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

by Penny Dee

  “True,” the other man agreed.

  My eyes dart to them.

  Vince never intended on marrying Lauren?

  What, was he going to leave her at the . . .

  The penny drops.

  Mother. Fucker.

  I leave the convenience store without any supplies and head for my Jeep. Lauren is already inside, watching me as I cross the street and run across the road. She straightens when she realizes I am hurrying.

  “Everything okay?” she asks as I climb in.

  I hand her a Yankees cap from the back seat. “Put this on?”

  “Why, what’s going on?”

  Before I can reply, Vince steps out of the post office and pauses on the porch to light a cigarette. Lauren sees him and my breath catches in my chest. She could open the door and run toward her fiancé, and this could all end… right here, right now.

  I start the Jeep and glance over at her. I can see her pulse pounding against her throat as she watches him. She is weighing her options. To run toward him. Or to run away from him.

  Slowly, she turns to look at me. “What are you waiting for? Let’s get out of here.”

  Pulling quietly away from the curb, I steer my Jeep toward my cabin, my mind abuzz with all the pieces falling into place.

  Chapter Fifteen

  LAUREN

  I feel sick. Seeing Vince has shaken me. Instead of wanting to run toward him, I wanted to get as far away from him as possible. Now I’m at war with myself about what that means. All I know is that I’m where I’m meant to be when I’m with Axel.

  I look over at him.

  Something clearly happened. His reaction isn’t just about Vince showing up. No, his reaction is because he’s seen or heard something.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  He glances at me. “Let me just get us back to the cabin and I’ll explain everything.”

  He checks the rearview mirror. And when he does it again a few seconds later, I realize Vince hadn’t been alone in town.

  “He brought men with him, didn’t he?” I say.

  “Yes.”

  Another check of the rearview mirror.

  “Let me guess—two suits, one who looks like he stepped out of the Playboy mansion, and another who smells like he fell into a vat of cologne.”

  “You know them?”

  I turn to look out the window. “Unfortunately.”

  The one who smells like the perfume counter at Macy’s got drunk and tried copping a feel of my boobs at the New Year’s Eve gala my father threw at the Wintergarden Hotel last December. And the one who looked like he’d sell his own grandmother’s soul for a new Maserati and a bag of coke, once told me that if I ever grew bored of Vince that I should definitely give him a call.

  Did I tell Vince about either of them?

  No.

  Why?

  Because at the time I told myself it was to avoid driving a wedge between Vince and his best friends. Because I didn’t want to be that girl. Or even look like that girl. The spoiled brat who comes between her boyfriend and his frat brothers.

  But now I see things in a completely different light.

  A stark, bright, honest light.

  I didn’t tell Vince because somewhere deep inside me, I knew he wouldn’t care.

  A small hole opening in my chest tells me I am right. Vince wouldn’t have given a shit. Hell, he would probably pat the losers on the back and tell them they had good taste.

  “Did you get a hold of your father?” Axel’s voice breaks into my memory, and the hole in my chest instantly closes.

  “No. The phone lines are down. Apparently, the storm took out the exchange. I was told to try again tomorrow.”

  Axel ducks his head to get a better view of the sky out of the windshield. “Looks like more bad weather is on its way. If the roads aren’t closed tomorrow, I’ll bring you back into town.”

  By the time we arrive back at the cabin, it is snowing heavily.

  Inside, I shrug off the new jacket I’d bought at The Emporium, and Axel throws another log on the fire. It roars back to life with a snap and crackle.

  “Are you going to tell me what happened?” I ask.

  “Do you have a bridesmaid called Shanna?”

  My eyes dart to him. “Yes, I do. How . . . why?”

  “Vince was with her last night.”

  “What?”

  “I overheard his friends. They said he was with her last night. That it’s an affair he has no intention of ending once he’s married.”

  I’m surprised. Not because of the affair. But because it doesn’t hurt like it should.

  In fact, I’m relieved.

  It all makes sense. The lack of sex. The less-than-satisfying performance when he did make it to my bed.

  I start to laugh and Axel looks at me like I’m crazy.

  But I’m not insane. I’m calm.

  Oh, it hurts.

  Betrayal always does.

  But it doesn’t cut me deep. Because somewhere deep inside I’d already begun to suspect he was in it for the money and the status.

  And it’s strange. I feel free.

  I feel lighter.

  Two-hundred-pounds lighter.

  “There’s something else.”

  My laughter fades. “What?”

  “Vince is behind the plan to have you kidnapped.”

  Shock ripples in the air between us, and I have to take a moment to let it pass.

  That relief I felt a moment ago?

  Yeah, it’s gone.

  Replaced with a powerful surge of emotions.

  “Are you sure?”

  He nods. “I’m sorry, Lauren. Your fiancé paid three thugs to take you and hold you until the ransom was paid.”

  I sink down onto a chair as his words settle through me.

  “Boy, Vince really didn’t want to marry me.”

  “It’s not about that. It was about the money.” His voice is empathetic, but also edged with anger. “The ransom was for twenty-five million.”

  “Are you sure? And I mean, absolutely sure.”

  “One of the guys said the wedding wasn’t going to take place. That means, Vince knew about the kidnapping. And why wouldn’t he stop it if he knew?”

  “Because he was the one who planned it,” I say with cold understanding.

  “That’s right.” He lets out a disgusted breath. “But even his plan being thwarted didn’t stop him from still making the ransom demand.”

  I suck in a deep breath.

  I’m angry. Frustrated. Hurt.

  Confused.

  Suddenly the walls are closing in on me, and I’m overwhelmed with a need to get out of there.

  I stand up and hurry for the front door.

  I need air.

  But Axel is behind me in a flash and grabs my wrist. “Lauren …”

  It’s instinct. I’m crazed by a need to get out. By a tornado of confusion storming inside of me. I wrench my arm free and shoot out the front door and down the porch steps. I have no idea where I am or where I’m running to. I just know I have to get away before I lose my mind any further.

  I hate that Vince hired men to kidnap me.

  I hate that he was doing it for the money.

  Doing me for the money.

  And I hate that being here makes all the sense in the world to me when it shouldn’t.

  Axel makes me feel insane. I hate that I don’t fear him. That I spend so much time tight and needy around him, desperately wanting him to touch me.

  I run for the trees. He’s behind me. He doesn’t call out. But he is coming after me. But I’m not afraid. I am angry at him. At me. Because this entire situation is a complete and utter mindfuck. I don’t hate that I am here. I hate that I want to be here so much. Worst of all, I hate that I want him to touch me so badly.

  Above us, thunder rolls through the clouds.

  “Leave me alone,” I call out behind me as I stumble through snow and into the deep forest.


  I can’t make sense of any of it.

  But the truth is, I’ve given up trying.

  “Lauren.” His voice is gruff. “You need to stop.”

  “Or what?” I swing around to face him. He is several yards away. “Or you’ll take me back to the cabin and do what to me…?

  “It’s dangerous out here.”

  “I don’t care!” I throw my hands up in the air as I storm away. “I’d rather be out here with the trees, and the snow, and the beasts—”

  One second I am stomping through the trees; the next, I’m in his big arms as he reaches me and pulls me to the warmth of his body.

  I try to fight. But it’s too late. I’m encaged by muscle.

  “Let me go!”

  “I know you’re upset—”

  “You don’t know anything!”

  “He’s hurt you, I get it.”

  “No, you don’t. You don’t get any of it. Now let me go!” I pound my fists into his chest, but it’s like it’s made of stone and he barely reacts.

  “Not until you agree to come back to the cabin.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  He doesn’t argue. Instead, he hauls me over his shoulder and carries me back to the cabin. When he puts me down, I glare at him.

  “How dare you!”

  Tears stream down my face. I’m running head first toward my meltdown.

  “I’m so sick of men telling me what to do!” I yell.

  It happens so quickly. One minute I’m angry and spewing my hurt at him like a crazy lady. The next, we’re kissing each other fiercely and trying to rip our clothes off. I’ve lost my mind. But I don’t care. If this is insanity, then sign me up and give me the t-shirt. Because nothing about this feels wrong.

  Nothing at all.

  Chapter Sixteen

  AXEL

  I’m so hard it’s painful.

  We’re kissing like we’re fucking starving for it. Her lips are as sweet as honey, and the feel of her body crushed against mine has me dizzy with lust. I’m about to lose my mind as I rip her clothes from her body, wanting to plunge so deep and hard into this gorgeous body of hers.

  But in a rare moment of clarity, I find my last morsel of sanity and pull back from the brink, breaking off the kiss.

  She looks up at me, dazed, her lips wet with my kiss, her eyes hooded and dark with lust.

  “Wait—” I breathe. I’m panting, my pulse is racing, and my cock is begging me to keep going. But I need a moment. “We need to think about what we’re doing.”

  There are too many reasons why this shouldn’t happen.

  Today was supposed to be her wedding day.

  And only minutes ago, she found out her fiancé not only cheated on her with her bridesmaid, but paid men to kidnap her and hold her for ransom.

  Doing what my body is screaming at me to do would be taking advantage of the situation.

  She’s vulnerable.

  Although, looking at the desire burning in her eyes makes me think I’m totally overthinking this.

  The pad of my thumb grazes her cheek. “There’s a lot for you to absorb.”

  But she shakes her head.

  “No, there isn’t.” Her eyes fix firmly to mine. “I knew marrying Vince wasn’t what I wanted to do. I knew something was off. But I went along with it because that is what I do. It’s what I’ve always done. But now—”

  Her palm finds the hardness in my jeans and begins to rub. I growl because the sensation makes me weak at the knees. It makes me want to take her now, right here, up against the wall.

  “Now I plan on doing exactly what I want to do,” she says. Again, her eyes darken with wicked desire. “I want you to fuck his memory out of me, Axel, and I don’t want you to stop until I beg you to fucking stop.”

  She licks her lips and it’s all I can take. Before I can stop myself, I sink my mouth to hers and press her up against the wall.

  I shouldn’t want her, but I’m fucking aching for her.

  And I shouldn’t be aching for her. But I’ve given up trying to hold back. I’m a strong man, but not strong enough to resist the pull of her.

  I’m going to take her.

  Hard.

  I hoist her up into my arms, kissing her feverishly as I climb the steps to the bed.

  Before I reach the bed, she shimmies to her feet and drops to her knees.

  Something has come over her.

  She rips open my jeans and yanks them down my legs, her eyes widening when she sees the rigid outline of my erection behind my boxer shorts. She pauses and I watch her with cock-aching anticipation as her tongue sweeps across her lips. She looks up at me, her eyes dark with wicked lust.

  She wants my cock.

  And she wants it in her mouth.

  She’s licking her lips like she can barely wait to get my boxers off so she can wrap her mouth around me.

  She slides my boxers off, and the sight of my hard, thick cock sends desire and excitement shimmering across her face.

  The touch of her lips against my skin makes me tremble, and the feel of her velvety smooth tongue on my skin makes my knees go weak.

  “Lauren…” I breathe her name. Because there is a part of me that still needs to know that she really wants this.

  She looks up at me, her mouth open, my heavy cock wrapped in her lush tongue.

  Fuck.

  Seeing her on her knees, looking up at me like that, only pushes me further away from being able to stop this.

  She pulls away, but only for a moment. Her eyes are hooded and heavy with lust. “Make me forget. Even just for tonight.”

  My fingertips brush the curve of her jaw. Her beautiful face is vibrant with need. The time for talking is over.

  She takes me in her mouth again and I swallow hard, immediately engulfed in the mind-shattering sensations of being mouth-fucked by a goddess on her knees in front of me.

  “Christ, your mouth feels like heaven.” I groan as her tongue sweeps across the thick crown and slides around the rim. Fuck. When she does that it makes me want to come, but this feels so good, I want to make it last. I press my fingers through her hair and slowly rock into her mouth. “Goddamn, this is killing me. I’m trying not to come, princess, but it just feels … so… fucking … good.”

  I feel her smile wrap around my dick as she takes me in deep.

  Her perfect little mouth is so warm and wet. Her tongue torturous. A rough growl escapes me.

  Fuck.

  She moans and it vibrates along the shaft, sending a tremor of pleasure through me. I’m close. Her tongue is tormenting me. She moans again, fucking me with her perfect mouth, and I have to bite back the urge to come.

  My balls tighten and the tension snaps.

  My head drops back.

  I’m going to come.

  There’s no holding it back. It’s been years.

  And her mouth…fuck, her mouth feels so fucking good.

  “Baby … I’m going to come,” I warn her. But she doesn’t tear her mouth away. She keeps sucking me. Fucking me with her luscious lips and torturous tongue. And I can’t hold it back anymore. My fingers tighten in her hair. “Lauren …”

  The pleasure peaks and my orgasm roars out of me like a fucking tidal wave, almost sending me to my knees. Hot spurts of cum hit the back of her throat, but she doesn’t miss a beat, she keeps sucking until she’s milked me of every last drop.

  I shudder against her one last time and drop back onto the bed.

  Mind. Blown.

  Still on her knees, Lauren looks up at me, a wicked smile on her face. I pull her onto the bed and secure my arms around her.

  I need a moment.

  I know she is just as aroused because I can feel her heart pounding against my chest.

  But I need to catch a breath. Enjoy the afterglow of my mind-shattering orgasm. But only for a moment. Because if she thinks for a moment that we’re done, then she is in for a big surprise.

  About nine inches worth.

/>   “You’re fucking amazing,” I whisper into her hair.

  I can’t see her, but I know she is smiling.

  And I’m also aware that this woman, this goddess, has stolen my fucking heart.

  My hand slides between her thighs where she’s dewy and slick. My fingers slip under her panties where she is sticky and swollen. She gasps as she curls her body closer to me. She wants more and she wants it now.

  And I’m going to make sure I deliver.

  Chapter Seventeen

  LAUREN

  Wow.

  Okay, so I have never done that before.

  I’ve only ever sucked Vince’s cock once or twice, and only as a prelude to sex. The opening act to the main show, so to speak.

  I’ve never made a man weak at his knees like that, or driven him to make those noises as I fucked him with my mouth and tongue. Or had him twist his fingers in my hair as his cock thickens and then releases in my mouth. Never felt the salty taste of cum on my tongue.

  Never felt more turned on in my life.

  Above us, a helicopter flies overhead, and it only vaguely registers that they’re probably looking for me.

  Axel rises up on his knees and I am so turned on by the sheer size of him. He is big and broad, and the thick muscles of his six-pack flex and deepen as he moves.

  “Christ, you’re beautiful,” he says.

  My panties are soaking. I watch, spellbound as he kneels back and slowly pulls them down my legs and discards them on the floor. His eyes are burning with lust, and they don’t leave mine as he parts my thighs so I am fully exposed to him. Only then do his eyes lower, and I can see the ripple of lust on his face when he sees my pussy for the first time.

  His lips part and his desperate growl falls between us.

  “You’re fucking perfect,” he says. He doesn’t waste a moment. He buries his face between my parted thighs, and the moment his tongue brushes my clit, I arch my back and sink my head farther into the pillow. His tongue is velvety warm, and his fingers press into the soft skin of my thighs as he gives me the best head of my life.

  “You taste so sweet,” he moans, and I have to gasp in the air as another wave of pleasure washes over me.