fucking pervert or a panty sniffer, let me tell you this. I’m a guy. And I like women. A lot. But I haven’t touched a woman or her underwear in a fucking long time. So the fact that I’ve watched the woman of my dreams touch herself and make herself come, then lie half-naked on my bed with her thighs parted and wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt, you can bet your ass I’m going to get excited when I find her sexy underwear discarded on my bathroom floor.

  Excited enough to press the silky panties to my cheek.

  The delicate fabric is smooth against my skin, and the heady scent of her sends a violent shiver through me. My cock dips and lifts. Pre-cum glistens on the broad head and slides down the thick shaft. I wrap the panties around the base and start pumping.

  Fuck yeah.

  Fisting my cock, I lose myself in the silken touch of her panties against my skin. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt anything but my hand, and dear God, it’s making me see stars.

  I picture Lauren bent over my bed, her peachy ass high in the air, juicy and plump, and ready for the taking.

  You like that, baby?

  “Yeah, you like it like that, you bad girl,” I moan. In my head I’m behind her, sliding my cock through that moist pouch of flesh, so smooth and wet, and oh so tight. She trembles and moans, her slender fingers scrunching into the mattress.

  “Please . . .” she begs, her pussy hungry and wet for my cock.

  Oh God, yeah.

  My cock is a pounding heartbeat in my hand as more pre-cum slides down my shaft.

  I picture myself easing into her, savoring the feel of her warm, sweet pussy stretching and enveloping me. She whimpers when I enter her and it almost sends me over the edge. I grip the base of my cock and squeeze.

  “Fuck yeah, your little pussy is so fine.”

  This isn’t going to take long.

  I close my eyes and sink back into my fantasy where I’m fucking her and she is begging me for more. Her pussy is tight and it milks me with clenched muscles and warmth, and it’s all I can do to not cry out at the pleasure tightening at the base of my cock.

  I keep stroking with my hand until I can’t take it anymore and my orgasm crashes through me. My release is like a caged lion roaring free and I cry out, my moans echoing around the small bathroom, but I give zero fucks as the pleasure pulses out of me in ribbons of white cum, splashing against my thumb and fingers.

  Fuck.

  Yeah.

  As I come down, I’m panting and my heart is pounding in my throat.

  I look at the pink panties in my hand. They’re well and truly fucked.

  Feeling a little guilty, I take them to the sink and rinse them off under the faucet, as well as my hand, then stare at my reflection in the mirror.

  An image of Lauren tied to my bed runs through my mind and I grip the sides of the sink as I let out a heavy breath.

  How the fuck am I going to keep my hands off her?

  Jacking off in the bathroom is only a Band-Aid approach. A desperate attempt to quell an unrelenting ache in my body.

  I need to take a shower to think this through.

  Best I make it a cold one.

  Chapter Nine

  LAUREN

  “I see you decided not to escape,” he says, his husky voice dripping with smugness.

  I glare at Axel as he walks back into the room. I’m just about to give him some kind of sassy retort, but the words jam in my throat and I’m momentarily speechless.

  Dear God, he’s magnificent. He’s wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips, and in the dim glow of the cabin, his broad chest gleams like perfectly cut stone. He is all muscle. Wide and thick, with arms as big as my thighs. His hair is wet from the shower and hangs in damp tendrils around his handsome face.

  Walking toward the bed, he brings the sudsy scent of soap and pure masculinity with him, and every female cell in my body detonates with lust.

  My eyes track him, begging the towel to come loose and fall to the floor.

  I can’t help but lick my lips, and a small smile tugs at his.

  He knows he’s creating this reaction in me, and he loves it.

  I glare at him.

  Hating that I like what I see.

  Hating that I want him to touch me so bad.

  Hating that being tied to the bed with him standing over me looking like every girl’s mountain man fantasy is the most aroused I’ve been in months. Hell, in years.

  “Untie me,” I demand.

  I look up at him from the bed, dragging my gaze up from where the towel sits low on his hips, and over the deep shadow and grooves of his abdominals. Christ, he doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him.

  Without thought, my legs part, as if I’m goddamn inviting him in. So I quickly close them, squishing them tighter together to quell the throb.

  “I hope you realize you’ve broken nearly all the laws in the law book, asshole,” I say, glaring at him. “You committed breaking and entering when you broke into my room. You committed kidnapping when you stole me from there against my will and whisked me away to some goddamn hidey-hole in the middle of nowhere. And to cap it all off, you’ve now got me tied to your bed like I’m some kind of goddamn prisoner. You’re a walking felony, mister. A walking felony. And the moment I get free I’m going to kick you in your giant set of stones.”

  “That’s some speech. Did you practice that while I was taking a shower?”

  I lift my chin. “Actually, yes. You were in there for so long, I was beginning to wonder if you’d been abducted by aliens. I know teenage girls who shower quicker than you. What were you up to? Working out what other laws you plan to break tonight?” I yank on the silk tying my wrists to the headboard. “Untie me.”

  “You’re very demanding.”

  “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. I can be very demanding. And very convincing.”

  He chuckles and his smile is devastating.

  “I don’t doubt it, princess.”

  I grit my teeth so tight together I think they might shatter.

  “If you call me princess one more time, I’ll probably spontaneously combust.” My eyes flash up at him. “Now, untie me.”

  He folds his stupid big arms across his stupid big chest. “Nah, I’m good.”

  My frustration
peaks. “My God, you’re so infuriating! What are you going to do, keep me tied up all night?”

  Dark enjoyment breaks on his face. “Don’t tempt me.”

  I shake my head and growl, sinking into the mattress in defeat.

  “Fine. So now you have me tied to the bed, what do you plan on doing about it?”

  He taps his chin. “Hmmmmm… now, let me see…”

  His eyes sweep over me and my skin dances with heat and lust.

  Despite the desire crackling in the air between us, I narrow my eyes.

  Being demanding isn’t getting me anywhere, so I decide to switch tactics and go for the flirtatious I’ll win you over with my sweetness approach.

  I do my best to bat my lashes. But I’ll be honest, I’ve never been any good at using my womanly wiles. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

  “Listen, if you let me go, I promise I won’t run away,” I say in a softer, feminine voice. For some reason, my voice has gone up an octave. And it’s breathy. It feels unnatural. Weird. But if it works, so be it.

  Axel cocks an eyebrow. “Is that a fact?”

  “Yes. I’ll do whatever it is you want.”

  Another bat of my eyelashes and I lick my lips seductively. But somehow I manage to choke on air—freaking air—and start to cough.

  Amusement curls on Axel’s beautiful lips.

  “Are you okay, princess? Or should I render mouth to mouth?”

  My flirty crown falls right off my head as I glare at him. But I quickly secure it back in place with a sweet smile and gentle eyes.

  “If you untie me, I promise I’ll be a good girl.”

  Ugh. I hate myself right now.

  But desperate times…

  “I know I was being difficult before and I’m sorry. But if you untie me, I promise I’ll behave.”

  Inwardly, I eye roll.

  Even I don’t believe me.

  Axel takes a step closer to the bed and I rake my eyes up the length of his magnificent body, refusing to let them stall over his sculpted torso. When our eyes meet, his are dark with heat. Again, my thighs part.

  “Now why would I want to do that when I’ve got you right where I want you?” he says, his voice husky and low. My skin tightens with excitement because the way he is looking at me feels intimate. Sensual. Dangerous.